Chapter 321: Rotting in the Belly
The captain looked around cautiously, glancing left and right. Seeing no one nearby, he lowered his voice and spoke to Ning Xiyue: “I’m going to tell you something—don’t spread it around.”
Only after seeing Ning Xiyue nod firmly did he continue.
“A few days ago, I went to the town for a meeting. A friend of mine told me something: someone from the neighboring team was picked up by a small car sent from above. I heard he had his leadership position restored. My friend specifically warned me to treat these people well. There was someone in the neighboring team bullying him at the time, and the person sent to pick him up happened to witness it. That person got taken in immediately.”
The captain sighed deeply, lamenting:
“These people returning to their rightful positions are so powerful that even a stomp from them makes us a little afraid. Luckily, I’ve never treated them badly, and no one on our team tries to cozy up to them. I just hope that if the day comes for our team members, I don’t expect any reward, only that there’s no retaliation and everyone stays safe.”
He looked at Ning Xiyue and gently patted her shoulder: “So, Xiyue, follow closely behind me. We’re here to save lives, not to cause trouble. Stay low-key.”
“Understood,” Ning Xiyue said seriously.
The captain trusted Ning Xiyue a lot, which was why he shared this with her—he wanted to give her a reminder, so she wouldn’t accidentally offend anyone.
He understood very clearly that whether it was the people brought in initially or those who would later regain their rightful positions, these small figures with no background were untouchable. It wasn’t wise to get too involved. Just take care of them quietly, turn a blind eye here and there—that’s enough.
“Captain, don’t worry. You’re just doing what a captain should do. I’m just doing what I, as the team’s barefoot doctor, should do. Both of us wholeheartedly serve the people, contribute to the country, and follow the example of Lei Feng…”
Ning Xiyue walked behind the captain, spouting grandiose talk. The captain listened, chuckling and in a great mood.
“Good, we’re doing good deeds. Coming across a pregnant woman giving birth while patrolling the mountain, we saved two lives—that’s following Lei Feng’s example. Exactly right.”
The captain nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Ning Xiyue’s words. Their thinking was perfectly aligned.
In this team, the higher authorities couldn’t reach them; as long as the captain remained alert, no one outside could interfere. The captain could quietly manage things without anyone knowing.
Ning Xiyue and the captain were on the same page. With the captain in front, she felt fully protected within the team and didn’t worry about anything going wrong.
She cheerfully followed him up to the wooden hut halfway up the mountain, keeping close and careful with every word and action.
Most of the hut’s residents had gone to work. Only Aunt Wu, who had been bringing hot water that night, stayed by the kang under the captain’s instructions to watch over Li Hui and her child.
Aunt Wu pretended not to recognize Ning Xiyue, called out “Captain Zhang” once, and then remained silent.
The captain simply nodded and instructed Ning Xiyue to check on the mother and child. He stood at the doorway, back turned, calling Aunt Wu to leave, letting Ning Xiyue examine them quietly.
In truth, there wasn’t much to see. Li Hui had taken Ning Xiyue’s ginseng root and Yangzhi Ganlu treasures. Her condition was far better than last night. Ning Xiyue suspected Bai Yu had coordinated everyone to clean up the aftermath of last night, putting on a show for the captain.
Sure enough, when Ning Xiyue placed her hand on Li Hui’s wrist to check her pulse, it was steady and strong. Li Hui even winked at her subtly, her pale face partially covered with powder.
The blood on her face was real, and her messy hair gave a slightly frightening appearance—no wonder the unprepared captain was scared.
Checking the baby revealed nothing wrong; it was healthy and strong-willed.
After examining them, Ning Xiyue reported to the captain: “Captain, I’ve checked. Both mother and child are in poor condition. The mother is far weaker than a typical woman who has given birth. There’s no immediate life threat, but she can’t get off the kang or make big movements, or severe bleeding could occur.”
To protect them, she mixed real and slightly exaggerated information in her report to the captain.
“Alright, got it. Prescribe her some medicine.”
The captain exhaled in relief. As long as there was no life-threatening danger, he felt much better.
