Chapter 299: Qi Tongwei 2.0

"What? How could this be?" Yi Jiabao could not believe it, muttering to himself.

Qi Qinghai, standing to the side, looked calm; he had roughly guessed this outcome. He didn't even know how he had managed to scrape by all these years, let alone his brother and sister-in-law in their condition.

After losing their children, the two of them had been listless, and his parents had also died of depression after losing their grandson and granddaughter; it was he, the younger brother, who had shouldered the entire family.

If not for being dragged down by his brother and sister-in-law, he would have married and had children long ago, and wouldn't have reached nearly thirty before having a child.

He didn't even know how he had persisted through the three most difficult years. Later, because he was working to save someone, his ankle was severely sprained; with no money for treatment, he kept putting it off, and he was still limping now. His wife was the girl he had saved back then, so it could be considered a blessing in disguise.

Thinking of this, Qi Qinghai felt a bit sorry for his wife and child. Because his leg was not nimble, he could never earn many work points, so the family was naturally poor, and they even fell into debt every year.

"Sigh, Jiabao, your mother has only been able to hold on until now by sheer will. Once she saw you, most of her spirit dissipated. Your father is about the same now. You siblings are the motivation that keeps them alive."

"Tong... Jiabao, don't be too sad. That your brother and sister-in-law have waited for you all these years is already their greatest happiness."

"That's right, Jiabao. You not only have your parents now, but also Brother Yi and the others. I will also do my best to wake your father up so the family can be reunited."

The two of them were basically skin and bones now. Zhang Ping'an had to let their bodies recover a bit before he could administer acupuncture and medicine.

"I see you aren't older than me, so I'll just call you Qinghai."

In fact, looking at their faces, Qi Qinghai was definitely older, but based on Qi Tongwei's age, Zhang Ping'an deduced that his father was certainly no more than thirty.

"This..."

"Doctor Zhang, how old are you?"

"18... oh no, thirty-four."

"What?" Qi Qinghai could not believe it, then immediately looked at Yi Jiabao, as if asking him if it were true.

"Yes, Second Uncle, Uncle Zhang is indeed thirty-four."

"......"

"Qinghai, you have a Black Market here, right? First, buy some fine grain and meat. I will use a Medicinal Diet method to nourish the two of them first."

"This..." Although he knew about the Commune Black Market, he currently had neither money nor ration coupons, and he tightened his grip on Qi Tongwei.

"Oh, look at me, Qinghai, you misunderstood. These are Jiabao's parents; the expenses will naturally be covered by him," Zhang Ping'an patted his head.

"Yes, yes, yes, Second Uncle, just take me there."

"Good."

"These are two pills. Put them in your water vat; you can also slowly nourish their bodies by cooking them in porridge or soup."

"Thank you, thank you."

At this time, in the Brigade Headquarters, the family of three of Yi Zhonghai had also woken up. After a simple wash, they ate the breakfast Jia Donglai had brought clean.

"Sister Jiabei, it's okay, I'm here."

"Mm."

Yi Zhonghai listened from the side, the corners of his mouth twitching, but he didn't say anything.

"Uncle Yi, Auntie, Brother Jiabao is currently at his, uh, Second Uncle's place."

"Mm, take us there."

"Alright."

As the team leader, Qi Qingbei had gone straight to the fields after eating at home to arrange work for everyone, thinking he would come over after finishing, but he didn't expect to find the place empty.

"They must have gone to Qinghai's house. You all clean up these chickens and ducks; we have to treat them to a meal at noon."

Two women had come with Qi Qingbei, but the chickens and ducks were property of the Production Team. After everyone discussed it yesterday, the bulk would count for the team, but Qi Qinghai also had to shoulder a small portion.

There was no help for it. Although everyone sympathized with the plight of Qi Qingshan's family, when it came to food and drink, no one wanted to suffer a loss, so letting Qi Qinghai's family shoulder a small portion was already an act of village fellowship.

Led by Jia Donglai, the Yi Zhonghai family had already entered Qi Qinghai's house. Seeing his parents, who were covered in the dust of travel, Yi Jiabao's eyes turned red.

"Father, Mother..."

