Chapter 167: “it’s Been A While”
Yu Bao stood the hardcover book upright to block the bowl, quietly eating with his younger brother.
You take a bite, I take a bite, the sweet and sour deliciousness in their mouths, the two little brothers laughed with their eyes curved.
Qian Bao and Yao Bao are so pitiful, they can’t eat anything.
They missed so much delicious food! No matter, they helped their younger brother and sister eat it, and when they grow up, they’ll tell them.
Dragon-Phoenix Twins: “?!”
The good older brothers finally let their younger brother and sister drink the sweet and sour tomato juice, the two little ones loved it very much, happily clapping their hands.
The moon climbed into the sky, and the village fell into silence.
Lin Zhao and the others quietly arrived at the foot of the mountain.
The two short and one long knocks on the door were very distinctive.
Not only Meng Jiusi, but the people in the other rooms also knew it was their own people. None of them made a sound, pretending they knew nothing, knew nothing about the relationship between the Meng Family and the Lin and Gu Families, knew nothing about people coming here from time to time.
Jing Mo was dozing off, his head nodding, and upon hearing the knock, he suddenly woke up.
“Father?” He sat up from the bed, his little ears perked up.
“Go back to sleep, I’ll go check.” Meng Jiusi got out of bed.
As soon as the words fell, he left the room, walked a few steps to the broken courtyard door, lifted the door bolt, and casually pulled the door open.
There were one, two, three, four… five people outside the door.
The four from the Lin Family and the Lin Family’s son-in-law.
“…Dad? Mom?” Meng Jiusi was slightly stunned and blurted out: “You’re back.”
Hearing little four call them dad and mom, Lin Heling and Song Xiwei’s hearts shook, the couple exchanged a glance, their eyes full of joy.
Little four recognized them!
Meng Jiusi noticed his parents’ happy expressions and shyly looked away, turning to the young man leaning on a crutch.
Dark skin, eyes black and bright, temperament slightly like his brother-in-law, full of righteousness.
“You…” Meng Jiusi had a faint guess in his heart.
Lin Shichang stepped forward, propping himself with one hand on the crutch, the other arm hugging his twin brother, and thumped Meng Jiusi’s back a few times, his voice clear and strong.
“Your brother, the brother born into this world at the same time as you, the Lin Family’s third son.” The soldier’s loud voice made Meng Jiusi’s ears buzz, “Little four, welcome home.”
He pulled out a piece of paper and unceremoniously stuffed it into Meng Jiusi’s hand.
“This is my contact information, write to me if you need anything.”
Song Xiwei slapped Lin Shichang on the shoulder, raising her hand high but releasing most of the force on the way down, “Your dad and I are here, no need for you.”
Lin Shichang pretended to grimace in pain, saying: “Just in case, I’m little four’s real brother, how could he not know where I am.”
“Right?” He put his arm around Meng Jiusi’s shoulder, completely at ease.
Meng Jiusi was stunned.
He hadn’t expected his twin brother to have this kind of temperament.
He stared blankly at Lin Shichang’s face, which only resembled his own by about thirty percent.
“…I don’t look like you.”
Lin Shichang knew he and little four only resembled each other by thirty percent, “The eyes are similar, the height too.”
Lin Heling and Song Xiwei were both tall, none of their children were short, each had their own good looks, and standing together, no one would think they weren’t brothers.
Talking at the doorway wasn’t proper, so they entered the yard.
The people living at the foot of the mountain had special identities and weren’t qualified to enjoy luxuries, so the living environment here wasn’t great.
The yard was empty, not even a stool.
They could only sit on straw mats.
Jing Mo was close with the Lin family members, and upon hearing his aunt’s voice, he put on straw sandals and came out. Guang Bai was a light sleeper, saw his brother leave the room, and sleepily followed.
“Brother, brother, wait for me.”
Jing Mo didn’t hear.
Seeing the strangers in the yard, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes curious.
“Father.” He stood next to Meng Jiusi, then called out to Lin Zhao and Gu Chenghuai, “Aunt, uncle.”
At this moment, Guang Bai, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, also came out.
