Chapter 11: Helping Someone Heal Their Leg, Deal Successful

Jiang Nian smiled faintly. “Uncle Zhou, I’m not one to make empty promises. Whether I can cure him or not, you’ll know after I take a look. Besides, even if I can’t cure him, you won’t lose anything. But if I can cure him and give your son a healthy body, that would be a good thing.”

Village Chief Zhou had come over, which meant he was willing to let her take a look.

As his wife had said, there was nothing else they could do, so they might as well try anything.

He pursed his lips, pondering for a long time, his brow never relaxing.

“What are your conditions?”

Along the way, he had gotten a sense of these educated youth’s personalities. He wouldn’t say anything about the other three, but this one in front of him didn’t seem like a kind-hearted girl. Instead, her gaze was cold, with a proud air that made it seem like no one could get close to her.

He didn’t believe that someone like that would have no ulterior motives.

Jiang Nian liked to talk to smart people. They understood things quickly.

“It’s like this, Uncle Zhou. You’ve seen my physique. I’m not strong enough to do farm work. I just happen to have some medical skills. So, I was thinking, if I can cure your son, wouldn’t that prove my medical skills and qualify me to practice medicine in the village to support myself?”

“But the government sent you all to the countryside to help with rural construction. This…”

“The government has a policy for educated youth to go to the countryside and contribute to rural construction. But it doesn’t say that we have to work in the fields to be considered contributing. If we use our strengths, wouldn’t that be a better way to respond to the government’s policy and build the countryside?”

That made sense. In reality, they hadn’t really counted on these educated youth.

The little work they did was barely enough to feed themselves, and they caused a lot of trouble trying to return to the city. Village Chief Zhou had just let them be.

As long as they had the ability to leave, he would definitely let them go. He just wanted everyone to be relaxed.

“I can’t make this decision alone. I have to discuss it with the others in the village.”

Jiang Nian was about to say, “Don’t worry, I can treat your son first.”

Then she saw Dawang at the door. “Grandpa, Dad said he wants the pretty sister to take a look at his leg.”

Village Chief Zhou’s eldest son, Zhou Shitou, had been paralyzed in bed for two months. His wife had just told him that the female educated youth staying at their house said she could cure him.

The man, who had already given up hope, didn’t doubt her because she was young. He thought that if she could say that, she must know some medicine.

It was better to see her than not. He was already like this, he didn’t even want to live anymore. His family was poor, and there wasn’t anything worth coveting.

If there was anything, it was his father’s position as village chief, but it didn’t really do much. At most, he could make things easier for people when arranging work.

It was only right to take care of a female educated youth a little more, and they had always done that in the past. It wasn’t considered favoritism.

Jiang Nian followed Village Chief Zhou into the room and saw the man lying half-reclined on the bed.

His eyes were sunken, his skin was sallow, and his face was full of fatigue and hardship. When he looked at Jiang Nian, he had a strong look of longing.

No one wanted to die. He didn’t want to live because he was afraid of being a burden on his family.

Life was already hard. He was paralyzed and couldn’t do anything. His younger brother’s family had moved out, and they had many children. He was just a burden.

“Comrade Jiang, please take a look at him. If you can really cure him, our whole family will be grateful. We’ll be your ox and horse for the rest of our lives.” Shiliu held her child and cried constantly. In the countryside, men were the pillars of the family. Widows without husbands had a hard time, and their children were looked down upon

Although her in-laws were helping out, they were getting old, and her younger brother, who was always looking for a bargain, she didn’t know how long they could rely on them.

Jiang Nian nodded and said, “Just leave one person to help. Everyone else go out. Open the windows and doors in the room to air it out. It’s good for your health.”

The whole family was crammed into one room. The children alone took up all the space, making it hard to breathe.

Village Chief Zhou stayed, and everyone else went out. Zhou’s wife quickly opened the windows before leaving.

Jiang Nian then looked at the man on the bed. “I need to examine your wound and your legs.”

The man nodded, feeling a little embarrassed.

His injury was on his thigh, and she was a young girl.

Jiang Nian didn’t have those emotions. She asked Village Chief Zhou to roll up his pants leg and then carefully examined him.

After a moment, she came to a conclusion. “In half a month, I can make you stand up again. After that, follow the methods I give you to exercise. As long as you’re persistent enough, you’ll be able to walk in twenty days and recover completely in two months.”

“Really?”

Zhou Shitou and Village Chief Zhou didn’t know how to describe their emotions at that moment. They were excited and happy, but they also wanted to cry to vent their feelings.

“Really. But I also said that it requires your cooperation.”

“Cooperation, cooperation. We’ll definitely cooperate.” Village Chief Zhou didn’t hesitate this time. He rubbed his hands. “Girl, if you can really cure my son’s leg, you don’t need my permission. There are plenty of people who would welcome you to practice medicine in the village. You don’t know the situation here. The hospital in town can only treat colds and fevers. It’s not easy to go to the city, and people are poor. Most people can’t afford to see a doctor. Many people just rely on their bodies to endure. It’s fine when they’re young, but as they get older, they get more and more sick. They’re desperate for a good doctor to take a look at them.”

Besides, she didn’t want to work. He would discuss it with the others and let them pay her with grain and work points for medical treatment. Or they could pay her in labor. It shouldn’t be too expensive. It would be a good thing for the village.

“Okay. I can’t do much without medicine today. So, you let your daughter-in-law come in first. I’ll teach her a set of massage techniques so she can help massage him every day. I see that there are many mountains here. There shouldn’t be a shortage of herbs in the mountains. I’ll go into the mountains tomorrow to collect some herbs. Then, I’ll use herbal baths and acupuncture to treat him.”

She had herbs in her space, but she couldn’t conjure them out of thin air. This way, she could use collecting herbs as an excuse to slack off later. It was perfect.

She had such a good harvest on her first day in the countryside. Not bad, not bad.

Jiang Nian’s ideal life was to spend most of her time relaxing, occasionally helping people with their illnesses, and if she could have some entertainment, that would be even better.

She didn’t know that her future life in the countryside would be very exciting.

Jiang Nian went out, leaving only the village chief and his son in the room.

Village Chief Zhou told his son all of Jiang Nian’s requirements. Zhou Shitou also thought this was a good opportunity to benefit the villagers. As long as his leg could be healed, it would prove that Jiang Nian was truly skilled. He told his father to help Jiang Nian in any way he could.

…

The village chief’s granddaughter was a ten-year-old girl. Like most children in the village, her hair was sparse, her face was sallow, and her body was thin.

As soon as she came back, she heard that a beautiful sister was going to stay in her room temporarily, and this beautiful sister could cure her father’s leg.

Zhou Huaher was a little timid, especially when she saw the people inside through the door. She suddenly worried that the beautiful sister from the big city would think she was too ugly.

Jiang Nian was the first to call out to the girl who was peeking at her through the door. “You must be Huaher, right?”

Zhou Huaher stood up awkwardly. “Hello, pretty sister. I’m Zhou Huaher. You can call me Huaher.”