Chapter 99: The Barefoot Doctor
After walking down the mountain for about ten minutes, Ning Xiyue realized that the “protagonist’s halo” above her head was starting to work its magic again.
Because she tripped over a rock on the road once more — and just as her body was about to pitch forward, Ji Yanming reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing a potential disaster.
Ning Qingzhi let out a long sigh of relief. “Phew, sis, you really need to be careful. Falling twice in one day is way too scary.”
“My poor little heart can’t take it,” Ning Qingyuan added nervously.
“I’m fine,” Ning Xiyue said, patting her chest with lingering fear. She looked sincerely at Ji Yanming and thanked him. “Thank you, Comrade Ji.”
With Comrade Ji around, she felt extremely safe.
But the pain from her toes made her dark eyes well up slightly. She endured it — once the initial sting passed, it wasn’t so bad.
Ji Yanming saw those watery eyes looking at him with a strong, brave smile, and his heartbeat sped up. His face grew slightly warm as he awkwardly turned his head away. “Watch where you’re going.”
This was the first time Ning Xiyue had seen Comrade Ji show a different expression — his face was slightly red, and so were the tips of his ears. She was puzzled about what was going on with him, but she couldn’t help thinking that he looked… cute like this.
Wait. Cute? What nonsense was that? Was she being influenced by the halo again?
“Host, you can’t blame the halo for this,” the system retorted. “The halo only amplifies what’s already there.”
Hmm, Comrade Ji did give her a strong sense of security — and now, he did look kind of cute.
Whether it was the halo’s influence or not, something subtle and almost imperceptible had been etched into Ning Xiyue’s heart — something she herself didn’t even realize.
Ning Xiyue lowered her head to look at the culprit that had nearly made her fall.
A pitch-black lump.
“What’s this?” she asked, picking it up curiously.
“It kind of looks like coal,” Ning Qingyuan guessed tentatively.
“Let me see.” Ning Qingzhi took the black lump, sniffed it, then looked up at Ji Yanming. “Old Ji, I think it is.”
Ji Yanming took it back, smelled it himself, and after examining it carefully, nodded with certainty. “It’s raw coal.”
Ning Xiyue dug another piece out from the ground where the lump had been and handed it over. “Brother, I found another one.”
Seeing the coal, Ji Yanming’s mind began to form a guess. He turned to the two comrades who had followed them and said, “You two, search around here.”
Then he looked back at Ning Xiyue. “Comrade Ning, lend me your sickle.”
Ning Qingzhi also took the hatchet from his younger brother’s hands.
The two men crouched down and started digging at the spot where Ning Xiyue had picked up the coal.
Just then, Gangzi, standing a couple of meters away on a slope, shouted, holding a piece of coal, “Boss, there’s some black stuff showing over here!”
At the same time, Ji Yanming, digging away at the dirt, also saw a patch of black emerging from beneath the soil.
“Old Ji, look — it’s everywhere underneath.”
Ning Xiyue and Ning Qingyuan leaned in to see — chunks of black rock were faintly visible in the earth.
At that moment, Ning Xiyue thought about the perks of her protagonist halo and said, “Brother, could it be there’s a coal deposit nearby? Maybe a flash flood washed the soil away and exposed it.”
“I think so. If we really discover a coal mine, do we get a reward?” Ning Qingyuan’s eyes sparkled with visions of prizes and bonuses.
Ning Xiyue’s eyes shone brightly as she looked at the man who could make decisions here — Comrade Ji. “Would we?”
When Ji Yanming saw those starry eyes looking at him, his heart rippled again. He averted his gaze and nodded. “Mm. If it’s confirmed there’s a coal mine here, I can apply for a reward for you.”
What was wrong with him? Ji Yanming patted his head, frustrated with himself.
Meanwhile, Ning Xiyue and Ning Qingyuan were so excited by the answer that they stood up and high-fived.
Ning Qingzhi laughed. “You two be careful — don’t fall again.”