He used to love to smile and had a sweet mouth, but after seeing his father taken away by several people with his own eyes, he became timid and afraid to see people.
There were many people in the yard, Xiao Bai felt nervous and helplessly bit the back of his hand.
Meng Jiusi beckoned to his youngest son.
Guang Bai ran over pattering, hugging his father’s leg.
“Jing Mo, Guang Bai, these are all Father’s relatives, Father will introduce them to you…” Meng Jiusi slowly introduced the family to his two sons.
He pointed to Lin Heling and Song Xiwei, “This is Father’s father and mother, your grandparents.”
Lin Heling had a gentle temperament, warm like the wind in March, without any aggression, looking very approachable.
Jing Mo and Guang Bai looked at him curiously.
“Grandpa?”
Lin Heling borrowed some canned food and biscuits from his daughter as a meeting gift for meeting his grandsons.
He handed the things over, his attitude mild and loving, “I’m your grandpa, this is the meeting gift your grandma and I prepared. We came in a hurry and didn’t prepare much, next time we’ll prepare better ones for you.”
Song Xiwei smiled and didn’t speak.
No rush, there would be plenty of days ahead.
Jing Mo looked at Meng Jiusi, and only after seeing Father nod did he reach out his little hand to take it.
“Thank you, grandpa and grandma.”
Guang Bai blankly looked at Lin Heling, quickly withdrew his gaze, and said softly: “Thank you, grandpa and grandma.”
Lin Heling sat on the straw mat, his posture casual, his eyes softening.
“Jiusi, you’ve raised the children very well.” He didn’t think the Yuan family people could raise children like this; for the two kids to turn out this way, Jiusi must have put in a lot of effort.
Meng Jiusi’s expression relaxed, looking at his two sons, his eyes full of pride, “Jing Mo and Guang Bai were good to begin with.”
Song Xiwei saw her grandsons eyeing the canned food, stood up, walked over to the Meng brothers, and twisted open the can lid.
“Go get a spoon.” She said, “After eating something sweet, don’t forget to brush your teeth before bed.”
Jing Mo and Guang Bai hadn’t eaten canned food in months and were both craving it, swallowing saliva, looking at Meng Jiusi.
Can they eat it?
The children’s expressions were very readable.
“Go get it, listen to your grandma, and don’t forget to brush your teeth after eating.”
“Okay.” On Jing Mo’s wheat-colored face from the sun, a big smile bloomed, his eyes with the Lin family’s distinctive feature bright as stars, he fetched a spoon and shared it with his brother.
Tonight was a happy night for the two brothers.
Lin Zhao was worried about her third brother’s leg injury and spoke up: “Fourth brother, third brother’s leg is injured, can you take a look at it?”
Meng Jiusi had exactly this in mind.
He nodded, looking at Lin Shichang, “Go inside to check?”
Lin Shichang didn’t want the family to see his leg injury and gave little four an appreciative look.
See, as expected of his twin brother, they had tacit understanding.
Old Master Meng was leaning on the bed reading medical books when the door sounded; he put down the book and squinted toward it.
“Grandpa.” Meng Jiusi introduced Lin Shichang to him, “This is my third brother.”
Lin Shichang knew this was the person who raised his little four, and was very respectful to Old Master Meng, “Hello, Grandpa Meng, I’m Lin Shichang, call me Shichang or little Lin, whatever suits your mood.”
Up to now, aside from the Lin family’s daughter-in-law, Old Master Meng had met all the Lin family members.
He had a very good impression of them.
“Good.” He said with a smile.
Meng Jiusi said directly: “Grandpa, my third brother got injured on a task, he saw doctors at the military region hospital, but it’s not optimistic, he wants to try traditional Chinese medicine.”
Old Master Meng was born into a traditional Chinese medicine family, learning by ear since he was in split pants, his medical skills were exceptionally high.
“For treating illnesses, it has to be traditional Chinese medicine, Western medicine… passable at best, not as good as the methods passed down by our ancestors.” The old man was a firm advocate of traditional Chinese medicine, saying this no matter who was in front of him.
