Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity
Chapter 35 - 31: Burns

Chapter 35: Chapter 31: Burns

Gu Chengyu’s face turned cold at this moment. It seemed that Lin Lize was well-versed in the art of speaking. What did he mean by ’careless’? It was clearly intentional, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on this.

"Xiao Bao, let it go, let’s go back! It shouldn’t be a big deal." Gu Chengchi, although feeling more pain, didn’t want to offend Lin Wu and Lin Lize. The Gu Family still had to live in Shangling Village, and they would inevitably need to rely on Lin Lize. Moreover, if his family suffered a great loss and he wanted to learn carpentry in the future, Lin Wu would certainly not teach him earnestly. His father had spent five hundred wen! The family wasn’t well-off to begin with, and this had caused quite a stir with his second sister-in-law.

"Fourth Brother, how can you go back like this? Aren’t you going to make Dad and them worry? Look at you, you can’t even stand steadily. Let Doctor Li take a look." With that, without giving Gu Chengchi a chance to refuse, he supported him to sit by the table. Gu Chengchi sighed. Given the current situation, he would wait for Doctor Li.

The people who initially intended to go home also stayed, waiting to see what would happen. It was only a short while before the noise outside the gate of the Li Zheng family became chaotic, with shouts of "Here they come," and "Here they come." Aunt Wang shouted from the back, and the crowd watching the show immediately made way.

"Uncle Li is here. Quickly, come and check my fourth brother. His leg is injured." As soon as Doctor Li stepped over the courtyard gate, Gu Chengyu hurriedly greeted him.

"Don’t rush. I heard on the way that the injury was from a burn. Quickly prepare a pair of scissors to cut the pants and see how the flesh underneath is." Doctor Li greeted the village chief as he put down the medicine box and ordered.

"Wife, go quickly and fetch a pair of scissors." Gu Chengyu nodded and didn’t care what Lin Lize thought. On the surface, he managed well; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been the village chief for so many years.

Without much talk, Doctor Li held Gu Chengchi still, lifted his injured right leg, glanced at it once, and confidently said, "This has been burned for a while. The pants and flesh are stuck together, the edges of the pants need to be cut first, then separate the fabric from the flesh. It will be quite painful, Gu Family’s Fourth, you must endure it."

Gu Chengchi’s garment was slightly longer. When Gu Chengyu initially looked, he thought only a part of the pants was wet, guessing the skin might just be red. However, pulling up the garment revealed that, already in a short time, the fabric and skin were stuck together. Meanwhile, Gu Chengchi did not make a sound, even planning to boil water. Was he just simple-minded? Gu Chengyu was angered by his sibling’s lack of awareness.

The Li Zheng’s wife reluctantly brought the scissors. Doctor Li took them and cut Gu Chengchi’s pants around the injury so that the burned area could be treated separately. Then he gently peeled off the fabric stuck to the skin, causing Gu Chengchi to break out in a cold sweat instantly from the pain.

At some point, the spectators had gathered in the courtyard. Upon seeing the side of Gu Chengchi’s right thigh, a burn the size of a woman’s palm was revealed, with thin, long wounds below as if traces of liquids had flowed down. The top part was red and swollen, with some skin breakage due to the coarse cloth. The crowd gasped, realizing this wasn’t an accidental spill but a deliberate splash! Again, they marveled at Lin Liuliu’s ruthlessness, glad it wasn’t splashed on his face.

"Today it’s just red and swollen! In the next couple of days, it will surely blister. Now, apply some ointment, and tomorrow you’ll need to change to another kind of medicine. Also, be cautious about any fever, and avoid using the injured leg these days. Keep it dry and avoid rubbing against anything." Doctor Li quickly separated the fabric and applied a black ointment to Gu Chengchi.

"It’s so serious? Uncle Li, how long might it take for the injury to heal? Will it not affect walking in the future?" Gu Chengyu, seeing the ointment changed, quickly asked.

"From the looks of it, it will take at least half a month. The ointment cannot be stopped in the middle. It won’t affect walking in the future, but it will leave a scar. However, the cost of medicine and that ointment are quite expensive. Can you afford it?" Doctor Li saw that the young Gu Family’s fifth child was asking in earnest, like an adult, so he was intrigued to tease him a bit, picking up a writing brush to pen the prescription.

