He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

These words were so considerate that Chen Zhiyuan's displeasure dissipated considerably. He nodded, "I know. The regimental commander has always taken good care of me; now that he's in trouble, who else should I help?"

He took a sip of water and suddenly sighed, "Honestly, if the regimental commander hadn't been injured, he'd be the most outstanding figure in the entire Northwest Military Region. So many people are eyeing him! Even injured, there are still people throwing themselves at him. Didn't you see that little nurse Bai Wei at the military hospital? She's always hanging around the regimental commander; who can't see through her little schemes?"

Liu Fang's ears perked up, and she pressed on discreetly, "Bai Wei? The one who used connections to get into the hospital? What was she after? The commander's condition now..."

"What's the point?" Chen Zhiyuan curled his lip. "The Mu family's status, of course. You know Commander Mu's family is in Beijing. His mother is a cadre in a ministry; even if he retires and returns to Beijing, they'll still be a prestigious and respectable family. Some women are incredibly shrewd when it comes to this."

Liu Fang's eyes flickered slightly.

She lowered her head, picked up her knitting needles again, and said casually, "So, this Shen Tang... do you think she readily agreed to cook for the troupe leader because she also found out about the Mu family's background? Is that why she refused to leave?"

Chen Zhiyuan was taken aback and frowned: "This... it shouldn't be that bad, right? She's only been here a few days, what could she possibly find out? Besides, given her situation, I heard her family signed a disownment agreement and threw her out. She's penniless, she's lucky to even have a place to stay, she wouldn't have so many ulterior motives."

"That's true." Liu Fang smiled and didn't say anything more.

But for some reason, Chen Zhiyuan felt a tiny thorn in his heart from her words. He shook his head, shaking off the discomfort, and changed the subject: "Alright, let's not talk about others. Fang'er, when do you want to get married? I've been waiting for you for so long."

Liu Fang's fingers paused slightly.

She looked up, a gentle and considerate smile on her face, and reached out to straighten Chen Zhiyuan's collar: "Zhiyuan, the commander has been injured recently, and so many things in the team have fallen on your shoulders. I know you're working hard. Just focus on your work and don't let me distract you. We... there's no rush."

Looking at his fiancée's understanding face, Chen Zhiyuan felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

He felt he was the luckiest man in the entire military region—to have such a sensible and considerate girl.

Unbeknownst to him, Liu Fang's lowered eyes held a different kind of calculation: Mu Qinghan, in his crippled state, was probably unable to fly, so his discharge from the army was only a matter of time. Once he was gone, Chen Zhiyuan would naturally take over the position of regimental commander, and then she could marry into the family; that would be the proper status of a regimental commander's wife.

Marrying now? Marrying an adjutant? How is that the same as marrying a regimental commander?

Let's wait a bit. There's no rush.

……

Meanwhile, after agreeing to provide meals for patients, Shen Tang didn't delay and immediately started working in the cafeteria kitchen that afternoon.

She rinsed the millet three times, peeled and thinly sliced ​​the yam, pitted a few red dates, and added a small pinch of dried tangerine peel. She put all the ingredients into a pot and simmered them over low heat. While the porridge was cooking, she blanched the two remaining bok choy leaves from her space and chopped them into fine, bright green pieces, intending to sprinkle them on top of the porridge at the end—both for added color and to whet the appetite.

When the porridge had cooked to a thick, creamy consistency with rice oil floating on the surface, Shen Tang, taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, flicked a drop of spiritual spring water into the pot. The porridge instantly released a warm, pleasant aroma of rice, a scent that was simply delightful.

She ladled the porridge into a thermos. "Squad Leader Wang, is Commander Mu in the compound or the hospital now?"

"She's at the military hospital! She has physiotherapy this afternoon, probably doing it right now." Sergeant Wang wiped his hands on his apron. "Is this your first time, young lady? Shall I have someone take you there?"

