Chapter 32: Lu Zecheng’s Recovery

In the morning, Xia Ning’an added the healing agent to Lu Zecheng’s water. Half an hour later, Lu Zecheng finished drinking it.

“Zecheng Ge, I’m going to remove the bandage now. Close your eyes first to avoid the light.”

She carefully untied the bandage, circle by circle.

Lu Zecheng was nervously clenching his fists at this moment. Xia Ning’an had always said that his eyes could be healed. He had thought it was just a comforting statement, but just now, after taking the medicine, he could slowly feel a light in his eyes. He was anxious.

“Zecheng Ge, open your eyes.”

Lu Zecheng slowly opened his eyes.

What he saw was a pair of clear, watery eyes, like stars twinkling, white skin like egg whites, a smiling mouth, like the spring sunshine, warm and bright, instantly illuminating his entire world.

Xia Ning’an was wearing the white turtleneck sweater she had just knitted, maroon corduroy wide-leg pants, and white sneakers. She was pure and beautiful. This was Lu Zecheng’s first impression after regaining his sight. This beautiful girl was different from before.

This was the first time Xia Ning’an had seen a healthy Lu Zecheng. His eyes seemed to contain the stars and the sea, deep and captivating. When his eyes were covered, Lu Zecheng was handsome and elegant. Now that his eyes had recovered, his gaze was deep, revealing intelligence and calmness. This Lu Zecheng gave off an aura of being difficult to approach.

Xia Ning’an raised her hand and waved it in front of Lu Zecheng, who was still in a daze.

“Zecheng Ge, can you see me?”

“Yes, I can!” Lu Zecheng instantly snapped out of his daze, his ears turning red again.

“Is it clear?”

Xia Ning’an seemed afraid that he couldn’t see clearly, so she leaned closer, startling Lu Zecheng, who almost instinctively stepped back. Fortunately, he stopped his feet in time, avoiding Xia Ning’an’s embarrassment, but he was still a little nervous inside.

“It’s a little blurry in the distance.”

“It will get better in a few days. Zecheng Ge, I’m so happy. I’ll make you a big meal to celebrate at noon.”

“An’an, without you, my injuries wouldn’t have been able to heal. Thank you!”

Lu Zecheng’s heart was surging at this moment. He wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the outside.

“Zecheng Ge, stand up and see how your legs have recovered.”

Lu Zecheng stood up from his wheelchair as instructed. He found that his legs weren’t as painful as he had imagined. He tried to take a few steps.

“My legs are healed too.”

“That’s great. They say it takes a hundred days for a bone to heal. Your recovery ability is amazing.”

Lu Zecheng was also surprised. As a soldier, they couldn’t say that getting injured was a common occurrence, but they would go to the hospital for a few days every year. This time, his injuries were so severe, but he had recovered in less than a month. Even he couldn’t believe it. Could the medicine from abroad really be that effective?

Lu Zecheng went outside. Xia Ninghao came back carrying water.

“Lu Dage, you, you, you… you’re really healed?” Xia Ninghao stuttered in surprise.

“Second Brother, I’m healed. I can see again.”

“That’s great! This is great news. I’ll go call Father and Mother back.”

“No need, Second Brother. Now that the autumn harvest is over, Father and Mother will know when they come back for lunch.”

“That’s true. I’m just too excited.”

“That’s great. This is a good time for you to rest and recover,” Xia Ning’an said sincerely and happily.

“Yeah, I’ll start exercising again in a few days. An’an has been feeding me fat lately.”

With his injuries healed, Lu Zecheng had become much more cheerful.

After the autumn harvest, the Xia family began building their new house. The new homestead was near the village entrance, not far from the newly built oil mill.

When Lu Zecheng applied for a homestead at the Xia family, he also applied for one at the same time, right next to the Xia family. This way, they could save on the bricks for one wall when building the house, and they could also be neighbors. In the future, when they got married, Xia Ning’an would live next to her parents’ house. This was something that Xia Changhai and Li Fang were very happy about.

After fetching water, Xia Ninghao went to work at the oil mill. It was the first day of operation, and he needed to get there early.

Xia Ning’an asked Lu Zecheng to stay home and rest for a few more days before going out. For lunch, she planned to make chestnut chicken to celebrate Lu Zecheng’s recovery. She took a bag of chestnuts from the lower room, poured some into a winnowing basket, and brought them to the hall. She moved the radio over and turned it on. She pushed the wheelchair over and let Lu Zecheng sit down. As usual, she took a blanket and covered his legs. The whole process was smooth and effortless. Lu Zecheng didn’t say anything. He wanted to see how she took care of him. Watching her familiar movements, he felt sweet.

An’an took care of him like this every day.

After they sat down and started peeling chestnuts, Xia Ning’an realized her behavior. She smiled awkwardly at Lu Zecheng. Suddenly, they both fell silent, only the sound of peeling chestnuts could be heard, but the air seemed to be filled with pink bubbles.

As they were peeling chestnuts, the courtyard gate suddenly opened, and a figure rushed in like a gust of wind, throwing himself onto Lu Zecheng’s legs and bursting into tears. “Captain, I’m sorry I’m late! How could they do this to you? Waaah~~~~”

Xia Ning’an was startled and dropped the chestnuts, jumping to her feet.

She saw three men walking into the courtyard. One of them was her second brother, and the other two were strangers. They were carrying bags in their hands and wearing military uniforms, just like the man who had thrown himself onto Lu Zecheng.

One of the men who walked over with her second brother was stunned when he saw Lu Zecheng. Then, he was overjoyed. He quickly walked over and punched Lu Zecheng in the arm. “You little rascal, you’re healed?”

Lu Zecheng smiled. “I’m healed.”

At that moment, the young soldier who was still crying seemed to have something stuck in his throat. His voice stopped abruptly. He stood up and wiped his tears with his sleeve. Then, he saw that Lu Zecheng’s eyes were uncovered. He awkwardly sniffed and burst into laughter.

“Captain, are you really healed?”

Lu Zecheng didn’t say anything. He stood up from his wheelchair and led them to the table to sit down.

The three of them saw that Lu Zecheng could stand and walk, and their eyes turned red.

“Chenzi, we didn’t expect you to recover so quickly. The logistics soldier who went back said that your parents left you in the woodshed. We were all going crazy. Dayong even got out of bed and wanted to come find you. We had to hold him down. He finally got out of the hospital after his injuries healed. He had already taken leave, but then he had to go on a temporary mission. The mission just ended, and we haven’t even returned to the army yet. We drove here to check on you. We didn’t expect you to be healed already. Did you meet a miracle doctor?”

“It was An’an who helped me buy imported medicine from the provincial hospital. I used it for half a month, and I just took off the bandages today. It’s all thanks to her.”

Lu Zecheng looked at Xia Ning’an with tenderness in his eyes.

Xia Ning’an was embarrassed by his gaze. She pulled Xia Ninghao to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

The soldier who had been crying had already adjusted his mood. He leaned over to Lu Zecheng with a mischievous grin.

“Captain, is that your wife?”

Lu Zecheng raised his hand to his lips and pretended to cough.

“Yeah, we got engaged last year.”

“Your wife is so beautiful, Captain. You’re so lucky.”

……………..