Chapter 43: Gu Weidong is Back

Chapter 43: Gu Weidong is Back

Shen City People's Hospital.

"I really don't understand you anymore."

"It's a good arranged marriage, and she writes a letter to pick a fight—can't you just coax her? What woman doesn't get upset sometimes? You should've at least explained a bit to see if there was a way to fix things! But instead, when they said they wanted to call off the engagement, you just went along with it? Do you really think acting tough makes you a real man?"

"Do you really think there are plenty of girls out there for you to pick from? Let me tell you, with the stubborn attitude you have, even if you got hit with three sticks, you wouldn't make a sound. Once this chance is gone, it's gone for good. Do you still want to start a family? I think you're destined to be a lifelong bachelor!"

Gu Weidong lazily leaned back in his chair, basking in the sun, letting Hao Shaofeng go on and on behind him.

When Hao Shaofeng criticized him for being destined to remain a bachelor, he even sprawled himself out on the chair, his eyes and eyebrows filled with amusement.

He had lived a mundane and busy life, always chasing after something, only to end up with nothing to show for it.

When the layoffs hit, his job disappeared just like that; when the wave of going abroad came, his wife wanted a divorce and took off; even the child he had raised wasn't his own.

In his previous life, he had become a laughingstock, maybe even seen as a cripple and a good-for-nothing cuckold by others.

So, with this second chance, he had decided to let it all go. He didn't want to be weighed down by all that burden and live such an exhausting life.

Remaining a bachelor seemed like the best option. Without a family to worry about, he could focus all his efforts on his career and see how far he could go in the military, now that his leg was still good.

Looking at his now mostly recovered leg, Gu Weidong's eyes filled with relief and bold ambition for the future.

"I think you've gone mad!"

"Forget about the relationship issue. You were shot while apprehending an enemy spy, and you insist you didn't catch those two, secretly submitting a report to the higher-ups behind my back, withdrawing the regularization application I submitted for you, and instead, sending people to look for some girl around She Mountain.

"It's been more than ten days, have you found her?"

"The two enemy spies have already confessed that they were chased by you and, in a panic, accidentally fell into the trap you set and passed out!"

"Not only did you not want the promotion, but you also gave up your third-class merit. Do you know that with this third-class merit, when the big military competition comes next spring, if you win first place in the individual competition, your position as battalion commander would be confirmed."

"Instead of capitalizing on this, you actually applied to the regiment to trade this merit for some academic training. Do you know that in two years, you'll be far behind others in the regiment? By the time you come back, Gao Fusheng might even outrank you!"

"Are you planning to retire after a few years and pack up early?"

Hao Shaofeng was quite dissatisfied with Gu Weidong's carefree attitude.

He was in the middle of a long speech, but the other man was completely zoned out, not paying attention at all.

"Hey, I've said so much, are you even listening? If you are, give me some response, at least acknowledge what I'm saying!"

"Squeak—"

Hao Shaofeng: ...

Where on earth did Colonel Xu find this bastard? This brat is too infuriating, can they return him to where he came from?!

Successfully pissing off Political Commissar Hao, Gu Weidong finally put away his casual smile and turned his head to look at Hao Shaofeng seriously.

"Political Commissar, there's no need to persuade me. I know what I'm doing and what I truly want."

"It's precisely because I want to go further that I absolutely cannot miss this training opportunity. When I return from the training, I promise you, I will make up for everything I've missed and not let you down."

Hao Shaofeng sneered, "You make it sound easy, but how will you make up for it? You'll be two years behind others. Do you plan to jump three ranks in five years?"

Gu Weidong raised his eyebrows, his attitude arrogant and defiant:

"Is that not possible?"

Hao Shaofeng immediately laughed in disbelief. "You sure have a big mouth for someone so young! Do you even know I've been busting my hump to make it to regiment commander?"

Gu Weidong, of course, knew just how prestigious the Special Forces Regiment is now, and how bad things will get for it in the future.

Because he understood this, he knew he had to seize the chance to get more training.

Gu Weidong even thought about asking Hao Shaofeng to get all the guys with ambition in the regiment into the training program, to give them some prestige.

Lost in thought, he glanced up, his gaze landing on a passerby down the hallway. His eyes suddenly lit up.

Out of the blue, Gu Weidong called out to the passerby.

