Without hesitation, Shu Jin Yue hurried toward the backyard. Although she had never liked Auntie Li since childhood, a human life was at stake. Pesticide poisoning suicides were more common in rural areas than in cities, and delayed treatment often proved fatal.
Without false modesty, she had more experience in treating pesticide poisoning than many experts from top-tier hospitals.
"Auntie Li, she… well, she brought this upon herself."
It turned out that a few days ago, she had quarreled with her daughter-in-law and even hit her. The daughter-in-law, unable to bear the insult, ran back to her parents' home. When Xiao Li returned from work and found out, he rushed to his in-laws' house to apologize and bring her back.
This time, however, Xiao Li's wife was determined to divorce him, and her family supported her decision. They nearly dragged Xiao Li to the civil affairs bureau to finalize the divorce on the spot. It was only after Xiao Li visited repeatedly, pleading and even kneeling to apologize, that he managed to bring her home today.
"And Auntie Li—instead of letting them live in peace after their return, she started another argument. She said her son should only kneel to heaven, earth, and his own father, that his father-in-law was worthless, and she threatened to confront her daughter-in-law's family. That's what sparked another fight."
"Xiao Li finally stood up to her and yelled that if she kept causing trouble, he would move out. The neighbors all heard it. She couldn't handle the humiliation, and in a moment of despair, she…" drank pesticide.
The idea of her only son threatening to move out was, in the eyes of Auntie Li—who took pride in having a son—an unbearable disgrace.
"When we found her, she was foaming at the mouth, and an empty pesticide bottle was lying nearby. No one knows where she got the pesticide since she doesn't farm."
As they spoke, Shu Jin Yue arrived at the Li family's door in the backyard. Xiao Li was weeping with his head in his hands, while Auntie Li lay on a worn-out straw mat, her eyes tightly shut, face pale and ashen, froth bubbling from her lips.
Without a word, Jin Yue picked up the pesticide bottle, examined it, and sniffed it. The strong chemical odor made her scalp tingle.
"Waiting for the district hospital doctors will be too late. The most urgent thing now is emergency treatment. This pesticide is acidic—let's start by detoxifying her."
"How do we detoxify her?" Xiao Li asked, his eyes red from crying. "Jin Yue, doesn't your mom know first aid? Please get her to check on my mom."
"No need. I can handle this. I've treated cases like this in the countryside." In recent days, Teacher Shu had been boasting far and wide about her medical skills, but no one believed him. They all thought he was just showing off, since Jin Yue was famously known in Liu Ye Hutong as the "little good-for-nothing."
Xiao Li clearly remembered this and didn't dare gamble with his mother's life.
Aunt Zhao, not wanting to embarrass Jin Yue, asked, "Can acupuncture treat pesticide poisoning? Herbal medicine probably wouldn't work in time."
If Jin Yue had agreed that herbal medicine was too slow, it wouldn't have been due to her incompetence but the unique nature of pesticide poisoning—and her father wouldn't have been accused of exaggerating.
But Jin Yue didn't take the out. Instead, others chimed in: "I doubt it. The doctors at our factory are skilled enough—they can cure high blood pressure, heart disease, and coughs with a few acupuncture needles. But I've never heard of acupuncture saving someone from pesticide poisoning."
"Oh dear, look—Auntie Li isn't even breathing. Even a miracle pill wouldn't help now."
…
Everyone was curious about how Jin Yue planned to save Auntie Li. Some who had grievances with the Shu family even egged her on, urging her to give it a try.
"What did you say about acidic earlier?" Xiao Liu from the backyard seemed to catch on to something. "What did you mean by acidic?"
"Look, the pesticide bottle says the main ingredient is copper sulfate, which is acidic, right? We just need to use something alkaline to detoxify Auntie."
"Then use baking soda? I happen to have some at home, I'll go get it!"
"Wait, no, baking soda doesn't induce vomiting. We need something that's both alkaline and can induce vomiting…"
Someone quickly caught on, "Force-feed her night soil?"
Xiao Liu slapped his thigh: "Brilliant! No wonder I heard my grandma say before that feeding night soil can detoxify, so that's the principle!"
A teenage boy jumped up: "I'll go scoop the night soil! My family has a dung ladle!" This was clearly someone who loved stirring up trouble and was always annoyed by Auntie Li's nagging.
"Scoop it from the public toilet!"
"Scoop more!"
"Wonder if it's frozen?"
"Then how about getting some fresh warm ones?"
Everyone's expressions twisted, and Auntie Li, who was "foaming at the mouth," twitched at the corner of her lips.
Someone noticed this slight movement and quickly shouted: "Oh, she's awake, she's awake! Auntie Li is awake!"
Auntie Li had no choice but to grit her teeth and open her eyes. She knew these boys in the compound were full of mischief – if she'd been one second later, she might really have been force-fed warm night soil!
"I… am… fine…" she whispered weakly.
"Oh dear, Auntie Li, why are you still bubbling at the mouth? So many bubbles!"
Someone sniffed the air, "Why does it smell like soap?"
Everyone: "…" So she had gotten a pesticide bottle somewhere and filled her mouth with soapy water.
Even Little Li, dense as he was, knew that his mother was causing trouble again today! His face turned red with anger, and he immediately went to fetch his uncle and the family elders to divide the family property on the spot.
The crowd became even more reluctant to leave. A family division was another great drama – perfect opportunity to hear how much the Li family had saved up! When Old Li was alive, he must have accumulated quite a sum, and in recent years his five daughters had been helping out too – their savings might even reach one or two thousand!
