Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The neighbors standing around were enthusiastic about helping. An aunt saw the fat boy’s swollen back and immediately ran home to get an ice pack. She wanted to help apply it to his back before his parents arrived to reduce the redness.
Just as she was about to press it to the skin, Zhang Zian stopped her.
“Don’t touch! This is not an allergy!”
Not an allergy? The people around are stunned. This is obviously an allergic reaction. If it is not an allergy, what can it be?
“Look at it from the side, closer. Do you see some transparent fluff on the red and swollen part?” He pointed.
Everyone was curious. The fat boy was like a rare animal being viewed for free by the people who took turns to look. Zhang Zian continued holding the boy down and not letting him move.
Snowy also brought the phone closer, coming close enough to capture it. This was so that the audience in the live broadcast could also have a look. However, after all, the clarity of the webcast was limited, and netizens could only get a glimpse. This was somewhat of a blessing. Those who were physically here could see it clearly, and they were freaked out by what they saw.
“This… What is this thing that is on him?” Wang Qian asked tentatively.
“You will have to ask him.”
Zhang Zian turned the fat boy around and said sternly, “Don’t cry. What touched your neck?”
With so many people around, the fat boy was very embarrassed. It was even more overwhelming than the back pain, and his face had gone all red. Some people wondered if the rash had spread to his face…
“It seems…it seems to be a worm… I walked under the tree, and something fell on my neck… It slipped down from my collar, I shook my clothes, and the worm fell off…but then my back started to hurt… Ah…” The fat boy sobbed and spoke intermittently of what happened.
Some wanted to take the boy to the hospital, while others wanted the parents’ phone numbers to call them.
“Xiao Yun, go back to the store to find tape. Or Scotch tape. That’s fine too.” Zhang Zian rushed Lu Yiyun to do his bidding. If he asked Wang Qian or Li Kun, they would not be able to find it without trashing the entire store.
Lu Yiyun nodded and quickly returned to the store. A short while later, she found a roll of ordinary medical tape and a pair of scissors in anticipation of other requests from Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian cut a piece of tape and told the boy to brace himself, and then he stuck it on the red and swollen part. The tape touched the transparent fluff, causing the fat boy to grit his teeth hard. He felt like crying again.
Before everyone could react to what he was doing, Zhang Zian grabbed the tape and quickly pulled it off. There was a crackling noise, and everyone felt like something had cracked in them, too.
He’d torn off the tape that he’d just applied.
“What are you doing?!” The fat boy was furious and wanted to turn around and get back at Zhang Zian. However, he saw that the piece of tape in Zhang Zian’s hand was covered with fine fluff, and the pain in his back seemed to ease.
“I told you not to move!”
Zhang Zian turned him over again. Lu Yiyun had already cut the second piece of tape. He put it on again and quickly pulled it off.
Regardless of how nonchalant the fat boy was, he also knew that Zhang Zian was helping him relieve the pain. Besides, he had cried enough. He gritted his teeth tightly once more. His face was an expression of heroic bravery. He made few attempts at sound, but a few whimpers still escaped his mouth.
Zhang Zian repeated this several times to ensure the fluff was completely removed. The pain was greatly reduced, but it was still very painful for the fat boy.
Everyone looked on and saw that the fat boy’s situation had greatly improved. It seemed that there was no need to send him to the hospital.
Neighbors had also brought along some topical anti-inflammatory drugs such as iodine, which were usually applied to red and swollen skin.
“Don’t apply these things. They are useless. They won’t solve the problem and aren’t too effective,” Zhang Zian said.
“What should I do?” asked Snowy.
“Yeah, if you need to buy medicine, there is a pharmacy nearby,” the enthusiastic neighbors said.
Zhang Zian had been squatting just now and stood up. He slapped the other shoulder of the fat boy and said, “You need the source to solve the problem. I already roughly know what the bug is, though the best way is to find it again. Go and bring me to where the bug just fell on you.”
The fat boy was now being very honest and showed him the path. Zhang Zian, Snowy, the passersby, Wang Qian, and Li Kun curiously followed behind. Lu Yiyun and Jiang Feifei needed to look after the store and did not follow.
Everyone followed the fat boy to the corner of the street. As Zhang Zian had expected, the fat boy indeed took them to the green space.
In order to write his teacher’s observation work, the fat boy had felt that the greenspace could easily allow him to find the larvae of the moth, and he’d rushed over, thinking that he would not need Zhang Zian’s help.
“It is that tree up front.” Once in the greenspace, the fat boy looked around before raising his finger and pointing to a tree.
Now being summer, no one tended to this green space, and the grass had grown to ridiculous heights. It had almost covered the entire space. The space was indeed green, albeit with tons of mosquitoes.
From time to time, mosquitoes flew over and rushed into everyone’s faces. Everyone kept waving their hands, but they would inevitably be bitten.
The mosquitoes in the grass were very powerful. One bite and a huge red bump developed. Although Zhang Zian liked red things, particularly red envelopes, he didn’t fancy this red thing…
The more tender the skin, the more mosquitoes were attracted to it. Snowy and the fat boy attracted tons of them. Snowy had her mobile phone in one hand and did a poor job of swatting the mosquitoes away. Her swaying about left her audience in the live broadcast room rather dizzy.
Zhang Zian quietly took out the scented oil from his pocket, a gift he’d found in Egypt. He wiped a little on himself and smeared some on Snowy’s clothes when he slapped her shoulder.
It was an amazing tool indeed, and its effects were immediate. Even the super-toxic mosquito army that had overwhelmed the Egyptian oasis had to retreat, to say nothing of the mosquitoes here in the greenspace.
All of a sudden, the number of mosquitoes was greatly reduced, especially the mosquitoes around Zhang Zian and Snowy.
Zhang Zian walked under the tree pointed out by the fat boy and saw a green caterpillar on the ground. It was trying to climb back to the tree.
He took paper towels from Snowy. One was not enough. In order to avoid accidental injuries, he took several paper towels and put them on his hands. Then he cautiously picked up the caterpillar and wrapped it in a paper towel.
“It’s this thing.” He showed it to everyone. “The worm’s scientific name is Cnidocampa Flavescens, or, more commonly, the Western Chili. It is one of the most notorious caterpillars that you can interact with daily. This child is not allergic. He has merely been stung by it. There is some poison in its sting. Now, we need to use its own fluid to treat the child.”
