Chapter 22.2

When Jiang Rou woke up in the morning, she found that the house was very quiet. Then she remembered that Li Xiao had gone out last night, so she got up to check on the child.

An’an had already been awake for some time, staring up at the ceiling with wide, round eyes. When she saw Jiang Rou coming, she kicked her feet, seeming a bit excited.

Jiang Rou had no choice but to pick up the baby and feed her. After she finished feeding the baby and set her down, she heard a knock on the door from outside. Thinking it was Li Xiao, she carried the baby to open the door, but to her surprise, it was Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang looked haggard and forced a faint smile. “I thought you might not have had breakfast yet, so I brought some food over.”

Jiang Rou didn’t know what to say. Li Xiao didn’t come back all night.

Something might have happened.

Aunt Wang was worried about disturbing Jiang Rou’s rest, so after delivering the food, she went back.

New mothers and babies need plenty of sleep, so it was better for her to go back home and wait.

Jiang Rou ate the breakfast Aunt Wang had brought and then walked around the house with the baby. She was a bit worried, wondering if Li Xiao might also be in danger.

After playing with the baby for a while, she waited until the little one was asleep, then grabbed a broom and swept the floor. Just as she was coming out of the room, she heard some commotion in the courtyard. She was puzzled and then saw a familiar figure walking towards the laundry sink.

As the figure passed by the door, Jiang Rou caught sight of him. Since it was broad daylight, the front door of the house was open, but only the courtyard gate was closed.

Seeing him covered in blood, Jiang Rou was startled, and the broom she was holding fell to the ground.

Hearing the noise, the man instinctively turned his head to look. When he saw Jiang Rou at the door, he froze for a moment.

He thought Jiang Rou was inside the house sleeping, so he didn’t knock on the door and climbed over the wall directly.

Of course, he was also afraid that Aunt Wang would be scared when he saw her like this.

Of course, he was also afraid that Aunt Wang would be scared if she saw him like this.

Now, seeing that Aunt Wang wasn’t around but Jiang Rou was frightened, he hurriedly explained, “It’s not my blood. I planned to come back and take a shower first, then I’ll go next door.”

But before taking a shower, he needed to rinse off the blood on his hands and face to avoid leaving a smell in the bathroom.

Jiang Rou breathed a sigh of relief when she found out he was okay, but then she frowned again. If it wasn’t Li Xiao’s blood, then it must be Uncle Wang’s.

Not daring to think too much, Jiang Rou went back to the room and found a set of clean clothes for Li Xiao, then knocked on the bathroom door and said, “Here are some clothes for you.”

The door quickly opened a crack, and a long hand reached out.

Jiang Rou handed him the clothes, and after he took them, he closed the door again. His well-defined chest briefly flashed before her eyes.

Li Xiao took a quick shower and came out of the bathroom in about ten minutes. He should have used Jiang Rou’s soap because his body was covered with Jiang Rou’s smell.

Li Xiao usually used sulfur soap, which was cheap, but the smell was not very good.

He emerged from the bathroom with his hair still damp, and since his hair had grown longer, he needed to dry it a bit more.

Seeing his pale lips and bloodshot eyes, Jiang Rou refilled her water glass and handed it to him. “How is it? Is Uncle Wang alright? ”

Li Xiao was indeed thirsty, so he took the cup and drank it. After drinking, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know; it looks serious.”

After drying his hair, he tossed the towel onto the bamboo pole by the door and asked, “Did you have breakfast this morning? ”

Jiang Rou nodded. “Aunt Wang brought some over.”

Li Xiao acknowledged with a sound and said, “I’ll go next door.”

With that, he headed out.

Aunt Wang, who was about to come over, seemed to hear voices coming from the neighboring courtyard and felt extremely anxious.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Li Xiao passing by from the side.

Li Xiao didn’t waste time. He briefly explained what had happened the night before and noticed that Uncle Wangn’s face was growing paler. He continued, “Aunt Wang, go back and pack your things—clothes, a basin, a towel, and the surgery fee. I’ll come back later to take you to the hospital.”

When Aunt Wang heard this, she seemed to have found her backbone. Her eyes reddened, and she grasped Li Xiao’s hand tightly, expressing her heartfelt gratitude. “Li Xiao, I really don’t know how to thank you. Really, if it weren’t for you, your uncle would definitely be gone. I really…”

She started to cry, overwhelmed with fear.

Li Xiao shook his head. “It’s nothing. Aunt Wang, you’ve helped us a lot recently. You prepare first, and I’ll go back to check on Jiang Rou. I’ll come back later.”

“Alright, alright…”

Aunt Wang hurriedly agreed and, in a fluster, went back to pack her things.

Li Xiao, feeling exhausted, rubbed his face and then turned to head home.

