Although she thought this way, seeing Chen Chu carefully taking her mother's pulse, her heart softened considerably.
Liu Bingbing's mother also thought that Chen Chu was deliberately trying to please her. He didn't look like a twenty-one-year-old at all. She wondered if he was lying about his age because he was interested in her daughter. However, when she saw Chen Chu taking her pulse with an unusually mature and experienced look, she felt that he was very knowledgeable.
She'd seen many doctors, both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, for her legs, which were chronic ailments. Long-term illness had made her somewhat knowledgeable about medicine; at least she understood some basic medical knowledge. She sensed that Chen Chu was taking her pulse very seriously, whether he was truly skilled or not, he was very attentive, not some pretentious young man.
She hated that kind of smug, showy young man. A young man should have long hair, or wear earrings, gold chains, and so on. A man should look like a man. Even if Liu Bingbing liked that kind of young man, she, as his mother, would not agree to it.
After a full two minutes, Chen Chu finally opened his eyes, exhaled, and said, "There's cold inside. It must be a chronic illness. 'Rome wasn't built in a day...' This... it must be a ailment from over twenty years ago, probably caused by the cold..."
"Huh? You... how did you know?" Liu's mother looked at Chen Chu in astonishment.
"Bingbing? Did you tell him?"
"I didn't!" Liu Bingbing blushed. She had only known him for a short time... But when she thought about how they had slept together so soon after meeting, her face turned even redder.
"Then? How did you know?"
Chen Chu laughed, thinking to himself that the old man's medical skills were really good. He had memorized it correctly, which would make picking up girls easier and he was quite good at dealing with his mother-in-law.
"Auntie, it's very simple. The pulse is a type of pulse, but it's generally divided into four levels: light, heavy, slow, and fast. Each level is further divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower. These are light upper, light middle, light lower, heavy upper, heavy middle, and middle lower... Each pulse movement must be sensitively detected. The difference between a good and a mediocre TCM doctor lies in the accuracy of their pulse diagnosis. A skilled pulse diagnosis allows for accurate treatment. Medicine is further divided into four categories: principal, assistant, adjuvant, and supporting herbs. The severity and speed of the pulse can be used to determine the cause of the illness before prescribing medication. Auntie's pulse is relatively floating, which corresponds to cold, likely affecting the stomach. Her complexion is yellow, indicating spleen problems, nasal congestion, and talking too much can cause mouth and tongue pain..."
Chen Chu rambled on and on, leaving Liu Bingbing somewhat confused, but her mother nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, I do have these symptoms. This illness is a lingering effect from when I gave birth to your sister Bingbing. Back then, we didn't have much money, and... sigh, it was winter when I was in confinement, and for some reason, I had to carry your sister Bingbing for over 40 miles along mountain roads to find her father. That's how this illness started, and my legs haven't been working properly for the past few years. The hospital said the medical expenses would be 50,000 yuan, but I don't know if it can be completely cured..."
At this point, Liu's mother felt a pang of sadness, and tears welled up in Liu Bingbing's eyes.
"Bingbing, by the way, the doctor said this morning that he's scheduled surgery for me. What's going on? Aren't we supposed to be discharged today?"
"I…" Liu Bingbing was stunned for a moment, then looked at Chen Chu instead.
Liu's mother continued, "Bingbing... that County Chief Liu who came yesterday... was he the one who orchestrated this? I could tell he wasn't a good person the moment he walked in. If he's helping us, he's definitely after something. Don't be foolish; you can't take advantage of others. Did that short, bald County Chief Liu pay for the medical bills? We can't accept it..."
"I..." Liu Bingbing's face turned slightly red with anxiety.
Chen Chu then reached down and touched Liu's mother's knee, then her ankle. He closed his eyes and pondered for a minute or two before opening them and saying, "Auntie, your leg is fine, it can be treated. Look, there's a pulse in your ankle, although it's weak, it's normal. This means your blood vessels are open, and it can be cleared. If you trust me, we can leave the hospital and not have the surgery. Surgery can't cure this old ailment. I can use acupuncture to stimulate your meridians and acupoints, slowly clearing the meridians and allowing the blocked nerves to gradually open up, and the illness will be cured..."
"What...what did you say?" Liu's mother was stunned.
Chen Chu laughed, pulled his shirt up a bit, revealing a black wristband that was several inches long on his arm.
