Chapter 17 A Familiar, Pretty Young Boy

"Dad, I'm fine, I'm just... a little sleepy," Qiao Qiao quickly explained.

She had barely finished speaking when she heard hurried footsteps coming from the doorway.

The father and daughter looked over at the same time.

A group of people hurried into the ward. At the front were a doctor and two nurses, followed by a man and a woman, both of whom looked to be around forty years old.

The man was slender and tall with dark skin, but his arms were lean and strong with slightly bulging muscles. He was holding a boy who looked to be about seven or eight years old.

The boy was held in the man's arms, his face obscured, only his legs were visible, one trouser leg rolled up, revealing the blurry, bloody skin beneath.

As the man walked briskly, blood continued to drip down his face.

Upon suddenly witnessing such a bloody scene, Qiao Qiao's expression changed, and she felt a slight sense of nausea.

The next second, Qiao Changdong covered her eyes.

Qiao Changdong frowned, quickly turned her around, and held her in his arms so that she wouldn't see any more blood.

Qiao Qiao could only hear the doctor and the couple talking behind her.

The couple must be the boy's parents. The boy's leg injury was caused when he accidentally fell from a tree more than 20 or 30 meters high while picking wild chestnuts in the mountains.

By the time Qiao Changdong released his grip on Qiao Qiao, the wounds of the young boy on the hospital bed had already been given basic treatment.

As for the rest, it's pretty much the same as what Dr. Luo did for Qiao Changdong back then.

"I believe the child has a comminuted fracture. Our facilities here are limited and we can't perform surgery on him. You need to go to the provincial hospital as soon as possible. Don't delay, find a car and go there quickly," the doctor said.

"Is...is it that serious? Do we...do we need to go to the provincial hospital?" The boy's mother was startled when she heard the doctor's words.

The man standing next to her helped her up. His skin was rough from years of sun exposure and hard work, and his hands, stained with blood, had thick calluses.

From Qiao Qiao's angle, you could even see several rough cracks on his palms.

The man looked somewhat stunned upon hearing the doctor's words.

"Yes, it's best to go as soon as possible, don't delay." The doctor nodded, his expression serious.

"But...but..." The woman was at a loss and could only look at the man beside her.

The man clenched his fist and looked at the doctor: "Excuse me, how much...how much will this cost approximately?"

"The surgery plus post-operative care will conservatively cost around two hundred yuan," the doctor said, looking at the couple with a hint of pity in his eyes.

In those days, the average monthly wage for ordinary workers was between thirty and fifty yuan.

Their area is relatively underdeveloped, and the average wage is far below that level.

Most farmers who toil in the fields can barely make ends meet after a year of hard work. If they earn a net income of 100 yuan a year, it's only because the weather was exceptionally good and the heavens were on their side.

Take him for example. In this small county, he has been a doctor for so many years, and his monthly salary plus allowance is less than thirty yuan.

The couple in front of us were clearly just ordinary farmers, and it would be difficult for them to come up with two hundred.

Sure enough, upon hearing this astronomical figure, the man staggered.

After a long while, he finally uttered a few words: "Let's discuss it first."

"Okay, you two discuss it carefully. I'll disinfect and bandage him first." The doctor nodded understandingly, then turned and left the ward, leaving the couple alone.

Qiao Qiao nestled in Qiao Changdong's arms, curiously observing the family of three separated from her by a hospital bed.

His parents were farmers, dressed simply, and had ordinary appearances.

The boy, who was about eight or nine years old and was leaning against the hospital bed with his legs bent, had dark skin unlike his parents.

His skin was very fair, his features were delicate, and he had red lips and white teeth. He was as handsome as a young master from a wealthy family.

Even though there were several scratches on her cheeks, it didn't detract from her beauty; instead, it added a touch of brokenness.

The young boy seemed very perceptive, noticing her scrutinizing gaze. He abruptly raised his head, looking at her with icy eyes, like a hungry wolf that hadn't yet grown up but was already capable of being fierce and aggressive.

Qiao Qiao received this gaze but didn't feel scared; she just felt that his fierceness was somewhat inexplicable.

Is it because you were so fierce after just one glance?

Moreover, she felt that the face looked familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

"Xiao Jun, how are you? Does it hurt a lot?"

The woman walked to the boy's bedside, and asked with some heartache, reaching out to touch his head, but the boy turned his head away.

Seeing this, the woman lowered her head, somewhat hurt.

She seemed to have processed her grief for a while before looking up at the man beside her and hesitantly asking, "Honey, what should we do? Xiao Jun... should we go to the hospital in the provincial capital?"

"Go where are you going! Where are we going to get the money!" The man's eyes flashed with anger as he glanced at the pale-faced boy on the hospital bed, who kept his head down and wouldn't look at them.

"It's better to have a broken leg, at least I won't die." The good thing is, I won't be able to run away anymore!

After speaking coldly, the man glanced at the woman again, saying, "I'm going back to get some things. You stay here and keep watch, don't let him run around again, understand?"

The woman nodded eagerly.

After the man strode away, the woman lowered her head, moved a stool from the side, and sat down beside the boy's hospital bed.

He seemed determined to stay by the young boy's side at all times.

Qiao Qiao looked away, pulled Qiao Changdong who was still hugging her, and whispered in his ear, "Dad, they're so strange."

That's really strange.

Qiao Changdong felt the same way.

First of all, this young boy and his parents, who claim to be his parents, are completely different, not to mention that their skin tones are two different shades, one dark and one fair.

They don't even have any resemblance in their facial features.

Unless there is a genetic mutation, it would be impossible for such a beautiful child to be born when both parents are ordinary.

Furthermore, the man who claimed to be the father was unusually cold.

Even if there's no money for treatment, as a father, he shouldn't say things like, "He won't die, even if he loses a leg, it's fine."

Of course, most importantly, he saw hatred and ruthlessness in the eyes of that young boy.

This "family of three" is probably not simple.

Having driven trucks for years, Qiao Changdong had already guessed what was going on.

He patted his precious daughter's head in his arms without saying anything. He simply straightened her clothes, made sure the bracelet wouldn't be visible, and then went to the hot water room outside the corridor to get her another hot water bath.

I was so busy watching the excitement that the water got cold by the time I put it aside.

The temperature was quite low on the early autumn morning, and he couldn't bear to let his precious daughter use cold water.

While Qiao Changdong went to fetch water, Qiao Qiao sat on her hospital bed, glancing occasionally at the somber atmosphere between her and her son.

Half a minute later, she finally remembered why the boy looked familiar.