Chapter 28.1

The day for his own wedding seemed far away. Watching others busy preparing for their weddings, Gu Sui could not help but feel envious.

In the Qingsong Brigade, there was a patient under Gu Sui’s care who wasn’t feeling well. The Barefoot Doctor in the brigade could not handle it, so they asked Gu Sui to take a look.

After seeing the patient, Gu Sui came out and bumped into He Wen on the road. He Wen cheerfully greeted him and invited him to come over to his house tomorrow.

Gu Sui smiled and congratulated him before quickly heading back to Daqing Mountain.

Guan Yue was sitting by the fire in the yard. When she saw him returning, she said, “Just now, Xiao Ma came to ask me if we are having Laba congee tomorrow for Laba Festival. If we want to have it, we should go to the cafeteria tomorrow morning.”

Gu Sui smiled and asked, “Do you want to eat it?”

Guan Yue nodded eagerly, “I want to eat it. Xiao Ma said we need to put lots of beans in the Laba congee.”

Guan Yue sounded a bit dissatisfied. “You didn’t make it last year.”

Gu Sui thought for a moment. What had he been doing during last year’s Laba Festival? He couldn’t remember.

“We didn’t make it last year, so this year, we’ll make more, so you can have your fill.”

Guan Yue grinned, counting the various kinds of beans in her palm. “We don’t need to make too much. Didn’t you forget? We’re going to have pig-killing feast tomorrow. Li Tao and the others are getting married tomorrow.”

Gu Sui almost said something, but then stopped himself. Guan Yue guessed what he wanted to say, and she quickly ran over, throwing herself into his arms. “We’re not in a hurry, let’s wait a bit longer.”

She really had him completely under her control. Gu Sui smiled and said, “Alright, we’re not in a hurry. Let me take you to meet my parents first, and then you can take me to meet your teacher. After that, we’ll talk about the wedding.”

Guan Yue thought for a moment. She probably wouldn’t see her teacher for a few years, so she immediately agreed, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Gu Sui almost laughed at how she was so easily persuaded. Now she was listening to him? What a little brat!

Gu Sui said, “I had originally planned to take you to the Northeast for the New Year, to meet my parents. But it seems like that’s not going to happen this year. We’ll have to wait until next year.”

Guan Yue was still quite looking forward to going to the Northeast. “Why aren’t we going? Didn’t you say we would go to the Northeast after we finish killing the New Year’s pig?”

Gu Sui took out an envelope from his coat and handed it to Guan Yue. “Captain Zhou gave this to me when I came back. It’s a letter, just arrived today.”

The envelope had already been opened. Guan Yue took the letter out and looked at it. “Ah, they’re planning to return to Beijing?”

Gu Sui nodded. “We also have to thank you. Because of you, they investigated my parents, but there’s no suspicion. They’ve been supporting the construction in the Northeast for so long, and with the help of my parents’ friends, they successfully arranged for them to return to Beijing.”

“Well, it must be because your parents are capable. If not, what could I have done?”

Gu Sui guessed that his parents had left before the incident, so they weren’t affected by the unrest. However, many other doctors had been caught up in it.

Many doctors had been sent to remote areas, scattered all over the country. It was likely that the hospital was now lacking experienced doctors. Otherwise, even with help, Gu Sui’s parents wouldn’t have had such a smooth time returning.

The profession of doctor was different from other professions. If someone had been a teacher or a leader in some government agency, even if you managed to push them down, you could still replace them with someone else. But a doctor? Could you really let someone with only superficial knowledge treat you or perform surgery?

In the letter, besides mentioning that they should not go to the Northeast and that they planned to return to Beijing, Gu Sui’s parents also spoke highly of Guan Yue. They reminded him to treat the girl well and not take advantage of her simplicity.

Guan Yue laughed, “Do your parents think that the only thing I’m good at is treating people?”

“Isn’t it good to be only good at that? The other things, I’ll take care of them.”

Guan Yue threw herself into Gu Sui’s arms playfully, “You’re so good at flattering me.”

Gu Sui laughed, thinking that soon enough, she would realize whether he was flattering her or not.

Gu Sui, the schemer, had been praising Guan Yue to his parents every time he wrote them a letter since he had decided she was the one.

And it wasn’t just him. He had even asked his older brother to write a letter to their parents, boasting about how amazing Guan Yue was and how much she had helped him.

At first, Gu Ci was shocked. He was using all his tricks on his parents? What kind of son was this?

Gu Sui had asked him if he still wanted to get medicine from him in the future.

