fictionpage Chapter 26 Uninvited Guest
Chapter 26 Uninvited Guest
Chen Tuo pulled the sled, while Wu Laowai smoked a pipe.
The two were still quite far from the educated youth settlement when they noticed the gatehouse light was on.
"You didn't turn off the lights?"
When Wu Laowai went down to the Hetao region, he also passed by the gate of the educated youth settlement.
When he arrived, the lights the educated youth had turned off.
"It's off..."
Upon hearing Chen Tuo's affirmative answer, Wu Laowai immediately stubbed out his pipe and unconsciously put his hand into his pocket.
"They must be someone you know."
"The educated youth have all left, where do you still know anyone? If someone steals your things, don't let them beat you up, just ask Sun the Cripple to handle it."
As they were talking, they arrived at the entrance of the educated youth settlement and saw Sun the Cripple, who was using crutches, standing in the courtyard with three children around him.
Wu Laowai felt a bit of pain in his face. Every day, he was beaten on the head by Shan Gouzi, and then Sun the Cripple would hit him again.
"Brother-in-law Sun, I've just caught a fish again. You've come at the perfect time."
Seeing Wu Laowai with Chen Tuo, Sun Changkui finally felt relieved after being anxious for so long.
"Xiao Chen, your sister Lingzi is here too, and so is Xiao Hong from the post office. Come on, greet Uncle Chen..."
Sun Changkui called for the children to greet people. Hu Yuling and Hong Ye, who were tidying up Chen Tuo's bedding inside the house, came out one after the other to say hello.
However, Hong Ye's expression was not good when he saw Wu Laowai.
"Chen Zhiqing, I've read the poems you left on the table. They're really good!"
Before Hu Yuling could speak to re-examine Chen Tuo, Hong Ye first glared at Wu Laowai before praising the five lamp flowers on the table.
"That was something I wrote on a whim when inspiration struck while I was lighting the oil lamp. Would you like one?"
Hong Ye's presence is a favor.
The poems came easily, and Chen Tuo didn't cherish them much.
"I don't want it! I'll send it to Huacheng tomorrow, that way I can earn more royalties."
Hong Ye had so much to say to Chen Tuo, but Hu Yuling didn't give her the chance.
"Chen Zhiqing, come here, let me take your pulse..."
Hearing from Sun Changkui that Chen Tuo's internal organs had been frostbitten, Hu Yuling's heart ached.
Now, apart from Chen Tuo and Hong Ye, the remaining educated youth in Songling can be counted on one hand.
And most of these educated youth, like Hong Ye, were from Heilongjiang Province itself.
Hu Yuling is from the South, so her lifestyle is quite different from these people.
"Dr. Hu, am I alright?"
Thinking of the snow crust that wouldn't freeze his feet, Chen Tuo didn't want Hu Yuling to take his pulse.
If something goes wrong, there's simply no way to explain it.
"The medical conditions in Songling are limited, and I'm not very good at taking pulses, so I can only try it first, just to make sure there are no aftereffects."
Although she studied traditional Chinese medicine and attended a formal TCM training course, Hu Yuling is a Western medicine doctor who graduated from a regular medical university.
Having learned Western medicine first, some of the theories of traditional Chinese medicine are not easy to accept.
Moreover, she hadn't learned about the pulse diagnosis of frostbite of internal organs in the TCM training course, so she could only try it as a last resort.
"Dr. Hu, why don't you all eat here? There's plenty of fish tonight..."
As he was speaking, Chen Tuo reached for the army cooking pot, but Sun Changkui stopped him.
"Xiao Chen, Chef Wu is a master at stewing fish, let him do it. Also, you don't have any sauce or chili peppers here. Without these two things, the stewed fish won't taste good."
Blocking Chen Tuo, Sun Changkui didn't stand on ceremony with Wu Laowai and directly made the arrangements:
"Master Wu, Xiao Chen doesn't have many seasonings here, do you have any? Give me a little of everything, especially chili peppers!"
The chili pepper that Sun Changkui emphasized was a folk remedy he learned about from the Armed Forces Department.
It is said that drinking alcohol and eating spicy food can stimulate blood circulation, and if internal organs are injured, the stimulation of chili peppers can expel stagnant blood and heal the injury.
