"Third Uncle, can you buy me an ice pop?"
Just as Wei Donglai was about to pay, a head suddenly popped up beside him. It was Wei Hai.
"School's out? Where are your mom and Yuanyuan and the others?"
"Behind me. They weren't as fast as me."
Wei Hai's head was covered in sweat. There was no way he had walked home; he must have come riding on wind-and-fire wheels.
"Uncle Li, get me some ice pops."
"How many?"
Wei Donglai did a quick count in his head. "Seven."
His dad and eldest brother would probably be a while yet, and the ice pops probably wouldn't keep that long.
Wei Donglai took one for himself, then hung the remaining six from Wei Hai's hand. "One for each person when you get home. Don't sneak any."
"Got it, Third Uncle."
As Wei Hai answered, he took out an ice pop, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.
Wei Donglai watched him run home with the ice pops, kicking up a cloud of dust all the way.
Wei Donglai was speechless.
Were the ice pops not flavorful enough? Did he need to add something to them?
He paid the bill and sauntered home.
"Help! Someone, hurry! Someone's fallen into the water..."
As Wei Donglai strolled along, he heard a woman up ahead shouting at the top of her lungs.
Hearing that someone had fallen into the water, Wei Donglai hurried toward her.
The woman shouting was Sister-in-law Xu from the village. She was distantly related to his family, though they were beyond the fifth degree of kinship.
Since she was close to his mother, Wei Donglai usually called her Cousin Auntie.
When Sister-in-law Xu saw Wei Donglai, it was as though she had found a savior. She rushed over, grabbed him, and pointed toward a nearby pond.
"A Lai, someone... fell in... save them!"
Wei Donglai didn't know if it was because she was frantic, but Sister-in-law Xu was speaking only a couple of words at a time.
Wei Donglai glanced at the pond. A figure was thrashing in the water, their head already completely submerged, with only two small arms waving wildly.
It was a child.
The situation was urgent, and Wei Donglai didn't dare waste a moment. He handed the two bottles of liquor to Sister-in-law Xu, then charged straight toward the pond.
In that short span of time, the figure had already vanished from the surface.
Wei Donglai leaped straight into the water and swam toward the spot where he remembered the child had fallen in.
By the time he reached the spot, the child was nowhere in sight, evidently having sunk to the bottom.
Wei Donglai had no time to think. He plunged underwater.
Visibility was poor, and he felt around for a long time without finding anyone.
After surfacing, Wei Donglai used the position of the bank to get his bearings again, then plunged back down.
Before long, he felt a small, thin body.
Wei Donglai quickly wrapped one arm around the child and swam toward the surface.
When he surfaced again, he had a child of around ten in his arm.
By now, Sister-in-law Xu's loud shouts had drawn quite a crowd.
Seeing Wei Donglai bring the child up, several men hurried to wait at the bank.
Wei Donglai swam with all his might to the bank and handed the child to the people there. Then, with their help, he quickly climbed out.
"Oh no, the child isn't breathing."
"Could he be dead?"
"Get him to the clinic, quick."
Listening to everyone, Aunt Xu nearly fainted. Her legs gave way, and she fell to the ground.
"Move! Move! Everybody move!"
"Hey, hey, don't push me!"
Wei Donglai knew the situation was urgent. He shoved the crowd aside, took the child who had fallen into the water, and laid him flat on the ground.
"Someone go to the clinic and get a doctor."
"I'll go."
With that, the person raced off toward the clinic.
Seeing this, Wei Donglai bent his head and set about his task.
He first checked the child's breathing, then lifted his clothes and watched his chest to see whether it was rising and falling.
After confirming that the child showed no signs of movement, he checked his nostrils and mouth. Seeing no obstructions, he pressed on the jaw and lifted the chin, then began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Some of the onlookers couldn't make sense of what Wei Donglai was doing, but they understood that he was trying to save the child.
Aunt Xu saw Wei Donglai blow several breaths into the child's mouth, then press on his chest again and again. It was as though she had suddenly seen hope.
"A Lai, can the child be saved?"
Wei Donglai had no time to pay her any attention, but someone beside them had a little more knowledge.
"Sister-in-law Xu, A Lai's saving him. Don't disturb him now."
More than ten minutes passed, and the child still showed no response.
People began to mutter.
"It's been all this time and there's still no movement. I think the child's done for."
"All you do is run your mouth. Isn't he still trying to save him?"
"Didn't you see the child? His face is pale, not a trace of color in it. How could he still be saved?"
"If you ask me, they should've taken him straight to the clinic. He might still have had a chance."
Wei Donglai ignored the crowd's discussion and concentrated on what he was doing.
He didn't know whether cardiopulmonary resuscitation would work, but if the child wasn't treated promptly and was sent to the clinic as they suggested, he figured the child would most likely be done for.
Under the crowd's doubtful gazes, he gave two or three rescue breaths after every thirty compressions, then resumed the compressions, repeating the cycle.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Perhaps heaven didn't disappoint those who persevered, for after another compression from Wei Donglai, the child suddenly spat out a mouthful of water.
Seeing this, Wei Donglai didn't let down his guard. He continued pressing a few more times, only breathing a sigh of relief once the child started breathing.
He then checked the child's heartbeat before turning his entire body onto his side.
"He really saved him! That's incredible."
"A Lai, well done!"
"Make way, make way! Clear a path for the doctor."
As someone shouted, the medical workers from the clinic squeezed through the crowd.
After Wei Donglai told the doctor what had happened, he left the rest to them.
After examining the child, the doctor praised Wei Donglai.
"Xiao Wei, it's thanks to your prompt resuscitation that this child was able to get out of danger in time."
"Since I happened to be there, of course I couldn't just stand by."
The doctor nodded, somewhat curious. "Xiao Wei, have you learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation before?"
"I saw someone explain it."
"You really did a good job this time. The child isn't completely out of danger yet, so I won't chat with you any longer."
Wei Donglai nodded. "I understand."
"Is the child's family here?"
At the doctor's call, everyone turned to look at Aunt Xu.
"No... no, they're not!"
Someone beside her immediately spoke up.
"This is A Qing's younger brother, right?"
"Which A Qing?"
"The pretty one who lives at the westernmost end of the village. Her dad used to be the elementary school principal."
When Wei Donglai heard that, he realized they meant his next-door neighbor, Xu Qingqing.