Yin Fan froze, looking somewhat hesitant.
He Yan, standing nearby, couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
“Hmph! You don’t know how to appreciate someone’s kindness! Auntie Bai’s father was a famous traditional Chinese medicine practitioner throughout the surrounding villages. Even provincial officials came all the way to our brigade to seek treatment from him. It’s only because Auntie Bai is kindhearted that she’s willing to examine your grandfather.”
“If you don’t want her help, then we’ll just drive on. You can take him to see Educated Youth Zhou at the brigade’s medical station.”
“But I can’t guarantee what might happen on the way back to the brigade, or whether your grandfather will be able to hold on until we get there.”
“If you won’t let my auntie examine him, then I don’t particularly care whether she helps you.”
He Yan was thoroughly displeased with the cold-faced fellow on the tractor. After giving him a piece of his mind, he prepared to start the tractor and leave.
But the elderly man tugged at Yin Fan’s sleeve, and a look of embarrassment appeared on the young man’s face. “My grandfather and I were only afraid of causing trouble for Auntie Bai.”
After speaking, he glanced toward the educated youths sitting nearby.
“What trouble could there be? Whether you’re educated youths or people of another status, you’ve come to the countryside to contribute to our Heping Production Brigade. As a member of the brigade, I can’t allow something to happen to you on the road before you’ve even arrived to register.”
“Our Heping Production Brigade couldn’t bear that responsibility either.”
The young man was extremely cautious. It was clear that he and his grandfather must have suffered a great deal before being sent down to the countryside.
By framing her intervention as a matter of preventing trouble for Heping Production Brigade, Bai Su eliminated the possibility of anyone reporting her for helping them. She then reached out and placed her fingers on the elderly man’s pulse.
“Cold pathogenic influences have invaded your body, pathogenic heat has accumulated internally, your emotions are out of balance, and blood stagnation is obstructing your heart. Comrade, you need to take a more positive view of your condition and try to relax. I have a way to relieve your chest tightness and discomfort for the time being.”
Bai Su massaged his Neiguan and Jingming acupoints for a while. Then she placed the pads of her right thumb and index finger against the depressions just above the inner corners of his eyes, pressing downward first and then applying upward pressure.
After repeating these movements and massaging the area for some time, the elderly man’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed. The tightness in his chest eased considerably, and his complexion improved.
“Thank you for your trouble, Comrade.”
The elderly man nodded politely to Bai Su, indicating that he felt much better.
When He Yan started the tractor again, the wariness on Yin Fan’s face had disappeared.
“Auntie Bai, my surname is Yin. My name is Yin Fan.”
He wanted to say more, but there were still educated youths aboard the tractor, particularly the female educated youth, who looked like the sort of person who enjoyed stirring up trouble.
He couldn’t help wondering whether Auntie Bai’s assistance to them might bring trouble upon her.
Therefore, Yin Fan stopped after introducing himself. For the rest of the journey back to the brigade, he didn’t say another word to Bai Su.
After delivering food to the school in town, Bai Su had first gone to the commune office to report the crime, then visited the post office and the supply and marketing cooperative.
During the time she had spent running those errands, the police officers had already arrived at the brigade to investigate.
Only then did Brigade Leader Li Zhiqiang learn that the Lu family’s usually gentle and submissive second daughter-in-law had actually reported her mother-in-law and sister-in-law to the commune authorities.
Good grief!
It wasn’t as though he hadn’t stood up for her, was it?
Yet she had gone straight to the commune authorities with the matter and even filed a police report.
What made things more complicated was that she had praised him to the commune authorities, calling him a good cadre who served the people and would never tolerate feudal remnants engaging in human trafficking. She had even claimed that he was the one who encouraged her to report the crime.
The brigade leader had initially worried that her actions would cost Heping Production Brigade its status as an advanced collective. But thanks to the way she had handled things, when the police officers came to investigate, they also passed along a message from the commune secretary praising him extensively.
So, for the time being, he could put the brigade’s honors aside. At least he had made a good impression on the secretary.
Bai Su had left the brigade leader completely at a loss!
