Chapter 485: Chapter 485: Don’t Think You Can Shake Us Off
Fortunately, although the stick was as thick as a baby’s wrist, it was thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. The wound inside wasn’t as big as imagined, and, very luckily, it didn’t damage the tendons. However, it was still enough pain for the woman to endure.
"Mom..." The teenager looked at his mother worriedly, especially when he saw the doctor beside them take out something resembling a needle and thread. His face turned even paler, wanting to stop it, but he dared not upon seeing the doctor’s serious expression,
The woman resisted the urge to cry out and shook her head at her son, gritting her teeth and enduring it, especially when she felt something stirring inside her flesh, the pain was so excruciating that she wished she could faint.
Hua Jin quickly stitched up the wound, grateful for having practiced on chicken and rabbit in her spare time in the space, otherwise, she wouldn’t have known where to start.
Even though this was her first time stitching up a human wound, and even with spiritual power, Hua Jin was still sweating profusely. It had been a long time since she last sweated, but thankfully, everything went smoothly.
She thought for a moment and took out a hooded raincoat cut from oilcloth from her all-purpose backpack, handing one to the woman and one to the child. Her grandmother and mother had sewn these during the flood, and there were quite a few of them.
The freshly treated wound should avoid water, and even though it was only a fine drizzle, the rain was dense enough to soak the clothes thoroughly in a short time.
Besides, Hua Jin also gave the mother and child an umbrella and took two coarse grain cakes out of her backpack to hand to them.
After being trapped under the ruins for a day and a night, how could they not be hungry?
Looking at the coarse grain cakes in front of her, the woman who hadn’t shed a tear despite the pain suddenly teared up and took them with trembling hands.
"Thank you, thank you, young doctor."
It had been so long since she felt kindness. The woman watched Hua Jin move to another wounded person, and she and her son shared the cakes.
Hua Jin continued to work tirelessly. With so many injured, even those who knew a bit about medicine found it exhausting.
Cleaning and treating the wounds, some even needed stitching, Hua Jin was so busy that she hardly had time to look up.
The catgut suture in the medical kit was consumed at a rapid pace. If she hadn’t had the foresight to restock, there wouldn’t have been enough.
"Thank you," Hua Jin swiftly cut the remaining suture with scissors handed to her, only then realizing they had been passed to her by someone.
Hua Jin looked up, "Qin Shu, brother?" she exclaimed in surprise, but quickly shifted her focus back to her unfinished work, applying medicine and bandaging the wound.
After distributing a few more raincoats, Hua Jin stopped giving them out because they had already set up several rain shelters in Daliu Village using locally sourced materials, providing at least some cover from the rain, especially for the injured.
Having rescued the people, no one rested; they helped to dig out the grain from the ruins.
Luckily, everyone had a strong sense of crisis, and the grain was well preserved, wrapped in oilcloth even at home. Thus, the losses in this area were minimal, though some families had lost their loved ones, the grain still remained.
The surviving villagers of Daliu Village weren’t idle either. Some helped in the excavation, others cared for the injured, and a few prepared food for everyone.
"Thank you," said a wounded woman gratefully to Hua Jin; her wound was in a concealed area, and if not for this female doctor, she wouldn’t know what to do.
"No problem, just be careful not to get it wet," Hua Jin replied with a gentle smile.
She stood and left, continuing to the next.
"Qin Shu, brother, are you finished over there?" Hua Jin asked as she walked beside the person.
"All done. We’ve dug out everything we could from the ruins. Seeing you’re busy, I thought I’d come over to lend a hand. I hope... I didn’t cause you any trouble?"
Qin Shu gave Hua Jin a deep look, a scene of her earnestly saving people replaying in his mind. Such a Hua Jin had a deadly attraction, making him unknowingly want to get closer, which led to the earlier scene.
"It’s not really trouble. It’s just..." Hua Jin glanced at the recently treated female patient.
"See no evil, Qin Shu understands."
"Alright then," Hua Jin glanced at the remaining injured. Now that most of the female patients had been treated, the rest were men. Having Qin Shu along indeed made things more convenient, as there were some tasks she could direct him to do. Though a healer must be compassionate, she wasn’t a real doctor, especially when it came to certain areas of the body.
Qin Shu was visibly pleased and closely followed Hua Jin’s side.
Old man Hua was also overwhelmed with work. When he remembered his beloved granddaughter, he saw that brat Qin Shu stuck to her side, the old man’s eyebrows furrowed as if they could kill a mosquito.
While guarding against Luo Song, he had forgotten there was still that Qin Shu kid. These lads really were pervasive, the old man thought, puffing his beard and glaring.
Once all the wounded were cared for, an hour and a half had passed. This was with Hua Jin’s help, greatly lessening the burden for Sun Si and the other two, especially with the dozens of female patients.
The sky was already pitch dark. Seeing that Daliu Village had been settled, the old man Hua prepared to set off to the next village.
But when the people of Daliu Village heard that the old man Hua and his team were leaving, many of the villagers panicked and stopped them.
"Village Chief Hua, if you’re leaving, can you take us with you?"
Everyone capable of moving couldn’t help but gather round. The earthquake had terrified them so much, and the people from Hua Village appeared like saviors, instinctively making them want to hold on tightly.
Old man Hua sighed as he looked at the anxious eyes and shouted,
"Everyone, please listen quietly. We’re not going home; we’re going to continue to the next village for rescue operations. This earthquake has been devastating. Many villages like yours are buried, and many people are waiting to be rescued. Please understand."
Upon hearing that they were continuing to rescue the next village, the noisy crowd quieted down significantly, thinking that it was because of Village Chief Hua and his team that they were quickly dug out from the ruins. Otherwise, many more lives might have been lost. Realizing this, many felt embarrassed, and even their inner fears diminished greatly, causing some to silently step aside.
But there were always a few who just didn’t get it.
"No, you can’t leave. Once you’re gone, you won’t come back. My husband, son, and daughter-in-law are injured. Once you’re gone, who will tend to their wounds..."
"That’s right, my son is hurt too. You can’t just leave like this, we don’t have a doctor here."
"If you must leave, take us with you..."
"Move aside, the Hua villagers have important work to do, let them pass." someone shouted at the women blocking the way.
"You say step aside, it’s easy for you to say. No one in your family is injured. If they’re leaving, take us with them. This place is all ruins now; so many are dead or wounded. How are we supposed to live after this? This old lady doesn’t care, just don’t think you can shake us off."