After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

"Did you hear that?" Jiang He snorted. "My sister already said, why aren't you getting out of the way? If you delay the rescue, I couldn't afford to pay for it even if I sold you."

Li Wei's face turned pale and then red as he was being teased by the man and woman. Just as he was about to retaliate, the old man on the bed suddenly let out an extremely painful groan and his body convulsed violently.

"Father! Father, what's wrong!"

The women screamed in fright.

"There's no time." Gu Qiangying stopped talking nonsense, pushed aside Li Wei who was blocking her way, pulled Lin Qingqing behind her, and took a few steps to the bedside.

"Needle!"

He stretched out his hand, his voice short and forceful.

Secretary Wang reacted the fastest, rummaging through the medical kit to find a needle case and handing it over.

"Strong liquor! Cotton cloth!"

Gu Qiangying gave the orders without turning her head, her hands moving so fast it was dazzling.

He pulled a half-foot-long silver needle from his needle case, and without even sterilizing it, grabbed a bottle of liquor from the table and used it on the needle.

A flash of cold light.

The needle pierced straight into the old factory director's Baihui acupoint.

"Ah!" The woman next to her covered her mouth in fright.

Li Wei's mind went blank for a moment, but Secretary Wang reassured him, "Director Li! Wait a little longer! Just a little longer!"

Gu Qiangying was completely undisturbed by her surroundings. With a flick of her wrist, she inserted several more silver needles into the Renzhong, Neiguan, and Hegu acupoints.

Lin Qingqing stood in the corner, her hands clasped together against her chest, forgetting even to breathe.

Her gaze fell on Gu Qiangying.

This man, who usually seemed somewhat nonchalant and even gloomy, was now extremely focused. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his nose was high and straight, and his thin lips were slightly pursed.

This focus made him radiate light.

One minute.

Two minutes.

The old factory manager on the bed suddenly sat up abruptly, letting out a strange sound from his throat, like a broken bellows being pulled—

"Cough—Pfft!"

A mouthful of thick, black, foul-smelling phlegm spurted out, landing right on the bedsheet.

"Father!" Li Wei broke free from Secretary Wang and rushed over.

The old factory director was breathing heavily, and his originally purplish-black complexion faded at a visible speed, slowly regaining a trace of color.

The rise and fall of my chest also became steady.

"He's...alive?"

Everyone around was stunned.

Those doctors just now practically popped their eyes out.

This technique, this strength, this precision in identifying acupoints—it's something a barefoot doctor could never achieve!

Gu Qiangying let out a long breath and rubbed her temples with one hand.

Performing acupuncture for emergency treatment is extremely mentally taxing. Although he has a good foundation, he is not entirely confident in his ability to do it.

"Your life has been saved." Gu Qiangying's voice sounded tired. "But this only closes the door to death; we'll have to see how things go in the next few hours."

The way everyone in the room looked at him changed.

The initial disdain and skepticism transformed into shock and awe.

Li Wei's mouth was agape, and he couldn't close it for a long time. The expression on his face was as interesting as if he had opened a dye shop.

Gu Qiangying didn't want to pay attention to everyone's ever-changing expressions. She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, but found that she was still holding the needle case, which was inconvenient.

Just then, a handkerchief with a faint fragrance was handed to him.

Lin Qingqing walked over, stood on tiptoe, and gently pressed her handkerchief against his sweaty forehead.

Do you have a headache?

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a feather brushing against the heart.

Gu Qiangying was taken aback.

He doesn't like being touched. This is a habit he developed from childhood; even among his brothers, there is very little physical contact except when they are fighting.

But this time, he didn't dodge.

Her hand was small, and through the thin fabric, he could feel the warmth emanating from her fingertips.

It seems like I can still smell her scent.

It wasn't the smell of perfume or face cream; it was just a clean, sun-dried cotton quilt scent mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible milky fragrance.

Gu Qiangying's Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling directly on Lin Qingqing's slightly upturned face.

Because of her earlier nervousness, a fine layer of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose, and a few strands of hair clung to her cheeks. Her eyes, as she looked at him, were filled with undisguised admiration and concern.

"I'm fine." Gu Qiangying turned her head away, avoiding her gaze. "I'm okay, my head doesn't hurt."

Lin Qingqing didn't notice his strange behavior. She carefully wiped his sweat dry and then folded the handkerchief and put it back in her pocket.

This scene was witnessed by Li Wei, who had just come to his senses.

Li Wei had been so focused on his father that he had stopped looking at her. Now that he had recovered, his gaze swept over Lin Qingqing, and his eyes suddenly became a little lingering.

That moment when she blocked his way made him remember this woman.

Looking closely now, her figure and appearance are so stunning that even in the county town, you wouldn't find many who can match her.

Especially her waist, so thin it looked like you could snap it in two with one hand, and her full, rounded breasts that rose and fell slightly with her breath...

Li Wei swallowed hard, his anger subsided by half, but another surge of rage rose within him.

"Dr. Gu truly lives up to his reputation!"

Li Wei put on a smiling face and stepped forward, but his eyes didn't look at Gu Qiangying; instead, they were fixed on Lin Qingqing. "I was blind to your greatness earlier and was very rude. May I ask who this young lady is...?"

His gaze was so blatant that Lin Qingqing instinctively shrank back and hid behind Gu Qiangying.

Before Gu Qiangying could speak, a figure suddenly cut in and blocked Li Wei's view.

Jiang He brought his handsome face close to Li Wei's and smiled, "What are you looking at? If you keep looking, I'll gouge your eyes out and stomp on them."

Li Wei's smile froze.

"This is my sister." Jiang He tilted his head slightly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You, a toad, dare to look at her?"

"You—" Li Wei pointed at Jiang He angrily, "Where did this wild brat come from? Don't you have any manners?!"

"Good manners are something you talk about with people." Jiang He scoffed, about to say something, when a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

Gu Qiangying pulled Jiang He back and stepped forward herself.

He adjusted his glasses: "The child is just being immature, Director Li, please don't mind him."

Gu Qiangying smiled and said, "But Director Li, the old factory director's illness is most aggravated by emotional excitement and noise. There are too many people talking in this room, and the air isn't very good. If we disturb the old man, he might not be able to catch his breath..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Li Wei's face, which had turned a deep purplish-red, and slowly added, "At that point, even a god couldn't save him."

Li Wei was also a seasoned official; how could he not understand the meaning behind those words?

He gritted his teeth, glared hatefully at Gu Qiangying, then glanced greedily behind him before saying with a forced smile, "Dr. Gu is right. Saving lives is the priority."

After saying that, he turned and walked out. As he passed the door, he gave a wink to one of his trusted subordinates who was guarding there.

The subordinate understood immediately and quietly withdrew.

……

After finishing their business, the three of them would play around in the village for a while.

Whether the third son can get food depends on how hard he tries!