Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Hospital
An Ning’s words, "She’s still breathing," spurred An Laoqi to scramble up from the ground and shoo away his three stunned children.
"An Ning, what do we do? What about my wife?"
An Laoqi was completely at a loss.
Theirs was one of the oldest houses in the village. He had specifically gone up on the roof to sweep the snow before bed, but the snowfall was too heavy, and the roof had collapsed anyway.
His wife had reacted the fastest, shielding the children with her body, but she herself was struck by the thickest crossbeam.
An Laoqi knelt on the ground, frantically fumbling through his pockets. The grown man was crying, snot and tears streaming down his face.
"The money—it’s in the house."
"I—"
An Ning peered through the snow, which was already nearly waist-deep, searching the crowd for Jiang Xia.
"Uncle Qi, don’t panic. I’ll take Auntie An Qi to the hospital."
"Don’t worry about the money, either. I have some. Saving her is what’s important right now."
"Right, right, save her first! Where’s the village doctor? Quick, have him take a look at them, too."
Sun Dazhuang arrived covered in snow, the entire lower half of his body soaked through.
He had heard the commotion, but the snow was so thick he’d had to wade through it the whole way, making every step a struggle.
"Come to my place! Everyone, to my house!"
"I have room. I’ll go heat the kang."
Neighbors started calling out offers. The people who had come to help began supporting An Laoqi’s other family members, one person helping another, and guided them into a warm house.
An Laoqi remained outside, watching and waiting.
An Ning had no time to worry about anything else and called out directly to Jiang Xia.
"Jiang Xia, we’ll ski to town. Let’s get Auntie stabilized."
"Alright! I’ll go get our things."
Jiang Xia hurried off.
The village doctor had been dragged over by the villagers and was also covered in snow.
As the doctor went forward to examine her, Sun Dazhuang, not daring to be careless, called over several young men.
"Alright everyone, I know it’s tough, but go door-to-door. Wake everyone up and have them clear the snow off their roofs first."
"Remind them a few times. Most of these are old houses."
"Got it, Chief!"
"We’re on it!"
A dozen or so young men literally plowed a path through the snow with their bodies. It was difficult, but it had to be done.
After his examination, the doctor spoke up. "It’s likely a fracture. Here, in the ribs. She’ll need surgery."
An Ning scanned her with her spiritual power and knew the doctor was right.
"Could you stabilize it for now, sir? I’ll figure out a way to get to the city."
"Huh? I mean, I can, but getting to the city in this snow will be tough."
The doctor found some wooden planks and began to splint the injury.
An Ning found a cotton quilt in the collapsed house to use for a makeshift stretcher later.
"I’m going home to change. I’ll be right back."
An Laoqi nodded repeatedly, murmuring his thanks as he sat down beside Auntie An Qi.
An Ning hurried home, and An Sancheng ran back with her.
The two of them went inside, one after the other, and An Sancheng shouted, "Boil some eggs for An Ning! Get the hot water bags and glass bottles ready!"
At An Sancheng’s shout, Lin Cuihua and An Ning’s sister-in-law, who was already awake, immediately bustled into action.
An Sancheng joined in to help.
An Ning went back, changed her clothes, grabbed some money, and quickly tied on a headscarf.
"That thing won’t do. Wear your dad’s hat."
"And these thick cotton mittens. Take them all."
"Let me see... And socks. Take a couple of extra pairs. Your socks will get wet as soon as the snow gets in."
Lin Cuihua bustled back and forth several times, bringing everything for An Ning.
"Wear those leather shoes, you hear?"
"I know, Mom."
An Ning worked quickly. Once she had everything packed, she slung a backpack over her shoulder and left.
The moment she stepped outside, she saw Jiang Xia approaching on a pair of wooden planks.
"Do you know how to ski?"
"No."
An Ning took the simple skis Jiang Xia handed her, copied his movements, stepped onto them, and strapped them on.
"You go. I’ll learn as I go."
"Can you manage?"
"I can! Let’s go!"
At An Ning’s curt command, Jiang Xia pushed off hard. He tried to go a little slower at the front, demonstrating the movements.
An Ning imitated him a couple of times from behind and picked it up incredibly quickly.
"Okay, let’s go faster!"
An Ning accelerated past Jiang Xia, leaving him with the distinct feeling that he’d been duped.
’She really doesn’t know how? This is too...’
Jiang Xia picked up his pace. There was no time to waste.
When they got back, they found the simple stretcher they had used for Li Chengze during the day. They secured Auntie An Qi to it, bundled her up for warmth, and then An Ning and Jiang Xia took their places at the front, acting as sled dogs.
"Uncle Qi, we’re leaving now."
"Hey, An Ning! No matter what, no matter how much it costs, I want her saved. I’ll definitely pay you back!"
"Don’t worry, I understand."
An Ning and Jiang Xia exchanged a look, then pulled together in perfect rhythm, skiing away.
Jiang Xia was a little surprised at how perfectly in sync they were.
In reality, An Ning was constantly using her spiritual power.
She used part of it to keep Auntie An Qi stable and part of it to observe Jiang Xia, ensuring they moved in unison.
Since the snow was so thick, their skiing trip was actually quite smooth.
But after some distance, navigation became the hardest part.
They stopped, faced with nothing but an endless expanse of white.
It was impossible to tell where the road was and where there might be a ditch.
"Jiang Xia, I’ll take the lead. You get behind me and follow my path."
"Okay!"
Jiang Xia agreed without the slightest hesitation. They adjusted the length of the rope, switching to a single-file formation.
An Ning had her spiritual power to cheat with, allowing her to discern the direction of the road.
"Let’s go!"
With a shout, An Ning pushed off and skied forward. Jiang Xia followed close behind, putting his complete trust in the person ahead of him.
They skied for over thirty minutes before they finally saw buildings.
"Let’s go to the town clinic for a check-up first. I’ll try to find a way to get to the county."
They arrived at the clinic. Luckily, the orthopedic doctor was on duty today.
The orthopedic doctor still remembered An Ning.
"How did you get here?"
"We skied."
An Ning’s eyebrows, eyelashes, and the headscarf covering her face were all caked with white frost.
She pulled down her scarf with one hand and looked at the doctor.
"Can you perform the surgery? If not, I need to go find a way to get to the county."
"I can’t. I’m the only orthopedic doctor here, and we can’t do X-rays. Her ribs are definitely broken. It won’t heal properly on its own; it needs to be set internally."
An Ning understood.
"To the county or the city?"
"The city would be best."
An Ning nodded. ’How are we going to get there?’ That was the question.
The orthopedic doctor helped re-secure the splint and treated Auntie An Qi’s minor external injuries.
"In this blizzard, no vehicles can get through."
"An Ning, don’t... don’t bother..."
Auntie An Qi spoke weakly. She didn’t want to cause any more trouble.
"Auntie An Qi, if we don’t get you help, are we supposed to just wait for you to die? If a broken rib punctures one of your organs, then it will truly be too late."
"If something really happens to you, what will your three children do?"
"Don’t overthink it. Just cooperate with the doctors. I’ll figure out the rest."
An Ning patted Auntie An Qi’s arm reassuringly.
"I’m going to make a phone call. Doctor, please look after her for a moment."
An Ning wanted to find out just how widespread this snowstorm was.
Was it just one village, one town, or the entire county?
