Repay kindness with kindness

  "What? It's almost time to arrive? Why didn't you say so earlier, kid?! Stop, stop! This water is too cold. If we don't dry it for a couple of days, we won't be able to raise any fish! Haven't you seen that besides a few small white fish and some tiny shrimp, there are no other fish in this Cold Water Creek?" Zhang Jin was not anxious yet, but Hai Julei's old man jumped up first.

  Although Haiju Li has never been involved in the aquaculture industry, as the saying goes, "living by the mountain understands bird sounds, living near water knows fish feelings". Haiwazi Village is not only a coastal village, but also a village with dense streams and river networks. Although there are no large rivers that can be scaled up in the village, it still has a deep understanding of what kind of water can keep fish alive and what kind of water cannot.

  The old man Hai Ju's anxiety, as if he felt the same way, warmed Zhang Jin's heart. When had he ever seen such concern from a neighbor like a family member in the city where he lived? Zhang Jin once again confirmed that his decision to move to the countryside was correct, and it was no longer just for the sake of gaining experience.

  Seeing the anxious Hai Julao, it seemed that he didn't even want to delay the time it took to pass through the small bridge tens of meters ahead, and was about to wade through the cold water to stop him. Zhang Jin hastily opened his mouth to explain: "Uncle Julao, don't be anxious, listen to my explanation."

  After stopping Hai Julao from taking off his shoes and entering the water, Zhang Jin continued: "Julao Shu, actually I have done some research on aquatic breeding. And to be honest with you, the reason why I chose this place to build a fish pond is because of the cold spring water in Hanshui Creek. The fish fry I selected are different from the usual fish species in the river here, and I want to raise cold-water fish. In our place, only this creek can nurture them, other waters won't work."

  Wearing glasses, Zhang Jin, who looked like a cultured and refined scholar, was undoubtedly a big intellectual in the eyes of the villagers of Haiwazi Village, belonging to the level of scientists with knowledge. Seeing Zhang Jin talk about cold water breeding in a clear and logical manner, Lao Hai also believed it 100%, 'He is a knowledgeable person, if he says so, it must be correct.' The old man thought, and didn't stop him anymore. He put on his shoes that he had just taken off, and quickly walked over from the small wooden bridge built over the cold water stream not far away, to see if there was anything he could help with.

  Zhang Jin's fish pond was already 'fully prepared, only waiting for the east wind', so he just threw the water pump into the creek and put the other end of the water pipe on the edge of the fish pond, and waited with his hands folded. With nothing else to do, Zhang Jin pulled Hai Julai, an old man who came over to help, back to his own small building, sat in the hall on the first floor, brewed a pot of fragrant tea, and chatted occasionally.

  Although Zhang Jin, who had been struggling in the dog-eat-dog world for many years, didn't have the sympathy that Ye Meng mentioned, he was still a good person who knew how to return favors. With the intention of repaying kindness, Zhang Jin casually threw out a master-level diagnostic technique - "Wang" - during their idle chat with Old Man Hai Ju Li.

  In the "Wulin Three Kingdoms" with Chinese martial arts culture as its background, the medical technique is naturally traditional Chinese medicine. The diagnosis of the disease emphasizes the four-character method of "looking, listening, asking and cutting". Each of the four methods has its strengths and weaknesses, and only by combining them can one make a comprehensive judgment without missing anything. However, for Zhang Jin, whose medical skills have reached level 10 and who has obtained the title of Master after reaching level 10, any one of the four-character methods is basically enough to diagnose without error.

  "Uncle Juli, don't you feel that your legs and feet are stiff every morning, and it takes a few rounds of walking to loosen up? And whenever the weather changes, don't you feel unbearable pain in your knees and finger joints, and sometimes even can't straighten your legs and fingers?" Zhang Jin asked with a smile after drinking two cups of tea.

  Hai Julei looked at Zhang Jin with a surprised gaze, "Ah, how did you know? This is an old habit of mine!"

  Hai Ju Lao's answer was entirely within Zhang Jin's expectations, and he replied with a smile: "Uncle Ju Li, your symptoms are those of rheumatoid arthritis. As it happens, I used to be a doctor at Shen Zhen Hospital, so it's no surprise that I can diagnose illnesses."

  The old man Hai Ju Li stood up with reverence, as a simple farmer, he had some lofty respect for the medical profession that saves people from life and death.

  The old man Hai Ju Li looked at Zhang Jin with a gaze that seemed to see right through him, making Zhang Jin feel both embarrassed and pleased. "Uncle Ju Li, if you trust me, let me take a look?"

  Hai Julai's rheumatoid arthritis has been a chronic illness for over 20 years, and he had gone to the hospital for treatment before. However, the effect was minimal, not to mention the exorbitant cost of treatment and medication, which was far beyond what he, a farmer, could afford. Now that Zhang Jin, a doctor from a big city hospital, has offered to treat him voluntarily, Hai Julai is already overwhelmed with gratitude even though he hasn't seen any results yet. With a simple smile, Hai Julai asked cautiously: "Will... won't this be too much trouble for you?"

  Zhang Jinkuan smiled and said, "Uncle Ju Li, you're being too polite. From now on, we're fellow villagers, neighbors, what's the need to be so formal? It's like if I asked for your help, would you not help me? As the old saying goes, 'Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors'!"

