If they were saved, it was because Doctor Wu’s medical skills were good. If they could not be saved, it was because his time was up.
Doctor Wu had lived in the village for three years, and the villagers more or less understood his temper. Moreover, his family was in danger right now, so Zhou Quan could not possibly offend Doctor Wu.
Doctor Wu made things clear, and Zhou Quan quickly realized his mistake.
Zhou Quan apologized, but Old Wu did not argue with him. He went straight into the house to see the injured.
Su Sanlang followed closely behind. As soon as he entered the room, he smelled a strong stench of blood. He looked towards the bed. One of them was lying on the bed, his fate unknown. The other was sitting in front of the bed, one arm hanging down, his expression uncontrollably twisted.
Old Wu stepped forward and the woman immediately retreated.
The two of them were seriously injured. One of them had lost a leg, while the other had his hand bitten off and his bones shattered. The hand was attached by only skin.
After Old Wu took a look, he said, “His injuries are too serious. He has to stop the bleeding to save his life. Let’s leave everything to fate. A broken hand can be reconnected, but it will be useless in the future.”
As Old Wu spoke, he opened the medical kit and took out silver needles to insert the needle.
He was lucky to have escaped from the tiger’s mouth, but he was probably useless now.
He was lucky to be alive.
When the hot water was brought, he cleaned the blood and shattered bones from the wound. The unconscious person woke up in pain, but quickly fainted again from the pain.
By the time Old Wu finished treating the wounds of the two injured, the sky was already bright.
Zhou Quan’s wife brought over some chicken soup and helped feed it to the two relatives.
Their faces were pale as they thanked Old Wu gratefully. “Doctor Wu, thank you for saving us.”
Old Wu’s expression was calm. He did not speak and only waved his hand.
The two of them were father and son. The one who was seriously injured and lost a leg was the father, while the one who injured his left hand was the son. The father’s name was Zhou Anding, and the son’s name was Zhou Shunshun.
“I’m old after all. After decades of hunting, I almost lost my life this time.”
Zhou Anding sighed. He felt lucky to have survived and regretful that he had not been able to hunt down a tiger.
Zhou Shunshun lowered his head and said guiltily, “Father, it’s all my fault. I was useless.”
If not for his slow reaction, the tiger would not have broken free and they wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Zhou Anding did not blame Zhou Shunshun. Instead, he comforted him and said, “You can’t be blamed for this. Tigers are different from other ferocious beasts. It’s normal for you to be afraid. This is heaven’s will. Although we didn’t manage to get rich, we’re lucky to have survived.”
Zhou Anding looked exhausted. He looked at Zhou Quan and said, “Good nephew, it’s all thanks to you that we can live this time.”
Zhou Quan hurriedly waved his hand and said, “Second Uncle, we are of the same family. Why are you saying such things? Just stay at home and recuperate.”
Zhou Anding and Zhou Shunshun nodded.
Old Wu packed his things and said, “Come and get the medicine later. Take the medicine on time three times a day. I’ll come and change the medicine once a day. As long as you don’t have a high fever for the next three days, your life will basically be safe.”
“Okay, okay.”
Zhou Quan nodded repeatedly and said to the woman, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go get the medicine with Doctor Wu.”
Zhou Quan’s wife, Madam Sun, immediately nodded. “Alright, alright.”
Old Wu handed the medical kit to Su Sanlang while he walked out of the house with his hands behind his back.
Su Sanlang seemed to have something on his mind. He looked at the Zhou father and son, as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end, he didn’t. He followed Old Wu back.
Madam Sun followed along and asked many questions along the way.
Madam Sun took ten taels of silver for the medicine. Old Wu went to get the medicine while Madam Sun waited. Seeing that Su Sanlang did not leave, she smiled and said, “By the way, Brother Su, I remember that you’re also good at hunting. Perhaps you should try to catch that big tiger. If you really catch it, you’ll be rich. A tiger can easily be worth a few hundred taels of silver.”
“Although my second uncle and his son are seriously injured now, they caught tigers in the past. Catching big wild boars was also a common thing. Ordinary families like ours don’t earn much money every year, but those who are good at hunting can easily earn dozens or hundreds of taels of silver. We can also earn a few taels of silver just by running errands for them.”
As Madam Sun spoke, she couldn’t help but smile happily. Although Zhou Anding and his son were seriously injured, they had money. If she saved their lives, her family would benefit a lot.
Therefore, this was a good thing for their family. They would also get a lot of money and Zhou Anding would owe them a favor.
Everyone in the village knew about Su Sanlang’s family.
Madam Sun was just saying that for the sake of it. It didn’t matter if Su Sanlang went or not. She wouldn’t lose anything if he did not go, but if he went, what if he really hunted a tiger? Wouldn’t he owe her a favor then?
Su Sanlang’s expression was calm. He did not reply and turned around to leave.
Madam Sun pursed her lips and didn’t mind. In any case, she was chatting.
After grabbing the medicine, Madam Sun went back.
Su Sanlang went to find Old Wu. He hadn’t figured out how to ask yet.
Old Wu was the first to lose his patience. He said angrily, “You’re a man. Why are you dawdling like a woman? If you have something to say, say it. If not, get out. Don’t be an eyesore here.”
Su Sanlang took a deep breath and asked, “Doctor Wu, how much can a tiger be worth?”
Old Wu looked at Su Sanlang and saw his determined expression. He said, “A tiger’s body is full of treasures. It’s worth at least a hundred taels of silver. If it’s a young and strong tiger, it’s worth at least three hundred taels.”
Su Sanlang’s eyes seemed to light up. Seeing him like this, Old Wu didn’t need to think about what Su Sanlang wanted to do. He sneered and said, “You want to fight tigers. I think you’re just going to become their food. From the wounds of that father and son, they met a male tiger. A male tiger in his prime, young and strong. I advise you to give up on that idea.”
Old Wu’s words were undoubtedly a bucket of cold water.
Su Sanlang’s eyes dimmed. Tigers were valuable, but he might not succeed even if he risked his life.
Some time ago, he had never left the mountains empty-handed. He seemed to be very lucky, but before their family could enjoy a good winter, bad luck came.
Su Sanlang went out, disheartened.
Wu watched him go and shook his head gently.
The news that a tiger had hurt someone quickly spread throughout the village. Everyone went to Zhou Quan’s house to see Zhou Anding and his son. They mainly wanted to find out if the tiger was far from the village. What if it got cold and it ran down the mountain to hurt people in the village?
Fortunately, the father and son said that the tiger was a few mountains away from Southern Mountain Village. In the deep mountains, there were also many wild boars. As long as people did not take the initiative to provoke them, the tiger would not leave the mountain.
Only then did the people relax.