Chapter 015

015  

Qingyin didn’t leave the needles in for too long. After about fifteen minutes, she removed them. Since surgical suturing needles were thicker and stiffer than regular acupuncture needles, there was a bit of bleeding—nothing serious, just a dab with a cotton ball to stop it.  

“He should be back to normal by tomorrow. Remember, no antibiotics. I’ll write a prescription for you to fill tomorrow.”  

Qu Jianjun had once again witnessed her miraculous acupuncture effect and had no reason to doubt her. He immediately handed her a notebook and a pen.  

After a brief moment of thought, Qingyin wrote out a heat-clearing and detoxifying, blood-cooling and stasis-resolving prescription, explained the decoction and dosage instructions, and prepared to leave.  

God knew how desperate she was right now!  

But then, someone lightly hooked her hand.  

It was Gu An. He had opened his eyes and was staring at her unblinkingly.  

Normally, Gu An was carefree, his peach-blossom eyes brimming with mischief, as if he were always scheming something. But now, his gaze was unusually clear. Though the whites of his eyes were slightly bloodshot, his pupils were dark—deep enough to reflect her own image.  

Honestly, right now, he actually seemed… normal.  

Qingyin shook her head, thinking how low her standards for this spirited young man had become.  

“Don’t… let… my mom… worry,” he managed between breaths, taking a long time to finish the sentence.  

“Fine. I’ll tell her I saw you today. Once you’re healed, hurry back.” He’d been injured the night they caught the spy, and the so-called call to the security chief while unconscious must have been Qu Jianjun’s doing.  

“Okay.”  

For some reason, Qingyin felt that his “okay” sounded almost childlike—strangely… obedient.  

As she reached the door, she noticed the young military doctor had been following her. She raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”  

“Uh, yes. I’m sorry for misunderstanding you.” He’d mistaken her for some reckless, inexperienced girl.  

Qingyin wasn’t actually angry. It was clear he cared about Gu An, which was why he’d been upset with her. He and Gu An must be close.  

“I wanted to ask—why is there such a big difference in heart rate with just a two-hour gap? He was in a resting state the whole time.”  

“Midnight is when Yin and Yang intersect, and their clash is most intense.”  

She knew who believed in Traditional Chinese Medicine and who didn’t—he was the latter. Explaining Midnight-Noon Ebb-Flow or the relationship between Yin and Yang would only earn his scorn. So she left him with a dismissive “Take it or leave it” and strode off.  

Military Doctor: “…” What kind of nonsense was this about Yin and Yang? Why not throw in the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams while you’re at it?!  

The driver took Qingyin to the entrance of the alley. Seeing no one around, she quickly slipped in and made a beeline for the toilet.  

After holding it in for so long, her bladder was about to burst!  

Luckily, the courtyard gate wasn’t locked—it opened with a light push. Earlier, she’d heard someone smoking in the men’s restroom, probably another late-night bathroom-goer.  

No one knew she’d been gone for an hour that night. Even the Liu family in the opposite rooms only saw her come in, not when she’d left.  

Early the next morning, Qingyin hurried to Auntie Gu’s place and told her she’d run into Gu An at the factory yesterday. The guy had been in high spirits, too busy feasting on hotpot with friends, and even told them to check Gangzi’s place if they were looking for him—his buddies had teased him about it.  

That did sound like something he’d say.  

Auntie Gu muttered a few “Amitabhas,” and the weight in her heart finally lifted.

Over the next few days, Qingyin continued her usual routine of going to and from work, but the rumors about spies remained hot topics. Every day, they would hear various pieces of gossip from Sister Li—how more underlings had been caught after the nest was busted, how besides the homemade explosives, there were also handguns hidden in the residential area of the fertilizer factory. Everyone listened with a mix of curiosity and lingering fear.

After all, who would have thought that a colleague who was chatting and laughing with you just yesterday could turn out to be a spy harboring a large stash of violent weapons the next day? Just thinking about it was thrilling!

“By the way, Xiao Yang, wasn’t your last blind date from the fertilizer factory? Didn’t he tell you anything?” Sister Zhang winked at Nurse Yang.

Nurse Yang rolled her eyes uncomfortably. “It didn’t work out. Don’t call him my ‘date.'”

“Why didn’t it work out? Oh, Xiao Yang, it’s not that Sister Zhang and Sister Li are nagging, but you’re not getting any younger. You should settle soon—you can’t keep being this picky. A woman’s youth doesn’t last forever…” Blah blah blah.

Qingyin listened with great interest.

Nurse Yang’s blind dates were nothing unusual at the steel factory. She had practically gone through all the eligible bachelors from nearby large factories and still hadn’t found a single one she liked.

Of course, most of the time, it was because she looked down on them. After all, being a nurse in the clinic was a respectable job, and she wasn’t bad-looking either. Her standards for a man’s family background and career were quite high.

As they were chatting, a dark figure suddenly appeared at the door. “What’s with all this chattering? This is a workplace, not a marketplace!”

Lin Li glared fiercely at everyone, especially Qingyin.

Qingyin: “???” So I’m the only one gossiping here?

“Times are unstable lately. Stop wagging your tongues outside. Don’t think just because you’re young—”

“Director Lin, are you referring to me?” Qingyin’s innocent face was filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Lin Li choked.

But Qingyin didn’t give her a chance to recover. To be honest, she had been putting up with Lin Li for a long time. If she had been criticized for failing at her job, she would have accepted it willingly. But here she was, working diligently, only to be accused just because she had overheard some gossip—without even spreading it herself. Qingyin was no pushover.

