Brigade Leader Li Zhiqiang was smiling too. That brat was far too cunning.
He Yan knew that Bai Su’s father, Bai Zhicheng, had once done him a favor. By deliberately bringing up the resemblance between Bai Su and her father, he was reminding Li Zhiqiang not to forget what he had promised.
Now that Educated Youth Zhou had also acknowledged Bai Su’s medical skills, Brigade Leader Li Zhiqiang naturally intended to keep his word.
“Comrade Bai Su, you saved someone on the tractor yesterday, and today you’ve saved Educated Youth Zhao. You’ve clearly inherited your father’s medical expertise.”
“Educated Youth Zhou will soon be leaving to attend a worker-peasant-soldier university. Starting tomorrow, you can come and work at the brigade’s medical station.”
Working as a barefoot doctor[1]Barefoot doctors (赤脚医生) were rural community health workers who provided basic care, often combining Western and traditional Chinese medicine while remaining involved in agricultural life. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3694790_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3694790_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); at the medical station came with a monthly allowance of ten yuan, and she could still earn work points.
Bai Su had been trying to figure out how to secure a position at the brigade’s medical station, and now the opportunity had practically fallen into her lap.
He Yan was winking and making faces at her. Bai Su quickly accepted the offer.
“Thank you, Brigade Leader. I’ll certainly be a good doctor and serve the brigade’s commune members…”
Some families were celebrating, while others were miserable.
The educated youths were envious of Educated Youth Zhou for securing a worker-peasant-soldier university admission place and gaining an opportunity to return to the city. Meanwhile, the brigade members were jealous that Bai Su had become a barefoot doctor.
The eldest son of the Lu family, in particular, was not at all pleased that Bai Su had obtained a position as a barefoot doctor with a monthly allowance of ten yuan.
He felt that his younger sister-in-law was becoming increasingly difficult to control.
Even when she had been an ordinary farmworker, toiling away in the fields all day, she had dared to chase his mother and wife with a sickle. Once she became a barefoot doctor, she would have even less respect for his family.
How would he ever get any benefits out of his nieces then?
The Lu family had fed those girls and gone through all the trouble of raising them. If they couldn’t get anything in return, the eldest son felt terribly resentful.
What made his face twitch with anger even more was that his younger sister-in-law had announced that they should celebrate her new position as a barefoot doctor by slaughtering one of the family’s chickens.
Looking at the two bowls of chicken soup on the table, the eldest son’s face turned black with anger!
Bai Su smiled as warmly as a spring breeze.
“Eldest Brother, you don’t like eating chicken, do you?”
“I do! I love chicken!”
The chicken had already been slaughtered. What could he possibly do about it?
Gritting his teeth, the eldest son reached out with his chopsticks and angrily grabbed several pieces of chicken.
Bai Su’s smile deepened.
“Who doesn’t like eating meat? Spring planting is exhausting, especially when you haven’t had anything rich or nourishing to eat. I almost thought there really was a fool in this family who didn’t like meat.”
Bai Su placed particular emphasis on the word fool.
The eldest son thought about how their once-full family dinner table had been reduced to just him and Lu Chunya from his branch of the family. His resentment grew even stronger.
What a shamelessly smug smile she had!
He couldn’t let this wretched woman keep enjoying herself!
The eldest son bit viciously into his chicken, venting his frustration on the meat while glaring darkly at Bai Su.
But a glare couldn’t kill anyone, so Bai Su continued speaking with even greater enthusiasm.
“Guihua and Meihua use their brains so much studying. Chicken is such a precious food that I’d originally planned to wait until they came home from school tomorrow before slaughtering one.”
“But since I’ve gotten a job at the brigade’s medical station, surely we should slaughter one first to celebrate!”
“As for the other chicken, we’ll save it to nourish Guihua and Meihua. Yes, it’ll be good for their brains too.”
“Studying takes so much mental effort…”
The eldest son of the Lu family: “…”
The chicken in his mouth no longer tasted good.
He was so furious that his chest felt ready to burst, and he completely lost his appetite…
In the past, whenever the family slaughtered a chicken for New Year or another holiday, only Lu Dajun and Lu Erjun were allowed to eat the meat. Lu Chunya, Lihua, and the other girls would receive nothing more than a mouthful of soup.
Her father’s expression was terrifying!
Lu Chunya was afraid that her father would anger her aunt, who might then divide up the dishes and refuse to let her eat any chicken.
Seeing that the table held not only two bowls of chicken but also the tender bamboo shoots Lihua had gathered from the slope behind the house, Lu Chunya greedily ate her chicken while giving Bai Su an ingratiating smile.
“Auntie, you seem to really like those little bamboo shoots?”
