Chapter 137 Comrades, come and pull up the radishes! Pulling up radishes? That sounds fun…
After Ji Fengnian stayed overnight for a week, Lou Lan asked him if he wanted to apply for accommodation, and he said no.
Not staying overnight isn't a problem, but Ji Fengnian gets carsick on buses and can't ride a bicycle, so he runs to and from school every day.
Lou Lan remained silent for a long time before saying, "How about we buy a bicycle and learn to ride?"
Ji Fengnian: "No need, it's fine. I've been walking five kilometers of mountain road to school every day since fifth grade. I often get up late in the morning and I run to school. I'm used to running. Now it's only four kilometers, and it's on a main road. I get there before my feet are even warm. Besides, going to class is like being in prison. I sit in the classroom all day long. The teachers don't even let us go to the corridor to play during breaks. My bones are stiff from sitting. Running is a good way to loosen up my muscles and bones."
If someone says that going to class is like being in prison, it definitely means they haven't been paying attention. Lou Lan, having raised children for so many years, knows this all too well. "Don't you understand what the teacher is saying?"
Lou Lan thought that if Ji Fengnian couldn't understand any of the courses, she could ask Wen Min to send him tutoring, since he didn't want to stay at the dormitory anyway.
As a result, Ji Fengnian said: "Mathematics, English, Geography, Biology, History..."
Lou Lan remained silent for a long time: "So that means you can only understand Chinese?"
Ji Fengnian scratched his head in distress, "I guess so..."
Lou Lan: "Math and English tutoring classes are easy to find, but for other subjects..."
Upon hearing the word "tutoring," Ji Fengnian immediately jumped up. "I don't want tutoring. I... I just haven't gotten used to it yet. Once I get used to it, I'll be able to understand. The main problem is that the teacher speaks Mandarin in class, and I can't understand it very well."
Lou Lan: "I can't understand Mandarin. Aren't you speaking Mandarin now? Didn't your teachers speak Mandarin in class before?"
Ji Fengnian: "No, it's not that. Everyday speech is different from classroom speech. My previous teachers spoke Mandarin in a dialect, but the current teachers speak Mandarin in such standard Mandarin that I can't adjust to it right away. I just need to get used to it. Really, I don't need tutoring. I'll get used to it in two weeks and be able to understand it."
Lou Lan: "Okay."
...
That evening, Lou Lan told Wen Min about Ji Fengnian's studies. Wen Min didn't say anything, and went to buy him a pair of sneakers over the weekend to prevent him from hurting his feet while running.
Ji Fengnian was overjoyed and excitedly ran to the kitchen to cause trouble again.
An Fusheng hurriedly urged him to go to the backyard to pull up radishes.
Ji Fengnian: "Pulled them all out? Are you sure?"
An Fusheng: "Yes, yes, we pulled them all out, we didn't pull out the hollow ones."
Ji Fengnian looked at the endless field of radishes and asked, "Can we eat all of this?"
"If we can't finish them, we'll make pickled radishes or dry radishes; in short, nothing will be wasted."
"Okay!"
Ji Fengnian dashed to the kitchen door and shouted to the group of children who were engrossed in playing house outside, "Comrades, come and pull up the radishes!"
The little radish kids exclaimed, "Hmm? Pulling radishes? That sounds fun! We want to play!"
They all rushed into the radish field.
Today, Ao Daiya, Lin Wuyang, and Fang Wangxi and his sister all came to play. A group of little kids, like ants, lined up and passed through the kitchen, taking a long time to finish.
Wen Yue: "The number of workers is amazing!"
An Fusheng: "Just you wait."
Wen Yue: "Waiting for what?"
An Fusheng: "You'll find out soon enough."
After Ji Fengnian finished calling everyone to go to the vegetable garden, he ran over and pulled Wen Xinghe out, saying, "Don't even think about slacking off. You can pull up radishes even if you can't see it."
Wen Xinghe: "I know, I know. Slow down, I can't find my way."
The people preparing food in the kitchen: "..."
...
Springtime brings frequent rain, and it's been raining every few days lately. The mud in the vegetable garden is never dry. Lou Lan has been forbidding the children from stepping into the garden. When the children are finally allowed to enter, they run around like crazy, then pick up a big radish and pull it out with all their might, sometimes slipping on their bottoms. Finally, they proudly show off the muddy radish. After a round of this, the mud is so thick it covers their hair, making them indistinguishable from radishes.
