Chapter 4

In the evening, when Gu Sui descended the mountain, he brought back a bottle of medicine for fever, making Yang Guozhu very happy.

Gu Sui said, “Village Chief, I plan to go to the township health center the day after tomorrow to ask if they have any Western medicine for us, as well as syringes and such. Right now, we have nothing, and it’s inconvenient to see a doctor.”

Yang Guozhu, holding the medicine bottle, was overjoyed and immediately agreed, “Go ahead. Just arrange your work as needed. By the way, has Guan Yue said when Doctor Xu will return?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Is Guan Yue leaving too?”

“I haven’t heard anything. He shouldn’t be leaving in the short term.”

“That’s good.”

As long as the ancestor on Daqing Mountain was around, small injuries and pains didn’t matter. Now that Gu Sui, the doctor from Beijing, was there, they were even more assured.

Since the move from □□, life had been a bit better in recent years. The food grown from the land was barely enough to fill their stomachs. At this time, the people in the village felt that, aside from the convenience of collecting firewood, the valley was inconvenient in every other way, and many had thoughts of moving out.

For instance, the valley was often damp, with many snakes, insects, rodents, and ants. Wild animals sometimes entered their homes, and before going to sleep, they had to check under the bed to see if there were any snakes. Since Doctor Xu arrived and brought medicine, they had finally settled down to live peacefully.

Did Yang Guozhu not want to move out? Of course, he did.

But moving out was not as simple as saying it. Did they not need to build houses outside? Which family had the money to build a house? Also, there was only so much land in the Qingsong Brigade. If they moved, wouldn’t the grain distribution be reduced? Would people accept them? Would they be excluded by the people from Qingxi Village?

As long as they had medicine, they were fine. They had good medicine in hand, and with no fear of poisonous snakes, they could continue living in Qingxi Village.

Moreover, because they had a good relationship with Doctor Xu and could get good medicine, the people from the Qingsong Brigade had to seek their help. When something good happened, they wouldn’t forget them, and everyone lived better.

However, even though they had traditional Chinese medicine on hand, it would be better if Gu Sui could bring back some Western medicine from the health center—just to be safer.

Yang Guozhu patted Gu Sui’s shoulder and said earnestly, “Xiao Gu, you have to do a good job. Old Yang is counting on you!”

Gu Sui nodded. “Thank you, Village Chief.”

“Hey, we’re so familiar with each other now. No need to call me Village Chief. You can call me Uncle Yang, like the other young men in the village.”

“Alright! Uncle Yang!”

Gu Sui returned to the Educated Youth Station, where Wang Lu and the others had also returned from their work. Lin Haiyin was cooking.

Gu Sui had already eaten on the mountain, and while it was still light, he moved a chair and sat in the yard to study the Barefoot Doctor manual.

With Guan Yue having introduced him to the basics, he now had a different understanding of the traditional Chinese medicine knowledge in the Barefoot Doctor manual.

As the sky gradually darkened, someone arrived at the Educated Youth Station—it was Li Tao from the Li family.

She had come to find Gu Sui.

It was her first time dealing with someone from the city, and Li Tao was a bit shy. “I… I heard that you go up the mountain to collect herbs every day. Could you help me bring something to Guan Yue? I want to thank her.”

“What do you want to bring?”

“I want to bring her some meat buns. We had some leftover cured meat from last year’s New Year. My mother said to thank her for saving my brother’s life.”

Gu Sui curled the corner of his mouth. Meat buns? That girl would definitely love them.

“Alright, come find me tomorrow morning, and I’ll bring them for you.”

“Thank you!” Li Tao smiled happily.

After Li Tao left, Wang Lu, who had just finished eating, came out and said with a hint, “You seem to have a good relationship with that herbalist?”

Gu Sui grunted in response, put away his book, and turned to go inside.

Wang Lu stayed in the yard, left alone, deep in thought.

Fang Jie walked over, glanced behind her to make sure no one was around, then whispered, “Is that seductive woman on the mountain the one who’s stolen Gu Sui’s heart? I knew it—moving to the big brigade outside would have been better.”

She had been exhausted from work all day, but she had also been keeping her ears open for gossip. Wild animals from the mountains would sometimes sneak into the house; it was too dangerous to live here.

And the big brigade outside had a school. She was at least a high school graduate, so maybe once she moved there, she could become a primary school teacher and wouldn’t have to work anymore.

What good could come from staying here?

