Chapter 7

After eating an ice cream, Wang Xiaoqiang felt his strength recover a bit. He quickened his pace and ran all the way home. By then, his sister-in-law Liu Juyi had already set the dinner on the table.

There were still four dishes and one soup, different from the four dishes and one soup at noon, which showed Liu Juyi's culinary skills.

"Xiaoqiang, why are you back so late?" his mother asked, half inquiring and half scolding. "Your sister-in-law was just about to go to the fields to look for you!"

"Uh, I..." Wang Xiaoqiang naturally couldn't say he was "irrigating," so he scratched his head a bit sheepishly. "The fields weren't very dry, so I just wandered around..."

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's embarrassment, Liu Juyi called out, "Xiaoqiang, come and sit down to eat!"

Wang Xiaoqiang responded, first running to the kitchen to drink a bowl of water to quench his thirst, then sitting down at the table and wolfing down his food. He realized he wasn't just eating more, but was exceptionally hungry. He didn't know if this had anything to do with the "Five Elements Spirit Spring" inside him, but through today's "massage" for his father and "irrigation" for the fields, he understood that the "Five Elements Spirit Spring" moved according to his will.

For example, with the "irrigation," the black aura didn't spread to Huang Chunsheng's fields because he didn't have the intention to irrigate Huang's fields.

The "Five Elements Spirit Spring" moved according to his will but was also constrained by it.

"What's wrong with Xiaoqiang?"

Seeing her son wolf down his food, his mother was both pleased and surprised.

"Xiaoqiang, slow down, don't choke..." his sister-in-law Liu Juyi reminded him with a smile.

At this moment, Xu Xiaoya entered the Wang family's gate, having run all the way, the delicate city girl was out of breath.

Xu Xiaoya greeted them, panting, "Uncle, Aunt, Sister Juyi, you're already eating so early?"

Wang Xiaoqiang, who was buried in his food, didn't expect Xu Xiaoya to come to his house and didn't see her. Suddenly hearing her voice, he was startled and choked on the food he had just put in his mouth, starting to cough violently.

"Oh... Doctor Xu, why are you here..."

Wang Kuishan and his wife, who were not very mobile, had Liu Juyi, as the daughter-in-law, get up to welcome the guest.

"Doctor Xu, come and sit... Have you eaten yet..." Wang Kuishan and his wife also warmly invited her.

Xu Xiaoya, a city girl with both knowledge and medical skills, and who was also very beautiful, was a treasure in Sanmiao Village. No matter which family she visited, she would be warmly welcomed. However, Xu Xiaoya rarely visited the village, so her sudden appearance surprised and delighted the two elders. The beautiful and graceful Xu Xiaoya made the two elders feel as if their home had been brightened.

"Cough... Cough..."

While everyone was welcoming Xu Xiaoya, Wang Xiaoqiang's coughing became even more severe, the violent coughing contrasting sharply with the current atmosphere. However, seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's red face from coughing, Xu Xiaoya didn't feel embarrassed but instead came over with great concern and asked, "Xiaoqiang, are you okay?"

Wang Xiaoqiang was choking badly but still shook his head, "I'm fine, I'm fine... I just choked on my food..."

Xu Xiaoya didn't believe that Wang Xiaoqiang had choked on his food. Instead, she was even more convinced that there was something inside him. She thought that the reason Wang Xiaoqiang was coughing was because of that thing.

Furrowing her brows, Xu Xiaoya looked worried and said apologetically, "Xiaoqiang, this morning when you came to see me, I was a bit careless. Also, my medical skills are too shallow to diagnose your condition..."

Seeing that Doctor Xu Xiaoya had come to their house for Wang Xiaoqiang's sake, Wang's parents and Liu Juyi were both grateful and took it seriously.

Liu Juyi asked cautiously, "Xiaoya, you're a doctor and know a lot. What do you think we should do?"

Xu Xiaoya said solemnly, "I think we should have Grandpa Qingshan take a look. Grandpa Qingshan is a skilled doctor with a lot of experience..."

Wang Xiaoqiang had been feeling guilty about the embarrassing incident at the village clinic earlier, thinking he had offended Xu Xiaoya. He thought she had come to complain about him, but to his surprise, she was concerned about his health and had come to advise him to see a doctor.