"Comrades, today we are going to wipe out all the radishes. Can you do it?"
"It's possible!"
Lou Lan heard the noise on the second floor and looked out the window. She saw Wen Xingmou struggling to pull herself out of the yard, clutching a radish. An Shisi, also carrying a radish, walked by, threw it down, and said, "I'll help you." Then, his muddy paws grabbed Wen Xingmou's clothes and pulled her backward. The two radish leaves Wen Xingmou was holding snapped with a "crack," and both An Shisi and Wen Xingmou tumbled into a muddy pit in the middle of the ridge. Lou Lan: "..."
Ji Fengnian was completely oblivious, still frantically pumping himself up: "Come on, comrades, this battle is the only chance of success!"
A few minutes later, Lou Lan appeared in the vegetable garden carrying a feather duster. "Ji Fengnian, come here for a moment."
Ji Fengnian walked over, bewildered: "What's wrong?"
Lou Lan raised a feather duster and started hitting them, yelling, "What's wrong with them? What's wrong with them? Look at the state they've become!"
An Fusheng, arms crossed, leaned leisurely against the doorframe, watching the commotion: "Now you see?"
Wen Yue: "..."
...
At noon, a row of people squatted in the laundry room, diligently washing clothes and brushing shoes.
Zhaolin passed by and remarked, "Oh, Xiao Ba can do laundry now?"
Wen Xinglan quickly got herself into the basin: "Washing clothes."
Zhaolin: "If you can't finish washing it, ask Ji Fengnian to wash it for you."
Wen Xingrui, with his head and face covered in foam, said, "Okay."
Ji Fengnian, who was scanning everyone's shoes: "..."
...
Ji Fengnian finally finished pulling up the radishes in a day and a half. After that, An Fusheng asked him if he wanted to do his homework. He said he had finished his homework, so he spent another half a day washing the radishes.
Zhaolin laughed so hard he bent over backwards.
However, Zhaolin was no better off. He vowed to study cooking diligently while Ji Fengnian was away, leaving Ji Fengnian far behind. So he studied An Fusheng's cooking frame by frame with a notebook.
After the pan was heated, An Fusheng was about to add oil when Zhaolin said, "Wait a minute, let me check the temperature of the pan."
After An Fusheng finished measuring, he was about to pour the oil when Zhaolin said, "Wait a minute, measure how many milliliters of oil to use first."
An Fusheng poured the oil into a measuring cup, and after he recorded the amount, he poured it into the pot. Then An Fusheng prepared to add ginger, and Zhaolin asked, "Wait a minute, how many slices of ginger?"
An Fusheng: "Three pieces."
“Oh.” Zhaolin wrote it down in his notebook.
Then, without waiting for Zhaolin to stop him, An Fusheng quickly put the chili peppers in. Zhaolin said, "Don't move yet, let me count how many pieces of chili peppers are in."
An Fusheng watched as the chili peppers in the oil slowly turned black, and finally lost his temper. "Get out!"
Zhaolin: "..."
...
Zhao Lin came out of the kitchen with his head hanging low, and Ji Fengnian mocked him again.
...
Spring is a season of harvest and new hope.
The vegetables in the garden grew throughout the autumn and hibernated through the winter, then matured rapidly in the spring. Before the vegetables became too old, the family harvested them all. Those that could be made into sauerkraut were made into sauerkraut, and those that could be made into dried vegetables were made into dried vegetables. Then they bought new seeds and seedlings to continue sowing the hope for the next season.
The family also went to the flower and tree market to buy saplings and planted them in the previously barren area of the front yard. They also scattered a lot of flower seeds under the trees, and the yard will surely be full of life by summer.
...
Right after the New Year, my grandparents kept saying they wanted to go back home. Everyone kept trying to persuade them to stay, but after they finished planting the trees in the yard, they finally refused to stay any longer.
"Grandpa, Grandma, don't worry, I will water your trees every day."
“I also water them, and I keep an eye on Xiao Ba and Wen Xingrui to prevent them from digging holes here.”
“I collect the excrement of civilized and polite people and bury it under the trees so that they can grow into big trees quickly.”