Fang Jie knew her words didn’t carry much weight, and she didn’t have much ability, so she could only hope to persuade Wang Lu to leave with her.

But unfortunately, she had miscalculated—if Gu Sui wasn’t leaving, then Wang Lu definitely wouldn’t leave.

Wang Lu said, “Stop talking nonsense, Gu Sui is definitely not that kind of person. Go get some rest, we still have work tomorrow.”

Wang Lu turned and walked away, leaving Fang Jie standing there, her mouth opening and closing several times, but she couldn’t say anything.

Just then, Lin Haiyin came out holding a footbath, and she happened to see the scene. She sneered, then splashed the water into the grass outside the yard.

Fang Jie shot her a glare, then turned and walked off, swaying her hips.

The next morning, Li Tao came to the Educated Youth Station with a clean hemp bag, filled with freshly steamed bean and cured meat buns.

When she handed the buns to Gu Sui, she nervously said, “Make sure you hurry. The meat buns won’t taste as good once they cool down.”

“Okay.”

“There are five buns inside. They’re all for Guan Yue.”

Gu Sui smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t steal any.”

Li Tao laughed awkwardly. “That’s not what I meant.”

Gu Sui took the buns and headed up the mountain. Guan Yue was already waiting there. “What are we having for breakfast today?”

“We’re having corn porridge.”

“Ah?” Guan Yue looked disappointed.

“Just corn porridge?”

Gu Sui placed the meat buns on the table. “Here are the meat buns. Do you remember the family that got bitten by a snake? They sent these buns to thank you for your medicine. The girl who asked me to deliver them was even afraid I’d steal one.”

Guan Yue opened the bag. “Ah, they’re still warm.”

In the past, many people from down the mountain had exchanged medicine with her teacher, but no one had ever sent meat buns to her or her teacher before.

“You should eat one to tide you over. I’ll make the corn porridge now, it’ll be ready soon.”

“Mm-hmm, you hurry and make it.”

It had to be said, the rural cured meat, paired with the freshest, tender cowpea-filled meat buns, was absolutely delicious. One bite, and the cowpeas inside were still crisp and green, coated in the savory, oily richness of the cured meat. The buns were not only delicious but also beautiful!

As Gu Sui cooked, he heard the little girl say, “I want to eat more cured meat and cowpea buns. When will you give me the piglet you promised?”

Gu Sui had actually forgotten about the piglet. “Making cured meat has to wait until the cold weather around the New Year. If you want cured meat before then, you’ll have to buy it from somewhere else.”

Guan Yue slapped the table, speaking grandly, “I’ll buy it!”

When it came to things that made her happy after coming here, aside from feeling safe, the other thing Guan Yue loved the most was the food.

She was no good with her hands, but she’d tasted what Teacher made, and she’d even bought food from the county, and it was all incredibly delicious! By the end of the 21st century, most industries were in competition with machines, and the restaurant business was no exception.

Generations of great chefs had passed away, and even being able to eat a meal made by a chef was now something only the upper middle class could enjoy. Ordinary people were left eating fast food made by machines.

Guan Yue’s family wasn’t poor, and they could afford to eat meals cooked by real chefs, but even then, the taste of the food had disappeared. Vegetables and fruits, produced through countless generations of hybrid farming, no longer had any of the flavors they once did.

At that time, food writing had become very popular, but also controversial. Young people doubted whether the food described in those early food stories actually tasted as good as they were said to.

Whenever this topic came up, the older generation, those born at the beginning of the 21st century who had tasted real, authentic food, would angrily confront the younger generation online, calling them fools.

“Did you grow up eating pig feed and really think it’s the best food? Bah! Even pigs ate better than you back then!”

It was said that pigs in the past were raised on sweet potatoes, which were called “hongtiao” here. Guan Yue had eaten them before, and the two words to describe them: delicious! Boiling sweet potatoes was one of the skills she had mastered.

The Grandpa and Grandma generation wasn’t wrong; pigs truly ate better than they did.

Gu Sui listened as Guan Yue talked for a long time about feeding pigs. He smiled and said, “Right now, supplies are tight, and even pigs can’t get sweet potatoes. They’re eating sweet potato vines instead.”

“Really? My pig will definitely get sweet potatoes,” Guan Yue nodded confidently.

This girl was really serious about those piglets. He decided he would keep this in mind and try his best to fulfill her wish.

After eating Li Tao’s cowpea meat buns, Guan Yue reciprocated by giving her a bottle of heat-relieving pills. The formula was from her teacher. Her teacher had made it before, and she had memorized it after reading it once.