The passerby stopped, looking confused. "You callin' me?"

Gu Weidong nodded, pointing at the newspaper in the person's hand. "Could I take a look at your newspaper?"

After a moment's hesitation, the passerby handed over the newspaper.

As soon as Gu Weidong looked down, he saw that cocky grin staring back at him.

"Heh—"

He slammed his hand down on the newspaper.

So that's where she's been hiding. The girl had run off to the Great Northern Wasteland!

"Let's go, time to pack up and head back!"

Gu Weidong used his cane to stand up and called out to Hao Shaofeng beside him.

Hao Shaofeng was totally confused. "What are you packing for? Where are you headed?"

Gu Weidong turned back, his eyes gleaming like a hunter who'd spotted his prey in the afternoon sun.

"Back to Kaoshan Village, to break off the engagement!"

Far away in Kaoshan Village, Ye Qing had no idea that she had been found out.

After a busy day helping a cow give birth, all she wanted was to go back and boil a large pot of water for a good bath, washing off all the dirty and smelly stains on her body.

To her surprise, when she returned home, Aunt Gu had already prepared dinner for her and even boiled the bathwater.

Seeing Ye Qing return, Miao Cuilan quickly went to the kitchen, pouring the hot water into Ye Qing's bathtub, adjusting the temperature, and urging Ye Qing to have a good soak.

Ye Qing felt a little embarrassed. "Auntie, you can just leave it there. You've already gone through the trouble of cooking and boiling the water; I can't let you draw the bath for me too. That's too much trouble for you."

But Aunt Gu didn't find it troublesome at all; instead, she looked honored and delighted.

"It's such a small matter, why are you saying it's hard work? Girl, you're really our village's lucky star. I swear there's no illness you can't cure.

"Remember Wang Chunhua from Stinky Pine Gully? She had a tough time with the birth, and it was really dangerous. You managed to save both the mother and the baby. This time too, like the old party secretary said, it was so critical that both the cow and calf were almost gone. But with your amazing skills, you saved both of them just in time.

"Look how your parents got such a fantastic daughter like you. Your little head is just too clever!

"If I had a girl like you in my family, I'd treat her like a princess!

This auntie really liked Ye Qing. She looked at Ye Qing with so much affection, like she was her own daughter. And she didn't just say it. As soon as Ye Qing finished her bath, the auntie rushed over, grabbed the dirty clothes Ye Qing had taken off, and insisted on washing them herself, telling Ye Qing to rest.

"I'll wash the clothes for you, don't worry. You go eat, and then rest, alright? You've been working all day and must be dead tired by now. I was going to do laundry anyway, so it's no trouble for me."

Ye Qing seemed visibly uncomfortable. She had always depended on herself and had never been cared for so thoroughly. She didn't know how to respond.

"Auntie, is there something you need?"

It couldn't be for no reason that she was being so warm-hearted, right? Ye Qing didn't think she was that close to the Gu family yet.

Auntie Miao Cuilan was taken aback, but Murong Ah Po couldn't help but laugh.

"What could she possibly want? She's just a straightforward person who's always warm-hearted. It's normal that you, being from the city, aren't used to such closeness. But you'll understand once you spend more time with her. When I first returned to Kaoshan Village, I wasn't used to it either."

Ye Qing couldn't help but scratch her head. She was always worried that people approached her with some hidden agenda, so this kind of selfless care did seem a bit baffling to her.

This was the huge generation gap caused by the difference in times. In this era, sacrifice and dedication were emphasized, and the general environment took pride in the spirit of Lei Feng. So people like Auntie Gu weren't rare.

However, no matter how warm-hearted Auntie Gu was, when it came to washing clothes, especially undergarments, Ye Qing was firmly against letting others help, even if it was Auntie Gu. It was still a no-go.

Unable to persuade Ye Qing despite her insistence, Miao Cuilan finally relented.

"Alright, you wash them yourself then. I'll go ask your Uncle Gu or Yang Dazhi to help fetch more water for you. When you wash the clothes, don't try to save water. If you run out, just let us know. The men are strong, so they can handle the water-fetching!

"If you're worried the water's too cold, just boil a pot of hot water. In a few days, my kids Xiao Nan and Xiao Bei will be back from school, and I'll send them to the mountains to gather more firewood for you!"

Ye Qing: ...

