The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 27 Wounds and Death

The wild ones are being temperamental, while the biological ones are rumbling in their stomachs, begging to be fed.

An old mother's heart is naturally biased.

Before dawn, the hungry little boy snuggled in his mother's arms and enjoyed a delicious breakfast.

Two large meat buns served with mulberry juice.

A sac full of juice, one sip and you're in heaven.

Others are not so fortunate.

When it got light enough to see people, people started calling for help everywhere.

"My son has a high fever, someone come quick!"

"Wake up! Don't sleep! Don't sleep!"

"Ouch! His head's smashed open, leaving a huge crater! Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"

"Officer, officer, come quick! This guy is barely breathing!"

The officials, their faces contorted with grief and covered in blood, inspected the casualties.

The results were obtained 15 minutes later.

Thirty-eight members of Zuo's nine clans died.

This group included twenty-five men over 45 years old, ten women over 40 years old, and three young women.

The children who were protected by their mother were mostly unharmed.

The men were also unharmed.

They all turned their grateful gazes toward Zuo Wenkang.

He brought everyone together and used wooden yokes as barriers to withstand the hailstorm.

Everyone else suffered injuries, some minor and some serious.

The officials weren't much better off.

Four people died, thirty were slightly injured, and eleven were seriously injured.

The most regrettable thing was that all four big blue mules were crushed to death.

In Daming Prefecture, the market price for mules and horses was at least eighteen taels for a mule cart with a carriage.

They rented this from a carriage rental company, so the compensation will only be more.

The two leaders, surnamed Huang and Mao, with bumps all over their heads, discussed:

“This hailstorm is unusual. Our casualties are too heavy! If we don’t get them medical treatment soon, they may be wiped out before they even reach Shacheng. We must report this to the Prefect of Cheng’an Prefecture.”

"You're right, the brothers' injuries can't be delayed either; two of them are still unconscious!"

"Mule, although mule meat isn't very tasty, it's still meat. Take it to Cheng'an Prefecture to sell."

"That's true, we'll sell whatever we can, whatever we can get to subsidize the business."

The two looked at the less than three hundred taels of public funds and were on the verge of tears.

The medical expenses for so many injured people will all have to come from this!
Will the remaining silver be enough to reach the border town?
This is so worrying!

Finally, they selected ten officers with the lightest injuries and had them drag four mules to Cheng'an Prefecture for help.

The rest of the people could only wait where they were.

By this time, it was already broad daylight.

Seriously injured patients need help taking care of them.

The officials themselves didn't want to help, but they didn't restrict the elderly group from moving back and forth between the young women group.

When Gan Minglan brought Fatty to Luo's place, she was still sitting on the ground, dizzy and disoriented.

His forehead was covered in bruises, and his hair was stained red with blood, which looked rather gruesome.

"Mother, where are you hurt? Are you alright?"

Seeing the concerned looks from her daughter-in-law and eldest grandson, Luo slowly came to her senses after a long while:
"I was hit on the head, and I'm seeing stars. Is it broken?"

Fatty was very worried, holding up his small, round hands: "Grandma, Grandma, look how many fingers this duck has?"

Luo's current vision is such that he sees double when he looks at people.

Her mouth opened like a tiny, fleshy claw with ten fingers.

Fatty covered his mouth and looked up at his mother: "Mom, Grandma has caught your old stupid disease!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the little bottom got a beating. Mrs. Luo clearly couldn't stand anyone hitting her child in front of her.

She hurriedly clarified, "Grandma isn't stupid, Grandma isn't stupid."

In Fatty's eyes, this grandmother was already quite mentally challenged.

Gan Minglan helped her up from the ground and took her back to the cozy nest she had previously prepared for Fatty.

Let her sit on the slightly fluffy bundle and drink an enhanced energy drink to relieve her thirst.

It wasn't that Gan Minglan was reluctant to give her steamed buns or mantou.

Adults are not as easily fooled as four-year-old children.

Mrs. Luo has lived this long life for a reason.

Anyway, all-purpose energy drinks can strengthen the body, and the more you drink, the healthier you'll be.

After settling her new mother-in-law in, Gan Minglan sent Fatty to deliver water to her father.

She was in charge of all four water bladders in the house, so Fatty was perfect for the job of a water deliveryman.

Seeing his lively son, Zuo Wenkang finally felt relieved after a night of worry.

She hurriedly asked, "Son, how is your mother? How's the baby girl in my belly? And what about Grandma?"

The little boy pouted, "Why didn't Daddy ask about the duck?"

Zuo Wenkang chuckled and said, "Aren't you standing right in front of your father? Judging from your appearance, you should be fine."

Fatty then put on an "I forgive you" look and sighed, "Mother and sister are both fine, but Grandmother has gone mad again!"

As he spoke, he described to his father the symptoms of his grandmother's mental illness.

Zuo Wenkang could roughly guess what was going on.

The injury to the head can be minor or major, and his wife's condition is the best evidence of that.

For a moment, I was genuinely worried about his stepmother.

The two, one big and one small, chatted for a long time.

Fatty also accepted his father's request to take good care of himself and not cause trouble for his mother.

Fatty didn't say anything, but he was resentful. He hadn't caused his mother any trouble.

He still had to help his mother deliver water to his brother Xia!
Mrs. She was already in poor health, and she was seriously injured last night.

Zuo Chixia was so worried that blood blisters appeared in her mouth.

The salt water my aunt brought was like nectar, a life-saving medicine.
By the time the doctor from Cheng'an Prefecture was brought back to this desolate wilderness, it was already late afternoon (16:00 PM).

The officials did show some consideration for the lives of the wounded, giving each of them two steamed buns.

Hail fell in Cheng'an Prefecture last night as well.

The houses in the city were severely damaged, and most of the livestock were killed or injured.

All the clinics in the city were overflowing with patients.

If it weren't for the prefect's visiting card, even this one doctor wouldn't have been able to get it.

Fortunately, they were all external injuries. After the doctor examined the injured man briefly, he instructed two apprentices to clean the wounds and apply medicine.

After the doctor finished his rounds, he offered the two leaders the following advice:
"External injuries are easier to treat, but internal injuries are more difficult to heal and require longer treatment periods. If it's not treated thoroughly now, it could become a serious condition in ten days or half a month."

According to the relevant judicial interpretations of the Bei State Law:
If a prisoner falls ill while being escorted by officials, the officials must report to the local official or governor and allow the prisoner to stay for medical treatment (not exceeding 100 days).

If a prisoner dies suddenly during transport, the escort must report to the authorities and obtain official certification before being exempted from liability.

If the death rate exceeds half, the bailiffs will also be punished.

The doctor was clearly someone who dealt with government officials year-round, and he was afraid that if these people died on the road, the escorts would not be able to deliver on their mission.

As a result, all those with serious injuries were sent to the hospital.

Those with minor injuries and those who were uninjured were transferred to the Cheng'an Prefecture government prison.

Gan Minglan is just speechless!

Why don't they pay for their own stay at the inn?

That won't do!

The imperial court has its own regulations.

And it's easiest for the officials to transfer the prisoners to jail.

(End of this chapter)