Chapter 17: What Did You Eat to Grow "So Big"...
“Xiuxiu! Xiuxiu!”
Zhen Youqian had just chased after her when he saw the scene of his daughter plunging into the river. His vision darkened, and he nearly fainted.
Jiang Luan steadied him. “Don’t faint. Save her first!”
Back in school, Jiang Luan had been good at all sports, especially swimming, and had even learned some lifesaving skills.
He instinctively began to take off his coat to jump in, but Qi Shaolin held him back.
“Wife, you’re too weak. I’ll go,” Qi Shaolin said.
Jiang Luan hesitated. “...You can swim?”
Without another word, Qi Shaolin threw off his fur coat and dove into the water.
“I’m going too!”
Passersby shouted angrily, about to move, but were yanked back by their wives, “Are you crazy? You’ll freeze to death in this thick ice, old man!”
Jiang Luan wasn’t idle either; he pulled back Zhen Youqian, who wanted to jump in and make things worse, then directed the gathered villagers, “Is there a drying pole? Break the ice!”
“Yes, I have one at home!”
“How about an iron shovel?”
In those old days, the people were simple and obedient; a slight call to action rallied everyone quickly.
Jiang Luan didn’t pay attention to the crowd but stared anxiously at the broken ice.
The girl had disappeared after jumping in, and so had Qi Shaolin.
After a while, Qi Shaolin surfaced to breathe, clearly having found nothing.
“Left side! I think the girl went down that way!” someone shouted from the shore.
Qi Shaolin dove back in.
This time, he stayed underwater longer.
“Why hasn’t he come up yet?” someone whispered.
“Shh!”
Jiang Luan was silent, scanning the calm river surface carefully.
Except for those breaking the ice, the crowd held their breath in tense silence.
At last, Qi Shaolin broke through the water, bearing the gaze of anxious onlookers.
He took a deep breath but was still alone.
Zhen Youqian could no longer bear it, sobbing, “Where’s my daughter... Where’s Xiuxiu...?”
Whispers began among the crowd.
Though distant, everyone could see Qi Shaolin’s face was pale and grim.
Jiang Luan decisively said, “Stop the rescue, Lin Ge. Get out of the water!”
“No!” Zhen Youqian grabbed Jiang Luan. “Xiuxiu is still down there!”
Jiang Luan pushed him away. “Even so, Lin Ge can’t die with your daughter!”
Zhen Youqian was pushed over by Jiang Luan, his eyes bloodshot with both fear and hatred, gasping for breath.
“You should hate someone else,” Jiang Luan’s eyes reddened too. “Your daughter jumped in on her own. As for why she snatched the ledger and jumped... If you have the guts, go confront whoever is behind this!”
Zhen Youqian was stunned.
Jiang Luan ignored him and shouted to Qi Shaolin in the water, “Get out quickly! Lin Ge!”
---
Qi Shaolin scanned the surface.
His lips moved, saying something inaudible before diving under again.
Jiang Luan was speechless.
Without expression, Jiang Luan tossed aside his clothes, ready to plunge into the river.
Nearby women hurried to stop him, “Hey, young man, you can’t! You’re too skinny; you’ll freeze to death!”
“I have to bring him up,” Jiang Luan said coldly.
He brushed past them and had barely taken two steps when the crowd shouted,
“He’s coming up! Thank heaven!”
“Wonderful! The girl is with him!”
“Amazing!”
Jiang Luan focused and saw Qi Shaolin not far from shore, slowly swimming with the unconscious girl cradled in his arms.
“Let me borrow that!”
Jiang Luan reached for a drying pole but was shoved aside by a burly man.
The man said, “You’re too small to pull them both up. I’ll do it!”
“Me too!”
Several men shouted, half stepping into the shallow water to encourage Qi Shaolin.
Though a strong swimmer, Qi Shaolin’s hands and feet were numb from the freezing river after so long.
He took a deep breath, adjusted the girl in his arms, and slowly swam closer to shore, grasping one end of the drying pole.
Several men on shore worked together to pull them out.
“Xiuxiu!” Zhen Youqian rushed over, sobbing as he hugged his daughter. “Why are you so foolish? If you leave me, what would I do...?”
