The newcomers were Wang Laowai's daughter, seventeen-year-old Wang Yajie, and his wife, Jiang Hua.
Wang Yajie was delicate and beautiful. Although her coarse cloth clothes were faded from washing, they couldn't conceal her pure and lovely face.
Jiang Hua was also good-looking, just a bit short. Due to the large number of children in her family when she was young, they couldn't afford to keep her, so she was married off to Wang Laowai early. After marrying, she shouldered the responsibility of supporting the family, doing almost all the household chores. She was a virtuous woman.
As soon as the two entered, they saw Wang Laowai's leg covered in silver needles, and they were immediately terrified. Wang Yajie cried out and rushed forward, trying to stop Lu Fan, thinking he was abusing her father!
"Shh...!" Suddenly, Lu Fan made a shushing gesture to Wang Yajie. Then he slowly stood up, looking at Wang Laowai, who was covered in silver needles, as if admiring his masterpiece.
"Wang Laowai! Say it in front of your daughter and wife, are you still going to extort people?" Lu Fan suddenly asked.
"No... no more extortion! No more extortion! Lu Fan, I was wrong, I was really wrong!" Wang Laowai was truly scared. The family was already poor enough; if this kid crippled him, life would be even harder.
"Then, if one day your leg suddenly gets better, can you work hard, support your family, and let your wife and daughter live good lives?" Lu Fan suddenly asked again.
"Good... better? Lu Fan, what do you mean?" Wang Laowai's eyes lit up, and he asked abruptly.
"Little Fan! What... what are you saying? Wang Laowai's problem was caused by injections when he was a child; it's been decades, how could it get better?" Zhao Rongrong, standing nearby, also said with surprise.
Wang Laowai's legs had no problems when he was a child. Later, he fell ill, and after receiving injections, his legs became like this. Some said it was because the doctor injected in the wrong place. However, in that era, no one understood such things, there were many children, and no one paid much attention.
"Brother Xiao Fan! Can my dad's leg really get better?" Wang Yajie's eyes lit up. The family was desperately poor, and she was almost unable to afford to study. She was going to take the college entrance exam next year, but her parents didn't want her to continue studying. One reason was lack of money! If her dad's leg could get better and he could go out to work, would she be able to go to college?
"I'm just afraid your father has been lazy for so many years that even if his leg gets better, he won't be willing to work and earn money," Lu Fan said with a slight smile, glancing at Wang Laowai's wife, Jiang Hua.
"If his leg gets better and he still doesn't work, I'll divorce him! I'll take our daughter and go to the city to work!" Jiang Hua said indignantly from the side. For so many years, she couldn't do anything about this lazy fellow; she couldn't rely on him for anything important in the family.
"I... I... if my leg gets better, I can do anything! I still have to support my daughter's college education!" Wang Laowai said urgently, sitting on the ground.
He had also been worried about his daughter's schooling recently. His daughter liked to study and was a good student. But if she really got into college, it was said to cost a lot of money! That's why he wanted to extort some money from Lu Fan.
"Since you say so, I'll trust you this once. You are a man, after all. I hope you stand by your word. If you dare to do bad things in the future, hmph..." Lu Fan originally wanted to scold Wang Laowai a few times, but seeing Wang Yajie and Jiang Hua nearby, he held back.
He squatted down, carefully removed all the silver needles from Wang Laowai's leg, then patted Wang Laowai's shoulders twice. He took out a small pill and put it into Wang Laowai's mouth.
"Sister Yajie! Help your dad up and let him move!" Lu Fan said to Wang Yajie.
Wang Yajie heard this and hurried over to help Wang Laowai up.
"What's going on? So many people?" Suddenly, a voice came in, and Liu Ruyan appeared at the doorway, looking at the room full of people with surprise.
Seeing Liu Ruyan, Zhao Rongrong hurried over and explained the whole situation. Liu Ruyan was not only the village head but also the daughter-in-law she dreamed of. She couldn't neglect her.
"Lu Fan can really cure a cripple? Is he a miracle doctor then?" Liu Ruyan could hardly believe it. Although Lu Fan could cure her cold condition, how could he treat a leg that was shorter than the other?
"Heh heh! Heh heh! My leg is fine, my leg is fine!" Wang Laowai suddenly shouted excitedly.
"Holy cow... This is so magical?" Master Wu and others nearby were also stunned! This... if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it. A murmur of amazement filled the room.
"Sister Yajie! I heard you're about to take the college entrance exam?" Lu Fan suddenly asked.
"Mm!" Wang Yajie nodded shyly.
"Study hard. If you can get into college, I'll help you with the tuition," Lu Fan added.
"Ah???" Countless surprised glances were cast from the side. Everyone almost simultaneously thought of one question: did this kid have his eye on this girl?
"Really?" Wang Yajie was suddenly filled with surprise and joy.
"Of course, it's true! But, your dad has to agree first!" Lu Fan said with a sly smile, suddenly looking at Wang Laowai.
"I... I don't agree at all! Let me tell you, don't have any ideas about my daughter! I won't sell my daughter to you!" Wang Laowai said stubbornly, his long, thin neck sticking out.
"What the... what are you thinking?" Lu Fan's forehead was covered in black lines, and he quickly added, "My money doesn't grow on trees either. My condition is that you have to work for me, and I'll pay you wages! I won't give this money to you, but to Aunt Wang and Sister Yajie! So you have to agree first!"
"Is that so? Then... what do you want me to do?" Wang Laowai asked suspiciously, his eyes darting around.
"Help me feed the pigs! Feed the chickens! Feed the rabbits!" Lu Fan said with a smile.
"Then how much can you pay me?" Wang Laowai asked, his eyeballs rolling.
"Two thousand a month! How about that?" Lu Fan said.
"Two thousand? That... that's great!" Jiang Hua was so happy she almost cried. Her hard work for a year barely kept them from starving! Now to earn two thousand a month, what a great thing this was! She couldn't have dreamed of it.
"Thank you, Brother Xiao Fan!" Wang Yajie threw herself into Lu Fan's arms, crying with joy. This way, she could go to school. Going to college was her dream! She often imagined getting into college, leaving this mountain village, and escaping poverty. To give her hardworking mother a better life.
Suddenly being ambushed by the beautiful young girl, Lu Fan was a bit at a loss, staring blankly, not knowing whether to move. It seemed... he had never been hugged by a girl before.
"Xiao Fan... Xiao Fan...!" Zhao Rongrong was a bit anxious. Was her son foolish? Asking Taohua to help hatch chicks for money, paying Wang Yan for drying mushrooms, and now hiring Wang Laowai and giving him two thousand yuan a month for wages. Had their family opened a mine or something?