As soon as he entered the house, he smelled a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks and quickly went to the kitchen, where he saw Jiang Rou fishing noodles out of the pot. He frowned. “You’re still in confinement. Why are you cooking? ”

Jiang Rou saw him coming back and smiled. “I thought you didn’t eat, so I made a bowl of noodles. Come and eat.”

Although she was in confinement, it wasn’t like she couldn’t move at all, and the ingredients were all ready-made.

Last night, they had noodles, and Li Xiao had let her make some extra dough to save for the next meal. It could be used directly by cutting it.

The large pot next to it still had pork intestines braising. Given Aunt Wang’s current anxiety, she probably forgot about this. It seemed it would have to be eaten at home.

Li Xiao felt a warm sensation in his heart. After working all night and morning without food or drink, only Jiang Rou would have noticed.

He was indeed hungry. He scooped all the noodles out of the pot, with two eggs inside, and added a large portion of braised pork intestines on top of the noodles and eggs, then chopped some scallions.

Li Xiao loves spicy food, so he took two spoonfuls of chili sauce and mixed it in, then ate it in big mouthfuls.

Jiang Rou asked him to eat slowly and asked about what happened last night.

Li Xiao did not hide it and told her directly about finding the person in the early morning. He had called Zhou Jian, and they borrowed a tricycle. They first went to the village, only to find that Uncle Wang’s relative had left in the afternoon before the wedding was over, around five o’clock in the evening.

Uncle Wang was tall and quick on his feet, so he should have been home by seven or eight in the evening.

At first, they were skeptical, so they asked the neighbors, who all knew Uncle Wang. One neighbor, who had eaten at the same table with him, confirmed that he had left early because he had to go slaughter pigs the next morning. He had left early to apologize for drinking too much, and at that time, they had joked that his wife must have been strict with him.

After clarifying the situation, Li Xiao and Zhou Jian headed back. Li Xiao had Zhou Jian drive while he used a flashlight to carefully search the road. He then noticed something unusual.

It was because he had asked Zhou Jian to ride slowly that he could see more clearly. When he saw that the wild grass by the roadside seemed to have been pressed down and the ground appeared to have been scrubbed, he sensed something was wrong.

The surrounding ground was smooth from being trampled, but only that patch had a layer of dust.

Li Xiao and Zhou Jian got out to investigate and found a few drops of blood.

Both of them were quite brave. In the middle of the night, they used a flashlight to search for more bloodstains and eventually found a bloodied, unconscious figure by the river nearby.

Zhou Jian was too frightened to approach, so Li Xiao went over to check if the person was breathing. Noticing slight breathing, he quickly called Zhou Jian to help carry the person, and they headed straight to the county hospital. However, when they arrived, the hospital refused to admit the patient, saying the injuries were too severe and that an ambulance was needed. They then took the tricycle to the city hospital.

When he returned, Uncle Wang was undergoing surgery. Li Xiao had Zhou Jian stay there while he came back to check on the situation and prepare to inform Aunt Wang.

But because his body was covered in blood, he was afraid that Aunt Wang would be frightened, so he thought about coming back to take a shower first and, by the way, to see Jiang Rou and his daughter.

Jiang Rou was terrified. “Was he harmed by someone?”

Li Xiao shook his head and said, “It shouldn’t be. Uncle Wang doesn’t usually get into conflicts, and I haven’t heard of him offending anyone. I suspect he was hit by someone who thought they had killed him, so they dumped him by the river and drove away.”

He had noticed tire marks on Uncle Wang’s body.

Jiang Rou furrowed her brow.

In this era, with limited communication, it was unlikely they would find the person responsible.

After a while, Aunt Wang came over with a big bag on her back.

Li Xiao ate two bites quickly, didn’t wash the bowl, and left directly: “I’ll come back to cook at noon; don’t move; make yourself a cup of milk powder if you’re hungry.”

Jiang Rou saw the redness in his eyes and the noticeable stubble on his chin, and he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. “Be careful on the road.”

Li Xiao looked back at her with a deep gaze, then turned and walked away.

He rode the tricycle, taking Aunt Wang directly to the city hospital.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When they arrived at the city hospital, Li Xiao saw Zhou Jian at the door. Zhou Jian also saw them and strode over to say, “He’s fine. The doctor saved him. The doctor said that it was a good thing we brought him in time. If we had been any later, it wouldn’t have been possible to save Uncle.”

Aunt Wang breathed a sigh of relief and said with tears in her eyes, “Thank you, thank you so much.” 

She kept thanking them.

In addition to thanking him, she didn’t know what else to say, feeling that this time was truly a blessing from heaven.

Li Xiao interrupted her, “Let’s go to the ward first.”

“Okay, okay…”

Aunt Wang nodded hurriedly; she also wanted to see how his husband was.

Zhou Jian told them the floor and room number. Li Xiao gave him five yuan to buy some food and then took Aunt Wang to the ward.

