bookrandom Chapter 381 Silver Ring
Chapter 381 Silver Ring
Xiuying sat at an old wooden table in the main hall, intently flipping through last month's account book she'd brought back from the shop in the city. Her brow furrowed slightly, her eyes darting back and forth between the densely packed numbers and accounts, her brush occasionally scribbling notes on the paper beside her.
While instructing Taohua who was standing beside her, her voice was steady but with unquestionable seriousness: "Taohua, you must carefully check the sweet potato flour and dried sweet potatoes handed in by each family. There cannot be any mistakes. At the end of the month, we must settle the silver for everyone accurately. We can't let the hard work of the villagers go to waste." Taohua nodded repeatedly and listened carefully to Xiuying's instructions.
"Mom, Awang and I have also bought a shop in the city and want to make some baba pastries." Taohua said excitedly, with anticipation glittering in her eyes.
"Are you planning to go to the city with Awang?" Xiuying raised her head with a look of worry in her eyes.
Taohua said nothing, but just lowered her head, her hands unconsciously twisting the corners of her clothes.
"My daughter, I don't object to you doing business. I also see the friendship between you and Awang."
Xiuying put down the account book in her hand, stood up, walked to Taohua, and gently held her hand, "But what does it mean if you go with him like this? Without a formal status, people will inevitably talk about you. What will happen to your reputation in the future?" Xiuying looked at Taohua with eyes full of worry.
"Madam! Madam, something bad has happened! The fourth young lady has fainted and has been carried back by the villagers!" A maid ran in hurriedly with a panicked look on her face, her voice full of fear and anxiety.
"What!" Xiuying's face suddenly changed when she heard this, and the account book in her hand fell to the ground with a "snap". She didn't bother to pick it up and strode out of the main room.
After Lamei was brought back, Wang Daya carefully carried her into the room. Xiuying anxiously glanced at the unconscious boy lying under the eaves, and without delay, she entered Lamei's room.
"Lamei, Lamei, can you hear your mother talking?" Xiuying rushed to the bedside, held Lamei's hand tightly, and called her daughter softly.
Seeing Lamei's slightly blackened lips, Xiuying's heart suddenly tightened and her face turned pale in an instant. She realized that this was a symptom of poisoning.
She turned her head and looked at Wang Daya beside her with a sharp gaze. She asked in a quick and stern voice, "What on earth is going on?"
Wang Daya shuddered at Xiuying's look and quickly said, "Madam, I heard that the fourth young lady fainted while trying to save someone. The second young lady has already gone to call Aunt Wu."
She knew very well that this matter was of great importance, and she was worried about La Mei. The Fourth Young Lady was the kindest among the seven young ladies, and she hoped that nothing would happen to her.
Xiuying stood up and hurried to the yard. She glanced coldly at the boy lying on the ground, her brow furrowed and her expression solemn.
"Someone come! Take him to the guest room!" Xiuying lowered her eyes and shouted loudly.
Then she turned around, clasped her hands tightly in front of her, and thought to herself: The most important thing right now is to find out what kind of poison they were infected with. Only in this way can we prescribe the right medicine and save the lives of these two children.
"Xiuying, before your fourth daughter fainted, she was shouting and screaming on the hillside. Her voice was out of tune and it was so miserable. I only heard her shouting 'Someone was bitten by a snake'. I guess the fourth daughter was accidentally bitten by a snake while trying to save someone." A villager stood in the yard, vividly describing the scene.
Xiuying's heart sank as she listened to the villagers' words. Tears welled up in her eyes. "My Lamei, my child, how could you be so foolish? You even ignored your own safety in order to save others."
There were no obvious wounds on Lamei's body, and Xiuying hurried to the guest room, filled with worry. Her breathing was rapid, and her eyes were filled with anxiety, wanting to find out the boy's condition as soon as possible and deduce why Lamei fainted.
Xiuying came to the boy's bedside and carefully examined his body. When she saw the place where the boy's ankle was bitten by a snake, there were two deep holes in the wound. It was obvious that they were the marks left by the snake's fangs.
Xiuying frowned and thought to herself that with Lamei's kind nature, she must have helped him suck out the venom without hesitation, which led to her being poisoned and fainting.
Thinking of this, Xiuying's eyes welled up in tears. She felt sorry for her daughter's kindness and bravery, and was also worried about their safety.
"Sister Xiuying, what's wrong?" Aunt Wu hurried over, jogging with a medicine box in her hand, and asked breathlessly.
Xiuying suppressed her inner panic and tried to calm down: "Auntie Wu, the child was bitten by a poisonous snake, and Lamei was poisoned while trying to suck out the poison for him."
When Aunt Wu heard this, her face instantly became solemn. She didn't bother to say anything more. She quickly put down the medicine box, walked to the bedside and began to check the boy's injuries.
"Auntie Wu, do you have any way to wake this child up?" Xiuying tightly grasped Auntie Wu's arm, her eyes filled with anxiety. "The most important thing now is to find out what kind of venomous snake bit her. Otherwise, Lamei will be in danger too!"
Aunt Wu looked serious, her brows furrowed as she said, "The child's poisoning wasn't severe, and the venom has been mostly sucked out. Let me try."
After saying that, Aunt Wu took out a silver needle from the medicine box and carefully inserted it into the acupuncture points on Fusu's head.
After a while, Fusu woke up in a daze, his lips were cracked, and he shouted weakly: "Water...water..."
Seeing this, Xiuying hurried forward, pulled Fusu up, and asked impatiently, "What did the snake that bit you look like? Tell me!"
Fusu just kept repeating: "Water...water..."
Xiuying was extremely anxious. She slapped Fusu on the face twice and said in a louder voice, "First tell me what the snake looks like, and I'll give you water! Don't just ask for water. This concerns my daughter's life. Wake up!"
Fusu murmured in a very weak voice: "Wintersweet..."
When Xiuying heard Fusu muttering her daughter's name, she broke down instantly, "My daughter almost lost her life to save you! Wake up and tell us what the snake that bit you looked like!" Her tears couldn't stop sliding down her cheeks.
Fusu frowned, his eyes squeezed shut in agony, and he tried to recall the snake's appearance. His breathing was rapid, and he spoke incoherently, "White... black... circles and circles intertwined..."
When Xiuying and Aunt Wu heard Fusu's description, they looked at each other and exclaimed in unison, "It's a coral reef snake!"
Aunt Wu's face turned even paler in an instant. She unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes with her hands and said in a trembling voice, "It turned out to be this extremely poisonous coral snake. What should I do?"