Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground and dispelling some of the summer heat.
Inside the Ganye Village committee office, Zhou Huaiqing leaned back in a wooden chair, humming a tune leisurely as he absentmindedly flipped through his appointment documents, a grin stretching almost from ear to ear.
Just then, a sudden commotion erupted outside, startling him so much he nearly toppled from his chair.
Zhou Huaiqing slammed the table. “Who’s making all that noise out there? This is the village committee—”
Before he could finish, the door was flung open from outside. A large crowd surged in, packing the office so tightly there was hardly room to stand. The scene was exactly like the struggle sessions of recent years, terrifying Zhou Huaiqing into immediate silence. Cold sweat broke out on his back, and in those few seconds, his entire life flashed before his eyes.
Before he could make sense of it, he saw his youngest daughter being shoved forward from the crowd.
Father and daughter locked eyes for just a moment before the latter abruptly lowered her head, her gaze evasive and clearly guilty.
“Today’s matter must be settled! Our Old Chu family isn’t so easy to bully!”
“Zhou Lifang beat the Daduizhang’s daughter so badly the doctor said something about a concussion—she’s been sent to the hospital. You have to take responsibility.”
“That’s right. The family of the village party secretary’s appointee leading the charge in disrupting unity—if other villages find out, they’ll laugh their heads off.”
“Don’t call him village party secretary yet. Zhou Huaiqing hasn’t even taken office. I say we all go to the Gongshe and speak to the higher-ups, ask them to appoint someone else as our village party secretary.”
The barrage of accusations nearly overwhelmed Zhou Huaiqing, but hearing this, no matter how confused he was, he couldn’t stay silent any longer. He quickly said, “Fellow villagers, don’t rush. Let’s talk this through properly. Whatever the case, you have to let me understand what happened first. If it’s my Lifang’s fault, I’ll definitely give everyone a satisfactory explanation.”
“What’s there to understand? Zhou Lifang hitting someone is wrong!”
Hearing this, Zhou Lifang, standing nearby, widened her eyes and shrilled, “If it weren’t for Chu Youhuan pestering Comrade Hu all the time—”
“Shut up!”
Zhou Lifang froze at the rebuke. Meeting Zhou Huaiqing’s furious, almost murderous glare, she instantly fell silent, not daring to say another word.
Zhou Huaiqing clenched his fists in frustration. How could he have raised such a fool? If she didn’t care about her own reputation, she shouldn’t drag him down with her. What did it matter who was pestering whom? Why was she making such a scene? Was she afraid people wouldn’t guess her petty thoughts?
But now wasn’t the time to lecture her. Suppressing his anger with difficulty, Zhou Huaiqing quickly asked a familiar face for details, piecing together the cause and effect of the incident.
In that moment, he was both furious and regretful. If he’d known this would happen, he should have broken the wretched girl’s legs before leaving home to keep her from causing trouble! Had her brain been muddled? How could she be so bold? Even daring to hit Chu Youhuan—that was the Chu family’s precious treasure!
Never mind that he hadn’t officially taken office; even if he were firmly seated as village party secretary, he’d still have to greet the Chu family with a smile.
It must be understood that more than half of Ganye Village shares the surname Chu, all connected by varying degrees of kinship. Like grasshoppers tied to the same string, they are most united and harmonious—enough to drown someone with just a spit from each.
As someone surnamed Zhou, Zhou Huaiqing had worked hard to be elected as the village Party secretary. Before others could even react, he had already been stabbed in the back by his own family.
Thinking of this, Zhou Huaiqing wished he could beat Zhou Lifang, that deadweight of a girl, to death. But since things had already happened, he could only do his best to remedy the situation. Otherwise, if the matter were really brought to the Gongshe, his position as village Party secretary might truly be in jeopardy.
After all, officials not only value personal ability but also place great importance on public support.
Zhou Huaiqing’s eyes shifted, and he immediately put on a worried and urgent expression. “How is Comrade Chu now? Is the injury serious? I’ll go back and get some money right away. Let’s make sure she’s treated first.”
With this attitude, everyone found it hard to say anything more.
Seeing this, Zhou Huaiqing breathed a slight sigh of relief but dared not relax. He hurried off without delay, not even bothering with Zhou Lifang.
Meanwhile, the tractor jolted along the winding, bumpy dirt road for over an hour before finally reaching the hospital gate.
This journey nearly cost Chu Youhuan half her life. When she got off, her calves were trembling so much she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Chu Songqiang, standing nearby, reacted quickly and caught her, or she would have likely ended up face-first in the dirt.
“Huanhuan, are you okay?”
Chu Youhuan didn’t even have the strength to reply. Her small face was deathly pale, her chest felt tight and panicky, and she wanted to vomit but couldn’t. Squatting by the roadside, she soon felt so miserable that her eyes reddened.
Actually, she usually didn’t get motion sickness, but she had never ridden a tractor before, and the mountain road was rough, which explained her severe discomfort.
A bitter smile gradually crept onto Chu Youhuan’s lips. Indeed, lying came with a price—the symptoms she had randomly mentioned earlier were now manifesting almost entirely.
“If you’re motion sick, massaging this acupoint can help a lot.”
