When Xia Tianyu walked out of the Harbin Public Security Bureau, a torrential downpour began outside.

The sky was dark and gloomy, with lightning and thunder.

Vision was completely blurred.

She had never experienced such heavy rain since arriving in Heilongjiang Province.

She stretched out her injured wrist, letting the rain wash away the bloodstains.

Does it hurt?

She could no longer feel the pain.

A strange smile appeared on her face, and then she plunged headlong into the rain without looking back...

The heavy rain, however, brought great joy to the villagers of Dingjiatun.

Farmers all yearn for rain. Ding Youliang stood under the eaves, puffing on his pipe, and said, "Great, really great!"

Wang Youhe rolled her eyes at him: "Look, you'll get soaked, and then your back will hurt!"

"My back is all better now!" Ding Youliang said with a grin. "Ever since Dr. Su treated me, it's never flared up again."

"That's true! Hey, do you think I should also see Dr. Su to treat my ailment?"

"It's good to get it treated. Later, take those two half-grown roosters from your house to Dr. Su—remember to keep them away from people, since they were raised secretly anyway!"

"Okay! I'll go again in a few days. Those two chickens are still a bit small, not presentable!" Wang Youhe thought to himself.

"Don't wait a few days. If you want treatment, go now!" Ding Youliang said meaningfully.

"What's wrong, honey? What rumors have you heard this time?" Wang Youhe asked, a little nervously.

"Oh dear, isn't it obvious? Madam Su's family is full of outstanding people. How could such a precious child stay in our Dingjiatun forever?" Ding Youliang shook his pipe. "Didn't you see? Jin Xingqiu is the one who took over from Doctor Su!"

"Oh? Then I... I'd better go right away!" Wang Youhe said, looking at the sky, "When will this rain stop?"

The couple were chatting when suddenly a ghostly figure appeared before them: "Captain, could you give me a form to register for returning to the city?"

Both of them were startled.

The one speaking was Xia Tianyu.

Her two braids were undone, her hair was plastered haphazardly to her face, both wrists were covered in blood, and her face was frighteningly pale.

Ding Youliang forced himself to calm down: "You...you're an educated youth? From our brigade?"

Xia Tianyu brushed the hair away from her face: "Captain, it's me, Xia Tianyu."

Ding Youliang's expression immediately changed again: "You...they let you go?!"

"Okay, I've released him." Xia Tianyu took out the release notice from her body, but the penmanship was already blurred by the rain.

"We've run out of application forms. Guo Tianya took them all last time!"

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, and that Su Ruyi had indeed said she hadn't been involved in any gun shooting incident, Ding Youliang patiently explained, "I'll have to bring it back when I go to the county for a meeting next week!"

"Okay." Xia Tianyu said, then turned and left.

When she returned to the educated youth compound, her appearance startled everyone again.

After she took out her key and opened the padlock, Wang Chuntao and the others confirmed that the person in front of them was indeed Xia Tianyu.

In less than a month, she had become as thin as a skeleton!

Summer rain returned to the house, locked the door, and without changing his soaking wet clothes, plopped down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

This room was originally shared by her, Xia Tianlu, and Xia Tianxiu.

She sat there, lost in thought, motionless like a statue, and it was unclear how long she had been sitting there.

...

The heavy rain kept Su Ruyi very busy.

In a medical book she had recently studied, there was an ancient prescription that happened to require rainwater from this solar term as a medicinal guide.

She used every container she could find, constantly moving things around. Only after seeing the large vat that had been newly moved into the space filled with rainwater did she begin to refine the medicine.

Su Qiushi became her assistant, in charge of tending the fire.

Even Su Ruyi wasn't confident she could turn a vat of water into a solid.

However, when she added a small amount of other ingredients according to the recipe in the ancient book, the large vat of water eventually became a viscous semi-fluid. After she poured it into the lunchbox, it quickly solidified into a transparent solid about an inch thick!

Su Ruyi was overjoyed.

With this medicinal ingredient, she could then prepare a medicine for Chef Wang to repay his kindness in asking Zhang Bin to rescue her from Han Weiguo.

Chef Wang has poor lung function due to years of exposure to cooking fumes; he's reached the point where he coughs incessantly when cooking spicy dishes.

During a casual conversation last time, he mentioned that nowadays, when many important figures specifically request him to cook, he always brings his apprentices along. When it comes to dishes with a lot of chili peppers, the apprentices step in.

Su Ruyi was worried, so she took his pulse and found that his lungs had serious problems!

This pill is used to clear the lungs.

After taking seven pills, the alveoli will be as clean as a newborn baby's.

While Su Ruyi was preparing the medicinal ingredients, collecting raw materials, and processing the pills, Su Qiushi was secretly taking notes in a small notebook.

Su Ruyi found it amusing and couldn't help but say, "Grandpa, if you want to learn, I'll tell you the recipe! But how can you remember the dosage accurately if you do it this way?"

“Of course it’s accurate! Grandpa’s eyes are the ruler!” Su Qiushi said unconvinced. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll read it to you! 10 grams of Fritillaria cirrhosa, 5 grams of Lycium chinense root bark…”

"It's exactly the right amount!" Su Ruyi exclaimed in delight. "Grandpa, it's such a waste that your medical skills are just sitting here at Huichuntang! You should write a book about them..."

“The masses are foolish and need no instruction,” Su Qiushi said with a slight smile, interrupting her.

Su Ruyi felt a pang of sadness—Grandpa had been hurt too deeply by the world.

His children are all dead, and his granddaughter has been arrested.

There is indeed no hope left.

He practiced medicine and saved countless lives throughout his life, and he devoted his life to doing good deeds and accumulating merit.

Why would an elderly person like this encounter such a thing?

Fortunately, Grandpa met her. She had Huichuntang, a sanctuary where Grandpa could temporarily escape the storms of life...

The next day, as soon as the rain stopped, Su Ruyi went to Sanhe County.

Chef Wang was drinking large-leaf tea and reading the newspaper in the kitchen of the state-run restaurant.

Upon seeing Su Ruyi, a wide smile immediately spread across his face: "My benefactor has arrived!"

As he spoke, he led Su Ruyi out through the back door and into the empty backyard.

Su Ruyi took out seven pills packaged in a brocade box and solemnly handed them to him: "Last time you came to Dingjiatun, I took your pulse and found that you had some health problems, so I prescribed some medicine. These seven pills should be taken starting from the next solar term—that is, three days from now. Every day at 3:01 AM, dissolve a small piece of the medicine in the lunchbox with honey water and take it. You must take the medicine at the correct time and in the correct way, and take it for seven consecutive days without interruption."

Chef Wang carefully took the brocade box, his expression one of pure surprise, his voice trembling slightly: "Oh, I remember. This is... for treating that problem in my lungs?"