Chapter 161: The Lunar New Year

Unnoticed, the year of 1969 came to an end. Tang Banxia and Wen Mubai had been living in Beijing for over three months, and the New Year was fast approaching.

As the end of the year drew near, the festive atmosphere grew stronger day by day.

Tang Banxia had finally finished the tasks at hand and could now properly look forward to celebrating the New Year.

After treating her final patient, Tang Banxia handed over her written notes on subsequent care and medication regimens to Yu Xun, instructing her earnestly, "A patient's physical condition can change in the blink of an eye. If you encounter anything you are unsure of, be sure to come and find me."

The patients in this small courtyard had gradually increased from an initial five to over twenty. Every single one of them bore shocking and heart-wrenching injuries.

Tang Banxia even discovered that several individuals showed signs of having attempted self-harm, a sight that was deeply sorrowful.

Because of this, she turned a blind eye to Yu Xun's continuous practice of bringing new people into the courtyard.

Through her interactions, she had a clear idea of these people's backgrounds, and she could easily guess the origins of their injuries and their current physical states.

Among these twenty-some individuals, every single one suffered from malnutrition and muscle atrophy, and quite a few even had bedsores.

At a glance, it was obvious they had not received proper care. Furthermore, during her interactions with them, Tang Banxia noticed that their will to live was exceedingly weak.

With this thought in mind, she added a few more words of advice: "I do not know what kind of work you do, nor am I interested in prying. But as a doctor, there are a few things I feel I must say. Healing the wounded and rescuing the dying involves more than just attending to physical injuries."

"The wounds in their hearts cannot be ignored either. Sister Yu Xun, you were right by my side while I was treating them. You know the condition of several comrades just as well as I do, so it would be best for you to pay closer attention to them."

Sometimes, wounds of the heart were even harder to heal than physical ones.

She did not want the people she had painstakingly saved to ultimately perish amidst worldly indifference. Besides, heroes deserved the treatment fitting of heroes.

Yu Xun listened with a face full of shame. "I have noted it down."

This was the tragedy of their profession: while alive, they could not live openly in the light, and even after being discharged due to wounds or disability, they had to remain tight-lipped.

Worse still, they often became a burden to their families, facing disdain and resentment, or in more severe cases, deliberate neglect and mistreatment from their own kin.

She considered herself fortunate; she had only lost a leg. After retiring from the Dragon Team, she was able to inherit her family's ancestral craft, open a small eatery, and live a life free from financial worries thanks to the care of her brothers in the team.

The others, however, were not so fortunate. After becoming disabled, they could only return to their hometowns to face scorn. Many of her brothers had died in that very first year back home.

Having survived such arduous missions and countless brushes with death amidst hail of bullets, they ultimately perished at the hands of worldly malice and human indifference.

They had the will to help but lacked the power, which was precisely why Old Bai had gone to every possible length to seek out Dr. Tang.

"Dr. Tang, thank you," a hoarse male voice came from inside the room.

Following that, expressions of gratitude rang out one after another.

A slight sting of emotion rose at the bridge of Tang Banxia's nose. "It is only what I ought to do. All of you must take good care of your health; you mustn't let all my hard work go to waste!"

They were all heroes. Even if they remained nameless, they should never be reduced to such a fate.

Before leaving, Tang Banxia checked everyone's medical records and medication schedules one last time. Intimately, she left her address with each of them, saying, "If you need any help, come find me. Do not be afraid of troubling me."

She would help however much she could.

Escorted out amidst profuse expressions of gratitude, Tang Banxia took a deep, shuddering breath. Only then did she truly understand why certain organizations in later generations commanded such high respect—because those people were genuinely great.

Suddenly, her hand was grasped by another large, warm palm: "Wife."

Wen Mubai turned his gaze toward her, then shook his head. "It's nothing, just feeling a bit emotional."

She also suddenly felt that she didn't want to be a doctor anymore. Facing parting and death head-on required a heart of steel. While she did not lack strength, her capacity for empathy was so strong that it easily plunged her into negative emotions, just like now.

"After we finish celebrating the New Year with Grandpa and Grandma, let's go back to the countryside," Tang Banxia said.

