When the old man entered, he saw Doctor Li applying medicine to Daniu's leg.
Xu Daniu's calf has changed color, turning purple and black, and has been swollen several times. It looks like it has been hit by a heavy object.
The old man hurriedly asked: "Doctor Li, how is Daniu's leg?"
Doctor Li replied: "It's quite severe. There's a fracture of the tibia, so it needs proper care."
"Doctor Li, no matter what medicines you use, please make sure to heal Daniu's leg well." The old man insisted: "We'll pay for it!"
At this moment, Xu Daniu's face twisted in pain as beads of sweat slid down his cheeks. When he heard the old man's words, he said with some difficulty: "Uncle, I...I'm fine, it just hurts a bit."
The old man chided gently: "Foolish child, is that even called 'a little pain'? The bone is broken. You must stay at home and take good care of your leg now lest you suffer any long-term complications!"
Doctor Li agreed: "Old sir is right. Daniu, you must not move around easily with your leg like this. I will go back and prepare some medicine for you, which you must take every day to aid its healing."
Xu Daniu asked: "Then about work..."
Before he could finish speaking, the old man interrupted him: "Child, look at yourself! How can you still be thinking about work at a time like this? Listen to Uncle and stay home properly recovering. I'll arrange for someone to bring you bone broth daily to help you regain your strength."
Xu Daniu said: "Uncle, it's not troublesome. I'm young and healthy. I don't need to drink bone broth every day. I'll just take care of myself."
Madam Daniu watched the sweat beads falling from her son's forehead with concern, then rolled up her sleeves to wipe his sweat away.
The old man spoke up again: Sister, I apologize sincerely. Daniu wouldn't have suffered this if he hadn't helped us out, but fear not, our family will pay for any treatment he needs."
Madam Daniu wiped away her tears: Brother Xu, although my heart hurts seeing my son suffer, I am not unreasonable. It was his own doing—he insisted on carrying the logs by himself. We can afford the cost of treating his leg, but your family is busy now, so I'll take care of Daniu."
The old man replied: Sister, that's not entirely fair. Our family shares some responsibility here as well. Let's drop the discussion and do things my way. I will compensate him as usual, and Daniu should focus on recovering."
Madam Daniu was deeply grateful: "Thank you so much, Brother Xu!"
The old man continued: "Caring for him alone may be taxing, so I'll ask someone to bring Daniu's wife back from the wine shop shortly. She won't return to work until Daniu's leg has fully healed. Rest assured, she will receive her full compensation."
Xu Daniu said: "Uncle, that can't be right. How could you pay me for work I didn't do?"
"What's wrong with it?" Asked the old man: "Didn't you say before that no matter what decision I make, you'll still listen to me?"
Xu Daniu was speechless.
Doctor Li said: It takes one hundred days for bones and tendons to heal. Daniu, try not to move around too much during this time. Otherwise, the bone might grow crookedly, which would be bad. In a moment, I will use a wooden frame to immobilize your lower leg."
Madam Daniu said: "Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Li."
Doctor Li waved his hand: "I'm rushing off, but I'll go back home now to gather the necessary supplies and return soon."
The old man said: "Doctor Li must use only the best medicine, no matter how expensive, as long as it ensures Daniu's recovery."
Doctor Li nodded, then left with his medical kit on his back.
The old man said: "I'll go back and let my family make some bone soup first."
"Many thanks to Brother Xu." Madam Daniu gratefully replied.
After the old man left, the villagers continued to gather at Xu Daniu's doorstep. Chunsheng saw him leaving and asked: "Uncle, how is Daniu doing? Doctor Li rushed out just now, so we haven't even gotten a chance to ask about his condition, and everyone is fretting anxiously!"
The old man continued: "Doctor Li said his condition is severe, and for the time being, we must keep him still to heal."
Upon hearing that it was severe, everyone grew more worried.
Seeing their concern, the old man tried to reassure them: "Everyone, please rest assured, I've already asked Doctor Li to prescribe the best medicine available, so with proper care, he will recover."
Only then did they feel somewhat relieved.
The old man spoke up once again: "There's one more thing. During Daniu's recovery period, I'll continue paying his wages as usual, does this sit well with everyone?"
"Uncle! What kind of question is that? Given Daniu's condition, if we still have any objections, what kind of people would we be?"
"That's right, Uncle, what could we possibly object to? Daniu has suffered such grave injury. When I carried him back just now, his leg was bruised all over—just looking at it hurts!"
The old man nodded: "I'll go back first and ask my family to make some bone soup and bring it to Daniel. You all should go and get busy, there's nothing you can do standing around here."
"Yes, sir, since Daniu seems to be out of immediate danger, we'll return to our tasks."
With that, the crowd dispersed, returning to their various duties.
After returning home, the old man relayed the situation to his family.
Mrs. Wang anxiously said: "This won't do, I must go check on him."
The old man nodded: "First, make the soup, it won't be too late to go later on. Dabo's Wife, you go fetch his wife from the wine cellar and bring her back here, Madam Daniu alone cannot take care of Daniu."
"Okay, Father, I'll do it right away." After Mrs. Zhang finished speaking, she took Qiao Zhu beside her and went out.
Mrs. Wang arranged for Auntie Jin to go to the kitchen to stew some bone soup, and she herself went to her room's to get a piece of ginseng that Qibao had given her, sliced it into two pieces, and planned to put it into the bone soup and stew it together to replenish Daniu's strength.
Qibao finished learning embroidery and returned home with Madam Qian. Seeing the strange expressions on her grandparents' faces, she knew something must have happened, so she asked: "Grandpa, what has occurred?"
The old man sighed and recounted the story of Daniu's injury to Qibao.
Qibao asked: "Does Grandpa still have painkillers at home? The ones that stop the pain, have you given them to Uncle Daniu?"
The old man slapped his own thigh: "I'm truly beyond my wits, how could I forget about those pills?! I'll deliver them straightaway—your uncle is sweating profusely from the pain."
At this time, Mrs. Wang entered the main hall from the kitchen, followed by Aunt Jin carrying a large bowl of bone broth. She said: "The soup is ready, let's all go together."
The old man nodded, then grabbed Qibao's hand after retrieving the medicine, heading toward Xu Daniu's residence.
When Qibao entered Xu Daniu's home, she saw the man lying on his bed with his leg wrapped in bandages and two wooden boards propped up on either side.
His wife was wiping him down, as sweat poured from his body due to the pain.
Mrs. Wang took the bowl of bone broth from Aunt Jin: "Daniu's wife, please set this aside for later. This child has suffered too much."
Daniu's wife turned around and saw Mrs. Wang and the old man arriving, so she greeted: "Uncle, Auntie, you're here, I'm so sorry to trouble you, and you even boiled bone soup to bring it here."
Mrs. Wang replied: "No trouble, this broth is simmered with ginseng root! You can't let it go to waste, drink up, and replenish your strength."
Xu Daniu sat upright in shock at these words, but the old man quickly stepped forward to push him back down: "Daniu! You still have wounds on your leg—how could you move like that? Have you forgotten Doctor Li's instructions?"
Xu Daniu said anxiously: "Uncle, how can I be rich enough to use ginseng to stew soup? This is too expensive, I can't drink it!"
"What do you mean?" Asked the old man: "If I say you're more valuable than ginseng, then you're more valuable than ginseng—so why can't you drink it? No matter how precious it may be, its purpose is to heal people. If you don't drink it, will you pour it away?"