Chapter 15

Song Chunzhi’s delicate brows slightly furrowed as she stared at the man in confusion. She asked, “Why are you looking for Doctor Ye?” The man had gentle and refined features. He wore a white shirt and dark blue work trousers, exuding an air of elegance that didn’t seem to belong in their village.

“I’m a sent-down youth from the brigade. I had heatstroke this morning and wanted to see Doctor Ye for a follow-up,” the man said with a faint smile on his gentle face, showing no trace of impatience at Song Chunzhi’s question.

“Oh, so you’re the one who fainted in the wheat field…”

Song Chunzhi suddenly realized who he was and unintentionally voiced her thoughts. Embarrassed, she quickly covered her mouth. Then her bright face lit up with a smile as she said, “He’s just up ahead. I’ll take you there.”

“Thank you so much.” The man in the white shirt had clearly heard what Song Chunzhi said earlier. His handsome face revealed a slight hint of awkwardness, but when he saw that she was willing to lead the way, he introduced himself, “My name is Shen Shujian, from Yucheng. Nice to meet you.”

“Song Chunzhi.”

Song Chunzhi was a bit surprised when the man introduced himself. It was just leading the way, and yet he gave his name. Still, she told him her name too. Since he was one of the village’s sent-down youths, they might run into each other again.

“Is it the ‘Chunzhi’ from the line ‘The moon passes over spring branches like a wisp of mist’?”

As she walked ahead, Song Chunzhi suddenly heard Shen Shujian speak in a poetic tone behind her. She turned around with round apricot eyes full of confusion. She didn’t understand a word he said.

“I mean, is your name from that poem?” Shen Shujian saw the puzzled look on her fair face, gently pursed his lips, and explained with a soft smile.

“No, it means the tree branches in spring.” Song Chunzhi shook her head and denied it. Song Xingguo wouldn’t have known any poetry; he barely recognized a few characters. He had seen the branches sprouting while walking outside and just casually named her.

Shen Shujian’s warm expression slightly cracked at her explanation. He really didn’t know what to say. Awkwardly, he scratched his hair and stayed silent as he walked beside her.

“Uncle Ye…”

Song Chunzhi stood at the gate and called into the courtyard, then led Shen Shujian inside. In the yard, Ye Xinyue was playing with corn kernels. She looked up and smiled shyly at Song Chunzhi, but when she saw Shen Shujian behind her, she quickly stood up and hid behind the peach tree, peeking out cautiously.

Shen Shujian paused for a moment, glanced at Ye Xinyue, then turned to ask Song Chunzhi, “Do I look scary? Why did she hide as soon as she saw me?”

“Yueyue is just shy around strangers.” Song Chunzhi quickly defended Ye Xinyue. Previously, her grandmother had disliked her for being a girl and even tried to send her away to a childless couple in the city. Luckily, Wang Guihua returned in time to stop it. Since then, Ye Xinyue had become wary of unfamiliar people and rarely spoke.

“You look perfectly fine, not scary at all.”

Song Chunzhi even offered a kind reassurance to Shen Shujian. He had such a gentle and refined appearance, how could anyone find him scary?

“Chunzhi, you’re here,” the village doctor Ye came out from the main room, smiling as he greeted Song Chunzhi. He was quite puzzled to see Shen Shujian standing beside her. Why had this sent-down youth come with her?

“Doctor Ye, thank you for helping me this morning.”

When Shen Shujian saw the village doctor, he quickly smiled and expressed his gratitude. Then he added, “I’ve been feeling uncomfortable since I woke up and wanted to ask if you could take another look and maybe give me some medicine.” This area was remote and far from any hospital, so getting sick was a serious inconvenience. Shen Shujian was quite concerned about his health.

“Alright, sit down and I’ll check you.” The village doctor told Song Chunzhi to take a rest first, then examined Shen Shujian. After asking a few questions, he said, “It’s nothing serious. Your body just hasn’t fully recovered from the heatstroke this afternoon. I’ll give you two doses of medicine. Drink them and get a good sleep. You’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

Only then did Shen Shujian feel relieved. This was his first time experiencing heatstroke. He had always heard about how tough rural life was, but he hadn’t expected to have to work under the blazing sun in the fields. He couldn’t even last a whole morning and collapsed right there. It was truly embarrassing.

After Shen Shujian left, the village doctor finally had time to talk to Song Chunzhi. He saw her chatting with Ye Xinyue and called her over. “Chunzhi, the weather’s so hot. Be careful when you go up the mountain. Don’t let yourself get heatstroke. Not many people are going up there these days.”

“Uncle Ye, I’m not that delicate.” Song Chunzhi knew he was using Shen Shujian’s incident to remind her. Smiling, she asked, “Can I just rinse the herbs and dry them directly in the sun? It’s hard for me to process them properly.”

“That’s fine. Even simple processing and sun-drying fetch a better price than fresh ones.” The village doctor nodded. Looking at her thin figure, he spoke with concern, “I’ll explain which herbs need to be washed and how to dry them. Make sure you remember it well.”

