Chapter 273 - 272: Saving People
As soon as she entered the space, Xia Xiao went straight to Gao Jiaxing’s location, and sure enough, Gao Jiaxing was nowhere to be found. Xia Xiao’s heart skipped a beat; she was afraid that Gao Jiaxing had rushed to the Red Star Production Team at night.
Thinking that Gao Jiaxing had returned to check in with Gao Jiazhi, and since she had just finished her bath, which didn’t take long, she immediately set out for the Red Star Production Team to assess the situation.
Ge Lai had been taken to the cowshed, severely injured, with blood around his mouth. Xia Xiao checked his breathing and found he was barely hanging on. Instead of immediately trying to save Ge Lai’s life, she quietly untied the ropes that bound him.
Even so, Ge Lai did not wake; he was unconscious.
Xia Xiao took Ge Lai directly into her space before heading towards Gao Jiaxing’s location. She soon found Gao Jiaxing, who had only made it halfway there.
Xia Xiao fed Ge Lai two mouthfuls of spring water, then placed him not far ahead of Gao Jiaxing’s path; she didn’t want to save Ge Lai only for him to die shortly after.
Before long, Gao Jiaxing, moving ahead, came upon Ge Lai.
Spotting someone lying ahead, he approached, and upon recognizing Ge Lai, Gao Jiaxing immediately crouched down to nudge him and called out, "Ge Lai."
However, after calling out several times, Ge Lai did not wake up. At that point, Gao Jiaxing hoisted Ge Lai onto his back and started walking back.
Xia Xiao followed Gao Jiaxing closely; she had thought he would take Ge Lai back to the production team but instead, Gao Jiaxing took him to the graveyard.
Xia Xiao remembered the graveyard well. But Ge Lai would be safest hidden there; it was unlikely that anyone from the Red Star Production Team would dare come searching.
At that moment, Xia Xiao mentally applauded Gao Jiaxing. Just then, Ge Lai coughed faintly, clearly waking up.
"Ge Lai, are you awake?" Gao Jiaxing asked.
"Brother Gao, why is it you?" Ge Lai’s voice was weak. "You saved me, huh?"
"Don’t talk. This is a graveyard. I’ve hidden you here. Are you afraid?" Gao Jiaxing inquired.
Ge Lai gave a snort, scoffing, "What’s there to be afraid of if I’m about to die? I actually find the living more frightening than the dead."
"I brought water and buns. Eat quickly, I’m going back now. You stay hidden here well, I’ll come to check on you. Later, we can figure out what to do," Gao Jiaxing said.
"Go on back. They’re trying to kill me, and you can’t let them start targeting you. I won’t stay here long; once I’ve recovered from my injuries, I’ll leave. You needn’t come by either. If they are watching this place and they don’t catch me but run into you, that would be bad," Ge Lai insisted, concerned. "I will leave as soon as dawn breaks. Don’t come here. I won’t die, and if I do, it’s my fate."
"Can you briefly tell me what happened?" Gao Jiaxing asked.
"Liu Haiguo and Wang Xueyong joined forces. He thinks I threatened his position as team leader and wanted to get rid of me. The grains weren’t stolen by me but given to Wang Xueyong by Liu Haiguo. I caught them in the act, so they framed me. This time Wang Xueyong didn’t show up, but he’s the man behind it all. Brother Gao, keep an eye on this Wang Xueyong."
Xia Xiao, overhearing all this, broke into a cold sweat. After all this, it turned out Wang Xueyong was behind the scenes. It was lucky that Gao Jiaxing hadn’t gone to find Wang Xueyong, or who knows what might have happened.
Xia Xiao did not know what kind of person Wang Xueyong was, but he certainly wasn’t a gentleman; on the contrary, he was a scoundrel.
"Hurry on now. If I go missing, they will surely come looking for you," Ge Lai hurried Gao Jiaxing, not mentioning Liu Haihua at all.
After saying goodbye to Ge Lai and giving him a few instructions, Gao Jiaxing handed over all the money and tickets he had on him to Ge Lai and hid him in a concealed grave before leaving.
Xia Xiao thought that since she had given the spring water to Ge Lai to drink, he shouldn’t die just yet. She then followed Gao Jiaxing out.
By the time Gao Jiaxing reached the production team, Xia Xiao appeared, "Brother Gao."
"Xiaoxiao, what are you doing here?" Gao Jiaxing exclaimed in surprise.
Xia Xiao pouted, "I went to your house looking for you, but from a distance, I saw you leaving. I chased after you but couldn’t keep up, so I waited here for you."
"In the middle of the night, how can you run around like this? Don’t you realize it’s dangerous?" Gao Jiaxing almost scolded Xia Xiao.
"This is the production team. Who would dare do anything to me? Wasn’t I just waiting for you to come back?" As she spoke, Xia Xiao glared at Gao Jiaxing and whispered, "Did you go to the Red Star Production Team?"
Gao Jiaxing nodded. Xia Xiao took a deep breath, "You’re trying to scare me to death. I was so worried for you."
"Let’s go back," Gao Jiaxing said.
Xia Xiao nodded, and the pair set off towards the Gao family’s home, deliberately wandering through the production team and passing by the busy area under the big tree.
"Yo, where are you two going?" asked some of the women who had not yet gone to sleep and were enjoying the evening coolness, including Shengmei.
"We’re just taking a walk around the production team," Xia Xiao said sheepishly.
"Getting married tomorrow, are you?" someone else asked.
Gao Jiaxing smiled, "Yes, we are getting married tomorrow. Afterwards, Xia Xiao will be part of the Gao family."
There were two prominent surnames in the Guangming Production Team: the Gao family and the He family. There were other surnames as well, but they were less significant, thus the Gao surname was a major household in the Guangming Production Team.
Now, under the big tree, many were Gao Jiaxing’s relatives, and having watched him grow up, they had lots of good things to say after hearing his announcement.
Some even assured Xia Xiao that Gao Jiaxing was a good man and she was fortunate, urging her to live a good life with him.
After escorting Xia Xiao back to her dormitory, Gao Jiaxing reminded her before leaving, in a low voice, "Make sure to clean your clothes and shoes too, don’t leave anything for them to latch onto."
"I know," grinned Gao Jiaxing as he gestured to Xia Xiao and watched her enter the dormitory before he headed home.
Xia Xiao thought that in the middle of the night, the Red Star Production Team would notice Ge Lai’s absence, but to her surprise, the next morning brought no news of any commotion from the Red Star side.
Early in the morning, Xia Jing and Yang Xuehua helped Xia Xiao style her hair into two beautiful braids, and Gao Jiazhi drove the ox cart that would take Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao to the county town to get married.
"Brother Gao, you didn’t go looking for Ge Lai this morning, did you?" Xia Xiao asked.
Gao Jiaxing shook his head, "Ge Lai won’t continue to stay there, and the graveyard is comparatively safer."
Gao Jiaxing continued, looking at Xia Xiao, "As someone who has grown up with me like a brother, I’ve already saved him. He should know how to survive. I have you now, and I won’t take risks. I also have my family. For you and for my family, I can’t afford to have anything happen to me."