“Since childhood, I’ve studied medicine under my father and have years of clinical experience. I’ve always kept in mind the teaching, ‘One must be rigorous in matters and discerning in distinctions.’ Chairman Mao also said, ‘Party members should be models of seeking truth from facts and of foresight and sagacity.’ I don’t know where Director Lin drew her conclusions from, but as a qualified leader, I hope you can base your words and actions on facts.”

Lin Li, who was usually the one using lofty principles to pressure others, never expected this seemingly harmless girl to outdo her in rhetoric—and with every word hitting the mark. She couldn’t even refute her, lest she end up being labeled an “unqualified Party member” herself… Was this really the spoiled little girl her cousin Lin Suifen had described?

Qingyin didn’t drag anyone else into it. After dropping that line, she returned to her seat and picked up a book to read.

Lin Li stood there for a while, unable to come up with a rebuttal, and could only leave with a darkened face.

“Qingyin, you’re amazing! You actually stood up to her!”

“You’re the best in our clinic.” Sister Li gave a thumbs-up.

Qingyin merely smiled faintly without speaking. Although the three nurses were distant relatives of Lin Li’s, they all disliked her because she constantly put on the airs of a strict school administrator. They often gossiped about her behind her back. But while they could indulge in such talk, she couldn’t—she was fundamentally different from them.  

Despite being a small clinic with only five staff members, the interpersonal dynamics were surprisingly complex.  

However, compared to the clinical departments she’d worked in during her previous life, this was child’s play. After all, there were no high-stakes financial interests involving tens of thousands, no complicated doctor-patient relationships. Compared to the precarious nature of clinical work, a war of words here felt oddly relaxing.  

***  

Lin Li’s frustration wasn’t over yet. She was already thinking about how to confront her cousin the next time they met—why was Qingyin nothing like what she’d been told? But just as she reached the office door, she spotted a group of people approaching, led by the factory’s office director, who was practically bowing at a ninety-degree angle, grinning like a blooming chrysanthemum. Yet the strangers behind him ignored him completely, speaking only to Deputy Factory Director Liu.  

Probably some visiting officials on an inspection.  

Lin Li wasn’t the type to ingratiate herself and had no interest in getting involved. She was about to slip inside when the office director suddenly spotted her. “Ah, perfect timing, Director Lin!”  

“Did you hear the magpies singing this morning? Something wonderful is happening in your department!”  

Lin Li’s face darkened. Wonderful? She’d just been thoroughly annoyed by Qingyin.  

“Where’s your department’s Dr. Xiao Qing? Hurry and call her out!”  

Lin Li nearly cursed aloud. She was supposed to summon Qingyin? Was she hearing things?  

But before she could react, the office director had already rushed to the nurses’ station and brought out “Dr. Xiao Qing.”  

Qingyin was even more bewildered than Lin Li, and Li, Zhang, and Yang were utterly confused. They’d assumed Lin Li had gone to fetch reinforcements after losing the argument!  

“Xiao Qing, don’t act rashly. Just answer whatever the factory office asks.”  

“Yeah, we can back you up. Don’t worry.”  

“This must be Dr. Xiao Qing! Truly, heroes emerge from the young, and a tiger father doesn’t beget a dog of a daughter!”  

Qingyin: “???”  

“You’ve only just started working, yet you’ve already secured the first Brocade Banner in our clinic’s history! What an honor for us!”  

Only then did Qingyin notice the group of strangers—though not entirely unfamiliar, as she recognized Li Xiuneng among them.  

At that moment, Li Xiuneng was being supported by a well-maintained, elegant middle-aged woman. In his hands, he held a red Brocade Banner.  

Standing beside Deputy Factory Director Liu were several middle-aged officials with slicked-back hair. One of them, bearing a striking resemblance to Li Xiuneng, stepped forward and clasped Qingyin’s hand, shaking it vigorously. “Thank you, Dr. Qing. On behalf of my entire family, I thank you.”  

Lin Li: “???” Did I hear that right?  

Li, Zhang, and Yang: “???” Xiao Qingyin actually knows how to treat patients?  

The others quickly explained the situation.  

“Thanks to your timely warning, Xiuneng was able to detect it early and undergo surgery in time. The doctors said if it had been delayed any longer, the tumor would have ruptured, putting his life at risk.”  

“Thank you, Dr. Qing.” Li’s mother also stepped forward to shake her hand. Though inwardly shocked by Qingyin’s youth, when Li Xiuneng mentioned she was the daughter of the once-renowned Old Doctor Qing, it suddenly made sense.

After all, Traditional Chinese Medicine is a practical skill that highly values lineage—the earlier one apprentices under a master and gains clinical experience, the sooner they can become accomplished.

Unlike in later years when patients’ families would simply send a Brocade Banner and be done with it, the Li family not only turned out in full force but even invited the district’s Organization Department leadership. Amidst the crowd’s witness, they set off firecrackers, had the leaders give speeches, and only then hung up the Brocade Banner under everyone’s gaze.  

The sheer grandeur of it all left Qingyin astonished.  

No wonder she’d always found her grandfather’s claim—that receiving a Brocade Banner was the highest affirmation for a healer—hard to believe. In later times, anyone could print one at a copy shop for a small fee, and some quacks even faked them, sending banners to themselves to create the illusion of exceptional medical skill.  

But in this era, a Brocade Banner carried real weight—  

Originally, Qingyin had started at the factory with the second-lowest Grade 17 salary. Thanks to this banner, the personnel department directly promoted her by one grade, raising her pay to 37 yuan—the standard trainee wage for technical secondary school graduates—surpassing even Qing Huihui, who had worked there for six years. The factory also promised to shorten her probation period: after just six months, she’d receive another raise, bringing her salary to the full 42.5 yuan for a certified technical secondary school graduate!