Hu Guizhen knew that Xiao Mandong meant what she said, and she had also come to realize that whenever she clashed with Xiao Mandong, she was always the one who ended up suffering.
She was genuinely scared now and didn't want to have any more conflicts with Xiao Mandong. She went back to her room, took out five yuan from her trunk, and threw it in front of Xiao Mandong: "Here, take it back. What's so great about you? Just because you have a few dirty cents, you think you can throw your weight around."
Xiao Mandong picked up the money, stuffed it into her pocket, and ignored Hu Guizhen entirely.
She was busy — too busy to waste time on someone like that. She was starting her hospital internship next week and planned to buy a bicycle tomorrow. She also still needed to buy the iron wok for the new house. Money really didn't stretch far these days, and she was running low on ration tickets. It looked like she needed to find a way to earn more.
She had a lot of grain stored in her space. Since she'd be heading into town every day from now on, she figured she should go to the black market, sell some of that grain, and buy cotton to make padded clothes and quilts for her family. She'd deliver them in the winter. She also wanted to stock up on firewood, and it would be great if she could get her hands on some coal briquettes.
She had so much on her mind that she didn't even realize when she fell asleep.
In a daze, she thought she heard knocking at the door: "Educated Youth Xiao, open up! Educated Youth Xiao..."
Huang Xiaoli lit the kerosene lamp in the room.
Xiao Mandong sat up, got dressed, and went to the door.
"It's late — let me go out with you," Huang Xiaoli said.
"Alright, thank you."
The knocking on the courtyard gate was thunderous. It was Shunzi, the production team leader's son, calling out.
Xiao Mandong opened the gate and saw Shunzi standing there with Song Xiangjun.
"What's the matter? Why are you knocking at this hour?"
"Someone got scalded on the face — it's pretty serious. We need you to come to the clinic and take a look."
The clinic was stocked with medicine, and Xiao Mandong never left her keys lying around. She even slept with them tucked away in her space. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled the keys out from the space: "Xiaoli, you go back to bed. You still have work in the morning."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
Xiao Mandong shook her head. "No need. Go back and rest."
Just as she stepped out the gate, she heard Xiao Manxue's voice: "Sis, where are you going? I'll come with you."
"Go back to sleep. I'll sleep at the clinic after I'm done — I won't be coming back." The sleeping arrangements at home were too cramped anyway. Once she was finished, she could just sleep in her space for a good night's rest. She was actually looking forward to it.
Song Xiangjun quickly tried to reassure Xiao Manxue: "Don't worry, it's fine. Someone just got injured and needs their wound treated."
Xiao Manxue didn't insist further, but there was no way she could fall asleep now.
Xiao Mandong followed the two men straight to the clinic. From a distance, she could already hear a woman's wailing.
Several people were standing at the clinic entrance — the production team leader, the village secretary, and Accountant Sun, whose face was scratched up like a bloody mess. Accountant Sun's daughter-in-law, Zhang Yanhong, was stomping her feet and sobbing uncontrollably.
Inside the clinic, a 25-watt incandescent bulb flickered dimly. Xiao Mandong held up a kerosene lamp to examine the injury closely. The burns on the face were severe, covered in blisters of varying sizes.
Xiao Mandong asked Shunzi to fetch well water. The cold water would help cool the burn, ease the pain, and prevent infection.
The well water carried a cool, earthy smell. The moment the cold water hit Zhang Yanhong's face, she nearly cried herself hoarse. She had brought this on herself — Xiao Mandong certainly wasn't going to waste any of her spiritual spring water on her.
"Stop crying. Tears will infect the wound."
Zhang Yanhong forced herself to stop sobbing. Xiao Mandong's tone wasn't kind, but Zhang Yanhong knew she was telling the truth. She hated this woman, but right now, she was the only one who could help her.
Xiao Mandong sterilized a needle over a flame, popped the blisters, drained the fluid, and applied mercurochrome.
She told them to go to the hospital in the morning for a proper check-up.
Once the wound was treated, she told them to leave, but Zhang Yanhong refused to go: "Aren't you the one who knows how to press acupoints to stop pain? I remember when you used that trick on Old Madam Zhou and it worked really well. Press it for me — I'm in so much pain."
Xiao Mandong was aiming to get her barefoot doctor certification, so she couldn't afford to appear biased or unfair:
"This is the Hegu acupoint — you can press it yourself. That's the same spot I pressed that day."
With that, she demonstrated. The moment Xiao Mandong pressed down, Zhang Yanhong did feel some relief, but as soon as Xiao Mandong let go, the pain came rushing back.
"Can't you just press it for a while longer? I'm in agony!"
"Just alternate pressing it with both hands. I have no obligation to keep pressing it for you."
"Why are you so heartless? I'm in this state because of you! If you hadn't spilled the beans about my pregnancy, my mother-in-law would never have thrown boiling water on me. This is all your fault — you have to pay my medical bills. If my face is ruined, I'll make you pay!"
Zhang Yanhong never once thought she was in the wrong. It was all Xiao Mandong's fault. If she hadn't revealed her secret, none of this would have happened.
The village secretary was so irritated by Zhang Yanhong's words that he let out a bitter laugh. Like father-in-law, like daughter-in-law, he thought, glancing at Accountant Sun.
Accountant Sun felt the weight of that gaze. Because of the earlier report he'd filed, he had already offended the secretary, and he knew he was still under investigation. He had bigger troubles ahead. The best thing he could do right now was lie low and wait for the higher-ups to finish their inquiry — not stir up more problems.
Accountant Sun quickly apologized to Xiao Mandong: "I'm sorry, Comrade Xiao. She's just in pain and not thinking straight. Please don't take it to heart. We'll leave now."
With that, he tried to pull Zhang Yanhong out the door, but she wasn't having it. All she knew was that she hurt, and Xiao Mandong's pressing helped.
Zhang Yanhong shook off Accountant Sun's hand: "I'm not leaving! She has to press my acupoints. I'm dying here!"
By now, Accountant Sun was thoroughly fed up with his daughter-in-law. If she hadn't gone to provoke the old woman today, she never would have gotten boiling water thrown on her.
He had already worked things out with that old hag — Zhang Yanhong would stay at home for now, and after the baby was born, she'd move out with the child. The old woman had agreed.
Zhang Yanhong had been at the hospital getting pregnancy maintenance treatment and had only just come home today. After dinner, she said she was hungry. Accountant Sun boiled two eggs for her. If she'd just eaten them quietly, everything would have been fine — but no, she had to parade them in front of the old woman, saying how delicious the eggs her father-in-law boiled were.
In a fit of rage, the old woman threw the boiling water used for the eggs right into her face. She brought it all on herself.
Thinking about all this, Accountant Sun lost any patience he had left: "Zhang Yanhong, I'm asking you one more time — are you going home or not?"
In all the years she'd married into the Sun family, her father-in-law had never spoken to her like that. Especially in the past year, he'd practically given her everything she wanted.
Now, worried about being permanently scarred and feeling more wronged than ever, she cried out:
"No, I'm not going! Why are you taking an outsider's side? I'll go to the hospital tomorrow and get this baby aborted — will that make you happy? Then you can go back to living your good life with that old hag!"
