Chapter 15

The next morning, the entire village became lively. The young people all rushed to the pigsty, as today they were going to select the fattest pig.

“Wow, the pig feed gatherers in our village are really strong; look how fat these pigs are.”

“Exactly, once the year-end tasks are done, there should still be a few big fat pigs left.”

“That’s right. Otherwise, would the village chief let us kill one today for a feast?”

“Haha, everyone hurry up, grab the pig’s tail, and lift it out.”

The fat pig was dragged out and, with a loud thud, was pressed onto a wooden board. It let out a grunt, and with one swift cut, the pig met its end.

An hour later, the freshly butchered pork belly was tied up with a grass rope. Yang Guozhu, limping, took Yang Xiaomei to the Li family.

At the village chief’s request, Li Tao had no choice but to reluctantly bring Yang Xiaomei to the mountain to apologize.

As for Wu Min, she had avoided them, and Yang Guozhu couldn’t find her at all.

When they reached the mountain, Li Tao knocked on the door. No one answered. They waited for a while, confirming that the person wasn’t there before they both took the meat back down the mountain.

“What’s going on? Didn’t find anyone?”

Li Tao replied, “Guan Yue isn’t home. She might have gone into the mountains to gather herbs.”

“What about Gu Sui? Call Gu Sui over.”

Lin Haiyin walked over and said, “No need to look for him. Gu Sui went to the town for something.”

“Hey, Dr. Gu, doesn’t he know we’re slaughtering pigs for meat today? Why would he go to town?”

Yang Guozhu shouted, “Leave the meat here. If it’s time to eat, let’s eat; if it’s time to divide, let’s divide. Don’t waste time.”

“Alright!”

It was a sunny day, and the moisture in the fields had dried up. The unharvested grain had to be quickly gathered, as there was still work to be done in the afternoon. They couldn’t afford to waste time.

Gu Sui didn’t go to the town but to the county instead. He made several calls to Beijing, then went to the post office to send a package to his parents before turning to find the person who had sold him the piglets in the past.

That person had many connections, and Gu Sui managed to buy a lot of things from him. When Gu Sui asked if he had any beef, the man said he did.

“Perfect timing. There’s stock in the next county. If you want it, you’ll have to wait until it gets delivered in the afternoon,” the man explained.

Gu Sui nodded. “That’s fine.”

Gu Sui stayed in the county until the afternoon. After receiving the beef, he made his way back to Qingxi Village, but by the time he arrived, it was already dark.

As usual, he planned to first deliver the items to the mountain, but was stopped by Yang Guozhu, who had been waiting at the intersection.

Without saying a word, Yang Guozhu shoved the meat into his hands and told him to take it up.

Gu Sui hesitated. “Guan Yue might not be—”

Yang Guozhu waved him off. “Just take it up. Consider it our apology. If you can, also ask her for us—will she really never see patients again? Will she give back the medicine?”

“I can ask,” Gu Sui replied.

Yang Guozhu watched him head up the mountain and sighed.

When Gu Sui arrived at the mountain, he found Guan Yue sitting there, holding her growling stomach. Upon seeing Gu Sui, she jumped up happily.

“I thought you weren’t coming today.”

Gu Sui raised the items in his hands. “I was delayed getting the beef for you.”

“Really, there’s beef?” Guan Yue asked.

“Yes, just now at the foot of the mountain, Uncle Yang even gave me a piece of pork,” Gu Sui replied.

Guan Yue wasn’t very interested in the pork at the moment. She pointed to the back of the house. “I caught a wild goat. Do you plan to roast it, fry it, or stew it?”

Gu Sui put down his things and went to the back of the house to look. Sure enough, there was a goat tied to a tree.

He rubbed his forehead, thinking to himself that this girl always acted so quickly when it came to food.

“It’s too late today, so we won’t have the goat. I’ll make you a bowl of beef porridge instead.”

“What’s ‘sheng gun’?” Guan Yue asked.

“Sheng gun…” Gu Sui explained that this was a method from the south.

Guan Yue’s eyes lit up. “Then we’ll have that tonight and eat the goat tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

The two of them chatted excitedly about how to prepare the beef, and the piece of pork was left on the table, forgotten.

