Chapter 259: Settling In

In the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an remained to observe Jia Youwei's condition, while Liu Laotou took Lao Jia and his family of three to his residence, which was an old-fashioned layout similar to a Siheyuan, though it had two stories.

Lao Jia was somewhat surprised, but thinking that this old man had studied abroad in Damao and must have been a veteran engineer at the Mechanical Factory, it was not strange for him to have such a house.

Liu Wanzhou stopped at the entrance, took out a long key, and fiddled with the antique-style lock for a moment.

"Little brother, I'll give this key to you; it will be convenient for you to come and go in the future. Let me take you inside to pick your rooms first."

"Alright, sorry for the trouble."

On the first floor was a large living room; in front of the living room were the kitchen and a storage room, and behind it was a row of bedrooms—that's right, a whole row.

"These two are where I and Er... and Youwei usually stay. The rest have all been cleaned, so feel free to pick, though the second floor hasn't been lived in for a long time."

It was Jia Dongxu's first time seeing such a strange house layout, so he couldn't help but look around. He checked each room one by one; none of them were large, only about ten square meters each.

"This was built based on your northern Siheyuan, combined with some local Modu and Western architectural features," Liu Laotou explained, seeing Jia Dongxu's strange expression.

"Oh, I see." Afterward, the three of them picked two rooms and put down their luggage.

"If you want to cook at home, that's fine too. There is a vegetable market not far to the south."

"Alright, thank you very much."

"It's nothing. You all settle in and stay here with peace of mind. I'll head back to the scrap station first."

After seeing Liu Laotou off, Jia Dongxu prepared to rest. He hadn't slept for two days until now. He hadn't felt tired at the scrap station, but the moment he lay on the bed, his head felt heavy instantly, and he fell asleep without realizing it.

"Let him sleep; he's been exhausted these past two days. Lao Jia, what are your plans regarding this Liu Wanzhou?"

"Let's wait until Youwei is clear-headed before deciding. If what Liu Wanzhou said is the truth, then he is a benefactor to our Jia Family. If he lied, then we'll send him in."

Lao Jia naturally didn't believe everything Liu Wanzhou said, even though he felt in his heart that the old man probably hadn't lied.

"Hmm."

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an met two other employees at the scrap station besides Jia Youwei and Liu Laotou, who had just returned from collecting scrap outside.

"Old Master Liu, who is this?"

"Oh, he is a relative from Er Leng's hometown."

"A relative?"

These two employees naturally knew that Er Leng had been adopted by Liu Laotou, but they hadn't expected Er Leng to actually have a relative show up.

"Hmm, you don't need to worry about it. Put down the scrap and go back to collecting. If there's nothing to do for the next half month, don't come back yet."

"Oh, alright."

In fact, this Liu Laotou was not only the gatekeeper of the scrap station but also the Public Manager. This was equivalent to an opportunity for paid leave, so the two employees naturally wouldn't refuse.

As the two unloaded the scrap, Jia Youwei seemed to activate some kind of switch; he picked and chose among the scrap, and several complete books were collected into his room by him.

Zhang Ping'an found it strange. He glanced at the books; they were about everything, from fruit tree planting to sow production, and even mechanical manufacturing.

"Officer Zhang, Youwei just likes to collect these complete books and flips through them when he has nothing to do. He has already finished reading many of my own book collections," Liu Laotou said, pointing to the bookshelf behind Jia Youwei.

So that was it. No wonder he had been able to find a few tattered ancient books in the scrap pile before; it turned out those were the ones Jia Youwei didn't care for.

After nine o'clock, the Jia Family came over after breakfast.

"Ping'an, how is Youwei?"

"Hmm... I have already performed acupuncture this morning, and he has also taken the Decoction. His pulse is improving bit by bit."

"Good, good, good, that's good."

Days passed like this. San Jie and Jia Dongxu had returned to Sijiucheng three days ago, and Jia Youwei's eyes were growing brighter day by day.

This day, Lao Jia was talking to Jia Youwei as he did every day, just to stimulate Jia Youwei's subconscious.

"Ping'an, I feel like Youwei might be able to understand what I'm saying," Lao Jia said excitedly to Zhang Ping'an.

"Big brother..."

"Clatter." Lao Jia didn't even notice the book in his hand fall from his excitement.

"Youwei, can you hear what I'm saying?"

"San Jie Fu, don't get excited yet, let me check." After taking his pulse, Zhang Ping'an looked at Jia Youwei's slightly more spirited eyes and said.

"Soon, soon. Second brother will be fine soon. In another three days, he should be able to recover his own consciousness."

"Er Leng, you are finally going to be well." Liu Laotou was also very excited on the side.

This was already the eleventh day of Zhang Ping'an treating Jia Youwei. He had used every method at his disposal over these eleven days, and now it had finally paid off.

"Good, good, good." Lao Jia shed tears of excitement again.

Jia Youwei could now pop out a few words from time to time, and his speech was gradually becoming fluent.

On the morning three days later, Jia Youwei and Zhang Ping'an were still practicing Tai Chi every morning, and Jia Youwei's eyes finally regained their clarity.

"Thank you, Ping'an."

"Second brother, you're better?"

"I'm better. These thirty years felt like I was having a dream, but I could never wake up. I had feelings about the outside world, but it was always distant and detached."

"Good, good, good."

After calming his Qi and blood and finishing breakfast, Zhang Ping'an gave Jia Youwei a full-body checkup.

Thanks to his more than twenty years of persistent exercise and Zhang Ping'an's feeding over the past half month, Jia Youwei's body, still in its virgin state, was now as strong as an ox.

"Second brother, you are truly better, but I suggest consolidating for another two days."

"Alright, I'll listen to the doctor."

As soon as Lao Jia entered the scrap station, he saw Liu Laotou standing in the courtyard with tears streaming down his face. Thinking something had happened, he rushed in, only to see Jia Youwei and Zhang Ping'an chatting and laughing.

Then, like Liu Laotou, he stood frozen in the courtyard, tears streaming down his face.

"Youwei..."

"Big brother, I'm better. Uncle Liu, thank you for all these years."

"Good, good, good. It's good that you're better."

The two stepped forward and checked Jia Youwei from head to toe, discovering that he was truly better, and only then did they believe they were not dreaming.

"Big Brother, Uncle Liu, actually, I have known what was happening outside all these years, it's just that I couldn't control myself and couldn't speak."

The reason Jia Youwei knew Lao Jia was also because Lao Jia had been by his side these past few days, chattering on about things from their childhood.

Jia Youwei only had vague impressions of things before the age of three; he was abducted at four, and now, under the tireless stimulation from Lao Jia every day, he has basically remembered the things from his childhood.

"Second Brother, this is very normal; your brain nerves were under pressure before, so there were many things you couldn't control."

"Yes, that's right, Big Brother, Daniu Ye is that escort who has traveled all over the country for years from our Jia Village."

"So it was him; I kept saying he looked very familiar, but I just couldn't remember."

Jia Daniu is a capable man who walked out of Jia Village, but because of his profession, he couldn't even return home once a year or even every few years, so it is no wonder why Lao Jia didn't remember him.

Jia Youwei's Taiji Kung Fu was taught to him by Jia Daniu when he was ten years old, and with Jia Daniu's daily supervision for thirteen years as if it were one day, this allowed Jia Youwei to develop the habit of practicing Taiji every morning despite having no consciousness.

It was also because of this persistence for over twenty years that Jia Youwei's body is better than the average person's, and he also looks younger.

Especially now, with the all-out help of Zhang Ping'an, some would even believe it if one said Jia Youwei is twenty-four or twenty-five years old.