Chapter 258: Reunion 2.0

Jia Erleng turned a deaf ear, his eyes still fixed tightly on the book, as if there were truly a jade-like beauty within it.

Lao Jia stepped forward and hugged Jia Erleng, while Jia Erleng's unfocused eyes were slightly dazed at this moment, and he put down the book in his hands, at a loss for what to do.

Once Lao Jia's emotions had finally stabilized, the two brothers stood face to face; Zhang Ping'an noticed a slight flicker in Jia Erleng's gaze, but it quickly returned to a wooden state.

"Youwei, I am your big brother. I have searched for you so bitterly all these years. You don't know, every time I dream, I dream of you."

"You don't know how much I have blamed myself all these years. A full thirty-two years! Do you know how I have spent these thirty-plus years?"

"You went missing, and Mom and Dad passed away too. I am the only one left in the whole family, just me alone. You know I..."

Lao Jia kept pouring out the guilt and bitterness of these years, but Jia Erleng, apart from the occasional flicker in his eyes, just listened quietly.

"Sigh."

Zhang Ping'an pressed on the back of Lao Jia's neck, and Lao Jia fainted; Jia Erleng then began reading his book again.

"Dongxu, help San Jie Fu over to sleep for a while."

"Oh, okay." Jia Dongxu had also been startled when he saw his father suddenly faint.

"San Jie is fine, just let San Jie Fu have a sleep and he will be alright. I'm afraid he hasn't closed his eyes for a day and two nights."

It was indeed as Zhang Ping'an said; ever since Lao Jia heard the news about Jia Youwei, he hadn't closed his eyes, and with his emotions fluctuating so wildly, Zhang Ping'an feared he wouldn't be able to hold on, so he simply pressed his Sleep-Inducing Point to let him have a good sleep.

"That's right, he wouldn't sleep even if told to."

"San Jie, you should go sleep for a while too; your eyes are all bloodshot."

"Mm, okay. Ping'an, Youwei, he..."

"It's fine, I can cure him. Let's talk after you wake up at noon."

"Okay."

She was the same as Lao Jia, having barely slept; now that she had seen him, Zhang Xiaohua let go of her worries, and as the taut string in her heart relaxed, she suddenly felt exhausted all over.

This was Jia Youwei's bedroom, with a large bed nearly two meters wide that looked like an antique.

"Dongxu, you watch here, I'm going to buy some food."

"Okay, Uncle."

Zhang Ping'an had already familiarized himself with the surrounding roads over these past few days; he found a random alley, took out some ingredients from his space, and also brought out the relevant medicinal herbs.

What Zhang Ping'an was going to make at noon was Medicinal Cuisine to make up for the depletion of San Jie Fu's family over these past two days, as well as the medicinal herbs for Jia Youwei's follow-up treatment.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, both San Jie and her husband woke up slowly, and upon waking, they smelled a scent of medicine.

"Mom, Dad, you're awake. Come and eat something quickly. Uncle made Medicinal Cuisine; you'll feel comfortable all over after eating it, and the fatigue of the day will disappear."

"Dongxu, your Second Uncle, he..."

"Dad, don't worry. Second Uncle is still over there. You two eat in peace first; Uncle has something to tell you after you finish."

"Okay."

Lao Jia had been in a deep sleep for over three hours, his mental state had recovered quite a bit, and after a bowl of Medicinal Cuisine, he was even more spirited.

After the two finished eating, they drew a basin of water by the well and washed their faces, becoming completely clear-headed.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ping'an had been observing Jia Youwei; he found that Jia Youwei's state was somewhat like sleepwalking, and somewhat like being pressed by a ghost in his sleep. Zhang Ping'an felt that he could perceive the outside world, but could do nothing.

"Ping'an, Youwei's current situation..."

"San Jie Fu, don't worry, I can cure him. But it will require Acupuncture and Decoction, and it will be a long-term process."

"Okay, Ping'an, be careful. I cannot lose Youwei again."

