Chapter 11: A Display of Skill

Tang Banxia shifted aside to avoid him, and when she looked closely, it was Song Qing again.

Her expression immediately turned cold. She didn’t spare Song Qing a single glance and walked straight ahead without pause.

As for Wen Mubai, his eyes darkened for a moment, but he quickly put on a smile and followed after her.

“Tang Comrade!”
“Tang Comrade!”

Song Qing had just been beaten by Old Lady Song, her backside still aching, so she was limping and could not possibly catch up with the long-legged Tang Banxia and her companion.

Watching the two figures walk further and further away, Song Qing’s heart filled with resentment.

Why? Why was she so wealthy yet unwilling to help? Clearly, she had survived only because of Song Qing’s good fortune, but she wouldn’t even lend a little money—how ungrateful!

Tang Banxia had no idea what was going through her mind. If she had, she would probably have been rendered speechless.

Back at home, Tang Banxia washed up briefly and made lunch with Wen Mubai. After a satisfying meal and a short nap, it was time to head to the fields again.

The days of labor were dull, tiresome, and exhausting, but Tang Banxia still worked earnestly every day. That said, she was always looking for a chance to change jobs—perhaps as a barefoot doctor?

And as fate would have it, the opportunity came swiftly.

One afternoon, Tang Banxia trudged home from the fields, weary to the bone, when a commotion caught her attention just a few steps away.

She looked over and saw that someone had collapsed from heatstroke and was on the verge of shock.

Heatstroke leading to shock could be life-threatening.

With no time to think, Tang Banxia dashed over at once.

“Make way! Make way!”

She pushed through the crowd, knelt down, pried open the person’s hand, found the Shaoshang acupoint, and pressed down hard.

“Don’t crowd around here, back up a little.”

In that moment, Tang Banxia radiated authority, and everyone instinctively obeyed.

Hu Dashan arrived to witness this scene. He didn’t dare come too close, so he stood by and watched.

He saw Tang Comrade pinching Hu Erzhu’s little finger, and before long, Hu Erzhu’s breathing evened out and his eyes fluttered open.

Seeing him awaken, Tang Banxia wiped her brow and said, “Go home, cook a bowl of mung bean soup, and have a good sleep after you drink it.”

“Thank you, Tang Comrade.” Only then did Hu Dashan step forward to help Hu Erzhu up and hand him over to someone behind. “Tang Comrade, you know medicine?”

Tang Banxia took the water flask Wen Mubai handed her, drank a few gulps, and finally replied, “A little.”

She added, “My grandmother was a Chinese medicine doctor. I learned from her since I was a child.”

Hu Dashan’s eyes lit up. “So it runs in your family, Tang Comrade.”

“I’m nothing compared to my grandmother,” said Tang Banxia, waving her hand. “Captain, it’s getting hot these days. We need to be careful about heatstroke.”

Hu Dashan walked alongside her, saying, “I know heatstroke is a risk, but there’s nothing to be done. We have to get the wheat in while the weather’s good. If it rains, everything will be ruined.”

Tang Banxia understood the hardship of farmers, but with the days growing hotter, working under the blazing sun did make heatstroke likely. “Uncle Hu, doesn’t our village have a big pot? Why not serve some mung bean soup to the villagers while they work? It might help.”

Hu Dashan would have liked to, but, “Tang Comrade, you don’t know how poor our village is. The summer harvest will go on for several more days, and with so many people, we’d need a pound of mung beans a day. We simply can’t afford it.”

Tang Banxia fell silent. Rural poverty in this era was even worse than she’d imagined. “Mint would do as well.”

“That we have! There’s a whole patch of it behind the mountain.” Hu Dashan brightened. “Would that work too?”

“It would,” Tang Banxia nodded. “Both mint and mung beans help.”

There were other remedies, but given the village’s circumstances, it was pointless to mention them.

“Good, good! Tang Comrade, thank you so much.”

Tang Banxia waved it off. “It was nothing, Uncle Hu. We’ll head back now.”

“Go on, go on.”

The next day, the village began distributing mint water—just one bowl per person, no more.

Tang Banxia and Wen Mubai didn’t bother to collect any. Their flasks were filled with chilled mung bean soup, sweetened with sugar, so there was no need to fight over the precious little mint water.

Mint water helped, but it wasn’t miraculous.

