Chapter 29 ☆ The Lotus has Just Begun to Show Its Tip (Part 1)

Cheng Nuonuo reverently cleaned the bamboo pillow, smoothing out the thorns before taking it back inside.

Cheng Yaoyao’s face had been cleaned. A wound about five or six centimeters long ran across her right cheek, standing out against her pale, lychee-like skin. The rough bamboo thorn had cut her skin diagonally while she lay down, coming perilously close to her eye.

Unfortunately, it missed by just a little.

Secretly, Cheng Nuonuo sighed in regret.

Despite the wound, Cheng Yaoyao remained beautiful. The scar was a small imperfection against her otherwise flawless complexion, making her slightly less unattainable but even more alluring.

Cheng Yaoyao felt as if the sky were falling. She couldn’t bear even a pimple on her face, let alone a scar like this.

Trembling all over and with pale lips, Cheng Yaoyao’s distress was not eased by Han Yin holding her hand.

There was no medicine at the educated youth camp, except for a bottle of red medicine that could treat all sorts of injuries. The educated youth applied it for bumps, bruises, and cuts, but Cheng Yaoyao refused to use it, fearing it might be contaminated from being handled by so many people.

Late at night, the male educated youth knocked on doors, seeking the only local doctor, Lao Lin. Lao Lin arrived, breathless and nearly furious.

“I thought it was a serious injury! It’s just a small cut. Why all this fuss?” Lao Lin grumbled.

Shen Yan asked anxiously, “Does this mean there will be a scar?”

Lao Lin examined Cheng Yaoyao under the lamp. Her beauty was striking, but the scar was glaring. He sighed and said, “It’s impossible to avoid a scar. Her skin is so white; it will definitely leave a mark.”

Cheng Yaoyao burst into tears. The male educated youth surrounded Lao Lin, pleading, “Please prescribe something to help!”

Lao Lin felt embarrassed by Cheng Yaoyao’s distress and quickly provided some herbal medicine for disinfection and skin regeneration before leaving.

Lao Lin, a countryside barefoot doctor, left behind herbal medicines that were sunburned black and did not look very clean, so no one else dared to use them for Cheng Yaoyao.

Shen Yan said, “Let’s go. I’ll ride my bike to the captain’s house and take Yaoyao into the city to see a doctor.”

Zhang Xiaofeng advised, “It’s too dangerous to ride into the city at this time. We should wait until morning.”

Everyone comforted Cheng Yaoyao for a while and then returned to their rooms to sleep. Shen Yan whispered to Cheng Nuonuo, “Come outside with me.”

Cheng Nuonuo, a bit pleased, asked, “Ah Yan, what’s wrong?”

“Did you do this?” Shen Yan asked immediately.

Cheng Nuonuo feigned innocence, asking, “What did I do?”

Shen Yan, irritated, said, “Stop pretending! Did you cause this injury to Yaoyao’s face?”

“Ah Yan, why do you think it was me?” Cheng Nuonuo asked, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Even if I had selfish motives and gave you extra steamed buns in the cafeteria, it doesn’t mean I would harm my own sister!”

“How dare you bring that up!” Shen Yan’s face turned red at the thought of the extra steamed buns. He had never imagined Cheng Nuonuo would be so greedy as to embezzle food from the canteen. The two extra buns he ate each day could have been rationed to a little girl.

Cheng Nuonuo sobbed, “Even if you suspect me, I’ve been with you all day. How could I have had time to harm Sister Yaoyao?”

“…” Shen Yan hesitated. Cheng Nuonuo had pestered him with soft words earlier, and he had agreed to go out with her. Given the time, Cheng Nuonuo couldn’t have had the opportunity to do anything.

Cheng Nuonuo’s fair complexion and tearful appearance were irresistible to Shen Yan. He softened his tone. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood you.”

Cheng Nuonuo leaned into his arms, saying, “As long as Ah Yan doesn’t stay away from me, I’m willing to endure any grievance.”

That night, Cheng Yaoyao tossed and turned on the kang, unable to sleep. Her whole body ached, and her chest felt like it was on fire. Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng took turns caring for her, giving her water and rubbing her body with a wet towel, but Cheng Yaoyao still felt like a piece of charcoal.

When the edge of the bowl was brought to her lips, she drank the warm liquid in big gulps, but suddenly felt nauseous. The sweet and bitter water aggravated her already sore throat. “Ahem…”

Cheng Yaoyao’s voice was weak. Han Yin hurriedly said, “Yaoyao, this is brown sugar water that Cheng Nuonuo made just for you. Drink more!”

Cheng Yaoyao opened her mouth to protest but was met with more sugar water pouring into her throat. Choking, she coughed as the liquid worsened her discomfort. She fell asleep in a daze, unable to make any further sounds.

The next day, Cheng Yaoyao was taken to the county hospital. She was in better spirits, and her fever had subsided. Her long hair was tied back, revealing a bright red scar on the right side of her face.