Lao Jia knew that Zhang Ping'an had long ago apprenticed under the Divine Doctor, and any headaches or fevers in the family were treated by Zhang Ping'an. In any case, ever since Zhang Ping'an arrived at the Siheyuan, the Jia Family hadn't been to the Hospital except for childbirth.

"Mm, okay."

"Jia Erge, I am going to apply needles to you in a moment, don't move around."

Although Jia Youwei had no reaction, Zhang Ping'an always felt he could understand human speech. Without further hesitation, his fingers danced, and one Silver Needle after another landed on Jia Youwei's head; Zhang Ping'an either lifted or twisted them.

"Hoo~" Half an hour later, Zhang Ping'an withdrew the needles. Guiding the stagnant blood in the brain out bit by bit through the Silver Needles was a delicate job that had to be repeated many times.

"How is it, Ping'an?"

"It's alright. From now on, twice a day. I estimate that in half a month, Jia Erge will be able to wake up. I'll go decoct the medicine first."

When Zhang Ping'an brought the Decoction over and gave Jia Youwei a simple gesture, he picked it up and drank it in one gulp; the bitter taste of the Decoction made his brows furrow.

There was a change! Jia Youwei had previously kept a wooden face, and Zhang Ping'an had thought he was a facial paralysis case like He Daqing.

The old gatekeeper obviously noticed Jia Youwei's change as well and found it hard to believe.

"Erleng, you..."

Zhang Ping'an also just remembered he hadn't told San Jie Fu, Lao Jia, about the subsequent matters, so he pulled Lao Jia to the side and recounted the whole story in full.

After listening, Lao Jia was silent for a long time; he didn't know whether to blame him or thank him, and finally, he let out a long sigh.

"Forget it, let's wait until Youwei wakes up to talk about it. Also, the name Jia Daniu sounds familiar, but I can't recall it for a moment, though he is definitely of the same generation as my father."

Although Zhang Ping'an didn't have much affection for this old gatekeeper, he had taken care of Jia Youwei for many years, and it seemed that only the two of them were at this scrap yard.

"That's fine. By the way, San Jie Fu, how long of a leave did you ask for?"

"This... I asked for a week. Right, I will call back now and have Lao Yi help me ask for another week. Xiaohua, you and Dongxu go back in two days."

"This..."

"That's settled. Dongxu, your wife is pregnant; I shouldn't have called you over this time, but your mother was worried about my state at the time. Anyway, you and your mother go back in these two days."

"Alright, Dad."

However, it would likely be difficult for Lao Jia's leave to be approved; Zhang Ping'an was still prepared to have a word with Li Huaide, as his communication might be better.

"You don't have a place to stay yet, right? My home is not far from here, though no one has lived there for a while. You can go over in the afternoon and tidy it up a bit to make it livable," the old gatekeeper said.

Ever since he moved into the scrap yard, he only went back once a week, and he would take Jia Youwei with him; the two of them were still on the same household registration record.

"Forget it, let's just stay at the Reception House."

"Don't, Erleng... uh, Youwei also goes to stay there one day every week. After I die, everything there will be Youwei's."

"Na, that's fine then, can you tell me about what Youwei has been up to all these years?"

Lao Jia was quite curious about Jia Youwei's experiences over these years, as looking at his current state, he did not seem to have suffered too much.

"Alright."

The old man did not hide anything, recounting everything from the very beginning—the buying and selling, the abandonment, and then their companionship—in great detail, especially mentioning how Jia Youwei had been improving steadily over these past two years.

In the past, Jia Youwei would not only fail to run when it rained, but would dance around instead; he also needed someone to take care of his eating and drinking, and it was only after Lao Qigai died that he began to improve bit by bit, and now he is completely capable of taking care of himself, though his speech and reactions still cannot keep up.

However, Jia Youwei really had not suffered much over these years; before 1949, he was taken care of by Lao Qigai, and afterwards, by this old gatekeeper.

After listening to the old man's account, Na felt that he had indeed treated Jia Youwei well over these years; he was originally a Technician at the Mechanical Factory named Liu Wanzhou, even had experience studying abroad in the Soviet Union, and after retiring, he had been living in the scrap yard, relying on Jia Youwei for mutual support.