  Hai Julei was indeed a straightforward and unsophisticated person, not good at speaking. He couldn't outtalk Zhang Jin, so when he heard Zhang say that, he simply went along with it: "Alright then, I'll trouble you to do it."

  When he saw Hai Julai, Zhang Jin didn't delay and immediately took out a set of acupuncture needles from upstairs. Under Hai Julai's somewhat curious gaze, Zhang Jin carefully selected exactly thirty-six silver needles from the needle bag.

  This is getting intense, although he believed in Zhang Jin's medical skills as a doctor from a big hospital in the city, seeing Zhang Jin pull out such a large handful of shiny needles and knowing they would be piercing his own body in the next moment made anyone sitting in Hai Julei's position feel tense.

  Look at these needles! The short ones, including the needle handle and tip, are only as long as an adult's little finger. The long ones have tips that are nearly half a foot long; the thin ones look like they're trembling and are no thicker than cow hair, while the thick ones are almost as thick as a toothpick; their shapes are even more varied, with some having pointed tips like a narrow knife, some being triangular and hollow, and others curved like a hook.

  At this time, Hai Julei even began to empathize with the underground party members sitting in the torture room on TV. How could these needles make him think of the instruments hanging on the walls in those scenes? Although Hai Julei's liver trembled more and more as he thought about it, he still steeled himself out of some inexplicable trust and prepared to "stick his head out to take this knife".

  Zhang Jin was completely ignoring Hai Julei's tense and stiff expression at this time, he had already fully entered the role of a doctor. As a doctor, how could his emotions be disturbed by the patient's emotions? So he worked on the treatment with smooth movements, first wiping the selected acupuncture needles with the alcohol lamp that came with the needles, then letting Hai Julei roll up his pants legs and take off his sweatshirt, exposing his knees and back. He began to insert the needles into various acupoints on Hai Julei's legs and lower back.

  With the craftsmanship of a top-notch, level-10 master physician, his acupuncture skills are absolutely the best in the world, without exception. As he held dozens of silver needles that seemed to split the air with a soft whooshing sound, they quickly and accurately landed on various acupoints near Hai Julei's kneecaps. In the blink of an eye, dozens of silver needles were all inserted into Hai Julei's legs. Although the needles varied in length and depth, they didn't bring even a hint of pain to old man Hai Julei; the sensation of the needle piercing his skin was lighter than a mosquito bite.

  When dozens of silver needles were in place, Zhang Jin's two hands transformed into two butterflies dancing among the flowers. His ten slender fingers created a blur of finger shadows that made it impossible to distinguish one from another as they fluttered back and forth at the handles of the dozens of silver needles, employing techniques such as dotting, linking, pressing, vibrating, brushing, and twisting... The various hand movements left onlookers dazzled and mesmerized.

  If a Chinese medicine master were present to witness this scene, they would absolutely be astonished by Zhang Jin's acupuncture techniques. These ancient acupuncture techniques that should have been lost long ago not only reappeared under Zhang Jin's hands but were also performed with such beauty and elegance as if they had become an art form.

  Zhang Jin's technique was exquisite and familiar, and in about two minutes, the 366 hand acupuncture techniques were completed under his hands. Before Hai Ju Li woke up from Zhang Jin's phantom-like dancing fingers, Zhang Jin had already finished the treatment, soaking dozens of used acupuncture needles into a glass bottle filled with medical alcohol.

  When he saw Hai Julai, his mouth was still wide open as if seeing a miracle, and he sat there woodenly, with the intention of continuing to stare blankly. Zhang Jin laughed and reminded him: "Uncle Julai, come stand up and see how you feel?"

  "Oh? Ah!" Hai Julei suddenly stood up like a dream, starting to spin around in circles. And the more she walked, the faster she went, her face involuntarily revealing an unbelievable surprise.

  After a while, Hai Julei suddenly remembered that Zhang Jin was still watching him and quickly turned around to thank him: "Xiao Zhang, thank you, thank you. These few needles you inserted are simply amazing, I feel like my legs are as good as they were when I was over 20 years old, the stiffness in my knees is completely gone." As he said this, he rubbed his finger joints again and exclaimed with joy: "It's all better now!" The chronic pain that had plagued him for decades suddenly disappeared, leaving Hai Julei so excited that he became a bit incoherent.

  "Uncle, your illness is only temporarily relieved and far from fully recovered. Your condition belongs to the category of cold evil entering the body, causing stagnation in the joints. Therefore, I used the draining method with acupuncture to disperse the stagnant cold air. Moreover, since your illness has been prolonged, it has already accumulated into a injury, making it impossible to cure immediately. It is estimated that three consecutive days of acupuncture are needed, once a day, and afterwards, moxibustion will be used for another three days to consolidate the treatment before it can be considered fully recovered. You need to spare half an hour every day to come here for treatment, this cannot be interrupted." Zhang Jin reminded him.

  After witnessing Zhang Jin's magical and beautiful technique, and experiencing the miraculous effect of the acupuncture, Hai Julei had elevated his image to an infinite height, almost revering him as a divine being. As for Zhang Jin's instructions, he naturally responded with utmost obedience. Moreover, although Hai Julei's home was separated from Zhang Jin's small building by a considerable piece of land and a stream, the distance between them was only about three to four hundred meters, which was even shorter than the usual distance walked when visiting neighbors or taking a stroll. This distance would not hinder any matters at all.