Chapter Seven: Rescue

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Qiao Luo felt she looked somewhat familiar. After a moment’s thought, she hesitated slightly before speaking, “I remember you’re... the military wife living next door?”

She recalled that this military wife had once spoken on Qin Yanzhou’s behalf.

The woman smiled brightly. “Yes, I live next door. My name is Zhou Mengni. My husband is Qian Zhiyi, the commander of the Third Battalion.”

She lifted the basket in her hand. “These are vegetables I grew in my own yard. Commander Qin never tended the garden before, and since you just moved in, I thought I’d bring some over. That way, you don’t have to go out to buy them.”

Qiao Luo felt a bit awkward and quickly opened the yard gate to let Zhou Mengni in. “This is too much, really.”

“What’s there to be shy about?” Zhou Mengni said cheerfully, shoving the basket into Qiao Luo’s hands. “They’re homegrown, so they’re not worth much. There are only two of us at home anyway; we can’t eat all of it.”

Unable to refuse such kindness, Qiao Luo took the basket, carried it into the kitchen, emptied its contents, and then returned the basket. “Thank you so much, Comrade Zhou Mengni. I was just planning to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things. I even thought about picking up some vegetables on the way back!”

“You can just call me Mengni,” Zhou Mengni replied, taking back the basket. “Actually, I’m going to buy some snow cream at the cooperative. How about we go together?”

Qiao Luo thought it would be nice to have company, and Zhou Mengni seemed quite friendly, even bringing her vegetables. She readily agreed.

The two walked toward the cooperative. Qiao Luo was curious about Zhou Mengni’s age since she appeared younger than her. She asked casually, “Mengni, you don’t look very old. How come you’re already married?”

At this topic, Zhou Mengni pouted. “I got married earlier this year... I was just eighteen when a matchmaker came to introduce someone. My parents heard he was a soldier and even a battalion commander, so they agreed immediately. I met him once, and then we got married.”

Qiao Luo’s eyes widened. “So you’re only... nineteen? You’re even younger than me!”

“Not by much,” Zhou Mengni said with a rare troubled expression. “But I really envy you and Commander Qin. You two have such a good relationship, unlike me and my husband...”

Qiao Luo was taken aback. “Haven’t you been married less than a year?”

Zhou Mengni sighed. “My husband is a cold person. We didn’t know each other well before marriage, so now it’s just like putting up with each other... What’s the word? Mutual respect with distance! Yes, that’s it!”

Qiao Luo frowned tightly. “You’re already ‘mutual respect with distance’? How will you get through the next several decades?”

“For now, this will have to do!” Zhou Mengni said, brightening up quickly. “Come on, the cooperative is just up ahead!”

They arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative. It was Qiao Luo’s first time seeing such a vintage-style store, and she looked around with curiosity.

However, the cooperative was crowded. If Zhou Mengni hadn’t been holding tightly onto Qiao Luo’s hand, Qiao Luo might have been pushed out of the place.

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Thinking of the many pickpockets at that time, Qiao Luo clutched the inner pocket where she kept her money, afraid someone might steal it.

As they struggled forward, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead. The crowd quickly dispersed, leaving a clear space.

Qiao Luo was stunned. She couldn’t imagine how the dense crowd had suddenly opened up so much space.

She soon learned that an old man standing in line had fainted. Everyone around was frightened, afraid of taking responsibility, so they hurriedly moved away.

A nearby clerk noticed the situation and screamed, “Is there a doctor here? Someone please help!”

People around exchanged glances—clearly, there was no doctor.

“He doesn’t seem to be breathing!” someone muttered. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

Panic swept through the crowd.

Qiao Luo saw the elderly man lying on his back, his lips blue and purple—obviously suffering from cardiac arrest due to insufficient blood flow to the heart. The immediate action should be CPR.

“Please make way!” Qiao Luo pushed through the crowd. “He can still be saved!”

The clerk asked immediately, “Are you a doctor, miss?”

“Sort of,” Qiao Luo answered vaguely and knelt down to start CPR.

She was a medical intern, which should count as a doctor, right?

Zhou Mengni hurried over, anxiously staying by Qiao Luo’s side.

“He’s already dead; will pressing his chest do any good?”

“She looks so young. Could she really be a doctor?”

“Maybe she’s just trying everything she can, like a last-ditch effort.”

“Oh dear! This girl’s crazy, pressing the chest of a dead man. What if the family blames her?”

Qiao Luo ignored the murmurs and continued the chest compressions with steady rhythm.

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CPR is extremely exhausting. After a short while, sweat began to trickle down Qiao Luo’s temples.

The worst part was her arms growing numb and aching. If not for her determination to save lives, she would have collapsed.

Finally, just as she was about to give out, the old man exhaled sharply, resumed breathing on his own, and his lips gradually regained their normal color.

Qiao Luo relaxed her hands and sat down hard, breathing heavily.

“He’s alive! He’s alive!” the clerk sighed in relief.

If he had truly died in their cooperative, it would have been a terrible omen.

“Oh my! This young girl is amazing! She brought someone back from the dead!”

“She really wore herself out!”

A middle-aged man smacked his lips. “How come she got so tired after just a few chest presses? She must be weak! If it were me...”

An elderly woman nearby glared at him. “Then why didn’t you go just now?”

The man was immediately silenced.

Zhou Mengni quickly pulled out her handkerchief and wiped Qiao Luo’s sweat.

Qiao Luo gave her a weary smile. “Thank you, Mengni.”

The old man’s eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking dazed. “Oh! I was almost crossing the bridge to the afterlife... What have you done to me?”

A woman nearby couldn’t help but say, “Uncle! If it weren’t for this young lady saving you, you really would have crossed that bridge!”

The old man blinked and was helped to sit up by those around him. He then saw Qiao Luo sitting on the ground, exhausted. Gratitude overflowed from his eyes. “Young lady, you saved me? Thank you so much! Otherwise, at my old age, I would have checked out here today!”