Zhu Hongyu could see clearly that Zhao Tiezhu was covered in sweat from head to toe, and it was obviously no easy task.
Hearing her father's miserable cry, she quickly supported his arm and comforted him in a low voice:
"It's okay, it's okay, the leg is straight now, the leg is straight!"
The fractured leg bone had been straightened, and the effect was astonishing.
After letting out a cry, Zhu Dazhuang quickly calmed down and said:
"Hark, it hurt for just a second, and now it's gone!"
His face was full of shock.
On the other side, Zhao Tiezhu had switched to acupuncture at a new set of pressure points, looking like a dense cluster of needles.
Another half-hour later, with his clothes soaked through with sweat, he finally pulled out all the acupuncture needles.
He threw them all away, mixed some Hundred Herbs Liquid into a bottle, handed it to Zhu Dazhuang, and said:
"Uncle, drink this. It will help you heal quickly. Drink it all up!"
Zhu Dazhuang looked at the green liquid, unscrewed the cap, and drank it down in one gulp.
Smacking his lips, he said:
"Tsk tsk, it has a hint of sweetness, pretty good!"
Zhu Hongyu watched closely from the side, thinking it looked just like a bottle of soft drink.
*Is he just fooling my dad?*
She desperately wanted to argue, but Zhao Tiezhu's voice rang in her ear:
"Uncle, for the next few days, you must not put any force on this leg. Once it heals, it will be fine!"
As he spoke, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Zhu Hongyu quickly handed him a small towel featuring a bear pattern and said:
"Here, give yourself a good wipe. Do we need to prepare splints or any other protective gear?"
Zhao Tiezhu took the towel, wiped the sweat from his hair and face, and chuckled:
"No need, just be careful. You all keep an eye on him these next two days. As long as he doesn't put weight on it, it'll heal in a few days!"
He handed the towel back to Zhu Hongyu and pulled out the remaining acupuncture needle from the top of Zhu Dazhuang's head.
"I..."
Zhu Dazhuang instantly felt pain in his right leg, but it was within a tolerable range, and he gritted his teeth to endure it.
"It's okay, it's okay. I numbed it for you just now, so you must be feeling the pain now, right?"
Zhao Tiezhu helped him lie back comfortably on the heated brick bed and said:
"Get some good rest!"
Zhu Hongyu tidied up everything else, and seeing how Zhao Tiezhu treated her old man warmed her heart.
No other young man would treat someone else's father like this; he was truly wonderful!
She called out to him:
"Come on, let's go check how the vegetable picking is going!"
Now she believed that Zhao Tiezhu possessed miraculous medical skills and that he really might cure her father.
Leaving the bedroom, Zhu Hongyu softly said:
"Thank you, Brother Tiezhu. My dad is very happy today, and I'm very happy too!"
She grabbed his right arm with both hands, tilted her head, and flashed him a sweet smile.
Her ponytail swished, making her look exceptionally playful and cute.
"There will be plenty of happy days ahead! Follow your brother, and you'll always eat meat!"
Although Zhao Tiezhu was very tired, seeing her smile made him feel that their childhood bond had not been let down.
Most importantly, it proved that his medical skills actually worked; he just needed to become more familiar with the human body's pressure points.
He would practice and verify them more when he got home.
With a beaming smile, Zhu Hongyu walked outside and saw that her younger sister and mother were still picking vegetables.
Suddenly, she planted a kiss on Zhao Tiezhu's cheek and scampered away happily.
Leaving only her voice echoing behind:
"I'm going to pick vegetables too!"
A sneak attack!
Zhao Tiezhu touched the spot where she had kissed him, feeling a sudden wave of surprise.
*If you had given me a heads-up, could I have even said no?*
*The little girl, well, she's all grown up now!*
He gathered all the eggplants, long beans, scallions, chili peppers, chives, and spinach they had picked into a single pile.
By visual estimate, it weighed well over six hundred pounds, and the pedal tricycle would definitely be overburdened.
He immediately called a halt:
"Hongyu, Auntie Zhu, stop! Let's pick the rest tomorrow. There's too much, the tricycle can't hold it all!"
