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Jiang Ning also pushed through the crowd to see the scene inside.
Sister Li was anxious to pick up her daughter.
“Don’t move her!” Jiang Ning shouted.
Sister Li froze in place.
Jiang Ning walked over and knelt beside the little girl, gently pressing on her body. The little girl immediately cried out, “It hurts!”
Seeing this, Sister Li’s heart ached and she reached out to hug her daughter, but Jiang Ning quickly said, “Sister Li, don’t move her. Her arm seems to be dislocated.”
Sister Li looked anxious, “Then I’ll take her to the clinic right away.”
Jiang Ning checked and found that the little girl had only dislocated one arm, with only minor scrapes elsewhere. A dislocation just needed to be reset.
She said, “Sister Li, help her sit up, but be very careful not to touch her right arm.”
Sister Li was completely panicked, but Jiang Ning’s calm demeanor made her instinctively follow her instructions.
The little girl was still whimpering, so Jiang Ning reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of candy, “Look, what’s this?”
The little girl, who had been in pain, lit up at the sight of the candy and even forgot to cry.
“Sister Li, feed her the candy,” Jiang Ning said, handing the candy to Sister Li.
Sister Li did as she was told, and at least her daughter had stopped crying.
With the candy in her mouth, Jiang Ning smiled and asked her, “Is the candy sweet?”
Jiang Ning’s gentle smile captivated the little girl, who nodded instinctively and said in a clear voice, “Sweet.”
At that moment, there was a ‘click’ sound.
The little girl was startled, and Sister Li, who had been worried about her daughter, was also taken aback.
Jiang Ning withdrew her hand, smiled, and said, “Alright, try moving your arm. Does it still hurt?”
Jiang Ning had given the little girl the candy to distract her so that when she reset the dislocated arm, the girl wouldn’t even realize it had been done until it was over.
Sister Li, following Jiang Ning’s instructions, said to her daughter, “Yuanyuan, move it.”
The little girl lifted the arm that had been hurting and moved it, her eyes lighting up when she realized it didn’t hurt anymore.
She waved her arm and said, “Mother, it really doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Seeing that her daughter was okay, Sister Li finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately grabbed Jiang Ning’s hand, “Little Jiang, thank you.”
“It was nothing,” Jiang Ning said, waving her hand.
It was just a small dislocation, easily fixed.
With everything settled, the crowd around them gave Jiang Ning a thumbs up and dispersed.
With her daughter safe, Sister Li turned to the woman nearby, “Teacher Feng, what happened?”
Teacher Feng immediately explained, “This child just started attending the preschool class. She’s quite timid, and we lost sight of her for a moment. She ran out and fell on the road.”
Since the teacher had explained, Sister Li couldn’t blame her and decided to take her daughter home to calm her down before sending her back to school.
On the way home, Sister Li couldn’t stop thanking Jiang Ning. She was grateful that nothing serious had happened to her daughter, as injuries in children could be very worrying.
Jiang Ning wanted to say that children weren’t as fragile as they seemed.
But she also admired how much Sister Li cherished her daughter.
When they returned home,
Jiang Ning put the ingredients she had bought in the kitchen and had just poured herself a glass of water when Sister Li entered the courtyard with a basket full of vegetables.
Jiang Ning put down her glass and went outside.
She was astonished to see so many vegetables.
“Sister Li, this is too much!”
“Not at all, not at all,” Sister Li said. “These vegetables are nothing compared to what you did for my Yuanyuan. I should be thanking you and inviting you for a meal. When I go to deliver food to my husband at the military base, I’ll mention it to him. Once we set a date, I’ll come to get you.”
Sister Li spoke quickly and left before Jiang Ning could refuse.
Jiang Ning had no choice but to take the basket of vegetables to the kitchen.
She looked at the vegetables; there were potatoes and lettuce at the bottom, and the top was filled with cabbages, perfect for making pickles.
Jiang Ning washed the cabbages thoroughly with clean water and then placed them in a large winnowing basket to dry in the sun.
The first step of drying the cabbages would take several days.
After laying out the cabbages, she felt a bit bored and spent some time swinging, teasing the fish, and keeping an eye on the time before heading into the kitchen.
She took out the premium pork belly she had bought, cut it into neat square pieces, and then blanched it in cold water with green onions, ginger, and cooking wine to remove any fishy smell.
After blanching, she rinsed the meat with hot water and then stir-fried it to release the excess fat, ensuring it wouldn’t be greasy.
Next, Jiang Ning made a caramel with rock sugar and then added the meat to coat it evenly. She then added large pieces of green onions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and soy sauce to enhance the color.
Finally, she poured in hot water and let it simmer on low heat.
As the water in the pot bubbled and rolled, the rich aroma of the meat filled the air, permeating the entire courtyard with its enticing scent.
Huo Zhiqi, carrying his schoolbag, entered the courtyard and was immediately greeted by the smell of the meat. Even though he wasn’t hungry, his stomach started to growl, and he found himself swallowing repeatedly. He dropped his schoolbag and quickly ran over to take over the task of tending the fire.
At Uncle Wang’s house, they only had meat every two or three days, and even then, it was only when Uncle Wang was home.
He was genuinely surprised that Sister Jiang made meat every day.
When the braised pork was almost done, Jiang Ning added the potatoes.
Fifteen minutes later, the braised pork with potatoes was ready to serve.
After washing the pot, Jiang Ning made spicy pickled cabbage with the remaining cabbages, adding a bit more chili this time.
The dish was both sour and spicy, making it incredibly satisfying to eat.
Jiang Ning timed her cooking so that Shen Mo would be back by the time she was stir-frying the cabbage. But now, there was no sign of him at the door.
Huo Zhiqi diligently set the table with the dishes and then sat with Jiang Ning, waiting for Uncle Shen to come home for dinner.
Even though he was drooling, he didn’t touch his chopsticks.
Eating together as a family made the meal more enjoyable.
They waited a little longer, and finally, they heard footsteps at the door.
Jiang Ning and Huo Zhiqi looked pleased, and just then, they heard Sister Li’s voice from the door, “Little Jiang.”
Sister Li appeared at the gate, and Jiang Ning called her in.
Sister Li was holding two bags, one with large white radishes and the other with a lunchbox.
She put down the bag of radishes, “Sister Jiang, I forgot to pack the radishes for you earlier, so I brought them over.”
Jiang Ning noticed the lunchbox in her hand.
“Wait a moment, Sister Li,” Jiang Ning said.
Sister Li stopped, “What is it?”
Jiang Ning said, “Shen Mo hasn’t come home yet. I’ll go with you to deliver the food.”
“That’s great,” Sister Li smiled, “Then hurry and pack up. We’ll go to the military base together.”
Jiang Ning went back inside and found an aluminum lunchbox. She packed the bottom with rice, then filled the remaining space mostly with braised pork and a bit of spicy pickled cabbage.
After packing, Jiang Ning patted Huo Zhiqi on the head, “Zhiqi, be good and stay at home. I’ll go deliver food to Uncle Shen. If I’m not back by the afternoon, lock the door and go to class by yourself.”
Huo Zhiqi nodded obediently.