After her bath and a hearty meal, lying back down, Ye Qing began to review the entire process of the cow delivery from earlier.

Recalling the needling from earlier, she still felt a bit dazed, finding it incredible that she had saved both the cow and the calf.

She wasn't sure how she had come up with such a bold idea, to needle an animal without any certainty of the acupuncture points, yet she had succeeded!

If anything had gone wrong, it would have been a tragedy of two lives.

Thinking about it, Ye Qing felt a sense of luck and fear.

People who study medicine rely on rigorous skill, not blind luck. So, this first-time risky attempt had truly scared her.

After reviewing it, Ye Qing made up her mind that she needed to find a way to get some sort of manual or diagram for veterinary acupuncture as soon as possible.

She was going to pick up the veterinary skills she had only half-learned years ago and dedicate some time to studying and researching this area.

She didn't need to become an expert, but at the very least, for common symptoms, she wanted to be able to diagnose and treat them immediately, avoiding situations where she had to rely on intuition and luck.

And after today's harrowing delivery, Ye Qing figured Wu Yongbing, the old fox, would probably use her for publicity again. It wouldn't be long before her story as the city girl doctor who saved the cow in difficult labor spread far and wide, and then, who knew how many production teams would come asking for her help.

The villagers don’t understand the difference between a human doctor and a vet. If she didn’t know the first thing about treating animals, she’d let the villagers down, and her reputation as a little ‘miracle doctor’ would be ruined.

Ye Qing didn’t sleep too well, mainly due to worry about the cow. Before dawn, when it was still dark, she headed over to the cowshed.

When Ye Qing arrived, Zhao Guosheng visibly relaxed and quickly briefed her on the cow’s condition that night.

He had spent the night in the cowshed, worried the whole time that something might happen.

Fortunately, both the cow and calf were in good condition. Early in the morning, the cow stood up and walked around inside the shed, eating some bran and soybean cake, and showed no discomfort while nursing the calf.

Ye Qing gave a satisfied nod,

"The night had been the most dangerous and difficult time. Since nothing went wrong, the cow is now out of danger. As long as it’s well cared for from now on, it will recover quickly. You can go back and rest. I’ll take care of it during the day."

Zhao Guosheng hurried back to get some sleep before starting his day.

Ye Qing entered the cowshed, approached the cow and calf to check on them again, then headed to the riverbank to gather fresh grass. She tossed a basket of it into the cowshed and cut the rest up to throw into the pigsty.

It was still early, and the pigs in the sty were fast asleep, but the fresh grass she’d gathered had a strong scent that hit the piglets’ noses as soon as she threw it in.

The pigs, which had been sound asleep, instantly stirred. One by one, they clambered out of their nests and excitedly crowded around the trough, eager to chow down. Some even nearly fought over the best spot at the trough.

Standing outside the fence, Ye Qing watched the pigs with a grin, rubbing her chin as she thought about the four black boar piglets.

"What are you thinking about this early?"

Wu Yongbing had also spent a restless night worrying about the cow and calf. He came to Duck River early but hadn’t expected to see Ye Qing standing outside the pigsty, staring intently inside with her eyes constantly darting around, as if she was plotting something.

Hearing Wu Yongbing’s voice, Ye Qing replied without hiding anything:

"I’m planning to send these four boar piglets to the palace!"

Wu Yongbing was stunned, not understanding what Ye Qing meant.

Ye Qing made a snipping gesture and grinned:

"These boar piglets are too destructive. Due to their male hormones, they will constantly be restless and fight. Bumping into the cow is just a minor issue. The real problem is that they will keep fighting over food, territory, and status. The energy they consume in these fights will slow their growth and make it hard for them to fatten up.

"So, it’s better to send them to the palace to become eunuchs. Without the stimulation of male hormones, they will become docile and get along with the other pigs. After raising them for a year or so, they’ll be ready for market."

Wu Yongbing was dumbfounded and instinctively swallowed:

"You dare to castrate pigs?"

As soon as he asked, Wu Yongbing felt his question was too foolish.

This city girl had no fear of killing wild boars, so of course, she would dare to castrate pigs.

But at that moment, Wu Yongbing felt a strange tension and instinctively shrank his neck, even wanting to cover his groin.

The girl in front of him was terrifying. Even though her smile seemed innocent and harmless, there was a hidden predatory glint in her eyes that sent a chill down his spine.

