Chapter 68: At Risk of Being Reported

Lin He received the rejection, responded briefly, and said nothing more.

Song Yue hadn’t slept well, fought two rounds, and was exhausted.

She made a simple egg noodle dumpling soup and ate it just to fill her stomach.

To be fair—
When you’re starving, anything tastes good.

After finishing her meal, she had just washed the pots and bowls when Uncle Li, the brigade leader, arrived to take them to inspect three potential house-building locations.

The three locations: one was near the educated youth spot, one was closer to the villagers, and the last was at the edge of the village, in a remote corner with hardly anyone around.

Without hesitation, Song Yue chose the location near the educated youth spot.

Being close to the educated youth meant the older ones wouldn’t pull any tricks.

Living too close to the villagers, however, was unpredictable.

After all, aside from herself—the so-called “man-cursing” woman—there were also four other “hot commodities” among them.

The remote corner? Not even worth considering. If anything happened, no one would be around to hear their cries for help.

Song Yue made her choice.

Lin He spoke up as well, naturally choosing the same option.

Li Xinyue and Zhao Zirui hesitated for a long time before also agreeing on the same location.

With the decision settled, Uncle Li glanced at the four of them and said, “Alright, the site is set. This afternoon, after the workers finish their shift, I’ll bring them over to start the construction.”

“I also asked about the cost and confirmed it for you.”

“The total cost will be fifty-five yuan, including the courtyard.”

Li Xinyue spoke up, “Brigade Leader, I want to add one more room.”

A glint of amusement flashed in Song Yue’s eyes—this Liu educated youth really had some skills, managing to convince Li Xinyue.

Zhao Zirui was stunned and frowned at her. “Why suddenly build an extra room?”

Lin He, meanwhile, looked at Li Xinyue with undisguised disdain.

Uncle Li also furrowed his brows. “Li educated youth, didn’t we already settle on the plan? Why add another room?”

“A single room is more than enough for a girl like you. There’s no need for two.”

Before Li Xinyue could explain, the brigade leader had already started persuading her.

Mainly, it was because Li Xinyue was prettier than their village girl, Song Yue.

That alone wouldn’t have mattered, but she also had money.

Educated youth who came to the countryside were already highly sought after—countless eyes were on them.

And now, this young woman, who was both pretty and financially secure, wanted to build two rooms instead of one, setting herself apart from the others.

Uncle Li was genuinely worried that some villagers might get reckless and do something foolish.

Li Xinyue, unaware of his concerns, snorted. “Brigade Leader, you didn’t even let me explain before panicking.”

“There’s a reason for building two rooms. The extra one is for Comrade Liu Wei.”

The moment he heard the name, Zhao Zirui’s face turned green.

Judging by the past few days, the one footing the bill was most likely Li Xinyue—the classic sucker.

The brigade leader took a moment to recall who Liu Wei was.

“Oh…” He finally remembered. “The female educated youth who came with you?”

He asked, “She’s living with you?”

Li Xinyue nodded. “Yes.”

“Alright,” Uncle Li agreed. “Adding another room will cost twenty more yuan.”

“That means the three of them will pay fifty-five yuan, and you will pay seventy-five.”

He then looked at Song Yue, Lin He, and Zhao Zirui.

“You guys get your money ready. I won’t be handling the payments—just give it directly to Li San, who’s in charge.”

The four of them answered in unison, “Understood.”

Song Yue turned to Uncle Li. “Uncle, how long will the construction take?”

He replied, “Some villagers have ready-made adobe bricks for sale, but I’m not sure if there’s enough.”

“For one house, about two or three days—let’s say three. That makes it nine days for you three, and four days for hers.”

“So roughly two weeks in total.”

“We’ll take it slow and build one house at a time.”

One at a time.

Meaning, once a house was ready, they could move in immediately.

Uncle Li suddenly remembered another issue. “Oh, one more thing—among the two houses for you ladies, one will be next to the men’s houses.”

“So…”

He glanced over at the four of them.

Song Yue: “……”

Her uncle really had poor observational skills. It had been days, and he still hadn’t noticed the couple standing right in front of him?

Li Xinyue suddenly latched onto Zhao Zirui’s arm. “Brigade Leader, we’re dating.”

Uncle Li chuckled dryly, giving them both a once-over before nodding. “Got it.”

Though he did have one more thought: just because they were together now didn’t mean they always would be.

Of course, he wasn’t dumb enough to say that out loud—he wasn’t looking for a scolding.

He turned to Lin He and the others. “Alright, I remember you three only asked for the morning off. You still have work in the afternoon, right?”

They nodded. “Yes.”

Uncle Li waved them off. “Then go rest for a bit before heading back to work.”

Song Yue said, “Got it.”

Lin He, Zhao Zirui, and Li Xinyue added, “Thanks, Brigade Leader. We’ll be going now.”

Uncle Li nodded. “Go ahead.”

Just as Song Yue was about to leave, Uncle Li called out, “Song girl, wait a moment. I need to talk to you.”

She stopped.

The other three glanced at her before walking off.

Once they were far enough, Song Yue turned back. “Uncle, they’re gone. What’s up?”

Uncle Li looked at her with a slightly serious expression.

“The news about the Chen family’s incident has spread throughout the village. Now, people will definitely come to you for medical treatment.”

“If it’s urgent, you can help them.”

“But don’t treat minor illnesses.”

“?” Song Yue frowned. “Why?”

Uncle Li gave her a sharp look. “Why? You silly girl, you don’t have a license!”

Song Yue was unfazed. “Uncle, with our relationship, couldn’t you just issue me a certificate?”

Uncle Li sighed. “If it were that simple, I would have done it already.”

“The problem is, it’s not that easy. Even barefoot doctors in the brigade get certified by hospitals in the city.”

“Once they have the hospital’s approval, they receive a barefoot doctor’s license.”

“In short, there has to be a document proving you can practice medicine.”

Uncle Li felt like he wasn’t explaining well, so he waved his hand and passed the responsibility on.

“That’s what Secretary Zhou at the commune told me.”

“Girl, Secretary Zhou said if you practice medicine without proper documentation, you could be reported.”

Reported?

Song Yue froze. That sounded serious.

Wasn’t illegal medical practice a modern issue?

Did the 60s and 70s even care about this?

She’d never heard of barefoot doctors needing an actual medical license…