Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi's group arrived at Huichuntang. As soon as they entered, the shop assistant recognized Jiang Yuwei:
"You've come again. Please come with me to the backyard."
Jiang Yuwei pushed Ning Huaizhi's wheelchair into the backyard. Ning Wanxu was frightened and hid in Ning Huaizhi's arms, peeking out her eyes to observe the surroundings.
When Dr. Lin saw Jiang Yuwei arrive, he quickly asked her and her family to sit down and wait. After a while, he finished examining the patients in the room before coming out. Jiang Yuwei spoke to Dr. Lin first:
"Dr. Lin, my daughter has been a little frightened, please take a look at her."
Doctor Lin stepped forward, looked at Ning Wan nestled in Ning Huaizhi's arms, and said with a smile:
"Little girl, come out and let me see your hand."
Upon hearing this, Ning Wan quickly snuggled closer to Ning Huaizhi. Jiang Yuwei, seeing the child like this, felt extremely sorry for her, so she took the child into her arms, took a piece of candy from her pocket, and handed it to Ning Wan, saying softly:
"Wan'er, be good. Let your uncle take your pulse. In a little while, Mom will take you to the pastry shop to buy some delicious food."
Ning Wan looked at Jiang Yuwei with her big, watery eyes and nodded with a pitiful expression. Then she stretched out her little hand, and Doctor Lin rushed forward to take her pulse.
"Yes, the child is physically fine, just frightened. I'll prescribe some calming medicine for her; go back and decoct it for her to drink over three days, and she'll be fine. The child might not sleep well tonight, so keep a close eye on her."
Jiang Yuwei nodded, reached out and stroked Ning Wan's hair, then said to Doctor Lin:
"Doctor, I would like to trouble you to take another look at my husband's leg. He has been soaking it in the medicinal baths you prescribed."
Doctor Lin nodded and stepped forward. He first took Ning Huaizhi's pulse, then felt his lumbar spine and leg bones, frowning as he said:
"This leg is getting better than before, thanks to your willingness to spend money on medicinal baths and slings. However, as I said, without thousand-year-old wild ginseng as a medicinal ingredient, this leg could not have been cured."
Jiang Yuwei placed Ning Wan in Ning Huaizhi's arms, then rummaged through her basket and carefully took out something wrapped in cloth, handing it to Doctor Lin with a smile:
"Dr. Lin, could you please take a look at this thousand-year-old wild ginseng? Could it possibly cure my husband's leg?"
Doctor Lin glanced at Jiang Yuwei suspiciously, but patiently took the cloth bag. He didn't believe that this family of farmers could find a thousand-year-old wild ginseng. So he hastily opened the package, and at first glance, Doctor Lin's mouth dropped open as he stared intently at what he held in his hands. After a long while, he stammered:
"Yes, yes, it's a thousand-year-old wild ginseng. You really managed to find it."
As Dr. Lin spoke, he looked at Ning Huaizhi with great excitement:
"Your leg can be saved!"
He had never used thousand-year-old wild ginseng to treat illnesses before; at most, he had used hundred-year-old ginseng. Seeing such a high-quality thousand-year-old ginseng today was truly an eye-opener for Dr. Lin.
Doctor Lin carefully placed the thousand-year-old wild ginseng on the table, then hurriedly took out paper and pen to write down the prescription. He then instructed the shop assistant to help prepare the medicine before turning to Jiang Yuwei and saying:
"I will begin treating his leg today. Keep this wild ginseng safe. Just cut off a slice and add it to the decoction each day. Bring him here for acupuncture every seven days. During this time, you must give him a medicinal bath every day. Once you start treatment, you must not stop. Can you manage that?"
Jiang Yuwei excitedly grabbed Ning Huaizhi's hand, and the two looked at each other and said in unison:
"Yes, we can do it!"
Jiang Yuwei took Ning Wan, who was still eating candy, from Ning Huaizhi's arms and said to Doctor Lin:
"Then Dr. Lao Lin will perform acupuncture on him first."
Doctor Lin nodded, took out the silver needles and arranged them, then said to Ning Huaizhi:
"Some acupoints may be a little painful, you have to bear with it."
Ning Huaizhi nodded firmly:
"Don't worry, doctor, I can bear it. Let's begin."
Doctor Lin quickly inserted silver needles into the main acupoints of Ning Huaizhi's lumbar spine, thighs, and calves. Jiang Yuwei could tell from the cold sweat on Ning Huaizhi's forehead that he was trying very hard to endure the pain, so she stood beside him, freed one hand, and took out a handkerchief to gently wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
Ning Huaizhi smiled and glanced at Jiang Yuwei, comforting her:
"It's okay, honey. As long as these legs get better, I'm not afraid of pain."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded at Ning Huaizhi. Once his leg was healed, no one would dare call him a cripple anymore, and Ning Huaizhi would be able to better protect the family.
Jiang Yuwei naturally knew that Ning Huaizhi felt guilty towards her and their son because of his leg injury, so he was silently doing his best to help the family. Once Ning Huaizhi's leg healed, he wouldn't have to work so hard anymore.
An hour later, Doctor Lin finally came and removed all the silver needles from Ning Huaizhi's body. By then, Ning Huaizhi was already drenched in sweat from the pain, but fearing that Jiang Yuwei would worry about him, he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound. Even Doctor Lin couldn't help but admire him.
"You're a real man, you can endure this pain without uttering a sound."
Ning Huaizhi smiled at Doctor Lin, his face deathly pale.
"It's alright, it doesn't hurt."
After saying goodbye to Doctor Lin, Jiang Yuwei pushed Ning Huaizhi's wheelchair out. Ning Wan had probably recovered by now and didn't need Jiang Yuwei to carry her. She just followed behind her, her little hands tightly clutching Jiang Yuwei's clothes, as if afraid of running away again.
Jiang Yuwei first helped Ning Wan and Ning Huaizhi into the car before getting in herself and saying to Ning Huaizhi:
"Huaizhi, can you still take it? How about I drive the oxcart and you go to the back to rest?"
Ning Huaizhi waved his hand dismissively and said:
"It's alright, I'm fine."
Jiang Yuwei looked at Ning Wan in her arms and said to Ning Huaizhi:
"Let's go to the pastry shop first. I'll buy some pastries for Wan'er, and then I'll buy some candied fruit for you to eat when you take your medicine."
Ning Huaizhi drove the oxcart to the pastry shop. When he heard Jiang Yuwei say she wanted to buy him candied fruit, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"Why would I eat candied fruit? I'm not afraid of bitterness. Do you still treat me like a child?"
Jiang Yuwei patted Ning Huaizhi's shoulder lightly and smiled:
"Can't adults eat candied fruit?"
As soon as the three arrived at the entrance of the pastry shop, Jiang Yuwei saw a familiar figure emerge from the tavern next door. She immediately gripped Ning Huaizhi's hand tightly, turned her head to the side, and whispered:
"Huaizhi, look at that man, he's the man who broke into our courtyard that night. What's he doing here? Did he come with us?"
Ning Huaizhi frowned slightly upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, and looked in the direction of the man, where he saw him holding a scroll and asking everyone he met.
Ning Huaizhi said in a deep voice:
"He's still trying to find out about that person. You take Ning Wan to hide in the pastry shop for a while, I'll stay here and keep an eye on things."
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