Chapter 9: Saving Someone

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

By the time Su Jinyue ran over to Aunty Wu’s side, there were already a lot of people gathered around, and there were some others who were also running towards them.

It was common to encounter snakes when working in the fields, but not many of the snakes were venomous and snakes would generally not take the initiative to attack people.

“Move aside, everyone.” Su Jinyue squatted down and rolled up Aunty Wu’s trouser leg. Then, she examined Aunty Wu’s calf. The area where the snake had bitten her was black and swollen.

At once, she decisively stretched out her hand and pulled out the waistband tied to Aunty Wu’s waist. She tied it tightly around the thigh of the leg which the snake had bitten, so as to prevent the toxins from spreading to Aunty Wu’s heart.

“Which one of you has a knife?” Su Jinyue asked without raising her head. Right now, she had to squeeze out the snake venom.

“I have a pocket knife, will that work?” A villager asked as he fished out a pocket knife from his pocket. He had only brought a sweet potato with him to the field and intended to share it with his wife when they got thirsty.

“Pass it to me.” Su Jinyue reached out and took the pocket knife from him. She used the knife to cut open the wound in the shape of a cross, at the place where the snake had bitten Aunty Wu. Then, with both hands, she began to squeeze the place where Aunty Wu’s thigh was tied.

Aunty Wu’s entire leg gradually turned purplish-red, and black-red blood kept flowing out of the wound.

Su Jinyue kept squeezing Aunty Wu’s leg, and beads of perspiration formed on her forehead. As time passed, the color of the blood flowing from Aunty Wu’s wound gradually changed from black to the normal red color.

Seeing that the colour of the blood from Aunty Wu’s wound had returned to normal, everyone’s expressions became one of relief. They were all from the same village and no one wanted to witness a tragedy happen.

“Look! The blood has turned red. Looks like all the snake venom has been squeezed out.”

“Fortunately Dr. Su is here. Otherwise Aunty Wu would have been in grave danger this time.”

“Yeah! Aunty Wu is really lucky!”

“When I was running over just now, I happened to see the snake that bit Aunty Wu, escaping. It looked like a viper.”

Seeing that the snake venom was more or less cleared, Su Jinyue stopped squeezing and heaved a long sigh of relief. “I need to trouble everyone to help bring Aunty Wu to the clinic, as there may still be residual poison in her body.”

“Okay!” The villagers responded.

When Su Jinyue stood up, she immediately felt dizzy. Her body swayed and fell forward. It had not been that long since she recovered from her injury. After helping Aunty Wu by squeezing and pressing out the venom, her stamina had already been somewhat depleted.

It seemed that she still needed to exercise more in order to go up the mountain, to gather medicinal herbs. Otherwise, with her current stamina, even climbing up the mountain would be a problem.

Li Chun’e, who was standing beside her, immediately reached out to support Su Jinyue. “Dr. Su, are you alright?”

Su Jinyue steadied herself and shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said.

Seeing that two villagers had already lifted Aunty Wu up, Su Jinyue also followed after them.

“Dr. Su, let me support you,” Li Chun’e said worriedly. Dr. Su’s complexion looked pale and it seemed that her body still had not fully recovered.

“Thank you! I already feel much better.” Apart from the lack of energy, she did not feel as dizzy as before. It should not be a problem for her to walk back to the clinic on her own.

When Xu Tiansheng returned home, he took down the basket of herbs on his back and handed it to Song Yiren. He asked, “Is Jinyue in her room?”

“She went out.” Song Yiren took the basket from him and placed it on the table. Then she walked to the side to take a bamboo sieve for drying herbs, and poured the herbs from the basket onto the sieve.

“Went out? This lass. Going out immediately after she just recovered.” Xu Tiansheng frowned and shook his head.

Just then, the sound of frenzied footsteps came through from outside, followed by two villagers entering while carrying Aunty Wu.

“What happened?” Xu Tiansheng approached them. He looked at Aunty Wu, who was being carried, and saw that her face was a little pale.

“Dr. Xu, Aunty Wu was bitten by a snake while working in the field. Dr. Su has already helped to treat her,” said one of the villagers.

Xu Tiansheng nodded. Then he pointed inside and said, “Lay her down on the bed.”

The first few days after she had sustained that severe injury Su Jinyue had slept in the clinic, as it was more convenient to care for her there. But now Jinyue had already moved back to her own room.

The two villagers nodded and carried Aunty Wu inside.

When he saw Su Jinyue coming in, Xu Tiansheng let out an approving smile and praised her, “Well done.” Being bitten by a snake was no trivial matter. If not treated in time, the victim could die.

Su Jinyue smiled and brushed her nose. “Teacher, I’ll go and help Aunty Wu treat her wound.” Although the poisonous blood had been squeezed out, follow-up treatment was still needed in order to prevent the toxin from lingering in her body.

Xu Tiansheng rolled his eyes at Su Jinyue and said, “Still acting tough when your face is so pale. Go to your room and get some rest. Leave it to me to take care of things here.”

“You’re the best, Teacher!” Su Jinyue flashed Xu Tiansheng a charming smile, before walking toward her room. She was indeed a little tired!

Back in her room, Su Jinyue fell asleep the moment she lay down.

It wasn’t until someone knocked on the door that Su Jinyue woke up blearily and said, “Who is it?”

“It’s me.” Song Yiren’s voice came through from the other side of the door.

Su Jinyue’s brows knitted together as she asked, “What’s the matter?” If she had a choice, she really did not want to live with Song Yiren under the same roof, lest she had the urge to strangle her the moment she saw her.

“Teacher asked me to call you for dinner.”

“Okay,” Su Jinyue replied languidly.

Su Jinyue sat up, got out of bed and opened the door. She then went to the yard and fetched a pail of water. After briefly washing up, Su Jinyue walked towards the main room. The clinic was connected to their living space, with the clinic in front, and their living space in the backyard.

When she walked into the main room, she saw Xu Tiansheng drinking liquor. He had the habit of drinking a small cup of liquor every day. He said that drinking liquor is just like life – you must have limits and cannot be greedy. If one exceeds that limit, it might easily harm one’s body.

“Teacher!” Su Jinyue greeted Xu Tiansheng before walking over to her usual seat and sat down. Song Yiren had helped her to scoop the rice and placed it in front of her.

The dishes on the table were simple. One dish of peanuts, one braised fish and two dishes of vegetables. However, in this era, it was considered fairly good to be able to eat such food.

Xu Tiansheng took a sip of liquor and said, “You must be tired today?” When she came back, his heart ached when he saw her pale face, but more than that, he felt pleased. This lass went to save someone in spite of her own body’s condition, which clearly reflected her character.

“I’m okay.” Su Jinyue held up the rice bowl and put a piece of vegetable into her bowl. She was extremely delighted to be able to save a life.

“You handled it well this time. I’m very happy.” Xu Tiansheng smiled. He took a sip of liquor, and popped a peanut into his mouth.

“Teacher’s happiness is greater than anything in the world. Besides, it’s because Teacher taught me well that I’m able to save others, so Teacher actually contributed the most,” Su Jinyue said as she winked at Xu Tiansheng playfully.

“Bootlicker!” Xu Tiansheng chuckled and rolled his eyes at Su Jinyue, his face filled with a doting expression.

“How is that so? I’m telling the honest truth.”

Watching the interaction between Su Jinyue and Xu Tiansheng, Song Yiren felt a little envious. Even more than that, she was jealous. In all her years growing up, Teacher had never spoken to her in such a manner, let alone with an extremely doting expression on his face.