Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

Chen Hongxia sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), nodded, her expression a mixture of surprise, joy, and disbelief:

"Will it really not hurt anymore?"

Zhou Haibing said, "As long as you eat on time, avoid getting cold, and don't eat raw or cold foods, it won't happen again."

Chen Hongbo asked from the side, "Dr. Zhou, how much does this medicine cost?"

Zhou Haibing thought for a moment and said, "The herbs themselves aren't worth much. Just give me the cost price, fifty cents will do."

Chen Hongbo was taken aback.

Five cents cured my sister's pain that had lasted for more than ten hours; that's such a cheap price.

He knew that the registration fee at the town hospital was one or two cents, and with the injections and medicine, it would cost at least two or three yuan to get out.

He quickly pulled a crumpled 50-cent banknote from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Haibing. The banknote was folded into a small square and tucked into the innermost part of his pocket. It was still warm from his body when he took it out.

He rubbed his hands together sheepishly and said:

"Dr. Zhou, isn't this too little money? You've done both acupuncture and medication; the acupuncture alone is worth more than five cents..."

"Just fifty cents, that's enough." Zhou Haibing put the money away, closed the medicine box, and slung it over his shoulder.

"If you feel unwell in the future, just come to the clinic to find me."

The Chen family of three thanked Zhou Haibing profusely and saw him to the door.

The old woman stood inside the threshold, holding onto the door frame, still muttering, "Dr. Zhou, take care."

Chen Hongbo stood in the courtyard, watching Zhou Haibing walk out of the alley before turning back.

Chen Hongxia stood at the doorway wearing a jacket. Although her face was still pale, a smile had already appeared on her lips.

Zhou Haibing walked back along the village road.

The village road is a dirt road. It had rained a few days ago, and the road surface was full of potholes. In some places, there was still water. When you stepped on it, there was a "plop" sound, and mud splattered onto your trouser legs.

In the fields on both sides of the road, the corn seedlings were only half a foot tall, standing sparsely, their leaves turning yellow and drooping under the sun.

In the distance, there were several mud-brick houses with smoke rising from their roofs. The smoke was grayish-white and dissipated in the wind.

When he reached the door of the clinic, he saw that Li Su'e and Zhou Haiqing had already returned.

Zhou Haiqing was sitting on the doorstep picking vegetables, holding a handful of bok choy that he had just picked from the back mountain. The leaves were still wet with water droplets and the roots were covered with damp mud.

She picked the vegetables quickly and efficiently, pinching and twisting them with her fingers to remove the yellow leaves and roots, then tossing them into a bamboo basket at her feet.

Li Su'e was organizing the medicine cabinet in the room, putting stacks of medicinal herbs into different categories, pulling out and pushing the drawers in, making a "creaking" sound.

When Zhou Haiqing saw him return, she put down the vegetables she was carrying, patted the mud off her hands, stood up, and asked:

"Big brother's back? What illness did Chen Hongbo's sister have? How is she now?"

Zhou Haibing placed the medicine box on the table and pulled over a stool to sit down.

The stool was made of elm wood, with four legs of varying thicknesses, and it creaked when you sat on it.

他 说:

"She had menstrual cramps. I gave her acupuncture to relieve the pain and prescribed two days' worth of medication. She was fine after finishing the medication."

"Menstrual cramps?" Zhou Haiqing tilted her head, looking confused.

"What is menstrual cramps? I've never heard of it before."

When Li Su'e came out of the inner room and heard those three words, her face flushed slightly, the blush spreading from her cheekbones to her ears, as if someone had revealed some secret.

She walked quickly to Zhou Haiqing's side, took her arm, pulled her a couple of steps to the side, and whispered:

"Menstrual cramps are a woman's problem. You're just a kid, don't ask so many questions."

You'll understand when you grow up.

Zhou Haiqing was pulled aside by her, becoming even more curious, but seeing her sister-in-law's slightly flushed face and that "don't ask anymore" expression,

She nodded as if she understood, and didn't ask any more questions. She just muttered to herself, "Why can't I know about women's illnesses?" and squatted back down to continue picking her vegetables.

When she squatted down, her trouser legs rolled up a bit, revealing a section of her ankle with some mud spots on it, probably from picking vegetables on the hill behind the mountain.

Zhou Haibing stood up and said:

"I'm going to check on how those medicinal herb seedlings are growing on the back hill."

Li Su'e pushed the last drawer of the medicine cabinet closed, patted the dregs of medicine off her hands. The dregs were from cutting the herbs; they were fine and crumbly, and it took her two pats to clean them off.

"I'll go with you. Those rows of astragalus plants we planted yesterday need their second watering."

Zhou Haibing nodded, then turned to Zhou Haiqing and instructed him:

"Haiqing, you stay at the clinic and call me via walkie-talkie when someone comes to see a doctor."

"Understood, Big Brother." Zhou Haiqing raised his hand and waved the bunch of bok choy in his hand.

"I'm making bok choy soup for lunch."

The two left the clinic and walked along the dirt road toward the back of the mountain.

The sun had risen high in the sky, its golden rays shining on the hillside, making the lush green vegetable leaves and medicinal herb seedlings gleam.

The roadside weeds grew up to knee height, with dew still clinging to the blades. When you brushed your trousers against them, the dew would stick to your cloth, feeling cool and refreshing.

Li Su'e walked ahead, her steps light and quick, turning back to talk to Zhou Haibing as she went.

Today she wore a faded light blue shirt with a frayed collar and the cuffs rolled up twice, revealing her slender wrists.

Her hair was tied back with a rubber band, revealing a section of her neck that was slightly red from the sun.

When she spoke, her head was tilted slightly, a smile played on her lips, and her eyes crinkled.

"Hai Bing, you said Chen Hongbo's sister was in so much pain, how did you stop it with just a few injections?"

I've seen people with menstrual cramps before; some even writhe in pain on the bed, and painkillers don't help.

Zhou Haibing walked half a step behind her, holding a foxtail grass he had broken off from the roadside, twirling it around as he walked.

"Acupuncture is all about unblocking the meridians."

Menstrual cramps are mostly caused by cold stagnation in the uterus, which obstructs the meridians and prevents the flow of qi and blood, thus causing pain.

I applied acupuncture to the Sanyinjiao, Ciliao, and Guanyuan acupoints to unblock the meridians, dispel the cold, and naturally the pain subsided.

Li Su'e said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions.

She turned around and continued walking, but stopped after a few steps, pointing to a wild goji berry tree by the roadside and saying:

"Look at these goji berries, they've all formed fruit. When they turn red in the fall, I'll pick some, dry them, and steep them in water; it's good for the eyes."

Zhou Haibing looked in the direction she was pointing. The goji berry tree was not tall, and its branches were covered with clusters of small, green berries. The berries were still small and hard, far from ripe.

He said, "Sure, I'll pick them for you then."

The two talked as they climbed to the top of the mountain.

Standing on the mountaintop and looking down, the entire hillside behind the mountain is laid out before you.

From the foot of the mountain to the top, neat rows of vegetable plots and medicinal herb fields covered the entire slope.