“Hey, little girl, you really want to become my disciple? Have you studied medicine before? How are your basics?”
Yang Wenqing asked with a chuckle.
Su Qiu replied sincerely: “I haven’t studied medicine before. I’ve only read a few books on acupuncture, but I’m very interested in it. Meeting you today must be fate, sir.”
After packing up his belongings, Yang Wenqing glanced at the young girl and stroked his beard with a smile.
“Medicine is not easy to learn. You must not rush. To master acupuncture alone requires a solid foundation in many basic subjects.
Many people have wanted to become my disciple, but I have never accepted anyone suitable so far. It is not just about talent—you must also be diligent and sincere. Those who are sly and insincere, no matter how skilled, I will not accept.”
With that, the old man left with his pack on his back.
Geng Jiao and Wang Xuefei exchanged glances and both curled their lips.
Perhaps because Su Qiu had previously tried to please the Production Team Leader’s wife, they felt that her talk of becoming a disciple was fake, and that she was simply trying to curry favor with the village doctor again.
Su Qiu stared at the doorway, opening her mouth slightly. In the end, the old man had not clearly explained how one was supposed to become his disciple.
Zhao Na suddenly remembered something important and hurried out, calling: “Village Doctor Yang, we haven’t paid you for the consultation!”
“No need. The Wei family boy already paid when he came earlier.”
Zhao Na frowned upon hearing this again. Could that Wei Ye really have his eyes on Su Qiu?
When she returned to the room, Zhao Na originally wanted to speak to Su Qiu, but Geng Jiao and Wang Xuefei were still present. She could only hold her words back.
Su Qiu rested her chin on her hand and sighed inwardly. She had only been here a few days, yet she already owed favors to one person.
Still, it happened to be Comrade Wei. Thinking of that tall, upright man, Su Qiu had a good impression of him.
Since she would not be able to leave this place anytime soon, she would slowly repay her debts.
The countryside lacked supplies, but she did not. There would always be chances in the future.
……
Su Qiu only took one day off. Her foot no longer hurt, so although she could not climb the mountain, feeding pigs and chopping pig fodder was no problem.
Aunt Hua saw that she still came to work despite being injured and did not slack off, so she praised her in front of the work points recorder. Su Qiu was still given 8 work points.
Educated youths depended entirely on work points to eat in the countryside. At the end of the year, food distribution was based on them.
Most people barely had enough to survive. If work points were deducted or delayed, there might not be enough food at all.
Food was the most important thing, especially in winter.
Su Qiu appreciated Aunt Hua’s kindness.
At noon, during her break, she returned to the Educated Youth Station and took out some ready-to-eat beef meatballs from her dimensional space. In the afternoon, when she went back to work, she placed some into Aunt Hua’s lunch container.
The pure beef meatballs were fragrant, chewy, and flavorful. Unlike ordinary boiled beef that became tough and hard to bite, these were tender and delicious. Aunt Hua only tasted one and immediately knew it was something good.
She could not bear to eat the rest and planned to bring them home for her family.
In this era, families only got to eat meat during holidays and festivals. Ordinary days never had such good beef meatballs.
Aunt Hua was deeply grateful to Su Qiu and wanted to give her some eggs in return, but Su Qiu refused with excuses.
She was still thinking about becoming a disciple of Village Doctor Yang.
Since feeding pigs was relatively light work, she wanted to use her free time to study under the old man and also maintain a good relationship with Aunt Hua to make things easier.
Just as she thought about it, it happened.
In the afternoon, on her way back after feeding pigs, she unexpectedly met the returning Village Doctor Yang again.
As soon as Su Qiu approached, she noticed something was wrong with him.
Yang Wenqing’s face was flushed red, sweat covered his forehead, and his steps were unsteady.
Su Qiu quickly supported him and asked worriedly: “Village Doctor Yang, what happened to you?”
Seeing that it was Su Qiu, Yang Wenqing recognized her. He replied weakly: “I went to the neighboring village. My straw hat flew off halfway, and I think I suffered heatstroke. Please help me get home first, girl.”
Su Qiu immediately agreed. “Alright, I’ll help you back.”
But after only a few steps, the old man staggered and nearly fell. At the critical moment, Su Qiu tried to hold him up, but her small frame could not support his weight. She ended up kneeling on the ground while still holding him.
At that time, there were not many people on the back mountain road. Su Qiu called out for help a few times until Aunt Hua heard her and came running.
“Oh my, what happened to Village Doctor Yang?”
“He has heatstroke and fainted. We need to carry him back first,” Su Qiu said urgently.
Together, they struggled to carry him to a wooden room near the pigsty.
While Aunt Hua went to fetch water, Su Qiu quickly entered her dimensional space and retrieved a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water.
She opened it and fed it to him, then put the bottle back into her space.
Soon after, Aunt Hua returned.
“Quick, give him some water!”
Su Qiu supported him upright while Aunt Hua hurriedly fed him water with a ladle.
Not long after, Yang Wenqing regained consciousness.
The first thing he saw was Su Qiu’s face, covered in sweat, looking at him with bright eyes.
“So you’ve finally woken up. Village Doctor Yang, how can a doctor get heatstroke? If it weren’t for Educated Youth Su finding you, you would have fallen badly.”
Aunt Hua spoke exaggeratedly, but it was true that Yang Wenqing was already old. If he had fallen on the rocky road, he would certainly have been injured.
Even a minor fall could cause bruises; a serious one could be dangerous.
Yang Wenqing rubbed his temples and tried to sit up.
“Thank you, girl. You saved this old man.”
Su Qiu supported him and said: “It’s nothing, sir. I just helped a bit. Anyone passing by would have done the same.”
Aunt Hua quickly added: “Village Doctor Yang, you don’t know. When I arrived, you were already unconscious. If Educated Youth Su hadn’t been holding you up on her knees, you would have fallen hard. This girl has a kind heart.”
Su Qiu felt embarrassed at the praise.
Yang Wenqing, now sitting up, noticed that Su Qiu’s trouser knees were covered in dirt and dust. His appreciation for her deepened.
“You girl have good character. I have nothing to repay you with, but you said you wanted to learn acupuncture before. Then I will take you as my apprentice.”
Su Qiu’s eyes lit up. She stepped forward and called brightly: “Thank you, Master!”
This was truly an unexpected blessing. She did not hesitate—when the opportunity came, she seized it.
Yang Wenqing looked at her and found her different from other people who had wanted to apprentice before. There was none of the fake politeness.
Her straightforward personality was rather likable.
He stroked his beard and said seriously: “You will start as an apprentice. If you do not learn well, I will not keep you.”
Su Qiu nodded obediently and bowed. “Yes, Master. I will study hard and not bring you shame.”
One thing was certain—when Su Qiu decided on something she liked, she would always put in double effort.
Yang Wenqing shook his head with a smile. “Very well. You are quite likable, but your Educated Youth duties leave you little time. If you want to learn well, you will have to work harder than others.”
“Yes, Master. I understand. I will go learn whenever I have time, take notes carefully, and review repeatedly…”
Aunt Hua listened to their conversation and finally understood that Educated Youth Su wanted to learn medicine from Village Doctor Yang.
However, she did not ask further.
It was not really her concern. Besides, Su Qiu had always been kind to her.
Learning medicine was a good thing. If one could treat illnesses, it would be helpful whenever someone had a headache or fever.