Lin Shichang didn’t understand but didn’t argue with the old man.
“Of course, if it weren’t strong, it wouldn’t have been passed down for thousands of years.” He truly believed this.
Old Master Meng was pleased.
His eyes showed approval.
“You’re a sensible one.”
Lin Shichang smiled and said without modesty: “Our family has no fools, all sensible people.”
Not modest at all, saying exactly what he thought.
Old Master Meng felt his temperament was straightforward, and it was comfortable to get along with someone like that.
He beckoned Lin Shichang over, “Extend your hand.”
Lin Shichang obediently extended his hand, fully cooperative.
Old Master Meng first took the pulse, stroked his beard and nodded, “Recovering well.”
“My parents specially went to the troops to take care of me, they even gave me the ginseng they used to nourish their own bodies!” Lin Shichang was very touched, planning to send his parents ten yuan every month in the future as elder care money, he couldn’t not show any gesture just because the family didn’t lack it.
Old Master Meng hadn’t expected the Lin family to even have ginseng, quite surprised.
He didn’t say anything, focusing on examining the patient.
“Roll up your trouser leg.”
Both in the room were doctors, what injury hadn’t they seen? Lin Shichang wasn’t worried about scaring them and rolled up his trouser leg.
A hideous wound like an earthworm stretched across his knee, extending downward, the longest reaching his ankle; the wound wasn’t fully healed, now red and swollen.
“This of yours, not a light injury.” Old Master Meng said.
Meng Jiusi’s pupils contracted slightly.
He looked stunned at his twin brother.
He had just seen Lin Shichang walking easily and thought the injury wasn’t serious, but he hadn’t expected…
Far from not serious, it was as serious as it could be.
With this injury, whether third brother could stay in the troops was unknown.
Meng Jiusi first did a thorough check and found himself powerless.
His eyes dimmed slightly, but he didn’t show it on his face.
Completely calm.
He said: “Grandpa, my medical skills aren’t refined enough, please take a look.”
Hearing this, Old Master Meng knew the situation was bad.
Jiusi’s medical skills were taught by him; though his experience didn’t match his, he had talent and worked hard, his skills were quite good, having nothing to do with ‘not refined.’
He sighed inwardly, half-squatted down, and began the examination.
…Lin Shichang’s leg injury was very severe, not only damaging the tendons, but the leg bone was slightly deformed from compression, with faint traces of fractures.
“Third lad, this injury… you have some idea in your heart, right?”
Lin Shichang understood, it seemed even traditional Chinese medicine had no way.
He nodded, very calm, no trace of sadness, “Yeah, probably can’t stay in the troops.”
He knew, but still wanted to see the rehab results, hoping for a miracle.
Meng Jiusi had heard from Zhaozhao that Lin Shichang loved troop life, proud of his profession.
He felt heartbroken and looked at Old Master Meng, “Grandpa, no hope at all?”
Old Master Meng was used to life and death, his face calm, “Third lad can at least walk normally, you’re very lucky. You should be able to see, a little worse and he’d have no leg.”
So, be content.
Lin Shichang hadn’t held much hope to begin with.
He patted his little four’s shoulder, feeling deeply touched, and said: “It’s fine, life isn’t just about being a soldier, when I retire and return to my hometown, go work in some factory, it’s still contributing to the country.”
Grinning, he put his arm around Meng Jiusi’s shoulders, treating him like a kid.
“Don’t hang your head, it’s nothing, going back home isn’t all bad, I can come visit you often, we can build our brotherly feelings, look how good the twin feelings are between Yu Bao and Heng Bao, we’re twins too, and elders at that, we can’t lose to two little ones.”
Meng Jiusi was amused.
“Third brother, we’re both so grown up, what are we comparing with Yu Bao and Heng Bao for.”
He said seriously: “Even without building feelings, you’re still my brother, I’ll always worry about you.”
Lin Shichang sighed with emotion, “Turns out having a younger brother feels this good, tsk, big brother and second brother must be thrilled to death.”
Meng Jiusi: “…”
The door opened, and the three in the room came to the yard.