Gu Ci had honestly nodded.

So, if he wanted it, he had to write an honest letter to their parents and praise Guan Yue properly.

Because of Gu Sui’s little tricks, even though his parents had never met Guan Yue, they were already very familiar with her and had developed a great fondness for her.

The letter also mentioned that the books Gu Sui had wanted about viruses would be looked for after they returned to Beijing and sent to him later.

If they wanted to make Laba congee, they would need to start soaking the beans today—black beans, white kidney beans, mung beans, red beans, lotus seeds, and so on.

Xiao Ma had sent some beans to Guan Yue, but she thought the taste was average, so she decided to plant her own.

It was almost noon, and Gu Sui went to prepare lunch.

Guan Yue squatted alone by the medicinal field, planting beans.

After planting the white kidney beans, she called out, “The beans are ready to harvest!”

Gu Sui was busy and replied, “I’ll come in a moment.”

“Oh.”

Guan Yue shifted over a little and planted two red beans.

The beans that Guan Yue had grown using her powers were not only tastier, but they also looked much better than the ones from the market. Take the red beans, for example: the beans were plump and had a beautiful color.

The un-dried red beans were deep red, giving them a particularly rich texture. After drying, the skin of the red beans tightened, turning dark red, and one could vaguely see a faint shine on the smooth outer skin of the beans.

Guan Yue was playing with the red beans. “These beans look like slightly opaque rubies.”

“No matter how beautiful they look, tomorrow morning, they’ll have to go into your stomach,” Gu Sui said.

Guan Yue burst into laughter. “Then you’d better cook them well, don’t waste how good they look.”

“I’ll try my best.”

They were going to attend a wedding and have a pig-killing feast at noon, so the Laba congee would be best eaten in the morning.

After lunch, Gu Sui started preparing the ingredients needed for the Laba congee.

Once Gu Sui had everything ready, he realized there was no sugar at home. There was neither rock sugar nor brown sugar.

Guan Yue suggested, “Then let’s go down the mountain and ask Xiao Ma. Maybe he has some.”

“No need to ask Xiao Ma. We’re not busy this afternoon; we’ll make our own brown sugar.”

“How do we make it?”

“Your task is to grow a piece of sugarcane, then squeeze out the juice. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Alright, that sounds easy.” For Guan Yue, it was no problem at all.

There was no sugarcane on the mountain, so Guan Yue went down to the foot of the mountain to look. There was sure to be some there.

In the countryside, it was not like the city, where getting sugar coupons was difficult. In the countryside, if people wanted something sweet, they had to figure it out themselves.

So, families that spoiled their children would usually have a patch of sugarcane planted, just to satisfy the children’s cravings.

After the summer floods, when the people of Qingxi Village had moved away, the sugarcane roots had remained in the ground. Guan Yue now went to dig up a stalk of it.

Half an hour later, Guan Yue returned with two large buckets of sugarcane juice, which Gu Sui took to the kitchen to cook the sugar.

“Go do something else. You don’t need to stay here,” Gu Sui said.

“Okay.”

She decided to take a nap!

The next day, before dawn, Gu Sui got up early to start cooking the eight-treasure congee. At that moment, the outside was still dark, but inside the kitchen, where the door was open, the lights were bright.

When Guan Yue came down the mountain early in the morning, the kitchen was already filled with the sweet, rich aroma of the Laba congee.

Gu Sui said, “Don’t just look, it’s not ready yet.”

With nothing else to do, Guan Yue went to the pharmacy to prepare medicinal powders.

The winter in the southwest, before the sun had risen, was always shrouded in a faint mist in the valleys and forests.

When the sun finally broke through the thick clouds and cast its rays, the mist in the forest slowly dissipated, turning into the nourishment for all living things.

By the time the sky was fully bright, Gu Sui was standing in front of the stove, leisurely stirring the Laba congee in the pot, and its fragrance wafted through the air.

Guan Yue, whose stomach was growling with hunger, couldn’t wait any longer and had already come out of the pharmacy.

She didn’t go anywhere else but squatted in front of the stove, glancing at the red-hot coals in the stove, then at the calm and composed Gu Sui.

For the hundred and eighth time, she asked, “Can we eat yet?”

This time, Gu Sui didn’t refuse her. He smiled and said, “You can eat now.”

“Yay!” Guan Yue jumped up on the spot and ran to grab a bowl.

Gu Sui scooped half a bowl for her. “Don’t rush, eat slowly. The Laba congee has just been made, it’s very hot.”

