Chapter 35 (1/2)
Chapter 35 – Running Into Trouble
“What’s wrong? Do your legs hurt so much that it’s hard to get up?” asked Tang Can when he noticed that Shen Yu had her head down. His eyebrows came together in a frown as he tried to look more closely at her injuries. He was afraid that she had been cut to the bone!
Shen Yu snapped out of her thoughts and managed to squeeze out a thin smile. Although she said she was okay, her forehead was covered in cold sweat and her face was as white as paper. It did not make a convincing sight.
“Hold onto my arm, we’re going to the tree where you can rest a little!” instructed Tang Can after one look at her face. He could see a frazzled look in her eyes, and they did not look like the way they normally looked. However, he was more worried about her injuries and was not able to detect that she was trying to conceal her emotions.
Tang Can helped Shen Yu hobble away from the remains of the building. Shen Yu didn’t seem to have much strength left in her legs, and her feet dragged on the ground as they walked. The tips of her feet were soon covered in dust and dirt. Some dirt from the tips of her toes transferred over onto the photograph that Shen Yu was looking at earlier. It covered the image completely.
The village didn’t have a health clinic or doctor’s office but the townspeople said that a rural doctor lived a few kilometers away. Most of the villagers went to that doctor for more serious ailments. Tang Can looked at Shen Yu’s injuries with a frustrated scowl on his face. He shook his head and decided they had no other choice but to clean her wounds with some alcohol. Neither of them had an easy method of transportation now so it didn’t make sense to travel so far to see a doctor.
As someone who grew up in the countryside, Shen Yu did not consider herself to be a delicate young lady. She smiled gently and reiterated that her injuries were nothing serious; she had only broken a little bit of skin. When she was younger, she had gotten injuries similar to this with no lasting harm done.
Tang Can looked at her with an odd expression on his face, as if he didn’t know how he felt. Blood had oozed profusely out of the scrapes on Shen Yu’s elbows and knees. He couldn’t believe that the young woman in front of him thought that it was not a big deal. However, he knew he was overreacting a bit over skinned knees and elbows. In fact, female soldiers in the armed forces often got similar injuries when they trained. It was common for them to treat and then continue to train, as if nothing had happened.
Although the village branch secretary was not at home, his plump wife was available. She gestured towards the two after finding some alcohol for them to use to disinfect Shen Yu’s injuries.
At this point, Tang Can received a phone call from Commander Jin and Xiao Qiu. Although they were able to bring the injured villager to the hospital, they were unable to come back immediately. They told him that they needed to wait on the status of the victim. Once the injured man’s status was stable, they would be able to come back with the car. Halfway through the phone call, Tang Can could hear the branch secretary hollering at him. He quickly realized that the man wanted him to give the phone to his wife so he could talk to her.
The young officer handed the cell phone over to the middle-aged woman. The lady said something to Tang Can in the local dialect. Later, when Tang Can translated for her, Shen Yu found out that the branch secretary’s wife was commenting on his phone. Apparently the fat lady had said that she had seen cordless phones before and said that as an official’s wife, she also had the opportunity to use modern devices like a cell phone.
Her attempt at trying to convince him that she wasn’t a country bumpkin was in vain because she held the cell phone upside down while trying to talk in it. She raised her voice to a loud volume to speak into it and when she couldn’t hear anything, she hit the phone a couple of times. The branch secretary’s wife then turned towards Tang Can and asked why it was broken. Speechless, Tang Can showed her how to hold the device in the correct position. Only then was the lady able to talk to her husband through the phone.
Evidently the branch secretary had told her to take good care of Tang Can and Shen Yu. After she hung up, she bustled quickly out to the courtyard to where the chickens were kept and gathered some eggs. It was almost lunchtime, and she needed to get the food ready.
Shen Yu sat quietly on the wooden bench and stared at Tang Can, trying to convey her intentions silently to him. She didn’t want their host’s wife to go through too much trouble for them. Unfortunately, her attempt at telepathic communication was not successful. In fact, when the middle-aged woman asked Tang Can to help her catch a chicken, he did so gleefully. Like an eagle spreading out its wings, Tang Can stretched out his arms and chased one of the old hens that the branch secretary raised. Shen Yu mouth dropped open in shock as she watched the odd sight.
When they were finally able to talk in private, Shen Yu accused him of being shameless. This village was poor, and they had spent many days in the company of these people, living off of them like freeloaders. It made her feel uncomfortable taking more from those who had so little.
Tang Can chuckled. “People of the Miao ethnic group are welcoming and full of hospitality. When you enter a village, it is important to follow the local customs. Receiving their good will is also a sign of good manners and respect. I know you feel uncomfortable taking so much from these people. When we leave, we can give them some money to compensate them. That will also be proper behavior!”
Shen Yu smiled and nodded her head.
Before their hostess could pluck the newly slaughtered chicken, a villager hurriedly came in, looking for the branch secretary. Apparently, someone had dug up Song Geng’s grave.
It was a shocking event! Even people who were not a part of the Miao ethnic group would find such an act to be worthy of disgust and hate.