72: Chapter 71 Returning Home with the Little Old Lady

Because he was still relying on a crutch and one leg was in a cast, Li Changsheng had no choice but to book a ride-hailing car. It was a bit pricey, but so be it; wasn't money earned meant to be spent?

It was over three hundred kilometers from the high-speed railway station to his hometown, but taking the expressway meant it wouldn't be too slow.

He arrived in Wushi around ten in the morning and reached his hometown near five or six in the afternoon. After all, it wasn't an expressway the whole way; he had to exit the expressway and travel for an hour on country roads.

From the expressway down to the highway, and then onto the country roads—cement paths that frequently had grooves—even though the vehicle's bumping made his waist and legs ache, Li Changsheng felt happy and excited.

Looking at the lush green fields outside, and watching the occasional old farmer passing by with a hoe on his shoulder, Li Changsheng couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Nowadays, rural areas everywhere are undergoing new rural construction. There are cement irrigation ditches and expansive, well-planned fields; the chaotic disorder of the past is long gone.

Looking into the distance, one could even see rows of neat and orderly small Western-style houses with a rustic charm. Li Changsheng knew these had been rebuilt according to government planning.

In the past, rural homesteads were built here and there, which not only looked messy and unsightly but also occupied a lot of arable land.

Especially now, after the new rural construction, mechanized equipment is used for large-scale harvesting and drones for sowing. Arable land must be consolidated, otherwise, it would be difficult to implement these methods.

Perhaps some people born after 2000 don't know what the countryside used to be like, but when Li Changsheng was a child, his grandmother would bring him here to stay for a while every holiday, so he was very familiar with this place.

Even this cement road was paved eight years ago. Back then it was brand new, but as the economic situation of the people improved and more tourists came to visit Wudang Mountain, it wasn't long before many potholes appeared.

The car stopped at the entrance of the village. The driver kindly took out the luggage and even asked if he needed help carrying it to his home, as Li Changsheng really didn't look like he could walk well.

Li Changsheng waved his hand to decline. Through their casual chat along the way, he learned that the driver was also from a nearby town and was just earning a little extra on his way home. He only charged for gas and didn't make much profit, but Li Changsheng still gave him a little more as per custom.

Dragging his suitcase with one hand and leaning on his crutch with the other, Li Changsheng walked slowly through the village.

It wasn't tiring; after training for so long, Li Changsheng's Physique was already quite good, it was just that the strained muscle area couldn't hide the pain.

The changes in the village were also huge; not-so-wide cement roads had been paved, and every household had built a small Western-style house.

One could see all kinds of vegetables in every courtyard. The Rabbit is naturally good at farming; it's engraved in their bones.

After all, the first time the Rabbit went to the moon, they were trying to find a way to research whether they could grow crops there.

Originally, Li Changsheng planned to wait until his injury healed before coming back, fearing his grandmother would worry, but he had promised her he would return this month, and he couldn't break his word.

Arriving at his doorstep, his grandmother heard the noise and poked her head out to look. Suddenly, the little old lady beamed with joy.

But soon, after seeing Li Changsheng's condition clearly, she hurriedly wiped the water off her hands and rushed out.

"Changsheng, how did you get like this? Quick, give me your things, I'll help you inside."

The little old lady had a head of silver hair and wasn't tall, only 1.58 meters. Although her frame was quite thin, she was very spirited.

She also carried an air of scholarly refinement; even in the earthy countryside, anyone who saw the little old lady would know she was an educated person.

Li Changsheng had watched the hit TV series "Three-Body Problem," and he felt that his own little old lady looked very similar to the elderly Ye Wenjie.

She also had a mole between her eyebrows, and she spoke in a soft, modulated voice, very much like an old-school intellectual.

"I just fell down, twisted my leg a little, it's nothing serious."

Li Changsheng smiled to reassure her. The little old lady had always cared for him deeply, and seeing him like this now, she was almost on the verge of tears from anxiety.

"You still say that? Can a fall make you like this? You say you just twisted it, but it's in a cast!"

As she spoke, the little old lady lightly tapped Li Changsheng, full of complaint and heartache.

Back inside the house, the little old lady kept questioning him. Li Changsheng had to make up a story, and after much persuasion, he finally managed to comfort the little old lady.

"By the way, since you're back and injured like this, just stay home and rest for a while. Ask your company for leave, don't rush."

His grandmother's brows couldn't hide her worry.

"Grandma, I've already resigned. From now on, I'll stay here at home with you." Li Changsheng tried his best to smile, not letting his grandmother see the pain from his muscle strain.

Along the way, stopping and going, he had aggravated his injury, but fortunately, he had a good method for regulating his breath, so it wasn't visible on the outside.

"You're just sweet-talking me. How can you stay with an old woman like me forever? You're young; you'll definitely need to go out and make money in the future. Oh, by the way, did you not find any girl you liked over there?"

Well, the old lady had started talking about marriage matters again.

"Not yet. Your grandson is still young, no rush."

"Still not rushing? You're already twenty-seven, twenty-eight next year. But if the city girls didn't see how good my grandson is, that's their loss. One of these days, I'll talk to people in the village about it."

The little old lady had a look on her face that said, "My grandson is the best."

However, since the old lady was so enthusiastic, Li Changsheng didn't argue, so as not to dampen her spirits.

"Alright, you go rest first, I'll stew some pork ribs for you. You child, you didn't even give a heads-up before coming back. Tomorrow I'll go to town to buy some beef and mutton, and look for an old Chinese medicine doctor to ask what you should eat to recuperate."

The old lady was always like this, pouring all her heart and soul into her grandson.

Watching the old lady's busy figure, Li Changsheng was deeply moved.

He remembered when he was sick as a child, the old lady would carry him on her back. When it was raining heavily and they couldn't get a taxi, she would brave the downpour and ride her bicycle, rushing him to the hospital overnight.

Even though she had classes the next day, she was stubborn and insisted on staying with him all night. Only after Li Changsheng's fever subsided did she drag her exhausted body back to teach her students.

In his previous life, Li Changsheng was an orphan and had never experienced familial love, but in this life, it seemed as if his grandmother had made up for all the love from his parents and grandparents that he had missed out on, all at once.

"Grandma's health is still fairly robust these years, but she still has some chronic ailments. I must find a way to help her recuperate during this time."

"Eight Brocades seems good, but it might be a bit too intense for an elderly person. The best would be Taiji, but I don't know much about Taiji. I'll ask the old man or Brother Coiled Dragon another day."

Li Changsheng mused slightly; he definitely wanted to help the old lady improve her health.

It would be best if he could help her live to over a hundred years old.

"I can teach Grandma the internal and external techniques of Internal Alchemy Meditation first, and later arrange for Longevity Qigong or the Eight-Section Vajra Qigong."

Compared to methods like Eight Brocades and Taiji that require various movements, Daoist health cultivation methods are actually more suitable for the frail and the elderly.

If one were to rank them, Internal Alchemy Meditation can be practiced while lying down, followed by Longevity Qigong, the Eight-Section Vajra Qigong, Taiji, and Eight Brocades.

Of course, if one's Physique is good, one can start directly with Vajra Qigong or Eight Brocades, but elderly people can start with Internal Alchemy Meditation.

(These few chapters will be relatively plain. This book won't be a mindless, non-stop adrenaline rush; it belongs to the genre of health cultivation and martial arts amidst a calm life. I'll mix in some educational content with satisfying moments, alternating them.)