A 25-year-old tomboy

  Several women covered their mouths and laughed: "Hehe, aren't there many stones in the river? Who needs you to bring them back from so far away?"

  A middle-aged man smiled: "You silly girls know what, this is not an ordinary stone, it's called ochre, use water to heat it up and use it for massage, it's most suitable for treating various minor illnesses of you girls. If I hadn't walked a bit further this time and accidentally found a few pieces, normally you can't find them even if you want to. Do you think they're everywhere? Let Dad go in the house and rest for a while, have a cup of tea, take a breath, and then tell you in detail later. Hmm? Who are they?"

  The middle-aged man put down the bamboo basket on his shoulder and was about to walk into the house, only to find Zhen Mingshu and Feilong standing at the door.

  The girl named Yue'er said: "Dad, they have come to see you about your illness and have been waiting for a while."

  Fei Long hastily walked up and bowed to Sun Lang: "Doctor Sun, do you still remember me? My name is Fei Long. I came here with a stomachache last year and you cured me."

  Sun Langzhong smiled and said: "Hehe, I remember you. There are very few people with your build around here."

  He patted Fei Long's belly and asked: "How is it? Has your stomach stopped hurting recently? Is your appetite better?"

  Hei Hei scratched his head awkwardly: "Heh heh, it doesn't hurt anymore, everything tastes good."

  Those women saw Fei Long's silly appearance and couldn't help but cover their mouths and giggle, lifting up their bamboo baskets and walking into the courtyard.

  Fei Long rushed over, snatching the medicine basket from their hands while speaking in a flattering tone: "Sisters, you're so delicate, how can you do such heavy work? Let me handle it."

  "Pfft, who's your sister? Are we as old as you?" the little girl in red clothes with two cute ponytails on her head scolded.

  "It's said, it's said, I was wrong, should be called sister instead." Fei Long just chuckled foolishly.

  "We're not your sisters either! Are you trying to curry favor with us? What's your purpose? One look at you and I can tell you're no good!"

  Fei Long didn't know how to respond, his face turning red and white by turns, uneasily twisting his stout body, and stammering: "N-no purpose, Xing Er miss, you misunderstood me, I'm a good person..."

  That one called Yue Er seemed to be unable to bear seeing Fei Long's awkward appearance, and smiled as she said to the coquettish little girl: "You're so talkative, he was just being polite, you not only didn't thank him for helping us carry such heavy things, but also teased him, truly becoming more and more like a crazy girl!"

  That coquettish little girl turned her head to face Moon and made a silly face, sticking out her tongue: "Yes, yes, how could I be like Sister Moon? You're so eager to be a virtuous and gentle woman, marry a perfect husband, and serve him with all your heart. I'm far inferior to you, Sister Moon... anyway, I won't get married this lifetime either, I'll just stay here and accompany Grandpa, take care of Grandpa, and Grandpa doesn't mind my craziness..."

  After finishing speaking, he ran away with a smile.

  The moon giggled and chased after her, laughing as she ran behind her. "You little sharp-tongued and quick-witted girl, just you wait until I catch you and you'll know who's boss!"

  "Oh no, Sister Moon is going crazy!"

  Two people chased and fled, frolicking, gradually running far away, Fei Long hugged the bamboo basket, staring blankly, his whole person was infatuated.

  Sun Langzhong looked at them with a loving expression as they chased and played, then turned his head to look at Zhen Mingsu standing at the door and asked: "Are you here to see a doctor?"

  Zhen Mingsu stepped forward and bowed: "Hello, Mr. Sun, I'm Zhen Mingsu... cough, cough, cough..."

  As he spoke, he suddenly covered his mouth and started coughing.

  Sun Langzhong glanced at him briefly, turned around and said to the girl who stayed behind: "Huan'er, go help sort out the medicinal materials, dry them in the sun for later use, put the stones in the bathroom, and I'll teach you how to use those stones tonight."

  Huan'er led Fei Long into the courtyard, put away the medicine basket and then brought in various fresh medicinal materials. After that, she took Fei Long to the bathroom on one side of the wing room.

  "Come in with me."

  Sun Lang furrowed his brow, two fingers placed on Zhen Mingsu's wrist, with a serious face he took Zhen Mingsu's pulse, made him stick out his tongue to take a look, then flipped over his eyelids and probed his body temperature and complexion before releasing his hand.

  "When did you get hurt on this hand?"

  "Last year."

  "If you're a bit more careless with this bone setting, these two hands of yours will be useless."

  Zhen Ming bitterly said: "It was the prison doctor who delivered me, with limited conditions, and didn't let me become a cripple, I'm already very grateful to him."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I didn't commit any crime, I just kissed the leg of a woman I shouldn't have, and somehow it seemed to offend some powerful person, so I was detained for several months without rhyme or reason."

  Sun Langzhong was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing: "It's impressive that at your age, after suffering all this, you still have such a good temperament. However, if it had been delayed any further, the problem might have become serious."

  Zhen's face changed suddenly, and he hastily asked: "Dr. Sun, isn't it that my illness has been delayed for too long and there is no possibility of cure?"

  Sun Langzhong shook his head: "It's not that serious yet, I just listened to your pulse, although your body is already very weak, your internal energy is disordered, and your blood circulation is poor, but your pulse is still calm and strong. I think this has a lot to do with your good foundation, but your heart and lung function have started to decline, especially your lungs. The consumption of phlegm has been accumulating for a long time and has seriously damaged your lung lobes. I'm afraid that within a year or two, it will be difficult to cure completely."

  "Also, please ask Dr. Sun to treat me with all his might, don't worry about the medical expenses, once my body gets a bit better, I'll go find a job."

  "Diagnosing the problem isn't a big deal, but treating pulmonary tuberculosis is not something that can be cured overnight. It requires a lot of medication, and the herbal medicine here is mostly from patients who came to see me in the past, so there's not much quantity. When the time comes, you may need to collect some herbs yourself or spend some money to buy them at a pharmacy. All I can do is help you with a prescription, guide you on what to pay attention to in terms of diet, and that's it. The key is still up to you to persist in exercising every day, drinking medicine, and preventing the disease from getting worse. Fundamentally, it's about enhancing your body's resistance, and exercise is the best way to regulate your body."

  Zhen Ming sighed and nodded: "I understand this, from a young age I often followed my uncle to pick up scraps, climb mountains, swim, practice boxing, if not for being imprisoned and punished, my body would not be so weak."

  Sun Langzhong suddenly said: "No wonder, it's like this. From now on, you come here every half month for acupuncture once, the rest mainly rely on yourself to adjust, not taking medicine is the best, medicine has three points of poison, only when necessary will I decoct some warm-natured medicine to assist in adjusting..."

  Sun Langzhong again reminded him of some daily life issues that should be paid attention to, gave him a prescription, grabbed a few doses of Chinese medicine for him, and then took out a box of sandalwood boxes from the drawer of his desk, inside which were dozens of long and short thin silver needles.

  "Take off your top and lie down over there."