When the dog, Gousheng, saw that the two had left, it used its hind legs to leap up and landed steadily on the table. It began eating the pork piece by piece.

Gu Sui, thinking about the pork, was about to take it back into the house when he saw that Gousheng had already eaten most of it.

Guan Yue stamped her foot. “My crispy pork!”

“It’s fine,” Gu Sui said. “I bought pork today too.”

On the cool autumn night, a steaming bowl of beef porridge and a plate of fragrant, crispy, spicy little pork pieces were enough to satisfy Guan Yue.

As Gu Sui was leaving, Guan Yue didn’t say a word. She came out of the house carrying a small basket. “Your payment. You can choose.”

By the warm light of the fire, Gu Sui saw that the wooden bottles were labeled with things like fever, cough, diarrhea, and so on.

Gu Sui selected a few commonly used bottles and told her to go to bed early.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll be helping with work, so I won’t be coming up. You can heat up some porridge for yourself and make do. I’ll make you something tasty for lunch.”

Guan Yue nodded.

After Gu Sui left, Guan Yue chose a patch of wild grass that had grown especially thick and pulled it out by the roots to feed the goat under the tree.

Knowing that Yang Guozhu was concerned, Gu Sui went to the Yang family’s house after descending the mountain.

Guan Yue’s message was clear—she was open to exchanging medicine, but when it came to treating illnesses, she no longer wanted anything to do with the people of Qingxi Village. She did not welcome them at all.

Yang Guozhu nodded as he held the medicine bottle. This was the best outcome they could hope for.

Yang Xiaomei wasn’t asleep yet. She hid by the window, listening carefully to her father and Gu Sui’s conversation. At that moment, she didn’t realize her own fault. She only thought Guan Yue was being overly sensitive.

But she didn’t understand that some people had the privilege of ignoring others.

When someone does wrong, it’s not enough to apologize. Others don’t have to accept the apology, especially if it’s insincere.

From that day on, the relationship between Qingxi Village and Guan Yue on Daqing Mountain returned to how it had been six months ago. Everyone kept to themselves and no one interacted.

Li Tao barely came up the mountain anymore, and only Gu Sui maintained his usual visits.

Yang Xiaomei was not willing to give up. When she went to other teams, she would badmouth Guan Yue. Especially after hearing that Sister Guo Chuanbin didn’t like her, she held a grudge against Guan Yue for it.

One time, while Yang Xiaomei was gossiping with her friends, Yang Guozhu overheard. His face turned as dark as Judge Bao’s, and without caring about his daughter’s dignity, he picked up a corn stalk from the ground and began to beat her.

Such a big girl, being hit in front of others—Yang Xiaomei broke down in tears, not knowing whether the pain was from her body or her humiliation.

A few days after the New Year’s holiday, Wang Lu had a big argument with Gu Sui.

For Wang Lu, who had always been in a weaker position in front of Gu Sui, this was already a big deal—it was like tearing off the mask of civility.

With tears in her eyes, Wang Lu said, “The report on my dad came from you, didn’t it? You were the one who had the Xu and Tang families cause trouble for my dad, right?”

Gu Sui replied, “You’d better have your dad send you back soon. Otherwise, once he’s no longer in that position, you won’t be able to return even if you want to.”

“Gu Sui! What have I ever done to deserve this from you?” Wang Lu cried out.

“You know in your heart what you’ve done,” Gu Sui said, his voice cold as the winter creek.

Suddenly, Wang Lu understood. “It’s because of Guan Yue, isn’t it? You’re doing this because she caused trouble for me!”

Gu Sui sighed, “Just go back. This place isn’t right for you.”

“Is this place really right for you?” Wang Lu retorted, her voice rising. “You’re such an excellent surgeon, but after coming here, what do you do all day? Farm, cook for people, treat those filthy people with a finger-thick layer of dirt on them!”

“Watch your words, Wang Lu!” Gu Sui’s tone sharpened.

“Did I say anything wrong?” Wang Lu shouted, her voice cracking.

She wiped her wet face with the back of her hand. “Is it because Guan Yue doesn’t like me that you’re trying to drive me away?”