“Come on, let’s keep going down the mountain.” Ji Yanming shook off his distracting thoughts. He left one comrade behind to watch the site and led the rest of them onward. Today had been a fruitful day — now he had to hurry down the mountain to make some contacts.
On the way down, Ning Xiyue truly experienced the power of the protagonist’s halo.
A little farther down the path, they found valuable medicinal herbs. Then they picked a pile of large, fresh mushrooms — so many that two baskets were filled to the brim, with an extra sack full in their hands.
Further along, they found a wild pheasant with an injured wing.
And the most absurd part — a foolish deer stood motionless in the middle of the road. Even as they walked right up to it, it didn’t run. A few swipes from Little Gray (the dog) and it was knocked down.
Ning Xiyue was speechless. Was the protagonist’s halo now giving her koi-like luck on top of everything?
“Today’s our lucky day — look at all this good stuff!” Ning Qingyuan grinned foolishly at the fat deer lying on the ground.
Ning Xiyue: My second brother looks more like the silly deer here.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, their sack contained three pheasants, two wild rabbits, and one silly deer.
From Ning Xiyue, Ji Yanming learned that the brigade had a telephone. The three of them followed her to the Daliu Brigade.
The telephone there was managed by the brigade leader.
Since Ning Xiyue was the only one familiar with the brigade’s situation, she led the group to the brigade leader’s house — business had to come first.
With the protagonist’s halo overhead, luck was on their side again — the brigade leader was sitting in the yard chopping firewood.
“Captain, this comrade wants to see you.”
Zhang Dawei looked up — wasn’t this the Comrade Ji who had visited from the public security bureau before?
The brigade leader quickly set down the wood and axe, his face blooming into a smile as he stood up to shake hands. “Comrade Ji, long time no see. Please, come in and sit.”
“No need to sit. I have something important to discuss,” Ji Yanming said gravely, looking at the captain. “We need to use the brigade’s phone. I’ll explain everything on the way.”
Sensing the seriousness of the matter, the captain wiped the smile from his face and nodded. “All right.”
He went inside to fetch the key.
Aunt Yangliu was in the kitchen cooking. When she heard Ning Xiyue had arrived, she immediately handed over her work to her daughters-in-law and rushed out, warmly chatting with her.
The two older brothers were relieved. With their sister getting along so well with the brigade’s leadership, she was less likely to be bullied.
Ji Yanming watched with admiration — he respected people who could thrive no matter where they went.
Ning Xiyue handed Aunt Yangliu the mushrooms she had gathered. “Auntie, I picked these in the mountains today. Try them — they’re fresh.”
Aunt Yangliu felt touched but tried to refuse. “Keep them for yourself. Why give them to me?”
Ning Xiyue pretended to be angry. “Take them. These are for my old friend. Besides, I still have plenty left in my basket — more than enough to eat.”
“All right, I’ll take them.” Aunt Yangliu accepted them with a big smile, then pulled Ning Xiyue aside and spoke mysteriously:
“Xiyue, the barefoot doctor at our production brigade’s clinic just used some connections to get transferred to the town. That leaves a vacancy here. I remember you know medicine — how about I recommend you for the job?”
Afraid Ning Xiyue might not understand the benefits, Aunt Yangliu added more details:
“Let me tell you, as a barefoot doctor, you only have to work the fields during busy times like spring planting or the summer and autumn harvests. Otherwise, you don’t go to the fields at all. It’s not a busy job, but you still get full work points. At New Year, when they slaughter pigs, you get extra perks — like first pick of the meat. And there are some hidden benefits too — you’ll find out once you’re in.”
Ning Xiyue’s heart pounded wildly. She had long coveted the barefoot doctor’s position — and now, the opportunity was right in front of her. She had to get it.
“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Auntie. Once I’m selected, I’ll treat you to some good wine.”
Aunt Yangliu, a lover of alcohol, brightened immediately at the mention of wine. “Oh, that’s wonderful. Then I won’t be polite about it. Don’t worry — I’ll whisper some good words about you into your Uncle Dawei’s ear tonight.”
