Chapter 49

The next day

Jiang Xi didn’t go to school to talk to the teacher.

She knew it would be pointless. The two boys were likely causing trouble not just out of revenge but also because Zhang Hu encouraged them. If the teacher’s discipline were effective, they wouldn’t keep bullying others.

Let the children handle it themselves.

In those times, food and clothing were scarce, and candies were a luxury. Jiang Xi could reward her children with two candies, but they might still be bullied.

After sending her children to school, Jiang Xi opened the door of the clinic. During breakfast, she asked Li Aimei about the village patients’ conditions.

With limited time, Li Aimei could only give injections to patients needing long-term care and sell cold and fever medicine to those with colds. If there were serious illnesses, no one dared to let her handle them.

Thus, Jiang Xi needed to understand the symptoms of the patients she treated.

Li Aimei said, “Everything is fine. I didn’t try anything new. I only followed the methods you taught me. Three people with colds came, one was a child. I gave them half the usual dosage, and they all recovered. Here’s the consultation fee.”

She handed Jiang Xi a notebook, her medical record book.

The notes were somewhat immature, with some written by Jiang Yu and others, but detailed, including patient names, symptoms, and medicines used.

Jiang Xi reviewed them and confirmed everything was in order. She added her notes, sorted out the money and work points, and gave Li Aimei what was due, keeping the rest.

Li Aimei was initially reluctant but accepted the 40 cents after Jiang Xi’s insistence. It wasn’t much, but for the patients who visited, it was a small amount.

Li Aimei smiled all day, counting the money repeatedly.

Word of Jiang Xi’s return spread quickly through the village.

After lunch, many people came, either for medical help or out of curiosity about Jiang Xi’s studies and the hospital she attended.

Jiang Xi chatted with them while treating patients, satisfying their curiosity. It wasn’t until two o’clock in the afternoon, when everyone went back to work, that she had some time to rest.

At three o’clock, Mu Wan rushed over from the field, sweating.

“Heatstroke again?” Jiang Xi asked, raising an eyebrow. It was late, and the temperature had dropped, so heatstroke seemed unlikely.

Mu Wan quickly shook her head, explaining, “I need to buy more of your scar removal cream. I want four boxes. Is that okay?”

She panted, taking a moment to relax.

The weather was cooler, and she couldn’t come up with a reason to visit during the busy time at noon. She had sneaked away earlier because spending two yuan on scar removal cream seemed too extravagant. She feared it might harm Jiang Xi’s reputation.

Knowing the clinic would be empty during working hours, she pretended to go to the bathroom and came back to buy the cream.

She asked for four boxes, totaling eight yuan. Jiang Xi was surprised: “So many? Are you alone?”

Mu Wan smiled shyly, “Of course not. Haven’t you noticed that I’ve become much whiter lately? Several educated youths noticed and wanted some too.”

Everyone likes to be more beautiful.

Though two yuan seemed expensive, it was still cheaper than other creams.

Jiang Xi didn’t expect this business to succeed in the 1970s and was surprised. She could only offer two boxes due to limited medicinal materials.

Mu Wan, disappointed, asked if she could reserve more, but Jiang Xi shook her head, saying she wasn’t sure if she could get the materials again.

“Okay.” Mu Wan accepted the two boxes and left.

_

Jiang Xi looked at the four yuan with regret. The difference between four and eight yuan was significant.

She needed to see dozens of patients just to make up for the loss.

However, some herbs weren’t sold locally, and she couldn’t find them in the county pharmacy either. The county hospital had them, but she needed a prescription, so she couldn’t buy them directly.

The best option was the system in Pei Hejun’s hands.

It could provide many herbs not available elsewhere, but she hesitated to use too many points, fearing she might run out.

Jiang Xi, having read many supernatural novels and believing in these things, was cautious.

After thinking, she decided to organize the medicine cabinet instead.

She discovered that Li Aimei had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The herbs were neatly arranged, so Jiang Xi just started reading a medical book she had received during her studies.

