A Leisurely and Extravagant Life - Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Healing the Leg
Xiao Chunxiu dragged her tired body back home and pounded her back a few times.
“Exhausted, aren’t you?” Luo Baolin, feeling a bit guilty, handed his wife a chair.
“Sigh, I’m getting old… just a little work and I’m worn out like this. Has Tianwang come back yet?” Xiao Chunxiu shook her head.
“He’s back. Just now he even said he wanted to treat my leg. But then he fell asleep,” Luo Baolin replied.
“This child is so sensible. But this sleeping sickness of his, why is it always the same? Did you let him treat you yet?” Xiao Chunxiu was also curious whether her grandson really could heal injuries.
“I didn’t let him. I’m afraid others might see. Tell me, since the accident, have any children in the village come to play with Tianwang? If they find out about this, who knows how they’ll look at him.” Luo Baolin spoke with worry.
Xiao Chunxiu nodded, her heart aching, forgetting her own exhaustion. “This child must get better…”
She wiped her eyes, and tears glimmered in Luo Baolin’s as well.
Luo Tianwang didn’t sleep long. By dinnertime, he crawled out of bed.
In the past few days while harvesting rice, Xiao Chunxiu had caught some loaches in the paddies. At this time of year, the loaches had stored up fat for the winter, making them extra tasty. She kept them in a wooden basin at home for a couple of days so they spat out all the mud, leaving no earthy taste.
Xiao Chunxiu fried the loaches in rapeseed oil until crispy. Her grandson’s favorite—crispy fried loach, just a little salt, savory and delicious, needing no other seasoning. Crunchy, crisp, fragrant, and mouthwatering.
With those fried loaches, Luo Tianwang ate two big bowls of rice.
Seeing their grandson eat so heartily, both Xiao Chunxiu and Luo Baolin smiled with relief.
“Grandma, Grandpa, why aren’t you eating?” Luo Tianwang asked curiously.
“Loach is too fishy. Grandpa and Grandma don’t like it. You like it, so you eat them all yourself,” Xiao Chunxiu said with a smile.
Luo Tianwang believed her, stuffing the loaches into his mouth in big bites, swallowing them down in no time.
After the meal, he prepared to get down to business. “Grandpa, let me heal your leg.”
“Wait a moment, Grandma will close the door.” Xiao Chunxiu glanced outside before shutting the gate. Night had already fallen over Hemawan, this ordinary mountain village, and orange lights glowed in the houses.
She returned and asked, “Tianwang, can you really heal Grandpa’s leg?”
“Of course. Didn’t I heal this cut here too?” Luo Tianwang stretched out his hand to show.
“Alright then, let him treat you properly.” Xiao Chunxiu helped Luo Baolin sit down, placing his injured leg on a stool. Luo Tianwang pulled up another stool, sat down, and closed his eyes.
Around him, five kinds of glowing motes floated in the air. His mind entered that mysterious space, guiding the liquid drop to form the strange symbol. The symbol emerged from the space under his control and drifted above Luo Baolin’s injured leg. With a push of his hand, it sank straight into the leg.
“Hm?” Luo Baolin’s eyes lit up. He felt a tingling itch run through the broken leg. Before, it often hurt with stabbing pain, but at this moment the pain vanished, replaced by waves of itchiness. After a while, even the itching faded away.
“How is it? Any effect?” Xiao Chunxiu asked.
Luo Tianwang had seen the symbol disappear into his grandfather’s leg and lost all control over it. He didn’t know whether it would work or not, so he too watched anxiously.
“I felt some itching… not sure if it worked,” Luo Baolin admitted.
“Try standing up,” Xiao Chunxiu urged, helping him.
Cautiously, Luo Baolin stood, but to his surprise, there was no pain at all. He pressed his foot down, added a little weight, still no pain. Finally he bore his full weight—and still nothing. He burst out laughing: “It seems I’m healed!”
“Really healed?” Xiao Chunxiu asked in delight.
“Really,” said Luo Baolin, reaching to untie the wooden splints and bark on his leg.
“Don’t rush, try it more first,” she cautioned.
“It’s fine, I can feel it.” Luo Baolin cut the rope, removed the bark, and thumped his leg. “Completely healed! Not a bit of pain. This is great—I can work tomorrow. Old woman, tomorrow you won’t have to do it all alone. Or maybe take a rest day?”
“Your leg just healed, better to rest two more days. Let’s stop working the fields for now. No rush. I think we should buy a power thresher for the rice, it saves so much effort! If we had bought it earlier, you wouldn’t have suffered like this.”
“Alright, tomorrow I’ll go into town and buy one,” Luo Baolin decided.
“This time, it’s all thanks to our Tianwang. Tomorrow I’ll buy some pork. He hasn’t eaten meat in ages,” Xiao Chunxiu said with a smile.
Luo Tianwang grinned, but then a wave of drowsiness overwhelmed him. The liquid in the mysterious space was used up, and the glowing motes had thinned. It might take days before he recovered.
No one in the village knew Luo Baolin’s recovery was due to Tianwang. Everyone thought it was thanks to Luo Zengcai. They believed his treatment for injuries really worked. A broken leg healed in just a few days!
Even Luo Zengcai himself was doubtful. All he had done was tie bark and splints… could it be that this time his chanting had actually worked? But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall exactly what words he had used. He slapped his head in frustration with a groan.
The next day, true to his word, Luo Baolin went into town and bought an electric rice thresher. Compared with the old type, it was nearly half the size, made of lighter materials, and easy enough for him to carry alone.
He also bought a pound or two of pork, cut it into small pieces, and fried it so it would last for a few days. In the countryside, without refrigerators, food spoiled quickly. Since going to town wasn’t easy, they had to find ways to make things last longer.
For Luo Tianwang, it had been so long since he’d eaten meat. Just the smell alone was heavenly. Poverty made every bit of food precious, and made them cherish life all the more.