"Where on earth did you buy this?" All women love beautiful things, and Aunt Xiu was no exception—especially since she was already so beautiful to begin with.
"In the city!" Li Yang was happy, too.
Aunt Xiu had been raising him ever since he was about ten. She’d brought him up all this time, yet he’d never been able to repay her for anything.
Now that he could buy clothes for Aunt Xiu, he felt exceptionally happy.
’From now on, Aunt Xiu, I’ll be the one to support you!’
"Aunt Xiu, I’ll support you from now on," Li Yang said softly.
"Nonsense!" A ripple went through Aunt Xiu’s heart, but her delicate brows knitted in a frown. "I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, why would I need you to support me? Besides, you’re not even a man yet. What’s all this talk about supporting someone!"
As she spoke, she looked at the clothes, unable to put them down. But when she saw the price, her expression changed drastically. "Over eight thousand... How did you afford this? Tell me, did you do something illegal?!"
Aunt Xiu was frantic!
"No!" Li Yang quickly explained. "It was a misunderstanding. They gave it to me as an apology."
With that, he briefly recounted the incident.
"You know how to practice medicine?" Aunt Xiu was completely dumbfounded.
"I do..." Li Yang said with a dry laugh. "I know how to treat illnesses. I learned from someone in the city. Don’t forget, I’m the one who cleared the drug’s effects from your system."
"That’s different!" Aunt Xiu couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
’I know you down to every hair on your body,’ Aunt Xiu wanted to say, but she held her tongue. He was a grown boy now; it wasn’t appropriate to talk like that anymore.
"There’s more!" Li Yang earnestly pulled a thousand yuan from his pocket. "Aunt Xiu, this is the money from selling vegetables today. Take a look."
The sight of ten one-hundred-yuan bills left Aunt Xiu stunned.
"Did you threaten Gao Jinming?"
"No!" Li Yang gave a wry smile. "I poached Gao Jinming’s client, and they paid extra as a deposit. Oh, and I also helped their manager out, so they gave me a little more."
"You’re lying!" The story was too incredible for Aunt Xiu to believe.
Li Yang said helplessly, "It’s true!"
"If you’re really that skilled, then go to the village clinic and treat the villagers!" Ye Xiu said, suddenly remembering the massage Li Yang had given her. "Our village doesn’t even have a barefoot doctor. You should go and take care of everyone."
’The village clinic probably has some traditional Chinese medicinal herbs,’ Li Yang thought. ’If I go, I might be able to get my hands on some.’
’Besides, now that I have these medical skills, I might as well help out the villagers.’
"Alright, I’ll go tonight!"
True to his word, Li Yang went to the village clinic after dinner.
Regulations required every village to have at least one clinic, staffed with a doctor.
Bishui Village did once have a doctor. But after the old doctor passed away, no one local could take his place. The only option was to assign doctors from outside, but unfortunately, the village was so poor that none of them could get used to the living conditions. Three doctors were sent in a single year, and every single one of them fled.
As a result, the village now had a newly built clinic, but no doctor.
Whenever the villagers had so much as a headache or a fever, they had to go to the township health center to see a doctor, which was a huge hassle.
Flipping on the light, Li Yang looked inside. A musty smell wafted out.
’This is what happens when a place is left empty. I’ll have to clean it up first.’
After he finished cleaning, Li Yang started looking for medicinal herbs.
Just as he’d expected, the village clinic did have some traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, and they were all things he could use.
’In that case, I won’t hold back.’
Just as he was tidying up, a figure rushed in and said to Li Yang, "Xiaoyang, I heard from Aunt Xiu that you’re better now and you’re seeing patients here. I... I was bitten by something. Can you take a look?"
"Ah?" Li Yang looked up and saw that it was the village widow, Zhou Liyun.
Zhou Liyun was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. She had been married into the village for two years when her husband died in a mining accident, leaving her a widow.
And just like that, she became a widow.
A beautiful one, at that.
"Where were you bitten?" Li Yang asked.
"Uhm..." A blush crept up Zhou Liyun’s pretty face, and she faltered.
"I’m a doctor!" Li Yang said with some exasperation. "You have to tell me for me to know what’s wrong."
"It’s... here..." Zhou Liyun turned her head away, turned her back to him, and pointed down.
’So that’s where it is. No wonder she’s so embarrassed.’
"What bit you?" Li Yang asked.
"I think it was a snake... I was just picking flowers, squatting down, and suddenly I felt something bite me from behind..." Zhou Liyun’s face was pale. "I’m already starting to feel sick. Should I go to a hospital?"
"Okay, take off your pants so I can take a look," Li Yang said in a serious tone.
’If it really was a snake, this could be a problem. I wonder if it’s venomous.’
"I..."
"Sister-in-law Liyun, this is no time to hesitate!" Li Yang grew anxious on her behalf. "If the venom spreads, there’ll be nothing I can do."
Zhou Liyun realized he was right. Steeling herself, she immediately pulled her pants halfway down.
Li Yang took one look and almost got a nosebleed.
’What a perfect behind!’
’And more importantly, her skin is so fair!’
"It’s definitely venomous!" Li Yang took one look and immediately spotted the red line on her skin.
’Looks like the snake was venomous.’
"Then what do I do?!" By now, Zhou Liyun had completely forgotten her embarrassment.
"Don’t worry, you got here just in time. I’ll squeeze it out!" Li Yang looked around and smiled when he saw a set of silver needles.
He stepped forward and grabbed them.
Before Zhou Liyun could react, Li Yang swiftly inserted several needles, sealing off the meridians to stop the venom from spreading. Then, he began to press the area with his fingers.
All Zhou Liyun could feel were Li Yang’s fingers gliding over her smooth skin. The sensation made the young widow’s heart tremble.
’This feeling... It’s been so long.’
A few minutes later, Li Yang had forced out the venom, which finally dripped onto the floor.
When he was done, Li Yang pulled his hands back, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Alright, you’re fine now."
Zhou Liyun quickly pulled up her pants, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Xiaoyang, thank you so much. Um, how much do I owe you...?"
Li Yang shook his head. "Don’t worry about the money. By the way, Sister-in-law Liyun, how is your skin so good?"
Zhou Liyun’s skin was exceptionally fine, even fairer than Aunt Xiu’s. Li Yang couldn’t resist his curiosity.
"I... I eat flowers!" Zhou Liyun said after a moment’s thought. "It’s the kind of flower I was just picking. It can heal wounds, and it’s very fragrant. I usually use it to make tea. If you drink it often, it’s like it makes you shed your skin, replacing it with new, fairer skin."
Zhou Liyun replied.
Li Yang shot to his feet, his voice trembling as he asked, "This flower... where can I find it?"