The book, from that era, contained many new prescriptions. Jiang Xi read with great interest.

Pei Hejun came in once while she was reading but didn’t disturb her, just left some wild fruits he had gathered.

Wild fruit was common in the village. In autumn, everyone went to the hillside to gather it.

Halfway through, Jiang Xi enjoyed the fruits as a snack.

Pei Hejun is a quiet man, but he is very capable.

Living with him might make the future less boring.

Jiang Xi considered Pei Hejun’s suggestion about joining the army and felt a bit moved. Although she knew the two children would face trouble soon, she worried about Zhang Hu possibly doing something extreme.

She couldn’t always be with her child, but if Zhang Hu secretly kidnapped the child, what could she do?

Jiang Xi knew that evil actions could happen suddenly. If the children went to the military district, they would have a better educational environment. Plus, she heard that the district where Pei Hejun is stationed is near the sea.

Even though it might not be a prime development area right now, it will be close to a special economic zone in the future, which will grow rapidly. The children would stay there, and she would go too. Eventually, she could buy a house there and become a landlady with nothing to lose.

Thinking about her dream of being a lazy person, Jiang Xi felt motivated!

_

A little after five in the afternoon, Zhang Hu came home early at around 4 o’clock and took a nap. When he woke up, his wife had prepared dinner. His mother sat at the door anxiously, asking, “Why hasn’t my eldest grandson come back yet?”

Zhang Hu, stretching and smiling, said, “Don’t worry, it will go smoothly. Unless the eldest sister keeps them from school, the two little girls will definitely be beaten up.”

The old lady frowned unhappily, saying, “They shouldn’t have been allowed to study. They’re a waste of money. Studying just makes them wild. Look at the eldest sister—she read so many books and turned out disobedient.”

Zhang Hu agreed, saying regretfully, “We shouldn’t have let her read so much. If my brother-in-law hadn’t died early, Dabao could have inherited the job.”

They sighed, regretting the past. Zhang Hu wanted to work for Jiang’s father, but the job required a junior high school education. Zhang Hu didn’t like studying and barely finished fourth grade, so he didn’t qualify.

Zhang Xiuyun sold the product, and Zhang Hu took the money.

Suddenly, they heard distant crying.

Zhang Hu and his wife ran outside to see two children with tears and snot on their faces, dirty, and with red marks from being beaten. They were shocked.

The old lady ran to them, crying, “Who beat my eldest grandson?” She hugged the children, distressed. This was a serious beating.

Zhang Hu was furious: “Who did this? Let’s go confront them!”

Erbao cried and didn’t speak. Dabao sobbed, “It was Second Sister and Third Sister who called the police. Many people came, including Da Niu and Er Zhu, and they all beat us up.”

Zhang Hu was shocked: “How did they get so many people to help?!”

Dabao cried harder, “Third Sister gave them lots of candy! She didn’t give me any candy and asked them to beat us up!”

Zhang Hu realized this tactic seemed familiar.

He thought his son was strong and could handle the two girls, but didn’t expect them to call so many people. He suspected Jiang Xi taught them this.

He was angry but didn’t know how to handle it. He couldn’t confront each child individually.

The old lady, hearing the complaints, rushed to Pei’s village.

She cried and shouted outside Pei’s house: “Look! This cruel granddaughter taught her sister to get someone to beat my precious grandson! You need to pay me, or I won’t leave!”

Inside, Jiang Xi told Pei’s parents to stay calm and asked Li Aimei to find the captain. She said, “Don’t worry. If she really dies, we’ll pay compensation. But don’t worry, Dad and Mom, she loves her grandsons and won’t let anything happen to them.”

Pei Hejun added, “Yes, let the captain handle it. If he can’t, there’s nothing we can do.”

Pei’s parents remained silent and ate their food.

Outside, the old lady cried hoarsely. The neighbors finally told her to stop making noise as they wanted to sleep.

“If you keep making noise, I’ll beat your son!”

The old lady cried all her tears and eventually left dejectedly.