Chapter 9

Qingxi Village had only a small population. Looking back over the past two months, many people had come and gone through the village, so it was not easy to determine who had written the anonymous complaint letter.

However, even though there were many people entering and leaving the village, those who had gone to the town were fewer. If they were to conduct a thorough investigation, it would still be relatively easy to find out. Liu Kai was one of the people who had been to the town.

Writing a complaint letter required some literacy, and the person also had to know where to send it. Liu Kai was now one of the suspects.

In fact, it wasn’t just Liu Kai. Besides him, Gu Sui, Wang Lu, and Fang Jie from the Educated Youth group had also been to the town. Liu Kai held the most animosity towards Guan Yue and had even spoken publicly about his disdain for a rural girl like her. He’d said, “What’s so great about picking herbs? And now she’s being treated like a celebrity? Does she think she’s some big deal?”

Many people had overheard these words, and Liu Kai’s careless remark made him the first suspect.

When Liu Kai heard that Lin Haiyin was hinting at him, he opened the window and spat loudly, saying, “I may look down on that herb-picker, but if it wasn’t me, I’m not going to take the blame.”

Gu Sui was silent for a moment. “Someone who would do something so harmful with no benefit to themselves… that’s not something just anyone would do. It’s not you, at least.”

“What do you mean by that, Gu Sui?” Liu Kai snapped.

Wang Lu, who had been standing between them, intervened to mediate. “Don’t argue. We only have a few people in our Educated Youth group. If we keep bickering like this, the outsiders will just laugh at us.”

Lin Haiyin, unable to tolerate the situation, retorted, “Are you just showing off how good you are? Then go ahead and find out who wrote the complaint letter. Don’t let some people drag us down and get us ostracized.”

Wang Lu did not respond to Lin Haiyin, but instead, helplessly said to Gu Sui, “Let’s try to move to another place. The people in Qingxi Village are rather insular, and it’s uncomfortable for all of us to live here. Besides, we came to the countryside to help with rural development, but in Qingxi Village, all they let us do is farm. We can’t really use our knowledge to make any changes. Isn’t that a waste for us too?”

Wang Lu made a gentle suggestion, and Fang Jie and Liu Kai both supported it. Lin Haiyin remained silent, but Gu Sui refused. “I think there is a lot of potential here. My medical skills have improved a lot.”

After being rejected again by Gu Sui, Wang Lu looked helplessly at his retreating figure.

Fang Jie snorted, “See, I told you. Gu Sui must have been enchanted by that little girl from the mountain. Gu Sui is a college graduate and a doctor. He’s learning medicine from some wild girl, and he says he’s improving—this is ridiculous.”

Lin Haiyin retorted, “Have you even met her in person? Now you’re just talking nonsense, like a wild ghost has possessed you.”

The Educated Youth group was always full of noise, never peaceful. As for who had written the complaint letter, there was still no conclusion. The county hadn’t sent any news either.

The next day, Li Tao went up the mountain early. She didn’t dare to take the main path through Daqing Mountain, so she took a detour through Xiaoqing Mountain. When she arrived, Gu Sui was already there.

It was early in the morning, before the sun had come up. The mist on the mountain was thick. Guan Yue, yawning as she came out of the mountain, had a thin layer of mist drifting behind her. Her long hair hung loosely around her shoulders, making her look like a little fairy.

Li Tao was momentarily stunned, a flash of admiration in her eyes. She was so beautiful!

But why didn’t Guan Yue braid her hair? Nowadays, whether in the city or the countryside, girls liked to braid their hair, or at least cut it short into a bob.

Li Tao had never seen anyone like Guan Yue, with long hair flowing freely and no braids.

Beside Guan Yue, the dog, Gousheng, trotted along, whining as it bounced around like a rolling ball of fur.

Guan Yue spotted Li Tao and said, “You’re here.”

“Yeah, I was worried you’d be in a hurry, so I came up early.”

Guan Yue smiled faintly, “I wasn’t in a hurry. We can have breakfast first, then talk.”

After breakfast, Li Tao learned that Guan Yue planned to give her acupuncture, which made her a bit nervous.

