Chapter 38
Cheng Yu was not very old, and after suddenly coming to the mountains from the capital, and being trapped in heavy snow for an entire winter, her playful spirit was almost bursting.
Wang Ying took her up the mountain, and the girl was like a kite, jumping around and constantly exclaiming.
“Ying Jie, look, there’s still shepherd’s purse here!”
“I just saw a little rabbit!”
“Woo woo woo, this is what you call honeysuckle, right?”
Wang Ying smiled as she watched Cheng Yu frolic, thinking to herself, “Play, play. Soon you’ll be worrying.”
Cheng Yu ran around for a while, and Wang Ying kept a close watch, noticing that although Cheng Yu was running around wildly, she was still very alert. The girl even managed to weave between several trees, looking like a nimble little monkey.
Wang Ying felt more at ease; it was clear that Cheng Yu’s previous training was not just for show, and she could still take care of herself and escape if necessary.
Wang Ying took Cheng Yu to a few of her regular spots and pointed out some common medicinal plants.
“This is gentian, the best gentian plant is one that’s been growing for at least three years; younger ones may not have as strong medicinal properties. When harvesting, be sure to pull it out by the roots, clean the roots and stems, and then hang them up to dry in the shade…”
While speaking, Wang Ying watched Cheng Yu’s reactions. Cheng Yu had started memorizing scripts since she was a child, and though her education wasn’t high, she was quick at remembering things. Before long, she repeated what Wang Ying had said, with very few mistakes.
Wang Ying felt that she had discovered a treasure—Cheng Yu was definitely someone who could be nurtured.
After explaining a few things to her, Wang Ying decided to try digging up some plants and brought them to a soft, uninhabited area, where she transplanted a few of them and secretly watered them with spiritual spring water.
Wang Ying said to Cheng Yu, “You can transplant one or two of these first, and learn to recognize them. When you’ve learned them all, I’ll teach you how to transplant properly. We won’t start with a large area, just two small patches this time, focusing mainly on three-year-old plants and two-year-old ones.”
Many medicinal plants only need to be three years old, meaning Wang Ying didn’t intend to start from scratch but rather wanted to begin experimenting with this year’s plants, securing next year’s yield. The three-year-old plants this year could also be used for growing new seedlings, and by the year after next, the yield would be stable.
Cheng Yu listened very attentively. Wang Ying planted the medicinal garden near a pond, making it easier for Cheng Yu to water them during dry seasons.
Wang Ying took Cheng Yu to the pond, and when they arrived, Cheng Yu was stunned.
“Ying… Ying Jie, there are so many fish!”
Wang Ying: “Yes, your Ying Jie has even shown you the secret base.”
Cheng Yu stood frozen: “Ying Jie, you knew about this already!”
Wang Ying nodded, pointing at the fish pond and said to Cheng Yu, “I discovered this place by accident, and no one around here knows about it. There should be underground water here, which is why there are fish, and quite a lot of them. But you should understand, these fish are not enough to be shared with all the members. If the word gets out, it will cause problems.”
Cheng Yu was quick-witted: “I won’t tell anyone!”
Ying Jie had already trusted her with the secret base! She couldn’t betray Ying Jie’s trust!
Wang Ying said, “No need to be so nervous. If someone happens to discover this fish pond, then so be it. I just want to let you know—if someone finds out, run quickly and don’t let them catch you.”
Wang Ying had never expected the fish pond to remain a secret forever. If someone stumbled upon it, it would be completely normal. After all, it wasn’t marked with her name; it wasn’t her personal property.
“If you want to eat fish, catch them yourself. It’s best to do it in the early morning when everyone is off working, or in the evening when no one comes up the mountain. When you get back to eat it, be careful too—make sure to wrap the fish scales properly.”
Wang Ying ate fish this way too, always worried others might notice. Before cooking, Xu Shuang would carefully collect the fish scales and later bury them in the mountains when he had time.
Cheng Yu finally understood why Wang Ying had brought her fried fish chunks several times during the New Year period. Those fish pieces had smelled so good that she even dreamed about them for days!
After giving Cheng Yu all the instructions, Wang Ying led her back down the mountain. Starting tomorrow, Cheng Yu would begin taking the sheep to graze. During that time, she would first focus on collecting a few simple herbs that Wang Ying currently needed, and then try transplanting a few plants herself. Wang Ying even poured a little spiritual spring water into the pond and reminded Cheng Yu to water the transplanted herbs afterwards.
With that settled, Wang Ying felt more at ease. During the day, she would treat patients and handle some herbs. Then, every two or three days, she could go up the mountain to check on the herb field.
As for Cheng Yu, she eagerly threw herself into her new routine:
Herding sheep, gathering herbs, catching fish, and practicing vocal exercises in the mountains every morning.