Li Tao didn’t expect such a thoughtful gift. She took the bottle of medicine and thanked Gu Sui, then happily ran to the kitchen to find her mother.

“Mom, come quick, Guan Yue gave us a gift in return!”

Zhang Cuihua hurried out. “Oh, why the gift in return? We should be the ones thanking her.”

When she saw it was a bottle of medicine, Zhang Cuihua couldn’t find a way to refuse. “What is it?”

“Heat-relieving pills!”

“Oh, that’s a good thing!”

Last year, the village chief and Doctor Xu had exchanged two bottles of these, and the next day someone had almost collapsed from heatstroke in the field. They quickly dragged the person into the shade and gave them a pill, and it worked immediately.

“Peach, hurry and divide half the bottle, so your brother can take it to your grandma’s house tomorrow morning. Our Qingxi Village has a lot of trees, and with the mountain breeze, it’s not as hot. But your grandma’s place doesn’t have many trees. They work under the scorching sun, relying on their strength to push through.”

“Alright, I’ll find a bottle.”

It was now June, and the weather was scorching. The heat-relieving pills were exactly what they needed at this time.

Having received such a good gift, the next morning, Zhang Cuihua gritted her teeth and mixed a handful of white flour into the cornmeal, then made some pan-fried dumplings to send to Guan Yue.

Today’s filling definitely didn’t have any meat, but just having some white flour mixed in was already a good thing.

Li Tao took the pan-fried dumplings to find Gu Sui, who was going to the town today and wouldn’t be heading up the mountain.

Li Tao exclaimed, “What should I do now?”

“You can go up the mountain to find her yourself. She’s easy to get along with. Just be careful on your way up. Take a stick and clear the roadside bushes to scare off any snakes. It’s pretty safe.”

After Gu Sui left, Li Tao walked back with the lunchbox in hand. In the end, she decided to go up the mountain herself to thank Guan Yue. It would feel more sincere if she went in person.

Zhang Cuihua agreed. “You go ahead, just don’t go into the fields today. You can make lunch when you get back. Be sure to be careful on your way up.”

“Okay, I know.”

Unlike Gu Sui, who had stumbled upon the mountain house by accident, Li Tao knew the way. She took the longer, but safer route, by circling around Xiaoqing Mountain, walking past the cliff, and then heading up a bit further to reach the house. It was a bit farther, but safer.

“Is anyone here?”

Guan Yue was in the medicinal herb field next to the wooden house, tending to the plants. Before Li Tao could say anything, she already knew someone had arrived.

She casually dug up some mature herbs, picked them, and walked over. When she saw a girl of about sixteen or seventeen standing at the door, holding a lunchbox, looking hesitantly into the yard, Guan Yue walked over to her.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

Li Tao hadn’t expected anyone to be outside and was startled. She quickly turned around, stumbling and almost falling.

Goodness! Guan Yue was so beautiful! Her hair was so black and shiny, nothing like the dry, yellowish hair of people from their village. Her skin—how was it so white? Could she stay in the forest and avoid the sun to stay so pale?

Guan Yue raised an eyebrow. “Have you had enough of looking?”

Li Tao’s face turned red. “I’m Li Tao, from Qingxi Village. Thank you for the medicine you gave our family. This is our return gift—pan-fried dumplings. Although there’s no meat in them, they’re very tasty, and we even added some white flour.”

Guan Yue remembered. “You’re the ones who brought me the meat buns yesterday.”

“Yes, yes, that’s us!”

Guan Yue nodded. “The meat buns were delicious.”

“Haha, I thought so too. We don’t always get such delicious meat buns, even during the New Year.”

“Can you make them?”

“I can.”

“Then leave the dumplings here and make me some meat buns.”

“But there’s no meat.”

“We’ll have meat soon.” Guan Yue turned to look at a large tree behind her.

Li Tao was horrified when she saw a muscular wild boar charging straight at her!

Wait, she had seen it wrong. The boar wasn’t charging at her but at the tree, ramming itself into it and knocking itself out. The boar’s snout was a bloody mess, and she wasn’t sure if it was dead or not.

Guan Yue went into the yard, picked up an axe, and smiled gently at Li Tao. “I heard from Gu Sui that the best meat is the belly’s pork belly?”

Li Tao watched in shock as the woman, who had looked like an angel moments ago, swiftly and skillfully killed the wild boar with one precise strike.

Oh my God! That was terrifying!