“Don’t be scared. If you’re not sick, there’s no need for me to give you acupuncture,” Guan Yue reassured her.

Li Tao felt even more afraid. She was perfectly fine—how could she possibly need acupuncture?

Gu Sui casually added, “Your acupuncture skills are pretty good. I had a cold yesterday and my nose was bothering me. After you gave me acupuncture, I felt much better this morning.”

“Really?” Guan Yue beamed with joy.

Li Tao relaxed a little; she wasn’t the first person to be experimented on.

Guan Yue first sized up Li Tao and then gestured for her to sit.

Li Tao sat next to Guan Yue, and at her signal, she placed her hand on the table.

Guan Yue took her pulse, subconsciously using her abilities, which made her sense the pulse more clearly.

Guan Yue moved aside and gestured for Gu Sui to try as well. Gu Sui’s pulse-taking skills were even worse than hers and also needed more practice.

After Gu Sui finished taking the pulse, he discussed it with Guan Yue. “A floating pulse?”

The Barefoot Doctor manual recorded: A floating pulse is thin and floating. Gu Sui thought it was probably something like this.

Guan Yue was surprised. She hadn’t expected that Gu Sui, with so little practical experience, would be able to identify it. “You’re quite talented.”

Li Tao was nervous. What did this pulse mean? What illness did she have?

Guan Yue reassured her, telling her not to worry. It wasn’t a serious illness. She asked a few more questions about Li Tao’s daily routine and concluded that it was simply a case of qi deficiency, causing fatigue. This corresponded with the wetness and dampness associated with the floating pulse.

Li Tao understood it as her body being too damp, which was common in the mountainous regions of Sichuan. Older people often suffered from issues like rheumatism and cold legs.

After the examination, Guan Yue took out her silver needles. “Let’s try a few needles and see how it works.”

“Okay!” Li Tao agreed.

Li Tao watched as Guan Yue took the silver needles out of the box. The sharpness of the needle tips made her scalp tingle with fear.

Though the thin silver needles looked frightening, Li Tao found that they didn’t hurt much when they were actually inserted.

Li Tao lay on a small bed by the window in the wooden house. After the needles were in, Guan Yue told her not to move and to rest for a while.

Guan Yue left, leaving Li Tao alone in the room. At first, Li Tao stayed awake, but soon, without realizing it, she fell asleep.

When she woke up, the mist in the mountains had dissipated, and the sun was high in the sky. The air had a slightly dry, warm feeling. Looking at herself, she saw that the silver needles had already been removed.

She walked out of the room and saw Guan Yue and Gu Sui. They were sitting at a long wooden table, books, paper, and pens spread out before them as they studied, their heads bent low.

Hearing the noise, Guan Yue didn’t even look up. “Awake?” she asked.

Li Tao responded with a quiet “yes.” She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt her body was a little lighter and more comfortable.

Guan Yue had prepared some pills for her, meant to boost her qi. She told Li Tao to take them every morning, along with the acupuncture, and she would soon feel better. After all, she was still young.

From that day on, Li Tao went up the mountain every morning. Gradually, her energy and vitality visibly improved.

Li Tao also felt more energized and capable when doing her work.

Zhang Cuihua, not one to be shy, asked Li Tao to check with Guan Yue. The next day, she too went up the mountain for acupuncture.

Guan Yue was more than happy to oblige; the more people she could practice on, the better.

The villagers were practical. Once they saw the results, they were more than willing to try. Throughout July, more than twenty women from Qingxi Village visited Guan Yue for treatment, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

During work, while chatting, the villagers had new topics to discuss.

“That little girl, Guan Yue, is really skilled. I didn’t even feel pain when she was giving me acupuncture.”

“Exactly, not only does it not hurt, but it works wonders. The night after my acupuncture, I slept so much better.”

“Hey, I wonder if Guan Yue would see people from outside the village. If she’s willing, I’ll bring my daughter back for a couple of days and see if she can help her.”

“That would be great. Most of the doctors at the clinic in town are men. Some women’s ailments are a bit awkward to talk about with them, but with Guan Yue, it’s fine.”

