After believing what Lin Shu said, Fang Dihua’s heart, which had been tied up with hidden pain, felt suddenly relieved and light.

She could breathe more easily.

Her brows, which had been tightly furrowed these days, relaxed, and she quietly reminded Lin Shu, “Just keep this between your father and me. No one else should know, not even the in-laws.”

This was exactly what Lin Shu wanted.

Lin Shu nodded, “Mother, don’t worry. If you hadn’t come to burn the paper, I wouldn’t have told you or Father either.”

Seeing that Lin Shu was more sensible than before, Fang Dihua felt reassured.

She told Lin Shu to go to bed early, and she herself swept the ashes and muttered to the old man.

After burning the paper in his own room, Old Man Lu waited for his wife to come out so they could go to the graves of their ancestors together.

However, when he overheard his wife and daughter-in-law muttering, he couldn’t eavesdrop because, as a father-in-law, it wasn’t appropriate to intrude on his daughter-in-law’s room.

He was anxious though.

When he saw his wife returning, he immediately grabbed Fang Dihua’s hand and asked, “Hua’er, what are you discussing?”

Fang Dihua repeated Lin Shu’s words, “Old man, our third child is fine.”

Old Man Lu slowly nodded, “Shaotang’s wife wouldn’t make this up, and no one taught her this. I believe it’s true.”

They had noticed Lin Shu’s change; she was indeed different from before.

If it wasn’t due to something supernatural, then it must be something like this.

They firmly believed in supernatural events, even if they themselves couldn’t experience them.

Having lived so long, they had seen many strange things.

Old Man Lu recalled when he was four or five years old, he often saw people by the roadside with their heads down and faces covered, but others couldn’t see them.

Later, when he was a bit older, an old family friend said that bandits had killed many villagers there with a cannon, and the bandits had been killed on the road while robbing.

The old friend said that these bandits were definitely people the old man had seen with his father and the helpers, and because his fortune was light, he could see them.

The people with their heads down were actually protecting him. If he had seen their faces, he would have gone mad.

At that time, Old Man Lu didn’t fully believe it because he could no longer see them later, but his mother did have him marry a woman with a heavier fortune.

Now, he believed it!

Fang Dihua even smiled, “We doubted her sanity.”

It turns out it wasn’t a mental issue or possession by the third child, but rather she could perform tasks like those immortals.

Of course, this was something the old couple would keep to themselves to avoid trouble.

Even now, many people in the village claim they can communicate with spirits, invite deities, or perform supernatural acts.

Not everyone who does this is dealt with, as…

The villagers had some demand for these matters.

Of course, they had to keep it low-key and handle things discreetly.

Believing Lin Shu’s words, the old couple felt the heavy burden on their hearts lift, and they felt relaxed and happy.

Fang Dihua then mentioned a few book titles she had memorized. “Old man, do you know where we can buy them?”

Old Man Lu nodded, “Yes, I know. Back in the day, my elder brother brought one back, and we also had one left over when we visited home.”

They had just searched through their belongings and found an old, yellowed copy of “The Communist Manifesto” without a cover and a copy of “Mao’s Selected Works,” but they didn’t find “Das Kapital.”

Old Man Lu said, “In that case, we must go to the county town’s Xinhua Bookstore to buy it.”

Fang Dihua replied, “Then we’ll go tomorrow.”

Old Man Lu agreed, “That’s fine. I’ll wash my hands first, and then we can read the Manifesto.”

Fang Dihua immediately prepared water for him and used some precious soap to clean his hands.

After drying his hands, Old Man Lu reverently opened the Manifesto and began reading it aloud, with Fang Dihua following his words.

They read with devotion and focus, as if they were engaged in a secret and supreme mission.

Sincerity brings results!

After a while, Fang Dihua whispered, “Oldman, should we still burn the paper?”

They had originally planned to burn some paper money for their deceased son to help with his journey and to ensure he wouldn’t bother Lin Shu.

They also wanted to burn paper to ask for protection for Lin Shu from the old woman.

Now that the daughter-in-law said she saw the God of Horses and their son was fine, should they still burn the paper?

Old Man Lu replied, “It’s best not to be indecisive when asking for divine help. If we believe in the God of Horses, let’s burn the paper for our ancestors instead.”

Since their ancestors didn’t believe in the God of Horses, it was still important to burn paper for them.

No problem there.

Old Man Lu was a more easygoing person by nature.

As a child, he had read a lot in private schools, mostly out of interest.

He wasn’t bound by traditional scholarly constraints or strongly influenced by progressive ideas from new schools.

He was simply a literate farmer with some property.

He wasn’t particularly lofty and didn’t detach from his own experience and understanding.

