Liu Cuifen watched as Ouyang Zhenyu held the child in his arms and began to examine him carefully.

What's wrong with the child?

Actually, he didn't pay much attention to the child at first, mainly because Liu Cuifen usually protected the child very well.

They either carry it on their backs or hold it in their arms; no one has ever touched it.

Ouyang Zhenyu never expected that the child would be sick.

“This child is over a year old, but he still can’t speak. You can’t say he can’t hear, but most of the time he ignores people.”

"The village's barefoot doctor examined the child and said there was nothing wrong with him, except... he's an idiot."

Liu Cuifen's tears fell instantly. The child was mentally challenged. At first, she didn't believe it, but since the child, who was just over a year old, couldn't speak, she accepted it.

Some children don't start speaking until they are three or four years old.

But this child not only can't speak, he also doesn't listen to himself.

I have almost no communication with my child.

The child doesn't understand what I'm saying, nor can he hear me. It's as if he just sits blankly in my arms or on my back all day. To this day, the child can't walk or crawl.

Ouyang Zhenyu was stunned for a moment.

The moment Ouyang Zhenyu touched the child, the information displayed on the panel shocked him.

This child is what people commonly refer to as an autistic patient; to be precise, the child is currently too young to communicate with others.

Therefore, they remained in a self-enclosed state, not receiving outside information, and thus were unable to learn.

No wonder the barefoot doctor said the child was stupid. In fact, in everyone's eyes, autistic children are just as stupid.

After all, if someone doesn't talk to others, just immerses themselves in their own world, and ignores everyone else, what else could they be but a fool?

People in this era don't understand what autism is.

The term "autism" only came into use later.

But such a young child has contracted this disease, especially given the poor conditions here.

There is almost no way to treat it.

Furthermore, autism requires internal treatment, not medication or surgery.

Seeing that Ouyang Zhenyu remained silent for a long time, Liu Cuifen suddenly shuddered.

Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Xiao Jiang, you...you also noticed something's wrong with this child, didn't you? Is this child really an idiot?"

"Sister Liu, the child isn't stupid."

An hour later, Liu Cuifen was holding her son tightly in her arms, already crying her eyes out.

But there was a smile on her lips.

"As long as he's not stupid, it's okay if he's a little slow. I can teach him slowly, as long as he's not stupid."

With his brother around, even if I were to pass away one day, the two brothers could rely on each other.

Ouyang Zhenyu sighed.

These kinds of children are very difficult to cure; they require immense patience from adults and slow, gentle guidance.

Fortunately, the child's condition is not bad. He has already prepared a treatment plan for Liu Cuifen. Although the plan is slow, it is still effective for children with autism.

It is hoped that Liu Cuifen's son will be able to live a normal life and integrate into society in the future.

While it is a hopeful expectation, some children with autism are quite unique in certain aspects.

The talent they displayed could be described as genius.

Before Ouyang Zhenyu could even catch his breath, he heard a commotion of footsteps.

Looking up, I saw more than a dozen elderly people with white hair rushing in, leaning on canes.

"Grandpa, slow down, slow down. Your legs aren't good, don't fall."

On the fifth day of the lunar month, he followed closely with more than a hundred young people.

The elderly man leading the group had white hair and beard and looked to be at least seventy or eighty years old. Despite his age, he was still very healthy and was holding a cane.

Her eyes were red and swollen; she had clearly been crying.

The moment these dozen or so elderly people saw Ouyang Zhenyu, the leader of the group immediately knelt down in front of him.

Ouyang Zhenyu didn't even have time to react, mainly because there was a square table in front of him, and it was inconvenient for him to stand up suddenly while sitting on the bench.

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, thank you, thank you. I've heard these past few days that you are a benefactor to our entire village."

"On behalf of all 4,890 people in the village, I thank you for your great kindness."

"If it weren't for you, at least two or three hundred people in our village would have starved to death this time."

"On behalf of our ancestors, I, this old man, thank you."

Seeing that the old man was about to kowtow, Ouyang Zhenyu hurriedly pushed the stool away and finally managed to help the man up.

"Old man, this is unacceptable."

"You saved the lives of our whole village, so it's still more of a bargain for us to kowtow to you, even if it's just an old man like me."

Just for kowtowing a few times, you've spent so much money and put in so much effort.

"How could we possibly have done you such a great favor?"

Ouyang Zhenyu forcibly pulled the old man up, and then made them pull up all the other elderly men as well.

"Grandpa, please don't be like this. It's fate that we met."

"Chu Wu and I are brothers, we've been through thick and thin together, and it's fate that we've come to this point."

“I’m not the kind of person who would watch the villagers starve to death.”

No one can stand by and watch someone die in front of them, so please don't bring this up.

"No, you can choose not to mention it, that's because you're broad-minded and don't take such things to heart."

But if we don't remember, if our descendants don't remember, if we don't repay the kindness, then we are nothing but beasts.

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, we must be grateful to you no matter what, even if it costs you the lives of my children and grandchildren."

Comrade Xiao Jiang, we will definitely repay you. Our village has set up a shrine in your honor in the ancestral hall.

“From now on, every generation of our clan will offer incense to you.”

"If you are in trouble, we will risk our lives to protect you."

Ouyang Zhenyu paused for a moment.

"Old man, this is absolutely unacceptable. I have my reasons for saving the villagers."

I have one request for you. If you agree, it will be considered your way of repaying me.

There's no need for my descendants to remember my kindness in this way.

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, please make the suggestion!"

Even if you wanted to take this old man's life, I would do it without hesitation.

The old man pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the table.

Judging from his clean and efficient manner, you can tell that the old man was quite skilled in his youth; he must have some martial arts background.

“Old man, I know that all the people living in those houses at the village entrance have been arrested by you.”

Upon hearing this, the old man's face showed a suspicious expression.

"Xiao Jiang, you're not going to let them go, are you?"

These people are not good people. They have tried to harm us time and time again. This time, they are working together from the inside and outside to try to storm into our village.

"If the villagers hadn't made preparations in advance, our entire village would probably have been wiped out."