Chapter 69: Tricked by the System?

Song Yue was a little dumbfounded.

These days, practicing medicine required certification… If working without one could get her reported, didn’t that mean the system had tricked her?

System: Playing dead.

The brigade leader saw that Song Yue wasn’t saying anything.

He sighed and said meaningfully, “Well… things are chaotic right now.”

Song Yue: “……”

That was true.

Chaotic.

In times like these, even biological sons could go mad and stab their own fathers, turning them in afterward.

And plenty of crazed fathers had sent their sons away too.

All kinds of treacherous people were running rampant.

Song Yue sighed and asked in a wistful tone, “Uncle, why didn’t you tell me last night?”

The brigade leader replied, “Because I trust Chen Guoqiang’s family. They wouldn’t do something like reporting you.”

“I can’t say the same for others, which is why I’m telling you now.”

Song Yue: “……”

“Ah.” She sighed again. “I just told the villagers this morning… that if they pay, I’ll treat them.”

“!” The brigade leader’s eyes widened in shock. “You really dared to say that? You heal someone today, and tomorrow they might turn around and report you!”

“Thanks, Uncle~” Song Yue quickly said. “From now on, I’ll just focus on my work. If anyone asks me to treat them, I’ll refuse.”

The brigade leader suddenly added, “Girl, that’s not entirely true. You might still have a chance to practice medicine in the village.”

Song Yue was puzzled. “?”

A faint smile reappeared on the brigade leader’s face.

“Didn’t I just tell you? Secretary Zhou mentioned this to me.”

“What he meant was, if the commune can recommend you, you might get a slot to attend the barefoot doctor training in town.”

“You already have a medical foundation, so I think you have a good chance.”

Song Yue asked, “How many slots does the commune have?”

“Two.”

“How many people are competing for them?”

“Not many, just about ten or so.”

“……” Song Yue asked, “Has my application been submitted yet?”

“Not yet. Applications won’t open for another half month.”

Song Yue nodded. “Alright.”

No matter what, having hope was always better than having none.

“Thanks, Uncle. I’ve troubled you with all this.”

As she expressed her gratitude, she instinctively reached into her bag for some candy.

She fumbled.

It was empty.

Embarrassed, she said, “Ah, I left in such a hurry that I forgot to bring any candy. I’ll treat you next time.”

The brigade leader huffed, annoyed. “Girl, do I look like I’m only here for your sweets?”

“You call me Uncle, so I ought to look out for you.”

“Alright, take care of yourself. I have things to do.”

“Just rest at the educated youth spot this afternoon. I heard you even went to work this morning.”

Song Yue chuckled. “Well, I didn’t know I could take a leave of absence.”

“If I had known, I would’ve taken one.”

“But I did request the afternoon off.”

“Good.” The brigade leader nodded. “Get some rest.”

“And remember what I told you!”

Song Yue patted her chest. “Got it! Burned into memory!”

…

The brigade leader went off in one direction, and Song Yue headed the opposite way back to the educated youth spot.

As she neared, she spotted Li Xinyue and Zhao Zirui.

Just the two of them.

Lin He wasn’t there.

But…

They seemed to be arguing.

Song Yue stopped in her tracks.

Zhao Zirui’s voice was laced with anger. “Li Xinyue, do you have too much money to burn?”

“You treat her to good food, share your things with her—I didn’t say anything about that!”

“But now you’ve gone behind my back and secretly built her a house?”

“You… you… you…”

The more Zhao Zirui spoke, the angrier he became, to the point that he couldn’t even finish his sentence.

He just couldn’t understand what kind of spell Liu Wei had cast on Li Xinyue to make her so willing to sacrifice for her.

Li Xinyue felt wronged. “Zirui-ge, I did it for us.”

“Lin He fell out with us because of Song Yue.”

Song Yue: ……

Sitting at home, yet somehow getting blamed for things falling apart.

Li Xinyue continued, “Among the three of us, only Lin He knows how to cook.”

“Think about it. Neither of us can cook. If we move out, the living conditions might improve, but what about food?”

“Are we supposed to starve?”

Zhao Zirui asked, “So Liu Wei used this to strike a deal with you? She made you build her a house in exchange for cooking?”

Li Xinyue nodded. “Something like that.”

“You… you… you…” Zhao Zirui was about to explode. “We don’t even know how long we’ll be stuck here, and you’re relying on her to cook? What if she stops cooking for you later?”

“She won’t.”

“We agreed—she has to cook for us indefinitely.”

Zhao Zirui turned and stormed off. “Forget it, forget it. I can’t reason with you. Do whatever you want.”

“It’s your money, not mine. I won’t interfere.”

“I’ll just wait and see what you do when you run out of money.”

Without hesitation, Li Xinyue said, “I’ll just write home and ask my parents for more.”

Zhao Zirui nearly lost it. “……”

He flung his arms up in frustration and stormed back to the educated youth spot.

Li Xinyue hurried after him. “Zirui-ge, wait for me.”

Standing still, Song Yue was somewhat surprised.

Surprised that the extra house had been fully paid for by Li Xinyue.

She had thought Liu Wei might have contributed some money.

Didn’t expect things to turn out like this.

But surprised or not, it had nothing to do with her.

One was willing to give, and the other was willing to take. Nothing more to say.

As Song Yue entered the educated youth spot…

Lin He and the others, along with the senior educated youths, were heading off to work in the afternoon.

Jiang Xuemei spotted Song Yue and greeted her, “Song Yue, come on, let’s go to work together.”

Song Yue smiled. “Next time, Jiang. I took the afternoon off to rest.”

“Alright.” Jiang Xuemei nodded. “Next time, then.”

The senior educated youths and Lin He’s group left.

The educated youth spot instantly became quiet.

Song Yue rinsed her feet and went back to her room to nap.

Before sleeping, she suddenly remembered the red envelope from the Chen family.

Then she recalled what the old ladies had said that morning.

She opened the red envelope.

And—

Oh wow…

A ten-yuan bill.

Chen Guoqiang was really generous.

She had spent ten yuan on furniture, and he had put exactly ten yuan in the envelope.

The furniture was still there.

So… did that mean she had basically gotten the furniture for free?

With random thoughts swirling in her mind, Song Yue fell asleep.

Two hours later—

She woke up.

Since no one was around, she boiled some water and took a bath.

Afterward, she gathered her dirty clothes and went to the village river to do laundry.

A small river, with a gentle current.

When she arrived—

A group of eight or nine-year-old kids squatted by the riverbank, each holding a stick, motionless.

At first, Song Yue thought they were playing some kind of game.

Until one kid suddenly yanked up a fish.

Then she realized—they were fishing.

Carrying her washed clothes, she walked over. “Hey kids, how many fish have you caught so far?”

The children turned in unison to look at her.