He in the eyes of the barefoot doctor

Yu Chunsheng didn't recognize him and subconsciously shook his head, but he was also wondering how he could so directly say that his family's surname was Kong.

He couldn't quite remember the name of the farm where he was sent to work back then. He hadn't worked there for long, and the memories of that place weren't pleasant, so he had been deliberately ignoring that part of the experience.

Xu Zhenhua, however, seemed unsatisfied with his answer. He reached out and pinched the man's face, comparing the positions of his eyes, nose, and mouth, and finally murmured, "It still looks like him."

Faced with the puzzled looks from the group, he smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's just that almost twenty years ago, when I was still a village doctor, I received a notice to perform an autopsy on a former educated youth."

"I only treat living people, and I've never performed autopsies on the dead, so I have a deep impression of this person. This man looks a lot like him. If I didn't believe in science, I would have suspected that he had been resurrected."

Yu Chunsheng's expression changed, and he quickly turned his face away.

Li Youlan and her husband exchanged glances, seemingly asking each other if they remembered the doctor.

Yu Chunsheng said to let bygones be bygones, and the others didn't say anything. However, Xu Tangmian felt indebted to him for letting his grandfather go, and kept thinking about learning more about what happened back then and getting to know him better.

She couldn't ask her grandfather anymore, nor could she ask Yu Chunsheng; wouldn't that be like rubbing salt into someone's wounds?

Aunt Li was willing to ask, but she knew she couldn't hide it from Yu Chunsheng. She didn't want Yu Chunsheng to think she was investigating his past behind his back.

She had a selfish motive. If it turned out that her grandfather was indeed at fault, she could pretend not to know if she was the only one who knew. But if everyone else knew that she already knew the truth, she would not be able to pretend not to know in front of Yu Chunsheng.

Now that they'd finally encountered a suspicious person, they were determined to apprehend him. Song Weidong followed Xu Zhenhua, and she feigned feeling unwell and followed after him.

Li Youlan tugged at Yu Chunsheng's sleeve and whispered, "Your wife isn't feeling well, aren't you going to go see her?"

Yu Chunsheng glanced at her back, then lowered his head and said cryptically, "She... should be fine, let her go."

Li Yutao naturally followed Song Weidong, leaving only a few people who knew about what happened back then in the courtyard.

Xu Tangmian followed them to the clinic. With Song Weidong there, Xu Zhenhua wasn't as busy. While he was preparing medicine, Xu Tangmian leaned over and asked him, "Uncle Xu, what's the name of that educated youth you mentioned earlier?"

Xu Zhenhua glanced at her, his hands still moving, and said, "Why are you asking this?"

Xu Tangmian made up a lie, "My grandpa... I also want to know about what happened back then. My dad graduated from Peking University and was assigned to work in the countryside. Later, his old friends went their separate ways, but he always kept those classmates in mind."

"He's been depressed all the time, and we children can't sit still, so we thought we'd try to find out more about his old classmates. From what you just said, it seems your village used to take in educated youth?"

Xu Zhenhua did not doubt her statement and said frankly, "Yes, a group of educated youth from the city came to our fourth team back then. It seems that they are the Peking University students you mentioned. Many of them know each other."

"If you want to learn about this story, you can go to the town's cultural center to read our local county annals."

Xu Tangmian nodded, seemingly having made up her mind, and replied with "Okay." She then asked, "Do you still have any impressions of what happened back then? Like that educated youth you just mentioned."

Xu Zhenhua suddenly stopped drawing saline solution, glanced around, and whispered, "This is a sensitive matter, so it's best not to say too much."

“Say only what you can say.” Xu Tangmian held up three fingers and swore to the sky, “I will not tell a third person a single word you have told me, and I will bear all the consequences alone.”

Xu Zhenhua sized her up for a while, and seeing that her eyes were sincere and her face did not seem like that of a sinister or cunning person, he slowly said, "I only remember that his surname was Kong, and he had already been paraded through the streets for several days before I went there."

"Back then, everyone said he was a scoundrel and wanted to beat him to death, but he didn't say a word." Xu Zhenhua squinted as he recalled the past. "I didn't think he looked like a villain. He looked similar to the man in the courtyard just now. He was a very upright person."

"But it's been almost twenty years, so it's normal not to remember clearly. Besides, his face was covered in bruises back then, so you can't see his exact features. You can only vaguely remember his bone structure."

“He made eye contact with me during the parade. I remember his eyes were very bright, amber in the sunlight, but they lacked energy.”

“Although our village is a bit remote, the people here are all upright and can’t stand such morally corrupt people, especially since he’s a college student.”

"I only saw him once, and I didn't think much of it. I only found out what he had done from other people's gossip. Xiaofen is a famous beauty in our surrounding area, and he actually dared to steal her personal clothes..."

"Wait, wait!" Xu Tangmian keenly grasped a key word, "Who is Xiaofen?"

Xu Zhenhua smiled, a somewhat shy smile, and said with deep emotion, "Xiao Fen was a famous beauty in our surrounding villages. Back then, people would flock to her house to propose marriage."

"I know, I know, I know she's a great beauty." Xu Tangmian said somewhat urgently, "Do you remember her full name?"

"Full name?" Xu Zhenhua recalled for a moment, "We live together with several common surnames. The fifth team has people with the surnames Wang and Yao, and our team has people with the surnames Xu and Liu. Liu something-fen? Oh right! Liu Yufen!"

Liu Yufen! That's my grandmother's name.