A clear, cool, and deep male voice sounded in her ear. Chu Youhuan turned her head toward the voice and saw Xu Chenxin extending his hand, pointing to a spot near the base of her thumb.
But Chu Youhuan was too miserable to move, let alone perform something as skill-dependent as massaging an acupoint.
In the end, the task fell to Chu Songqiang. However, as a rough man accustomed to heavy labor, his strength was astonishing, and he had no control over his force. With just one press, Chu Youhuan felt as if her bones were about to shatter. Her face scrunched up in pain, and she repeatedly cried out for him to stop.
Seeing this, Xu Chenxin sighed softly and took two steps forward. “Let me do it. Give me your hand.”
Gazing at those long, clean hands so close to her, Chu Youhuan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly placed her hand in his.
Their arms differed in thickness, their palms varied greatly in size, and even their skin tones contrasted noticeably. It hadn’t been obvious before, but now, placed together, the differences became strikingly clear.
The man lowered his gaze slightly, his expression focused as he held her wrist. Using his fingertips, he pressed and kneaded the specific spot near the base of her thumb, starting gently and gradually increasing the pressure. With each exertion, the blue veins on his arm bulged slightly, distinct and full of a powerful, masculine tension.
His hand was broad and warm, the heat spreading from where their skin touched, making her palm feel feverish too, inexplicably tightening her throat.
Chu Youhuan stared blankly at their clasped hands for a long time, only snapping back to reality when he withdrew his hand. Her fingertips unconsciously brushed over the tiger’s mouth area a couple of times, but no matter what, she couldn’t shake off that lingering warmth—it even began to simmer, spreading like wildfire.
“Thank you.”
Xu Chenxin glanced at her blushing earlobe out of the corner of his eye, pausing as he stood up, and said calmly, “No need to thank me. If you get motion sickness in the future, you can massage this acupoint, or suck on some preserved plums, sugar, ginger slices, or orange peel—all of these can help relieve motion sickness symptoms.”
After saying this, without waiting for Chu Youhuan to respond, he turned and walked toward the main entrance first.
Chu Songqiang helped Chu Youhuan follow behind, unable to hold back a sigh. “Doctor Xu is truly a good person. I heard he came from a big hospital in Jing Shi to provide aid. His ideological awareness is high too—his future is bound to be limitless.”
If his son could attend Gongnongbing Daxue, would he become this capable in the future? It’s just a pity…
Catching sight of his daughter’s pale cheeks from the corner of his eye, Chu Songqiang pushed aside his wandering thoughts. Well, what’s done is done—what else can be done? Life must go on.
Chu Youhuan didn’t notice the shift in Chu Songqiang’s mood. Hearing this, she asked in surprise, “Jing Shi?”
“Your father only heard it from others, not sure if it’s true, but Doctor Xu clearly isn’t from around here.”
Indeed, Xu Chenxin spoke without a local accent—his Mandarin was extremely standard. Moreover, his demeanor and temperament were clearly cultivated from a young age. In this era, only families from big cities could possibly raise someone like that.
Thinking of this, Chu Youhuan’s heart stirred slightly, and she couldn’t help but probe a few more questions. Only then did she learn that Xu Chenxin had come to the countryside today to attend a meeting for the upcoming month-long free clinic campaign.
After the meeting, Doctor Xu said he wanted to visit a few nearby villages to finalize the location for the free clinic. Chu Songqiang had volunteered to take on this task. Who would have thought that the hard-won opportunity would be interrupted by such an incident?
But fortunately, Doctor Xu was there. Otherwise, with just us rough folks, who would know anything about concussions?
“I wonder what Doctor Xu thinks about this matter. What if he doesn’t choose our village…”
Although having a free clinic campaign is a good thing—getting to see doctors from big hospitals without spending money—daily labor can’t stop. Many people, in order to earn more Gongfen, might not go.
If the stall could be set up in Ganye Village, it wouldn’t only save the villagers a lot of time but also provide a great opportunity to promote Ganye Village and make the higher-ups take notice.
That way, their village would have more say in the Gongshe in the future.
It was supposed to be a win-win situation with no downsides, but who knew it would be ruined like this?
At the thought, Chu Songqiang gritted his teeth in anger, wishing he could tear Zhou Lifang to pieces. Then, remembering something else, his expression turned serious. “Huanhuan, what exactly happened today?”
Hearing him bring it up, Chu Youhuan lowered her eyelashes and remained silent.
Seeing her like this, Chu Songqiang’s face darkened. It seemed it was probably because of that educated youth surnamed Hu again.
“I have no idea what kind of bewitching potion he’s fed you female comrades, making you all act like you’re possessed!”
Chu Youhuan silently agreed in her heart: It really does feel like being possessed…
Neither of them spoke again after that, but Chu Songqiang was all bark and no bite. After completing Chu Youhuan’s hospital admission procedures, he rushed straight to the cafeteria to buy food, fetch hot water, and kept himself busy without a moment’s rest.
Seeing this, Chu Youhuan, who had been raised by her grandmother since childhood, couldn’t help but feel a ripple of emotion in her heart. It seemed that being reborn into this life wasn’t so bad after all.
But this thought took a sharp turn the moment she saw the food inside the aluminum lunchbox!
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Red envelopes keep coming! You’ll definitely help me give away all fifty red envelopes, won’t you? [Let me see]