Chapter 202: Nosebleed

Chapter 202: Nosebleed
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Jiang Xia had just finished wiping away Jiang Gu’s tears and playfully pinched her chubby little cheeks. Upon seeing Jiang Gu’s increasingly plump and healthy face, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.
It seemed that Jiang Gu was aware her sister was deliberately pinching her face. She pouted in displeasure, about to protest, when they heard a loud wail from not too far off.
Both Jiang Xia and Jiang Gu were taken aback, almost forgetting the presence of another child lying on the ground.
Among all the children, Jiang Xia was the oldest. Naturally, it fell to her to resolve disputes among the younger ones.
She walked over to the chubby little boy, exerting all her strength to help him stand up. She thought to herself how impressive it was that, in these hard times when everyone was struggling for sustenance, someone could still manage to raise such a chubby child.
After helping the chubby boy up, Jiang Xia discovered why he was crying. He had been knocked down, and his first instinct was to protect the bird egg he was holding, forgetting to shield his face. Not only was his face smeared with mud, but his nose had also been bumped and was bleeding.
Feeling his nose was wet, the chubby boy wiped it with his hand, only to smear blood all over his face and hand.
Unfamiliar with the concept of a nosebleed, seeing his own blood led him to wail in fear.
Jiang Xia’s first reaction was to glance at Jiang Gu. She had to exert a lot of effort to lift the chubby boy, but Jiang Gu had managed to knock him down, even causing a nosebleed.
Could it be that Jiang Gu was as strong as their mother, stronger than most people?
Upon further thought, the chubby boy was indeed heavy. Because of his weight, a fall would likely injure him more than others, making a nosebleed a reasonable outcome.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Jiang Xia gently lifted the boy’s chin to make him tilt his head back, trying to reduce the blood flow. Simultaneously, she comforted him, “Don’t be scared. This is just a small blood vessel in your nose that’s burst, causing the bleeding. It’s not serious, and it doesn’t hurt much, right?”
The chubby boy took a moment to really register the pain and, realizing it wasn’t as severe as he’d imagined, stopped crying.
In this era in rural areas, tissues were a rare commodity. Most villagers used coarse tree bark paper, which would sting when rubbed against the skin.
Not expecting to find any paper, Jiang Xia looked around for something to stop the bleeding. It was just after the harvest season, and most leaves had fallen to the ground, leaving only dry and brittle ones that crumbled at a touch.
Just then, a small, tender yellow leaf fluttered down from a tree. Although it was tiny, it could serve a purpose.
Jiang Xia picked up the leaf, cleaned it on her clothes, and even rubbed it a bit to make it softer. Then, she rolled it into a small tube and gently placed it into the boy’s nostril to stem the bleeding.
Once she had attended to his nosebleed, Jiang Xia led the group of children to the river to clean him up.
At the shallow, pitifully small river, Jiang Xia cleaned up the chubby boy and used her own sleeve to dry his face.
Just as they finished, they ran into Jiang Chuan and Xu Niu, who had just returned from buying wine.
Curious about Jiang Xia and the chubby boy’s disheveled state, Jiang Chuan asked what had happened. After hearing a brief account of the incident, Jiang Chuan sternly said, “You need to take Jiang Gu with you, return him home, and make sure to apologize!”
Jiang Chuan was concerned that Jiang Gu, being young, would feel especially wronged if reprimanded too harshly. But now was a critical time for a child’s education, and it was important to instill the right values. If they didn’t explain to her the gravity of the situation, Jiang Gu might grow up to be spoiled and arrogant due to family bias.
Bending down, Jiang Chuan gently ruffled Jiang Gu’s round little head, specifically reminding her, “Jiang Gu, daddy knows it wasn’t on purpose. But when we cause someone else to get hurt because of our mistake, we must apologize, understand?”
Jiang Gu’s eyes became moist. She knew she had done something wrong, but unlike grandmother, her father didn’t scold or hit her, which made her feel even more remorseful. So, she obediently nodded, took Jiang Xia’s finger, and followed her away.