Chapter 116: The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea

Page (1/3)

The moment news spread that the clinic was recruiting, the entire village was thrown into an uproar, and many people were eager to try.

Unfortunately, most of them were eliminated by the very first requirement: literacy.

Only a handful of villagers met the conditions. Everyone else was an educated youth.

Many villagers were dissatisfied with the result, but Tang Banxia said only one thing:

“Do you expect me to teach you all how to read from scratch?”

“You can’t even understand medical books, yet you want to study medicine? You’re not afraid, but I am!”

After Tang Banxia finished speaking, Song Weimin immediately announced the matter of next year’s military recruitment. The exact date had not yet been set, so everyone had better treat Educated Youth Tang with some courtesy.

With one person playing the villain and the other the hero, while dangling a carrot before everyone’s eyes, the villagers’ discontent was thoroughly extinguished.

Among the literate people, including both educated youths and villagers, there were more than twenty candidates. The four newcomers and all thirteen veteran educated youths were included.

No one was foolish. Although the clinic offered no wages, the position came with a full work-point allowance.

By the end of the year, once the grain had been exchanged, whatever remained would effectively become money. It was far easier and more respectable than working in the fields.

Besides, they would learn a practical skill. Naturally, no one who met the requirements was willing to miss the opportunity.

As for the examination, Tang Banxia had no intention of testing anything too profound. She only planned to assess their memory and mental agility.

If she tested them on medical knowledge, she doubted she would find even one suitable assistant.

She stayed home composing the questions, completely unaware that the examination had thrown the outside world into chaos.

There was only one position and only one chance.

Everyone wanted it, but no one was certain they would come in first. Thus, people began resorting to crooked schemes.

Tang Banxia, however, remained shut indoors, leaving everyone with nowhere to direct their efforts. Eventually, they set their sights on Wen Mubai.

This was especially true of several veteran educated youths, including Wang Haijun, who had dealt with Wen Mubai before.

In their eyes, Tang had been willing to support a pretty young man like Wen Mubai for so long, so she must be very fond of him. Surely, influence exerted from a lover’s bedside would be effective.

For a time, Wen Mubai’s popularity in the village soared.

One household invited him to dinner today, another asked him to drink tomorrow. One sent over a bowl of meat in the morning, while another delivered some fruit in the afternoon.

The educated youths in particular displayed every possible tactic.

Wang Haijun even called on Wen Mubai with wine, while the others refused to be outdone, some bringing gifts and others inviting him to meals.

They demonstrated every aspect of social grace to perfection. Even the newly arrived educated youths were unwilling to fall behind.

Wang Jiayu meekly sent over a pair of shoe insoles—naturally, they were meant for Tang Banxia, and Wen Mubai was merely entrusted with delivering them.

Cai Mingyang was more direct. He sent two coupons for thermos flasks, presumably supplied by his family.

Xu Sheng followed the crowd and sought out Wen Mubai as well, though he did not actually bring anything.

The most outrageous of all was Sheng Qianqian. No one knew what had come over the girl, but she actually tried to seduce Wen Mubai.

Her plan was to use that as leverage and make him put in a good word for her with Tang Banxia.

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

When it came to food and liquor, Wen Mubai accepted everything without hesitation. Eating and drinking for free was a delightful thing. But when it came to revealing the examination questions, he would not agree to a single word.

As for the gifts, he refused them all, regardless of their value.

And as for the oddball Sheng Qianqian, he naturally showed her no mercy. In front of everyone, he tore away her dignity and trampled on it several times for good measure.

The commotion outside was tremendous, but Wen Mubai took care of everything himself, and Tang Banxia was not disturbed in the slightest—until Sister-in-law Sun came to visit.

At the time, Tang Banxia was curled up at home, drinking milk tea and roasting chestnuts, enjoying a life of perfect tranquility.

“You certainly know how to enjoy yourself,” Sister-in-law Sun said without the slightest reserve. She plopped herself down, picked up a roasted chestnut, and peeled it for herself.

Tang Banxia poured her a cup of milk tea. “You didn’t go to work today?”

