PCJ – Chapter 385 Nie Tong’s Home

“Next week, don’t go back to Meizi’ao. Go to your parents’ place in the county. You’re not welcome when you come back. Neither are your grandparents,” Zhang Youlian warned Zhang Jiaohua before he went to school.

“Sure, if you don’t want me back, I don’t want to come either. When I grow up, I’ll go to the big city and won’t bother returning to this poor mountain village,” Zhang Jiaohua said, walking toward Yidushui Middle School without looking back. A mountain leopard ran ahead, and the fat cat followed. The chubby monkey sneaked behind them.

“This child,” Zhang Youlian shook his head helplessly.

“Dad, I won’t come back next week during the break either,” Zhang Yuanbao said.

“Where will you go if you don’t come back?” Zhang Youlian asked.

“I’ll go to the county with Jiaohua. Uncle and Aunt asked me to go play in the county, and I haven’t gone yet. If I go with Jiaohua, at least I’ll have a companion. What if Jiaohua gets taken by human traffickers? Where would I look for him?” Zhang Yuanbao’s reasoning sounded impressive, but it was a bit flimsy.

“It would be more likely for you to get abducted; Jiaohua wouldn’t get taken!” Zhang Youlian laughed in frustration at Zhang Yuanbao. It would be surprising if Jiaohua didn’t get kidnapped.

Run Tian lagged far behind; she didn’t dare get too close to those two troublemakers. When she had just come back, she couldn’t hold back and told on them. Now, those two troublemakers were ignoring her. Especially Zhang Yuanbao, who would scold her whenever she got too close.

“You, the snitch, stay away from us,” Zhang Yuanbao pointed at the distance between him and Run Tian.

Zhang Run Tian drooped her head. She wasn’t afraid of Zhang Yuanbao’s fists; if he hit her, she would have to explain to her parents, and they would definitely be furious.

When Zhang Jiaohua arrived at school, Qi Xia was already there, but Nie Tong had not come.

“Qi Xia, why didn’t Nie Tong come with you?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, a bit puzzled.

“Nie Tong’s grandfather accidentally hurt his foot, and he asked me to help him take a leave. He can’t come until his grandfather’s foot is better. However, Nie Tong might not come to school anymore,” Qi Xia said, a bit downcast. He and Nie Tong had always had a good relationship, and it had only improved since they had been together recently.

“How long does it take to walk from Ruyi Village to here?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“If you walk fast, it’ll take just over an hour,” Qi Xia answered, unsure of why Zhang Jiaohua was asking.

“Lead the way; let’s go to Nie Tong’s house,” Zhang Jiaohua said. Since he considered Nie Tong a good friend, he couldn’t just stand by.

“But what’s the point of going to his house?” Qi Xia questioned.

“Jiaohua can heal people, you know?” a mute boy came in from outside. “I’ll go with you too.”

“Everyone can eat together; you guys can’t just leave me behind, right?” Zhang Yuanbao also walked in.

“Enough chit-chat, let’s hurry. We need to make it back by tonight,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

The group immediately set off toward Ruyi Village.

Ruyi Village’s situation was similar to the previous Meizi’ao, but over the past few years, Meizi’ao had completely turned around, and its conditions were much better than those of the surrounding villages. These surrounding villages were still relatively inconvenient for transportation, and although the situation had improved a bit compared to previous years, they were clearly lagging behind Meizi’ao.

“That house is Nie Tong’s old house. Their family was doing relatively well at first, but since Nie Tong’s mother got pregnant, all their belongings were taken away for family planning. Later, when they couldn’t find the person in charge, they demolished the house. All the tiles on the roof were broken, and two walls were knocked down. After being soaked by the rain, it turned into this. With Nie Tong’s parents not coming back, the family has relied on his grandparents and him over the years; how could they manage? Those uncles and aunts of his aren’t even human,” Qi Xia pointed at the ruins of Nie Tong’s house.

“Forget it; let’s see what Nie Tong is up to now.” These matters were beyond Zhang Jiaohua’s control.

“It’s just ahead, not far now. Look, that grass shed is where Nie Tong and his grandfather live,” Qi Xia pointed to a nearby grass hut.

The grass hut was extremely rudimentary; it was just a simple frame made of a few wooden beams. A bed made of rotten bamboo mats was laid on top, covered with straw. Without even looking inside, they could guess the situation. Zhang Jiaohua found it hard to believe the scene before him; it was even worse than the cow pen where Zhang Jiu Jin’s grandparents lived.

“How can people live here?” Zhang Yuanbao asked in disbelief. Who would believe that anyone could live in such a shabby place without seeing it with their own eyes?

“Heavens, Nie Tong actually lives in a place like this!” the mute boy gasped.

Zhang Jiaohua said nothing; he was also shocked.

“Nie Tong! Nie Tong!” Qi Xia shouted loudly.

Nie Tong crawled out of the grass hut and looked surprised to see Zhang Jiaohua and the others. “You guys, why are you here?”

