Chapter 36 : Two Broken Ribs and a Broken Leg

Jiang Sui considered all of this for the Xiao family, and Mother Xiao had nothing to say in response.

Moreover, she didn’t think about how the young man would repay them in the future because, if she were in Jiang Sui’s shoes, she would have made the same choice.

“But there’s no decent doctor in our village. Uncle Changqing can only treat colds and such. This young master is so badly injured, I’m afraid he’d be helpless even if he came,” Xiao Yi said, seeing how seriously the man was hurt. No one in the family knew medicine, and the barefoot doctor in the village was only half-skilled. How could he save this man?

Jiang Sui had already thought about this, but she soon came up with an idea

“How about this, Third Brother? You go to town and bring back a doctor to treat him and save his life first. As for the payment, I’ll cover it for now. This young man is well-dressed, so he must be from a wealthy family. When he wakes up, I’ll ask him to repay it.”

No one’s money comes from the wind. Jiang Sui isn’t so noble that she does good deeds without expecting anything in return. She fully intended to ask for her money back, no matter how much it cost.

After hearing this, Xiao Yi thought it was a reasonable plan. He didn’t delay and went to find Ermazi to hitch the ox cart.

It took over an hour to go to town and back. During this time, Mother Xiao asked Xiao Hechuan to take off the young man’s dirty clothes and cover him with a blanket for the time being, waiting for the doctor to arrive.

Mother Xiao also heated the kang to prevent the man from getting cold.

However, the young man had developed a high fever. His body was burning, and his lips were cracked.

Seeing this, Xiao Lanlan quickly boiled some hot water and fed him a little with a spoon. He was still conscious, but couldn’t wake up fully. When the warm water touched his lips, he instinctively swallowed it eagerly, as though he was very thirsty.

Xiao Lanlan then used a hot towel to gently wipe his face. Although there were some faint scars, it didn’t affect his original handsome appearance at all.

For a moment, Xiao Lanlan’s face flushed, and her heart felt warm.

Her four brothers were all very handsome, each with their own merits, especially the fourth brother, Xiao Hechuan. People say there’s probably no one in the area, or even in the entire Huaxi County, who could be more handsome than him.

The man lying in front of her wasn’t bad at all. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen, besides her fourth brother.

When Mother Xiao came in, she saw this scene: her daughter was gently wiping the man’s face, her face red.

How could a mother not know that young girls like handsome men?

It would be even more inappropriate for the two daughters-in-law to look after a stranger, so she asked Xiao Lanlan to take a rest and wait for Xiao Yi to return before deciding what to do.

As a result… why does it feel so awkward after looking at it?

“Ahem… Lanlan, go and rest. Mom will watch over him.”

Mother Xiao deliberately coughed to bring Xiao Lanlan back to her senses.

After all, Xiao Lanlan was still a young girl, waiting for marriage. It wasn’t suitable for her to stay and care for him. It would be better if her mother handled it.

Xiao Lanlan realized her own gaffe and quickly lowered her head.

She didn’t dare to look at Mother Xiao, but as she left, she couldn’t help but glance back twice.

When Xiao Yi came back, it was already completely dark. The village was lit up with twinkling lights, and the sound of dogs barking could be heard in the distance.

Xiao Yi had brought the old doctor from town. He and the doctor briefly explained the young master’s condition, and the old doctor brought some useful medicinal herbs.

Everyone had already eaten dinner, and the food left for Xiao Yi was being reheated in the pot.

After he returned, he went to eat first, while the old doctor went to the room to treat the young man. Upon arrival, the doctor discovered that the man had a high fever. Fortunately, he had prepared some antipyretic herbs and asked Mother Xiao to boil them and give them to the young man. The most urgent task was to bring down the fever.

After that, the doctor began to check the other injuries.

As the doctor examined the man, his brows were tightly furrowed. Only Xiao Yi was guarding the room, while the others waited outside.

“I cooked some medicine to reduce the fever and fed it to him, and then placed a cold towel on his forehead to cool him down.”

After a long time, Xiao Yi followed the old doctor out of the room.

Mother Xiao hurried over to ask about the situation.

“Doctor, how is he? Is his life in danger?”

The old doctor sighed, somewhat helplessly.

“As long as the high fever subsides, his life will not be in danger for the time being. The skin injuries on his body are secondary. The main issues are two broken ribs and a broken left leg. My medical skills are limited, and I don’t know how to set bones. For injuries like these, I think we need to go to the county to find a doctor who specializes in bone-setting. There’s no time to delay. If we miss the best time to set the bones and they heal crookedly, it will be difficult to treat, and he will most likely be disabled.”

The old doctor admitted his medical skills were not enough to treat such a severe fall, he could only handle skin injuries.

Jiang Sui felt reassured, understanding that as long as there was no immediate danger to his life, they could manage.

The young man had drunk the medicine but remained unconscious. The fever might not subside soon, so he had to be watched through the night.

Moreover, it was already late, and the old doctor had to stay overnight. Being elderly, it was too tiring for him to travel back and forth at night, and he was also concerned about encountering wild wolves on the mountain road, which could be dangerous.

The old doctor brought some bottles and jars for treating skin injuries. He was on a field trip, so he had to charge extra. All these miscellaneous items cost Jiang Sui three taels of silver.

Jiang Sui asked him to write a prescription so that she could get reimbursed in the future.

Once everything was settled, the young man was entrusted to Xiao Yi’s care, and Mother Xiao found Jiang Sui to discuss the next steps.

The old doctor had mentioned that there was no time to waste and that they needed to bring in a bone-setting doctor immediately, or else the patient would be disabled.

Two broken ribs and a broken leg sounded alarming.

“Suisui, what should we do next? Tell us!” Mother Xiao asked, looking for Jiang Sui’s advice. She felt that Jiang Sui was the one who could make decisions and think things through.

When the old doctor spoke earlier, Jiang Sui had already made a rough plan.

“Tomorrow, let Third Brother take some time to go to Jishantang in the county. I’ll ask him to look for anything on the young man that can be used as a keepsake. We can then ask Jishantang to send a bone-setting doctor to save him.”

“A keepsake? What keepsake? I asked Hechuan to take off his clothes. The only thing he has are these tattered clothes. There’s nothing else,” Mother Xiao confirmed, knowing that the only clean item the man had was his clothing.

“It might have fallen into the mountain stream. Tomorrow morning, Lanlan and I will go look for it and see if we can find anything.”

Jiang Sui remembered that the second young master had been wearing jade pendants and sachets. Wealthy people are particular about these items. Perhaps they fell off and scattered somewhere.