“That’s right. They’re one of my favorites.”
For someone like Bai Su, who had transmigrated into a novel, chicken wasn’t actually all that tempting.
When the chicken had first finished cooking, the eldest son and his daughter hadn’t yet returned from work. Bai Su had already secretly served Lihua and her sisters an extra meal.
But who would ever complain about having more meat?
With the eldest son too angry to eat, Bai Su turned her attention from the tender bamboo shoots to the chicken. She swiftly used her chopsticks to give each of her daughters several large pieces of chicken, then poured half a bowlful into her own bowl.
When Lu Chunya saw that only the chicken’s head and rear end remained in the serving bowl, her expression changed.
Afraid she wouldn’t even get any chicken soup, she hurriedly poured the little broth remaining at the bottom of the bowl into her own.
She hated Bai Su with all her heart.
“Auntie, I know where there are lots of little bamboo shoots. The bamboo grove on the slope behind the brigade’s medical station is full of them.”
As Lu Chunya spoke, her eyes darted around, and she secretly glanced at her father.
Bai Su pretended not to notice her little movements and responded with a smile.
“Besides eating bamboo shoots fresh, you can also dry them for later. Tomorrow, when I go to the brigade’s medical station to learn from Educated Youth Zhou, I’ll take a look around that bamboo grove and gather plenty to bring home.”
Seeing the dimples appear at the corners of his younger sister-in-law’s smiling mouth, the eldest son’s eating movements suddenly paused.
He reached out with his chopsticks and picked up some of the tender bamboo shoots…
*
The brigade’s medical station stood beside the He family’s property.
The He family’s original residence had been taken into collective ownership during the campaign to confiscate landlords’ property and redistribute their land. The rooms where He Yan and his mother now lived, along with the room occupied by Educated Youth Zhou, had once been quarters for the He family’s servants and long-term hired laborers during the family’s prosperous years.
The medical station consisted of two rooms. One was used as living quarters, while the other was where the brigade’s commune members received medical treatment. It was also only a few steps away from Bai Su’s maiden family’s house.
Bai Su arrived for work early the next morning.
Seeing that Educated Youth Zhou hadn’t gotten up yet, she used her key to unlock the front door of her maiden family’s house. She took the things He Yan had stored in the woodshed, put them into a cabinet, and locked it.
Then she drew a bucket of water from the well and began washing and scrubbing.
As expected, she and her daughters would soon be moving here.
To avoid rushing around when the time came, she took advantage of the free time to clean and wipe down the house. Only after finishing did she head over to the brigade’s medical station.
Educated Youth Zhou had stayed up late the previous night reading by the light of a kerosene lamp, so he had gotten up a little later than usual.
After washing up and finishing breakfast, he saw Bai Su arrive and hurriedly welcomed her inside.
“Auntie Bai, you’re here!”
Although Bai Su had saved the elderly professor sent down to live in the cowshed, as well as Zhao Qingrou, and He Yan had praised her medical skills in front of Educated Youth Zhou, Zhou had only been about seventy or eighty percent convinced.
But while handing over the medical station’s medicines and supplies to Bai Su, Educated Youth Zhou began discussing medicine with her.
Bai Su explained everything clearly and confidently, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the subject.
Only then did Educated Youth Zhou realize that Heping Production Brigade had been hiding someone with genuine medical expertise all along.
If she had revealed her abilities earlier, the position of brigade medical worker might never have fallen to him in the first place.
Educated Youth Zhou was deeply grateful.
“It’s fortunate that you know medicine, Auntie Bai. Without you, that worker-peasant-soldier university admission place would never have been given to me.”
“He Yan spoke up for me in front of the brigade leader. When I said I wanted to thank him, he told me that if I wanted to thank anyone, I should thank you for your medical skills. It’s only because Heping Production Brigade has someone capable of taking over as barefoot doctor that the brigade leader won’t hold back my university admission.”
So it turned out that He Yan had been the one who persuaded the brigade leader to give her the position as the brigade’s medical worker.
No wonder he had hinted yesterday that she should examine Zhao Qingrou.
That way, he had helped Educated Youth Zhou while also securing Bai Su a position as the brigade’s barefoot doctor.
Two birds with one stone!
Her future son-in-law really knew how to handle people and situations.
Compared with the backbreaking labor of working in the fields, returning to her original profession filled Bai Su with energy.
On her very first day at work, she helped Educated Youth Zhou change the dressing on an elderly woman’s injured foot.
Educated Youth Zhou went into the back room to scoop out some rice for cooking. When he noticed someone peeking around suspiciously near the bamboo grove, he turned and went back inside.
“Auntie, is that person hiding outside your daughter?”
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