When He Yan drove the tractor into the brigade with a loud puttering rumble, the brigade leader was speaking with the police officers. He turned toward Bai Su and said irritably, “What took you so long to get back from town? The police officers have been waiting for you for ages.”
“Comrade Bai, we’ve essentially verified your allegations that your mother-in-law and sister-in-law deliberately administered cattle medicine to harm you and engaged in human trafficking.”
A police officer stepped forward to greet her. “Lead the way. We’re going to arrest the suspects now.”
Bai Su left with the police officers. Only then did He Yan notice that she had left everything she had purchased at the town’s supply and marketing cooperative on the tractor.
He was about to pick up her basket and run after her when he caught sight of its contents through the piece of worn cloth covering half of it.
He stopped.
Instead of chasing after her, he put the basket away for safekeeping.
Judging from the way Auntie Bai had dealt with the Lu family, he knew she was a bold yet meticulous woman. There was no way she would accidentally leave all her purchases from the supply and marketing cooperative behind on the tractor.
The basket contained mostly cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings, along with brown sugar, red dates, cloth, and similar items.
There was absolutely no way Auntie would buy all those things just to let that awful Lu family benefit from them.
Now that the conflict had erupted so publicly, how could those two cunning men, Lu Dajun and his father, possibly tolerate Lihua and her sisters?
Wouldn’t they make life miserable for the mother and daughters?
So Auntie must be preparing to leave the Lu family, right?
Realizing that she had no intention of letting the Lu family benefit from her purchases, He Yan thoughtfully put everything away for her. Then he took a packet of cigarettes and went to find the brigade leader.
After seeing off the police officers, the brigade leader had arranged for someone to settle the newly arrived educated youths and those assigned to the cowshed. He was just about to make his rounds of the fields when He Yan came over and pressed a packet of cigarettes into his hand.
The brigade leader paused in surprise. “What are you up to this time, you brat? Where did you get these cigarettes?”
He Yan answered with his usual carefree manner, “I saved someone’s life the last time I went to the county town, and they gave them to me.”
“Such good cigarettes would be wasted on me, so I figured I’d save them to show my respect to you, Uncle.”
“All right, enough with the flattery.”
The brigade leader gave him a disdainful look but slipped the cigarettes into his pocket. “Go on, then. What do you really want?”
He Yan proceeded to tell him about the elderly man assigned to the cowshed who had fallen ill on the journey, and how Bai Su had saved him.
The brigade leader was quite surprised. It turned out that the Lu family’s pretty second daughter-in-law had learned some medical skills from her father. She had kept such a low profile all these years that no one in the brigade knew she was capable of treating patients.
Understanding what He Yan was getting at, the brigade leader declared solemnly, “Comrade Bai Su was worried that if Professor Yin, who’s been assigned to the cowshed, fell seriously ill, it would cause trouble for our brigade. All right, I understand. If anyone comes to report her to me, I’ll make sure the matter is kept quiet.”
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.”
He Yan grinned mischievously. “Uncle, I already asked around at the town commune. There are three worker-peasant-soldier university admission places available this time[1]Between 1970 and 1976, Chinese universities admitted worker–peasant–soldier students through a system involving recommendations, official approval, and institutional review. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3694784_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3694784_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Surely our brigade should get at least one, right? Educated Youth Zhou is close to you. If that place goes to Educated Youth Zhou, who’s going to take over the work at the brigade’s medical station?”
“I think Auntie Bai would be perfect!”
He Yan leaned closer to the brigade leader. “Uncle, you have no idea how capable Auntie Bai is. That old man assigned to the cowshed was clutching his chest and nearly collapsed right there on the tractor. If he’d fallen, there could have been blood everywhere. The newly arrived educated youths were scared out of their wits.”
“If someone died on the road before even reporting to the brigade, wouldn’t the commune authorities hold our brigade responsible?”
“Fortunately, Auntie Bai was there!”
“After checking the old man’s pulse, Auntie Bai just pressed a few spots on his hands and face. And would you believe it? A man who was practically at death’s door came back to life!”
“Uncle, since Auntie Bai knows how to treat patients, wouldn’t she be just the right person to take over Educated Youth Zhou’s job?”
References[+]