I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 235: Bitten by a Snake

After lunch and a short rest, Teacher Zhou led everyone to climb to a higher mountain.

Climbing mountains is easy for educated youth who went to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution and for classmates like Yuan Xiu who grew up in the countryside, but it's not so easy for classmates who grew up in the city.

For example, Ding Xuewen was still wearing a Zhongshan suit that wrapped him up neatly, and the shoes he wore were not the durable and slip-resistant Liberation Shoes, but a pair of white Warrior shoes with red trim. Because the soles were thin, the grip was not good, and he had a lot of trouble climbing those particularly steep slopes.

The white shoes were so worn that their color was no longer discernible.

The weather was even hotter in the afternoon. The students took off their jackets or draped them over their shoulders or tied them around their waists because of the heat. Even Teacher Ding unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his old man's vest underneath.

"Luckily we made hats when we were down the mountain, the sun is so strong today!" Liu Yazhi put one hand on her hip and shielded her eyes with the other, looking around. Her classmates were squatting in twos and threes digging for medicinal herbs.

Yuan Xiu was struggling with several wormwood plants in the grass.

"Stop lamenting, hurry up and come gather herbs."

Liu Yazhi, holding a medicine hoe, exclaimed, "I'm here!"

The two were gathering herbs when they heard shouts coming from below.

"Has anyone been bitten by a snake?"

"Who was bitten by a snake?"

"Ding Xuewen was bitten by a snake!"

Yuan Xiu and Liu Yazhi exchanged a glance, put the herbs into their baskets, and quickly ran over.

Ding Xuewen slumped to the ground in agony, his trousers rolled up, and two rows of tiny red dots on his calves, from which blood was now seeping.

Class monitor Wang Jianjun and several nearby classmates surrounded him, asking, "Did you see what kind of snake bit you?"

Ding Xuewen: "...It seems to be the Green Snake."

"Bamboo viper! That's poisonous! Extremely poisonous!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Xuewen's lips turned white and his heart trembled!

"Didn't Teacher Zhou say to 'stir up trouble'? Stir up trouble, didn't you do it?" Wang Jianjun quickly called a classmate to go find Teacher Zhou.

Ding Xuewen was covered in sweat and didn't know what to say. He was so hot that he forgot all about his irritability.

"Where's the snake? We need to find it. What if the hospital doesn't have antivenom?" a student asked.

The snake had already run away.

Wang Jianjun squatted on the ground. "Quickly help him up! We need to get him down the mountain first; there are cars down there!"

When Yuan Xiu and Liu Yazhi arrived, Wang Jianjun was just about to carry Ding Xuewen down the mountain.

Upon seeing Yuan Xiu, Wang Jianjun said, "Yuan Xiu, Ding Xuewen was bitten by a snake, it seems to be a bamboo viper."

Yuan Xiu glanced at his wound only once, "It's not bamboo viper."

Ding Xuewen said it was a blue snake bite.

"The green snake could just be an ordinary green snake. Look at its wound. If it were a bamboo viper, the wound would have two small fang holes, not two rows of tiny teeth marks. If it were another venomous snake, the wound would be deeper, not just oozing blood. The blood would be red. So far, the wound hasn't swelled, turned black, or blistered; it's just slightly red and swollen. So it's not a venomous snake."

Yuan Xiu quickly analyzed it.

Wang Jianjun examined the wound carefully. "It really is like that. It certainly doesn't look like a venomous snake bite. He was sweating profusely from the pain and said it was a blue snake bite. I thought it was a bamboo viper! When I was in the Northwest, I met a fellow villager who was bitten by a seven-inch snake. His leg was swollen like a steamed bun and was bleeding profusely!"

"You're just worried sick." Yuan Xiu took off her basket and took out purslane and dandelion from it.

"water."

Liu Yazhi took the water bottle off her shoulder and handed it to Yuan Xiu.

Just as Yuan Xiu was about to wash the herbs, she heard Ding Xuewen say, "You're not thinking of giving these herbs to me, are you? Don't do anything reckless! You're just a freshman in college. Even if you've studied traditional Chinese medicine with your master, how much do you really know? Can you guarantee you're right? What if the snake that bit me is poisonous? I'm sweating profusely from the pain."

Yuan Xiu glanced at him indifferently, "It might be because it's hot."

Liu Yazhi burst out laughing. It was hot, wasn't it? Everyone else had taken off their coats because of the heat, but he was still wearing his Zhongshan suit. He wasn't even wearing a hat in this blazing sun. His face was sunburned red, and if you looked closely, you could see that his clothes had many loose threads, making him look particularly disheveled.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Liu Yazhi stopped laughing and cleared her throat: "You were just bitten by a common green snake, it's definitely not poisonous! When I was working in the countryside, I was a barefoot doctor in the village. There are a lot of forests and snakes in our area, and every year people get bitten by snakes. The villagers didn't even go back to the clinic; they just picked some herbs, chewed them up, and applied them to the wound."

Yuan Xiu put away the herbs. "Since Ding doesn't believe me, I won't interfere any longer. Let the teacher handle it when he arrives."

Wang Jianjun continued to persuade, "Ding Xuewen, purslane has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, and dandelion can also clear heat, detoxify, and reduce swelling. You yourself studied traditional Chinese medicine, so you should know about these two herbs..."

Teacher Zhou was far away, but when she heard that a student had been bitten by a snake, she rushed over in a panic, almost losing her shoes in the process.

As soon as Yuan Xiu finished speaking, she heard his voice.

"...Weren't they bitten by bamboo vipers? Hurry up and carry them down the mountain! What are you all standing here for?"

Teacher Zhou was extremely anxious, running and shouting to Wang Jianjun, "Carry him down the mountain! Send more boys to take turns carrying him!"

Wang Jianjun: "It doesn't seem to be bamboo leaf viper."

"It's either yes or no, it's not, but it seems like it isn't..." Teacher Zhou, panting, pushed Wang Jianjun aside, squatted down, and took a closer look. "...It wasn't a snake bite. Oh, thank goodness!"

College students are precious gems; if something happens to them while he's leading the team, he won't be able to explain it!

Ding Xuewen didn't believe what others said, but he had no choice but to believe what Teacher Zhou said.

It wasn't a venomous snake, and his expression relaxed.

"Bring your baskets over here, I'll look for the medicine," said Teacher Zhou.

Actually, there was no need to look anymore, because he immediately spotted the two herbs on top of Yuan Xiu's basket. "Purslane and dandelion will do!"

After saying that, Teacher Zhou put the herbs in his mouth and chewed them. While chewing, he squatted down and squeezed the wound on Ding Xuewen's calf. After squeezing out some blood, he took Wang Jianjun's water bottle and rinsed the wound. He then spat out the herbs and pressed them onto Ding Xuewen's wound with a "smack"!

"what!"

Teacher Zhou glanced at him: "What are you yelling about? How painful can a green snake bite be? And you, I told you to be careful when gathering herbs, where was your attention?"

"And what are you wearing? We told you to wear simple, comfortable clothes. Are you here to gather herbs or to give a speech?"