As the summer harvest grew more intense, cases of heatstroke increased.

Each time someone suffered heatstroke, the team captain would come looking for Tang Banxia.

By the end of a day running back and forth, Tang Banxia’s clothes were soaked with sweat.

“Tang Comrade, sorry for the trouble,” said Hu Dashan, finding her as they finished work for the evening.

Tang Banxia was so tired she could barely lift her arms, relying on Wen Mubai to support her. “It’s alright.”

“How about this, Tang Comrade. Today we’ll record ten work points for you as our way of saying thanks,” said Hu Dashan, pulling out his pipe and taking a few puffs.

“Thank you, Uncle Hu,” Tang Banxia replied, not foolish enough to refuse.

They walked home in silence after that. As they were about to part ways, Hu Dashan spoke again:

“Tang Comrade, our village still has a vacancy for a barefoot doctor. Are you interested?”

Hu Dashan had come today with this in mind. After learning yesterday that Tang Banxia had medical skills, he’d discussed it with the old timers. Seeing Tang Banxia’s performance today, they finally agreed to let her have a try.

Tang Banxia nodded decisively. “I am.”

The lines on Hu Dashan’s face were even more pronounced under the moonlight as he stared at Tang Banxia, pipe in hand. “I’ll be blunt with you.”

“To become a barefoot doctor, you’ll have to take an exam. It’s not up to me to decide who gets the job.”

“Also, barefoot doctors aren’t paid, but their work counts toward full work points. During the busy farming season, barefoot doctors still have to help in the fields.”

Tang Banxia kept nodding. “Uncle Hu, to be honest, neither I nor Xiaobai are suited for farm labor. We need to find another way.”

“I’ll be straight with you, too. I can’t handle serious illnesses, but things like heatstroke, colds, fevers, or basic wound care are no problem for me.”

Hu Dashan was pleased with her candor.

He was willing to give the barefoot doctor position to her because the village truly had no one else with medical skills. Now that someone did, even a young intellectual, he wanted to give her a chance.

If it worked out, everyone would be delighted. If not, the village wouldn’t really lose anything.

And if Tang Banxia passed the exam, she would surely remember the village’s kindness and be cooperative in the future.

“Alright then. Once the public grain is delivered, I’ll go to the commune and ask.”

“Thank you, Uncle Hu,” Tang Banxia said earnestly.

At this point, Wen Mubai chimed in, “Thank you, Captain. I’ll go with you when we deliver the public grain.”

Hu Dashan beamed. “All the better!”

After seeing off the team captain, the two returned home.

Tang Banxia had Wen Mubai prepare the dough while she made the broth. With weather like this, cold noodles were just right.

“Let’s indulge ourselves today and have pure white noodles,” Tang Banxia declared.

Wen Mubai didn’t stand on ceremony, scooping out three big bowls at once. “Whatever you say, sister.”

Tang Banxia just let it go, having long since gotten used to his ways.

But she was in a good mood today—it was a reason to celebrate.

At last, she wouldn’t have to work in the fields. After half a month, she felt she had tanned considerably.

Once she became a barefoot doctor, she would have more time for herself. Then, everything could be carefully planned.

She couldn’t just muddle through for seven or eight years—she needed goals.

But then, “Why was the captain so happy when he heard you’d be going to deliver the public grain?”

Wen Mubai, wearing a floral apron, replied offhandedly, “Because the director of the grain station is one of my uncles.”

“What?” So he had a powerful relative after all. “Why didn’t you mention that before? We got married, after all—you should have let him know.”

They hadn’t held a wedding banquet, but they were legally married.

By the flickering light, Wen Mubai’s expression was hard to read, his voice soft, “Forget it. We’re not that close, just acquaintances really.”

Tang Banxia noticed but didn’t press further. “Will going to deliver the public grain cause any problems for you?”

Wen Mubai recollected himself and flashed her a sweet smile. “Not at all. I just won’t seek him out.”

“Alright.” Tang Banxia smiled as well and returned to tending the fire.

In the blink of an eye, the wheat was all harvested.

But the work wasn’t done yet. After the wheat was brought in, it had to be dried, threshed, bagged, and the public grain delivered before the summer harvest was truly over.

After another five busy days, every grain was finally in its sack, and it was time to deliver the public grain...