Chapter 288 Two Old Men Fighting Over Peaches
At this time, Xiao Taozi, who had already arrived in the capital, was sitting on a small stool, swinging his short legs, peeling an orange with great concentration.
Mr. Lu sat on a rattan chair, looking at her with a smile from time to time.
"Grandpa, the oranges are so sweet! Can I feed it to you?" Little Peach broke off a slice and stood on tiptoe to hand it over.
"Oh, our little Taozi is so well-behaved." Grandpa Lu's smile was a little stiff, but little Taozi was obviously not afraid at all, but very close to him.
"Great-grandfather, can we go see the great-grandfather of the Jiang family?" Little Taozi asked with her head tilted, looking at the other half of the orange in her hand.
Xiao Taozi's crisp question was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples in Mr. Lu's heart.
He paused chewing, and the sweet orange juice suddenly became tasteless.
"Xiao Taozi, do you like great-grandfather Jiang?" Grandpa Lu put down the orange slices in his hand and tried to make his voice sound less concerned.
"I like it!" Little Taozi answered without hesitation, her eyes curved into crescents. "Grandpa Jiang would tell me stories and weave little grasshoppers out of straw!"
When Mr. Lu heard Xiao Taozi talking about straw grasshoppers, he immediately cursed in his heart, thinking that this old guy was too insidious to use straw grasshoppers to deceive his little darling.
How could he know these tricks to coax children?
No, that’s not right. The old guy, like me, has been a soldier all his life. When did he learn to do this?
"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" Little Taozi keenly noticed Mr. Lu's mood changes and gently placed her small hand on the back of his wrinkled hand. "Are you unhappy?"
Looking at Xiao Taozi's worried eyes, Mr. Lu's heart softened. "No, Great Grandpa was just wondering...when did Great Grandpa Jiang come up with this grasshopper? I didn't even know."
"Little Taozi doesn't know either. But, great-grandfather can make folding paper boats, so Jiang's great-grandfather probably doesn't know either."
I have to say that Xiao Taozi is a natural master of keeping things balanced. She was able to think of a way to comfort Mr. Lu in this situation.
Mr. Lu remembered that he had folded paper for Xiao Taozi before, and when he thought of the crooked paper boat, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
He can fold paper boats, but because he lacks patience, the ones he folds are never pretty. How about getting some scrap paper to practice on later?
Oh, if I had known earlier, I would have practiced in advance all these years. I don’t know how long it would take to master the skills.
Mr. Lu patted Xiao Taozi's head, and the unhappiness in his heart dissipated a lot: "Then how about we make origami boats and play?"
"Okay, Great Grandpa, can we go see Great Grandpa Jiang after we fold the paper boat? I'm worried that he's too lonely." Little Taozi blinked her big eyes and looked at Grandpa Lu expectantly.
Mr. Lu felt a pang of sadness in his heart, but looking at Xiao Taozi's expectant eyes, he couldn't bear to refuse: "Okay, Great Grandpa will take you there."
The old man has been living alone for many years and it is indeed too lonely.
Little Taozi cheered and threw herself into Mr. Lu's arms: "Grandpa is the best!"
Mr. Lu held his chubby little great-granddaughter in his arms, feeling mixed emotions.
Although he was pleased with his precious great-granddaughter's kindness and thoughtfulness, he couldn't help but feel jealous of Old Man Jiang. What should he do?
Otherwise, why not give one of your own little boys to Old Man Jiang so that she won’t come and snatch the baby from you?
Mr. Lu felt that this might be feasible.
As the old man and the young boy were talking, He Wanyi came back with Doctor Qi.
Mr. Lu immediately put aside his jealousy.
"How is it? Is Old Man Jiang in good health?"
"Uncle Jiang said he's in good health and doesn't need to see a doctor. He also said he's already quite old, so it doesn't matter whether he sees a doctor or not."
After hearing this, Mr. Lu quit immediately.
"That won't do. I have to explain. When I was young, I was afraid of taking medicine. Now that I'm old, I'm still like a child."
Mr. Lu carried Xiao Taozi and left, and He Wanyi hurried to follow.
After walking two steps, he found that Doctor Qi had not followed him, so he hurriedly called him to join him.
"Can I see a doctor this time?"
"Don't worry, Xiao Taozi is here, nothing will be a problem." He Wanyi smiled.
I was just thinking that more people means more targets, so why did I forget to bring Xiao Taozi with me?
Humph, don’t think she doesn’t know that these two old men will agree to anything when they see Xiao Taozi.
"This old ginger is still as stubborn as he was when he was young!"
Old Master Lu strode towards the Jiang family, holding Little Peach in his arms, muttering, "Back then, even when he was injured on the battlefield, he refused to leave the front line. Now that he's old, he's still so stubborn!"
Little Taozi hugged Mr. Lu's neck and asked in a baby voice, "Grandpa, is the Jiang family's great-grandfather sick?"
"That's right!" Old Master Lu kept walking. "You're old but still act like a young man. You don't want to see a doctor when you're sick. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Little Peach nodded in agreement: "Yeah, nonsense!"
Mr. Lu felt better and his feet felt stronger.
He Wanyi trotted behind, and Doctor Qi, carrying a medicine box, also hurried along.
The group soon arrived at the door of the Jiang family.
Mr. Lu didn't even knock on the door, but pushed it open and walked in: "Jiang Guozhu! Come out!"
In the yard, Old Man Jiang was sitting in a rattan chair basking in the sun, weaving something in his hands.
Hearing the shout, he slowly raised his head and said, "Hey, what brings you here?"