He wasn’t a Buddhist but believed in cause and effect.

He didn’t have strong religious beliefs but still liked to burn incense and pray to gods when the occasion arose, and he would go to the graves of his ancestors to burn paper on special days.

He even believed in some form of spirit or soul after death.

In summary, he decided whether to believe based on the situation and need.

At this moment, he believed for his son and believed very devoutly and earnestly, even starting to recite.

Until he fell asleep in exhaustion.

Lin Shu was disturbed from her dreams in the middle of the night, wanting to sleep a bit longer.

However, she was woken up early in the morning by the village’s rooster.

The roosters in the village, though few in number, were very diligent.

As soon as the eastern sky began to lighten, they started crowing competitively.

The yards here were all open, without double-glazed windows for soundproofing, so a single rooster in the village could serve as an alarm clock for the entire village.

Lin Shu groggily sat up.

At this time, her eldest sister-in-law and second brother were already outside working on the vegetable beds.

She didn’t see her parents-in-law; they might have gone to the private plot.

As she yawned, she noticed several mosquitoes with swollen bellies on the mosquito net!

There were many mosquitoes in the countryside at this time, and without mosquito coils or repellent, they could only use window screens and old-fashioned mosquito nets for physical protection against mosquitoes.

Because they had to get up in the middle of the night to burn paper, several mosquitoes got inside, leaving Panpan with several bites.

Her fair, tender face and small arms were covered with swollen pink mosquito bites, looking quite pitiful.

Thanks to Panpan’s sacrifice, she and Tiantian were not bitten.

Feeling extremely guilty, she quickly got dressed to find her mother-in-law for some ointment.

Old Lu was a filial son.

To take care of his mother, he apprenticed to an old doctor at the age of seven to learn medical skills.

He was not proficient in pulse diagnosis and differentiation, but he knew a few common treatment prescriptions.

He was skilled in scraping, cupping, acupuncture, and moxibustion, which he often used for his mother.

In those days, being proficient in a few herbal formulas and treating several ailments was already impressive, as herbal medicine is vast and profound, with complex and variable properties and interactions.

Mastering everything was impossible.

Many well-known old doctors were only proficient in treating a few illnesses and effectively using a few prescriptions.

Even with commonly used herbs, they wouldn’t claim to know them all.

Old Lu was meticulous and liked to ponder, creating a few useful formulas based on medical books and his master’s teachings, solving many everyday problems.

The peppermint and lithospermum ointment was one of them.

The lithospermum ointment required soft lithospermum from the northwest, which was not available locally, making it rare.

A few years ago, when Old Lu was still the brigade accountant, he had the opportunity to study in the city once and bought some lithospermum from a Chinese medicine shop, making a batch of lithospermum ointment.

Most of it had been used up, and now only a small bottle remained.

Fang Dihua kept it and was reluctant to use it, preferring to let the medicinal properties dissipate rather than give it to others.

Even when her second sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law asked for it several times, she didn’t give it to them, only letting them use Old Lu’s newly formulated peppermint water.

The effect of the peppermint water was much worse.

Lin Shu got up and opened the door, but found her parents-in-law still outside.

In the east room, someone was… getting acupuncture?

Old Man Lu was quite skilled at acupuncture, having learned it to help his mother with her eye disease, which required acupuncture to relieve pain.

Right now, the acupuncture points chart on the wall was so blackened by smoke that it was hard to see.

He was treating Fang Dihua’s eye points, as she also had an eye condition with persistent pain in her left eye.

Unlike his half-blind mother, whose condition was congenital, Fang Dihua’s problem was acquired through hardship.

Her condition had been stable for two years, but recently, due to the emotional distress from Lu Shaotang’s situation, she had been crying every night.

Her left eye, which had been irritated by tears, flared up again, and last night she had burned paper in secret, causing more irritation.

Old Man Lu said, “Go to the county to get a few prescriptions for both internal and external use. It will heal faster.”

Fang Dihua replied, “I know it’s an old problem. Still, acupuncture is the most effective.”

In the village, people generally endure minor illnesses and only seek help from barefoot doctors for severe pain.

Many simply apply dried soil or soot to wounds and don’t have the habit of seeing doctors.

Lin Shu, concerned, said, “Mother, if your eye is bothering you, you should see a doctor. They have machines to diagnose the problem, and surgery might be needed if necessary.”

Fang Dihua waved her hand dismissively, “Hospitals are just a money trap. I won’t go.”

In those days, only people with severe late-stage conditions went to hospitals, and they were rarely cured.

A visit to the hospital for a check-up cost at least five yuan, and if there were more tests, it could easily reach twenty yuan.

Hospital stays, injections, and medication added up to dozens or even a hundred yuan.