The next day, Zhang Xiaofan got out of bed early, his heart filled with a sense of guilt.
Having gone to sleep the night before, Zhang Xiaofan had dreamt the whole night and only changed his underwear.
As the saying goes, dreams stem from reality. The events of the previous night had been quite a shock to Zhang Xiaofan, and although the shock alone would have been fine, the lack of an appropriate outlet naturally resulted in those dreams.
In his dreams, Sun Qian was so forward, her proficiency in certain physical aspects utterly took Zhang Xiaofan by surprise.
After getting up, Zhang Xiaofan quickly prepared breakfast for his grandfather.
And just as he finished making breakfast, Zhao Tieniu rushed over, his expression exceptionally frantic.
"Xiaofan, your Sister Qian's illness has flared up again!"
Zhao Tieniu quickly briefed Zhang Xiaofan on Sun Qian's previous condition.
"Wait for me a moment!"
After saying that, Zhang Xiaofan hurried back into his house to grab a packet of things.
Then he rushed with Zhao Tieniu to his home.
...
Upon arriving at Zhao Tieniu's house, Zhang Xiaofan saw Sun Qian lying on the bed in her thin nightgown, with her hands on her lower abdomen, her complexion pale, and her expression one of pain as she moaned.
Zhang Xiaofan stepped forward without a word.
"Sister Qian, do you feel a sense of heaviness and pain in your lower abdomen, as well as backache and sacral pain?"
Zhang Xiaofan asked, looking at Sun Qian with beads of sweat on her forehead.
Bearingly, with her eyes closed, Sun Qian gave a slight nod.
"Also, is your period usually abnormal and irregular?"
Zhang Xiaofan continued to ask hurriedly, needing to quickly understand Sun Qian's condition.
Sun Qian nodded lightly again.
Anxious, all Zhao Tieniu could do was fret on the side.
"Tieniu, go close the door, I need to perform acupuncture on Sister Qian to strengthen the spleen and liver, and to alleviate the pain by opening the channels."
Zhang Xiaofan said, turning his head to Zhao Tieniu.
"Okay!"
"Xiaofan, should I step out?"
Zhao Tieniu asked.
"Better to wait outside since Sister Qian's condition is quite serious, and I need one hundred percent energy and focus for the acupuncture,"
Zhang Xiaofan replied earnestly.
Upon hearing this, although Zhao Tieniu was very worried, he decided to wait outside to allow Zhang Xiaofan to treat his wife more effectively.
"Creak!"
After Zhao Tieniu left, he closed the door.
"Sister Qian, I'm going to start the acupuncture now, you'll need to bear with it and stay still."
While speaking, Zhang Xiaofan saw something he wasn't supposed to see through the thin nightgown.
Thinking back to the scenes of his dream, his blood seemed to ignite, burning so fiercely that Zhang Xiaofan's body temperature soared.
"Whew!"
Zhang Xiaofan exhaled deeply, forcibly bringing himself back to normal.
At this moment, Sun Qian was a patient, and he was her doctor. He couldn't let his mind wander.
Zhang Xiaofan gently lifted Sun Qian's nightgown, revealing her abdomen.
He then located the Qihai, Guanyuan, and Tianshu points on her abdomen and took out long silver needles from the packet he brought, inserting them precisely into the three acupoints.
Finally, he found the Zusanli and Sanyinjiao points on Sun Qian's lower limbs and similarly inserted the silver needles with precision.
Because of the hot weather and the energy-consuming nature of acupuncture, Zhang Xiaofan was already sweating profusely.
After the acupuncture was finished, Zhang Xiaofan used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Then he glanced at Sun Qian's tender white legs, which resembled lotus roots, and a strange feeling assaulted his mind.
Scanning upward from her legs to her slender figure, fair skin, delicate facial features, and beautiful face,
Zhang Xiaofan lost half his soul in the view, for it seemed wasteful not to gaze upon such a sight.
But Zhang Xiaofan shook his head sharply.
"No, although Tieniu and I are not related by blood, I still call him Big Brother. I can't do this!"
Having dreamt of Sun Qian had already filled him with guilt, and now to look at her body like this was going too far.
A few minutes later, the pain Sun Qian was suffering disappeared entirely, and her face gradually returned to its normal color.
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Zhang Xiaofan pulling out the needles.
Sun Qian's body trembled and her legs tightened instinctively.
"Sister Qian, don't move yet, let me remove the needles first,"
Zhang Xiaofan said.
Sun Qian realized that she was still wearing her thin nightgown, with only a pair of panties underneath, and that her nightgown had been lifted up halfway, exposing half of her body to the air.