But before he finished speaking, he saw Little Taozi in Mr. Lu's arms and immediately smiled: "Oh, my dear baby is here! Little Taozi, come, come to Grandpa!"
Little Taozi slipped out of Mr. Lu's arms and trotted to Mr. Jiang's side.
"Grandpa Jiang!" Little Peach called sweetly, "We've brought the doctor to see you!"
Grandpa Jiang's face was as bright as a flower. He bent down and picked up Xiao Taozi: "Oh, Grandpa missed you so much! You can come by yourself from now on. You don't need to bring a doctor or anything."
Mr. Lu was so angry that his beard stood up straight: "Jiang Guozhu! Wanyi said it all, you refuse to see a doctor!"
"What illness do you want to see? I'm fine! I'm old and have old illnesses. Who wants to take those bitter medicines!" Old Master Jiang waved his hand disdainfully.
"You old stubborn man! If I hadn't carried you down from the Korean battlefield, you would have died... Anyway, your life belongs to me! You have to listen to me!
"If I hadn't blocked the bullet for you, would you still be standing here yelling at me? Your life is still mine." Old Master Jiang retorted unyieldingly.
The two old men stared at each other like fighting cocks, neither refusing to give in.
Little Taozi looked at this, then looked at that, and suddenly burst into tears.
"Jiang Guozhu, do you have any future? You scared my little Taozi to tears!" Old Master Lu immediately got angry at Jiang Guozhu.
Jiang Guozhu immediately said to Xiao Taozi: "Don't cry, dear, don't cry..."
"Wow, wow, wow...you guys are arguing..."
The two old men were suddenly panicked.
"Grandpa, we're not arguing, we're just joking!" Grandpa Lu coaxed in a hurry.
Old Master Jiang also patted Xiao Taozi's back in a panic: "Yes, yes, that's how we two old brothers like to talk. We're not really arguing! We won't talk like that anymore!"
Little Taozi peeked at the two great-grandfathers' anxious expressions through their fingers, and her crying gradually subsided: "Really?"
"Really, really!" the two old men answered in unison.
"Then does Grandpa Jiang want to see a doctor? Does he want to take medicine?" Little Taozi blinked her big eyes that were still filled with tears and looked at Grandpa Jiang pitifully.
Old Master Jiang was choked for a moment, the words of refusal lingered on his lips, but looking at Xiao Taozi's expectant eyes, he just couldn't bring himself to say it.
“This…this…”
"If you make my little precious great-granddaughter cry, I will fight with you!" Mr. Lu immediately said fiercely.
I just promised my little darling that we won’t quarrel anymore, so fighting shouldn’t count, right?
He Wanyi watched from the side and felt that the time was almost right, so she stepped forward and said, "Why don't you just ask Doctor Qi to give it a quick checkup, so that Xiao Taozi can be at ease? Besides, Doctor Qi is the doctor Haitang hired from the northwest for you."
Doctor Qi stepped forward to examine Mr. Jiang, but the stubborn old man changed his mind again: "Wait! I think I'm in good health, how about..."
Just as Mr. Lu was about to explode, Little Peach suddenly had an idea: "So you don't have to keep your word. Little Peach has learned it!"
When Jiang Guozhu heard this, he was shocked and immediately said, "No, no, I just wanted to lie down on the bed and check if I could feel more comfortable."
"Yes! Great Grandpa is right." Little Peach nodded heavily. "Little Peach wants to see how the doctor treats patients!"
Mr. Lu's eyes lit up, and he understood what Xiao Taozi meant. He immediately chimed in: "That's right, Xiao Taozi is very smart and wants to learn everything. Old Jiang, just think of it as setting an example for the child!"
Old Master Jiang was so embarrassed by the old man and the young boy that he had to accept the inspection reluctantly.
Doctor Qi watched Xiao Taozi handle it easily, smiled, shook his head, and followed a few people into the house.
Doctor Qi is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. After a thorough examination, he said, "I will prescribe three sets of Chinese medicine. I will diagnose you after you take them."
When he heard about the three prescriptions of Chinese medicine, Mr. Jiang's face was full of bitterness.
Injections are fine, but taking Chinese medicine is a bit difficult. What should I do?
"Grandpa, you're not afraid of hardship, are you? Little Peach will give you some candy, okay?"
"No, no, how could such a powerful man like Great Grandpa be afraid of hardship? Just save the sugar for the little peaches."
Finally, after discussing it, several people decided that He Wanyi would go get the medicine, boil it, and deliver it to Mr. Jiang on time.
"Old Jiang, let me tell you, if you don't take your medicine properly, I will let Xiao Taozi feed you the medicine." Old Master Lu knew Jiang Guozhu very well and said immediately.
In fact, Mr. Jiang did have the idea of not taking the medicine properly, but when he heard that Xiao Taozi was asked to feed him the medicine, he immediately became obedient.
"I will supervise my great-grandfather to take medicine in the future." Little Taozi waved her little hands to indicate that she could complete this difficult task.
On the way back, Xiao Taozi tilted her head and asked, "Grandpa, is Grandpa Jiang seriously ill?"
Mr. Lu sighed: "Doctor Qi said he is not feeling well... He is old and misses his family..."
"Then...then, how about Xiao Taozi come and accompany Grandpa Jiang every day from now on?" Xiao Taozi said seriously, "Grandpa said that illnesses heal faster when you're happy! Xiao Taozi will treat Grandpa Jiang as a relative!"
Mr. Lu felt warm in his heart and touched Xiao Taozi's head: "Good child. You are his relative. With you around, he will be obedient."
Otherwise, we should just bring Haitang back as soon as possible. It’s okay for that brat Liangchen to stay in the northwest alone for a while.
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