"Grandpa, it was a traditional Chinese doctor you recommended." Pei Yicheng muttered.
Doctor Du looked at him and knew what he was thinking. He sighed and said, "Yicheng, your dad, he has his difficulties too."
"Grandpa, can my legs really be cured?"
Pei Yicheng changed the subject. He hung his head low, looking at his legs that had lost all sensation. He had seen the x-rays and consulted many doctors, but they all told him that the chances of his legs recovering weren’t great.
"They can." Doctor Du spoke with confidence. "Our traditional Chinese medicine is profound and extensive. I believe that as long as you persist, your efforts will pay off, and your legs will surely be cured."
The next day, Xu Nian’an and Xu Nianhua both came.
Xu Nianji was selling bean sprouts, only ten pounds, but that was still ten pounds which could bring in a few bucks.
He didn’t understand the business matters, so he didn’t join them.
"Ling Dong, make tea." Pei Yicheng’s words had just fallen.
Xu Nian’an quickly shook his head and said, "No tea needed. It’s too hot in the summer to drink tea."
Xu Nianhua added from the side, "We’re used to drinking plain water."
Ling Dong immediately went to pour some plain water.
Pei Yicheng said, "How have you considered it? I think starting a chili sauce factory will definitely make money."
"We’d like to try it first, and besides, setting up a factory requires a building, and the operation would have to be on a large scale. If, if my mom couldn’t make that much, wouldn’t it all go to waste?" Xu Nian’an expressed all their concerns.
"Moreover, we’re almost out of chili peppers. It’s hard to aim for large quantities even if we wanted to," Xu Nian’an voiced his second worry, looking straight at Pei Yicheng and saying, "And also, our families aren’t that close. You shouldn’t be short of money, right?"
Xu Nian’an’s question was forthright, and his gaze was piercing as he looked at Pei Yicheng. Although Pei Yicheng’s legs were disabled, Xu Nian’an thought that Pei Yicheng didn’t seem to be lacking in funds.
"I’m not short of money, but nobody ever complains about having too much," Pei Yicheng answered openly. He said, "And with my legs , I have even more reason to make money. I want to prove myself. Even if I can’t walk, I can still do business, still make money, still live better than others, second to none."
Pei Yicheng’s voice was somewhat deep, and his words were clear and forceful. The tone carried a proud momentum that made it impossible to associate him with being unable to walk.
"Right, that’s the spirit. So what if we can’t walk? We still have our brains and hands," responded Xu Nian’an, fully agreeing with Pei Yicheng.
Hearing his words, Xu Nianhua was inexplicably reminded of the time her eldest brother got married and she confronted those aunts with her sharp retorts.
Xu Nianhua’s eyes lowered slightly, her gaze faintly casting upon Pei Yicheng’s legs. She had suffered burns before and spent a long time in the hospital. Having stayed there for so long, she had picked up a fair bit of knowledge. She knew that legs like Pei Yicheng’s needed frequent massages to prevent muscle atrophy and increase the chances of recovery.
Later on, as her business grew, she adopted an orphan who also couldn’t walk and needed daily leg massages. She took care of him every day and learned how to massage, even going so far as to study a specific set of massage techniques.
But he was a man, and she had grown up in a village where even if she told him her knowledge, he probably wouldn’t believe her, right?
Besides, how was she supposed to explain it to others?