This made Wang Xiaoqiang feel touched, thinking that Xu Xiaoya was a responsible and good girl. However, he would rather she had come to complain than to advise him to see a doctor.

Because he wasn't sick; he just had a special ability. He was most afraid of people mentioning his health, especially since Grandpa Qingshan was a skilled traditional Chinese medicine doctor with excellent diagnostic skills. If he were to diagnose his special ability as a disease, it would be a very scary thing.

So, before Xu Xiaoya could finish speaking, Wang Xiaoqiang waved his hand and said, "Doctor Xu, thank you for your concern, but I really don't have any illness. You examined me today, so you know... I just haven't slept well these past two days and have been under a lot of stress, so I feel a bit uncomfortable and am being overly suspicious..."

Wang Xiaoqiang's words didn't convince Xu Xiaoya, nor did they convince his parents and sister-in-law Liu Juyi. Before Wang Xiaoqiang could finish, his father interrupted him decisively, "Alright, Xiaoqiang, don't talk anymore. Doctor Xu's advice makes sense. You must go to Grandpa Qingshan's house and have him check your pulse. If that doesn't work, we'll go to the county hospital tomorrow..."

Before Wang Kuishan could finish, Xu Xiaoya chimed in, "Yes, yes, it's best to go to the county hospital for a check-up. Health is the most important!"

After saying this, Xu Xiaoya bid farewell and left. The Wang family tried to keep her for dinner, but she refused.

"Tsk tsk... What a good girl! So considerate!" Wang Xiaoqiang's mother watched Xu Xiaoya's back and praised her.

In Sanmiao Village, Xu Xiaoya was a treasure and the dream girl of many young men. Of course, the elders also wanted to marry her into their families as a daughter-in-law. Although Wang Xiaoqiang's mother admired Xu Xiaoya, she never entertained the idea of her becoming her daughter-in-law because it was too unrealistic. Xu Xiaoya was a city girl with knowledge and medical skills, and she was very beautiful. Unless all the men in the city were dead, she wouldn't marry into the countryside.

That night, Wang Xiaoqiang ate three large bowls of rice, twice his usual amount. After eating, he felt his fatigue disappear, and his energy was restored, making him feel full of strength.

It was already dusk, and Wang Xiaoqiang, accompanied by his sister-in-law, went to Lin Qingshan's house.

On the way, Wang Xiaoqiang kept his head down and didn't speak, nor did he look at Liu Juyi.

In Wang Xiaoqiang's eyes, although Liu Juyi had married his brother, she was still like a young girl, with a beautiful face and a slender figure. He couldn't understand how his brother had such good fortune to marry such a beautiful and virtuous wife.

For some reason, whenever he was alone with this beautiful sister-in-law, he felt constrained and uncomfortable.

Liu Juyi, seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's discomfort, didn't speak either. She just followed him quietly, looking like a shy young wife.

When they arrived at Lin Qingshan's house, Lin Qingshan, who had treated patients all his life, couldn't avoid getting sick himself. A recent case of food poisoning had caused diarrhea, which had weakened his already frail body. He had been resting at home for several days and had gone to bed early that evening. His daughter-in-law, Xia Huizhi, received the two of them.

Liu Juyi explained their purpose, and Xia Huizhi readily agreed to let her father-in-law see Wang Xiaoqiang. She then led Wang Xiaoqiang directly to her father-in-law's bedroom.

Wang Xiaoqiang entered Lin Qingshan's bedroom and saw that the room was lit. The old man was leaning against the headboard with his eyes closed, as if he were asleep. On the table by the bed, there were piles of medical books, including "Traditional Chinese Medicine and Health," "Difficult and Miscellaneous Diseases and Remedies," "Eating for Health," and "The Yin and Yang of the Human Body and the Five Elements."

Seeing the words "Five Elements," Wang Xiaoqiang's heart stirred. He picked up the book to look at it, but then heard the old man ask with his eyes still closed, "Who's there?"

Wang Xiaoqiang quickly put the book down and replied, "Grandpa, it's me, Xiaoqiang."

Then, Wang Xiaoqiang explained his purpose, but when he mentioned his "illness," he only said that his stomach hurt.