Shu Jin Yue didn't watch any longer. After this farce, her low spirits had improved considerably. She turned and walked toward the front courtyard. Just as she reached the pomegranate tree, she suddenly saw someone standing at her doorstep.
The person was wearing only a gray wool sweater in the cold weather, with faded military trousers below, but was quite tall.
"Jin Yue, come quickly. This is your Uncle Xu," Zhao Wan Qiu said as she came out of the house.
Shu Jin Yue certainly remembered – this was Xu Si Qi's uncle. He looked stern, but was actually only a few years older than her. She couldn't bring herself to call him "uncle."
Xu Duan's gaze swept over her features, and he nodded gently.
"Sorry to trouble you, Uncle Xu. If you don't mind, why not stay for dinner tonight?" Zhao Wan Qiu tied on her apron. She had been so furious about the Huang family matter today that in her desperation she had gone to the Xu family for help. Unfortunately, Xu Ping and his wife weren't home, but she happened to meet Xu Duan returning home as she reached the entrance of Jinyu Hutong.
Seeing her pale complexion and unsteady walk, Xu Duan had asked what was wrong and learned she was looking for his elder brother and sister-in-law. Hearing her surname was Zhao, he realized she was Su Li Min's wife and personally escorted her home.
Jin Yue quickly asked if she was still feeling unwell, saying that if she didn't want to go to the hospital, she could check her pulse.
Zhao Wan Qiu naturally didn't believe she could read pulses – there's a reason why experienced Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners are called "old" – but in front of an outsider, she didn't want to embarrass her daughter, saying only that she felt much better and was going to knead dough to make dumplings for Xu Duan.
"No need to be polite." Xu Duan finished the glass of water in front of him. "Do you know how to treat illnesses?"
The latter question was directed at Shu Jin Yue.
Jin Yue then recounted her experience learning Traditional Chinese Medicine in the countryside again. The man listened quietly, making her feel like she'd been called upon by a school principal to recite a text in front of the whole class – her heart raced and her palms grew sweaty.
"Was it you who performed the emergency rescue for the pesticide poisoning?"
Given the earlier commotion, he must have already learned the whole story. Jin Yue felt her face grow hot at the words "emergency rescue."
"Not really, it was just… just…" This wasn't any Traditional Chinese Medicine emergency technique – it was a method for dealing with scoundrels.
The girl's pale complexion turned pink. He was reminded again of those thin, trembling shoulders he'd seen at the park entrance that day.
"Study hard and strive to pursue a professional technical path." The man cleared his throat lightly and poured himself another cup of warm water.
"Jin Yue, child, why are you just standing there? Don't you know to pour water for your Uncle Xu?" Zhao Wan Qiu chided gently. The interruption seemed to dissipate much of the gloom in her heart.
Xu Duan didn't stay long, nor did he eat with them. After some casual conversation, he left, leaving only mother and daughter sighing as they looked at each other.
"Mom, if I end up going to the countryside after all, can you promise me one thing?"
Zhao Wan Qiu's tears immediately fell. "What nonsense are you talking? I won't let you go."
Jin Yue remained calm. "I'm just saying if."
"No, I won't agree, not to anything." Last night, Jin Yue had finally talked about her experiences in the countryside, and the trouble with the team leader could no longer be concealed.
"We just… just… I won't allow you to go again." Thinking of that long snow-filled night, Zhao Wan Qiu felt her heart ache too much to breathe. She didn't dare imagine how Jin Yue had dragged her frozen body back to the Educated Youth Spot through the vast snow. "How could you be so reckless? It was just an ox – if it got lost, then it got lost. Let them deal with the punishment however they want. For a young girl like you to go searching in the middle of the night – what if you had encountered bad people, or wild wolves…"
The current Shu Jin Yue definitely wouldn't take such risks, but back then she was too young. A seventeen-year-old girl was too afraid of that family's accumulated authority, just like how adults can't understand why forgetting to wear a red scarf feels like the sky is falling to a child.
"I was actually quite timid. The brave ones – four of them ran away."
"Ran away?"
That summer, just a few months before her incident, four other male educated youths from the same Educated Youth Spot – also young educated youths of sixteen or seventeen – unable to bear the harsh conditions and exploitation by the team leader's family, had secretly run away during the night.
To avoid inspection, they crossed mountains and ridges, thinking everything would be fine once they returned to their hometowns in the city. Unfortunately, one fell from a cliff, one was bitten by a poisonous snake, and another got separated – to this day, no one knows whether he's alive or dead… Only one was rescued by herdsmen from the mountains a week later.
The incident caused quite a stir at the time, but the team leader's family clan was too powerful. They used connections with higher-ups and forced the survivor to shift blame onto the two deceased, claiming they had been unable to endure the hardship and had encouraged everyone to escape. The local authorities chose to settle things quietly to minimize impact, without conducting a thorough investigation.
That such a major incident could be "suppressed" was devastating to the passionate and naive Shu Jin Yue, as it was to the others as well.
However, she knew that besides the survivors, the person who had gone missing back then was actually still alive.
In her previous life, after she died, the influential figure who brought down the captain's family had managed to locate this key witness for testimony and collaborated with the media. This exposed the wrongful case from over a decade ago, ultimately igniting the fuse to eradicate the century-old clan's criminal influence.
If only she could get to know that influential figure in advance, Jin Yue thought.