Throughout the journey, Aunt Wang had been holding on by sheer willpower. Now that she could finally relax, she was feeling weak and swayed to the side after taking just a few steps.

Li Xiao quickly reached out to support her and took the sack from her shoulder, saying calmly, “Let’s go.”

Aunt Wang wiped her eyes—she was deeply moved by Li Xiao’s initiative.

She felt that this child was exactly as Jiang Rou described—cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Although he seemed aloof, he was a truly good person.

Li Xiao took Aunt Wang upstairs, and when they arrived at the ward, Aunt Wang saw Uncle Wang wrapped entirely in white gauze and couldn’t help but burst into tears.

Li Xiao didn’t want to disturb them, so he went out to communicate with the nurse and learned that the money he had paid before was not enough, so he went back to the room and told Aunt Wang.

How could Aunt Wang understand all this? She had never been to a hospital before and didn’t understand these things. She had always taken her daughter to a local old doctor for injections and medicine when she was sick.

When she entered the city hospital just now, the place was so big that she didn’t know how to get there.

But Aunt Wang trusted Li Xiao, so she directly took out the money and gave it to Li Xiao, asking him to help her pay and asking him how much he had paid in the morning.

Li Xiao helped her so much that she couldn’t take advantage of him.

Li Xiao was not the kind of person who would suffer a loss. Since both he and Jiang Rou were currently financially strained, he didn’t want to appear as a benefactor and simply stated the truth.

He then went downstairs to make up the payment and, on his way back upstairs, asked the doctor for specific information and found a place nearby to buy food.

After returning to the ward, he explained everything in detail to the nurse and then quietly filled two bottles of hot water for her. After everything was settled, he said goodbye. “Auntie, take care of yourself for now. I’ve informed the nurse. She will help bring you lunch around noon. In the evening, you can go out and buy food yourself. There are many places to eat if you turn left out of the main gate. The hot water room is at the end of the corridor. The nurse will bring a blanket and pillow for you later. You can sleep on the middle bed tonight. I’ll come back to see you tomorrow morning.”

The middle bed was empty and available for temporary use.

The first bed was occupied, but it only had an old lady who was alone, without any accompanying relatives.

Aunt Wang kept nodding. “Okay, I’ve noted everything down. Be careful on your way. Do you have enough money?”

As she spoke, she reached into her pocket to give him some money.

Li Xiao declined, waving his hand and walking away.

After Li Xiao left, Aunt Wang wiped her tears and went back to the room. The old woman in the first bed saw it and couldn’t help saying, “Your son is really filial. He arranged everything for you.”

The old woman wondered why Aunt Wang was still crying. If she had such a devoted child, she would be overjoyed.

Aunt Wang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she didn’t say anything to refute it.

What Li Xiao did was no less than what a biological son would do.

In the past, she also looked down on Li Xiao, thinking that this child was not as good as her daughter, who was admitted to university. But now her daughter has a promising future, but she is not around. It was Li Xiao and Jiang Rou who truly helped them.

If Li Xiao hadn’t been there today, how would she have managed her future?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Li Xiao drove Zhou Jian back to the county, and both were exhausted after nearly staying up all night.

Li Xiao dropped Zhou Jian off at his doorstep and then went to the vegetable market, buying some groceries before returning home.

At home, Jiang Rou was holding the little one and trying to comfort her. Usually, at this time of day, it was Li Xiao who took care of her. Jiang Rou wondered if the little one had remembered this, as she wouldn’t sleep and kept her big eyes wide open, seemingly looking for someone.

Jiang Rou said jokingly, “What a clever little ghost.”

As soon as the voice fell, the sound of a tricycle was heard outside, and then a figure climbed over the wall and came in.

Jiang Rou saw it from the window and came out with the child.

At noon, Li Xiao prepared a simple meal of one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a tofu vegetable soup.

After eating, he took a shower and went to catch up on sleep. Jiang Rou lay beside him with the child, and perhaps because of the deep bond between father and daughter, the little one quickly fell asleep.

Li Xiao slept until after six in the afternoon, then woke up.

When he woke up, He seemed a bit dazed, staring blankly at the mosquito net above him. It wasn’t until he felt something soft touch his cheek that he snapped out of it and looked to the side.

He immediately saw the close-up face of the baby, who had big, dark eyes and was looking at him energetically.

Behind her was Jiang Rou. Jiang Rou pulled the baby closer and asked with a smile, “What are you daydreaming about? She wouldn’t sleep at all this afternoon because you weren’t home. She kept looking for you.”

Li Xiao smiled and took the baby in his arms, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart.

He hadn’t been thinking much before, just feeling that even though finding and saving people last night was exhausting, he was still very happy in his heart because he knew that Aunt Wang came to see him because she treated him as her own.

Such things would never have happened to him before.