Chapter 12

After Master Deng left Qingshan County, he visited several other places to reconnect with old friends. 

After some inquiries, he found that the two friends he knew for their acupuncture expertise had different fates. One had grown old and developed a tremor in his hands. The other had passed away recently after a bout of trouble. 

Master Deng let out a deep sigh and returned to Yunnan. Considering everything, Guan Yue seemed to be the best option available. 

Upon his return, Master Deng went straight to meet a patient, a Colonel from the Southwest Military Region. The Colonel, in his prime, had been suffering from debilitating lower back pain for nearly two months, which had caused him to lose over ten pounds. 

“Colonel Yan,” Master Deng said, “I believe Guan Yue has exceptional acupuncture skills, and it’s worth giving her a try.” 

Master Deng introduced Guan Yue’s background, but before Colonel Yan could respond, other members of the Yan family vehemently objected. 

“No way! Why would you choose a young girl when there are so many experienced senior traditional Chinese medicine doctors?” 

“That girl has only been learning for a few days! Does she even know all the acupuncture points?” 

“Master Deng, this really doesn’t seem appropriate,” one family member added. 

Colonel Yan raised his hand to silence them and turned to Master Deng. “If you are recommending this girl, I trust you have thoroughly evaluated her capabilities. However, the border situation is complicated right now, and I don’t have the time to go to Qingxi Village. Could you please discuss with her and see if she can come here instead?” 

Before meeting Master Deng, Colonel Yan had already sought treatment from both Western and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, but to no avail. It wasn’t until Master Deng stepped in that his condition slightly improved, allowing him to get a few hours of sleep each night. 

Colonel Yan held great respect for seasoned traditional Chinese medicine practitioners like Master Deng and valued his opinion. However, his duties made it impossible for him to leave his post. 

Master Deng stood up and said, “Alright, I’ll discuss it with her. I don’t have other candidates for now. But if you can find a renowned acupuncture expert in the meantime, you should try that too.” 

“We’ll continue looking on our side, but we’d appreciate it if you could speak with Guan Yue as well,” Colonel Yan replied. 

“No problem,” Master Deng said. 

In late October, Guan Yue welcomed a visitor, Cai Guofu. 

Cai Guofu had known for years that Xu Hua’an had a house on Daqing Mountain, but this was his first time visiting. 

When he arrived in Qingxi Village, he couldn’t find the path up the mountain and had to rely on Yang Guozhu to guide him. 

When Cai Guofu saw Guan Yue leisurely sitting there drinking tea, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “This place is really remote. What’s so good about it? You won’t even go to the city when asked.”

Yang Guozhu became cautious. “Our place is fine too, especially in the summer, it’s really cool.”

Guan Yue gave a faint smile and motioned for them to sit and rest.

Yang Guozhu waved his hand. “You two talk, I have things to do in the fields. I’ll leave now.”

Cai Guofu said, “Big brother, thank you for leading the way.”

“No need to thank me,” Yang Guozhu replied.

Guan Yue poured a cup of cool tea for Cai Guofu. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, do you think I wanted to come? This place is so far, and the weather is so hot. It’s really hard on a person.”

Cai Guofu drank two cups of cold tea in quick succession. With the mountain breeze blowing, he started to feel a little more comfortable.

At that moment, only the two of them were on the mountain, and Cai Guofu finally revealed the purpose of his visit. “Old Deng asked if you’re going…”

“I’m not going!” Guan Yue firmly rejected.

“You silly child, why won’t you go? If you go and manage to cure the leader, your future would be limitless. Isn’t that better than staying here in this mountain?”

“I like staying here.”

Cai Guofu muttered for a long time, but Guan Yue didn’t respond.

Cai Guofu sighed. “You, you’re so stubborn! One day, you’ll regret it.”

When word spread that someone was looking for Guan Yue, Gu Sui finished his work and came up, his body drenched in sweat.

Cai Guofu’s eyes brightened when he saw Gu Sui. The young man looked promising.

Gu Sui greeted Cai Guofu with a smile before turning to go into the kitchen to cook.

Cai Guofu leaned closer to Guan Yue and quietly asked, “Is this your boyfriend?”

