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“Sister-in-law, let’s go to the front yard and check on the child.” Lu Songli took her arm and led her to the front yard.
Xu Hao? Wasn’t he only two years old? What was going on with the Xu family, why would they give such a young child peanuts?
Later, Lu Songli learned that it was his seven-year-old cousin, Xu Rong, who had gotten a few peanuts. When he was eating them, he shared two with the two-year-old Xu Hao, following the principle of sharing good things.
Madam Xu didn’t react immediately, she just let out a “huh” as she was led forward.
When Lu Songli arrived, Madam Xu was holding the child, both anxious and scared.
Master Xu was also helpless, he didn’t know what to think, and went forward to try and take the child, muttering, “We just need to get the peanut out.”
He was thinking of using his hands to dig into the child’s throat! Lu Songli saw this and quickly said, “No!” She recognized the child immediately, he was the small bean-like child she gave the candy-apple to last time!
Master Xu and Madam Xu both turned to look at her, as if asking why.
Lu Songli ran over while explaining, “You can’t dig at the child’s throat like that!”
She noticed that the child was having trouble breathing, his face was turning purple and he was rolling his eyes.
“Can we borrow your carriage?” Madam Xu said urgently as soon as she saw Lu Songli.
“The carriage is yours! But the child’s condition is critical, I’m afraid we won’t have time to get him to the clinic.”
“What should we do?” Madam Xu was about to cry.
“Give me the child, let me try.” It was an emergency, there was no time to be polite. As Lu Songli spoke, she stepped forward to take the child and then performed the Heimlich maneuver.
She stood with her arms around the child, then found the right spot on his chest with her hands. She used the knuckle of her left thumb to press against the child’s abdomen, two finger-widths above the navel, which is the midpoint of the line connecting the navel and the xiphoid process. Then, she pressed her right hand on top of her left fist and quickly pushed upwards and inwards.
Her movements were rhythmic.
Although the Xu family was anxious, they didn’t dare to disturb her.
“What are you doing? Hurry and take the child to the clinic!”
“Yeah, what can a little girl do to save someone? It’s just reckless.”
The Xu family was making a lot of noise. When the neighbors heard that the child had an accident, they all came over to see if they could help. They saw that the Xu family wasn’t rushing the child to the clinic, but instead letting a young girl do something, they felt that the Xu family was being reckless.
Madam Xu stopped her husband and eldest daughter-in-law, who were obviously wavering because of the people around them.
With such a big commotion in the front yard, Lu Songyun couldn’t sit still either. She put on a thick coat and came out. Seeing her sister seemed to be saving someone, she was also anxious.
Madam Xu also saw her third daughter-in-law coming out, but at this moment she couldn’t care about her.
When fine beads of sweat appeared on Lu Songli’s forehead, the child let out a “wah” and the peanut, the size of a finger, fell out of his mouth.
Everyone: “He’s safe, he’s safe!”
After the little bean-like child spit out the peanut that was stuck in his throat, he seemed terrified and instinctively hugged the person in front of him, crying loudly.
Lu Songli stood still, allowing the little one to bury his head in her neck and cry.
“Haohao!” Informed by others, Young Madam Xu hurried back and, upon entering the house, saw her son being saved. Overwhelmed with joy, she approached and took her son from Lu Songli’s arms, hugging her son tightly, tears streaming down her face.
“Wow, he’s really saved?”
“What kind of method is this?”
The surrounding neighbors couldn’t believe it. A child so young getting something stuck in his throat, even if taken to the clinic, might not have been saved. Many times, the child would have passed away before reaching the clinic.
“This girl is really talented.”
The onlookers admired Lu Songli.
Lu Songli didn’t think of herself as particularly skilled. The Heimlich maneuver, CPR, and other emergency techniques were things she had learned in college clubs. With the motto of “having many skills is not a burden,” she learned diligently, as she was an ambitious person who wouldn’t miss any opportunity to enhance her abilities. She never expected to use the emergency techniques she had learned but never used in the modern world in ancient times.
Lu Songli reminded the Xu family, “The child has been saved, but his throat may have been injured just now. Take him to the clinic to have it checked, and maybe get some medicine to soothe the throat.”
“Yes, let’s go and have him checked.”
Madam Xu felt a wave of relief. Haohao was the youngest child in the second family, and the peanut was given by the eldest son, Rong. If something had happened to Haohao, it would have caused a rift between the first and second families, leading to the family falling apart. It was truly fortunate to have the third daughter-in-law family’s sister, Lu Songli, on hand to save the day.
In the original story, Madam Xu’s worries became a reality. In the original story, the incident with Xu Hao happened today, but there was no Lu Songli to coincidentally save his life. Madam Xu cried every day, and not long after, the Xu family split up, with less interaction between the brothers. Xu Rong, the cousin who caused the accident, became silent and burdened with guilt, unable to find happiness for the rest of his life.
After the Xu family’s emotions calmed down, they thanked Lu Songli repeatedly. They were genuinely grateful for her actions. Especially Madam Xu, if Haohao hadn’t been saved, she wouldn’t have known how to face her daughter-in-law.
Second Madam Xu even held her son and kowtowed to Lu Songli, who tried to pull her up but couldn’t.
Due to this delay, Lu Songli’s return time was getting late. She had come to visit her older sister with three people: Uncle Liu, the driver, Mo Bing, and a strong woman. It wasn’t safe to travel at night.
Her older sister, Lu Songyun, worried about the safety of returning so late, wanted her to stay the night.
Lu Songli declined. She hadn’t planned to stay overnight anyway. Besides, the Xu family had many people, and their living space was limited. If she stayed overnight, they would have to clear out two or three rooms, which would be too much trouble. Mainly, she felt it wasn’t too late yet, and she could still return.
Just then, second brother Xu, came back from the countryside after collecting pigs. Knowing about the day’s events, especially Lu Songli’s saving of his son, he immediately offered to escort her back to Chang’an City.
Xu Erge, who resembled Madam Xu the most, was tall and strong, and as a professional pig butcher, he had an aura of ferocity about him. With him as an escort, the Xu family felt relieved to let her go home.
As she left, the Xu family added another 30% to their previous gift, which was only after Lu Songli repeatedly refused. The Xu family’s gifts were very practical: a whole slab of pork, weighing almost twenty pounds, with the best cuts. They also sent some rare dried goods, all collected by the Xu family from the mountains or bought by Xu Erge while traveling.
In just half an afternoon, Lu Songli realized that the Xu family was a good family. She had to admit that her parents had good eyesight when it came to choosing husbands for their daughters.
Before leaving, Madam Xu held her hand and repeatedly urged her to come back and visit often.
As the horse carriage carrying Lu Songli faded into the distance, Madam Xu sighed, “What a good girl.”