Guyue Village could not compare to Beijing in terms of modernization, but it gave her a much stronger sense of belonging, and she loved that slow-paced lifestyle.

Of course, that was under the premise that she didn't have to do farm labor; what she loved was pastoral poetry, not bending her back to toil under the sun.

"Alright, I'll listen to you in everything," Wen Mubai said softly. He gazed intently into Tang Banxia's eyes. "In our family, you are the head of the household, and I will listen to whatever you say."

Tang Banxia was amused by his serious expression. "Such a good boy. Here's a chicken leg as a reward."

"I want to eat the ones you cook," he pressed his advantage further.

"No problem."

Upon returning home, her aunt's family was already there.

"Banxia, Banxia!" Tang Meyun pulled out a bright red set of knitted sweater and trousers like showing off a prized treasure. "Does it look good?"

"It looks great." Tang Banxia glanced at it. "Did you knit this yourself?"

Tang Meyun raised her chin proudly. "Of course!" She thrust it forward. "A gift for you."

Tang Banxia took it, unfolded it, and inspected it. "So nice?"

It was a bright red sweater with a fluffy little puppy embroidered in blue yarn on the belly. The woolen trousers were blue, making it an obvious matching set.

Tang Meyun let out a couple of hums. "Now you know how good your auntie is, right? This yarn was so hard for me to save up, and I used it all on you. Even my own Baizhi hasn't gotten so much as a pair of socks out of it."

"Little Auntie is the best~" Tang Banxia cooed. "I love Little Auntie the most!"

Yet another "the best."

Tang Meyun, however, ate it right up. "That's more like it."

To show her gratitude, Tang Banxia personally cooked that evening, extravagantly deep-frying chicken legs.

Lacking breadcrumbs, she substituted them with crushed steamed buns. After frying the chicken legs, she fried chicken chunks, chicken feet, and chicken wings. Two large roosters were ruthlessly consigned to the frying pan by her.

The fried chicken received unanimous praise from the entire family.

Tang Meyun ate without even lifting her head. "Delicious, though it does use quite a bit of oil."

Her family was considered quite well-off—they only had one daughter and both parents worked—yet they weren't extravagant enough to eat deep-fried foods often.

Cooking oil was strictly rationed back then; each person was allotted only two taels of oil per month. If a family saved up a whole year's worth without using a single drop of oil, they might have enough for one frying session, but thinking about it made it hardly seem worth it.

Her daughter, Baizhi, sat beside her, politely nibbling on a fried chicken leg. "Older Sister, is the countryside fun?"

She had inherited Bai Qingfeng's gentle and elegant looks. A small, delicate girl with an air of scholarly refinement, just sitting there with her quiet demeanor, she instantly calmed the minds of those around her.

"No, it's not fun," Tang Banxia replied decisively. "The countryside is exhausting."

Baizhi nodded thoughtfully. "Is that so?"

Tang Banxia nodded in confirmation.

Hearing his daughter's question, however, a shadow flashed across Bai Qingfeng's eyes, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

As the year drew to a close, New Year goods sent by members of the Tang family scattered across various regions arrived one after another.

Wen Mubai and Tang Banxia, being the idle members of the household, were ordered around in circles by Grandma Tang all day long.

One day they would queue up at the food supply station, the next at the supply and marketing cooperative, and the day after that at the post office to pick up parcels.

After a few days of this, their legs had practically grown thin from all the walking.

Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt returned on New Year's Eve, bringing their son along with them.

Her aunt's family had arrived as well.

As for Grandpa Tang, he did not even get New Year's Eve off and remained steadfast at his post.

He only rushed back in time for the reunion dinner in the evening.

After a lively and bustling New Year's Eve dinner, everyone dispersed to their respective homes for the night.

The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Tang Banxia and Wen Mubai woke up early to pay their New Year's respects to the two elders, receiving two generous red envelopes in return.

After finishing dumplings for breakfast, a stream of visitors arrived at the house to pay their respects to Grandpa and Grandma.

Since Tang Banxia didn't know a single one of them, she simply went out to play with her aunt's family.