Guan Yue glanced at him sideways. “This is the chef I found for myself. I make pills, he does the cooking. We exchange equally.”

Cai Guofu didn’t believe it. A fine young man like that, volunteering to cook for someone? That was rare.

Then he heard that Guan Yue said he was an Educated Youth sent to the countryside, and Cai Guofu immediately changed his tune. “Well, that’s not suitable. City people like him might leave any day. Also, many city people look down on country folk. With such a mismatch in status, it’s better not to get involved.”

Guan Yue hadn’t thought about these things. Not to mention finding a partner, she hadn’t even thought about her future; she just lived one day at a time, carefree.

At noon, after eating the meal cooked by Gu Sui, Cai Guofu sighed. Such a good young man, it was a pity!

After the meal, Cai Guofu rested for a while before getting ready to leave. Before he went, he took two bottles of medicine from Guan Yue to treat a sore throat. The dry autumn air often made people’s throats uncomfortable, so he wanted to be prepared.

Gu Sui followed him down the mountain as well. The fieldwork had kept him busy lately, and he couldn’t afford to be idle.

Guan Yue, however, had nothing pressing to do. Once everyone left, she took Dog Sheng into the deep mountains to find a rabbit’s burrow and teach him how to hunt.

Dog Sheng sniffed around a dirt mound, found the exit, and barked at Guan Yue.

Guan Yue used her abilities to grow a blade of grass beneath her feet and made it stretch toward the rabbit hole. The rabbit was driven out, and Dog Sheng pounced, catching it in one swift bite.

After catching the rabbit, Dog Sheng excitedly ran to Guan Yue’s side, wanting to nuzzle her.

Guan Yue stepped back in disgust. “Don’t come near me with that blood all over your mouth. Stay away.”

Dog Sheng lowered his tail, his head down, whining softly like he was trying to be cute.

Guan Yue wasn’t swayed. “Go wash yourself by the creek.”

As for the rabbits, Guan Yue planned to take them back to the wooden house and wait for Gu Sui to come in the evening to take them down the mountain.

Recently, Dog Sheng had become more skilled at catching rabbits. They had eaten so many lately that Guan Yue had lost interest in them.

Starting tomorrow, she would increase the difficulty for Dog Sheng and make him catch wild chickens instead.

Dog Sheng rolled around in the creek, barking loudly as he ran toward Guan Yue. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree branches above, casting beams of light down. As Dog Sheng ran, his fur fluttered in the breeze, and the droplets of water flying off his body scattered in the sunlight, looking like falling pearls.

Guan Yue didn’t pay attention to him and went to the treehouse to rest. “You stay down there and lie in the sun, let your fur dry.”

Dog Sheng looked up at the high treehouse, jumped a few times, then gave up and lay down dejectedly.

In the evening, Gu Sui came up the mountain and saw the rabbits. He asked Guan Yue how she wanted to eat them.

“Just cook whatever, as long as it’s not rabbit,” Guan Yue replied.

Gu Sui smiled. “How about some steamed cornmeal buns?”

“Sure!”

“How about stir-frying some salted vegetables and making a pot of vegetable noodle soup?”

“Sounds good.”

“Alright, I’ll go prepare it.”

With nothing to do, Guan Yue went to the kitchen to check on him.

Gu Sui didn’t need her help, so she just stood by the door and watched.

As he cooked, Gu Sui mentioned something about the village. “The village head said the autumn harvest has been too exhausting, but it’s not so busy these days. He plans to slaughter a pig to treat everyone. They’ll be making pig slaughter stew. Would you like to go down and take a look?”

Gu Sui hadn’t given up on the idea of getting Guan Yue to go down the mountain and interact with people.

It had to be said that in this regard, Gu Sui and Cai Guofu shared the same opinion. A young girl like her shouldn’t be isolated from others.

As for the pig slaughter stew, she had heard of it but never seen it, let alone eaten it.

Seeing that Guan Yue wasn’t angry, Gu Sui figured she wasn’t as opposed to the idea since it was about food.