Wu Yongbing was so frightened that he couldn’t speak properly. After a few random words, he made an excuse and quickly left, pretending to need the restroom.

This city girl was too fierce. He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, she might throw a flying knife at him.

Seeing Captain Wu fleeing in panic, Ye Qing could barely hold back her laughter and turned her gaze back to the boar piglets.

To prevent another incident like the cow collision yesterday, sterilizing the wild boar piglets should be done sooner rather than later. Once Ye Qing gets her hands on the veterinary acupuncture diagram manual she needs, she can get started!

Ye Qing planned to make a trip to the town's agricultural technology station after feeding the pigs in the morning, hoping to get lucky and find the book she needed with Xu Xianzhen’s husband.

She had promised a few days earlier to give Sister Xu a few jin of peanuts. Since some time had passed, she could take them over now.

A few wild boar piglets had their heads down, focused on eating, when suddenly, they all stopped and warily looked around.

The four little boars: For some reason, we suddenly feel a cool breeze on our behinds, and we've got a bad feeling—what's going on?

After breakfast, Ye Qing was getting ready to head to the riverbank to cut grass to feed the pigs when the commune secretary and a group of county leaders showed up for an inspection.

The previous day's *Jicheng Daily* arrived at the Jiaotan County post office around noon, where the mail carrier leisurely distributed it to various units.

Though the newspaper arrived late, the leaders finished their work in the afternoon and leisurely sat down to drink tea and read the paper.

Naturally, the feature article that took up most of section B caught a lot of attention.

At first, the leaders didn't think much of the article's title, but as they read on, they noticed the mention of "Jiaotan County Kaoshan Village." That got them all worked up.

From that evening on, the county educated youth office and the Red Flag Commune were overwhelmed with calls. Countless county leaders were asking just who this Ye Qing was and how she managed to appear in *Jicheng Daily* with such a large feature without making a sound.

The county health bureau was even more dramatic. They had just finished discussing Kaoshan Village's health station application. The leaders were still undecided about how many resources to allocate to the health station, planning to wait until Ye Qing passed her assessment and was certified as qualified.

But just then, the *Jicheng Daily* article came out. The director of the county health bureau immediately decided to increase the resource allocation for the Kaoshan Village health station to be on par with the Red Flag Commune health station. Additionally, it was decided to assign two official staff positions to this health station.

This meant that once the health station was officially established and Ye Qing became the station chief, she would automatically have an official position under the unified management of the county health bureau. At the same time, Ye Qing could hire another person to assist her, and this person would also have an official position, receive a stipend, and be supported by the state.

Given the current financial difficulties in various regions and the shortage of medical resources in the health bureau, this was the greatest gesture of goodwill the county health bureau could offer.

After all, even the Red Flag Commune health station only had one official position. It was unusual for a production team to independently establish a station and receive two full-time positions. The health bureau made an exception for Ye Qing because of this news article.

With the health bureau doing their part, other units couldn't just sit back. Early that morning, several cars arrived at Kaoshan Village.

The county government office led the way, followed by the agricultural bureau, audit bureau, health bureau, and a long list of government units, each sending a representative. They were all here for the celebrity Ye Qing.

The villagers of Kaoshan Village were stunned. In all their years, they had never seen such a grand event.

So many high-ranking officials from the county coming to the village—good heavens, what a spectacle!

At this point, the villagers realized that Ye Qing's interview with the reporter had indeed made it into the newspaper, and these county leaders were drawn here by that report.

Wu Yongbing was both excited and at a loss.

Usually sharp and domineering, the usually scolding team members without hesitation, Captain Wu was now at a loss for words, his mind blank as he rubbed the seam of his pants, unable to say a single word.

Seeing Wu Yongbing's useless demeanor, Lai Guochang was exasperated, wishing he could kick Wu a few times. He quickly stepped forward to smooth things over:

"Captain Wu, the leaders are just here for a tour of the village and to check in on Comrade Ye Qing. Where is Comrade Ye?"

Wu Yongbing finally came to his senses:

"She's by the Duck River. Since the member who used to raise pigs and cows in the village stopped, I reassigned her to the pigsty and cattle shed. I'll call her back right away."

