Chapter 17: Opening Fire

Li Weidong patted his chest and put on a carefree expression, as if denying he was the one who had repeatedly insisted yesterday that debts must be repaid.

Zhou Yichen’s mind was as clear as a mirror, but he didn’t call him out. Instead, he insisted, “It’s only right. Borrow and repay; borrowing again won’t be difficult.”

Seeing his persistence, Li Weidong had nothing more to say and let the nearby educated youth take over the firewood.

“By the way, Squad Leader Li, there’s something else I want to tell you,” Zhou Yichen continued.

“Captain Gao saw me handling both being the medic and working alone, so he arranged a separate place for me to stay, since I might often need to make night visits or prepare herbal medicines.”

“From now on, I won’t be living at the educated youth camp; I’m moving to the small courtyard next to the brigade office.”

Upon hearing this, the surrounding educated youths were instantly filled with envy.

In fact, they had already heard Zhao Weiguo and Lin Xiaoyue mention it earlier when they returned.

But hearing it confirmed personally by Zhou Yichen carried a different impact.

Li Weidong’s face showed surprise at first and then a knowing smile: “That’s good news! Captain Gao really thinks things through!”

“Yichen, since you’re the medic, you definitely need a quiet and independent place.”

Inwardly, he was already planning how to treat Zhou Yichen well in the future, sensing he was no ordinary person.

Just then, Jiang Xiaoman came out of the educated youth’s house carrying a bag of grain.

“Yichen, I’ve got my rations!” she called.

Zhou Yichen nodded and took the heavy cloth bag from her hands—it was filled with solid grain.

“Well then, Squad Leader Li, we’ll be heading back now,” Zhou Yichen said, bidding farewell to Li Weidong and the others.

“Go ahead, go ahead!” Li Weidong waved enthusiastically.

Amid the envious and slightly complicated gazes of the crowd, Zhou Yichen carried the grain while Jiang Xiaoman walked beside him, and together they headed toward their small courtyard.

By the time they returned, darkness had fully fallen.

Jiang Xiaoman set down the small bundle on her shoulder and breathed out deeply: “Finally settled in! Yichen, tonight we have to have a good meal to celebrate!”

Zhou Yichen agreed wholeheartedly: “Exactly, it’s time to improve our meals.”

Jiang Xiaoman proudly pulled out from her bundle some treasures: “Look what I brought! Cured meat, sausage, and my mom specially made some meat tofu!”

Zhou Yichen’s eyes brightened as he rummaged through his own bag and found some dried goods: “I also have some dried green beans and wood ear fungus, all sun-dried by my mom.”

Jiang Xiaoman clapped excitedly: “Perfect! Let’s stir-fry the cured meat and stew the sausage with the dried green beans, how about that?”

“Sounds good to me,” Zhou Yichen smiled in agreement.

The two immediately divided the work.

Zhou Yichen tended the fire, adding firewood to the stove and controlling the heat.

Jiang Xiaoman tied on a floral apron she’d brought from home and skillfully washed the ingredients, sliced the cured meat, and soaked the wood ear fungus and dried green beans. The clattering sounds filled the small kitchen, brimming with the essence of everyday life.

Watching Jiang Xiaoman busy by the stove, her short hair swinging slightly with her movements, her profile illuminated by the flickering flames, Zhou Yichen couldn’t help but admire her focus.

There was no denying Jiang Xiaoman was a capable cook. Just watching her cook improved Zhou Yichen’s own culinary skills considerably.

[Cooking Skill LV3 (222/300)]

[Cooking Skill LV3 (223/300)]

…

In fact, Zhou Yichen could cook too. Although he hadn’t done it much in this life, his skills from the previous life were decent—not gourmet, but good enough for some simple home dishes.

Still, he didn’t show off in front of Jiang Xiaoman; the more you know, the more you’ll be expected to do.

Zhou Yichen preferred not to cook every day.

With Jiang Xiaoman around, he just needed to be the relaxed overseer.

It was worth mentioning that Jiang Xiaoman’s culinary skill was quite impressive—at least level four.

Don’t think level four is low. Although not as high as restaurant chefs, it was already very good for home cooking.

Soon, the rich aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, filling the entire courtyard.

The salty fragrance of stir-fried cured meat and the hearty scent of sausage stewed with green beans whetted the appetite.

When the two steaming dishes were placed on the humble square table in the main room, Jiang Xiaoman wiped the sweat from her brow with pride.

“Dinner’s served!”

Zhou Yichen picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of cured meat.

The cured meat, with its mix of fat and lean, glistened with oil after frying, bursting with savory flavor and a special smoky taste. The texture was exquisite.

He then sampled the sausage stewed with green beans. The meatiness of the sausage and the freshness of the beans blended perfectly; the sauce was rich, and the beans were tender and flavorful.

“Xiaoman, your cooking smells better than the chefs at the state-run restaurants!” Zhou Yichen genuinely praised.

Hearing the compliment, Jiang Xiaoman’s adorable face lit up like a blooming flower, the dimples on her cheeks faintly visible as she proudly lifted her chin: “Of course! I learned from my mom! When we were kids, you didn’t miss many chances to come over for a meal!”

Zhou Yichen laughed as well, recalling how often he used to visit Jiang Xiaoman’s house just to enjoy the delicious dishes her aunt made.

Those warm memories felt as if they were just yesterday.

The two ate while chatting about childhood anecdotes, the atmosphere light and pleasant.

In the modest adobe house, under the dim kerosene lamp, the aroma of food and their laughter intertwined, dispelling the chill outside and filling the home with warmth.

After dinner, Jiang Xiaoman eagerly took over tidying up the dishes.

“I’ll do it! You’ve been busy with patients and moving all day—go rest!”

Watching her busy figure under the light, Zhou Yichen couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Having someone to share life with was certainly much better than being alone and lonely.

He returned to his room, lit the kerosene lamp, and took out the slightly worn “Barefoot Doctor’s Manual” from his satchel.

Under the lamp’s glow, he carefully flipped through the pages.

Since he felt he had basically mastered the content of the manual, he noticed that the proficiency gains from reading it again were becoming fewer and fewer.

At first, each reading of a few pages would add several points; now, even a thorough half-hour read barely improved him a little.

Zhou Yichen frowned slightly.

Obviously, the “Barefoot Doctor’s Manual” could no longer provide much proficiency boost—it was nearing its limit.

“Looks like to improve my medical skill quickly, relying solely on this beginner’s manual won’t be enough,” he thought to himself.

“I have to find more and more specialized medical books.”

He began to plan.

The easiest place to access medical books would probably be the commune.

“I’ll have to make time to visit Qingshan Commune tomorrow, see if I can find some medical books or inquire about where to buy them.”

He made the decision silently.

If the commune had none, then he’d have to try his luck in the county town.

However, the distance from his Xiangyang Brigade to Songling County Town was dozens of miles through mountainous roads, not exactly feasible on foot.

But Old Zhang was responsible for driving the horse cart in the production team.

Usually, when people from the team needed to go to the commune or county market or handle affairs, they took his horse cart.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yichen’s mind quickly formed a plan.