The night passed without incident, and in the blink of an eye, dawn arrived.
Early in the morning, Wang Daliang and his wife, Wang Li, and Shen Wei—all four of them—came to Wang An's house one after another.
At this moment, Wang Li showed no sign of fatigue; he didn't look like someone who had gone a whole night without sleep.
As soon as Wang Li saw Wang An, he said with a face full of joy
"Fourth Brother, look at the scars on my face. Haven't they faded quite a bit?"
Wang An was stunned for a moment and looked closely. However, after staring for a long while, he couldn't see any obvious change in the scars on Wang Li's face.
Thus, Wang An asked comfortingly
"How could it be that fast? What change could happen in just one night? Why the rush? Just take it slow!"
Wang An said this mainly to put Wang Li at ease; after all, even a miracle drug needs time to take effect.
More importantly, Wang An felt that Wang Li was becoming somewhat obsessed, which was certainly not a good thing.
If the scars didn't go away but the guy went crazy beforehand, holy shit! That would be a total disaster!
Hearing this, Wang Li remained very excited and said
"No, Fourth Brother, I mean for you to look at the small scars around the big one."
Wang An looked closely again, then said with great confusion
"What small scars? Why don't I see any?"
As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li burst into laughter—"Hahahaha!" He laughed frantically, laughed happily, laughing until tears came out of his eyes.
Seeing this performance, Wang An's heart instantly sank. His only thought was
"This is fucking doomed! Old Fifth's mental state has clearly gone south! What the hell do I do now?"
To be honest, it was only at this moment that Wang An truly began to worry. He subconsciously looked out the window, wanting to see if Wang Daliang and his wife knew that their second son's mental or psychological state had already malfunctioned.
Unfortunately, all Wang An saw were the busy figures of Wang Dazhu and his wife, Wang Daliang and his wife, as well as Mu Xueqing and Shen Wei.
After watching Wang Li laugh frantically for a while, Wang An gripped Wang Li's shoulders firmly with both hands and said in a deep voice
"Old Fifth, listen to me. This medicine definitely works; it's just a matter of time. Didn't the doctor say? Even if these scars can't disappear completely, they'll look less obvious, you understand?"
Wang Li stopped laughing and said, appearing perfectly normal
"Fourth Brother, I know the medicine works. Didn't you see that those small scars disappeared in one night?"
Hearing this, Wang An frowned and asked
"What do you mean? You're saying there were small scars on your face yesterday, and today they're gone? Is that what you mean?"
Wang Li nodded and said, "Yup, exactly."
After saying that, Wang Li added excitedly once more
"Fourth Brother, where did you find such a doctor? He's practically a divine physician! No, 'divine physician' isn't enough; he should be called an immortal, hahaha!"
Wang An blinked and sucked in his teeth, falling into deep thought.
Wang An felt this was likely a psychological effect. Mainly, did a drug this ridiculously overpowered actually exist in this world??
Why did it feel so much like bullshit??
Looking again at the edges of the large scar on Wang Li's face, Wang An indeed saw no so-called small scars.
Truthfully, Wang An hadn't really paid attention to whether there were small scars on Wang Li's face before.
However, looking at Wang Li's demeanor, he did seem quite normal and wasn't exhibiting symptoms like a psychiatric patient.
Upon realizing this, Wang An breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the person was fine, it was okay; Wang An was truly worried that Wang Li would become a lunatic.
Thus, Wang An asked with a smile
"Old Fifth, how did it feel yesterday? It didn't make you itch yourself crazy, did it?"
Hearing Wang An's question, Wang Li likely recalled something terrifying, as he subconsciously shuddered all over.
However, he immediately became firm again and pretended not to care, saying
"It felt alright. It was really itchy, but it was only for a while. After that period passed, I didn't feel much."
Wang An asked curiously
"So what kind of itch was it exactly?"
Wang Li thought for a moment and described it
"About ten minutes after the medicine was applied, I felt like there was a huge swarm of ants and bugs inside my wound, biting and scratching away. I don't know how much time passed, but then a bunch of maggots came out and started wriggling around... damn, it almost itched me to death. I had just let out two shouts when my dad stuffed a towel in my mouth..."
After finishing, Wang Li shuddered again.
It was clear that Wang Li's memory of that sensation was vivid—the kind that was etched into his bones.
In fact, it wasn't hard to imagine from Wang Li's description: being bitten by a swarm of ants and bugs was bad enough, and then adding a bunch of wriggling maggots...
To put it bluntly, that sensation was truly more agonizing than fucking torture!
The most fucked up part was that he wasn't even allowed to scream!
Looking at Wang Li's face, Wang An sucked in his teeth again.
He had to admit, Wang Li's willpower was truly impressive!
While Wang An was lost in these random thoughts, Wang Li suddenly asked
"Fourth Brother, my dad and mom said you're taking me to handle some business? What business?"
Hearing this, Wang An pulled himself back and blinked.
"Yup, I got a four-wheel vehicle and a walk-behind tractor. You're coming with me to the county town to drive them back."
Hearing this, Wang Li said in great surprise
"Fourth Brother, you bought a walk-behind tractor? And a four-wheel vehicle too?"
Wang An looked at Wang Li and said nonchalantly
"Yup. So what? Is there a problem?"
Wang Li was stunned for a long while before giving a thumbs-up
"Fourth Brother, you're too awesome!"
But immediately after, Wang Li said with a worried face
"Fourth Brother, even if you let me go, I don't know how to drive those things. I've only seen other people drive them."
Wang An replied without a care
"Those things are nothing, super simple. Simpler than driving a horse carriage. Once I teach you, you'll get it."
What Wang An said was indeed correct, because whether it was a walk-behind tractor or a four-wheel vehicle, basically anyone could learn to use them instantly.
Of course, the prerequisite was being able to crank-start the engine. Because agricultural vehicles of this era—specifically diesel engines—were mostly started with a hand crank. If your arms lacked strength, it was a real struggle!
As they spoke, Wang An checked his watch, grabbed a cloth bag containing money and ginseng buns, and said
"Let's go. We'll take the forestry farm's small train this time, and then we'll just drive the vehicles back."
Wang Li nodded and followed Wang An outside, his expression full of excitement and anticipation.
Of course, because he had never driven a walk-behind tractor or a four-wheel vehicle, a hint of anxiety and nervousness was mixed into his excitement.
(End of Chapter)