Even though it was covered in snow, the water beneath hadn’t frozen solid. If it had been just one child, the ice above might have been able to bear the impact of the tumble.
But there were three children.
SPLASH!
The sound of bodies hitting the water rang out. At that moment, an adult sprinted over. Without a second thought, he jumped straight into the icy water to fish the three children out. Fortunately, the ice had provided a buffer, preventing them from sinking straight to the bottom. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to handle it alone.
"Gouwa, Zhengyang, Xiuxiu!" When he pulled the three children out, Zhengyang and Gouwa’s lips were purple from the cold, and Xiuxiu was completely unconscious.
"Quickly, Zhengyang, Gouwa, get up. Xiuxiu has passed out. We need to go home," Gao Weimin said. He had originally gone up the mountain to try his luck hunting. But having caught nothing, he was heading down empty-handed when he unexpectedly stumbled upon three children fighting. He certainly hadn’t expected to witness such a shocking scene.
By now, Gouwa and Zhengyang were crying so hard they couldn’t even make a sound. Not daring to delay, Gao Weimin scooped up Xiuxiu, grabbed the two little boys, and hurried down the mountain.
Meanwhile, Bai Jiu hadn’t been home long and was just figuring out how to cook the rabbit for lunch. The water in the pot hadn’t even boiled yet when she heard frantic shouting from outside. Though she didn’t recognize the voice, the urgent tone told her she couldn’t dawdle.
When she rushed out of the house, the sight that greeted her almost scared the life out of her.
"What happened?" Bai Jiu ran forward trembling and immediately took Xiuxiu from Gao Weimin’s arms. "Xiuxiu! Xiuxiu!" she called out a couple of times, but the little girl didn’t react at all.
"Bai Jiu, quickly change Xiuxiu’s clothes, and Zhengyang’s too. I’m going to the village to get the tractor so I can take them to the hospital. All three fell into the water." Nothing was more important than saving lives right now. It had to be the priority.
Although Bai Jiu didn’t know the full story, seeing the children in this state, she didn’t waste any time. "Leave Gouwa here, I’ll change his clothes too. When you head back to the village, let Gouwa’s family know."
Slowly, Bai Jiu forced herself to calm down. With trembling hands, she checked Xiuxiu’s breathing. Finding that the girl was still breathing, Bai Jiu felt a wave of relief.
"Alright," Gao Weimin said. He was completely soaked himself, but he didn’t dare waste a second. After handing the children over to Bai Jiu, he sprinted toward the village, shouting for help as he ran.
Soon, the villagers learned that Gouwa and Gao Laosan’s two children had fallen into the freezing water. Hearing the news, Gouwa’s family grabbed dry clothes and rushed straight to Bai Jiu’s place.
By the time they arrived, Bai Jiu had already changed the children’s clothes and wrapped them tightly in thick winter quilts. She had them sit by the fire to wait for the tractor. From the two conscious boys, she had also managed to piece together what had happened. But now wasn’t the time to point fingers or settle scores; saving the children had to come first.
Gouwa’s parents had just settled by the fire and pulled their son into their arms when the rumble of a tractor sounded outside. Bai Jiu asked Gouwa’s mother to help carry Zhengyang out. She herself held Xiuxiu tightly; she couldn’t care less about securing the house right now.
What Bai Jiu didn’t know was that just after she left on the tractor, four people walked out of the dilapidated house next door. They came straight over to help Bai Jiu put out her fire and lock up her house.
On the tractor, Gouwa’s mother cried so hard she was gasping for air. Especially when her son started developing a fever, she sobbed as if her heart was being ripped out. If Gouwa’s father hadn’t been supporting her, she would have collapsed before anything even happened to the boy.
"Alright, stop crying." Gouwa’s father was frantic, but he knew full well that tears wouldn’t solve anything. "Are you cold, son?" he asked with deep concern, looking at his bundled-up boy.
"Dad, I’m cold. And I hurt," Gouwa sobbed. "Erzhu hit us so hard." Although Gouwa was freezing, his mind was still clear.