But perhaps it was just someone with the same name. Xu Tangmian wanted to confirm further, so she asked him, "Then... what happened next? What about Liu Yufen and that hooligan?"

Xu Zhenhua clicked his tongue. "It's not honorable for someone to steal her underwear. Anyway, I heard she hasn't left the house for a while. Only a few leaders came to her house to ask her about that hooligan."

"Later, the hooligan committed suicide out of fear of punishment. She was also afraid of gossip in the village, so she went with one of the educated youth who returned to the city."

The educated youth returning to the city... Xu Tangmian had a vague bad feeling in her heart. She asked again, "Do you remember who she went with?"

"How would I know?" Xu Zhenhua said as if he had heard something funny. "I didn't work with them. I only examined the body. I heard everything else from other people. How can a grown man like me gossip ask around like a nagging old woman?"

Xu Tangmian's face was pale, and she was no longer sure if she could accept the truth.

Seeing that she was upset, Xu Zhenhua comforted her, "It happened so many years ago, you don't need to go into such detail. If this scoundrel were your dad's classmate, he probably wouldn't want to know him either."

Xu Tangmian rallied herself and forced a smile. "My dad would probably be upset if he knew my classmate had become a hooligan."

“You’re right,” Xu Zhenhua said with a sigh. “Humans aren’t plants or trees, how can they be without feelings? Everyone says he’s a hooligan, but in the end, no one has any evidence against him. They’ve driven him to his death for no reason.”

Xu Tangmian's mind was in turmoil, and she didn't know what to say. All she could think about was, could the upright Yu Chunsheng be a rogue? Could the cheerful Yu Chunsheng be driven to his death?

She added, "Was it a case of someone murdering you and putting on a fake? What were the results of the autopsy?"

“He probably won’t harm anyone; at most, he’ll just get a few beatings.” Xu Zhenhua shook his head. “When I arrived, he had already been released, and he was incontinent, so it didn’t seem like he had been harmed.”

"It was too late to save him then. I just took a quick look. He had a lot of bruises on his face and was covered in feces. The feces hadn't been wiped off properly. Some of his ears were dry, and he had lost a few teeth."

"Alright, stop talking..." Xu Tangmian frowned, unable to accept that the protagonist of the scene he described was Yu Chunsheng.

She thanked Xu Zhenhua, who seemed somewhat taken aback, and said, "I'll visit the Cultural Palace when I have the chance. What you said is too frightening for me to accept."

Since she was a woman, Xu Zhenhua understood her and nodded without saying anything.

Xu Tangmian hurriedly said goodbye and went home. Yu Chunsheng was talking to Li Youlan and his wife about the printing factory.

Upon seeing her return, Yu Chunsheng came up to her and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Xu Tangmian shook her head, then smiled faintly and asked, "How did the chat go?"

"That's great! Would you like to come with us to the printing factory this afternoon?"

Xu Tangmian wasn't one to easily make friends, and besides, she was feeling down after hearing Xu Zhenhua's words and didn't have the energy to socialize with others. So when she heard Yu Chunsheng's words, she asked, "Are we all going?"

Li Youlan waved her hand, "I'm not going. Xingyao and Alin will go. Xingyao and I have been away for a while, and our son must be missing us. I need to go back and pack my bags."

Although she had now come clean with Yu Chunsheng, the two still didn't know anything about each other's past. Xu Tangmian suddenly wanted to know some things about her husband's past life, so she volunteered, "Do you need my help?"

Li Youlan waved her hand politely and said, "There's nothing I can help with. I can handle it myself."

Xu Tangmian insisted, "I'd better go. I have nothing to do at home anyway."

Li Youlan paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Yu Chunsheng.

Yu Chunsheng said helplessly, "If she wants to go, then let her go. But she never keeps her mouth shut, so just listen to what she says and don't take it seriously."

This was to give Aunt Li a heads-up, and Xu Tangmian immediately put her hands on her hips and glared at him angrily in protest.

When it came time to pack her luggage, she couldn't wait to ask Li Youlan, "Aunt Li, what's the situation with Kong Lin's family?"

While packing her luggage, Li Youlan replied, "Didn't Alin tell you?"

“We went to his home in Beiping, but there was nothing there. I couldn’t see any trace of where he used to live.”

Xu Tangmian suddenly remembered something and said, "He used to say that he was from Northeast China, which is why he speaks Russian so well."

Li Youlan chuckled, "He told you he's from Northeast China?"

"Isn't he?" Xu Tangmian asked in return.

“He’s from the Northwest,” Li Youlan replied with a smile.

Xu Tangmian rolled her eyes and retorted, "You said I was talking nonsense, but it's clearly him who's like that."

Li Youlan continued, "He and I both moved from the cave dwellings to Beiping. His father was fighting in the war and rarely came back. After the victory, he went to Beiping, but he still had a few shrapnel fragments in his body that couldn't be removed, so he went to Moscow to recuperate. That's when I separated from Alin."

"Later, his father was arranged to come back first. The science atmosphere there was very good, so he stayed in Moscow to study and didn't come back until he came of age. He went straight to Peking University and would come to our house to play with his classmates every now and then."

“That’s when I met Xingyao.” Li Youlan thought of something and walked to Song Weidong’s bookshelf, found a copy of Peking University’s school magazine, pointed to a picture in it and said, “Back then, Alin, Xingyao, and another person were the closest to each other.”

Xu Tangmian's heart was in turmoil again. The third person was Xu Zhilian.