Chapter 14: Your Problem Is Not with Your Lumbar Spine

Yi Zhonghai and the others remained silent but all stood firmly behind Jia Dongxu and his mother, backing them up.

He Yushui tried to approach him, but was pulled back by Shazhu.

Lin Shaowen tilted his head thoughtfully, then took out ten yuan and handed it over.

Jia Dongxu eagerly reached out to catch it—this ten yuan was nearly half a month’s wages for him.

“You really have to think this through. If you accept this money, then Qin Huairu and I won’t be able to explain things clearly,” Lin Shaowen said calmly. “I might not care about finding a wife, but you’ll truly become a cuckold.”

Those words instantly drained the color from Jia Dongxu’s face.

If he really accepted the money, wouldn’t that mean there was some relationship between the two of them? And Lin Shaowen was only trying to avoid trouble by spending a little money. Once this spread around the factory, wouldn’t he truly become the biggest laughingstock?

“I’ll take it. Why not?” Jia Zhangshi snatched the money without hesitation.

“Mom, you can’t accept this,” Jia Dongxu said with difficulty.

“Why not? That little bastard owes us compensation,” Jia Zhangshi said dismissively.

“Right, compensation for you,” Lin Shaowen said with a sly smile.

Jia Dongxu shot Lin Shaowen a fierce glare, snatched the money from his mother’s hand, and threw it back at Lin Shaowen.

“Mom, let’s go home.”

“What about the money…”

“Home.”

Jia Dongxu shouted and pulled Jia Zhangshi toward their house.

“Ten yuan isn’t enough, twenty will do,” Lin Shaowen added mockingly.

“Lin, don’t get cocky. Your good days are coming,” Jia Dongxu spat out a harsh threat, slammed the front door shut, and immediately Qin Huairu’s sobs could be heard.

“Lin Shaowen, how can you treat Sister Qin like this?” Shazhu’s heart was breaking. Since Qin Huairu married into this courtyard, she had been his unrequited love.

“Crazy,” Lin Shaowen said, flipping Shazhu the middle finger before humming a tune as he returned to his own yard.

“This kid’s too arrogant. No one here can handle him anymore, right?” Liu Haizhong teased.

“Second Uncle, if you have the guts, why don’t you go deal with him?” Yi Zhonghai said leisurely.

Once Lin Shaowen finished putting the furniture together, they planned to report him collectively.

Then they’d see how this kid cried.

“That’s everyone trying to come up with a plan,” Liu Haizhong immediately backed down.

“Why haven’t we seen that Xu Damao kid these past two days?” Yi Zhonghai asked Shazhu.

“He went to the countryside to show movies,” Shazhu replied, fully aware of his old rival’s movements.

Yi Zhonghai nodded, an idea forming in his mind.

***

The weekend ended.

Those who needed to work went to work; those who needed to study went to school.

When Lin Shaowen pushed his cart out, he ran into Qin Huairu, who was outside emptying a chamber pot. Her cheeks were flushed, and there seemed to be a few finger marks on her face.

Seeing Lin Shaowen, she immediately looked resentful.

Because of his reckless words yesterday, Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi had tormented her all night with beatings and insults.

“Good morning, Sister Qin,” Lin Shaowen greeted her cheerfully.

“Hmph.”

Qin Huairu snorted coldly but then lowered her voice, “Be careful lately… someone is going to report you for profiteering.”

“Oh, really?” Lin Shaowen was somewhat puzzled.

“Qin Huairu, are you up to something with a man again?” Jia Zhangshi’s furious shout came from afar, causing Qin Huairu to immediately flee the courtyard.

Lin Shaowen turned to look and locked eyes with Jia Zhangshi’s sharp, triangular eyes.

“What are you staring at, you little bastard?”

“Dogs will bark,” Lin Shaowen said and quickly pushed his cart away.

He had no time to waste on an unemployed loafer like Jia Zhangshi.

“You little bastard, come back here…”

Jia Zhangshi chased after him, standing at the gate of the courtyard and cursing loudly.

Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai nearly bit their molars to dust watching Lin Shaowen speed away.

They were so damn jealous.

***

At the steel mill.

After a leisurely breakfast, Lin Shaowen began to slack off.

Though “slacking off” wasn’t quite right—they had no computer, no phone, so he could only sit and read.

He was reading the classical Chinese version of “Notes from the Grass Hut of Micro Observations.”

Honestly, even though he graduated with a bachelor’s degree, reading this book was a headache. After only turning three pages, he laid his head on the desk and fell into a deep sleep.

But he hadn’t slept long when the clinic door was pushed open.

Li Chunhua entered with an elderly man. The old man’s hair was neatly combed, he wore gold-rimmed glasses, and looked refined and scholarly.

“Sister Li, this is…”

“Doctor Lin, this is my father-in-law,” Li Chunhua quickly introduced.

“My name is Zhang De,” the old man said, extending his hand to shake Lin Shaowen’s.

Lin Shaowen studied Zhang De and immediately grew serious.

“I’ve had lumbar spine problems for years. Chunhua told me Doctor Lin’s massage skills are excellent, so I wanted to give it a try… Of course, I don’t intend to let you work for free,” Zhang De said, pulling a Shanghai-brand watch from his pocket and placing it on the table.

He dared not give cash, and Lin Shaowen didn’t dare accept it. Once money was involved, the nature of the matter would change, and no one would benefit.

Lin Shaowen calmly took the watch and said seriously, “Put out your hand.”

“I have lumbar spine issues…”

“Put your hand out when I tell you,” Lin Shaowen said coldly.

Zhang De looked displeased, but under Li Chunhua’s urging, he extended his hand.

Lin Shaowen closed his eyes and took his pulse.

“Doctor Lin, is my father-in-law okay?” Li Chunhua anxiously asked.

“Let me massage first.”

Lin Shaowen didn’t answer directly, merely signaling Zhang De to lie on the bed.

Ten minutes later.

Zhang De got up, moved his body, and was overjoyed. “Doctor Lin, your skills are truly superb.”

His back, which had hurt for years, no longer ached; his legs no longer felt weak; his shoulders and neck were no longer sore—truly a miraculous recovery.

“Was it worth it?” Lin Shaowen smiled.

“Absolutely, immensely worth it,” Zhang De said, shaking Lin Shaowen’s hand. “Next time… next time I’ll bring you a big gift.”

“We’ll see next time. You go ahead; I have something to discuss with Sister Li,” Lin Shaowen withdrew his hand.

“Can I listen?” Zhang De chuckled.

“What do you think?” Lin Shaowen looked at him.

“Alright, you’re the boss here, so of course I’ll listen,” Zhang De said cheerfully and left.

Li Chunhua seemed to sense something and grew very nervous.

“Don’t be anxious, there’s still time,” Lin Shaowen gestured for her to sit down. “Your father-in-law may have lung problems. I suggest you take him to a big hospital for examination.”

“Doctor Lin, just tell me what’s wrong with my father-in-law,” Li Chunhua took a deep breath.

“It’s hard to say. Just take him to get some scans.”

Lin Shaowen wasn’t very confident relying solely on the “Qing Nang Shu” medical text; a wrong pulse reading would be disastrous.

“All right, I’ll take him now,” Li Chunhua said without hesitation, immediately helping Zhang De leave for Xiehe Hospital.

Lin Shaowen sighed softly, feeling torn. On one hand, he wanted to prove that his pulse diagnosis was accurate and that the “Qing Nang Shu” was indeed useful. On the other, he hoped he was wrong and that Zhang De was healthy.