Chapter 20 — The One Who Keeps The Venom Saves People

The road leading to Giang Tan Luc and Luong Thi Bong's house is now completely dry, on both sides are green fields newly replanted with young seedlings after the flood, completely different from the vast image Du country witnessed three weeks ago. She drove slowly, Khiem sat next to her, both carrying a few small gifts — milk and cake for baby Nhi, following Thu's advice before they left.

The four-level house is located in the middle of a small garden filled with sweet potatoes and bananas. The tile roof is old but clean, perhaps just whitewashed after the floodwaters receded. As the car stopped in front of the gate, a child's voice rang out from the yard.

"Mom, there's a car coming!"

Luong Thi Bong walked out of the kitchen, her hands still sticky with cake dough, her face lit up as soon as she recognized Du. "Miss Du! You really came to visit!"

"Hello sister." Du got out of the car and smiled. "Sorry for being late, work at camp and meetings just kept coming."

"It's okay sister, it's very precious to come." Bong opened the gate and waved for them to come in. "Hey, come here, Miss Du is here to visit you!"

A little girl ran out of the house, her hair neatly braided on both sides, her agile appearance completely different from the pale, motionless image Du had seen on the hospital bed. The baby stopped a few steps away from Du, looking a bit shy in front of strangers.

"This is Ms. Du, the person who brought the medicine to save the child." Bong introduced, gently pushing his daughter's shoulder. "Say hello to her."

"Hello, miss." Baby Nhi bowed her head in greeting, her voice soft, then looked up at Du with curious eyes mixed with gratitude in the understanding of a seven-year-old child.

Du knelt down to the baby's eye level, smiling warmly. "Hello, baby. How are you? Does your leg still hurt?"

"My pain is gone." Baby Nhi replied, then pulled up her pants leg a bit, showing off the small healed scar on her ankle, leaving only a pale pink streak. "Doctor Thu said this stain will fade over time."

"That's good then." Du nodded and gave the gift bag to the baby. "I brought you some milk and cake."

Baby Nhi received it, her eyes lit up with joy, then turned to her mother as if asking permission before opening the bag to look.

Giang Tan Luc walked in from the garden, still holding a hoe. When he saw the customer, he quickly put it down, washed his hands quickly, then walked over to shake Du and Khiem's hands with both hands, a gesture that showed the special respect of farmers in the Central region.

"Miss Du, Mr. Khiem, please come in for a drink." He said, his voice filled with enthusiasm. "My whole family has been looking forward to welcoming you two for a long time, but we just haven't had the chance yet."

They sat around a small wooden table in the house. Bong made tea and brought out a plate of homemade hemp leaf cake, the aroma of sticky rice spread throughout the small house.

"After that day, my whole family kept reminding me of her kindness to the whole snake farm." Luc said, pouring tea for guests. "If it weren't for you and everyone else that night, I don't dare to think what would have happened to her."

"It was a team effort, not just me." Du replied, as she always said whenever someone thanked her personally. "From Mr. Nguyen driving the boat, to Dr. Thu, to the people at the provincial hospital who sent the plasma down in time."

"Even so, we still want to thank you in a special way." Bong said, placing the cake plate closer to Du. "Try the little gai leaf cake, sister. I made it this morning, it's still hot."

Du picked up a cake and bit into it, the sweet taste of sticky rice and green beans spreading in her mouth. "It's delicious, sister."

Baby Nhi, after opening the gift bag and trying a piece of cake, ran closer to Du and pulled her sleeve. "Miss, are you a snake catcher?"

"That's right." Du nodded, smiling at the child's innocent curiosity.

"So where is the snake that bit me now?" The baby asked, not looking afraid but simply curious, a sign that the psychological trauma from the biting incident probably did not leave too heavy an impact on the baby's young soul.

Du hesitated for a moment before answering, considering how to explain appropriately to a child. "That snake is being raised at my camp, to help me make medicine to treat other people who are bitten by snakes like me. After a while, when the camp has enough medicine in reserve, I will release it back into the mountains and forests, back to its rightful home."

"So it didn't hurt when you took the medicine from it, miss?" Baby Nhi continued asking, her eyes full of innocent concern.

"I always try to do it as gently as possible, so it doesn't hurt." Du replied, touched by the unexpected sympathy of a child who had suffered because of that same animal. "You see, even though it hurt you, it's still a part of nature, and I think I should treat it kindly, just like you forgave it."

Baby Nhi nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, then ran to get another cake, leaving the adults to continue the story in the warm atmosphere of the late afternoon.

Khiem, who had been sitting silently observing since the beginning of the session, now spoke up, towards Luc. "Are you still going to catch snails in the fields during the flood season?"

Luc nodded, but his expression showed a bit of hesitation. "I still have to go, it's an additional source of income for the family. But now I'm much more careful, always bring knee-high rubber boots, use a stick to find the way before walking, and absolutely don't let Nhi follow me anymore, at least until she's older."

"That's the right way to do it." Du nodded in agreement. "Snakes do not actively attack people if they do not feel threatened. Most bites occur when people accidentally step on them or stick their hands into the place where it is hiding without knowing."

"Can you show us how to identify areas where snakes are likely to live?" Bong asked, still pouring more tea for the guests. "Let us and the people in the neighborhood know so we can take precautions."

"Okay." Du replied, happily accepting the invitation. "You can arrange a small training session for people in the commune, teaching how to recognize signs of snake shelter, how to give first aid when bitten, and most importantly, what not to do — like cutting the bite wound, sucking out the venom with your mouth, or applying leaves from trees of unknown origin, erroneous folk remedies that are still common in many places and sometimes even make the condition worse."

"That's great!" Luc rang. "Let me inform the village chief. Surely the people will respond enthusiastically. After Nhi's incident, everyone is worried."

Du nodded, made a mental note to report to Thanh, seeing this as a natural extension of the preventive communication work that the camp had always wanted to promote but did not have enough resources to deploy widely.

The afternoon passed in a friendly atmosphere, the story gradually turned to more everyday topics - crops, rice prices, and little Nhi's education at the village school. Du clearly felt a warmth spread in her heart, completely different from the extreme tension of that night, as if she was witnessing the final, most complete result of all the efforts she had put in.

Before leaving, Bong ran into the kitchen, wrapped a bag of the remaining banh tat gai leaves and gave it to Du. "I'll take it home to eat, and give it to Mr. Thanh and everyone at camp."

"Thank you very much." Du took the bag of cakes, touched by the sincere heart of this family. "When there is a chance, I will visit more often, and also organize training sessions for people as promised."

Baby Nhi ran to the gate, waving non-stop. "Miss Du, please remember to come by next time! I will tell my friends about you, and about the snake too!"

"Yes, I promise." Du bent down, rubbed the baby's head affectionately, a rare gesture that she rarely showed to anyone outside her professional work, then stood up and waved to the whole family one last time before getting in the car.

On the way back to camp, Khiem drove, and Du sat with his head against the window, looking out at the green fields passing by, filled with a rare feeling of peace.

"Miss Du." Khiem spoke after a moment of silence, his eyes still looking straight at the road ahead. "Looking at baby Nhi so healthy and happy, I feel like all the effort that night was worth it, even when she was almost swept away by the water."

"I think so too." Du replied, smiling slightly, his eyes still watching the village scene passing by outside the glass window. "This is the reason why I continue to do this job, even though every time I face it, I still have to struggle with my own fear, a struggle I think I will never completely win, but I also don't need to win completely to be worth continuing."