Chapter 30.1

Translated by Aviana

Yang laoyezi pointed at He-shi with a trembling finger, but even after pointing at her for a good while, he also didn’t know what to say. As such, he could only put his hand down with a dejected sigh.

At the side, Wang-shi was staring blankly. Wonder what she was thinking.

Although Yang Sanniu didn’t quite understand adults’ talk, however, she understood that grandma hit her older sister because she thought she and her older sister had tattled on her.

The little girl’s face became red from all the choking. It took half a day for her to speak those words out: “At that time, it wasn’t just older sister and me. Older brother Erlang was also there. So, Grandma, why are you only hitting older sister?”

At that time, it wasn’t just her and older sister who came to look after being attracted by the smell, but Erlang of the eldest branch also came. However, Erlang was quick-witted and quickly ran away after hearing the sound.

He-shi’s eyes turned towards Yang Erlang, who quickly ran away like a wisp of smoke upon seeing his grandmother looking at him.

Lin Qingwan didn’t bother to pay attention to this side. Instead, she quickly picked the child before dragging Yao-shi out of the main room. Yang Tiezhu also caught up with her, took the child in his hands, and went with her.

“The child is still young and is not good to get beaten. Shall we invite a physician to take a look?”

Placing the child on the kang, Lin Qingwan asked Yang Tiegen to go to the village to find a physician.

Yao-shi sat at the edge of the kang. Upon looking at the child’s red and swollen small face, her tears kept dripping down. Contrarily, it was Erniu who was no longer crying, probably because her face hurt even more when crying.

Lin Qingwan sat beside Erniu and coaxed her, “Come Erniu, tell bomu, is your face hurting badly?” Erniu wanted to open her mouth, but her face was hurting so much, so she could only nod her head.

“Okay. Erniu is a really good child. Then tell the second bomu, do you feel a buzz in your ear? Can you hear the second bomu speaking to you?”

Puzzled, Erniu looked at her, unable to understand what buzz meant.

As such, Lin Qingwan could only change the wording, “Do you feel as if some flies flying around your ears?” She asked again while mimicking the manner of having flies flying around.

伯母 (bómǔ): wife of father’s elder brother/ paternal aunt

This time the child understood and nodded.

“Okay, good girl.” She then stroked Erniu’s little head and asked: “Then, does Erniu feel dizzy or nauseous?”

This time Erniu understood the meaning of feeling dizzy and nauseous, so she quickly shook her head in denial.

Lin Qingwan finally let her heart at ease.

“Wife, what are you asking Erniu all of these for?” Yang Tiezhu asked her from the side.

“Many adults tend to beat kids. Sometimes, if they are heavy-handed, a slap can make them deaf. Moreover, if hit on the head, it is best to be even more cautious.”

Concussions and such, Lin Qingwan, didn’t explain much. And even if she explained, they would be unable to make sense out of it.

In her previous life, she often saw on the news about adults hitting children and slapping them on the ears, resulting in them becoming deaf or having concussions. However, she wasn’t sure of how good medical science here was. As such, she could only determine how serious Erniu’s injury was based on her knowledge.

When Yao-shi heard Lin Qinwan saying that slapping a child can make them deaf, she quickly stood up and looked at the child in fluster but didn’t know where to put her hand.

Seeing Yao-shi like that, Lin Qingwan pulled her out, lest she becomes even more anxious.

“You go and get a basin of water to give a child a cold compress.”

Yao-shi quickly covered her mouth with a sniffle and ran into the courtyard to fetch water.

After Yao-shi brought the water, Lin Qingwan again asked for a clean and soft cloth. She then soaked the fabric in the basin and squeezed the excess water, leaving a sufficient amount of water absorbed in the fabric before applying carefully on Erniu’s face.

Unfortunately, there were no ice cubes. If they had ice cubes, the effect would have been better.

“Erniu, be good, second bomu will give you a compress, after which it will no longer hurt.”

Erniu was obedient, letting Lin Qingwan give her a compress in her left cheek.

Such an obedient child, how could He-shi bring herself to raise a hand on her?

Recalling the scene of He-shi hitting the child, Lin Qingwan trembled with anger.

At this time, Yang Tiegen came back with a physician. The physician seemed to be 50-60 years old with all of his hair and mustache white. Nonetheless, his body seemed to be robust, without trembling when walking.

As soon as the physician came, Lin Qingwan and Yao-shi stepped aside.

“Physician, please come and take a look. The child’s grandmother hit the child in anger. I was afraid that the slap might cause some ailments. As such, I asked you to come here to take a look.” Saying so, Lin Qingwan removed the cloth from Erniu’s face.

Upon taking a close look, the physician immediately took a deep breath in.

“This is utterly ridiculous. How can one be so heavy-handed on a child.” The elderly physician rebuked and asked Yang Erniu if she could hear everyone speaking.

Yang Erniu nodded.

“Hearing is okay,” the elderly physician set his heart at ease and turned around to speak with the adults, “The child’s ears are of no problem. I will prescribe herbal medicine, make a paste of it and apply it to the child. If she feels dizzy or nauseous, take her to the medical center in the town. You must also be aware that this old man’s medical expertise is only this much; I can only look at minor problems such as headache and slight fever.”

头疼脑热(tóu téng nǎo rè): headache and slight fever / slight illness. It refers to general minor diseases.

Yao-shi and Yang Tiegen hurriedly nodded their heads.

Yang Tiegen went along with the elderly physician to bring back the herbal medicine. Lin Qingwan, too once again cautioned Yao-shi: “Be careful. If the child showed any symptoms of dizziness and nausea, quickly take her to the town.”

Yao-shi wiped his tears before nodding. Nonetheless, her tears still dripped down as she nodded.

Seeing Yao-shi like this, Lin Qingwan also didn’t know what she can say. Such a rigid and inflexible mindset has been deep-rooted for many years in them and is not something that can be changed in one morning and evening. Besides, in this place, a grandmother hitting a disobedient granddaughter is not something that is unseen. So, where can they even go to demand justice? Even an honest and upright official will face difficulties in resolving a family dispute. It is of no use to even talk about it, especially when these husband-and-wife pair don’t seem to care about He-shi’s manner.

一朝一夕 (yīzhāoyīxī): lit. one morning and one evening (idiom) / fig. in a short time/overnight

Imaginations even ran in Lin Qingwan’s mind as to what she would do if He-shi treats her children the same way in the future? However, without much thought, Lin Qingwan was aware that she would never let He-shi be. When your own child was being hit, what’s there to speak about filial piety?

This is the gap between modern and ancient people; their thinking is not that rigid and inflexible.

As soon as Yang Tiegen brought the herbal medicine, they made a paste of it and applied it to Erniu. Seeing this, Lin Qingwan and Yang Tiezhu went back to their room.

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