NOVPUB
Chapter 384: Chapter 374 Wound Suppuration
Li Hongjun sat by the kang and chatted with Old Li for a while, then, after finding out that his wound had been bandaged five days ago and hadn’t been changed since, he insisted on carrying Old Li to the clinic for a dressing change, despite the couple’s objections.
They had a clinic at their brigade, which wasn’t too far from Taoshu Village, about a twenty-minute walk. However, Old Li didn’t want to tire out his son. Plus, it was just a small scrape, nothing to be so delicate about. He thought it would heal on its own at home without spending money.
"Dad, you have to change the dressing," Li Hongjun insisted. "It’s so hot these days, and your wound could easily get infected. If it gets serious, ask yourself if you still want to keep your leg." Li Hongjun wasn’t trying to scare his father. If the wound truly got infected, anything could happen. He had personally seen someone with a minor injury similar to Old Li’s that, due to neglect, led to a severe infection. By the time they got to the hospital, it was already too late.
"Look how you flap your gums. It’s just a small cut. Someone in our village had a deeper wound than your old man, and they’re fine now, walking and working as usual," Qiu Shuping said. Then she turned to Old Li, "And you, you’re not one for comforts, are you? Your son wants to take you to the clinic, so just go with him. It’s not like you have to pay; what are you fretting about?"
"Mom, if you knew it’s just a small cut on my dad, then why did you tell my brother to call me and say that Dad broke his leg?" Li Hongjun looked directly at Qiu Shuping.
Qiu Shuping didn’t expect him to bring up old matters. Her eyes darted around as she stammered, "That, who knows... I didn’t tell your brother that. It must have been your sister-in-law, who thinks too much and didn’t want to spend money on your father. That’s why she fooled you into coming back."
The other two people present didn’t believe what she said.
"Oh, I thought so. Didn’t I say not to discuss this with Hongjun? How did he end up coming back? It turns out you were the one who caused this trouble, you, you... you’re going to be the death of me. Just wait, when I recover, we’ll see how I deal with you," Old Li said, though in his heart, he was conflicted. He didn’t want to bother his son with his minor issues, making him waste money and time. Yet, deep down, he longed for his son to deem him important enough to put work aside and come to take care of him.
"Humph, we’ll talk about that when you’re better," Qiu Shuping said indifferently, "Enough, I’m not going to argue with you two anymore. I’m going to cook." With that, she scurried out on her small feet.
Li Hongjun didn’t really want to dwell on these issues. As a son, he felt he should come home to fulfill his filial duties if his father got hurt, even if it wasn’t serious. Besides, he hadn’t been home to see his parents for more than two years; it was also an opportunity to check on them.
"Dad, let me see your wound first." Li Hongjun was adamant.
This time, Old Li didn’t object.
Li Hongjun first washed his hands before getting back on the kang and unwrapping the bandage on Old Li’s leg.
"When I got hurt, it was An Quanquan from your Uncle Wang’s family who carried me to the clinic. When you have time, go visit Uncle Wang’s home." He hadn’t yet found the time to thank them, and now that his son was back, it was just as good for him to do it.
"Yeah," Li Hongjun agreed, feeling it was his filial duty, "What about my older brother? Why didn’t he carry you?" Logically, Li Hongxing ought to have been working with Old Li, and when Old Li got hurt, Li Hongxing should have been the one to carry him to the clinic.
"Oh, he was out fixing roads those days; wasn’t at the brigade. I got hurt and couldn’t work the fields, so your mother asked someone to call him back," Old Li explained.
Road repair was a task every village would be assigned each year, contributing to the construction of the nation – a responsibility every citizen couldn’t shirk. Many families who were poor actually liked this work as it paid a daily wage and came with meals. But it was heavy labor, not everyone could manage it. And families that were somewhat well-off wouldn’t let their men endure such hardship.
Li Hongjun was surprised to learn that his older brother had gone to fix roads; he didn’t remember Li Hongxing being particularly strong. Well, to be more precise, although Li Hongxing was a genuine farmer, he always seemed to suffer from this pain or that and was typically a man who avoided heavy labor.
"And now, why doesn’t he come over?" If he could go out and fix roads, taking Old Li to the clinic should be easy as pie.
Old Li fell silent for a while before saying, "He went to fix roads again."
"What about my sister-in-law?" Li Hongjun frowned.
"Your older sister-in-law went with your older brother, she took the child to stay at her parents’ place for a while." All this was the old woman’s incessant chatter by his ear.
"Hiss..."
Li Hongjun stared at Old Li’s leg, which was down to the last layer of bandages that had stuck to the wound, causing Old Li to wince in pain at the slightest touch.
Li Hongjun frowned as he examined the wound.
"Dad, your wound is infected, it needs to be treated at the health clinic."
The wound was about the length of an index finger and had nearly scabbed over, but the bandage had never been removed and had grown together with the skin. Removing the bandage was a hassle, and Old Li was definitely going to suffer. Moreover, the wound was now a mix of black and red and had swollen, clearly oozing pus inside. Such a condition definitely required reopening the wound to squeeze out all the pus.
Old Li also stretched his neck to look at his leg, having not dared to remove the bandage these past few days, he did not know what his leg looked like. Now that he saw it, he too was shocked.
"This, this, I haven’t moved at all, how did it become infected?" Old Li thought about what his son had just said concerning the infection and became anxious. Although he was of considerable age and should not care about life or death, preferring to cling to life was better than dying.
"Let’s go, I’ll carry you to the health clinic right now." Without another word, Li Hongjun rewrapped the bandage as it was because he could not treat it, and decided to wait for the doctor to handle it at the hospital.
He helped Old Li turn on the kang bed so that his leg hung over the edge, then bent down to lift his father onto his back.
Qiu Shuping was cooking in the outer room, still pondering her own little schemes, when the sudden appearance of people from inside the room startled her back to reality.
"Oh my goodness, what are you two doing?" Qiu Shuping shouted at their retreating backs.
"I’m taking my dad to the health clinic."
Li Hongjun’s response floated back from afar.
"This child, always acting so hastily, who did he learn that from?" Qiu Shuping slapped her thigh in frustration, then glanced at the pot, the meal was still not ready.
Well, Qiu Shuping withdrew the fire, dusted off her clothes, and ran after the two.
The three arrived at the health clinic one after the other.
"Doctor, my dad’s wound is a bit infected, can you help take care of it?" Li Hongjun found the only doctor at the health clinic, placed Old Li on the long bench in the room, and made it convenient for the doctor to examine him.
"Oh, isn’t this Old Li? How come you haven’t come in these past few days to change your dressings? That won’t do; the weather is hot, and your wound is not small, definitely prone to infection. If it’s not treated in time, you might very well end up needing an amputation," the doctor recognized Old Li and knew that these old farmers always tried to save every penny and thought they could just endure it, so he deliberately tried to scare him.
"What, amputation?"