Gu Sui spoke plainly, “You remember how Yang Xiaomei and Wu Min insulted Guan Yue, right? You didn’t say a word, but from what I know of you, and… who exactly was the one stirring things up, we should both know better.”

Wang Lu gave a bitter smile. “Guan Yue is so great, and you’ve decided I’m the one who harmed her behind her back.”

Gu Sui didn’t respond verbally, but his silence spoke volumes.

The argument between Wang Lu and Gu Sui was so intense that Fang Jie, who was inside the house, didn’t dare to come out.

Gu Sui, not wanting to stay inside any longer, turned and walked out, heading to the Li family’s house.

The Li family house was spacious, and Gu Sui had a good relationship with Li Da, so he planned to stay there for the night.

When Gu Sui arrived at the Li house, Li Da wasn’t there.

Zhang Cuihua said, “I stewed a chicken tonight and had Li Da take some chicken soup to his grandmother. He should be on his way back now. Don’t stand outside, come in and sit down.”

“It’s fine, it’s still early, and I can’t sleep. I’ll sit outside for a while,” Gu Sui replied.

“Well, I won’t stop you then.”

Zhang Cuihua and her daughter Li Tao were inside, doing some sewing. The cotton clothes from last year had become too small and couldn’t be worn anymore, so they were going to take them apart and remake them for this year.

The dim yellow light from the kerosene lamp gave off a black smoke, and the window had been darkened by the soot.

Half of the wick in the kerosene lamp had burned, and Li Da still hadn’t returned, which made Zhang Cuihua anxious.

“Where is that brat? What’s he doing?” Zhang Cuihua asked, her impatience clear.

Gu Sui pulled out his flashlight. “I’ll go with you. I have a flashlight.”

Just as Gu Sui finished speaking, Li Da returned, and behind him was a tear-streaked, disheveled Lin Haiyin.

Li Tao gasped. “Brother, what happened?”

Zhang Cuihua pinched Li Tao’s arm. “Quiet! Don’t you want anyone to hear us?”

Having seen a lot in her life, Zhang Cuihua could guess what had happened. The girl must have been bullied.

Zhang Cuihua pulled Lin Haiyin into the house, and Li Tao hurried to help. After a moment, she went to the kitchen to bring in a basin of hot water.

Li Da’s father asked what had happened.

Li Da scratched his head. “I’m not sure. When I was coming back, I saw Lin Haiyin and a man fighting outside the valley. I went over to help, kicked the guy in the leg, and he ran off. Lin Haiyin didn’t want to go back to the Educated Youth point, so I brought her here.”

The door to the back room opened, and Zhang Cuihua called them in. “Lin Haiyin has something to say.”

Lin Haiyin hadn’t been hurt badly. She had fought back fiercely, and the man hadn’t succeeded.

Looking at Gu Sui, Lin Haiyin said, “I’m sure it was someone from the Educated Youth point who did this.”

“How do you know?”

Lin Haiyin sneered. “The man who tried to assault me wasn’t from Qingxi Village. I’ve never seen him before. Since I came here, I’ve hardly left Qingxi Village, so it’s impossible I’d have offended anyone from outside. Also, I went to the town today, and only people from the Educated Youth point knew about it.”

Gu Sui asked, “How can you be sure it wasn’t some little thug from the town following you?”

“It’s a long mountain road. If they were following me, how could they wait until we reached the village before doing anything? Is there anyone that stupid?”

Gu Sui then asked, “I saw blood on your nails just now. Did you scratch him?”

Lin Haiyin nodded. “I kicked him between the legs. When he bent over, I grabbed his face and neck. I’m sure I left marks.”

Zhang Cuihua gently pulled Lin Haiyin’s arm. “Don’t be afraid. Qingxi Village isn’t some den of bandits. Once we find out who these scum are, they won’t get away with it.”

Li Da was anxious. “What about that man slandering Lin Haiyin’s reputation?”

Lin Haiyin paused, looking at the sincere Li Da, and couldn’t help but laugh. This foolish man was concerned about her reputation.

But all she cared about was finding the real culprit.

As she lowered her head, her gaze turned cold and fierce, like a wolf waiting for the perfect moment to pounce and bite.