I Even Hope You Fail
Liu Xiaoyun quickly ran over, anxiously saying, “Yimian, how is he? Is Tiezhu alright?”
Others also looked over with worried faces. Jiang Yimian paused, then smiled and said, “He’s fine. The bone fragments have been removed, and the Mafeisan is still effective. Uncle Tiezhu should wake up in about half an hour.”
Hearing that he was fine, everyone’s worried hearts finally settled.
“It’s good that he’s alright, it’s good that he’s alright.”
Liu Xiaoyun didn’t rush into the house, but cautiously asked, “Yimian, will my husband’s leg really be alright after the surgery?”
To say she wasn’t expecting it would be a lie, but she didn’t want her expectations to influence Chen Tiezhu. And seeing Chen Tiezhu regain his spirit, she was already very happy.
Jiang Yimian simply nodded and assured, “Aunt Xiaoyun, rest assured, as long as Uncle Tiezhu does his rehabilitation diligently, he will definitely be able to stand up again.”
As for whether he could recover to his pre-injury state, she wasn’t sure. It all depended on the results of the rehabilitation.
However, she had discovered during the surgery that Chen Tiezhu’s condition was already much better. Although the bone fragments had been rubbing against his knee, and some were even fused with the flesh, the removal process was very smooth, so it was estimated there wouldn’t be a major problem.
Liu Xiaoyun then nodded, wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye, and carefully entered the house.
Old Man Liu and the others, hearing that everything was fine, went back to their land reclamation. This time, they were full of energy, unlike their previous listlessness.
Chen Tiezhu woke up half an hour later. He was a little disoriented, and it took him a while to understand his situation. His gaze fell on the people by the bed, pausing for a moment.
Liu Xiaoyun’s eyes were red, tears falling one after another. Seeing him awake, she quickly called Jiang Yimian, then anxiously asked, “How are you feeling? Is anything uncomfortable?”
Chen Tiezhu thought for a moment before saying, “My leg hurts, but nowhere else.”
Liu Xiaoyun breathed a sigh of relief. She was about to get up and ask Jiang Yimian to take his pulse when a large hand suddenly appeared on her face.
Chen Tiezhu reached out to wipe away her tears, his voice muffled, “Don’t cry, I’m really alright.”
Jiang Yimian looked at the two of them, unsure whether to enter or leave.
Liu Xiaoyun saw her and quickly withdrew, embarrassed.
Jiang Yimian took Chen Tiezhu’s pulse, examined the sutured wound, and then looked at Chen Tiezhu.
Although he looked the same as before, she felt that Chen Tiezhu seemed different. Before, there was hope in his eyes, but it was only hope.
But now, he didn’t seem as tense as before. It was as if he had let out a breath, as if a large stone weighing on his heart had been lifted.
Jiang Yimian raised her eyebrows and curiously asked, “Uncle Tiezhu, weren’t you afraid the surgery might fail?”
It seemed that it was the other party who had initially requested the surgery, showing no fear in his eyes, but instead full of expectation.
Normally, hearing about an unfamiliar treatment method should be like Gousheng and Liu Xiaoyun – worried and afraid.
Chen Tiezhu paused, then shook his head, “Before, I wasn’t afraid, I even hoped you would fail.
But before the surgery, I was scared, and I had some doubts. I can already do most things now, except I can’t stand up. Other than that, I’m no different from a normal person. I suddenly didn’t want to risk the surgery.
But thinking about the expectation in Gousheng and Xiaoyun’s eyes, and how busy they are every day, I decided to give it a try.
Until I closed my eyes, I was actually very nervous, but when I woke up and saw Xiaoyun, I wasn’t afraid anymore, because I knew the surgery was a success.”
Initially, he agreed to the surgery not only because of the shown expectation but also because he wanted relief.
He hoped Jiang Yimian’s surgery would fail, so he could be relieved, not burden his family, and not live without dignity.
But gradually, as he felt the love of his family and the other two families, and their hope for life, he suddenly felt that living wasn’t so bad.
He wanted to try to regain his spirit, to see if the surgery could really make him stand up again.
After waking up, he could clearly feel that the sharp, intense pain in his knee was gone. Except for the occasional pain from the wound, the feeling of something sharp scraping against his knee was gone.
He knew the surgery was successful, and he would have the chance to stand up again.
Jiang Yimian looked at Chen Tiezhu in surprise. She didn’t expect him to be so calm, clearly having already thought things through. She smiled and said, “Get some rest. Once the wound heals, you can start rehabilitation.”
Chen Tiezhu responded, his tense demeanor gone, replaced by a smile.
For several days, everyone in the small low-lying land was very happy.
Zhao Dashu and his two brothers, besides land reclamation, had an extra task: helping Chen Tiezhu with his rehabilitation.
The three brothers became Chen Tiezhu’s support, taking turns helping him walk in the courtyard every day, assisting with his rehabilitation.
Seeing that the man who could only walk for half an hour a day could now walk for a whole hour, everyone was excited.
Liu Xiaoyun came out of the house and saw Chen Tiezhu sweating profusely, but still struggling to walk with the help of two others. She felt sorry for him and quickly said, “Okay, you’ve walked for more than an hour today. Take a break. Yimian said to do it moderately, don’t hurt yourself.”
Chen Tiezhu responded and walked for almost a quarter of an hour before finally stopping.
Liu Xiaoyun immediately stepped forward to help him relax his tense leg, her heart filled with both worry and happiness.
In these few days, she had witnessed Chen Tiezhu go from being unable to stand to slowly standing up, then taking small steps, and now being able to walk for more than an hour with the help of Dashu and the others.
She couldn’t express how excited she was. Before, Chen Tiezhu’s leg would always hurt at night, and she would always hear his suppressed groans when she woke up at night. She felt helpless and distressed.
But now, those painful groans were gone, Chen Tiezhu wouldn’t sweat profusely from pain, and she wouldn’t have to worry.
Thinking that Chen Tiezhu would be able to walk normally soon, she was overjoyed. Heaven had been kind to them, letting them meet Yimian, saving them time and again.
Seeing Chen Tiezhu sitting down to rest, Zhao Dashu and the others also rested for a while. They wanted to continue helping with land reclamation, but Old Man Liu sent them away.
“Go, go, go. Go find Gousheng and the others to learn how to read. Yimian said that you didn’t finish yesterday’s task. The land is almost done, Dayong alone can clean up the weeds.”
As Old Man Liu spoke, his hands weren’t idle. He was splitting thin pieces of wood and joining them together, not sure what he was making.
Zhao Dashu and the other two quickly gathered around, curiously asking, “Grandfather, what are you doing? We can help. Sister Mian said that when we go to get Gousheng and the others, we can just recognize some characters. It’s too early now.”
There were still at least two hours until nightfall, and they really didn’t want to learn characters.
Old Man Liu glanced at them, then at the people who had already walked up behind them, and casually said, “Don’t want to learn characters? Then what do you want to do?”
The three immediately chuckled and said in unison, “Anything but learning characters.”
As soon as they finished speaking, a cold voice came from behind.