After a pause.
Chen Wan’er finally calmed down and let go, saying, "I don't care what your father thinks, whether it's a career or tempering, you must come home with me. You are like this..."
As she spoke, Chen Wan’er's eyes welled up.
"Aunt Chen, please don't be sad," Bai Jing comforted.
Two lines of hot tears slid down Chen Wan’er's cheeks.
She had never imagined her daughter would suffer so much.
"Mom, everyone still needs to work. I'll go and get busy," Tian Mengyao said with a pained expression and hurried away.
The villagers in the distance continued their work as if nothing had happened.
Hearing the mother and daughter's conversation, they also felt uneasy.
Luofeng Village was too poor to give Tian Mengyao much.
How it must pain her mother to see this!
"Oh!"
While someone was lost in thought, a hoe struck Jiao Dajun's heel.
"Ah!"
Jiao Dajun cried out in pain, turned around, and saw blood soaking his socks and pant leg.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Tian Mengyao's heart skipped a beat, and she ran over quickly.
Jiao Dajun's left leg was already lame. After his right foot was injured, he fell to the ground with a thud, breaking out in a cold sweat from the pain.
"Get the medicine quickly!" Tian Mengyao called out urgently.
Hearing her daughter's voice, Chen Wan’er hurried over.
"Let me see. I'm a doctor."
Jiao Dajun's pant leg was rolled up, and his sock was carefully removed.
A piece of flesh the size of a child's palm peeled off with the sock, and blood gushed out.
Seeing someone about to pour a porcelain bottle onto the wound, Chen Wan’er quickly shouted, "The wound must be sutured immediately. External medicine won't work. Does anyone have a needle and thread?"
Jiao Dajun paused as he watched the powder being sprinkled down, only to be stopped.
"We always do it this way," Jiao Dajun said with a difficult smile, "The medicine is mixed by Xiao Fan, and it works wonders."
"It doesn't matter who mixed it!" Chen Wan’er was angry at the villagers' ignorance.
"The bleeding is too heavy. The powder will be washed away immediately and won't be effective at all." Chen Wan’er surveyed the crowd. "I am a cardiac surgeon from the Provincial Hospital."
She fumbled in her pocket and took out her identification.
The villagers were astonished. Just hearing the title sounded very impressive.
"Medicine is also science. Listen to me. Does anyone have a needle and thread?"
"Aunt Chen," Bai Jing nudged her.
Chen Wan’er followed her gaze and was immediately furious.
"Mengyao, what are you doing?"
Tian Mengyao took the porcelain bottle from the person, placed the scraped-off skin back onto Jiao Dajun's foot, and then liberally sprinkled the powder.
"I told you it wouldn't stop the bleeding!" Chen Wan’er grabbed her daughter by the shoulders.
"Mom, Xiao Fan's medicine really works. I've tried it several times, and it's definitely fine." Tian Mengyao shrugged and shook off her mother's hand.
"You!" Chen Wan’er could hardly believe her ears.
Was this still her obedient daughter? Had she been drugged? To distrust a senior physician and believe a country doctor?
Tian Mengyao applied half a bottle of medicine and looked up, "Does anyone have a strip of cloth or anything? Wrap Uncle Dajun's foot."
"I have one."
"Will a handkerchief do?"
"I'll tear my scarf."
The villagers busied themselves helping. Tian Mengyao wrapped Jiao Dajun's foot with strips of cloth.
"It's useless," Chen Wan’er sighed. Even so, it would at best slow the bleeding. If the wound wasn't treated, it wouldn't heal.
Chen Wan’er's eyes suddenly lit up. Lin Fan's clinic also had a Western medicine counter. He must have medical sutures.
"Jingjing, let's take him back immediately to treat the wound." Chen Wan’er, out of her medical ethics, insisted on treating Jiao Dajun's wound.
"No, no," Jiao Dajun waved his hands repeatedly. Although his foot still hurt badly, he felt reassured after the medicine was applied.
"I'll go back with everyone in the evening. The tractor still needs to be used for hauling water. It's too much trouble to make a separate trip."
"You're already injured like this. If you delay any further, you could lose consciousness from blood loss!" Chen Wan’er stated truthfully. In her opinion, Jiao Dajun's wound was significant and could indeed lead to such a situation.
"How could that be?" Jiao Dajun smiled, "Xiao Fan's medicine, I trust it one hundred percent. Look, I can still work." He waved his hoe, looking carefree.
Chen Wan’er's beautiful eyes widened. She suspected Lin Fan had brainwashed the villagers. Otherwise, why would everyone believe Lin Fan and not her, a legitimate physician?
"Mom, just take a look first," Tian Mengyao said to her mother with complex emotions. She had always admired her mother and her medical skills since childhood. Not until she met Lin Fan later... It was laughable. At first, she had the same attitude as her mother. Only after witnessing Lin Fan easily cure various difficult and complicated illnesses did she have to admit that Lin Fan was a rare, peerless divine doctor in the world.
"Alright, alright, I'll wait here," Chen Wan’er was so angry she nearly choked. She never expected that outside the Provincial Hospital, in this remote mountain village, no one would believe her words. Even her own daughter had defected!
"Aunt Chen, please calm down," Bai Jing said indignantly, "If they don't appreciate it, then so be it. What are we trying to achieve?"
Tian Mengyao wanted to explain, but after thinking it over, she realized that nothing was more convincing than results, so she abandoned the idea.
"Everyone, don't just stand around. Get back to work," Jiao Dajun waved his hoe. "I can still help dig pits."
"Don't push yourself. Everyone help carry Uncle Dajun to rest aside."
"No, no," Jiao Dajun waved his hands repeatedly. "Secretary Tian, even if I lose these two legs, I still have these two hands. I'll finish the work even if I have to dig with my hands."
Tian Mengyao felt a pang in her heart. She knew that Jiao Dajun said this because her mother wanted her to go home.
"Don't worry, I'm not leaving," Tian Mengyao's nose felt a little sore, and she said softly before turning away. She was afraid the villagers would see her crying.
Chen Wan’er returned to the car, imagining her daughter suffering over the past six months, and tears streamed down her face. Bai Jing comforted her while handing her tissues.
"That scoundrel Old Tian, I won't let him get away with this when I get back!"
"How could he send Mengyao to a place like this?"
"How could he bear it!" In the end, Chen Wan’er blamed her husband for everything. Bai Jing found it both amusing and exasperating. She actually thought the current Tian Mengyao was more likable than before; at least she had lost that unbearable娇气 (delicate, pampered) demeanor.
More than an hour passed unconsciously, and Chen Wan’er's eyes were red from crying.
"By the way, how is the injured villager?"