The county government office leader laughed upon hearing this:

"No need to call her. We'll go see Comrade Ye ourselves. I just heard from your commune secretary that Comrade Ye did something significant in your village yesterday—assisting a difficult cow birth. How are the cow and the calf now?"

Captain Wu replied dryly:

"It's all good, it's all good."

What kind of answer is that? Is this how you chat with folks? You're trying to single-handedly kill the vibe here!

Lai Guochang was about to blow a gasket, wishing he could pry Wu Yongbing's tight-lipped mouth open.

Do you really think the leaders are asking because they're worried about the cow and calf? They want to know how Ye Qing managed to deliver the calf against all odds. Why don't you give them the details?

You're usually quite the motor-mouth, always banging the table and cussing in our commune, what can't you do? So why are you acting like a scaredy-cat now?

Seeing Wu Yongbing frozen like a post just when it mattered, Lai Guochang knew he had to take over.

"I was there at the beginning yesterday. The cow's water broke after it was hit. Comrade Ye immediately said she would handle the delivery..."

Lai Guochang embellished his part of what happened yesterday. For the parts he didn't know, he had Wu Yongbing fill in the gaps, barely managing to get through that part.

Sure enough, the leaders were all interested in Ye Qing's story, and as they walked towards the riverbank, they chattered and debated.

When Ye Qing returned to the pigsty with a large basket of pig fodder on her back, she saw a group of male comrades in Sun Yat-sen suits standing in front of the pigpen and cowshed, discussing important matters with great enthusiasm. It left Ye Qing stunned.

As soon as they saw Ye Qing, Wu Yongbing finally saw his savior:

"Comrade Ye, these are county leaders who've come to express their gratitude to you."

Gratitude? For her?

Ye Qing had a head full of question marks.

She eats well, sleeps well, and hasn't lost any limbs. What's there to be grateful for?

But she still forced a smile and said,

"Hello leaders, I am Ye Qing."

All the leaders' eyes fell on this little girl.

To be honest, with her skinny arms and legs, she looked pretty ordinary. It was hard to imagine that such a tiny body contained so much energy, capable of catching bandits and wild boars with her bare hands.

No matter how they looked at her, they couldn't picture that scene.

But regardless of what everyone thought, Ye Qing, the heroine widely reported on by the *Jicheng Daily*, was an undeniable fact.

For the leaders of the units in Jiaotan County, having such a tall and distinct female comrade in their jurisdiction was a big plus for Jiaotan County. From now on, when they made various work reports, they could finally have substance and boast to their heart's content.

The so-called visit to express gratitude was mainly to see what this female sent-down youth, who had earned a large half-page report in the *Jicheng Daily*, looked like.

After all, the official commendation ceremony would have to wait for instructions from above. Since Ye Qing had earned her merit on the train, it required coordination between the provincial city and Jicheng. Only after that could the county take charge of organizing the event, deciding the scale and tone, all of which had to be discussed at the provincial level.

So, for now, these county leaders wanted to make themselves familiar and show their benevolent governance attitude by offering some warmth to the girl.

Thus, representing the county government office, they took the lead in asking Ye Qing what difficulties she had encountered in Kaoshan Village.

Ye Qing, being quick-witted, immediately realized this was a great opportunity to improve the infrastructure in Kaoshan Village. She quickly gave Wu Yongbing a series of exaggerated facial expressions to signal him.

But at this point, Wu Yongbing's mind was a complete blank and didn't get her hint at all.

With no other option, Ye Qing had to swallow her pride:

"Difficulties are everywhere, if we're talking about them. After I arrived at Kaoshan Village, I realized there wasn't even a sent-down youth center. We're all staying in commune members' homes."

"But the current policy is that every family from the city must arrange for a child to go to the countryside. This year they are only requiring one child, but who can say for sure that by next year, every family will only be able to keep one child at home?"

"But if that's the case, how can the members of the production team take in so many educated youths? Would the new batch of them sleep out on the road next year?"

"So, I think the living conditions for the educated youths in the village need urgent improvement."

The county leaders obviously didn’t know that the communes underneath were all facing this situation. After hearing Ye Qing’s words, they couldn’t help glancing at Wu Yongbing:

"Is that so?"

Wu Yongbing looked embarrassed and nodded:

"Yes, that's indeed the case. But the village had already planned to build a courtyard for the educated youths, and they will all move in soon. We’ve just been busy with the harvest season lately, so the production team decided to wait until after the autumn harvest to proceed."

