PCJ – Chapter 60 Bone-Transforming Water

Zhang Yuanbao was also a delicate child. Even a slight itch or pain was enough to make him roll on the ground in agony. And now, faced with such a severe situation?

“Ah! It hurts so much… I’m going to die…” Zhang Yuanbao collapsed to the ground like a fish, unable to be helped up no matter how much he was assisted.

Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t stand such a delicate kid, though he himself was no different. But it seemed he had never learned how to be spoiled since he could remember.

Zhang Manyin, sweating profusely, comforted his grandson and then turned to Zhang Youping, saying, “Youping, go pour a bowl of sour water.”

Liu Qiaoye hurried to fetch a small bowl of sour water from the pickled vegetable jar and handed it to his father-in-law.

Zhang Manyin handed the sour water to his grandson with great affection and said, “Darling, don’t cry. Drink this bowl of sour water, and the rabbit bone will soften.”

Although Zhang Yuanbao was delicate, he wasn’t stupid. He knew that whining wouldn’t help in this situation. So, obediently, he frowned and slowly drank the bowl of sour water.

Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t help shivering at the sight. This sour water was so acidic that it made one shudder just to drink it. Drinking such a large bowl… one could only imagine.

After drinking the bowl of sour water, Zhang Manyin asked, “Darling, did the bone go down?”

“No. It’s still in my throat, and it’s getting more painful.” Zhang Yuanbao swallowed some saliva and realized that the rabbit bone seemed to be stuck deeper. There was a feeling as if it was going to pierce his throat. Was he going to die? Zhang Yuanbao burst into tears.

“Don’t worry. Qiaoye, make a rice ball for Yuanbao, see if eating it can dislodge the bone.” Zhang Manyin said.

Liu Qiaoye fetched a handful of rice from the pot.

“Darling, quickly, eat a big bite of rice and swallow it down. It’ll surely dislodge the bone.” Zhang Manyin encouraged Zhang Yuanbao. However, the effect was not good. Instead, repeated swallowing caused the bone to get even deeper.

Ma Donghua deliberately went to call Zhang Youlian, who also arrived at this time. Zhang Youlian went to call the barefoot doctor Liu Zongtai, but he refused to come. He said, even if he saw it, he couldn’t remove the fish bone or rabbit bone because he didn’t have the tools. If it was stuck in the throat, he had to go to the hospital where there were tools to remove it.

They had to wait until morning to go to the hospital, but this night was so long. With Zhang Yuanbao’s delicate temperament, how could he endure this night?

“Should we go ask Ma Wulang for a bowl of bone-dissolving water?” Zhang Jiaohua’s aunt, Hu Xiaoqing, suggested.

Zhang Manyin and Ma Donghua exchanged glances, and Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye did the same. Their expressions were all complex.

Zhang Youlian shook his head. “I heard Ma Wulang suffered a big loss here in our Meizi Village, and he won’t come here again in the future.”

“Oh? What should we do then?” Hu Xiaoqing looked anxiously at Zhang Yuanbao.

“I know how to make bone-dissolving water.” Zhang Jiaohua’s voice was not loud, but since the room was quiet, everyone naturally heard her.

“Children shouldn’t cause trouble!” Zhang Manyin said displeasedly. With things so urgent, it naturally made him angry to see the child causing trouble.

Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye, however, had a change of expression. Zhang Youping naturally wanted his son to make a bowl of bone-dissolving water to help his nephew in distress. But Liu Qiaoye didn’t want her son to do such a thing. He had just been scolded by his father-in-law. Moreover, this older brother-in-law and sister-in-law had never liked Zhang Jiaohua. In this large family, both Zhang Jiaohua and Zhang Yuanbao were grandsons, but Zhang Yuanbao’s status was much higher than Zhang Jiaohua’s. However, Liu Qiaoye was kind-hearted and couldn’t bear to see Zhang Yuanbao, a child, suffering so much. So her expression was complicated.

Hu Xiaoqing saw Zhang Jiaohua treating her child as a joke and felt resentful in her heart. “Sister-in-law, please control your Jiaohua! It’s already this late, and Yuanbao is suffering like this. Yet Jiaohua is still treating it as a joke. If it were someone else’s child, I would go up and slap them.”

“Jiaohua! Go to your room. Children shouldn’t make a fuss here.” Liu Qiaoye had been hesitant in her heart, but now, hearing her sister-in-law say this, she pulled her child and walked to the room.

Zhang Youlian then said, “Xiaoqing, why are you talking nonsense?”

“Did I say something wrong? My son is suffering so much, and Jiaohua is still laughing there. Children don’t understand, and neither do adults?” Hu Xiaoqing was bold, and with one sentence, she silenced the man.

“Sister-in-law, Jiaohua did have good intentions. Since you don’t believe it, forget it. Now, let’s think of a way to treat Yuanbao’s bone spur.” Zhang Youping saw his wife being scolded and was also extremely annoyed.

“Good intentions? I didn’t see any good intentions. I only saw adding insult to injury!” Hu Xiaoqing almost shouted.

“Jiaohua can indeed make bone-dissolving water. Since you don’t believe it, forget it. Why scold people? Was Jiaohua being malicious just now? I didn’t see it.” Zhang Youping was also angry and shouted with his eyes wide open.

Hu Xiaoqing took a few steps back. After she came to Meizi Village, she had seen Zhang Youping fight with her own eyes. No one in the village could afford to offend Zhang Youping. At that time, when she quarreled with her in-laws, as long as Zhang Youping came out to shout, she could only back down. After marriage, her temper had improved a lot. But just now, she felt that Zhang Youping had become the reckless young man he was before marriage. Hu Xiaoqing was really afraid that Zhang Youping would come up and slap her. Hu Xiaoqing retreated a few steps until she leaned against the wall.

Ma Donghua quickly pulled her youngest son, “Everyone, stop arguing. The most important thing now is to find a way to remove the bone spur from Yuanbao’s throat.”

“Can Jiaohua make bone-dissolving water?” Zhang Manyin, who had been smoking dry tobacco without a word, took two puffs, and a puff of smoke came out of his mouth.

This time, Zhang Youping didn’t speak, just nodded, “He said he can, so he should be able to.”

“Then let him try.” Zhang Manyin thought for a moment and said. He knew this grandson was extraordinary. He had realized this when he scared away Ma Wulang last time. And now, at this point, there was nothing to lose by trying.

“Try? Who will be responsible if something goes wrong?” Hu Xiaoqing refused.

“Then what do you suggest? If we don’t try, you can take Yuanbao back! Wait until dawn and take him to the hospital. It’s not like someone will die from a bone spur.” Zhang Manyin was angry. His authority as a parent was challenged.

This time, Hu Xiaoqing didn’t say anything, but she was thinking in her heart, “It’s good if you succeed. If you fail, I’ll make a scene here!”