Gu Sui’s warning came too late—Guan Yue had already taken a spoonful. The tip of her tongue got burned, but she didn’t let Gu Sui know. She quickly used her powers to alleviate the pain.

Gu Sui sensed something was wrong. “What’s wrong?”

Guan Yue chuckled, “It’s so good, the sweetness is just right.”

“Humph, you have good taste.”

Ah, the Laba congee was so delicious, Guan Yue didn’t know what to choose. They were also supposed to have a pig-killing feast for lunch. Li Tao had told her not to eat in the morning, to save her appetite for the big meal at noon.

Gu Sui asked if she wanted more. Guan Yue mumbled, “I want to eat, but I don’t want to eat.”

After hearing her indecisive reasoning, Gu Sui bent his finger and lightly tapped her forehead. “Look at you! The fat pig you’ve been raising is about to be slaughtered, and you’ll still get another chance to eat pig-killing feast.”

Gu Sui added, “Old Chen from the rehabilitation center’s cafeteria is supposed to be really good at making pig-killing feast. I bet it’ll taste better than the village’s.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Guan Yue handed her bowl to Gu Sui. “One more bowl, please.”

Gu Sui smiled and said, “Another bowl would be too much, just half a bowl.”

“Such a big pot, if we don’t eat it all, it won’t finish,” came the reply.

Gu Sui responded, “We can’t overeat. I cooked more than enough. I’ll take some down later and give it to Xiao Ma and the others.”

“Right, I saw a documentary before, where people used to give each other Laba porridge.”

Gu Sui went to the kitchen and served her another half bowl. “What documentary?”

“A documentary, you know, one of those films without a storyline, just documenting events. Like, documenting you cooking, or you making sugar.”

The timeless food documentaries would be the best side dishes for everyone a hundred years from now.

“Got it, now hurry up and eat. It’ll taste bad once it gets cold.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Guan Yue ate with enthusiasm, and Gu Sui, noticing the time, quickly took the pot of Laba porridge to Xiao Ma and the others.

Xiao Ma and his team were about to have breakfast when they saw Gu Sui. “Yo, Doctor Gu, what’s that you’re carrying?”

“It’s Laba porridge I made, brought you some.”

“Yo, today we get to taste Doctor Gu’s cooking!”

Gu Sui placed the porridge down. “Eat while it’s hot.”

“Thanks, Doctor Gu! Guys, hurry up and get some bowls!”

Gu Sui smiled. “You guys eat first, I’ll head back now.”

“Alright, we’ll send the pot up the mountain later.”

“Here, Guan Yue has prepared a bag of hemostatic medicine these past few days, you can take it with you.”

“Got it, thanks!”

Xiao Ma escorted Gu Sui to the cafeteria door. After Gu Sui jogged back, the pot of porridge was almost empty, just a little left at the bottom.

“You bunch of animals, you ate so fast, didn’t even leave me any.”

“What are you complaining about?”

“Yeah, didn’t we leave you the bottom of the pot?”

“Ah, this Doctor Gu is great at treating illnesses, and can cook too. I’m impressed. This porridge is way better than Old Chen’s.”

Old Chen, the cafeteria chef, had an ancestral background in pig slaughtering, and later joined the army and became a cook.

Old Chen had also taken a spoonful of the Laba porridge Gu Sui made earlier, and he had to admit it tasted good.

But while he acknowledged it in his heart, he couldn’t give in verbally: “Making a big pot of food is different from making a small pot. If I were to cook in a small pot, I’d be more meticulous, and it would taste just as good.”

No matter who you offend, you can’t offend the chef. Everyone laughed and teased Old Chen, saying, “Doctor Gu must be lacking in one area compared to you—when it comes to making pig slaughter dishes, you’re the best.”

Old Chen became smug. “Of course! Doctor Gu personally invited me to the mountain on the 10th to slaughter pigs and make pig slaughter dishes.”

Xiao Ma scraped the pot clean with his spoon. “Guan Doctor is also an interesting person. She looks like an immortal, but who would’ve thought she likes raising pigs.”

“Experts always have some special hobbies.”

Everyone finished the Laba porridge that Gu Sui had brought, and for the big-bellied soldiers who had come from the army, it definitely wasn’t enough.

Old Chen, holding a large spoon, tapped the edge of the pot. “Laba porridge is ready, line up everyone, one bowl per person, no extra.”

In the years when food was scarce, just having something to eat was good enough, and no one cared about much else. However, when it came to cooking porridge, Old Chen’s skills were no match for Doctor Gu’s. No, they couldn’t even be compared.