The first bugle call of the morning sounded before the first ray of sunlight had even reached the windows.
“Beep-beep-daah—!”
The piercing, powerful notes rang through the compound.
Jiang Ning had been awakened by the cold. The temperature in the Northwest dropped sharply at night, and that threadbare cotton quilt was nowhere near enough to block the chill rising from the ground. She felt as though cold air were seeping out through every joint in her bones.
She moved her stiff neck and sat up.
The inner room was empty.
Gu Ci had left at some point. The military quilt on the wooden bed had been folded into a perfect tofu-shaped block, without a single wrinkle. The lunchbox on the table was gone, leaving behind nothing but a thin layer of dust.
Wonderful.
No good-morning kiss, no breakfast, and not even a word before he left.
Jiang Ning took it all in stride.
She stood up and stretched her limbs, her joints cracking as she moved. This body was far too weak. She needed to improve her physical condition as quickly as possible. Otherwise, forget treating Gu Ci’s illness—even protecting herself would be difficult.
She walked over to the water vat, scooped up a dipper of water, and gave her face a quick wash. The icy water stung her pores, instantly clearing her head.
The water vat was empty.
Jiang Ning sighed.
It seemed her first survival mission of the day wasn’t treating an illness, but fighting for water.
She picked up the tin bucket, pushed open the door, and walked outside.
The military compound was already bustling with activity.
The men had gone out for morning drills, while the women began their daily chores. A communal water tap stood at the far end of the row of bungalows, and a long queue had already formed.
Carrying her bucket, Jiang Ning walked over and calmly joined the end of the line.
The moment she appeared, the previously noisy crowd grew noticeably quieter.
The new bride who had dragged a woven sack into the compound yesterday had become the biggest topic of gossip overnight.
“Hey, look! That’s her.”
“I heard there wasn’t a peep from Colonel Gu’s room last night. They didn’t fight?”
“Fight? I bet Colonel Gu doesn’t even want to touch her. Look at how deathly pale she is. She must have spent the entire night freezing on the floor.”
Wang Juhua stood at the front of the queue, holding two large red plastic buckets. She was animatedly gesturing as she chatted with the woman beside her. When she turned around and spotted Jiang Ning, her little bean-like eyes immediately lit up.
“Well, well! If it isn’t the new Mrs. Gu!”
Wang Juhua had a booming voice. Her shout immediately drew everyone’s attention.
“So, how was it? Did Colonel Gu use you as a punching bag last night?”
A burst of laughter erupted around them.
Jiang Ning ignored her and glanced at the length of the queue.
There were probably seven or eight people ahead of her.
She wasn’t in a hurry. She set her bucket on the ground, tucked both hands into her sleeves, and leaned against the wall to bask in the morning sun.
When Wang Juhua realized Jiang Ning wasn’t going to respond, she felt as though she’d thrown a punch into a pile of cotton. Her irritation grew.
“Putting on airs, are you?” Wang Juhua curled her lips in disdain.
“People from the countryside really have no manners. You don’t even know enough to greet your elders when you see them.”
The line moved painfully slowly.
By the time it was Jiang Ning’s turn, twenty minutes had already passed.
Just as she was about to lift her bucket and step forward, a large, fleshy hand suddenly reached out and slammed a filthy spittoon beneath the tap.
“Oh, dear! I forgot to wash my spittoon!”
Wang Juhua squeezed past Jiang Ning, looking completely unbothered.
“Little sister, I’m a military wife, and my husband is waiting to go to work. Just let me wash this spittoon first. You don’t mind, do you?”
She was blatantly bullying her.
Washing something as filthy as a spittoon at a communal water tap was already disgusting enough. To make matters worse, Wang Juhua had deliberately cut in line.
Everyone watched, but nobody said a word. Wang Juhua was notorious throughout the compound for being an aggressive shrew, and no one wanted to get on her bad side.
They were all waiting to see how Jiang Ning would react.
Would she cry? Or make a scene?
Jiang Ning looked at the filthy spittoon, then at Wang Juhua’s broad face, which was practically covered in provocation.
She smiled.
It was a rather cold smile, the sort one might give while examining a cadaver in a medical laboratory.
“Sister-in-law,” Jiang Ning began. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was steady. “Have you been feeling tightness in your neck lately? Do you struggle to breathe when you sleep at night? Does your heart race terribly?”
Wang Juhua froze.
“How do you know?”
She really had been feeling unwell over the past two days. Her neck constantly felt as though something were squeezing it.