"Coincidentally, our village has just applied with the county to build a health station. The educated youth courtyard and the health station can be built together. As long as the materials are prepared, the construction can be completed within a month."

The Planning Bureau representative, getting the hint, quickly chimed in:

"Do you have a specific plan for the health station? Other things can be compromised, but the people’s medical care is not something to be trifled with. If we’re going to build this health station, it has to be done properly. Tell us what you need, and we’ll do our best to help!"

Captain Wu didn’t dare to make any requests, but Ye Qing wasn’t so hesitant.

If she didn’t seize the opportunity to get all she could, she would have wasted her ten years in the post-apocalyptic world!

Originally, the plan was to build the health station on the dilapidated thatched cottage at the end of the village, converting the existing foundation into two thatched rooms made of earth and straw.

But now that the county leaders had spoken out and offered to help, if she didn’t take full advantage of the situation, she would be a fool.

Ye Qing immediately indicated that the production team’s funds were limited. Apart from timber for the beams, which the village could source on its own, they couldn’t afford other essential building materials like red bricks, black tiles, and glass.

The Planning Bureau leader had initially intended to offer just a few dozen yuan as support, but he didn’t expect this city girl to be so bold, asking for all the building materials from his bureau.

Seeing how she played the innocent and pitiful card, he knew she was counting on his bureau’s reluctance to refuse her in front of other departments. The leader couldn’t help but feel a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Since he had already made a big statement, it was too late to backtrack. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, so he just gave the girl a deep look, silently taking note of this loss.

Ye Qing wasn’t afraid of being remembered by the leaders. This was a one-time opportunity to get what she needed. She wouldn’t have to deal with these people again, and only a fool would pass up such an easy benefit.

Wu Yongbing stood by, dumbfounded.

He glanced at this audacious young educated youth, too scared to even breathe loudly.

My goodness, you’re daring to scheme against the county leaders? Are you tired of living, girl? Aren’t you afraid that these leaders might retaliate and make things difficult for our village? If they wanted to, they could easily make life harder for us by putting pressure on us!

But Ye Qing wasn’t as timid as Wu Yongbing. The county was already planning to feature her in an article, and she was only asking for basic necessities, not for herself but for the village. As long as the county leaders weren’t too short-sighted, they would try to meet her requests.

Lai Guochang, on the other hand, secretly found the situation amusing. Kaoshan Village was lucky to have picked up someone as clever as Ye Qing. Despite her young age, this girl was sharp and quick to adapt. She was far more reliable than the fool Wu Yongbing!

Looking at the Planning Bureau leader who had to smile and bear the hidden loss, Lai Guochang had a feeling that this was just the beginning. With Ye Qing in charge, there would be many more opportunities for the county leaders to suffer losses in the future!

In addition to asking for building materials for the educated youth courtyard and the health station, Ye Qing didn’t forget to inquire about books on traditional Chinese veterinary acupuncture with the representatives from the Agricultural Bureau.

She had been planning to ask Sister Xu’s husband for help, but now that the experts had come to her, why go the extra mile?

Compared to what she had asked from the Planning Bureau, a few books on veterinary medicine were a bargain. The deputy director of the Agricultural Bureau immediately agreed, patting his chest to assure Ye Qing that he would gather all the books she needed within two days and arrange for someone to deliver them directly to the village."

One by one, two units were singled out and criticized, and the other leaders who had come to join in were all on edge, fearing that Ye Qing would single them out for attention. Fortunately, by the time the activity of consolation ended, Ye Qing hadn’t made any more excessive demands.

After finally sending off the group of leaders, Wu Yongbing breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as he turned around, he poked Ye Qing’s forehead and said irritably:

"You've got some nerve, girl! You're as bold as a bear and as brave as a leopard!"

Ye Qing didn’t feel like arguing with Wu Yongbing. As a production team leader, his perspective was certainly limited. He might be able to handle village matters clearly, but when it came to government affairs, he definitely knew nothing. That’s why he felt Ye Qing had gone too far today.

What he didn’t know was that given Ye Qing’s resume, which had been featured in the *Jicheng Daily*, there were countless people who wanted to use her to boost their political performance. As long as she remained valuable, the county leaders would scramble to curry favor with her. If the Planning Bureau wasn’t willing, plenty of other units were eager to take advantage of the opportunity to show their support.

