A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

Upon hearing this, Grandma Gu's crying stopped abruptly.

Her eyes widened, her body rolled backward, and she fainted with a thud.

This is her precious son, how could Old Mrs. Gu not be anxious?

Zhang Aidi screamed and tried to help, but she couldn't hold on, and the two of them fell to the ground together, landing hard on their bottoms.

"Oh dear, quick! Quickly pinch her philtrum!" Su Xiulan cried out anxiously. Zhang Aidi quickly reached out and slapped her face while pinching her philtrum.

Just then, the village doctor finally arrived, and he was stunned when he entered the door.

"Wasn't he supposed to be injured and bleeding? How come he's unconscious?"

"Get her up first!"

The brigade leader was also overwhelmed; this family had more problems than anyone else in the village.

"Dr. Li, save my mother first!" Zhang Aidi panicked and cried her eyes out.

"Saving lives is the priority," the captain ordered, his voice barely calm.

"Give me a few strong men, grab some ropes, and come with me into the mountains to rescue them!"

The captain was extremely anxious. Before leaving, he glanced at Su Xiulan and said, "Don't worry about Jian Guo; the division of the family property won't be delayed. But finding the person is the priority now! Once we rescue them, I'll oversee the division of the family property for you!"

Su Xiulan hugged Nuannuan and slowly nodded.

She knew in her heart that if this delay continued, the division of the family property would likely face further changes. However, if she insisted now, she didn't know how the villagers would criticize her behind her back.

The old lady might blame them for the second child's situation.

After most of the crowd followed the captain away, the room finally quieted down.

Dr. Li squatted down and pinched Grandma Gu's philtrum hard.

The old woman convulsed, then woke up, slapping her thigh and wailing, "My second son! My lifeline!"

"Alright! Stop wailing!" Doctor Li stood up, looking impatient. "Your son fell into the pit, it's not like he's going to die! Check on your third son first, if his head keeps bleeding, he really will be going to see the King of Hell!"

Grandma Gu's sobbing was stuck in her throat. She glared at Doctor Li resentfully, but dared not make a scene again.

Dr. Li then walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and when he saw it by the light of his flashlight, he gasped in shock.

"Who...who did this to us?" He looked at the gash on Gu Jianguo's head and the bloodstains on Xiao An's scalp, his hands trembling. "Da An's face, was it also beaten? What a tragedy!"

He opened the medicine box, took out gauze and medicine, "Hurry up, we need to clean it right away, otherwise it will be troublesome if the wound gets infected in the cold weather."

Su Xiulan quickly brought over hot water.

Dr. Li carefully wiped the wound on Gu Jianguo's head with a cotton ball soaked in medicine.

Gu Jianguo groaned in pain, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Nuannuan watched from the side, her face scrunched up with heartache.

"Little Green, Daddy hurts so much, and brother hurts so much too."

Little Green, who was watching the commotion with glee, reluctantly twisted its body upon hearing this.

[Okay, okay! We really owe you guys!]

It grumbled, plucking a whisker thinner than a human hair from its own body. "Here! Just this one! Boil it in water for them to drink, it'll help them recover quickly!"

Nuannuan's eyes lit up, and taking advantage of everyone's inattention, she flicked her little hand, and the tassel was in her palm.

After treating the wounds, Dr. Li reminded everyone, "Don't let the wound get wet these next few days, and rest as much as possible. Da'an and Xiao'an also need to be careful not to touch it again."

After saying that, he packed his medicine kit, looked at the dilapidated house, and sighed, "Jianguo's wife, you've really had a hard time."

The whole family, including the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled, depended on one woman to support them.

After seeing the doctor off, Su Xiulan looked back at the mess in her home, and tears almost welled up in her eyes again.

Gu Jianguo propped himself up, looking guilty. "Xiulan, I've made you suffer again. Go and start a fire; the children are freezing."

Looking at the trembling children, Su Xiulan felt even more guilty. "Sigh!"

She turned and went to the outer room. Fortunately, the matchbox hadn't been stolen, so she could still live.

The water in the water tank had frozen over. I used a ladle to break the ice and scooped out two spoonfuls, putting them into the pot.

The fire was quickly forgotten. Su Xiulan hung up the curtain and closed the door, and the room finally felt a little warm.

She started tidying up the house.

Xiao An walked over silently, squatted down, and picked up the broken tiles from the ground one by one into the winnowing basket.

On the kang (a heated brick bed), Da'an, who had been quiet all along, slowly sat up and began to fold the tattered clothes that had been pulled out one by one and stack them at the end of the kang.

He worked slowly and seemed clumsy, but his expression was unusually focused.

Looking at her two sons' sensible expressions, Su Xiulan felt a pang of sadness mixed with warmth. It was as if her two children had suddenly grown up.

Nuannuan also ran over to help, picking up the scraps of cloth from the ground and stuffing them into Su Xiulan's hands. "Mom, Nuannuan can do chores too."

Su Xiulan gently patted Nuannuan's head. "My Nuannuan is the best girl!"

Although life is a bit tough, as long as my husband and children are doing well, what does a little hardship and fatigue matter?

The family was happily tidying up when the courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open, and a young man ran back, anxiously shouting, "Auntie, the brigade leader said you have some thick ropes at home, and he asked me to come and get two."

Su Xiulan rushed over and asked anxiously, "How is it? Did you rescue him?"

The man was panting heavily, his tone revealing undisguised disgust. "Don't even mention it. That wasn't just any wild boar pit; it was an old, stinking manure pit that the team dug back then. Even though it's been abandoned for a long time, that layer of aged latrine at the bottom... tsk tsk... the smell could kill someone from miles away!"

"People fell in, half their bodies were sunk in, it was slippery and smelly, no one wanted to go down. The team leader got angry, called out Li Ergou's name, and promised him ten work points, only then did he hold his nose and go down."

"They just tied him up and are pulling him up. He's frozen stiff and motionless; we don't even know if he's still breathing."

The young man took the rope and ran off in a hurry.

After hearing this, Su Xiulan felt a mix of emotions.

That's karma.

The little green creature in the space was so happy it rolled around on the floor.

[Serves him right! Let him be bad! Let him fall into a cesspool, see how he'll ever act arrogantly again! It'd be better if he froze into a pile of dung!]

Nuannuan's face turned pale upon hearing this, and she decided that she never wanted to eat chocolate-flavored popsicles again.

The house is almost cleaned up, and the water in the pot has boiled.

Su Xiulan quietly put the thin ginseng root that her daughter had just given her into a bowl, rinsed it with boiling water, and waited until the water became warm before bringing it to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Jianguo, Da'an, Xiao'an, come, drink some hot water to warm yourselves up." She only said that the doctor told her to drink it.

Gu Jianguo took a sip and felt a warm sensation flow from his throat to his stomach, which relieved much of the chill and pain throughout his body.

Da'an and Xiao'an also drank it. Xiao'an's head wound felt less painful, and Da'an's swollen half of his face felt much better.

Seeing that their complexions had improved, Su Xiulan felt relieved and prepared to make something to eat. The wheat flour had been taken from the house, leaving only some coarse grains.

As soon as she reached the stove, Nuannuan ran over, tugged at Xiao An's clothes, and winked at him.

"Brother, let's go out for a little while."

Xiao An looked at her, puzzled.

Nuannuan tiptoed and whispered in his ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Let's go to Uncle's house and see what Auntie is doing."