Chapter 299: Not Yet
Jiang Xiaoxiao spread the rabbit skin on the ground, helped him roll over, carefully laying him on the rabbit skin, rolled up his shirt to use as a pillow, and gently placed his head on it.
The driver's breathing was becoming weaker and weaker, and at this point, to try and revive his breathing, she could only perform CPR.
But he was breathing.
Jiang Xiaoxiao placed her hand on the driver's pulse.
She wanted to keep track of the time, but she couldn't convert the heartbeats per minute measured on her watch into the pulse rate.
Because at this moment, she was so overwhelmed with excitement that she couldn't think.
Calm down!
She needed to calm down.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to save him and might end up harming him instead.
Upon initial examination, she thought the driver was very lucky to have been flung from such a height.
Because the branches cushioned his fall, although he had multiple fractures, he hadn't suffered internal bleeding, which was a blessing amidst the misfortune.
As for whether his internal organs were injured, according to her examination, they weren't. However, without electronic equipment for further tests, she wasn't completely assured.
Sometimes, internal injuries become serious after one day, even several days.
But at this moment, this was all she could do.
When she rolled and crawled back from the hillside dragging the rabbit skin, almost as soon as she dragged the rabbit skin into their shelter, Jiang Xiaoxiao collapsed onto the ground.
Dragging the driver up the slope left her pale with exhaustion and pain.
In such a short distance, every step was difficult, the process recalling a nightmarish ordeal that would make anyone shiver.
Song Moting's expression became grim.
"Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao! I can't do anything to help you. Xiao Xiao, how are you now? Don't push yourself, or it will be dangerous."
He wasn't sure whether Jiang Xiaoxiao was injured, but from her appearance, she didn't seem okay.
Jiang Xiaoxiao's task just now was so enormous it nearly exhausted her completely.
The weight of the driver was far greater than that of Song Moting.
Dragging a completely unconscious person was not much better than dragging a stone.
She also had to worry about not letting him roll over or hit his head.
She was cold, hungry, and very thirsty.
Her whole body ached, and the wound on her right arm, which she had almost forgotten about, was now starting to hurt again.
She really wanted to just lie down like this.
But she knew she couldn't; it wasn't time to rest yet.
She deeply suspected that as she weakened, the effectiveness of those peach products also diminished significantly.
Otherwise, after several hours, they hadn't seen any results yet.
Jiang Xiaoxiao's weak voice told him.
"I'm fine, just too tired! Just need a little rest."
Lying on the cold ground was not a pleasant experience.
Eventually, Jiang Xiaoxiao lay down for just a few seconds before getting up.
She didn't care whether she was in the right position.
Jiang Xiaoxiao scooped a lunchbox full of rice porridge.
The lunchbox was picked up along the way and was already deformed from impact but still usable.
There was no small spoon available.
Jiang Xiaoxiao, using the lunchbox, drank down a large bowl by force.
From the first mouthful, she felt rejuvenated.
The rice porridge was delicious.
The fragrance of peach, the slight bitterness of ginseng, and the soft glutinous rice porridge made Jiang Xiaoxiao feel instantaneously revived.
Even the pain in her arm seemed to diminish.
Jiang Xiaoxiao's heart stirred; was the peach's effectiveness just beginning to manifest now?
Or did its effect increase as she got better?
Two severely injured people lying here should allow them to recover quickly.
Jiang Xiaoxiao ladled out the rice porridge to cool.
She could only use the lid of the lunchbox as a spoon, fed a large bowl to Song Moting, and managed to spoon-feed a few mouthfuls to the driver.
The driver was mostly unconscious, without the instinct to swallow, so she barely managed to feed him two spoonfuls.
Everything else spilled onto him.
To avoid waste, Jiang Xiaoxiao had to cease feeding him further.
Gathering more firewood, Jiang Xiaoxiao pushed her box to the other side of the refuge to block the wind and snow. With no other option, the rabbit skin was hung between tree branches and the rock wall, serving as a shield against the wind and snow.
The small space quickly warmed up.
Jiang Xiaoxiao fell beside Song Moting, crawled under the blanket, and fell into a deep sleep.
......
Jia Shu watched the increasingly heavy wind and snow, feeling a bit uneasy inside.
The knife she was using to cut vegetables suddenly nicked her finger.
"Hiss..."
He Aiguo was tending the fire and hurried over to check.
Blood was flowing non-stop from her finger.
"How could you be so careless! Wait, let me give you a matchstick to cover it first! I'll go find a bandage."
Jia Shu shook her head, firmly pressing her finger, "It's nothing, just a little skin cut; it looks serious, but it's actually nothing. I know what I'm doing; it'll stop bleeding in a bit."
She's often accidentally cut her hands, and by now she's skilled in dealing with it.
Sure enough, within a few minutes, the bleeding stopped.
He Aiguo had her sit aside.
"I'll handle cooking today; you just sit quietly for a while. Xiao Xiao left! She took your heart with her; otherwise, who knows, you might cut yourself again."
No one dared let Jia Shu cook now.
Jia Shu laughed, "Brother He, it's not that serious! I don't know what happened; I just zoned out for a moment. Let me handle it."
He Aiguo waved her off, "Not a chance."
Gu Dali entered, dejected, as if the vitality of their educated youth group had dissipated with the departure of Song Moting and Jiang Xiaoxiao.
Everyone was listless.
"Brother Song left; they should be in the county by now, right? Ah, it's a good thing they left early; otherwise, with this heavy snow, it doesn't look small."
Talking about Song Moting, everyone fell into silence.
Song Moting used to be the anchor for everyone.
Now, with his sudden absence, they all felt a sense of emptiness.
"Don't be like this; when we get to Jingbei later, we can still get together."
He Aiguo consoled them.
"Who knew there'd be a reinstatement of the college entrance examination? If I had known, I would have studied more. I don't even know if Old Gu can return to Jingbei this time. If I can't return, I'll spend my life here, and what's the point of gathering!"
Gu Dali knew himself well.
He had spent the past year having fun.
He Aiguo wanted to say something, but Guo Dongjun called from outside.
"Can someone come and take a call! It's from Jiang Xiaoxiao's elder sister."
On snowy days, the sky darkened quickly; it was only after four, yet it looked like late at night.
Guo Dongjun wrapped up in his coat and went back.
Jia Shu hurried to the office.
"Hello!"
"Is this Jia Shu? I'm looking for Jiang Xiaoxiao. It's so late, and she hasn't arrived yet. Did they leave?"
Jiang Yue knew the time of her sister's departure and was supposed to stay at their house today.
At this time, having not seen them yet, Jiang Yue was very worried.
With this heavy snow, if the roads were to be blocked, they wouldn't get out by tomorrow.
Jia Shu paused, "Big Sis! I'm Xiao Xiao's friend Jia Shu. Xiao Xiao and Song Moting left after lunch; the team tractor took them, they should have arrived by now? Maybe they're delayed; why not wait a bit longer?"
It shouldn't have taken long to go downhill, and with a flat road and a fast tractor, they should have already arrived.
Jiang Yue could only express her gratitude.
"Alright! I'll wait a little longer."
She hung up the phone.
Jia Shu's unease grew more serious.
Upon leaving, she ran into Guo Dongjun, "What? Jiang Xiaoxiao hasn't arrived yet?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao had once saved his daughter-in-law's life and had indeed been a lifesaver for their entire forest farm, so naturally, he was particularly concerned about her.
Jia Shu nodded.
"Her big sister said she hasn't arrived."
Guo Dongjun looked at the sky, then at his watch.
"After six, I'll call her sister again to check."
Guo Dongjun was also worried.
Jia Shu nodded.
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