Ning Xiyue placed the pre-prepared medicine by the kang: “One packet per day, to restore strength and promote lactation. Remember, no big movements—severe bleeding can be fatal.”
As she returned to the captain’s side, ready to leave, the captain left a final instruction for Li Hui:
“Since you’ve given birth and your body is weak, you may rest for a week. After that, go up the mountain to cut grass for the cattle and clean the pens. Make sure the pens are clean every day.”
“Okay, thank you, Captain Zhang,” Li Hui said, half-sitting, hiding her joy with downcast eyes, her voice weak.
This work was manageable. Ning Xiyue was silently happy for her.
All light labor; shoveling manure smelled bad but was far easier than the high-intensity labor she had done before, like digging river channels. Cutting grass on the mountain was not only undisturbed, but sometimes she could bring back wild fruits and vegetables.
It seemed the captain had been influenced by what his friend told him earlier.
Ning Xiyue was thinking this when the captain said, “Xiyue, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
She cheerfully followed him down the mountain.
Along the way, Ning Xiyue gleaned from the captain’s words that he was considering how to discreetly give others some slack—not too much, not too little, enough to be acceptable on the surface, as a preemptive measure to avoid future resentment.
He muttered to himself: “I need to keep the members in check. If people like those in the other team hit bad luck, it won’t be good.”
Ning Xiyue stayed silent, listening. Decisions like these were not hers to make.
Back at the clinic, the captain checked some minor cases himself, taking a few packets of Chinese medicine for stuffy noses and runny noses.
Before leaving, he quietly gave Ning Xiyue one last reminder: “Today’s events end here. Everything we’ve said and done stays in our stomachs—we don’t talk about it. Remember, Xiyue.”
Ning Xiyue nodded: “Mm, I know nothing. Today, we just went patrolling the mountain, checking the trees and herbs.”
“Right, you get busy. I’ll continue patrolling and see how the members are doing at work.”
The captain leisurely walked out, carrying several medicine packets, looking quite satisfied.
Ning Xiyue returned to her seat, pen in hand, thinking.
Last night’s matters were done. She could turn the page and move on. Those people’s lives would only improve: she had already offered timely help, the captain was intentionally making changes, Bai Yu was quietly assisting—she didn’t need to worry too much. When the fruits of effort matured, she would have her share.
Back at her desk, she finished the letter, put it in an envelope, and affixed a stamp.
She used today’s three sign-in opportunities: one to receive a sip of Yangzhi Ganlu, another to get a life gift pack from the family’s supply store. The remaining one was a random sign-in.
“Ding, sign-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained ten jin of fresh pork and ten jin of rabbit meat.”
Ning Xiyue was delighted. Perfect for mailing to her family tomorrow, she could even add a few drops of Yangzhi Ganlu water.
With twenty jin of meat, she planned to make spicy diced rabbit and meat sauce.
She placed her books in front of her as decoration, pen in hand, but most of her attention went to the system’s automatic kitchen.
After completing her tasks, she quietly stood by the kitchen, watching the meat sauce simmer and the spicy rabbit stir-fry cook in another pot.
She used her remaining three doses of brain-boosting Yangzhi Ganlu, splitting them between the two pots.
Under her watchful eye, both dishes were cooked to perfection—two large pots of meat.
Ning Xiyue sampled each dish, her eyes sparkling.
“Host, how is it? Isn’t it delicious?” asked the little turtle, looking eagerly at her.
“Delicious, the flavor is perfect. Too bad you can’t eat it. I’ll cook some for lunch tomorrow with this meat sauce, and we’ll have hand-rolled noodles with it.”
Zhou Cheng was lying at home. Thinking about the cafeteria food at noon, it wouldn’t suit her tastes—she’d have to call her second brother home to eat.
“Host, when the system levels up, I’ll be able to have a physical form and eat. You have to keep it up!”
The little turtle looked at her with virtual tears, a pitiful expression, voice full of longing.
“How can we level up?”
Ning Xiyue also wanted to help the little turtle. Every time she saw it watching her eat eagerly, her heart ached—it seemed so pitiful.
