Chapter 13: Fundraising

Perhaps having heard the report from the young physician, just as the Song Jinxiu sisters finished tidying up the bowls and chopsticks, the white-haired Old Physician Li came over.

He looked at Song Chunsheng’s leg, raised and resting on the stool, and kindly asked, “How does your leg feel when it’s elevated?”

“Feel?”

Song Chunsheng thought for a moment and replied, “After raising it, the leg doesn’t feel as swollen. It’s much more comfortable.”

Old Physician Li nodded. “Mm, that’s a good method.”

He turned back and instructed the young physician following behind, “Tell the patient whose leg was kicked by a horse to also elevate their leg like this.”

“Yes, I will arrange it right away.”

The young physician took a couple of steps back, stopped, and turned to ask Old Physician Li, “Grandfather, should the patient with the broken arm also keep it elevated?”

“Elevate it, yes. Find two stools and have him rest his arm raised on them.”

Having listened to so much, Song Jinxiu finally understood what the two physicians meant.

It seemed that the benefit of elevating injured limbs for recovery was something the local healers here hadn’t realized yet.

Hearing them talk about getting two stools for the patient with the injured arm, Song Jinxiu couldn’t help but interrupt, “For an injured arm, a sling made from a piece of cloth and hung around the neck is enough. There’s no need for several stools. Also, the elevation height needs to be careful—too high isn’t good either.”

As she spoke, she demonstrated the method.

Old Physician Li looked at her kindly and nodded, then said to the young physician, “The young lady’s advice is very good. You should go with that.”

After seeing the two physicians off, Song Jinxiu wanted to boil water to wash Xiaodi’s hair.

Just then, Song Fuquan and Grandfather Lizheng  unexpectedly arrived.

Their faces were grave. Upon seeing Song Jinxiu, Grandfather Lizheng  kept asking hurriedly, “Sanya, where is your brother? Did they really have to saw off his leg? Is that person okay? Huh? Has he regained consciousness?”

“Grandfather Lizheng, why have you come? My brother is inside the room. Please come in and talk.”

Song Jinxiu quickly ushered both Grandfather Lizheng  and Song Fuquan into the room.

Grandfather Lizheng strode in.

Song Chunsheng was resting on the bed. Hearing the voices, he hurriedly tried to sit up.

Grandfather Lizheng immediately stepped forward and pressed him down.

“Don’t move, don’t move, just lie still. Your leg… huh? It hasn’t been sawed off?”

Song Chunsheng quickly said, “No, the physicians said there’s no need to saw it off. Grandfather Lizheng, look, the swelling in my leg has gone down.”

“Ah? Oh, the swelling has gone down? Good, good, that’s really good. It’s better not to saw off the leg,” Grandfather  Lizheng said again and again, relieved.

Song Jinfang brought over a stool. “Grandfather Lizheng, please have a seat.”

Lizheng sat down with a heavy sigh. “Ah, when Fuquan came home yesterday and told me, I was scared to death. It worried me so much. You see, if your leg really had to be sawed off, what would happen to you going forward?”

Song Fuquan chimed in, “My father didn’t sleep all night because he was so worried.”

The Song siblings wore faces full of gratitude mixed with guilt.

Grandfather Lizheng said, “How could I possibly sleep? Sawing off a leg is no small matter. In Shui Liu Village, there was a young man whose leg was sawed off, and they ended up losing him altogether. Just thinking about it still scares me.”

Song Fuquan added, “Early this morning, my father got up and beat the gong, asking the villagers to help raise money for you.”

Grandfather Lizheng quickly chimed in, “Ah, I was thinking, though sawing off a leg is dangerous, if you don’t have the money, no one will do it for you. You kids are dirt poor. Even if you managed to get five taels of silver, it still wouldn’t be nearly enough.”

Song Jinxiu glanced at Song Fuquan. That kid really thought she had raised five taels!

Feeling embarrassed under her gaze, Song Fuquan hurried to explain, “I only told my grandfather. No one else knows. Don’t worry, your grandmother and the others won’t find out about you secretly keeping the hairpin.”

