Just because Ruan Jiaojiao was injured, the Ruan brothers could no longer care about the quails; they all dropped them on the ground—there were as many as seven or eight.
Now that they were all distributed among them, each of them could have one more, and there were no objections whatsoever.
Ruan Chi wasn't afraid of any objections, as the chicken originally collided with his sister's leg, so he took it with a clear conscience.
He grabbed a chicken in one hand and chased after his brothers ahead.
Wa Yiting was again reduced to tears by anger, yet no one spoke up for her. They all thought she was at fault, that it was not her belonging to begin with. Angered, Wa Yiting grabbed her basket and ran off, of course not forgetting her own quails.
On the other side, Ruan Jie was running home carrying Ruan Jiaojiao, with a momentum as if a major incident had occurred, while several other brothers followed. Seeing this, Ruan Jianguo, who was plowing the field, was so scared that he dropped his hoe and ran over.
"What happened? What's wrong?" He snatched Ruan Jiaojiao from his son's arms, his eyes red with urgency.
"Dad, quickly take sister to see a doctor; her leg might be broken!" Ruan Jie was overwhelmed with guilt, and the half-grown young man's tears streamed down his face.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Jianguo nearly ran out of breath, his wrist, which was placed under Jiaojiao's knee, trembled.
"What happened!" He roared at Ruan Jie.
"Sister was hit by a pheasant."
"Yes, by two pheasants, both particularly fat."
"Huge pheasants, they knocked down Jiaojiao. She couldn't get up for a long time. Her leg is definitely broken."
The brothers responded in a cacophony, each exaggerating the truth of the matter, all with expressions carrying guilt for not having protected their sister.
Ruan Jianguo's head was about to explode with what he was hearing; he couldn't continue to listen and, cradling Jiaojiao in his arms, was about to run to town but was stopped by her calling out.
"Dad, Jiaojiao is fine, my leg isn't broken." Ruan Jiaojiao answered sheepishly. She wasn't so fragile as to break a leg with a mere bump—she wasn't made of porcelain.
Although it truly hurt at the moment, it was far from being broken, at most it was just a wound.
Ruan Jianguo hesitated and stopped.
Ruan Jiaojiao then poked her own knee, trying to show it wasn't broken, but the poke caused her so much pain she hissed.
The pheasants themselves only weighed about ten pounds each, which wouldn't have been a problem on her leg, but the issue was that they clearly had gained momentum before striking her leg, so the force exerted was many times greater.
Even so, it still wasn't enough to have broken her leg.
Still somewhat disbelieving, Ruan Jianguo truly cherished his daughter, placing her at the very top of his heart—especially since his wife, Shu Jie, had gone north to take entrance exams and look for relatives, he had become even more protective of her, fearing any mishap.
The last time she fell seriously ill, he nearly lost his mind. He still harbored resentment for the incident at his younger brother's wife's family.
"Daddy, Jiaojiao is really okay, just apply some antiseptic solution when we get back and I'll be fine."
Ruan Jianguo looked at her for a while and eventually followed her suggestion, but he thought to himself that he should first check at home, and if something looked wrong, he would take the money and head straight to town.
When they left, everything was fine, but now she was being carried back, each person's face heavy with solemnity.
The Ruanlin Family matriarch was chatting with neighbors, still pondering over what good things they had at home to nourish her granddaughter, when she was suddenly startled by the scene before her, nearly fainting.
"What happened?" The Ruanlin matriarch approached, and the Zhao Family's daughter-in-law, who had been chatting with her, quickly steadied her upon seeing her wobbly steps.