She Became A Downfall Noble Lady-Chapter 45 - Little Guy

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Little Guy

Chapter 45 -45 Little Guy

It was unclear whether it was due to Nanny Jin’s constant chatter the entire afternoon or the soothing atmosphere of the second branch of the Qi family that settled the little fellow, but by dinnertime, Qi Congming was no longer as panicked as he was at lunchtime. Although he still looked dazed, his body had relaxed considerably.

The few people in the Second Branch family were afraid that he would accidentally scrape his wounds if left alone, so out of the normally busy trio, one would always stay with him. This meant there was more hustle and bustle with the preparation of rice tofu.

After dinner, as the sky gradually darkened.

The second branch of the Qi family didn’t just chat casually by moonlight and go to bed like other farm families. They had to prepare for selling at the market tomorrow and could only afford the luxury of lighting an oil lamp.

The oil lamp was placed on the table, and Qi Congming’s expression changed. He probably had never watched the flame of an oil lamp from such a close distance before. His dark, glossy eyes stared curiously at the flame without wanting to blink.

In the end, it was Nanny Jin who, fearing he would hurt his eyes from staring at the flame, coaxed him after a long conversation to look away and took the oil lamp down from the kang table.

The most troublesome part was the washing before bedtime. Just looking at Qi Congming’s skin, one could tell he hadn’t bathed in a long time. The grime and dead skin mixed together, almost concealing the natural color of his tender skin. Although children from farm families in this era were not so particular, this was still too much.

Not only did Qi Congming have two burns on his back, but he also had two scabs on his legs that hadn’t fallen off. When Ye Xinyan was cleaning him, she needed to be careful to avoid his wounds, so the cooperation of the little fellow was crucial.

Fortunately, Nanny Jin’s nagging for most of the day was not in vain. When Ye Xinyan was wiping his body, the little fellow at least managed to stay still, which significantly eased Ye Xinyan’s cleaning effort.

Cleaning the body before bed was one thing, but they also needed to take him to the medical hall tomorrow. A clean child would make a good impression on the doctor and ensure serious attention to his injuries.

It took Ye Xinyan changing the water three times before the little fellow’s skin finally revealed its true color.

“Thank goodness, thanks to Ye Zi’s deft touch, the wounds weren’t wetted,” Qi Younian, who was anxiously watching and feeling helpless at the side, breathed a sigh of relief after Qi Congming’s successful bathing.

He suggested in a negotiating tone to Qi Congming, “Congming, how about Grandpa sleeps with you in the outer room, is that okay?”

Nanny Jin took over the conversation from Qi Younian, “The old master has never taken care of children, and now that he’s injured, it would be better to let Congming sleep in the inner room. With me and Ye Xinyan looking after him, it’s safer.”

Where the little fellow would sleep was a minor matter, but Ye Xinyan had strong opinions about his name.

She said, “Grandfather, the name Qi Congming was given to him at his great uncle’s house. Let’s change his name. This name makes me uncomfortable just hearing it; it always reminds me of what happened at the great uncle’s home. With a new name, the little fellow can have fewer ties to the great uncle’s family.”

Qi Younian agreed, feeling that it was better to have a name from their own family, “Then take your time to think of one, see what name would be nice.”

“About that…” She only wanted to make sure that the name didn’t follow the Third Branch family. As for naming, she was not skilled at it.

Seeing her struggle, Qi Younian laughed, already understanding her thoughts, “No hurry, there are still some days until the formal adoption, take your time.”

“Oh…” How would she come up with anything by taking her time? She was terrible at naming, wasn’t she?

Looking at Qi Congming again, the little fellow had been through so much today, and after being full and washed thoroughly by Ye Xinyan, he fell asleep on the pillow without needing Nanny Jin to coax him.

There was no rush; for the name, as long as the meaning was good and it looked pleasing to the eye, that would be fine. They were just an ordinary farming family, not a lineage of scholars; there was no need for so many niceties.

