Fan Shufang held Yang Liming's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, let's just try. What's the worst that can happen?"
As she said this, Fan Shufang couldn't help but choke up, let alone Yang Liming, who was directly involved.
Yang Liming forced a smile, "Old Wu said he's already had decades more than his comrades who sacrificed when they were young!"
Neither of the two women cried, but the tears truly flowed into their hearts.
Meanwhile, Chief Wu looked at Su Xiaotian with a smile.
At his age, he liked children, especially capable, smart, and quick-witted ones.
"Come, take my pulse and see if this old body of mine can be saved!" Chief Wu's hearty tone made Su Xiaotian unsure of what to say for a moment.
Since she didn't know what to say, Su Xiaotian simply walked over, prepared herself, and began to take Chief Wu's pulse.
With her high ponytail and student attire, Su Xiaotian assumed the demeanor of an experienced Taoist master while taking Chief Wu's pulse, which indeed looked somewhat incongruous.
Even Fan Shufang, watching from not far away, found the scene quite amusing.
"Sister-in-law, look, Xiaotian's expression isn't very serious. Perhaps Brother Wu's situation is okay," Fan Shufang said softly, comforting Yang Liming, sensing her tension.
Yang Liming had been staring intently at Su Xiaotian's every subtle expression.
She did see that Su Xiaotian's complexion was relatively relaxed, which was good!
She had no other hopes; she just wanted the old man to live another year.
However, Su Xiaotian spent more than ten minutes taking the pulse before finishing.
When Su Xiaotian withdrew her fair fingers from Chief Wu's pulse, everyone present was staring at her with bated breath.
"Xiaotian, how is it?" Dong Yuanzhong asked urgently.
Watching his old friends leave him one by one, this feeling was damnably unpleasant.
"There was too much depletion in youth, followed by excessive worry and overthinking. The recuperation will be a bit troublesome," Su Xiaotian said with a frown.
A bit troublesome?
Everyone stared at Su Xiaotian.
If it was just a bit troublesome, it meant there was still hope, right?
"Xiaotian, you mean?" Dong Yuanzhong's voice was much lower than usual, completely different from his normally carefree demeanor.
What was there to fear about trouble?
As long as the person could recover, even if it was troublesome, it wouldn't matter much.
"To fully recover, it will take about three years!"
Su Xiaotian said this while looking at Chief Wu.
Three years, not long, but not short either.
In this matter, others' endorsements were useless; it had to be the person concerned who made the decision.
Chief Wu nodded, signaling Su Xiaotian to continue.
Receiving his assent, Su Xiaotian continued, "Grandpa Wu, your body cannot be said to be completely depleted, but it is not far from it. Western medicine does not focus on tonics but on treating symptoms rather than the root cause, so its effect on your current condition is minimal."
This was also related to the blind faith in Western science by many after the founding of the country, especially in recent years, when many traditional cultures, including Chinese medicine, had declined.
"We had a Chinese medicine doctor look at him before, and they said he couldn't be treated anymore, that his body couldn't tolerate tonics!" Yang Liming said, stepping forward quickly.
The Chinese medicine doctor had said that the old chief's body was already very weak, and using tonics could potentially be counterproductive, so they dared not prescribe any medication.
Su Xiaotian understood that any doctor would worry about being implicated if they couldn't cure the patient.
Moreover, in this era that was not friendly to Chinese medicine, doctors also had to protect themselves.
Although she didn't know Chief Wu's identity, anyone who was friends with Dong Yuanzhong and lived in the compound was clearly not an ordinary person.
What Su Xiaotian could think of, Chief Wu had already considered. He gave his wife a look, telling her not to worry.
"If you can trust me, I will prepare two types of medicine for you. Take them separately in the morning and evening. After a month, I will take your pulse again and adjust the prescription. Do you think this is feasible?"
Su Xiaotian asked tentatively.
If they asked her to stay by his side every day, she clearly couldn't do it.
Furthermore, if she were to stay by Chief Wu's side, any slight mishap in the future would be her fault.
Su Xiaotian didn't want to put herself in danger because of this.
Chief Wu nodded, "Yes. Old Dong said that it was after taking your pills that he gradually got better."
"Your condition is more serious, and you might need to add a medicated bath for more significant results," Su Xiaotian thought of another method.
In fact, acupuncture would also be effective, but without a reliable doctor to perform it, it would be troublesome, so she switched to a medicated bath.
Su Xiaotian frowned, the medicated bath procedure was very troublesome, and she wondered if someone like Chief Wu could spare the time.
As expected, as soon as Su Xiaotian finished speaking, Chief Wu's brows furrowed.
"Does the medicated bath need to be done daily?" After a long period of contemplation, Chief Wu asked this question.
Su Xiaotian shook her head, "It doesn't need to be done daily. You can soak whenever you have time."
With Su Xiaotian's words, Chief Wu's furrowed brows visibly relaxed a little.
"However, the interval should not exceed three days!"
Although Chief Wu frowned, he did not object.
Instead, Yang Liming immediately said, "This is fine. I will find a way to urge Old Wu to take his medicine and medicated baths on time."
Finally, there was a glimmer of hope, and Yang Liming didn't want to give up.
She even thought that to take better care of Old Wu, she could choose to retire early.
She would be retiring in a few years anyway, so taking a few years off early for her husband's health was no big deal.
Chief Wu looked at his excited wife, then at Su Xiaotian, and finally nodded.
Su Xiaotian thought for a moment and then asked, "Can your children agree to this?"
At this age, many things are not decided by themselves but by their children.
If Chief Wu's children disagreed, this matter might even cause trouble.
Su Xiaotian did not want to bring any trouble upon herself.
In essence, the Su family had no foundation in Beijing and could not withstand any setbacks.
"Your Grandpa Wu and Grandma Wu are like us; their children are not local," Dong Yuanzhong explained, but still looked at Chief Wu.
Even though the children were not around, whether to inform them was indeed a problem.
Chief Wu looked at his wife and said, "Old woman, let's not tell them about this, shall we?"
Yang Liming nodded, "The children are all busy, it's really not necessary to bother them with such matters."
Yang Liming trusted Su Xiaotian and decided not to tell the children for the time being.
After a few months, when the old man's health improved, she would tell the children, and by then, they would certainly not object.
"Xiaotian, will you find the medicinal herbs, or will we arrange them directly?"