Unwrapping the gauze revealed the wound.
The stitches below the little finger had burst open in three places and were bleeding.
“Since you’re injured, don’t move around recklessly. If there’s any work, just call me to do it, right?”
Tang Dongdong’s eyes misted over, but she held back her tears. “Mancang too, doesn’t he know you have an injury on your hand?”
“You’re wronging Mancang. He didn’t let me do anything; I did it carelessly myself.”
Jin Feng was somewhat helpless. “Besides, it’s just the wound bursting open. I’ll go find Xiaorou to stitch it again later; it’s not a big deal.”
The jujube wood wasn’t placed properly and rolled off the table. Jin Feng instinctively reached out to catch it.
That must have been what burst the wound open.
“Xiaorou is coaxing Xiao’e to sleep…”
Tang Dongdong hesitated for a moment, then said softly, “I’ll stitch it for you.”
Which young woman doesn’t dream of love?
Especially in life-and-death situations, emotions stir easily.
Previously, when Tang Dongdong said she wanted to marry Jin Feng, it was more out of desperation. But after last night, her heart had quietly changed.
Twenty taels of silver could sustain an ordinary family for years, yet to save her, Jin Feng handed it over without hesitation.
He didn’t even blink.
With her family fallen and living under another’s roof, though she appeared calm, deep down she felt insecure like Runniang, full of uncertainty about the future.
But the moment Jin Feng grabbed the blade, her heartbeat stopped.
No more confusion, no more fear.
This not-so-strong man gave her a long-lost sense of security.
It was then that Tang Dongdong knew she might never leave this man for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately, he didn’t want to marry her…
How could Jin Feng know Tang Dongdong had thought so much in such a short time?
Knowing Guan Xiaorou was coaxing Xiao’e, he didn’t think much and followed Tang Dongdong into the wooden shelter.
Without needing instructions, Runniang had already run to the kitchen to boil water.
Though she didn’t understand why Jin Feng wanted to boil the thread in hot water, what did it matter? Having something to do was enough.
Ordinary needle and thread aren’t suitable for stitching wounds; they’re prone to infection, and removing them after healing is extremely painful.
Moreover, injuries from metal require a tetanus shot.
Unfortunately, conditions here were limited, so such things were out of the question.
Many farmers, when injured, just sprinkled dry soil on the wound, stopped the bleeding, and ignored it.
Tang Dongdong’s personality was more cheerful and resilient than Guan Xiaorou’s and Runniang’s.
Once familiar, she could be quite carefree.
But when stitching Jin Feng’s wound, she was extremely careful.
She inserted the needle bit by bit and pulled it out bit by bit.
Unaware that this made it even more painful for Jin Feng.
But seeing Tang Dongdong on the verge of tears, he decided to endure it.
Simple three stitches, even for a novice intern nurse, would take one or two minutes.
Tang Dongdong took a full five minutes, and Jin Feng nearly bruised his thigh from pinching it before she finished.
He decided that if the stitches burst again next time, he wouldn’t let Tang Dongdong stitch them no matter what.
Runniang couldn’t stay idle and always wanted something to do. Tang Dongdong was eager to earn money soon and expand the workshop. Fearing they might spin secretly at night, Jin Feng dismantled the spinning wheel’s pedal before leaving.
Back at the blacksmith shop, Mancang had followed Jin Feng’s instructions, chopping the jujube trees into sections and carefully peeling the bark with a chopper.
Jin Feng could entrust spinning wheel parts to the carpenter, as even if they spread, it wouldn’t matter much; he could upgrade them anytime.
But not the bows and crossbows.
Their lethality was too great. If they spread, the consequences were unpredictable.
So, he preferred Mancang to grind slowly with a chopper rather than seek a carpenter’s help.
Knowing the wound had burst earlier, Mancang refused to let Jin Feng work anymore.
With no choice, Jin Feng sat aside, idly thinking about improving the furnace.
The two waited until the moon was high overhead before the dusty Zhang Liang returned.
Upon returning, without a word, he first grabbed the water jug and gulped down half of it.
“Brother Liang, you’ve worked hard.”
Jin Feng stood, lifted a small hanging pot from the stove, and served a bowl of rice porridge. “The food’s been kept warm for you. Eat quickly.”
From noon until now, Zhang Liang had been travelling and was starving, his stomach empty.
Ignoring the heat, he lifted the bowl and slurped the porridge clean in a few gulps.
Jin Feng smiled and served him another bowl.
He knew that Zhang Liang eating like this meant he brought good news.
Only after finishing the small pot of porridge did Zhang Liang burp contentedly. “When you wanted to buy this hanging pot, I said it was unnecessary. Now I see it’s a good thing, very convenient.”
“Yes, once I fix the furnace, it’ll burn all day. With a hanging pot, we can have hot water anytime.”
Jin Feng laughed too.
People in this era had no habit of drinking boiled water. Thirsty on the road, they’d scoop water from a ditch.
Since traversing, Jin Feng had never drunk unboiled water.
But boiling water separately each day was inconvenient.
So, during the big purchase in the county, he bought this hanging pot.
At the time, Zhang Liang and the village head thought him wasteful.
A small hanging pot cost several hundred wen.
They asked why he didn’t make one himself.
They didn’t know that making an iron pot was far more technically demanding than a chopper.
No wonder it was so expensive.
Trust those you employ, employ those you trust.
Since deciding to have Zhang Mancang help with the crossbows, he treated him as one of their own and asked in front of him,
“Brother Liang, what did your brother say? Was Baldy from Maomao Mountain?”
“Yes, and he was the third leader of Maomao Mountain.”
Zhang Liang’s words startled Jin Feng.
Killing the bandits’ third leader, wouldn’t Maomao Mountain explode in rage?
“Don’t panic yet, let me finish.”
Zhang Liang continued, “Like Xie Guang, this guy was addicted to gambling. After losing his money, he stole grain from the mountain to sell for gambling funds and was expelled from Maomao Mountain last year.”
“No wonder he hooked up with Xie Guang; that’s how it was.”
Hearing this, Jin Feng’s heart finally settled.
Since he was expelled, Baldy’s life or death had nothing to do with Maomao Mountain. They wouldn’t come to Tiegushan bandits’ territory for a traitor.
“But my brother said Baldy had a life-and-death bond with Maomao Mountain’s second leader. When Baldy stole the grain, by rules he should’ve been punished with three stabs and six holes, but the second leader cut off his own finger to save him.”
Zhang Liang added, “My brother said other bandits at Maomao Mountain won’t care if they know we killed Baldy, but we should watch out for this second leader.”
The stone that had just settled in Jin Feng’s heart rose again.
