CHAPTER 155: CHAPTER 155: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

"Not sure, let’s check first."

As she spoke, she held Zhou Qiuyu’s arm and started massaging from the shoulder down inch by inch. When she got to the upper arm, Zhou Qiuyu cried out in pain, "It hurts!"

"Bear with it."

Zhou Qiuyu, "..."

Feeling aggrieved, Zhou Qiuyu let out a small "oh," and when her wrist was reached, she started screaming again, her face contorted with pain.

With a wrinkled, tearful little face, she looked pitiful beyond words.

It made Wang Nan and the others heartache terribly.

"What’s wrong with Qiuyu?"

Ge Sujuan looked worried, and Yi Chichi sighed, withdrawing her hand, "Muscle strain, and because her wrist joint was exerted in the wrong posture, it resulted in a slight sprain."

"Can it be treated?"

"Yes, but she can’t do heavy work these days."

This situation is quite unfortunate, happening just in time for the wheat harvest. In terms of labor, she is not indispensable.

But it delays her from earning work points.

And work points are linked to her rations for the next year.

Zhou Qiuyu panicked, pleading pitifully, "Chichi, can you help me heal faster?"

"No."

Regardless of whether it’s a muscle strain or a sprained wrist, there’s really no good treatment. It’s either ice packs or hot packs, or immobilizing the injury with a plaster splint.

Or it’s medication treatment.

But to fully recover, you still need rest, avoiding heavy lifting and strenuous activities.

"I’ll treat you first, and then you’ll tell the team leader to switch to a lighter job."

She can’t continue harvesting wheat, as it would cause secondary damage to her wrist joint and worsen the condition.

Zhou Qiuyu didn’t want to switch; she wanted to earn full work points.

A pound more grain is better than a pound less, and she couldn’t rely on her companions in the Youth Corps Courtyard to subsidize her.

In hard times, she still had to work hard herself.

Thinking of this, she asked, "Does Uncle Yaozi have a solution?"

Yi Chichi thought for a moment, "Not very clear."

She hadn’t seen Uncle Yaozi deal with strains or sprains before, "We can try."

"I’ll go find Uncle Yaozi and give it a try."

She quickly finished the food in her bowl, with her cheeks puffed, and left.

Yi Chichi and the others finished eating and went to work conscientiously.

Half an hour later, Uncle Yaozi arrived.

She quickly approached to inquire, "Uncle, is Qiuyu’s arm better?"

"I applied medicinal liquor specifically for bruises and sprains and changed her job to turning and sun-drying the wheat at the drying field."

Wheat is harvested, threshed, and sun-dried as it is collected.

Some are responsible for transporting the bundled wheat back, some thresh it after unloading, then spread it on the drying field for sun-drying.

In the evening, it is collected, and those responsible for sun-drying must also keep birds away from stealing the wheat.

This task is for kids like Qin Jiu and them, earning fewer work points, just three points.

Now Zhou Qiuyu is going to sun-dry the wheat, and Yi Chichi clicked her tongue, "Qiuyu is probably going to cry."

"Crying as she went."

Uncle Yaozi shook his head with a smile; that girl cried when she heard she was to work with the kids for three points in sun-drying.

She absolutely refused to go, firmly saying she could continue harvesting wheat.

If he hadn’t scared her by saying her arm would be ruined, who knows how long she would pester Liu the Third.

"Is her family condition very poor?"

Yi Chichi rolled her eyes, "Among the few youth corps members in the courtyard, only Guan has good conditions."

But that was before, now just Guan Mingyue.

Yan Wanwan and Ning Haitao have been excluded from the good condition list.

Uncle Yaozi let out a sound, his eyes falling on her hand.

"Protect your hands well, don’t let them get calluses."

He didn’t dare touch the silk himself, afraid his old hands would damage it.

"I have ointment to apply."

It’s about her livelihood, so she couldn’t be careless.

Just as she was about to speak, there came a clamor from afar, followed by calls for Yaozi.

"Someone’s in trouble."

Yi Chichi said confidently, Uncle Yaozi nodded, "Shall I go or you?"

"You go."

She didn’t go; taking off her gloves was too much trouble otherwise.

Uncle Yaozi quickly left, grabbed the medical kit from the field ridge, and headed towards the noise.

Yi Chichi withdrew her gaze and continued to work; the harvested wheat was tied into bundles.

Liu Chengyong came over holding a carrying pole, praising as he saw this, "Yi Zhqing, the wheat is bundled better and better."

"Practice makes perfect."

That’s true; he left carrying the wheat, the heavy wheat bending the pole, making his shoulders ache just looking at it.

Ten minutes later, Uncle Yaozi returned, beaming with smiles.

"Good news?"

She curiously inquired.

"Erhua is pregnant."

Yi Chichi’s eyes widened suddenly; this is indeed good news.

Last year, Erhua’s wife fell because of a Black Eyebrow Snake, leading to the loss of a six-month-old child...

"Wait, has her body recovered well?"

"Not much of a problem."

This means she’s well-nurtured.

"Can she still work?"

"She has changed her job, of course; she can’t do the current work, the child is important."

This child is not only significant to Gen Sheng and Erhua, but it also means the same for the village, it must be protected well.

They couldn’t let the Li Family be without successors.

Erhua getting pregnant again is good news for the villagers, so in the evening after work, the villagers went to the Li Family with gifts under the dark.

One family gave two eggs, another two small fish, finger-thick meat strips or such, no matter how little it was, there were many villagers in the community.

A little from each family, at the end of autumn, Erhua not only didn’t lose weight but even gained a bit.

Nourishing food all went into her mouth, and Li Gen Sheng became as skinny as a monkey, but he wasn’t suffering and looked happy instead.

With the wheat, corn cobs, and other grains harvested and stored, he couldn’t wait for the public grain submission before urging for autumn hunting.

Yi Chichi raised her hand, "The medicinal powder isn’t ready yet."

Upon hearing this, everyone present looked at her.

Yu Qingqing was even more surprised and asked, "Didn’t you say before you were making it?"

They were just waiting for the annual autumn hunt to eat big meat.

How could the person responsible for the medicinal powder be this slow?

Yi Chichi felt wronged too, "Where was the time, busy like a spinning top collecting and processing medicinal herbs, none of it was done when the wheat harvest started, then it was corn cobs and such."

Reconsidering the timing, the team leader understood, but he still wanted to know, "When can the medicine be ready?"

"I’ll rush to make it in the next few days, almost after the public grain submission."

It will be in time.

Li Gen Sheng couldn’t wait; his wife was craving meat, but he didn’t have the guts to go hunting alone in the mountains.

It’s already November now, the weather has gotten cold, with big differences in temperature between day and night, animals sensitive to temperature are also stocking up food for winter.

There’s not much game in the mountains, with fierce beasts like wolves, tigers, and wild boars in the deep forests.

He feared going in and not catching meat but losing himself instead.

So, after much deliberation, he decided to see if he could buy some meat when submitting the public grain, buying two big bones would work if all else failed.

Coincidentally, Yi Chichi had the same idea.

Thus, after completing the medicinal powder the day before the public grain submission, she brought Qin Jiu with her the next morning and joined the major team to the commune.