The next day, like always, the second branch of the Qi family loaded up the market stall equipment and items onto the cart early in the morning. Ye Xinyan picked up the still-sleeping Qi Jia and placed him on the donkey cart, letting him lean in Nanny Jin’s arms.

It wasn’t difficult at all; after a good night’s sleep, Ye Xinyan had already thought of a name for her younger brother: Qi Jia.

She found the name satisfactory; it had a good meaning, and it rolled off the tongue easily.

By referring to him early on this way, Qi Jia would be able to adapt sooner to his future life and feel a sense of belonging. It would also signal to the Qi Yourong family that the child had completely broken ties with the Qi Family Third Branch.

With the donkey cart now accommodating the injured Qi Jia, there was no extra space. Ye Xinyan had no choice but to follow the cart on foot, heading towards the county town.

Today, Nanny Jin’s rice tofu stall had an extra sleeping child, prompting many regular customers to ask questions out of curiosity.

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Nanny Jin looked at Qi Jia, sound asleep on the thick cotton quilt, her face filled with contentment.

She vaguely explained to people that the child was her master’s grandson who had suffered a burn injury the day before, so it was not safe to leave him at home. She brought him along today, planning to visit the doctor after closing the stall.

She spoke nothing but the truth, but by omitting many details and origins, she avoided a lot of explanation and hassle.

Upon hearing this, the customers supplemented the story with their imaginative scenarios and discussed various reasons why it was not a good idea to leave a child alone at home. Then, a well-meaning customer suggested that not far ahead, beyond a street, there was a clinic with a doctor who was good at treating burns.

Nanny Jin quickly expressed her gratitude and made a note of the clinic mentioned.

At the beginning of Chen Hour, the child vaguely opened his eyes. Nanny Jin’s hands were full, so she gently coaxed him back to snooze for a while. After a bit, Qi Jia fully awoke and, without making a fuss, just sat up obediently and quietly watched the three of them busily working.

Gradually, the novel environment and the bustling street aroused curiosity in Qi Jia’s eyes. His big eyes started roving around, glancing at the customers at the stall before darting to look down the streets, becoming brighter and more lively.

Ye Xinyan and Qi Younian, while serving the customers, also looked after Qi Jia. They were astonished to find that although the child sat motionless, his eyes were agile, and the sparkle within them had improved immensely since the day before.

During a lull, Nanny Jin let him drink half a bowl of water and picked out a piece of spread cake that wasn’t too hot for him.

Clutching the spread cake, the little one’s timidness returned.

With Nanny Jin’s continuous gentle coaxing, he tentatively bit into the spread cake and then looked up at Nanny Jin again. Seeing her smiling pleasantly and looking pleased, he began to chew.

Nanny Jin, watching him eat the cake bit by bit with relish, went back to her work reassured, but also feeling a pang for the child, pondering how harshly he must have been treated that he needed to gauge people’s reactions even when eating something.

When the rice tofu sold out and there were just a few pancakes and spread cakes left, which they decided not to sell, Nanny Jin stayed behind to clean up the small stall, while Qi Younian and Ye Xinyan went to the clinic to have Qi Jia’s burn looked at.

Qi Jia was so thin that he hardly weighed much, Ye Xinyan decided to carry him directly to the clinic, as directed by the customers.

They crossed a street and, sure enough, saw a clinic with a plaque hanging high. There weren’t many patients inside the clinic, and as soon as they entered, they could see the onsite doctor, an energetic man in his fifties.

After the two customers in front had their pulses taken and went to fetch their medicines, Ye Xinyan, holding Qi Jia, approached and simply said to the doctor, “My younger brother has a burn on his back, and the skin got scraped off. We couldn’t come to the county in time yesterday, so we applied some wound ointment, but it hasn’t gotten better today. Could you have a look and see what else is necessary for his treatment?”

While speaking and under the doctor’s gaze, she lifted Qi Jia’s slightly oversized clothes to reveal the wounds on his back.