Chapter 3: Do You Know Medicine?”

As she was about to collapse, Chu Yue, who was closest to her, quickly helped support Yun Cuihe.

“Quick, bring that chair over.”

Chu Yue glanced at the chair not far away.

Lu Xingping swiftly moved the chair, while Lu Xinghe stepped forward to help Chu Yue sit Yun Cuihe down.

Chu Yue let go of her hand, quickly unfastened Yun Cuihe’s belt to help her breathe more easily, then pressed on the Baihui and Sishencong acupoints ^[1]Baihui  and Sishencong  are acupuncture points in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that are believed to have therapeutic effects when stimulated. on her head.

While applying pressure, she also reassured her.

“Mother, really, it’s fine for me to stay and take care of you. After all, I’m still young. At worst, you can just treat me like a daughter. I can do a lot of work and I’ll try to make money to help with the household expenses. I won’t just eat and drink for free at home.”

In this world, for now, she could only rely on the Lu family mother and son. Returning to the Chu family might end up with her father selling her off again.

At least from the interactions so far, Chu Yue could tell that Yun Cuihe and her son were not bad at heart.

After a while, Yun Cuihe’s emotions gradually stabilized, and her breathing became regular again.

She glanced at Chu Yue behind her and reached out to pat her hand gently.

“Good child,” she said with a sigh. “Ah! Girls are more thoughtful, much better than the boys in our family.”

Lu Xinghe had been watching everything Chu Yue did to help Yun Cuihe.

He looked at her with some surprise.

“Do you know medicine?”

Chu Yue raised her eyebrows.

Although she couldn’t remember much of her previous life, nor how she had died, she vaguely recalled that she was a medical student, about to graduate from medical school.

While her clinical experience was lacking, and her major wasn’t in traditional Chinese medicine, she could still handle simple symptoms.

But in front of Lu Xinghe, she couldn’t say that; otherwise, he might think she was some sort of monster.

Chu Yue shook her head. “I didn’t intentionally learn it. The elderly Uncle Wu, who lives next door to my family, is the village’s traveling doctor. After seeing him treat people so often, I picked up a bit of the basics.”

Wu Yong’s father was indeed the only traveling doctor in Niutou Village.

His medical skills were average, but he could handle common ailments like headaches or colds. However, he was too kind-hearted and often had trouble charging poor families for his services, sometimes leaving his own household without enough food.

Wu Yong, as a child, had often gone hungry and, after seeing how his father struggled to make a living as a doctor, refused to follow in his footsteps. Instead, he apprenticed with a carpenter and learned to make furniture.

Upon hearing Chu Yue’s explanation, Lu Xinghe clearly believed her.

“In that case, that’s very good.”

Lu Xinghe’s younger brother, Lu Xingping, gave Chu Yue a thumbs-up with a face full of admiration.

“Sis-in-law, you’re amazing!”

Chu Yue smiled, revealing two faint dimples.

Hearing the commotion, Lu Xing’an, who had come out of the kitchen, saw that Yun Cuihe was fine and let out a relieved sigh.

“Mother, Big Brother, Sister-in-law, let’s eat first.”

“Alright.” Yun Cuihe, with the help of Chu Yue and Lu Xingping, stood up and walked toward the kitchen. “Everyone’s hungry, so let’s eat first. We’ll talk about the rest after we finish.”

No matter what, she was the only elder in the family, so her words still held weight, and Lu Xinghe had to listen.

The meal was simple—each person had a bowl of brown rice porridge, a flatbread, and a small dish of pickled vegetables on the table. Chu Yue, feeling famished, ate with gusto.

After they finished eating, Yun Cuihe looked at Chu Yue.

“Yueyue, go back to your room and rest for a while. It’s very sunny outside, don’t run around.”

Chu Yue nodded obediently and left the kitchen.

She wasn’t sure what Yun Cuihe and Lu Xinghe talked about in the kitchen, but soon after, Lu Xinghe returned to the room quietly. He didn’t mention anything about asking her to take care of his mother earlier and just sat by the window, diligently copying the blank pages of the books on the desk.

