Zhenzhen’s thod was very effective, and as he successfully grabbed ahold of the child who had fallen into the ice hole, Yun Zhao also tightly grasped his ankle. In this way, one by one, until the children standing in the shallow water cooperated to pull them back, they gradually pulled the child out of the ice hole.
At the critical mont, when the child who was half-subrged had completely lost his strength, his body was like a heavy lump of iron, sinking straight down into the deep pool. If Zhenzhen hadn’t been tightly holding his wrist, the undercurrent beneath the ice river would have "dragged" him away.
"Keep it up, just hold on a little longer, you’ll be up soon!" Zhenzhen encouraged his freezing and drowsy companion loudly, fearing he would fall asleep and never wake up again.
The child, dazed, opened his eyes, mumbled sothing to Zhenzhen, and then closed his eyes again.
"Quick, everyone, put in more effort, we mustn’t lose heart!" Seeing this, soone shouted loudly, and the other children exerted even more strength as they pulled with all their might to lift the person up.
Soon, the child who had fallen into the water was completely out of the water, and was finally saved!
"Oh, it’s a success, he’s up, he’s been rescued..." The children shouted excitedly, quickening their pace, and swiftly pulled all the people near the deep water to the safety of the shallow area.
The rescued child was completely frozen, with a deathly pale face and blue lips, lying rigidly on the ice, unable to even stand up.
A few of the older children frantically helped him out of his soaked cotton clothes and trousers, then took off their own cotton-padded jackets to wrap him up tightly, fearing that their friend would freeze to death on the way ho before getting there.
The children who couldn’t give much help tightly enclosed the child in their midst, shielding him from the biting cold wind.
"Zhenzhen, how are you?" Yun Zhao didn’t crowd in but looked worriedly at his pale-faced brother.
"Elder brother Zhao, my right arm, it seems like I can’t move it." Zhenzhen’s eyes reddened, he bit his lip hard to keep from crying, but the pain in his right arm twisted his little face instantly.
Yun Zhao’s face changed dramatically, and he gently pressed on the spot where Zhenzhen’s arm t his shoulder.
Before Yun Zhao could even ask, Zhenzhen scread out in pain, "It hurts, don’t move, Elder brother Zhao, don’t move—"
Yun Zhao quickly removed his hand, realizing his brother must have fractured his arm from exerting too much force during the rescue. He couldn’t set the bone and could only tell Zhenzhen, "Bear with it, and don’t move around at all, I’m going ho now to find our eldest sister to set your arm."
A fracture wasn’t a big problem, but it was crucial not to move before the bone was set, or else if the tendons inside were damaged, even after setting the bone, it could not be as good as new.
Zhenzhen knew the seriousness of it and urged through the pain, "Elder brother Zhao, hurry and call sister, I’ll stand right here and won’t move."
"Okay, I’ll be back soon, you wait here," Yun Zhao instructed him again and, still not reassured, pulled Danzi aside to explain before he hurried towards the village.
Danzi had been busy with the child who fell into the water, and it was only when Yun Zhao spoke to him that he knew his friend’s arm was broken. Seeing Zhenzhen’s restrained expression, Danzi’s eyes turned red with sadness, "Mo Zhen, hang in there, it’ll be better when your sister arrives."
Zhenzhen nodded, managing a smile to reassure his friend that he was okay.
"If you want to cry, just cry, I won’t make fun of you." Danzi didn’t believe him; even a small cut on his finger would hurt him terribly, let alone a broken arm, he couldn’t imagine the pain.
Thinking about how every ti he was sick or hurt, his parents would give him sugar, claiming that sugar would alleviate the pain, and indeed after eating the sweet candy, he would feel much better.
Danzi’s eyes darted around, and he reached with his little hand towards his pocket where he usually kept candy, but to his disappointnt, it was empty. He sheepishly smiled at Zhenzhen and squeezed into the crowd to ask other children for candy.
Zhenzhen had long outgrown his craving for candy, but seeing his friend shalessly begging for candy on his behalf, the gesture ward his heart, making it seem as if his arm didn’t hurt as much anymore.
Just as Zhenzhen was about to tell his friend that he didn’t need candy, out of the corner of his eye he saw soone coming straight towards him. His heart skipped a beat, and he sidestepped, trying to avoid the malicious charge, but the person seed to anticipate his move and changed angle, heading directly for his injured right arm.
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