Su Xiaotian watched the woman cry sadly, took a step back, and stood quietly at the back of the crowd.
When people are alive, crying can also relieve the pressure in their hearts.
The women in the village chattered, all speaking in dialects. Although Su Xiaotian didn't fully understand, she grasped the general meaning.
The woman was named Li Guihua, and she was the aunt of the child nicknamed Xiao Liuzi.
After dinner, Li Guihua went to the river to wash clothes. Xiao Liuzi didn't want to stay at home, so he followed Li Guihua to the river.
Xiao Liuzi was not a child from the village but a city kid. His parents were busy during this period and sent him to his aunt and uncle's home for care.
Li Guihua originally thought that there were many children and that no child had ever had an accident. Therefore, after a few instructions to Xiao Liuzi, she let him play with his friends.
Who knew that in such a short time, the child would accidentally fall into the water.
Seeing that Xiao Liuzi could already speak, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Su Xiaotian suddenly remembered that Chi Yiyuan had saved her in the same way many years ago.
If Chi Yiyuan hadn't bravely jumped into the water and pulled her out back then, she didn't dare to think about the consequences.
Thinking of Chi Yiyuan, a smile couldn't help but appear on Su Xiaotian's lips.
She didn't know what Chi Yiyuan was doing now, or if he was thinking of her.
However, she realized that it wasn't very appropriate to smile at this moment, so she quickly collected her thoughts and looked at Xiao Liuzi, who was lying weakly in Li Guihua's arms by the river.
The clean and fair child looked very pleasing.
However, the child seemed a bit weak, and she wondered if there would be any sequelae after falling into the water this time.
Su Xiaotian understood medicine, but since no one asked for a doctor, Su Xiaotian felt embarrassed to step forward and offer to take Xiao Liuzi's pulse.
"This child must be scared. Aunt Guihua, hurry up and take the child home."
At this moment, an older woman suddenly thought of this issue and urged Li Guihua.
"Exactly, the night wind is cool, be careful not to catch a cold."
"Yes, yes, don't delay here. After going home, give the child some ginger soup."
The women chattered. Li Guihua had finished crying, and perhaps felt a bit more relaxed. She then remembered that she hadn't thanked her savior.
"Comrade Su, thank you for saving our Xiao Liuzi. Later, I'll have the child's uncle thank you personally!"
"It's just a small effort, Auntie doesn't need to mind," Su San Gong quickly said.
Strictly speaking, the people in this village were all pretty good. Although they had some petty thoughts, they were not truly evil people.
They were also very good to them, knowing that they were cultivating new grain seeds.
After Li Guihua finished speaking, she didn't waste any more time and directly carried the child, who was soaking wet, home.
She left in a hurry, forgetting even the clothes she was washing.
The protagonists of the story had left, and naturally, the excitement was gone.
Everyone went back to washing their clothes.
Some of the women around had already finished washing their clothes and casually helped Li Guihua rub the remaining two pieces of clothing, saying they would take them back when they went home.
The incident of falling into the water had passed just like that.
Su Xiaotian picked up the clothes that Su San Gong had dropped on the riverbank. Seeing that they were already stained with mud, she simply washed them.
After doing this, Su San Gong and his sister carried the washed clothes and walked towards the courtyard of the research base.
Su Xiaotian looked at Su San Gong, who was dripping wet, and worried about her brother's health.
"Third Brother, when we get back, I'll cook you a bowl of ginger water. Drink it and get some good rest."
Although the weather wasn't too cold yet, the chilling air was still bad for the body.
Su San Gong smiled.
With his sister by his side, it was indeed different, as he had someone to take care of him.
Why had he never thought of bringing his sister on a business trip before?
Su Xiaotian ran to the kitchen but found no ginger. Seeing that no one was around, she directly bought some ginger from her space.
After quickly washing and finely shredding it, she began to boil ginger water.
An Ronghua's wife heard the commotion in the kitchen and came to see. She happened to see Su Xiaotian boiling ginger water.
She was a little puzzled, remembering that the ginger in the kitchen had been used up today. Where did Xiao Tian find the ginger?
However, the thought flashed by, and she felt that she must have misremembered.
Seeing An Ronghua's wife come over, Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm boiling ginger water for my Third Brother. You should go and rest!"
"Let me do it. You've been busy all day and are tired," An Ronghua's wife said.
After her husband separated his family, he had no place to live. By chance, he helped guard the research base and took care of the farmland with Comrade Xiao Mao.
She, on the other hand, helped with odd jobs in the research base, such as cooking and cleaning. The couple received wages every month, and their lives were now quite good.
She felt that kitchen work was what she should do and that Su Xiaotian shouldn't have to do it.
She even wondered if Su Xiaotian, a child from the city, found her clumsy.
If she was disliked, would they still have this job in the future?
Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "Auntie, it's just a matter of lighting the fire. How about you wash the pot later!"
She originally wanted to refuse, but seeing An Ronghua's wife's somewhat constrained expression, she guessed An Ronghua's wife's unease and changed her words.
Since ancient times, rural people had a blind reverence for city people, always feeling that city people ate rationed food and were superior to them, country folk.
An Ronghua's wife was indeed somewhat relieved when Su Xiaotian said this.
"Alright, I'll wash the pot later. Xiao Tian, what happened to your Third Brother? Didn't you two go to the river to wash clothes? Did he slip into the river?"
An Ronghua's wife didn't want the atmosphere to be too awkward, so she asked an extra question.
Su Xiaotian also didn't want the atmosphere to be too awkward, so she recounted what had happened by the river.
An Ronghua's wife listened and said, "This child, Xiao Liuzi, has been weak since birth. He's already six years old this year. I heard that children of this age in the city should be in school, but because Xiao Liuzi is not well, his parents let him wait another year."
"This child was already not well, and now he fell into the water today, I'm afraid he'll get sick again!"
Su Xiaotian recalled Xiao Liuzi's pale face and thought, so this child had always been unwell.
She remembered that after falling into the water herself in her early years, she had almost suffered sequelae, and she felt a bit more worried.
After the ginger soup was ready, Su Xiaotian brought it to Su San Gong and saw Shen Zizhen there as well.
"Quickly drink the ginger soup, cover yourself with a quilt, and get a good night's sleep. Saving people is a good deed, but you can't neglect your own health."
Shen Zizhen was very worried.
"Teacher, I'm a grown man, how can I be so weak?" Su San Gong said with a shy smile.
This made him seem like a child who hadn't grown up.
"Uncle Shen is right. Third Brother, drink the ginger soup to sweat, and then sleep peacefully," Su Xiaotian said with a fierce look.