Chapter 319: Treatment

It was only nine o'clock in the morning, but the whole family had been waiting here early, including all three of Zhao Fangyuan's sons.

However, the moment the three of them saw Zhang Ping'an, they were all filled with doubt; how high could the medical skills of someone so young be?

"Dad, this..."

"Ping'an, let me introduce you. My eldest son Haisheng, second son Jiangsheng, and youngest son Hesheng."

"..." The Zhao family is really lacking in the water element.

"These are your, um..."

Zhao Fangyuan hesitated for a moment. If calculated according to Bang Geng's side, Zhang Ping'an would be a generation above him, but since Zhang Ping'an called him Brother Zhao, his three sons would have to call Zhang Ping'an Zhang Shu.

With both sides being around the same age, it was likely hard for the three sons to call him Uncle, especially since Zhang Ping'an looked no older than twenty-five or twenty-six.

"Let's just address each other individually," Zhang Ping'an naturally knew that it wasn't realistic to make them call him Uncle.

The three brothers exchanged a glance; it seemed their father still wanted them to call Zhang Ping'an Uncle. Although they felt resentful, they didn't show it.

"That works too. Ping'an is thirty-six this year, you guys..."

As soon as the old father's voice fell, the three brothers were shocked; except for being two years younger than the eldest, the second and third sons were both younger than Zhang Ping'an.

"Ping'an."

"Brother Zhang," they said twice.

Compelled by the mountain-like weight of fatherly love, the two brothers bit the bullet and called him Brother Zhang.

"Hehe, hello everyone. Brother Zhao, let me take a look at it for you first."

"Alright."

Zhao Fangyuan took off his sock and rolled up his cotton trousers, revealing a somewhat deformed ankle and a gruesome surgical scar.

Zhang Ping'an was a bit surprised; he had thought Zhao Fangyuan had sought out Traditional Chinese Medicine for bone-setting, but he hadn't expected him to have undergone surgery.

"This... there is something inside your bone. Did they put in a steel pin?"

"Yes. At first, it was Traditional Chinese Medicine bone-setting, but the situation back then was special. I had to travel long distances, and it would dislocate not long after being set. After repeating this several times, it became a chronic ailment, so I had no choice but to have surgery."

"Is it heart-wrenchingly painful when you walk?"

"It's alright. I'm used to it, so it doesn't hurt that much."

Zhang Ping'an shook his head. This Zhao Fangyuan was truly capable of enduring; every step was like scraping bone, yet he claimed it didn't hurt much.

"We must perform surgery to remove the steel pin first before I can begin treatment."

Zhang Ping'an had just used his spatial scan to perceive the area; he feared the surgery back then hadn't been successful. The steel pin had now shifted, causing malunion, which was why Zhao Fangyuan was in pain every day.

"This..."

"Think about it. Although I cannot guarantee a one-hundred-percent cure, I can ensure the condition won't get any worse than it already is."

"Let me put it this way: every step Brother Zhao takes now is like having a steel pin scraping his bone. When the day comes that you can no longer support yourself, you will be... half-crippled."

Zhang Ping'an took Zhao Fangyuan's pulse again and frowned.

"Brother Zhao, you've taken quite a lot of painkillers over the years, haven't you? They have already damaged your liver and kidney function. Brother Zhao, your situation is much more dangerous than you imagine."

Although Zhao Fangyuan only took them when the pain became unbearable and the dosage wasn't high, over a dozen years of accumulation, the amount of painkillers taken was staggering.

"Dad, is that true?"

They really didn't know their father had to endure such great pain every day.

"Lao Zhao, let's go get it removed."

If anyone knew Lao Zhao's situation best, it was his wife. Seeing Lao Zhao in such discomfort and pain every day, she didn't feel good either.

"Alright, let's remove it."

"There's no rush for now. I'll prescribe a few doses of medicine first for you to recover your body, then we'll perform the surgery after the New Year."

Zhang Ping'an hadn't taken his pulse earlier and didn't know the specific condition of his body. If they went to surgery now, he might just fall asleep on the operating table and never wake up.

"Alright, sorry to trouble you, Ping'an. Just tell me how much it costs when the time comes."

"Done. But try to move around as little as possible during this period."