Cheng Shufen, perhaps nourished by the fish Cheng Yu caught, began to look healthier as the weather warmed. Her cheeks no longer appeared pale, but had a healthy flush.
Cheng Shufen said, “I move around a lot more these days, and eat better too. I really feel much healthier than before.”
The two years before she was sent down hadn’t been kind to her. Though she had still been at the Peking Opera House, wages were meager, and she often went hungry.
Ironically, life here was better. Though she hadn’t had enough to eat in winter, she had never woken up hungry in the middle of the night. Now, with Cheng Yu always bringing back food from the mountains, she felt life here was far better than in the city.
Seeing her in such good spirits, Wang Ying also felt comforted.
As the weather grew hotter, Cheng Shufen was summoned twice by the Revolutionary Committee to be publicly criticized at the commune. During mass meetings where several local production teams had to attend, some women treated the scene like a movie outing—dragging their kids, cracking sunflower seeds, and setting up small stools to sit and enjoy the spectacle.
Cheng Shufen was forced to read her self-criticism over and over again. She wasn’t paraded through the streets with a signboard because her attitude of admitting fault was very good, so others didn’t make things harder for her.
Wang Ying had been very worried during those days, afraid Cheng Shufen would take it too hard. But fortunately, Cheng Shufen was quite content with her current life—she had Cheng Yu by her side, old Mrs. Xu occasionally visited to exchange embroidery skills, and she had a friend like Qian Juhua to share the burdens of daily life. She quickly made it through the roughest patch and began finding joy even in hardship.
By mid-March, Wang Ying felt the time was right. She brought the herbs she had transplanted to the hospital’s purchasing station. The staff didn’t question the quality at all—in fact, they even praised this batch, saying the appearance was noticeably better than before.
Wang Ying was immediately relieved, realizing that her herbal field plan was likely to succeed.
With work matters stabilizing, Wang Ying had the mental space to think about other things.
One day, she asked the doctor in charge of purchases, Dr. Wu, “Dr. Wu, I wanted to ask about something. A few years ago, there was a mudslide in a suburban commune near the capital. Do you remember it?”
Dr. Wu replied while weighing herbs, “How could I forget? There haven’t been many major incidents in our county—just that mudslide, and another time when two communes got into a mass brawl over water. Both times, dozens of people were sent here. Even I was reassigned to help receive the injured.”
Wang Ying’s heart tightened. “Do you remember how many people died back then?”
Dr. Wu thought for a moment. “Two didn’t make it during the mudslide incident, and three were lost in the water fight brawl.”
Wang Ying quickly asked, “Could you help me find out who the doctors were that treated those two during the mudslide?”
Though puzzled by her persistence in digging up old events, Dr. Wu replied, “That might be difficult. The hospital was in chaos back then. There weren’t assigned one-on-one doctors. It was whoever could get to a patient. And those two weren’t even under the same doctor—it was all jumbled. Who could have kept track?”
Hearing this, Wang Ying knew she was asking a lot, but she couldn’t let go of what had happened to the original host’s mother. She pressed on, “Could you at least help me find out which room those two were staying in? I don’t want anything more—I just want to know if my mother said anything before she passed. I was late in arriving, and I want to find someone who might’ve heard her last words.”
Dr. Wu hadn’t known Wang Ying had such a painful past, and his face was filled with sympathy. “I can look into it, but I might not be able to give you information about other patients. We also have to consider if they’d want to be contacted.”
Wang Ying’s eyes lit up. “Don’t worry, I’m not asking for personal details. The patients who came with us should’ve all stayed in the same room. If anyone from our production team was in the same ward, I’d like to speak with them—that’s all.”
Dr. Wu thought about it for a while and reluctantly agreed. “I’ll check the inpatient records. If they show someone from your production team was in that room, I’ll let you know. If not, then I suggest you let it go. We have rules here.”
Wang Ying quickly thanked him. Being able to get a lead from the hospital was already a surprise. If not for the chaos back then, and the fact that even Tian Youfu couldn’t remember who shared the room, she never would’ve come to the hospital to bother Dr. Wu.
Not long after, Dr. Wu returned, but he didn’t look very cheerful. He sighed and said to Wang Ying, “What bad luck. According to the room logs, that hospital room had two changes of patients that day.”
Wang Ying: ???
Dr. Wu’s expression was serious: “The first was a woman from the county who had just given birth. Later, when all the injured people were brought in, her family didn’t want her to stay in the same room, so they moved her to another ward. She’s probably not the one you’re looking for. The second was a child, also a mudslide victim, who was unconscious when brought in. That child was later moved to another ward by their family as well. The last one was someone from your production team.”
Wang Ying asked, “Who was it?”
Dr. Wu thought for a moment and said, “His name was Tian Gousheng.”
Wang Ying: …
Tian Gousheng—everyone in the production team called him Old Dog.