Because of this little incident, Ye Qing was in no rush to head to town anymore.

In a good mood, after tending to the pigsty and cow shed, she saw the group of children who had caught fish the day before running to the riverbank again in the afternoon. Feeling mischievous, she couldn’t resist bringing out the fishing gear she had bought in Shen City.

Seeing that Ye Qing actually had fishing gear, the kids immediately crowded around, crouching beside her and chattering away as they told her to dig for earthworms in someone’s private plot, saying that the earthworms there were fat and plump.

But Ye Qing wasn’t going to listen. She picked a green grass by the river and simply hung it on her fishing rod.

The kids, seeing her fish like that, couldn’t help but burst into laughter:

"Sister Educated Youth, how do you expect to catch fish with that? This is hollow heart grass. The fish in the river aren’t stupid; they won’t eat what you’ve picked—"

Before the child could finish speaking, Ye Qing’s fishing line was pulled straight, and with a strong tug, she yanked a fat white fish up onto the water surface, where it began to thrash about.

The group of children’s eyes almost popped out. They watched in disbelief as Ye Qing expertly reeled in the fish.

"I think the fish in this river are all fools. They seem to like eating hollow heart grass too. What do you think?"

Ye Qing gave the kids a cheeky wink.

The kids, their eyes wide with admiration and curiosity, immediately begged Ye Qing to teach them.

She had no plans to teach them, not in a million years.

After catching the fish, which weighed more than ten jin, Ye Qing directed the children to build a makeshift stove on the riverbank with stones and place a flat stone on top as a makeshift pan to grill the fish.

Immediately, one child went home to fetch salt and chili powder, while another ran to some unknown private plot to pull green onions and cilantro. Without Ye Qing lifting a finger, the kids took charge of preparing the fish, each turning into a little kitchen helper.

With just one fish, she effortlessly wormed her way into this group of kids, not only becoming the leader of the children in Kaoshan Village but also gaining a group of loyal followers.

Ye Qing was left dumbfounded, half amused, upon hearing the kids spontaneously call her "Boss." For a moment, she almost thought she was in Copper Gong Bay instead of Duck River in Kaoshan Village.

The county officials worked with impressive speed. After returning from their tour of Kaoshan Village, the things Ye Qing requested started arriving that afternoon. First, the Planning Bureau delivered various construction materials, and then the Agricultural Bureau sent dozens of veterinary books along with a veterinary toolbox. Inside the toolbox, besides basic medicines, there were two stainless steel syringes and a set of veterinary surgical knives.

Among the pile of books, Ye Qing found the veterinary acupuncture manual she needed, which contained detailed charts of acupuncture points for various livestock. With this, performing castration surgery on wild boars would be much easier.

The next morning, Ye Qing began to sharpen her knives, ready for the wild boars.

Hao Shaofeng really couldn’t understand what this ancestor was stirring up. It was baffling why she insisted on returning to her hometown instead of resting in Shen City Hospital.

Along the way, he noticed Gu Weidong staring intensely at the *Jicheng Daily* in his hand, as if he was trying to extract some hidden meaning from it.

After driving for a day and a half, the two finally reached Jiaotan County early in the morning. The military truck made a detour to pick up Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei from the county’s No. 1 Middle School before heading back to Kaoshan Village.

As the vehicle was about to enter the village, a deafening sound of wailing suddenly came from ahead.

Startled by the noise, Hao Shaofeng instinctively slowed down. In the back seat, while Political Commissar Hao scolded Gu Weidong, the usually silent Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei could no longer sit still and began looking around to find the source of the sound.

That’s when the three of them saw, not far to the right on the Duck River riverbank, four wild piglets tightly bound by vines, lying side by side on the ground, squealing in terror as they looked at the female demon in front of them.

The fearsome girl was squatting not far away, a pile of burning firewood in front of her. She held a sharp knife in her right hand, passing it through the fire again and again.

"Whoa, whose little rascal is this? How in tarnation did she catch a wild boar? Well, I'll be damned, that's impressive! What's she planning to do? Slaughter it to make roast suckling pig?"

Hao Shaofeng hit the brakes and pulled the military vehicle over to the side of the road.