Sister-in-law Sun took a sip. “The autumn harvest is about to begin, so I went to the commune and bought a pound of meat. I’ll need to build up my strength when the harvest starts.”

October was fast approaching. The autumn harvest really was almost upon them.

Whenever Tang Banxia thought of last year’s autumn harvest, her vision went black.

As the village’s barefoot doctor, she normally did not have to work in the fields, but she could not escape the summer and autumn harvests.

Before that, however, she had to settle on an assistant.

Besides, when she thought of the list of medicinal herbs she had only half finished writing, she decided it was time to speed things up.

“Banxia, what are you writing?” Sister-in-law Sun leaned over to look.

Tang Banxia let her see it openly. “The examination questions.” In any case, Sister-in-law Sun could not read.

Sister-in-law Sun merely glanced at the page before withdrawing her gaze. “These past few days, the whole village has been turned upside down because of your examination.”

“What happened?” Only after asking did she react, her interest piqued. “Tell me—what kind of excitement has there been?”

Sister-in-law Sun was a fellow enthusiast of village gossip. She immediately began recounting everything with animated gestures.

Tang Banxia listened with great interest. Even when she heard about Sheng Qianqian’s intentions, her expression did not change.

“You’re not angry?” Sister-in-law Sun asked when she saw her reaction.

“What would I be angry about?” Tang Banxia countered. “Wen Mubai rejected her, didn’t he?”

Sister-in-law Sun sighed sincerely. “You certainly know how to keep your composure.”

Tang Banxia only smiled and offered no explanation.

A man could never truly be watched over; everything depended on his own self-restraint.

If Wen Mubai ever lost his purity, she could simply find another man.

She no longer needed the protection provided by his identity.

That was what she said, at least. But that evening, Tang Banxia stared at Wen Mubai with an amused, knowing smile.

“Xiaobai, you seem to have put on a little weight lately.”

Wen Mubai paused in the middle of stuffing food into his mouth. “Sister-in-law Sun told you?”

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

Tang Banxia gave a soft, mocking laugh. “Is there nothing you’d like to tell me?”

Wen Mubai set down his bowl and chopsticks and sat up straight.

“I swear, I didn’t show that Sheng Qianqian the slightest kindness. She’s a lunatic.”

He was an upright, blameless good man. There was no way he could let a lunatic sully his reputation.

Tang Banxia was speechless for a moment. Perhaps she really had trained her husband well.

“Well done. Keep it up,” Tang Banxia praised him.

Wen Mubai looked pitiful. “Can I keep eating, then?”

“Eat, eat, eat.” Tang Banxia waved her hand.

This fellow really did have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Every time Tang Banxia looked at that face of his, she could never bring herself to be ruthless.

No wonder people said that even heroes could not resist a beautiful woman’s charms.

The reverse was true as well.

Beauty truly could cloud the mind—beauty truly could cloud the mind!

After dinner, Tang Banxia once again surrendered to his beauty, until her back nearly broke.

Amid all the noise and commotion, Tang Banxia finished composing the examination.

There were only ten questions in total.

Once she had written them, she copied out twenty-five sets. The day after she finished, she went to the brigade office and reported the matter.

The brigade captain, Song Weimin, proved to be every bit as capable as expected. When Tang Banxia arrived at the clinic the following day, everyone taking the examination had already assembled.

Several tables and chairs had been moved over from the canteen. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the candidates began answering the questions, while the crowd monitored them for cheating.

In the examination hall, some wore calm expressions, some looked completely bewildered, some scratched their heads anxiously, and others wrote in one smooth burst. Every expression of human life was on display.

The examination lasted one hour. When time was called, the papers were collected. Tang Banxia marked them on the spot, with everything taking place under the eyes of the crowd, leaving no one an opportunity to accuse her of favoritism.

She did not assign scores. She only examined the answers, determined the results, and then returned the papers one by one.

The results were out.

Tang Banxia announced, “The most perfect paper was written by Liu Hongfen, Educated Youth Liu!”

Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward a frail figure in the corner. Liu Hongfen’s face flushed crimson, and she looked intensely excited.

“Unfair!”