Although Yi Jiabao was twenty, he had been well protected by Yi Zhonghai and his wife, and he hadn't experienced any great storms in his upbringing. Plus, the events of the past two days had been quite a shock to him.

"It's okay, child, Father and Mother are here," Yi Zhonghai patted his shoulder. Once everyone's emotions had stabilized, there was another round of introductions.

Facing Yi Zhonghai, Qi Qinghai felt a bit inferior. Despite being covered in dust and wearing plain clothes, Yi Zhonghai's aura was clearly that of a leader.

"Ping'an, is there really no other way?"

"No. The year or so I mentioned still requires me to make more trips to come and watch over them. Their physical condition... it's a long story."

"Brother Yi, Sister-in-law, I know the situation of my brother and sister-in-law. It hasn't been easy for them to hold on until now. To be honest, I didn't have much hope; they have suffered too much over these years," Qi Qinghai was speaking of his brother and sister-in-law, but also of himself.

"Forget it, do our best and leave the rest to fate. Ping'an, I'll have to trouble you."

"It's no trouble, I'm already here. Besides, this is a challenge for me too. By the way, Qinghai, I see your foot is also injured. Let me take a look at it while I'm at it."

"This..."

"Dear, let Doctor Zhang take a look," Qi Qinghai's wife also felt a spark of hope.

"Then, then I'll go wash up."

Fearing that his grimy feet would offend Zhang Ping'an, Qi Qinghai didn't wait for an answer and went outside to fetch water to wash his feet. After a while, Qi Qinghai came back barefoot.

"Your ankle is deformed," Zhang Ping'an saw at a glance that the bone was dislocated, and because it hadn't been treated for a long time, it had healed crookedly. He would have to break the adhered bone to reset it.

"Sister-in-law, find two splints and some cloth strips, and find a towel for Qinghai to bite on."

"Oh, oh, okay."

"Doctor Zhang, do you think these bamboo strips will work?"

"They will."

"Qinghai, relax. Bite the towel. I'll move on the count of three."

"Mm-hmm."

"Three."

"Crack!" With two sounds, Zhang Ping'an reset the bone, applied the pungent Ointment, wrapped it in gauze, and secured it with the splints. It was done.

"Ugh..." The veins on Qi Qinghai's forehead bulged, and he let out a low roar. Qi Tongwei was also frightened and began to wail loudly.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Qi Qingbei had just reached the doorway when he heard the crying and shouting inside; thinking the two families had clashed, he kicked the door open, only to discover that Zhang Ping'an was treating Qi Qinghai's injuries.

"Ahem, well, you see..." Qi Qingbei was so embarrassed he could have dug a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.

"My son, my son!" Yang Qingmei was also jolted awake from her sleep at this moment.

"Mother, I'm here."

Yang Qingmei got up and saw the crowd in the room, feeling somewhat puzzled; it was only after an introduction by Yi Jiabao that she came to her senses slightly.

*Thump. * Yang Qingmei knelt down directly.

"Big Brother, Big Sister-in-law, thank you for raising and caring for Jiabao all these years. If it weren't for you, the two children would likely have... By the way, Jiabao, where is your sister?"

Yi Jiabei was currently cowering behind Jia Donglai; although she could feel the bond of blood, she was just a little afraid.

"Sister, what are you doing? Get up quickly. It is our good fortune to have been able to adopt the Jiabao siblings. Jiabei, come here quickly."

Tan Cuicui helped Yang Qingmei up and simultaneously beckoned to Yi Jiabei, signaling for her to come over.

As Yi Jiabei walked closer, she realized she truly looked very much like this woman, and she couldn't help but feel a bit closer to her in her heart.

"Good, good, good, good child."

Yang Qingmei was incredibly emotional at this moment; to be able to see her son and daughter again in her lifetime—even if she were to die now, she would have no complaints.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't stand such scenes, so he went out of the room on his own, carrying the still-wailing Director Qi.

Qi Tongwei stopped crying once he was picked up by Zhang Ping'an; his dark, round eyes stared straight at Zhang Ping'an, and from time to time, he let out a laugh.

"Heh, what an interesting little fellow."