Then, with her other hand, she pulled out a long silver needle from her wristband. Liu Bingbing remembered that yesterday, when the two of them were playing around on the bed, she saw Chen Chu roughing her with his bare buttocks, but he was still wearing this thing on his arm.
Something was a little strange last night, but I didn't pay much attention to it.
"Chen Chu, you're not going to give my mom acupuncture, are you?! Can your quack skills really handle that?"
"Bingbing, how can you talk to Chen Chu like that! That kid was kind and you took it all for granted. The hospital only knows how to rip me off and can't even cure my old ailment…" Liu's mother said, looking at Chen Chu, "It's alright, child, just use me as practice. Go ahead and prick me, prick me however you like…"
Chen Chu asked Liu Bingbing to close the door, and then began to administer acupuncture. He targeted hidden acupoints on the body, as if the acupoints in medical techniques were deeply imprinted in his mind. He only needed a few needles to insert them.
A hint of surprise appeared on Liu's mother's face. "Oh dear, I'm starting to feel something, I'm getting a little warm, my calves are getting a little hot..."
Liu Bingbing rushed over to check and saw that her mother's toes had twitched slightly. Startled, she stuck out her tongue and stared blankly at Chen Chu.
"Where...where did you stab my mom? Did you stab the wrong nerve and hurt her?"
Chen Chu's head was buzzing.
"Vice Village Chief Liu, how could I just randomly prick someone? My acupuncture is a family tradition, and I never miss a beat. I'm planning to open a clinic in a couple of years to earn money and get married. This is a family tradition of acupuncture. If it weren't for our relationship, I wouldn't bother to prick anyone else…" Chen Chu started spouting nonsense.
Liu's mother also said, "Bingbing, don't wrong me. I really feel it. It works just as well as the acupuncture I had a few years ago. But he was an expert. He only made rounds, gave me a few needles and left. He even left his business card and said I could come to the capital to see him if I needed anything in the future... How much would that treatment cost...?"
"No money required, I won't charge you a penny for treatment. However, this is a long-term process, it won't get better in a short time. I'll have to do it in courses, two or three times a week. Too many times will be bad for the nerves in your legs… It should take about a year to completely cure it…" Chen Chu said, smiling at Liu Bingbing.
Liu Bingbing's head was buzzing, which meant that she really couldn't get rid of this scoundrel for a year or two.
"you..."
"By the way, Deputy Village Chief Liu, could you go and cancel the hospital stay? Also, have the hospital refund the hospital fees to whoever paid them. If no one claims them, our village primary school is short of money to build, so just take them with you and say it's a donation from the county head..."
Liu Bingbing was almost furious.
Thinking to himself that this kid was really cunning, County Chief Liu's 50,000 yuan was basically wasted, but considering that this was the best way to handle it, he and his mother were discharged from the hospital that day, and Chen Chu naturally accompanied them to her home.
Liu Bingbing's home is in the county town, just two streets away from Ji Xiaotao's. Chen Chu shrank his neck, thinking that this was really a coincidence, but it was normal. The county town was not very big. Liu Bingbing's father worked in a state-owned enterprise in the county town that was about to go bankrupt. He was not laid off, but he did not earn much money.
They finally raised their daughter to adulthood, and now she's doing quite well. Liu Bingbing's family lives in an apartment building allocated by her work unit. The apartment is only about 40 square meters and is divided into two small bedrooms. Although it's compact, it's clean and tidy, and the decor is quite tasteful.
Chen Chu sat for a while and said he would come back next week for acupuncture. Knowing that the mother and daughter had something to say, he decided not to disturb them.
As he was leaving, Liu Bingbing saw him off.
"Chen Chu, I'll use that 50,000 yuan to find local laborers and bricklayers to repair the primary school. Not a single penny will be wasted..."
Chen Chu smiled and said, "Vice Village Chief Liu, why are you telling me this? Do you think I don't trust you?"
Liu Bingbing's face turned cold: "Chen Chu, stop with the joking around. Let me tell you... we... we'll forget everything that happened yesterday and this morning, let's just pretend it was a dream. We're not compatible at all, and it's impossible for us... You, you shouldn't come to my mother for treatment or anything like that anymore, it's unnecessary..."
"Deputy Village Chief Liu, how can you say that? Did you even go to university? Since you've learned so much, how can you still be so willful! Don't you want your mother's leg to get better? If it's because of me, then... then you can wait until I heal your mother's leg, and then ignore me. I won't come back again."