Zhengyang wasn’t faring much better than Xiuxiu. He leaned against his mother while Bai Jiu held him tightly. Even though he was bundled in his own padded cotton coat and wrapped in a thick quilt from home, Zhengyang was still shivering uncontrollably. Not only that, but his eyes slowly slid shut, and his entire body began to convulse.
Feeling Zhengyang’s condition worsen, Bai Jiu immediately cried out, "Zhengyang, what’s wrong? Please don’t scare Mommy!"
Her panicked cries drew the attention of everyone on the tractor. Seeing Zhengyang’s state, they all broke out in a cold sweat.
"He’s convulsing from the severe cold! We need to get to the hospital immediately!"
Gouwa’s father stood up at once and leaned close to Gao Weimin’s ear near the front. "Weimin, you have to hurry! Zhengyang is fading fast!" They were all from the same village, and seeing Zhengyang like this, none of them wanted Gao Zhijun’s child to meet with tragedy.
The tractor engine roared so loudly that Gao Weimin hadn’t even heard Bai Jiu’s screams earlier. He only realized what was happening when Gouwa’s father shouted directly into his ear.
He glanced back.
Zhengyang’s pale, convulsing face immediately caught his eye. "Hold on tight!"
What would normally have been an hour-long drive was cut down to just half an hour by Gao Weimin’s breakneck pace.
As soon as they reached the hospital entrance, Gouwa’s father jumped off the tractor before it even came to a complete stop. He shouted at the top of his lungs toward the building, "Help! Somebody help! Save them!"
There weren’t many people in the hospital during the dead of winter, so his shouts immediately alerted the doctors and nurses on duty.
Running out to investigate, a doctor immediately stepped forward to check on the three children being carried off the vehicle. Seeing Zhengyang’s condition, even the doctor was startled. Convulsions were one thing, but blood was also trickling from his nose and mouth. At a glance, it was obvious he had suffered significant internal injuries.
"Quick, bring them inside!"
Many hands made light work, and soon Bai Jiu’s two children were rushed into the hospital. Meanwhile, she collapsed onto the ground. She knew she couldn’t break down right now. If she fell apart, her two children wouldn’t make it.
Just to be safe, she took advantage of a moment when no one was looking to retrieve two packets of medicine from her spatial storage. They were both fever-reducing medicines. She had a strong intuition that this medicine would be needed very soon.
Stumbling as she pushed herself up from the ground, Bai Jiu sprinted into the hospital. Many people had witnessed the commotion outside, and upon seeing Bai Jiu enter, they immediately pointed her in the right direction. When she reached the emergency room, however, she was stopped outside the door.
An unknown amount of time passed before a male doctor pushed open the door and walked out.
"Who is the family member of the patients?" The doctor’s forehead was covered in sweat, clearly showing how frantic he had been.
"That’s me! I’m their mother. Doctor, how are my children?" Bai Jiu, deeply anxious, immediately rushed forward and grabbed the doctor’s arm.
"The boy has stopped convulsing, but all three children have high fevers. We don’t have any fever-reducing medicine left in the hospital. You need to take the children to the county hospital right away."
The town was already short on medical supplies to begin with. Whenever winter arrived, fever-reducing medicines were always the first to run out. They had submitted a request for restocking a few days ago, but the new supply still hadn’t arrived. The doctor was perhaps even more anxious than the patients themselves.
Hearing the mention of fever-reducing medicine, Bai Jiu immediately handed over the packets in her hands. Because she had prepared beforehand, all the original packaging had been removed. She didn’t have to worry about anyone becoming suspicious when she took them out now.
"I have some! I have some right here! Doctor, please see if you can use this."
When Bai Jiu produced the medicine, the doctor was completely dumbfounded. "I’ve never seen this medicine before. How is it taken?" In these times, getting one’s hands on any medication wasn’t easy. But looking closely at what she had pulled out, he realized he didn’t recognize it at all.
However, hearing her claim it was for reducing fevers, a surge of hope washed over him. As long as they had medicine, it was good. If they could just bring down the fevers, the children could be saved.