Jiang Luan had been the first to approach but was pushed aside by the fat man.
“Lin Ge, are you okay?” Jiang Luan draped his fur coat over Qi Shaolin.
Qi Shaolin looked quite unwell.
He sat on the shore, gasping, lips pale, silent for a long moment. The water droplets frozen on his eyebrows had turned into tiny ice shards.
“My daughter... sobbing, my daughter...” Zhen Youqian wailed nearby.
Jiang Luan snapped at him, “Take her to the clinic quickly!”
“Yes, yes.” Startled by the shout, Zhen Youqian, helped by neighbors, carried his daughter to the doctor.
Seeing Qi Shaolin shivering, Jiang Luan approached to lift him and warm him.
Qi Shaolin pushed him away with his hand, shaking his head, signaling he was too cold.
A nearby tavern owner brought over a jug of strong liquor and handed it to Jiang Luan. “Young man, give him this!”
Jiang Luan didn’t hesitate, pouring the liquor down Qi Shaolin’s throat.
After drinking, color returned to Qi Shaolin’s face.
He sniffled and said plaintively, “She’s alive.”
Jiang Luan was speechless.
Recalling the life-or-death moment earlier, he felt a complex mix of emotions and gently patted Qi Shaolin’s icy face.
“Ha! Good lad! A real man!” praised the burly man who had helped pull Qi Shaolin out, slapping his back heartily.
---
Qi Shaolin hadn’t recovered when the man’s slap sent him stumbling into Jiang Luan’s arms.
“...”
The man stepped forward to pat Jiang Luan too. “You found yourself a good husband!”
Jiang Luan held Qi Shaolin with one arm and blocked the overly familiar man with the other. “Thanks, brother, but I can’t take your pats.”
The man laughed heartily.
A woman said, “I just boiled some hot water for cooking. Come to my place first to soak in warm water. Catching a cold after all this would be serious!”
“Is there enough water? I have hot water too!”
“After soaking, come to my house to warm up by the heated kang bed.”
Voices overlapped, but the first woman waved them off, “No, no, we have everything at home!”
Jiang Luan finally felt at ease—not just relieved but a little warm inside.
He kept thanking the villagers and then took Qi Shaolin with him to the woman’s house.
It was clear that the people of Yunjiang lived well, and the villagers were relatively prosperous.
The woman lived alone in a two-yard compound and warmly led them into a guest room.
“Alright, wash up quickly. I’ll prepare some dry clothes,” she said after filling a basin with hot water.
Jiang Luan took off his money pouch. “Thank you so much. Please accept this...”
“Oh, I’m not here for your money,” she smiled and shook her head. “Xiuxiu is a good child. She often helps us with farm work when she’s free. Everyone around here watched her grow up. Saving her is like saving my own daughter.”
Jiang Luan was slightly taken aback by her words.
She nodded. “I won’t disturb you anymore. Hurry and wash before the water cools.”
“Thank you, thank you so much, Auntie!”
Jiang Luan saw her out and exchanged a few more pleasantries.
When he returned, he found Qi Shaolin still in his wet clothes, standing by the bucket, lost in thought.
“Didn’t you hear Auntie? Go wash! Aren’t you cold covered in ice like that?” Jiang Luan asked, puzzled.
Qi Shaolin hesitated, then softly said, “Lin’er is used to bathing alone...”
“Heh, you’re even shy about that!”
Jiang Luan was amused.
His mischievous mood returned, and he teased Qi Shaolin deliberately:
“Hiding some treasure you’re afraid to show? Or are you actually a little girl... hmm, the way you hesitate does look like it.”
Qi Shaolin said nothing.
He glanced sideways at the troublemaker, Jiang Luan, then unbuttoned his coat, pulled off his inner shirt, and untied his waistband.
Jiang Luan: “!!”
Qi Shaolin stripped down completely in front of Jiang Luan and strode to the hot water bucket.
Jiang Luan was still stunned.
Recalling that fleeting glimpse earlier, only one word echoed in his mind:
Damn.
How could it be so big...
What on earth did this kid eat to grow up like this?