Jiang Ning didn’t answer. Instead, she stepped closer.
Her dark eyes fixed intently on Wang Juhua’s neck, as though she could see straight through the skin to the blood vessels and muscles beneath.
“Your eyeballs are slightly protruding. Your thyroid gland is diffusely enlarged, and your hands are trembling…”
Jiang Ning extended a finger and pointed at Wang Juhua’s shaking hand.
“Sister-in-law, that spittoon of yours isn’t just filthy. It carries a sinister aura, too.”
“You… What nonsense are you talking about?!”
The eerie look in Jiang Ning’s eyes sent a chill through Wang Juhua. She instinctively covered her neck.
“I’m not talking nonsense.”
Jiang Ning lowered her voice further, speaking with the unwavering certainty of a fortune-teller.
“I’m a barefoot doctor. I can read people better than most. You have a case of goiter that has begun affecting your heart—what the old folks call being strangled by a ghost. If you get angry again or do something wicked…”
She paused and glanced at the spittoon.
“The filth inside that thing has disrupted your fortune. You’re going to have terrible luck tonight. You might even find yourself unable to catch your breath, and then…”
Jiang Ning made a slicing motion across her own throat.
“Ahhh!”
Wang Juhua let out a terrified scream. She lost her grip on the spittoon, which crashed to the ground with a clang, splashing filthy water all over her legs.
People in this era were superstitious, especially women who spent their free time gossiping about everyone else’s lives. Although campaigns against old customs and superstitions had been going on for years, when it came to life and death, many people still preferred to believe that such warnings might be true.
And Jiang Ning had described Wang Juhua’s symptoms with such uncanny accuracy. After all, they were classic signs of hyperthyroidism.
How could Wang Juhua possibly continue acting so arrogantly?
“You… Don’t scare me!”
Wang Juhua’s face turned deathly pale. She didn’t even bother picking up the spittoon. Grabbing her two empty buckets, she spun around and fled.
“Bad luck! What terrible bad luck!”
The crowd automatically parted to let her pass.
Everyone’s attitude toward Jiang Ning changed. Their amusement turned into apprehension.
This new bride had one vicious tongue!
She had managed to frighten the formidable, heavyset Wang Juhua into running away with just a few words.
Jiang Ning acted as though nothing had happened. She kicked the filthy spittoon aside and placed her own tin bucket beneath the tap.
Water gushed out with a steady splashing sound.
Once the bucket was full, she lifted the several-dozen-jin container with one hand and turned to head back.
As she passed the stunned military wives, she even nodded politely.
“Excuse me.”
Only after her figure disappeared around the corner of the bungalow did the crowd finally erupt into chatter.
“My goodness! Did Colonel Gu marry a wife or a shaman?!”
In a corner nearby, Xiao Zhang, Gu Ci’s personal guard, was hiding behind a tree. He was holding two warm steamed buns that he had secretly saved for his sister-in-law.
He had witnessed the entire scene from beginning to end, and now his mouth hung open in shock. The buns in his hands were practically being crushed flat.
He had been worried that his sister-in-law might be bullied, so he had come to check on her.
But…
Why had the look in her eyes just now been exactly like the look his commanding officer wore right before killing someone?
“She’s crazy, too…”
Xiao Zhang muttered to himself.
“This whole family is crazy.”
Suddenly, he felt that whether he delivered those two buns or not didn’t really matter anymore.
A ruthless woman like that probably didn’t need anyone’s sympathy.
Jiang Ning carried the water back into the house.
She poured it into the vat, then ate the remaining half of her black cornmeal bun.
Her stomach still wasn’t full, but at least she had regained a little strength.
She sat at the table, tapping her fingers against its surface unconsciously as she considered her next move.
Scaring Wang Juhua had only been a temporary solution. If she wanted to establish herself in the military compound and cure that madman, Gu Ci, relying on sharp words alone wouldn’t be enough.
She needed money, medicine, and genuine respect.
“A barefoot doctor…”
Jiang Ning rolled the words around in her mind.
The identity she had casually invented on the spot might actually provide an excellent way to establish herself. Doctors were scarce in this era, especially those with genuine skills. As long as she built a reputation for herself, who in the compound would dare look down on her?
Just as she was thinking about this, an urgent knock suddenly sounded at the door.
“Is anyone home? Is Colonel Gu home?!”
The voice was frantic, trembling with tears.
Jiang Ning stood up and opened the door.
A young soldier stood outside, drenched in sweat. In his arms, he was holding a… military dog that was convulsing all over.