"Stop pretending to be compassionate, you...you're shameless..."
Chen Chu smiled inwardly, thinking that Liu Bingbing only knew one insult: shamelessness. Yes, I am shameless. How could I have gotten you if I wasn't shameless...?
"Okay, I'm going back now. Or... shall we go together? It's only a little past nine, you still have time to get to work..."
"No need! I'll ride my bike myself if I want to walk..." Liu Bingbing huffed and puffed, shaking her ponytail as she took two steps.
Chen Chu said from behind, "Can you even ride a bicycle with those thighs? You're practically splitting your hips when you walk. Maybe you should just rest at home for a few days..."
"roll..."
However, Chen Chu returned shortly after Liu Bingbing entered the house.
As Liu Bingbing walked out the door, Chen Chu slipped a small bottle into her hand, and she blushed as soon as she saw it.
It's Yumin, which is a contraceptive pill that works for 72 hours.
"You…" Liu Bingbing was so angry that she trembled with rage.
Chen Chu laughed: "Bingbing, hurry up and eat, let's not get pregnant... Hmm, don't think that just because I bought you birth control pills, you don't want to take them, but you like children, I'll still take responsibility..."
"Get out of my way!" Liu Bingbing grabbed a rock and threw it, hitting Chen Chu in the back. The kid sped away on his motorcycle.
Liu Bingbing's eyes were brimming with tears, and she was also very angry. Her chest heaved, and she didn't know what to do next.
Even the best women are afraid of troublemakers. When faced with such a stubborn scoundrel who she couldn't shake off or push away, Liu Bingbing was really at her wit's end. Moreover, the thought that she had gone crazy and asked him for money again this morning only added to her frustration.
She hated herself for letting a man rough her. How could she have become that kind of person?
The next day, Liu Bingbing went to work in the village and saw that the village was bustling with activity early in the morning.
"What's wrong?" Liu Bingbing asked.
Zhang Cai glanced at her and then said, "Great news! A food processing plant from Hancheng came to our village to look at projects. Didn't our Xiaoyangshu Village grow a lot of mung beans this year? The food processing plant said they want to place an order in advance, and the price they offered isn't low. They mainly produce bean products and export them to South Korea, Russia, and other countries. Let's quickly organize some people to entertain them. They've already arrived in town and should be coming to our village soon..."
"Oh!" Liu Bingbing replied.
Zhang Cai then received a phone call. The person on the other end said, "Zhang Cai, this is Mayor Zhou. You... I need to tell you something. Find a few eloquent young men, you know?"
"Mayor Zhou, what do you need this young man for? Every time someone from higher up comes, it's always Women's Director Liu Haiyan who receives them, and now there's even College Student Deputy Village Chief Liu..."
On the phone, Mayor Zhou muttered under his breath, "What do you know? Two women are coming this time, and they're both quite pretty. You need to find two young men to accompany them, right? If you really send Liu Bingbing, she's so beautiful, she'll definitely outshine them, won't she? I bet this deal is off..."
"Oh, okay, I understand..."
Zhang Cai thought for a moment, then shouted, "Who's free? Go to Old Chen's house at the east end and call Chen Chu over. Tell him to come and keep us company while we drink..."
"Why did we send him?" Xu Guozhong muttered to himself.
Zhang Cai glared at him: "They brought two girls. If Chen Chu isn't allowed to accompany them, who will?"
Xu Guozhong chuckled, pointing to himself: "Me! Village Chief, I'll go! I'll go keep you company..."
"Pooh..."
Zhang Cai's head was buzzing. He felt disgusted just looking at Xu Guozhong's lewd face and his mouthful of yellow teeth.
"Pah! Go back twenty years!" Liu Haiyan sneered at him, then took out her phone and dialed Chen Chu's number.
"Chen Chu, come over and keep them company... Yes... Make sure you entertain these two representatives from the food processing plant well... Oh, they're two girls, you rascal, if you entertain them well, there'll be a reward in the village. What kind of reward? An extra half an acre of land for your family..."
Chen Chu laughed on the other end of the phone, thinking to himself, "I'll definitely find the best match. I've never heard of such a good thing. If I accompany these young ladies to eat and drink, and do a good job, the village will even give me an extra half-acre of land. If I have children with all of them, I wonder if I can get a hectare of land..."
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