Chu Yue didn’t disturb him. She sat in the room for a while, and when she heard some noise outside, she went out.

“Xingping, Xing’an, are you going to the mountains?”

The two brothers nodded.

“We’re going to dig wild vegetables.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Yue hurried to find a basket in the kitchen.

“I’ll go with you.”

To dig some wild vegetables. If they were lucky, they might even find some medicinal herbs.

As the three of them opened the gate, Lu Xinghe also came out of the house.

He looked up at the sky. The sun had gone down a bit, and indeed, they hadn’t had any leafy greens at home for quite a while. It would be good to dig some wild vegetables to improve their meals.

“The mountains are not safe, I’ll go with you.”

He grabbed a shovel from the kitchen.

“Xing’an, stay home and take care of your mother. Xingping can come with us.”

With that, he walked ahead with the shovel, followed by Chu Yue and Lu Xingping.

As Lu Xingping had said, in the nearby area, there were no wild vegetables left, and even the grass had been nearly dug up. Lu Xingping suddenly felt a bit relieved.

“Big brother, luckily our pig was stolen. Otherwise, we’d be worrying about its food.”

Lu Xinghe gave him a glance.

“What’s there to worry about? If you can raise it, then raise it. If not, sell it.”

“That pig was bought with the money Mother saved up for a long time. She said once it’s grown, she’ll sell it to help you get a wife,” Lu Xingping mumbled, then chuckled. “But now we don’t need to worry about that, since we already have a sister-in-law.”

Hearing this, Chu Yue felt her cheeks grow hot and quickened her pace, moving ahead.

The three of them walked deeper into the mountain.

After they had walked for another mile, Lu Xinghe suddenly stopped.

“We can’t go any further, it’s not safe. Let’s look for something here.”

Lu Xingping glanced around, his brow furrowing.

“Big Brother, there are no wild vegetables here.”

Chu Yue didn’t respond but scanned over a cluster of dense weeds before stepping forward.

Lu Xingping, curious, followed closely behind her.

“Sister-in-law, did you find something?”

Chu Yue knelt down in front of the “weeds,” reached out to pluck the tender leaves, and said, “This is Bupleurum^[2]Bupleurum ( Bupleurum chinense or Bupleurum scorzonerifolium) is a medicinal herb widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is known for its ability to harmonize and regulate the flow of … Continue reading. The tender leaves can be blanched in boiling water and used for salads, and the roots can be dug up, dried, and sold at the medicine shop.”

Lu Xingping’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

“Sister-in-law, you’re amazing! You know so much!”

After saying that, he quickly knelt down to help.

Chu Yue smiled softly.

“But I heard that Bupleurum leaves are slightly bitter, so the taste might not be very good.”

Lu Xingping clicked his tongue. “As long as there’s something to eat, that’s good enough.”

Since Chu Yue had mentioned that her neighbor was the traveling doctor in her hometown, Lu Xinghe wasn’t surprised by her knowledge of these things.

“Xingping, stay here with your sister-in-law and don’t wander off. I’ll go over there and take a look.”

Lu Xingping eagerly agreed, “Alright, big brother.”

Chu Yue watched Lu Xinghe’s tall figure as he walked away, and then recalled the word “sister-in-law” that had slipped from his lips earlier. For a moment, she wasn’t sure how to process it.

Did this mean he was acknowledging her identity?

Lu Xinghe returned shortly after, carrying a large bundle of dry firewood on his back. The firewood was tied together with yellowed reed grass, twisted into rough ropes.

The two younger brothers were too small and usually didn’t dare to venture deep into the mountains. With Yun Cuihe still looking frail and unable to do heavy labor, chores like gathering firewood and fetching water fell solely to Lu Xinghe.

“Only by going deeper into the mountains can we find dry firewood,” Lu Xingping sighed. “The trees outside have almost had their bark stripped clean.”

Lu Xinghe placed the firewood on the ground. “If this drought continues, come winter, you might not even find bark to peel.”