Grandfather Lizheng looked at Song Jinxiu and said, “Sanya, don’t be afraid. Even if they find out, I don’t think she would dare to demand anything from you.”

Song Fuquan quickly said, “Exactly. It’s always your own grandmother and father who care the most. The whole village pitched in to raise money—those who had none still gave two eggs. But your grandmother and father? They didn’t contribute a single coin. They don’t even have the face to ask you for money now.”

Song Jinxiu was speechless. That biological father was truly heartless—“a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs,” but he was worse than a beast.

Song Chunsheng sneered, “They see me now as a disgrace, hoping I’d die soon. There’s no way they’d spend money on my treatment.”

The moment the severance letter was signed, Grandfather’s eyes looked at him as if he were a rotten egg that had ruined their entire pot.

And Father spat at him, saying, “You’d better die out there and never let me see you again, you family of bad luck.”

The bitterness in his voice was so fierce, as if just one more glance would soil his precious eyes.

For a while, silence fell. The four siblings all lowered their heads.

Grandfather Lizheng gently rubbed Qiusheng’s head.

“All right, let’s not talk about them anymore. Chunsheng, my family doesn’t have that much money either, so I can only give you another two taels. Together with the copper coins collected by the villagers, that makes a total of five taels of silver.”

As he spoke, Grandfather Lizheng pulled out a pouch and handed it to Song Chunsheng.

“I don’t like handling copper coins, so I exchanged them all for small silver pieces for you.”

Song Fuquan also pointed to the basket of eggs at their feet. “These eggs were also collected by the villagers, to help strengthen your body.”

Song Jinxiu was deeply moved.

This was a fundraiser from the entire village for their family.

They truly owed a great debt of gratitude.

“Grandfather Lizheng, I don’t want it…” Song Chunsheng choked up, his eyes red as he repeatedly waved his hands, overcome with silent tears.

His own grandfather and father refused to give him even a penny, practically wishing them all dead. Yet the uncles, aunts, and elders of the clan had gathered so much money for him.

And Grandfather Lizheng himself had already given them three taels of silver in total—sometimes even family divisions among descendants couldn’t come up with that much.

How would they ever repay such kindness?

Grandfather Lizheng gently patted his head. “Take it, child. Now is not the time to be proud.”

“Wuwu…”

At that pat, Song Chunsheng completely broke down, crying aloud.

Qiusheng, seeing his big brother cry, began to sob as well.

Song Jinfang turned away, wiping her tears.

Song Jinxiu’s eyes were also red. Seeing the two of them—one wanting to give, the other choked with hesitation—she stepped forward and took the pouch, examining it.

It was filled with small silver pieces. Though not much, it felt heavy.

She asked, “Grandfather Lizheng, which families in the village donated? How much did they give? Was there a record kept?”

Grandfather Lizheng glanced at her, his heart stirred, but he kept his tone calm. “Are you planning to repay it when you have the money?”

Song Jinxiu smiled. “Grandfather Lizheng, to be honest, we do have enough now to treat my brother’s leg. So we won’t accept this money. But, we will remember the kindness.”

As she spoke, she handed the pouch to Qiusheng. “Song Qiusheng, hold this pouch and remember its weight. One day when you’re prosperous, you must repay this kindness that helped us.”

Song Qiusheng pressed his lips together and obediently cupped the pouch in both hands, weighing it carefully. With a sob in his voice, he nodded and said, “Big sister, I’ve remembered.”

Song Jinxiu then handed the pouch to her little sister. The young girl also solemnly weighed it and said, “Sister, I’ve remembered too. It’s very heavy, pressing on my chest. When I grow up, I will repay their kindness as well.”

Song Jinxiu gave her sister an approving glance—this child was growing more thoughtful by the day.

She then solemnly handed the pouch back to her older brother.

Wiping away his tears, Song Chunsheng took the pouch and said to Grandfather Lizheng, “Grandfather Lizheng, I will definitely repay you in the future. We all hold your kindness close to our hearts.”