"No need, I can go by myself." Shen Tang picked up her lunchbox and walked briskly out of the cafeteria.

She had just reached the corner on the second floor of the hospital when she heard a violent vomiting sound coming from the direction of the restroom.

"Ugh—cough cough cough..."

Shen Tang paused, turned around, and saw Wang Xiulian leaning against the bathroom door frame, vomiting violently, her face as pale as paper, her forehead covered in cold sweat. Zhao Dahai was pacing anxiously beside her, patting his wife's back while looking helplessly towards the nurses' station.

"Sister-in-law?!" Shen Tang quickly went over and supported Wang Xiulian's swaying body with one hand. "What's wrong?"

Wang Xiulian vomited for a long time but couldn't bring herself to vomit anything. Her face was covered in tears and snot, and she weakly waved her hand, saying, "N-nothing...it's just that my stomach is churning after taking the medicine..."

When Zhao Dahai saw Shen Tang arrive, he was overjoyed, rubbing his hands anxiously. "Sister Shen! You've come at the perfect time! Xiulian started vomiting last night and hasn't been able to drink any water since!"

Shen Tang's brows furrowed suddenly.

She immediately recalled the scene on the bus—the several packets of "fertility formulas" wrapped in yellow paper in Wang Xiulian's arms, containing blister beetles and tripterygium wilfordii, both highly poisonous substances. She had warned Wang Xiulian to consult a qualified doctor before consuming them, but her sister-in-law couldn't resist and secretly took them!

"Sister-in-law, did you take that medicine on the train?" Shen Tang asked in a low, urgent voice.

Wang Xiulian was stunned for a moment, then nodded weakly: "How...how did you know?"

Shen Tang's heart skipped a beat, and she cursed inwardly.

She reached out and grasped Wang Xiulian's wrist, her fingertips touching the pulse at the cun, guan, and chi positions. She closed her eyes and felt for a few seconds, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper—the pulse was thin and weak, the tongue dark purple, typical signs of liver and kidney damage and blood stasis. Those potent medicinal herbs had already begun to erode her body!

"Sister-in-law, you can't take that medicine anymore." Shen Tang's tone was serious. "Several ingredients in it are extremely toxic. Forget about curing infertility; if you take it again, you'll lose half your life."

Wang Xiulian's expression changed: "But...but I asked someone to specially get it from my hometown...it cost me several tens of yuan...They said that if I complete a full course of treatment, I'm guaranteed to get pregnant..."

"No matter how much money you spend, it's all for naught." Shen Tang said firmly, "Sister-in-law, believe me. I know your condition. It's not incurable, but it definitely can't be treated with those potent, dangerous medicines."

Zhao Dahai, standing beside her, was so anxious his face turned red: "Shen, what's wrong with Xiulian? The doctor at the military hospital said we're both healthy, but we just can't get pregnant. It's been seven or eight years..."

Shen Tang helped Wang Xiulian sit down on a bench in the corridor and pondered for a few seconds.

She certainly knew where Wang Xiulian's problem lay—a classic case of uterine coldness, qi stagnation, and blood stasis, exacerbated by the dry and cold climate of Northwest China. Western medicine couldn't detect any organic lesions in this situation, but in traditional Chinese medicine, it was simply a case of an unsuitable uterine environment preventing implantation.

Acupuncture can unblock the meridians, combined with medicinal diet to warm the uterus and kidneys, and supplemented with spiritual spring water... It will definitely be cured in two or three months at most.

But now that the two have only met briefly a few days ago, if she were to rashly say, "I can cure your infertility," it would inevitably make people think she's bragging.

Shen Tang thought for a moment, then spoke cautiously, "Sister-in-law, I can't guarantee I can get you pregnant. But I've read some ancient Chinese medicine prescriptions, and I know how to use acupuncture and dietary therapy to treat uterine coldness. If you trust me, stop taking that poison first, and I'll give you a few acupuncture treatments to try. We'll know in ten days to two weeks whether it works or not."