Chapter 829 - 389: Teaching to Fish, A Chance to Make Merit Arrives

Li Jingsheng followed over.

Outside, some miscellaneous items blocked the view, making it impossible to tell that anyone was inside.

But near the culvert by the riverbank, signs of a fire could be seen. It was a simple stove made by piling up a few large stones.

The mother and son probably made a fire and cooked here.

Lijiang City is considered a civilized city with some scavengers and beggars, but they basically survive in the cracks.

"Mom!"

The little boy used a dialect, which Li Jingsheng could barely understand.

"Xiao Yi, did you get the painkillers?"

A weak voice of a woman came out.

Their dialect was barely understandable.

"Mom, I brought a doctor uncle to treat you."

The little boy replied.

"Ah... we can't afford to go to the hospital! Didn't I tell you not to tell outsiders? Those hat-wearing uncles would take us away."

The woman seemed somewhat panicked.

"May I come in?"

Li Jingsheng asked from outside.

After a moment of silence.

The woman seemed to struggle to stand up, preparing to pack up and leave.

"You don't need to be afraid, I'm not a bad person. I'm a doctor from Sunshine Clinic, and I won't call anyone to take you to a shelter."

Li Jingsheng knew what she was afraid of.

Many homeless people are unwilling to go to shelters, for reasons not to be discussed in detail.

The woman didn't answer but continued packing.

Li Jingsheng climbed directly into the culvert and finally saw the situation inside.

A frail young woman, with slightly dark skin, she looked about thirty years old.

She seemed to be about 1.6 meters tall, not short.

She appeared quite thin.

Her hair was casually tied with a strap at the back of her head.

Her face seemed a bit dirty.

What was truly shocking was her leg.

Her right leg was covered in blisters from burns, and the skin had already started to fester. The area was quite large and looked painful.

The tops of her feet had visible burn marks.

She wasn't wearing shoes.

In this condition, wearing shoes was impossible.

Otherwise, the pain would be as severe as being skinned alive.

She must have gritted her teeth to stand up, as some of her skin cracked under too much strain.

"What do you, what do you want?"

The woman appeared very panicked and a bit angry after seeing Li Jingsheng climb up.

Her eyes quickly darted to the ground not far away.

There lay a pot and a kitchen knife.

In an emergency, she would surely grab a weapon to defend herself.

"I have no ill intentions. Hu Yi ran to my clinic and asked me for help. He asked me to come and treat you. Was your leg scalded by boiling water? Judging by the situation, it must have been at least a day. With such a large scald area, if it's not treated promptly, it could be life-threatening, do you know that?"

Li Jingsheng was indeed a bit worried that the woman might hurt someone in excitement.

After climbing into the culvert, he stood, afraid to move.

"Mom, Uncle Li is not a bad person, he even bought me lunch. And two pretty sisters each gave me a hundred yuan."

The little boy said to his mother.

"Your son is very sensible. During the meal, he only ate a little, saying he wanted to bring the rest back for you. What he left were all the good dishes, like meat and eggs."

Li Jingsheng praised her son, especially mentioning the boy leaving the good dishes to bring back to her, which visibly changed the woman's expression.

Out of a mother's instinct, she reached out and hugged her son.

"I shouldn't have scolded you earlier, I shouldn't have."

She apologized to the child in their dialect.

Seeing the situation, Li Jingsheng knew he had initially gained her trust and goodwill.

"Why don't you eat first? Otherwise, the food will get cold."

Li Jingsheng handed the lunch box to the woman.

"I brought medicine, but I can only do simple treatment for ordinary wounds. Your leg is so severely scalded, it must be treated in a hospital to recover."

Even hospital treatment would be challenging.

Because the area of skin damage is too large.

In clinical medicine, it's generally considered that a burn area of about 20% poses a life risk.

Even if her scald doesn't reach 20%, it doesn't look promising.

"Hu Yi, take the food to your mom! I have to return to the clinic to work in a while."

Seeing the woman didn't take the lunch box, Li Jingsheng could only ask the little boy to take it over.

The woman seemed a bit mentally unstable.

She might have suffered some major trauma or such.

An ordinary person, even if they are just over thirty, wouldn't be living in a bridge hole with a child under normal circumstances, penniless or not.

Finding a job that provides food and accommodation in Lijiang City is not difficult.

At most, the salary might be low.

"Mom, eat, it's really delicious."

The little boy pulled his mother to sit down.

There was no stool here, just a dirty quilt laid on the ground.

From the signs of life inside the culvert, it seemed like she had been living here with her child for some time.

The woman slowly used her hand to support herself on the ground to sit down.

Li Jingsheng didn't dare to help her up.

Any action that might stimulate her was dangerous.

If possible, he really wanted to throw the kitchen knife on the ground far away.

"Aren't you cold sleeping here at night? Why not sleep in the underground passage?"

"We slept there two nights, but someone would grab us."

The little boy answered.

"Do you usually just cook some rice or noodles to eat?"

"Yeah! Sometimes my mom takes me to the market to pick up a bit..."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

The woman glared at her son, scaring him into silence.

Picking up discarded rotten vegetable leaves at the market to eat is a helpless act of the poorest people.

Children, naive and innocent, would say anything, but the woman felt it was shameful.