Other onlookers gathered around, intrigued. “Is it really that effective?”

“Yes, Auntie, I’m not just making things up.”

“Well then, I’ll have to give it a try. My waist has been really bothering me lately.”

“You better hurry and get checked out then.”

As more people went up the mountain and saw Guan Yue, the word spread. Since her treatments were proving effective, the people of Qingxi Village couldn’t help but praise her whenever her name came up.

Don’t be so unwilling to admit it—Guan Yue was not only good-looking but also skilled in medicine. Why shouldn’t she be praised for that?

These comments reached the ears of Fang Jie and the others. Fang Jie sneered, “What do these uneducated village women know about what it means to be beautiful? People like us, with superior backgrounds and more education, are the true ladies.”

Wang Lu, however, didn’t feel flattered by the praise. As she watched Gu Sui’s back as he walked up the mountain, a growing sense of unease filled her. Was it possible that Gu Sui had truly fallen for that wild girl?

At noon, after seeing off two women from Qingxi Village who had come for treatment, Gu Sui tentatively said to Guan Yue, “Have you considered moving down to the village? People would definitely welcome you there.”

Guan Yue shook her head. “I don’t like crowded places. I think the mountain is nice.”

Gu Sui poured her a cup of water. “I see you get along with people just fine. Moving down to the village wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, it would be safer down there.”

Guan Yue didn’t explain and simply declined to respond.

Without an answer, Gu Sui didn’t bring it up again.

Guan Yue gathered her things and told Gu Sui, “You can head down now. I don’t need you to cook today.”

With that, she turned and walked deeper into the mountains.

Gu Sui didn’t follow. He stood there for a moment, quietly watching her walk away.

What was this? Was she upset?

Gu Sui didn’t leave right away. As usual, he made the meal before heading down the mountain.

Guan Yue reached her treehouse in the deep mountains, carrying Gou Sheng’er. She stepped lightly on the branches and flew up to the treehouse. She placed her things on the table and lay down on the bed, letting out a deep breath.

When Gu Sui reached the bottom of the mountain, Yang Guozhu saw him and immediately rushed over, abandoning his work in the field to ask, “How did it go?”

“She doesn’t want to move down to the village,” Gu Sui replied.

Zhang Cuihua understood what they were talking about and said, “If she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t want to. It’s no trouble for us to come up the mountain for treatment together.”

“Exactly, we don’t mind the trouble. Maybe I’ll bring my family to see her, if that’s okay?”

Yang Guozhu turned to Gu Sui again and asked, “Did you ask her about it?”

“Guan Yue doesn’t care whether they’re from Qingxi Village or not. As long as they come, she’ll generally see them.”

After this period of practice, Guan Yue had become more and more skilled with acupuncture. Gu Sui watched her grow and was deeply impressed. Guan Yue had a natural talent for acupuncture.

Li Da interjected, “Can we go to Guan Yue for treatment?”

“What do you need to go for? We have Gu Doctor here.”

“Exactly, Guan Yue is already busy treating the women.”

“You’re not allowed to go to Guan Yue. All the men should go to Gu Doctor.”

As soon as Li Da said that, the women surrounded him, clearly not happy with the suggestion.

Guan Yue who was on the mountain slept until well past three in the afternoon. When she woke up, feeling hungry, she decided to head to the front of the mountain. Although it was already afternoon, there were still several people waiting in front of the cabin. It didn’t take much to figure out that they were there for treatment.

Guan Yue felt a bit impatient but still patiently treated the few people waiting.

Gu Sui had worked all afternoon and was heading up the mountain in the evening. As soon as he arrived, Guan Yue said to him, “Tell them that I’ll only see ten people a day from now on. My consultation hours are from 10 AM to 11 AM. Anyone who comes after that won’t be seen.”

Gu Sui smiled and agreed to go back and tell the village head.

They had some tension this morning, but it was a good thing he came up now; it seemed like the crisis was averted.

Guan Yue had set the rules for consultations, and she hadn’t limited outsiders. As her reputation spread, people from nearby communes started trying to get in touch to come to Qingxi Village for treatment, using various connections to approach her.