Gu Sui continued to tempt her. “The pigs we raise in our village are so fat. When the time comes, we’ll stir-fry fresh pig liver with pickled chili—sour and fragrant. The pork intestines can be dry-fried. And the pig’s head… you really should try the braised pig’s head meat. Not to mention garlic pork, and pork offal soup…”

Guan Yue’s mouth watered as she listened, and her resistance to interacting with others softened just a little.

She still said, “Let’s talk about it later.”

Gu Sui didn’t give up. “You see, Li Tao will also come up to visit you. Why don’t you want to go down and visit her family?”

Guan Yue still didn’t give in.

Gu Sui, worried that she might get annoyed if he kept pushing, fell silent.

After the delicious village feast, Guan Yue felt extremely satisfied and found herself wondering when they would slaughter the pig.

That night, it rained. Guan Yue cuddled under the blanket and slept deeply. Even in her dreams, she was dreaming of delicious food. When she woke up in the morning, she was still thinking about whether she should go down the mountain.

The autumn rain brought a cool breeze, and after a few rains, the weather cooled down. The mushrooms on the mountain began to dwindle.

After the rain, the ground was wet, and crops like beans couldn’t be harvested. The young women of Qingxi Village, down below, were getting ready to go up the mountain to collect the last batch of mushrooms for the year.

This collective activity turned into quite a lively event, with not only people from Qingxi Village but also those from nearby teams coming to join.

Li Tao’s partner, He Wen, arrived early at the Li family’s house.

With the rain, the teams were resting in the morning, and when He Wen heard that Li Tao was going up the mountain, he hurried over. The road would be slippery after the rain, so he wanted to protect Li Tao as much as he could.

However, this was just his excuse. In truth, he was eager to see his partner.

Not only had Li Tao’s partner arrived, but Yang Guozhu’s youngest daughter, Yang Xiaomei’s partner, Guo Chuanbin, had also come.

Guo Chuanbin and He Wen were both from the Qingsong Brigade. They met at the entrance of the valley and greeted each other.

Today, Qingxi Village was especially lively. Fang Jie had gone around to inquire about things, and upon returning to the Educated Youth point, she called out to Wang Lu, “We’ve been here for a while, but I’ve never been to Daqing Mountain. Why don’t we go and take a look today?”

Wang Lu smiled and nodded. “Alright, let’s go together.”

A little while later, Wu Min came to find Wang Lu to go up the mountain.

Taking advantage of Wu Min’s distraction, Fang Jie quietly said to Wang Lu, “Wu Min likes Li Tao’s partner, right? Do you remember that day we arrived, their families had a fight? Well, today, Li Tao’s partner is also coming.”

Wang Lu shot Fang Jie a glance, and Fang Jie immediately fell silent.

A group of young women chattered excitedly, holding hands and carrying baskets as they walked in the middle. The men who accompanied them walked on the outside, occasionally swinging sticks to drive away snakes, insects, and other pests from the grass.

As they walked, Yang Xiaomei found herself walking alongside Wu Min and Wang Lu.

Wang Lu was very good at talking, and she flattered Yang Xiaomei, the village head’s daughter, as if she were the most distinguished young lady.

Yang Xiaomei’s father was the village head, and her partner, Guo Chuanbin, was one of the top families in the Qingsong Brigade. So, a little vanity stirred inside her. Being praised by Wang Lu made her feel a bit puffed up, as though she were indeed the most capable and beautiful girl in the entire village.

Of course, she knew she couldn’t compare to the Educated Youth who had come from the city. They didn’t lack clothing, and they always dressed better than her—it was only natural. She didn’t expect to compete with them.

When the group arrived at the wooden house, people from other villages were curious and wanted to take a look. Guan Yue’s name had been heard so many times, but no one had seen her in person yet.

Guan Yue was lying in a lounge chair, reading a book. She turned her face to the side, and from Yang Xiaomei’s angle, all she could see were Guan Yue’s long, curved eyelashes, her sharp, delicate nose, her glowing white skin, and her long, soft black hair that hung down, swaying gently with the rocking chair, looking as ethereal as a fairy.

Guo Chuanbin couldn’t help but blurt out, “She’s really beautiful!”

Yang Xiaomei was furious. She felt a surge of anger and wished she could rush forward and tear that enticing vixen apart.