The county clinic is located on the main street, and by the time they arrived, it was already past five in the afternoon.
At that moment, Mr. Wang had woken up, but he was still very weak and couldn't even speak.
Li Yi carried him inside and took care of the admission paperwork.
To avoid delaying treatment, Li Yi shared his thoughts with the on-duty doctor, suggesting that the old man was suffering from low blood sugar and heatstroke.
Of course, he was just offering his opinion.
Whether the doctor took it seriously or how they treated him was up to them; he couldn't worry about that.
Fortunately, Mr. Wang had money on him and a work ID, so there was no need for Li Yi to cover the medical expenses.
After handing Mr. Wang's bicycle over to the hospital for safekeeping, Li Yi and his sister hurriedly left.
Although they were happy to have saved someone, both were quite anxious now.
By the time they came out of the hospital, it was almost six o'clock. Given the speed of the mule cart, they wouldn't get back to the village until at least nine o'clock, which was clearly too late.
Thinking about how he had promised Tang Xue he would come to propose, Li Yi worried that she might start to think too much.
But with the situation as it was, all he could do was make the mule go a bit faster!
On the way, Li Na kept glancing at Li Yi, but she didn't say anything, making him feel a bit uneasy.
"Hey, sis, what's up? Just spit it out!"
"When did you become a doctor?" Li Na asked, voicing her concern.
"I'm not a doctor, what are you talking about?"
"If you're not a doctor, how did you wake that old man up with just a bowl of brown sugar water?"
Li Yi replied, "I saw the old man's pale face, he was sweating, his skin was cold and clammy, and his heart was racing. It looked a lot like low blood sugar. Plus, finding those sugar cubes in his pocket made me more sure of it, so I had you make some brown sugar water to help him rehydrate and get some sugar!"
"Oh, that makes sense. How do you know so much?"
"Just read a lot; books have everything!"
"Pfft, as if you're some bookworm!"
Li Yi just chuckled and didn't reply. His sister remembered him as someone who wasn't fond of reading.
But Li Yi knew his own level; after awakening in his past life, reading became his greatest hobby.
After decades of reading, he had covered a wide range of topics, from astronomy and geography to classic Chinese literature.
Even though he never formally tested his knowledge or obtained any qualifications, his expertise and eloquence had earned him recognition among business elites.
But he couldn't share that with his sister; he'd have no way to explain.
Plus, they were in a hurry, so he didn't want to get into it.
With some light chatter, the two continued to speed toward the village!
Meanwhile, at Li's home, things were quite different!
The already small house was packed with people. Besides Li Shankui and his wife, there were several clan elders from the Li family and the kids who had brought mushrooms for Li Yi.
Everyone was as restless as Li Shankui and his wife, like ants on a hot pan.
According to the plan, Li Yi should have been home by four, then they'd wait for Tang Xue to finish work at six-thirty and go propose.
To prepare, Li Shankui had not only called the clan elders but also brought in the most eloquent matchmaker, Granny Zhang, to help with the proposal.
But they waited and waited, and by almost nine o'clock, there was still no sign of Li Yi and Li Na!
"Shankui, do you think Na and Yi might have run into trouble? Maybe you should head to the county and check," Elder Li Jingfeng said with some concern.
Zhang Yuehong, looking anxious, added, "Honey, you might as well go into town!"
"Alright, you go tell the educated youth point and let Tang Xue know; I'll get going right away..."
Before he could finish, a sound of bells rang out from outside.
Everyone looked out to see the courtyard gate being pushed open, and a big red mule cart came rolling in.
Li Shankui rushed outside and, seeing his son and daughter both safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But remembering the worries of the night, he angrily asked, "Why are you back so late? Don't you know today's important?"
Li Na was about to explain, but Li Yi quickly interjected, "Sis, let me handle things with Mom and Dad. You hurry to the educated youth point and explain to Tang Xue; we'll get ready and come over!"
"Got it!"
After Li Na left, Li Yi turned to Li Shankui and the others, saying, "Dad, we encountered an old man who fainted by the roadside on our way back. His situation was pretty serious, so my sister and I took him to the clinic in town. That's why we were delayed for several hours. Sorry to worry you!"
Hearing that his son was delayed due to saving someone, Li Shankui's anger finally subsided.
"Is he alright?"
"Yeah, by the time we left, he had already woken up, so he should be fine now!" Li Yi replied.
"Good..."
At that moment, the village's oldest elder, Li Qiye, leaned on his cane and said, "Shankui, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Before proposing, Yi saved a life—that's a great blessing. You shouldn't scold him!"
Li Shankui nodded in agreement. "Yes, Grandpa Qiye is right. Little Yi, hurry and get ready; don't keep Tang Xue waiting!"
"Alright, just give me a few minutes!"
......
While the Li family was in chaos, the atmosphere at the educated youth point was quite strange!
In the girls' dormitory, several young women were gathered around Tang Xue, offering various words of comfort.
"Xue, something must have come up at the Li family; they wouldn't just not show up!"
"Exactly! I heard today that Li Yi's mom went to Granny Zhang's place; she's probably asking her to help with the match!"
"Li Yi sounded so sure the other day; he definitely wouldn't stand you up..."
However, Tang Xue, surrounded by the crowd, remained silent, her face pale and her heart in turmoil!
She had heard from Li Na that Li Yi liked Wang Xuemei from the neighboring village and had vowed to marry no one but her.
She also remembered that day when she had asked him if he was willing to marry her after being cornered on the kang. He hesitated for a long time before finally saying he would.
Clearly, he didn't really want to marry her.
So today, he was essentially running away from the engagement... No, they weren't even engaged; he just didn't come to propose.
Thinking about how, as a young woman, she had been inexplicably taken advantage of and then cornered by the entire village, only to find out that the person didn't even want to marry her, a huge wave of grievance surged in Tang Xue's heart, and tears couldn't help but spill down her cheeks!
Meanwhile, outside the boys' dormitory, under a large poplar tree, Xu Hong and a few others were sitting on small stools chatting. Their topic naturally revolved around the Li family's proposal, but their words were mostly tinged with schadenfreude.
"What's the deal with the Li family? It's so late and they still haven't shown up. Are they planning to stand her up?"
"They're clearly not coming now. Tang Xue's going to be really embarrassed!"
"This is what happens when a woman steps out of line; no one will respect her!"
"Exactly! If she loses her virtue before marriage, even if she gets married, it won't be a happy one…"
However, just as these young men and women were all waiting to see the drama unfold, a figure suddenly came running from a distance!