Grandpa and Grandma were deeply moved. "Okay, okay, thank you for helping us take care of the tree. We'll come to see you again when we have time."
"Okay, goodbye Grandpa and Grandma."
...
An Fusheng drove his grandparents to the station again.
Grandma remembered that she wanted to find a girlfriend for An Fusheng, but she left before finding one, which was a great pity.
Lou Lan: "Take a break. Look at the mess you made, Minmin. She still hasn't learned her lesson."
Grandma fell silent instantly.
An Fusheng said, "I haven't thought about having a girlfriend yet. I'll tell Grandma when I want one, and she can introduce me to someone."
Grandma said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, I don't trust anyone else now. I'll find you a good one myself."
An Fusheng: "Thank you, Grandma."
...
As the weather warmed up day by day, the thick winter clothes were taken off one by one. With each layer of heavy clothes peeled away, Wen Xinglan walked more and more nimbly, while Wen Xingrui could still only move slowly by holding onto the wall.
Lou Lan made an appointment with the expert she had met at the previous lecture, and together with An Fusheng, took Wen Xingrui for a comprehensive examination and evaluation. The evaluation result showed that Wen Xingrui had low muscle tone, which was neither good nor bad.
Children with cerebral palsy are all like this; their muscle tone is either too high or too low.
High muscle tone means that the muscles are in a state of constant tension and contraction, which restricts joint movement and leads to motor disorders. Low muscle tone, on the other hand, will lead to insufficient muscle strength in the limbs, lack of support and coordination, and motor development will lag far behind that of peers.
Fortunately, Wen Xingrui is currently able to do sit-ups on his own in bed and can also stand up and move slowly. The doctor's evaluation of him is relatively optimistic, and he also suggested that Lou Lan start rehabilitation treatment for Wen Xingrui as soon as possible.
Lou Lan had previously learned about rehabilitation treatment for children with cerebral palsy. Rehabilitation treatment for children with cerebral palsy is a long and difficult process, just like autism. It is very hard for children to receive treatment and exercise, and it requires a lot of time and energy for adults. Moreover, once it starts, it takes several years to go to the hospital or rehabilitation center. Lou Lan is not afraid of hard work, but she can't manage to arrange her time.
An Fusheng said, "Aunt Lou, we can cook and take care of Xiao Ba at the same time. Yueyue and I can also spare some time to take our younger siblings to and from school. Let's do rehabilitation therapy for Xingrui."
The doctor's words were rather tactful, but An Fusheng roughly understood what the doctor meant. If rehabilitation doesn't start now, Wen Xingrui might not even be able to take care of himself when he grows up. If rehabilitation starts now and he can persevere, he might be able to go to school in the future. Even if he can't go to school, what hope is there in life if he can't even take care of himself?
Lou Lan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."
Lou Lan called Wen Min again to discuss the matter. Wen Min also agreed that treatment should be pursued if possible, so the doctor immediately developed a treatment plan for Wen Xingrui.
After completing the treatment plan, the doctor said that his recent treatments were all booked up and he would not be able to treat Wen Xingrui for another two weeks. So, he gave Wen Xingrui a simple massage to stimulate his muscles first.
An Fusheng thought it would be a comfortable massage with gentle kneading and pinching, but the doctor pressed Wen Xingrui down on the small bed in the examination room and grabbed his skin, rolling it up hard.
Children's skin is firm and tender, and it hurts to grab it. You don't want to get pinched. Wen Xingrui could bear it at first, but as he endured it, he felt something was wrong. He tried to struggle, but his hands and feet were immediately held down by his older brother and Aunt Lou. Wen Xingrui's mouth twitched and he cried out.
Wen Xingrui had never felt so wronged in his life. He was both aggrieved and in pain, crying and calling for his mother and brother. An Fusheng and Lou Lan were heartbroken, but they were powerless to help.
After finally finishing the massage, An Fusheng fed Wen Xingrui several bites of food, and Wen Xingrui finally forgot to cry as she ate.
Then I heard the doctor say, "This kind of massage can promote blood circulation and enhance muscle sensory input, which is very useful for improving muscle tone. I will do it for him often when he comes for rehabilitation treatment in the future, and you should also do it for him every day when he gets home."
The food in Wen Xingrui's mouth suddenly lost its flavor, and he burst into tears again with a "waaaaa".
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