Sun Qian's face turned as red as an apple and even felt a little hot.
Although she had longed for Zhang Xiaofan last night, being seen by him now made her somewhat shy.
"Qian, it's done!"
"Tieniu, it's done!"
Zhang Xiaofan shouted to Zhao Tieniu outside the door.
Zhao Tieniu answered and came straight in, pushing the door open.
After entering and seeing his wife Sun Qian had recovered to normal, a look of exceptional joy appeared on his face.
"Xiaofan, what's wrong with Qian?"
Zhao Tieniu asked.
"Tieniu, Qian has chronic pelvic inflammatory disease," Zhang Xiaofan said.
Sun Qian frowned and asked, "Xiaofan, how could I have gotten this disease?"
And Zhao Tieniu, on the other hand, had no idea what chronic pelvic inflammatory disease was and looked utterly baffled.
"Xiaofan, is Qian's illness serious?"
Zhao Tieniu also inquired.
Zhang Xiaofan turned to Sun Qian, who had sat up, and said, "Qian, there are many causes of chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, and I'm not sure exactly what caused it in your case, but what I can do is help you cure it."
Hearing this, Sun Qian felt much more at ease inside.
She had heard others say that most women who get this disease were either unclean during sex or had sex with many men.
"Tieniu, if Qian's disease isn't treated promptly, at its most severe it can lead to infertility or ectopic pregnancy."
"Ah!"
As soon as Zhang Xiaofan finished speaking, both Zhao Tieniu and Sun Qian cried out in fear.
"Xiaofan, infertility... this..."
Zhao Tieniu stammered, his face full of worry and fear.
In rural areas, the trials a woman faces with infertility are too great; for some, it's worse than death.
Just last night they had sought Zhang Xiaofan for the purpose of borrowing seed, but now...
Sun Qian on the bed was ready to cry.
For her, if she couldn't have children, what was the point of living.
Seeing the expressions on the faces of Zhao Tieniu and Sun Qian, Zhang Xiaofan hurriedly said, "Tieniu, Qian, don't worry, this disease, if discovered and treated in time, won't be a problem."
"I'll go up the mountain later to find some herbs specifically for treating this disease and brew it into a soup for drinking. You'll be cured in less than a week."
No sooner had Zhang Xiaofan finished speaking than Zhao Tieniu quickly stepped forward and embraced him.
And Sun Qian also showed a hint of a smile on her face.
In this way, she could continue to be intimate with Zhang Xiaofan to borrow seed.
"Tieniu, Qian, I will head to the mountain to look for the herbs now."
After speaking, Zhang Xiaofan hurried towards the door.
Added to that, Zhang Xiaofan felt something was amiss, Sun Qian's way of looking at him had returned, as if she wanted to devour him.
"Xiaofan, wait a moment."
Zhao Tieniu chased after him outside.
"Xiaofan, about last night..."
"Tieniu, Qian can't wait with this illness," Zhang Xiaofan cut him off.
Last night, when Zhao Tieniu returned home and learned that Zhang Xiaofan and Sun Qian hadn't completed the task of sowing seed, he felt both joy and disappointment.
His wife hadn't been with another man, which naturally made him happy.
But completing the borrowing seed task with another man was what he wanted; not achieving this made him feel a sense of loss.
"Xiaofan, I can't thank you enough for your great kindness; you've worked hard."
Zhao Tieniu patted Zhang Xiaofan on the shoulder and said.
"Tieniu, since I call you 'brother,' let's leave out the thanks and talk of hardships," Zhang Xiaofan replied.
"Alright, you take good care of Qian at home while I go up the mountain for herbs."
Temporarily unable to be intimate with Sun Qian, Zhang Xiaofan felt a great deal of relief.
But the moment he thought of Sun Qian's jade-like body, a yearning stirred within him.
"Xiaofan, how about I come with you to the mountain? I heard there have been wild boars around recently," Zhao Tieniu suggested.
"No need, Qian is still somewhat weak, you'd better take good care of her at home," Zhang Xiaofan responded.
Encountering a wild boar was a matter of chance; going up the mountain to gather some herbs, the likelihood of meeting one was too small.
Zhang Xiaofan didn't take it to heart.
Leaving Zhao Tieniu's house, Zhang Xiaofan first made a trip home.
Because going up the mountain, Zhang Xiaofan estimated it would take most of the day before he could return.
This was something he needed to mention to his grandfather to avoid worrying him.
Zhang Dalei was overjoyed upon learning that his grandson had done such a good deed as soon as he returned.