Chapter 320: The Captain’s Words
Outside, the clinic remained quiet—no one was coming for treatment, everyone was out working, and no one disturbed her.
Ning Xiyue decided to take out the reward tea set she had signed in, inspecting it before placing it in the automatic kitchen to steam, boil, and sterilize. Then she admired the Shu embroidery screen, placing it carefully in her study.
Finally, she took out her brushes, ink, paper, inkstone, and copybooks for practice.
The calligraphy in the copybooks was small floral script (zhanhua xiaokai), divided into two volumes, using different writing tools—one for brush pen, one for fountain pen.
After practicing with the brush-pen copybook in her system space, Ning Xiyue took the fountain-pen volume out, took her fountain pen, and sat properly in the clinic to write.
After writing for a while, she recalled last night’s events and decided to write a letter to Comrade Ji. She pulled out a sheet of stationery and wrote a long, flowing letter. At the end, she briefly mentioned last night’s events—but naturally skipped all sensitive details: names, identities, locations.
She focused mainly on the differences in thought and philosophy between herself and Bai Yu, expressing her own opinions objectively. Every sentence was a factual account—what happened, happened. She had no interest in adding embellishments.
As she reached the signature at the bottom, someone came into the clinic—it was the captain, Zhang Dawei, walking in with a serious expression and hands behind his back.
Standing at the doorway, he called out loudly toward Ning Xiyue: “Xiyue.”
“Ah, Captain, you’re here. Sit over here.”
Ning Xiyue set down her pen, carried a small bench over, and placed it in front of the captain.
“Don’t bother with that, I won’t sit. I have something to tell you, and then we leave.”
The captain waved his hand. Ning Xiyue noticed the worry and a hint of sorrow on his face. She remained silent, waiting for him to speak.
“Xiyue, take the medicine box and come with me. The pregnant woman halfway up the mountain has given birth.”
The captain furrowed his brows as he spoke.
“When I went up the mountain just now, I saw the woman’s face as pale as death. Go with me and check on her—we can’t let her die. If she dies, that baby will have no one to care for it.”
Ning Xiyue was surprised; she hadn’t expected him to come for this matter, noticing it so quickly. She kept her reaction neutral and said firmly, “Alright, I’ll go get the medicine box.”
She went inside, retrieved the medicine box from the clinic, and selected some useful traditional Chinese medicine for pregnant women based on last night’s diagnostic notes—for example, several packets of tongcao tablets to aid lactation.
While she prepared the medicine, the captain waited patiently.
When Ning Xiyue finished, lifted the box, and called out, “Captain, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“Good.”
The captain walked ahead, and Ning Xiyue secured the clinic door before following him toward the wooden hut where the original forest-dwellers lived halfway up the mountain.
On the way, the captain told her about the situation he had seen and reminded her not to chat with or approach others there. She was to focus solely on checking the pregnant woman’s condition—ensuring neither mother nor child died.
Along the way, the captain shared much more information with her.
Ning Xiyue learned several things:
The captain had gone up the mountain today because of last night’s heavy rain. Concerned about potential landslides, he went to patrol and heard the sound of a baby crying. At first, it startled him, but he realized it must be the pregnant woman giving birth. Upon entering, he saw a shocking scene.
“You wouldn’t believe it. That woman, Li Hui, her hair was a messy tangle, her face stained with blood, lying on the kang with a blank expression, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. When she turned to look at me, my heart nearly jumped out—I thought I’d seen a ghost.”
The captain held his chest, looking frightened, quietly confiding in Ning Xiyue. By the last sentence, he nearly whispered.
He kept images of all the scary stories the elders had told him in his mind. Combined with his sympathy for this mother and child—and his desire to accumulate merit for himself and his descendants—he couldn’t bear to see anything happen to them.
Just as Ning Xiyue was about to comfort him, he said:
“Xiyue, when you get there, try to take care of the mother and child. Our team is made up of kind people.
“Even though there are problems with the people there, we know their schemes. They generally obey and work hard without complaint. Normally we might not intervene, but today, we can’t just watch someone die. Treat them if we can—but keep your mouth shut about it.”
“Don’t worry, Captain. I’ll keep quiet. I’m also smart enough to know what to say, what not to say, what to help with, and what to avoid. I have it all under control.”
Ning Xiyue nodded firmly and made a sealing gesture with her hand.
“Good. You’re a good kid. That’s why I’m telling you all this. Those people in there will rise sooner or later.”
The captain spoke earnestly, his gaze serious.
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
Ning Xiyue looked at him in surprise—she hadn’t expected him to have such foresight. Noticing his hesitant expression, she asked the question to try and glean some hint of his knowledge.