Gu Chengyu pondered for a while. He had gold and silver in his space but couldn’t take them out. Under the current circumstances, being a small child clearly lacked persuasion; it was better to go back to call his father and brothers to handle the compensation matters. With such severe injuries, they needed an explanation. As for Fourth Brother learning carpentry, since there had been a rift, it was better not to pursue it.

Having made up his mind, Gu Chengyu decided to return to call his father and brothers. However, leaving his fourth brother alone here was worrisome; he feared his fourth brother might get taken in by Lin Lize and suffer needlessly.

"Oh! This leg is quite severely injured! Xiao Bao, you alone can’t support your fourth brother. I think your father and they should come to help. I’ll go call them for you, and you wait here." Aunt Wang said and even winked at Gu Chengyu, whose meaning Gu Chengyu understood.

"Then thank you, Aunt Wang. I will surely thank you properly in the future." Aunt Wang was truly a good person! Gu Chengyu was filled with gratitude, seeing in her an empathy lacking in the onlookers, who were only there for a show, swayed by the wind, with some even making sarcastic comments!

"It’s not even their family’s business, being so enthusiastic, could she have some benefit to gain?" No need to guess who it was. Wang Yue couldn’t stand Aunt Wang’s forthrightness. Both married into Shangling Village, with both proposed marriage at the same time, yet Aunt Wang’s husband’s family ignored her beauty, preferring Aunt Wang. What didn’t she have compared to Aunt Wang? It left her feeling inferior in seniority for no reason. Now having offended the Lin Zheng family, she wondered how Aunt Wang could still be so haughty!

"Wang Yue, people should have a conscience. The Gu Family doesn’t have any adults here, what can these two kids understand? So what if I run two errands? I want to! Unlike some people who do unscrupulous deeds." After saying this, Aunt Wang dashed out without waiting for a response. Wang Yue was furious, muttering unknown words, likely not anything pleasant.

Gu Chengyu didn’t want to deal with Wang Yue; his fourth brother’s injury was more urgent. Gu Chengchi was so severely injured, yet the Lin Family remained silent.

"Uncle Li Zheng, you saw it too. My fourth brother’s injury was caused by your family’s Lin Liuliu. Even if my fourth brother came to be an apprentice, he shouldn’t be treated this way, right? If the Lin Family wasn’t satisfied with my fourth brother and didn’t want to accept him as an apprentice, they should have said so. Why let Lin Liuliu humiliate my fourth brother? If this spreads, saying Second Brother Lin mistreats his apprentices, it would surely damage his reputation, wouldn’t it?" Gu Chengyu, seeing his fourth brother seriously injured, didn’t want to be courteous with the Lin Family any longer. He directly pinned the issue on Lin Wu, implying that if they didn’t admit it, it was Lin Liuliu’s fault, which would be more damaging to a girl’s reputation. If they admitted, then it would facilitate the discussion on medical expenses, as well as settle the matter of Gu Chengchi not returning to be an apprentice.

"What are you talking about? I just asked your fourth brother to boil some water! Who would have thought he would get burned? I was inside and had no idea what happened in the courtyard?" Sure enough, before Lin Lize could speak, Lin Wu quickly distanced himself.

Lin Lize was furious. This son had always been less clever than the eldest, but this was too foolish. Now, he had to salvage some reputation for his granddaughter.

"It might be a misunderstanding between the two. Kids, who don’t understand things, and it was unintentional. As for the medical expenses, my Lin Family will cover them all." Seeing that his aim was achieved, Gu Chengyu said no more.

Everyone looked at Doctor Li, who had just finished writing the prescription. After a moment of thought, he said, "This burn ointment is indeed expensive. I have little in stock, only some collected from others, so it isn’t cheap. We’re all from the same village, and buying medicine from me, everyone knows whether the price is fair. Every day requires a dose of ointment, plus some for ingestion, needing over half a month. A daily dose of ointment and medicine costs two hundred wen, making it about three taels of silver for half a month. The herbs I pick from the mountains won’t be charged to you."