Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family
Chapter 147: Saving People

Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Saving People

A torrential rain was imminent. They couldn’t afford any more delays; time was running out.

Wuqing nodded and made a strange gesture towards the Space, unlike Gu Qingli’s casual wave.

Dozens of breaths later, Yun No. 20 and another Secret Sect member, Yun No. 18, came up. Their clothes were not their previous black martial attire but rather green short clothes, making them look like two peasant men at first glance.

The two were about to pay their respects when Gu Qingli raised her hand to stop them. "You two go find people first. If there are any injured survivors, have them sent here."

While on the mountain, Gu Qingli had faintly heard heart-rending, heaven-and-earth-shaking wails, but she believed there were still people alive.

Fortunately, there was a spacious earthen terrace here, large enough to accommodate many people. They decided to use it as a temporary medical station.

"Yes, Miss."

The three of them clasped their hands in a bow and hurried away.

After they left, Gu Qingli dug a broom out from the debris and swept the ground clean.

Once swept clean, she could see several finger-width cracks in the earthen terrace.

This indicated the earthquake’s severe intensity.

By now, most of the villagers had returned and were busy searching for their food supplies or cooking something to eat.

「」

On the other side, Gu Chang’an had arranged for people to help search for survivors. He then sent several young men to the back of the village to check if the cliff caves were still there and not sealed by collapsed earth.

If they were sealed, they had to be dug out immediately.

The village was built along the mountain, and there were many cliff caves at its foot. They were usually unused, but with the imminent torrential rain, many people could only take temporary shelter there.

Gu Chang’an also had people clear the fallen trees and bamboo in front of the cliff caves, instructing them to do their best to erect some temporary shelters.

After arranging everything, Gu Chang’an went to Aunt Xiangqin’s place to look for Gu Qingli.

He felt this child was very knowledgeable; perhaps she could devise solutions for problems he couldn’t handle.

When Gu Chang’an arrived, Gu Qingli had already cleaned up the terrace. Seeing him approach, she put down her broom and asked, "Second Grandfather, is everything arranged?"

"Yes, I’ve made some simple arrangements. By the way, Xiaoli, why are you sweeping this clean? When the downpour arrives, it will wash everything away. Why bother?"

"Second Grandfather, I plan to treat the rescued survivors here," Gu Qingli said, pointing to her medical box and then looking at the dark clouds in the sky.

The dark clouds continued to gather, pressing down heavily as if the sky itself might collapse. However, the rain wouldn’t start for a little while yet. But once it began, it was likely to be severe.

"Xiaoli knows medical skills?" Gu Chang’an was surprised.

Gu Qingli nodded. "I only have a superficial understanding. Last year, Doctor Shen gave me a medical book, and I took an immediate liking to it. Later, Yunjing’s family also had two such books. He taught me to read, and after that, I just figured things out on my own."

"Oh? Xiaoli is smart."

Gu Da’an believed Gu Qingli’s words. In the past, Xiaoli had indeed loved to trail after Gu Qingming and his brother, secretly learning to read.

Later, when she was discovered, Ms. Hua beat her many times.

The Xiao Family had always been somewhat mysterious, so it wasn’t surprising they had a collection of books. Their family even possessed a few ancient texts.

Such a good child, he thought. Why isn’t she my granddaughter? If she were, we would dote on her endlessly.

Gu Chang’an went to check on Daniu, who was still unconscious on the ground. Seeing his steady breathing, he knew Daniu was out of danger.

"Oh, right, Second Grandfather! Please hurry and tell everyone to check the river and well water for anything unusual before drawing it. They absolutely must not drink unboiled water; they could get poisoned."

Gu Qingli suddenly remembered that in modern times, very few people still drank directly from wells and rivers. She had almost overlooked this critical issue. After an earthquake, ground fissures could allow large quantities of subterranean minerals to seep into surface water, and these substances could be toxic. Normally, surface water isn’t fit for direct consumption post-earthquake. However, if uncontaminated, it can be drunk after boiling.

Hearing this, Gu Da’an hurried off.

It wouldn’t be worth surviving the earthquake only to die from drinking contaminated water. That would be a terrible waste. Why hadn’t Doctor Li mentioned this? Or did he not know? Thinking of Doctor Li, Gu Chang’an fumed. The village was in chaos, yet Doctor Li hadn’t come out to see anyone.

"Miss, quickly! This person still has breath!"

Not long after Gu Chang’an left, Wuqing and Yun No. 18 rushed onto the terrace, carrying someone on a cotton quilt. Wuqing called out anxiously.

"Alright, put her down gently." Gu Qingli spoke and brought her medicine box over as the two had already laid the person down.

After placing the person down, Yun No. 20 left, while Wuqing automatically stayed behind to assist her.

The person was unconscious. Gu Qingli quickly examined her.

It was a woman, her face covered in grime, making it impossible to identify her as one of the villagers.

Gu Qingli’s examination revealed the woman was grievously injured. Her internal organs had been compressed for too long, causing abdominal swelling, and she had multiple fractures.

She couldn’t determine if there were bone fragments at the fracture sites. For now, she could only focus on saving the woman’s life; the rest could be dealt with later. Additionally, there was a bleeding wound at her hairline, still slowly seeping blood.

Gu Qingli admired her tenacious life force; she was still alive despite such severe injuries.

She quickly took out a pill and crushed it into powder.

"Miss, what should your servant do?"

"Go to Uncle Dayou’s house and find some wooden planks. Bring a saw too. It would be best if you could also find some spare cloth strips; we’ll need them to immobilize her limbs later."

As Gu Qingli fed the powdered medicine into the woman’s mouth, she rapidly gave her instructions. Wuqing nodded and ran off.

Gu Qingli couldn’t find any saline to clean the wounds. She retrieved several cloths from her Space, undressed the woman, and then covered her private areas with the cotton quilt.

She then used Spiritual spring water to cleanse the wound on the woman’s forehead, quickly applied hemostatic powder, and bandaged her head with gauze she had previously prepared in her medical kit.

This gauze had been purchased earlier in Qiyang County; she had bought a considerable amount and stored it in her Space.

She had just finished bandaging the head wound, and before she could clean the woman’s other injuries, Wuqing and Gu Dayou arrived. They were carrying armfuls of wooden planks, and Gu Dayou had a saw slung over his shoulder.

"Xiaoli, tell your uncle how long you need them cut. I’ll start sawing right away," Gu Dayou said as soon as he put the items down.

"Uncle Dayou, please cut them into one-foot or half-foot lengths."

"Okay."

Gu Dayou immediately set to work.

Wuqing took the cloth from Gu Qingli’s hand and began cleaning the woman.

Gu Qingli bandaged the cleaned wounds and splinted the areas that needed immobilization.

An hour later, the woman’s injuries were finally tended to.

By this time, several more people had been dug out from the ruins and laid on the terrace.

Gu Chang’an had also summoned Doctor Li, who was specifically attending to the injured men.

The women, naturally, were left to Gu Qingli.

Gu Qingli was quite willing. In a doctor’s eyes, there should be no distinction of gender. But this was, after all, not modern times. The distinction between men and women always had to be observed. Otherwise, why were there so few female doctors, and only a handful of female medical practitioners?