“Comrade, if you don’t take off your pants, I can’t perform the surgery.”
Qiao Xingyue had no idea that the man before her, Regiment Leader Xie, who had injured his manhood, was in fact her nominal husband.
Five years ago, after performing four consecutive surgeries, Qiao Xingyue had just stepped away from the operating table when her vision went black. When she opened her eyes again, she had transmigrated to the 1970s, becoming a village girl of over two hundred jin—Pang Ya.
At that time, Pang Ya’s Mother had her sights set on a Platoon Leader who was in the village for a mission.
Hearing that the Platoon Leader received a monthly allowance of forty-eight yuan, her eyes turned red with greed. She secretly prepared a packet of beast medicine used for breeding.
She mixed it into two bowls of sweet potato porridge.
One bowl was given to the Platoon Leader who was lodging with them, and the other was given to her unsuspecting daughter, Pang Ya.
It was at this exact moment that Qiao Xingyue transmigrated.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was dazed and groggy from the drug’s effects, her body limp. In a state of confusion, she tumbled together with the equally disoriented Platoon Leader.
The next morning, the man woke up completely bewildered.
Although he knew he had been set up, seeing Pang Ya’s Mother weeping and wailing that her innocent daughter’s purity was gone, he steeled himself and took responsibility, marrying Pang Ya.
Qiao Xingyue remained in a daze for several days. When she was on top of the man, she hadn’t even gotten a clear look at his face. When she finally came to, she had a new husband.
After the wedding, the man stayed with his army unit. He didn’t ask Pang Ya to join him, only sending her money.
All of that money was clutched tightly in Pang Ya’s Mother’s hands; not a single cent was given to Pang Ya.
Not long after, seeing that the money was coming in steadily, Pang Ya’s Mother even made up a lie to deceive her. “That Platoon Leader died on a mission. I’m saving the pension for you.”
Then, she turned around and kicked the newly pregnant Qiao Xingyue out of the house.
Just like that, Qiao Xingyue, in “Pang Ya’s” body, gave birth to a pair of twins in a dilapidated hut.
With no postpartum confinement and no rations to eat, she had withered from over two hundred jin to a mere ninety. It was only later that she managed to pick up the medical skills from her previous life.
After five grueling years, she had changed her name back to Qiao Xingyue. She took her twin daughters, now over four years old, and drifted from place to place to make a living. It was only two years ago that she arrived in Shantang Village and became the village doctor.
Naturally, Qiao Xingyue didn’t know that the ruggedly handsome Regiment Leader Xie before her was the same unlucky man she had slept with all those years ago.
And the man didn’t know that the slim, beautiful female village doctor was his two-hundred-jin-plus, chubby wife.
“Comrade Xie, you’ve injured a vital area. If you don’t have surgery soon, you’ll become sterile.”
The man was so severely injured that cold sweat beaded on his forehead, yet he still gripped his belt buckle tightly, refusing to let go.
His lean arms, with the sleeves rolled up, revealed every vein and muscle line, brimming with masculine power.
It was just that these arms were stained with blood.
Qiao Xingyue was long accustomed to the gore of the operating table.
She placed her hand gently on the man’s blood-spattered arm, coaxing and persuading him.
“Comrade Xie, on the operating table, there is no distinction between men and women.”
“Right now, I am just a doctor who saves lives and heals the wounded.”
“Be good. Let go!”
Only then did Xie Zhongming properly look at Qiao Xingyue.
He had never been one to spare any female comrade a second glance.
But Doctor Qiao before him was different. Her figure was slender and graceful, and the white coat she wore made her look like an angel.
Her hair was tied in a single, fluffy ponytail that hung over her chest.
A dark green ribbon was tied at the end of the braid, giving her a youthful and beautiful appearance.
Her large, almond-shaped eyes, paired with a delicate, aquiline nose and skin so fair it seemed to glow, made her look truly spirited and stunningly beautiful.
The thought of such a beautiful female doctor taking off his pants to operate on him made Xie Zhongming extremely resistant.
He said, politely but firmly, “Comrade, please find me a male doctor. If you don’t, I’d rather die than have this surgery.”
Qiao Xingyue was furious.
What time was it to be thinking about this?
He wasn’t concerned about his own manhood, but was afraid she would see him naked?
“Is your manhood more important, or your pride?”
On the operating table, time was life.
Moreover, when he was sent over, his manhood was already severely injured.
The crotch of his army-green trousers was soaked through with blood, forming a large, dark patch.
If they delayed any longer, she feared that even she wouldn’t be able to restore his manhood to its full pre-injury function.
“There are no male doctors here who can treat you.”
“Today, you’re taking them off whether you want to or not.”
Her fierce tone carried a grave seriousness.
Moving decisively, she took out a silver needle and pricked an acupoint on Xie Zhongming’s arm.
The next moment, as the man’s hand went limp and weak, she deftly unbuckled his belt and pulled down his blood-soaked trousers.
With that one pull, Qiao Xingyue’s brow furrowed into a knot.
Tsk, tsk, tsk…
An injury like this was a bit tricky.
Beside them, Jiang Beiyang saw Qiao Xingyue’s expression and became extremely worried. “Comrade Qiao, is it hopeless? Is Zhongming really going to be sterile from now on?”
Qiao Xingyue stated crisply, “He can be saved, but I’ll need to add another thirty to the surgery fee.”
Jiang Beiyang was enraged. “Comrade, you already quoted thirty…”
How could she jack up the price like this?
Qiao Xingyue was disinfecting her hands, preparing for surgery at a moment’s notice.
“When you brought him in, you only said it was a simple suturing procedure. But now it’s clear that this surgery is extremely difficult and high-risk. Not just anyone can do it.”