Originally, he had planned to write a note for Song Chunzhi, but now that part of his medical training had been funded by the brigade, it was considered brigade property. He couldn’t risk leaving behind any potential evidence. Although Song Chunzhi was someone he trusted, there were always petty and sinister people lurking around.

Song Chunzhi returned home feeling she had gained a lot. She took out the herbs she had picked in the morning and began sorting them. She didn’t touch the purple lingzhi. Such a valuable item could easily be ruined and lose its worth. She processed the rest and laid them out on a clean burlap sack to dry.

Knock, knock, knock…

Just as she finished, a knock came from the door. Song Chunzhi glanced nervously at the herbs on the ground, quickly walked to the entrance, and asked cautiously, “Who is it?”

Through the crack in the door, she recognized the person outside; it was Song Xiaofei, the child from next door to the village chief’s house. Hearing her voice, Song Xiaofei quickly replied, “Sister Chunzhi, Uncle Xinhua told me to come call you to the brigade courtyard.”

“Xiaofei, do you know why Uncle Xinhua wants to see me?”

Song Chunzhi hurriedly moved the burlap sack with the drying herbs back into her room and pulled the curtains closed to block the view from outside. Then she handed Song Xiaofei a wild apple and asked.

“Uncle Xinhua just told me to get you. He didn’t say anything else.” Song Xiaofei accepted the apple with a beaming smile and thanked her. It wasn’t easy to find wild fruit in the mountains, especially one this red. He was still young and rarely managed to pick such good ones. He shook his head.

Although Song Chunzhi was curious, since they called her over, it must be something important. She locked the door and headed to the brigade courtyard.

As she neared the courtyard entrance, she heard the hearty laughter of Song Qingde from inside. Her apricot-shaped eyes widened. What could have happened to make the village chief laugh so happily? He had still looked grim that morning over the Zhao Wanmiao incident.

“Chunzhi, come in quickly…” Song Xinhua stood at the door of the brigade office, peering out. When he saw her, he called out with a bright smile, a stark contrast from his usual reserved demeanor.

“Uncle Xinhua.”

Song Chunzhi greeted him politely. As she approached the office door, she suddenly saw the tall, handsome figure inside and froze in place. Was she seeing things? Why was this person here in their brigade office?

“Chunzhi, let me introduce you. These are comrades from the garrison,” Song Qingde said excitedly once she entered, clearly thrilled. “They’re all here because of you.”

“Comrade Song Chunzhi, hello.” Gu Huaishan looked at the stunned girl and calmly reached out to shake her hand.

“Hello, Commander Gu.”

Confused, Song Chunzhi looked at the large, well-defined hand in front of her. The skin was a light wheat color, the fingers long and distinct. His sleeves were half rolled up. She hesitantly reached out to shake his hand briefly, then quickly withdrew it.

“Hello, Miss Song,” a smiling face popped out from behind Gu Huaishan and greeted her cheerfully.

Song Chunzhi recognized him at once. It was Ma Xiangfeng, someone she had met a few times before. She nodded with a polite smile. She didn’t recognize the square-faced man standing nearby, but she also nodded politely in greeting.

“Chunzhi, these comrades from the garrison came here especially to thank you,” Song Qingde explained. He had noticed that she seemed to know the commander quite well, but didn’t press further. Matters involving the garrison were best left alone.

“Yes, we’re here to express our gratitude to Comrade Song,” said the square-faced man as he pulled a stamped certificate and a brown envelope from a file folder in his arms and handed them to Gu Huaishan.

“Comrade Song, thank you for helping one of our comrades in the mountains. This is a commendation for bravery and a reward from our garrison,” Gu Huaishan said as he accepted the items and handed them to her. His cold, serious eyes stared straight at her. “Please accept them.”

“No, no…”

Song Chunzhi quickly stepped back two steps, her heart racing with panic. In the village, she was known as someone with a broken arm. If people found out she could still climb cliffs, her cover would be blown. Besides, she only helped out of kindness. There was no need for gratitude.

“I just lent a small hand. I don’t deserve this. You should take it back. How is that comrade doing?”

“He’s regained consciousness and is recovering,” Gu Huaishan replied seriously. Then he placed the certificate and envelope directly into her hands and said firmly, “This is our garrison’s expression of gratitude. Comrade Song, you must accept it.”

Song Qingde had originally thought the garrison only came to say thanks. He hadn’t expected them to bring a certificate. A certificate from the garrison was rare and valuable. His smile grew wider, and he grew increasingly curious. What exactly had this girl done to warrant the commander’s personal visit? His admiration was impossible to hide.

Such a fine girl… why wasn’t she from his family?

Unable to decline any further, Song Chunzhi accepted the certificate and the money. She had only done what she could, never expecting an official commendation from the garrison. It was a complete surprise.

“You’ve worked hard to come all this way,” Song Qingde said cheerfully as he saw the garrison group out. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. After sending them off, he turned back to speak with Song Chunzhi but found she had already slipped away. “Who was the man walking with you this afternoon? Is he your partner?” Outside the brigade gate, Gu Huaishan had asked Ma Xiangfeng and the clerk to go ahead. When he saw Song Chunzhi following them out, his cool black eyes flickered, and he asked casually