"Mm, alright."

Zhang Ping'an scribbled down a prescription and handed it to the third son, Zhao Hesheng.

"Go get five doses of medicine. Brother Zhao, go lie on your side on the bed; I'll give you two acupuncture needles first."

"Alright."

By the time Zhang Ping'an withdrew the needles, the third son had also returned with the medicinal herbs.

"Sister-in-law, I'll teach you how to decoct the medicine."

"Alright."

"It's very simple. Remember the order of the herbs and the intensity of the heat. Once a day, boil five bowls of water down to two, and drink it in two doses, morning and evening."

"Alright."

As Zhang Ping'an spoke, Lao Zhao's wife took notes on the side. Just like that, five days passed, and Zhang Ping'an would also find time every day to come over and give Zhao Fangyuan two acupuncture needles.

After five days, he drank another dose of medicine. This was repeated three times before Zhao Fangyuan's liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys had barely recovered seven or eight-tenths. After another half-month of gentle nourishment, he would be ready for surgery.

"Brother Zhao, just rest during these few days before the New Year. Let's perform the surgery after the fifteenth day of the New Year."

Zhang Ping'an scribbled out another prescription; these were mainly for nourishing the body, so these herbs were more expensive.

"Alright, I feel like my whole body is much lighter."

Before, besides having to endure the pain in his ankle, his body felt like he was running with a heavy load every day, and his ribs often ached as well.

Since taking the medicine, it felt as if the load had been lifted from his entire body. Apart from the ankle, there was no other discomfort, and his overall spirit had improved significantly. If he had known, he wouldn't have hesitated for several months.

Seeing their old father's complexion becoming more ruddy by the day, the three brothers were completely won over by Zhang Ping'an, calling him Brother Zhang from the bottom of their hearts.

"Thank you, Great-Uncle. I didn't even know Uncle Zhao had to endure such great pain every day."

Yu Xiangcao looked grateful. Her father had passed away when she was young, and she had almost no memory of him, so Zhao Fangyuan was no different from her own father.

"It's no trouble; we are all relatives now, and since I've run into this, I cannot just stand by and do nothing."

This year's Lunar New Year was as desolate as ever, and on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Fangyuan went onto the operating table, and the steel pins were removed very smoothly.

Zhang Ping'an prescribed medicine to restore Qi and blood, and it was only three months later that Zhang Ping'an began preparing to perform bone-setting and correction on Zhao Fangyuan.

This time, it was not something that could be reset with a simple 'crack-crack'; instead, it required pressing, squeezing, pushing, rubbing, and nudging bit by bit, and the pain involved can be imagined.

"Brother Zhao, bite down on the towel; what comes next... will be very painful."

"Alright, go ahead. I've endured for so many years, I don't care about this little while."

"Alright."

"Mmph, ng... ah!"

As soon as Zhang Ping'an made a move, the veins on Zhao Fangyuan's forehead bulged, his face twisted, and he cried out in pain.

Zhang Ping'an quickly applied the medicine, wrapped the gauze, and secured the splints; in less than a minute, Zhao Fangyuan's back was soaked through, and he looked as if he had been fished out of water.

This time, to be safe, Zhang Ping'an even activated Space Perception, using spatial scanning to reset all the bones and align the meridians bit by bit.

"Whew~ just rest easy for the next half year; I will come over to change the medicine every half month." This level of intense concentration was quite draining for him.

This was different from the past; if it were internal injuries, one would just prescribe medicine based on the symptoms, but bone-setting tests not only one's experience but even more so one's technique—the slightest error would result in it being set crooked or misaligned.

"Good, good, good, thank you for your hard work, Ping'an."

Zhang Ping'an left behind some more Pill, all for clearing the meridians and activating blood circulation to remove stasis, and after giving instructions on the dosage, Zhang Ping'an then left.

Last month, the wives of Xile, Donglai, and Bang Geng all became pregnant one after another, and Li Aihua gave birth to another son for the Zhang family, leaving Zhang Laohan grinning from ear to ear.

"Dad, how about I get married too? Otherwise, our He family is going to fall behind."

"......"

"Good son, hold on for one more year; your dad really has no way to change your age for you."