According to Hu Yuling's analysis, this folk remedy has some flawed logic.
If Wu Laowai doesn't come, Sun Changkui will go to him anyway.
This is because Wu Laowai is the largest chili pepper grower in Songling, and he makes money from chili peppers every year.
"You really know how to boss people around..."
After muttering to himself, Wu Laowai picked up the fish from the sled and was about to go back to get the chili peppers when Chen Tuo stopped him.
"Uncle Wu, when you pull the sled back, you can take some fish to Brother-in-law Sun's house, and also deliver the fish meant for the militia and security guards to Brother-in-law Sun's house..."
After pulling down three sacks of crucian carp seeds and miscellaneous fish, Chen Tuo gave away all of tonight's catch, leaving none for himself.
Without Wu Laowai, he might have really ended up planting in the deep snow.
Without Hu Yuling, he might not have had a chance to start over.
Without Sun Changkui and Xiao Kai, he wouldn't have had a fur coat, big-headed shoes, and sheepskin bedding.
Without Hong Ye in front of him, he would still have to spend money to buy manuscript paper.
The diary mentions at least seven or eight fish nests. Even if there's only a 50% chance of finding fish there, there's still one or two more!
Besides fishing spots, he also has fishing hooks and lines; he can't break the pot dry, and he can even ice fish.
Food and warmth are only temporary problems; once a solution is found, they are not difficult to solve.
Without the pressure of basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter, Chen Tuo also showed his generous side.
"Fine! You little rascal, you're quite the bossy one. You three, don't freeze here. Go home and have your grandparents stew fish for you..."
After Sun Changkui and Chen Tuo had made their decisions, Wu Laowai wasn't without his own people to do the same.
At his words, the three boys from the Sun family let out a howl and ran off with their sleds.
"You little brat, slow down, don't fall..."
Hearing the doting tone in Hu Yuling's voice, Chen Tuo also thought of the room full of cotton-padded coats.
"Dr. Hu, please pick out some clothes in a bit. Keep the ones I can use, and take the rest home to alter for your child..."
Chen Tuo was polite, Sun Changkui and Hu Yuling were modest, and Wu Laowai left with a smirk.
Hong Ye's gaze towards Chen Tuo held a different glint in it.
She hasn't been home for almost ten years because of the forestry subsidies...
"It feels like a wiry pulse, but also like a surging pulse. Chen, are you dizzy? Does it hurt?"
After taking Chen Tuo's pulse, Hu Yuling was immediately thrown into a state of confusion.
She wasn't particularly skilled in the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine: observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation.
When the time came to use it, all the things she had learned came rushing back, leaving her somewhat overwhelmed.
"I feel great, nothing's wrong!"
Because he wanted to keep it a secret, Chen Tuo neither mentioned his heart palpitations, nor his mania, nor the impulse he was suppressing.
"We'll have to observe for a while. If you feel unwell, come to the forestry bureau's medical clinic to see me right away. You can eat a little chili, but don't drink too much alcohol..."
Chen Tuo drank more than a pound of baijiu last night, and Sun Changkui also mentioned it to Hu Yuling.
Bottled Songling Bai is 60% ABV, while loose Baijiu from Songling Distillery has an ABV that is only higher.
Even a pound of 60-proof liquor can kill someone...
"Okay, Sister Lingzi, I will definitely follow your doctor's orders."
During the follow-up examination, witnessed by Sun Changkui, Chen Tuo recognized two older sisters, while Hu Yuling and Hong Ye recognized a younger brother.
Hong Ye is exactly twenty years old this year. According to Sun Changkui, she is two years older than Chen Tuo.
Hu Yuling is not old either, only twenty-eight.
Sun Changkui's age is really not a good match for the handsome doctor of Songling Forest District; he's forty-two...
"Xiao Chen, frostbite on internal organs is no small matter. Sometimes there are symptoms, and sometimes there are no symptoms. You must be careful."
After taking his pulse, Hu Yuling was also unsure whether Chen Tuo's internal organs had been frostbitten.
This kind of injury can't be treated in the provincial capital, let alone in the hospitals in the forest area.
There were suspicions of frostbite to the internal organs, so they dared not use traditional Chinese medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.
Using it incorrectly could lead to severe internal bleeding, making things even more complicated...