At the mere mention of roast suckling pig, the Gu siblings, after a month of bland school meals, were practically drooling.

Even Hao Shaofeng was starting to feel hungry. Seeing four wild boars over there, his heart stirred, and he wanted to get a share.

He told the three sitting in the car, "Y'all sit tight for a sec. I'll go chat with that kid and see if we can get two wild boars to take back to your place. We can try roasting a suckling pig ourselves!"

And with that, Hao Shaofeng jumped down the riverbank and sprinted towards the little girl by the fire.

Gu Weinan and Gu Weibei, being the little devils they were, weren’t about to stay behind. When they saw Hao Shaofeng take off, they weren't going to be left behind. They immediately opened the car doors and followed him.

Gu Weidong was about to fold his newspaper when he spotted the girl by the riverbank. As soon as he saw her, his hands froze.

Although they were quite far apart, he immediately recognized the girl squatting by the riverbank—she was the one he was looking for!

Hao Shaofeng was sure Ye Qing was about to butcher the boar for meat. Excitedly, he rushed over, ready to pull out his wallet and get his money and tickets out.

But before he could even say a word, he saw the girl, who had been peacefully tending the fire, take out several silver needles from a box with her left hand and decisively stab them into the back of one of the wild boars.

At the same time, the small knife she held in her right hand, which had been heated red in the fire, swiftly and accurately cut into the boar's body.

After cutting open a critical part, with a pull and a slash, she swiftly removed a bloody, unrecognizable organ from the boar.

"Holy f***!!!"

Hao Shaofeng felt his pupils shake, his scalp tingle, and it was as if the top of his head had been blown off!

In goes the knife, out comes the blood. The entire process was so fast that everyone was left stunned.

Looking at the blood-covered object on the ground, Hao Shaofeng felt dizzy, and Gu Weibei instinctively held her breath and stepped back several paces.

Ye Qing was fully focused on castrating the boar and hadn’t yet noticed the new spectators behind her. After successfully castrating one wild boar, she finally regained the feel of when she had neutered her Golden Retriever years ago.

Getting the hang of it made her more comfortable. As she leisurely disinfected her tools, she smiled gently and turned her head to softly reassure the remaining piglets, "Second Consort, please don't be impatient. Your turn is coming soon. But if you keep being so eager, I don't mind saving you for last. If you think the speed is too fast, I can extend the process indefinitely, ensuring you'll be thoroughly satisfied!"

Hao Shaofeng and Gu Weibei: ...Is this even human language?

"Pfft—"

Gu Weinan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Hearing the laughter, Ye Qing was startled and whipped around to look behind her. When she saw them, she was completely dumbfounded.

There were four people standing on the riverbank. Two teenagers around seventeen or eighteen years old, and Political Commissar Hao, dressed in green military uniform, were standing just two steps away from her.

Who else could it be but the eldest son of Aunt Gu’s family—a man whose name was well-known, but who had never been seen?

Ye Qing was completely dumbfounded. To castrate these four wild boars, she had intentionally cleared the place, chasing away the group of mischievous kids who had been causing trouble yesterday.

But she hadn’t expected that a few outsiders would catch her in the act of castrating pigs.

And to make matters worse, Gu Weidong was there.

For some reason, the moment she saw Gu Weidong, her scalp tightened, as if she were a student caught by the principal. Instinctively, she felt like running.

At that moment, she was still holding the blade she had used to castrate the wild boars, with the blade still dripping blood. She didn’t know whether to keep holding it or toss it aside, and her embarrassment made her fumble, unsure where to put her hands.

Thinking of how Editor-in-Chief Hang had worked so hard to make her sound like a hero, only for her image to be ruined like this, Ye Qing felt like she was about to cry.

No filter could withstand her casually performing such a task.

Not knowing what was going through Ye Qing's mind—she was currently wishing she could destroy the Earth and move to Mars—Gu Weidong was staring intently at this young trickster, feeling both amused and exasperated.

He thought that when this girl had tied up the two enemy agents like mummies and beaten them severely at She Mountain, it had already been pretty rebellious.

But it got even stranger.

This young girl, despite her age, not only castrated the pigs with a ruthless and clean technique, but she was bold enough to crack a dirty joke at the wild boars, which astonished him.

He really wanted to know, was there anything this audacious young trickster wouldn’t dare to do?