Besides, Qiao Xingyue was waiting for the money to buy medicine for her younger daughter, Ningning.
Ningning was born with congenital asthma, and a box of the special medicine cost twenty-four yuan.
Treating patients in this small village, she couldn’t even earn that much in a month. She often had to borrow money from others in the village. Although she always paid it back promptly, the villagers weren’t well-off and lived frugally. She had reached a point where there was no one left to borrow from.
“If you’re willing to add the money, I’ll start the surgery now.”
Her gaze swept decisively between Comrade Xie and Comrade Jiang.
She waited for them to make a decision.
“You…” Jiang Beiyang clenched his fists.
Xie Zhongming, sweating from the pain, also hadn’t expected this female comrade to raise the price so brazenly.
He endured the pain and sized her up again, his eyes carrying a deeper chill—was this female comrade a money-grubber?
“Are you doing it or not? The longer you wait, the riskier the surgery becomes. If the tissue becomes necrotic, it’ll be useless even if I stitch it up.”
Fearing that Xie Zhongming would truly become sterile, Jiang Beiyang gritted his teeth and nodded. “Thirty more it is. Hurry up and start the surgery.”
Racing against time, Qiao Xingyue held her hand out to the young nurse beside her. “Bring the razor. I need to shave him first.”
The young nurse handed her the sterilized razor.
She reached toward the area below the man’s abdomen, about to start shaving.
Her slender, fair wrist was suddenly grabbed by the man’s other hand.
The man’s face turned red.
The tips of his ears were also red, tinged with shame.
Qiao Xingyue found this man’s modesty somewhat endearing.
She pricked his other arm with another needle, then began to shave him efficiently. “I’ve already seen everything. Behave yourself and don’t move, or you’ll be the one to suffer.”
Xie Zhongming truly wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
The injured area… even that chubby wife from the countryside he had slept with had never touched him like this.
Yet today, because of a serious injury, he was being… by this female comrade before him.
And he had no choice but to lie here obediently, letting this female comrade handle him as she pleased.
“After shaving and disinfecting, I’ll administer the anesthetic.”
“The anesthetic shot will hurt a little. Bear with it. You won’t feel anything after a minute or two.”
“Your injury is quite severe. I can’t give you a complete guarantee that you’ll regain all your previous functions.”
“But I will do my best.”
The anesthetic shot was indeed painful.
Xie Zhongming broke out in a cold sweat, but he didn’t even blink.
Qiao Xingyue could tell he was a tough, iron-willed man.
“Do you still feel anything?” she asked, touching his wound.
“Yes.”
His voice was clear and resonant, firm and powerful.
It didn’t tremble in the slightest from the pain; instead, it was tinged with a hint of shyness.
After half a minute, Qiao Xingyue touched it again. “How about now?”
“I don’t feel anything.”
“Then I’m starting the surgery.”
The anesthesia was only local.
Xie Zhongming’s mind was clear, and he watched the entire time as the female comrade focused on his wound.
His flushed ear tips grew hotter and hotter.
The surgery lasted for about an hour.
With practiced ease, Qiao Xingyue placed the final stitch and wrapped the area in gauze. “Alright, it will still throb with pain after the anesthetic wears off. You can’t wear pants during this time to avoid friction and to keep it dry. When I have a moment, I’ll come check on your post-operative condition.”
With that, Qiao Xingyue draped a thin blanket over the man. “Rest well. I have to go see the other injured patients.”
She pulled the curtain shut for him and quickly turned to leave.
Over a dozen injured workers were being sent over one after another from the collapsed mine.
The village’s conditions were poor, and there was no formal clinic.
Qiao Xingyue’s home served as the village’s temporary clinic. Normally, when villagers got sick, they came directly to her house to find her. With the mining disaster, her home naturally became the primary treatment center.
She continued to race against time, treating the next injured person.
By the time she finally had a moment to spare, it was late in the middle of the second night.
She had been working nonstop for two days and two nights and was already exhausted.
But she still pulled back the curtain and went to Xie Zhongming’s bedside. “How are you feeling?”
There was only a single kerosene lamp by Xie Zhongming’s bed, illuminating his resolute, chiseled profile.
Seeing her approach, Xie Zhongming grew a little uncomfortable. “I’m fine.”
After all, she had seen everything down there.
It was this very same conservative and shy man whose voice was nevertheless full-throated, deep, and powerful. “Comrade Qiao, thank you.”
“I was paid to do a job. It’s what I should do.” As she spoke, Qiao Xingyue had already lifted the thin blanket covering his abdomen. “Let me see the post-op situation.” The blanket was lifted halfway before being pulled back down.
The man was clutching the blanket for dear life. “I’m not wearing any pants… Doctor Qiao, the surgery is done, let’s not look.”
“I have to check the post-op condition to determine how it’s recovering.”
The man still held on to the blanket tightly. “I think it’s recovering quite well.”
“Comrade Xie, I have to see it with my own eyes to determine if there’s any post-operative infection or if the wound has split open. Otherwise, if there’s an unexpected issue that isn’t dealt with in time, you can forget about having a normal sex life. You might even have difficulty urinating.”
Xie Zhongming truly couldn’t understand how she, a female comrade, even if she was a doctor, could say such shameless things.
But realizing the severity of the situation, the man finally let go of his grip.
He did so, however, with great reluctance.
The light from the kerosene lamp in the tent was dim.
After lifting the blanket again, Qiao Xingyue took a flashlight from her pocket and shone it on the wound to examine it.
Knowing he was thin-skinned, she quickly covered him back up after she was done. “Are you married?”