Lin Shichang sat down, with a deathly calm, “Dad, Mom, I’m afraid I’ll have to come back to fulfill filial duties, don’t find me annoying from now on.”
“We won’t.” Lin Heling patted his third son’s prickly head.
Song Xiwei said: “Coming back is good too, being a soldier is hard and dangerous, the whole family worries. When you retire and come back, live a peaceful life, then we won’t have to worry about you anymore.”
“Mom, your son-in-law is a soldier too.” Lin Shichang reminded, asking if her heart could really let go?
“That’s different.” Song Xiwei’s tone was flat.
“How so? You treating them differently?”
Song Xiwei looked at him, “Chenghuai is married with four kids, he has things weighing on his heart, so he’ll naturally be careful on missions, you’re different, when you carry out tasks you’re like a mad dog, not caring about anything…”
Moreover.
Her son-in-law had a steady temperament, sharp mind; in Heling’s words, he had a hundred and fifty schemes.
As for the third son, he was a brave but reckless warrior, impulsive with a fiery temper; over these years of his service, she and his dad always worried he’d leave his life in some distant place.
Lin Shichang’s face turned green.
Mad dog and such, no need to ask, he knew it was what his comrades said.
How did they spill everything?
While dad, mom, and third brother talked, Lin Zhao found Meng Jiusi, “Fourth brother, where’s the iron bone reishi? I want to see it.”
Meng Jiusi took his sister to see it.
Worried that their place might be raided and searched someday, Meng Jiusi thought it over and didn’t put the clay pot in the room, but placed it by the wall.
He explained to Lin Zhao.
Lin Zhao gave a thumbs up, “Fourth brother is so thorough!”
Meng Jiusi smiled.
As they talked, the siblings reached the ceramic pot where the iron bone reishi seeds were buried.
Lin Zhao squatted down, observed carefully, her eyes straining but seeing no sprouts.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
It really hadn’t grown.
What to do?
What was the reason…?
The prize description was just a few lines, as perfunctory as could be, no useful hints, Lin Zhao was baffled.
When anxious, people grab at straws; a thought flashed in her mind, maybe it lacked nutrients?
Once the idea appeared, she couldn’t shake it.
Lin Zhao clutched her stomach, pretending it hurt, “Fourth brother, where’s the outhouse?”
“That shed over there.” Meng Jiusi pointed.
A figure rushed over.
“…”
So urgent?
The people living in the thatched huts at the foot of the mountain all loved cleanliness; the Meng grandfather and grandson knew medicine, making insect-killing powder was simple, the outhouse was sprayed twice a day, not very smelly, no disgusting bugs.
Lin Zhao feared hardship, covered her mouth and nose, saw the outhouse was clean, so withdrew her hand and quickly summoned the lucky draw wheel.
It had been so long!!
The total points in the upper right corner…
So wealthy!
Time was pressing, Lin Zhao decisively drew the 1000-point one.
The wheel spun rapidly.
After ten or so seconds, the pointer stopped.
「Ordinary prescriptions*10
Hemostatic muscle-regenerating powder（prescription）: For gunshot and knife wounds, sprinkle on to stop bleeding immediately, scab in three days.
Bright eyes night vision pills（prescription）: Treats eye diseases, for night blindness take continuously for a week, see at night as in daylight.
Tiger bone body-strengthening wine（prescription）: Strengthens tendons and bones, relieves strain. One small cup daily, spirited in days, strong waist and legs, tireless from prolonged labor.
Barefoot doctor’s secret fever-reducing powder（prescription）: Miraculous for children’s persistent high fever.
Consolidating essence hair-growth paste（prescription）: Specifically for “ghost shaved head,” grows fine soft black hair in a month, apply another month for thick hair as before.
Children’s convulsion powder（prescription）: Specifically for children frightened and crying at night, high fever convulsions
…」
They looked ordinary, but were useful and valuable, with super low costs.
Lin Zhao was fairly satisfied.
But she mainly wanted to find a way to treat third brother’s leg.
She drew again, still 1000 points.
When she saw the prize description where the pointer landed, Lin Zhao’s expression lit up with surprise.
