“A miracle! An absolute medical miracle!”
In the Zhang family living room, Director Wang from the military hospital had finally arrived.
Clutching his stethoscope, he repeatedly checked the now-awake Zhang Jianguo, his face pale with shock, as if he’d just seen a ghost.
“Acute laryngeal edema, over three minutes of suffocation… and without any intubation equipment or medication, just a few silver needles reversed it?”
Wang’s excitement made his face flush red. He turned toward the small girl huddled in Huo Jingchuan’s military coat—looking fragile and harmless—and his eyes shone with a fervent intensity.
“Comrade, what needle technique did you just use? That’s… not ordinary acupuncture, is it?”
Jiang Mian hugged herself tighter and timidly slipped behind Huo Jingchuan, her voice barely audible like a mosquito’s buzz:
“I… I don’t really know the technique. My grandfather used to be a barefoot doctor. I watched him treat patients since I was little, and he taught me that in emergencies you just… do it like this. He said it’s a folk remedy.”
“Folk remedy?” Director Wang’s eyes went wide. “If this is a folk remedy, then the rest of us experts should just go home and farm! This is a true master among commoners!”
At this moment, Zhang Jianguo, now catching his breath, weak but still commanding, raised a hand.
“Enough, don’t scare the girl.”
Though he couldn’t speak loudly, his tiger-like eyes were full of gratitude and affection.
He looked at Jiang Mian as if she were a treasured family member:
“Girl, if it weren’t for you today, this old body of mine would have been done for. You’ve saved my life; you are a benefactor to Zhang Jianguo.”
He swept his gaze around the room, lingering on his daughter and the panicked intern who had tried to stop Jiang Mian, before declaring in a deep voice:
“Listen carefully. From now on, this girl of the Huo family is my own niece in this compound! Anyone who dares to bully her will be crossing me! Do you hear me?!”
The words landed like thunder.
Everyone present, including Zhang Lan, now looked at Jiang Mian with utter respect.
The previous doubt, the light scorn—gone. Now there was deference, even a trace of flattery.
In this military compound, with Zhang Jianguo’s decree, Jiang Mian could walk with her head held high.
…
Half an hour later.
Huo Jingchuan wheeled the chair, Jiang Mian followed beside him, both “fully loaded.”
Guard Xiao Li trailed behind, carrying large packages—the tokens of gratitude that the Zhang family had insisted on giving.
This exact moment, Liu Guifen, hiding in a corner, happened to see everything.
Seeing Xiao Li carrying two cans of malted milk, boxes of military-supply canned beef, and a net bag that looked heavy, her eyes turned red with jealousy.
“Hmph, just a blind cat catching a dead mouse…” she muttered sourly.
Yet when Xiao Li passed by, he deliberately called out loudly:
“Colonel Huo, Sister-in-law, Commander Zhang said—eat these for now. From now on, every month the special rations will be sent to you. And anyone who gossips and gives Sister-in-law trouble… the Commander said the military tribunal will deal with them!”
“Clang!”
Liu Guifen, crouched in the corner, dropped her basin in fright, her face pale as a quail, shrinking back, not daring to make a sound.
Jiang Mian glanced at this scene, her heart bursting with glee.
“Ha ha ha! Yes! That felt so good!”
“Look at that old crow—face all green with fright! No one dares talk nonsense in front of me again!”
Back at the Huo family courtyard.
As soon as they entered the house, Jiang Mian eagerly had Xiao Li put down the packages. Once everyone left, she immediately dove onto the pile of spoils.
“Wow… malted milk! In iron cans!”
“Military-supply braised beef! You can’t buy this even if you have money!”
Jiang Mian hugged the cans, grinning from ear to ear.
The most exciting discovery was the envelope filled with colorful ration tickets.
“Whoa! Special meat tickets?! Plus cloth tickets, sugar tickets!”
“This Old Zhang… no, this Commander is a thoughtful man! Hugging this thigh was totally worth it!”
“With these tickets, and Huo Jingchuan’s allowance, my little life is officially upgraded! Tonight, I want braised pork, I eat braised pork. Malted milk? I drink malted milk. Who’s going to stop me?”
Jiang Mian happily counted the tickets, already planning the evening menu in her mind.
Just as she was lost in her feast-of-the-mind fantasy, a shadowy gaze fell upon her.
Huo Jingchuan sat in his wheelchair, watching the silly, meat-obsessed woman clutching cans. A complex emotion flickered in his eyes.
The same woman who had saved a life with icy decisiveness, ruthless focus, and even a killer’s aura—now reduced to a greedy little foodie.
A barefoot doctor’s folk remedy?
Trick Director Wang and some bookish fools, maybe. But him?
Huo Jingchuan tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. His low, magnetic voice cut through:
“Mianmian.”
Jiang Mian, busy stuffing meat tickets into her pockets, responded without looking up:
“Ah? What is it, Jingchuan? You want some canned beef too?”
Huo Jingchuan didn’t answer. He maneuvered the wheelchair slowly, cornering her against the table.
Tilting his head slightly, those deep, abyss-like eyes locked onto hers. His tone seemed casual, but held a faintly unnerving probe:
“Since your medical skills are so good, able to save someone from near-fatal laryngeal edema in just a few needles…”
Jiang Mian’s heart skipped a beat, her smile freezing.
【Uh-oh… got too cocky, the fox is suspicious now!】
Huo Jingchuan’s gaze shifted down to his leg, still covered by a blanket.
A faintly amused, almost teasing curve touched his lips as he spoke slowly:
“Can you explain… why after you finished needling me last night, this useless leg of mine… suddenly seems to have sensation again?”