The scar looked terrible, but only because it was on Cheng Yaoyao’s face. If it were on someone else, such a small wound wouldn’t even be considered an injury, let alone a reason to visit the county hospital.

A middle-aged female doctor, wearing a white mask, sternly said, “Such a small wound can be disinfected with iodine! So many people are waiting to see a doctor; this is really a nuisance!”

Han Yin almost argued with her, but Zhang Xiaofeng quickly pulled her aside and said to the doctor, “But her temperature was very high last night, like she had a fever.”

The doctor handed Cheng Yaoyao a thermometer and checked it. “Her temperature is 38 degrees, just a slight fever.”

“What’s going on? She was burning up last night,” Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng asked Cheng Yaoyao.

Cheng Yaoyao herself didn’t know. She had felt really uncomfortable the night before, with her body burning as if it were on fire.

The doctor eventually disinfected Cheng Yaoyao’s wound and prescribed an anti-inflammatory pill for her. Medicines were in short supply these days, and she had to use two kilograms of food coupons to get the pill.

There was no need for Cheng Yaoyao to be hospitalized for her injury, so the group returned to the village without delay. However, Cheng Yaoyao was already feeling unwell, and on the way back to the village under the scorching sun, she vomited. Then she lay down in a daze in the dormitory.

These were busy farming days, and the educated youth all had to work. Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng took turns coming back every day to bring meals to Cheng Yaoyao.

At first, Cheng Yaoyao seemed fine, but later her wound became red and swollen and gradually showed signs of infection.

This was serious. Lin Dafu and the village party secretary came to see her. Wang Cuiping, the party secretary’s wife, remembered the benefits of milk powder ^[1]which refers to its nutritional value and healing properties. and made purslane soup ^[2]which is a traditional remedy believed to reduce swelling and heal injuries. for Cheng Yaoyao, saying it would reduce the swelling and dissolve the blood stasis.

After seeing Cheng Yaoyao’s face, Lin Dafu shook his head and said to the secretary and Wang Cuiping, “Such a beautiful face is ruined!”

The secretary replied, “As long as she’s fine, we should be thankful! Why worry about her looks?”

Wang Cuiping shook her head. “You men wouldn’t understand how important appearance is to a woman, especially one as beautiful as her.”

The news of Cheng Yaoyao’s disfigurement spread throughout the village.

At that time, Xie San was on his way to work.

Since that day, when he was picking mushrooms, Xie San has not seen Cheng Yaoyao again. The next day, when he went to work, he waited at the intersection for a long time, but Cheng Yaoyao didn’t come. He thought she was just angry, so he went to work by himself.

Later, he heard from Lin Dafu that Cheng Yaoyao was not feeling well and needed to rest for two days.

Today, on his way to work, he overheard two gossipy women in the village saying, “I told you, a face like that doesn’t belong in our Tianshui Village.”

“I heard from the secretary’s family that there’s a long scar on her face. It’s festering, and half of her face is swollen. In this heat, won’t it rot?”

“My father-in-law hurt his leg collecting firewood in the heat like this, and the wound festered. He died from the infection. Tsk, tsk.”

Xie San felt a loud buzzing in his ears. The image of a face as white as jade appeared in his mind: snow-white skin, red lips, peach blossom eyes, and a teardrop mole under the eye, which only added to her charm.

How would such a delicate person feel with her face hurt? Just the thought made his heart ache unbearably.

It was clearly time for work, but Xie San suddenly returned home, went into his room, and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets, making a lot of noise. It was unclear what he was looking for.

Xie San had always been calm and quiet. No matter how angry he got outside, he never showed it in front of his family. His strange behavior scared his sister, Xie Fei.

Xie Fei, who was only fourteen, still looked like a little girl. “Brother, what are you looking for?”

Xie San didn’t respond and instead dragged out a drawer containing medicinal herbs, dumping them all over the floor.

Xie Fei turned around and ran to the kitchen, shouting, “Grandma, come quickly! I don’t know what’s wrong with my brother!”

Grandma Xie dropped the spatula and hurried into the room. Seeing the mess Xie San had made, she said, “Brother Zhao, why did you come back so suddenly? Brother Zhao, you… cough, cough, cough…” 

Grandma Xie started coughing anxiously. Xie San suddenly stopped and gasped, “I’m looking for something.”

Xie Fei gently stroked Grandma Xie’s chest, waiting for her coughing to subside, then said slowly, “If you need to find something, just tell Grandma. You’re so anxious that your veins are bulging. What are you looking for?”

“Rhino horn,” Xie San said.

Grandma Xie’s face changed drastically.

Xie Fei looked back and forth between her grandmother and brother and curiously asked, “What is a rhino horn?”

“Xiao Fei, go to the kitchen and watch the fire,” Grandma Xie said in a deep voice.