“Nie Tong, why aren’t you going to school? If you have any difficulties, you can tell us,” the mute boy said.

“Yeah! We’re friends; if you encounter problems, how could we just stand by?” Zhang Yuanbao added.

“My grandfather hurt his foot and can’t walk, so I have to take care of him at home for a few days,” Nie Tong replied, his eyes dazed. How could he still hope for the future?

“Where is your grandfather? Let me take a look,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“It’s nothing serious. He’s been treated; he’ll be fine soon,” Nie Tong glanced back at the grass hut, where it was impossible for anyone to stand.

Zhang Jiaohua directly walked in, lifted the mat on the door of the hut, and found the interior very dark. An elderly, frail man was lying on a bed made of bricks. The so-called bed was just a few wooden planks placed on brick stacks, with some grass laid on top and a patched bed sheet spread over it. The blanket was dark and patched, but it was thick, probably not changed throughout the year.

The old man opened his eyes blankly and looked toward the hut’s entrance. “Tong Tong, did your classmate Qi Xia come?”

“Grandpa Nie, I’m Nie Tong’s classmate. I heard you hurt your foot, so I came to check on you,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Oh, so you’re Tong Tong’s classmate? I’m so sorry; it’s so messy here; there’s hardly anywhere to sit. You all focus on your studies and don’t worry about this old man,” the elderly man said apologetically.

“Grandpa Nie, where did you hurt your foot? Let me see,” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“No, no, I’ve been treated already,” the old man quickly shook his head.

Zhang Jiaohua stubbornly shook his head. “That won’t do. If the bones are injured, just applying medicine won’t help. You need to realign the bones.”

“Forget it; it doesn’t matter; I won’t live much longer anyway. Whether I have this leg or not doesn’t matter; it’s just a burden for Tong Tong,” the old man couldn’t help but shed tears.

“Don’t talk; it’ll hurt a bit, but it’ll get better soon. Nie Tong, go get me a bowl of water,” Zhang Jiaohua instructed Nie Tong.

“Quick, go! What are you waiting for?” Zhang Yuanbao pushed Nie Tong.

“Forget it; I’ll go,” Qi Xia quickly walked in. He took a bowl from a nearby basin and filled it with water from a broken wooden bucket.

Zhang Jiaohua chanted a spell: “I beseech the true martial ancestor to dwell here, powerful and miraculous… I’ll sprinkle this divine water, spraying a mouthful to relieve pain, spraying another mouthful to connect skin and bone. I invoke the northern true martial ancestor; urgent and swift, as the law commands.”

He took the bowl from Qi Xia’s hand, formed a seal in the bowl, and after a few circles, took a sip of water and sprayed it onto the injured leg of the elderly man, then held the injured leg firmly.

“Ah!” The old man couldn’t help but cry out in pain.

“Bear with it; it’ll hurt a bit. It’ll be better soon,” Zhang Jiaohua sprayed another mouthful of water and used his strength to realign the broken part of the old man’s leg. This was the skill of the Meishan Water Master for setting bones; it was very effective for injuries, bruises, and unknown pains.

“Drink this bowl of water, and you won’t feel pain anymore,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Eh, it really doesn’t hurt as much now,” the old man also felt very strange.

“Of course! Jiaohua is amazing at healing people. He even cured the blind man from our village. There was also someone who had been lame for many years; Jiaohua healed him, and now he can work in the fields,” the mute boy said.

Zhang Jiaohua found a hatchet, chopped some wooden pieces, and propped the old man’s injured leg with them, then tied them together with a rope.

“Don’t put weight on it these days; after a week, you should be able to walk again,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Jiaohua, I… thank you,” Nie Tong couldn’t help but feel like crying.

“Nie Tong, if you have any issues, just tell us. Take this week off to take care of your grandfather. You must go to school next week,” Zhang Jiaohua gathered some money and left it with Nie Tong.

Nie Tong refused to accept it.

“Nie Tong, do you look down on us? We’re friends; when we encounter difficulties, we should help each other. When you become successful in the future, you’ll owe us this favor,” Zhang Yuanbao said.

“Just accept it. Nie Tong, I know you’re strong-willed, but your grandfather just got injured, and he needs to recover slowly and eat well. We’re all relatively well-off. Don’t be so concerned about it. We’ve wanted to help you for a long time; we just worried it would make you uncomfortable. If we’d known you were having such a hard time, we would have helped you sooner,” the mute boy said.

“Let’s go; if we don’t hurry, it’ll get dark,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

The group hurried back to school. When they arrived at school, Cai Kaiming was sitting in the dormitory.

“Where have you guys been? You’re the only ones who didn’t come for evening study,” Cai Kaiming asked.

“We went to Nie Tong’s house. His grandfather hurt himself, and he might need to take a week off,” Qi Xia replied.

“Mm, from now on, if you’re going anywhere, let me know first,” Cai Kaiming said, and when he heard it was about this matter, he didn’t say anything more. He had a slight understanding of Nie Tong’s situation.