Chapter 86: Two Sickly Men

Tenderness lasted no more than a day.

Tang Qiming was already thinking of leaving.

The reason was simple:

He looked with deep resentment at the bowl of pitch-black, foul-smelling medicinal soup before him.

Across from him, Wen Mubai, suffering the same fate, wore a look of schadenfreude that pricked Tang Qiming’s sensitive heart.

Wen Mubai remarked that with someone sharing the experience, the medicine didn’t taste bitter at all.

Tang Banxia, having finished tending to her gold needles, emerged to find the two men gazing at each other with intense expressions, and the untouched bowls of medicine before them.

For a moment, she didn’t know whether to leave or go in.

Wen Mubai spotted her and said, “Second Brother, Banxia is doing this for our own good—bitter medicine is good for us!” With that, he raised his bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Tang Qiming: …

He turned sharply and, as expected, saw his younger sister.

Not daring to delay, he hastily followed suit and downed the medicine.

Only then did Tang Banxia step forward, revealing the gold needles in her hand. “Who’s first?”

That sentence, paired with her action, could easily frighten a small child.

Wen Mubai immediately played the obedient one. “Second Brother should go first; he’s more important.”

Tang Qiming, a step too late: …

This brat really deserves a beating!

He wondered what his little sister saw in him.

But seeing the boy grinning like a flower, he understood—his sister was taken in by his face.

She’d always been especially attached to their third cousin from their uncle’s family, simply because he was the most handsome among them.

Lost in these thoughts, Tang Qiming lay down. Watching his sister’s delicate profile as she administered the needles, he suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.

This meeting, his little sister had changed so much.

She no longer clung to him, demanding this and that, nor did she sulk or act spoiled like before.

She was more thorough in her thinking, and her hands bore a new layer of calluses.

But if he could, he’d still wish for her to be as carefree as she once was.

“All done. Half an hour,” said Tang Banxia. “Don’t move. I’ll go grind the medicine paste.”

After Tang Qiming finished, it was Wen Mubai’s turn to lie down.

At noon, Tang Banxia prepared medicinal dishes tailored to their injuries.

Wen Mubai received a soup to nourish the stomach; Tang Qiming, a porridge to replenish blood and energy.

As for Tang Banxia, she made herself some mashed potatoes with noodles.

That afternoon, while she prepared medicinal herbs, Tang Qiming dragged Wen Mubai out for a stroll around the village.

He first paid a visit to the team leader’s house, brought a box of cigarettes, and chatted for a while.

He learned a bit about his sister’s past, and asked the team leader to look out for her.

The team leader, a seasoned old hand, readily agreed, and took the chance to emphasize the contributions Comrade Tang had made to the village.

Tang Qiming listened with pride swelling in his chest.

But once he left the team leader’s house, his smile faded.

Even though the team leader had only mentioned it in passing, Tang Qiming had caught the underlying story behind his sister’s marriage.

He shot a glare at Wen Mubai, who pretended not to notice, and found him all the more displeasing.

If it weren’t for that Liu… whatever his name was, how would his little sister have ended up marrying this pretty boy living off her?

The thought of this man feeding off his sister’s efforts made his blood boil.

“Comrade Wen, you seem very pleased with yourself?” he asked sarcastically.

Wen Mubai smiled sweetly. “Of course. With a brother who cares for her so much, I’m happy for Banxia.”

At least that was a decent thing to say.

But, “Is that any of your business?”

Wen Mubai was quick to adapt. “You’re absolutely right, Second Brother.”

Tang Qiming gave a cold chuckle. “Let’s go, next household.”

Wen Mubai then accompanied Tang Qiming to visit the accountant, the women’s director, three team leaders, the scorekeeper, and several highly respected elders of the village.

He was polite, never directly asking them to look after his sister, just making small talk and occasionally mentioning tidbits about the army.

Then he’d say that if anyone in the village wanted to enlist, he could help them find out the recruitment schedules.

For rural folk, joining the army was a good way out.

But the timing of recruitment changed every year, and by the time the information reached the villages, the quotas were already filled.

Some places only held recruitment once every several years.

Now, with Tang Qiming’s offer, families with such aspirations were overjoyed.

And everyone knew exactly what Second Brother Tang was up to.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement—if they looked after Comrade Tang, her brother would help them get the inside scoop on military recruitment.

The elders, too, knew their limits. They weren’t seeking to take advantage—just a chance.

From all these conversations, Tang Qiming slowly pieced together his sister’s life in the countryside.

After leaving the last house, he glanced at the sky. “Let’s head back, or my sister will come looking for us.”

Wen Mubai felt a pang of empathy. Indeed, it was almost time for their next dose of medicine.

For the first time, the two felt a sense of shared misery.

They trudged home, only to be greeted by the radiant smile of their sister (or wife), who said softly, “Come now, time for your medicine~”

Tang Qiming and Wen Mubai: …

After drinking the medicine, there were more medicinal dishes to eat. After that, Banxia would take their pulses, closely monitoring every subtle change in their bodies.

Then, the next day, she’d adjust their doses and needle techniques.

Under Tang Banxia’s meticulous care, both men grew healthier by the day.

But Wen Mubai was starting to feel uncomfortable.

He was being so thoroughly “nourished” that he was almost getting nosebleeds, with nowhere to expend his surplus energy. Worse yet, seeing the “roadblock” lying between him and Tang Banxia at night had him grinding his teeth. He sighed, “Second Brother, when does your leave end?”

He was seriously interfering with Wen Mubai’s plans!

Second Brother Tang replied expressionlessly, “Just wait and see.”

He had a full three months of leave—enough to drive this brat mad!

Of those three months, one was sick leave, one a reward for completing a mission, and the last borrowed from his next three years’ worth of leave.

Wen Mubai was fuming.

Sure enough, no brother-in-law is ever easy to get along with.

Tang Banxia, lying on the innermost side, said, “Go to sleep.”

Both men instantly fell silent.

Meanwhile…

News of Tang Qiming’s visits around the village spread quickly.

Anyone with sense could see that Comrade Tang’s brother had come to back her up, and word got out that he’d promised to help inquire about military recruitment as well.

Everyone understood that this was bait—if they wanted in, they’d need to look after Comrade Tang.

And there were plenty of families interested.

Thus, a tacit agreement was reached.

Of course, there were those with less sense, who approached Second Brother Tang with nonsense.

Take Xu Guiming, for example. He’d long held a grudge that Tang Banxia had chosen Wen Mubai, the pretty boy, over him.

He often compared himself to Wen Mubai, and now, seeing Second Brother Tang’s protective display, felt his chance had come. Surely a brother who doted on his sister wouldn’t let her stay married to a freeloader like Wen Mubai?

So, one morning, after Tang Qiming returned from his run, Xu Guiming stopped him. “You’re Comrade Tang’s brother, right?”

Tang Qiming had been running for two hours and looked entirely unruffled. “And you are?”

For this meeting, Xu Guiming had even borrowed a set of clothes from Yang Zhibo to make sure he looked better than Wen Mubai.

White shirt, black trousers, hair slicked back like a dog had licked it—he looked the part. “Hello, my name is Xu Guiming. I’m also a sent-down youth. I came on the same train as Comrade Tang.”

Hearing that name, Tang Qiming’s smile only grew broader…