There was already no room left for these, and he still had to bring his own Medicinal Vegetables.
Auntie Zhu was stunned for a moment, realizing that her strategy of taking advantage for a bigger profit had failed.
Seeing the dusty four-wheeled tractor parked in front of the storage shed, Zhu Hongyu called out coquettishly:
"Brother Tiezhu, why don't you drive our family's four-wheeler tomorrow? It can carry more, and you can help us plow the fields when the time comes!"
Her proposal was wonderful, and Zhao Tiezhu readily agreed.
He brushed off the dust, tested it to make sure it started and drove, hitched up the trailer, and hit the road with ease.
"Great! I'll bring the money back for you tomorrow!"
It was getting too late, so he didn't let the mother and daughters continue picking vegetables.
He loaded all the vegetables, hoisted the pedal tricycle aboard, and drove toward his own home amidst the sputtering sound of the engine.
Zhu Hongou watched the tractor depart and asked with some worry:
"Mom, what if Brother Tiezhu doesn't give us the money?"
Before Auntie Zhu could answer, Zhu Hongyu chimed in from the side:
"Little sister, let's go inside and check on Dad. I think even if he takes all the vegetables and the four-wheeler away, it's still worth it!"
Huh?
The mother and daughter froze in unison.
That wasn't what Zhu Hongyu had said just moments ago; she had clearly said they were just playing along with Zhao Tiezhu to comfort their old man and help him live a couple more years.
"Sis, do you mean Brother Tiezhu really cured our dad?"
Zhu Hongou asked in surprise, grabbing her hand and hurrying toward the house.
Auntie Zhu also felt something was amiss, so she closed the courtyard gate and walked toward the room.
The electric light clicked on, illuminating the room and seeming to chase away the gloom that had hung over the family.
The three women looked at Zhu Dazhuang lying on the heated brick bed.
"Old man, how are you feeling?"
Auntie Zhu entered the room and asked anxiously.
She sat down on the edge of the brick bed with a trembling voice.
Seeing the three of them enter, Zhu Dazhuang lifted the thin quilt covering him and said:
"I feel exceptionally good. The pain from before is gone! Hongyu, you'd better still find me a few wooden boards to strap it down. I'm afraid I might kick around in my sleep!"
When the three women looked at his lower leg, Zhu Hongyu included, they all froze in astonishment.
Because it had completely changed—the entire leg looked almost identical to a normal person's.
If not for the remaining circle of red marks, anyone would think it had never been broken at all.
"Old man, the bruises are all gone? Thank heavens, you're finally going to be healed!"
Tears of excitement welled up in the corners of Auntie Zhu's eyes, and she pressed her palms together in prayer, thanking the deities.
The days since her husband's injury had been far too bitter.
It felt as if days of happiness were beckoning to them.
A joyful smile bloomed on Zhu Hongyu's face as she said:
"Mom, we should thank Brother Tiezhu. He really cured my dad! Dad, Brother Tiezhu said you don't need boards, even if you thrash around in your sleep, you should be fine!"
Her previous skepticism toward Tiezhu's medical skills had transformed into absolute obedience, filled with endless gratitude in her heart.
Zhu Hongou climbed onto the brick bed, tentatively pressed the muscle just below the fracture, and asked:
"Dad, does it hurt?"
"No pain! Only the flesh inside hurts a bit, the outside doesn't hurt at all!"
Zhu Dazhuang was overjoyed, feeling better than ever before.
...
While the family was immersed in happiness, Zhao Tiezhu had returned home and moved all the prepared vegetables onto the four-wheeled tractor.
Roughly calculating, there were over seven hundred pounds. Adding his Medicinal Vegetables, the total should reach over a thousand pounds.
To test the effects of the Hundred Herbs Liquid, he didn't pour it over the crops; instead, after covering the vegetables in the cart, he sprinkled them with plenty of plain water.
The damp environment would keep the vegetables fresh and hydrated.
He walked into the room, took a refreshing cold shower, sat cross-legged on the bed, and cultivated the Myriad Woods Everlasting Formula.