The following morning.
Xu Xinghe had just finished eating the corn porridge left by Jiang Linchuan when footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.
Upon opening the door, a young soldier in neat military uniform greeted him respectfully, "Comrade Xu, Director Li asked me to invite you to the guesthouse for a cup of tea."
Xu Xinghe frowned, somewhat wanting to refuse, but the other party was a leader from the General Headquarters who had sent someone to invite her. It would be too impolite of her not to go. After thinking for a moment, she nodded, "Thank you for your trouble. I'll get ready and come."
She got dressed and followed the soldiers to a reception room in the military guesthouse.
The cushions on the rattan chair were warm from the sun. Director Li was already sitting at the table, with a familiar set of purple clay teaware in front of him. Seeing her come in, he immediately greeted her, "Comrade Xu, you've arrived. Please have a seat."
As he turned the teapot to brew tea, he said, "Don't be nervous, let's just have a cup of tea and chat. I have no intention of forcing you to give me the prescription. Don't worry, I, Li Weimin, am not a robber, and I would never do anything to extort money."
Xu Xinghe sat down in the rattan chair.
Director Li poured her a cup of tea. The tea was light green, and the steam carrying the aroma of tea wafted to her nose. "Try it. This is pre-Qingming tea. It won't taste good when it's cold."
Xu Xinghe had no choice but to pick up the teacup and take a sip, the warm tea aroma sliding down her throat.
The taste is indeed quite good.
Director Li spoke again, his tone somewhat casual, as if he were talking about ordinary old stories, "Don't let my position as the director of the General Army fool you, the most unforgettable time of my life is actually when I was a junior military doctor. Back then, I hadn't joined the General Army Hospital yet; I was just a backpack doctor who followed the troops around. My grandfather was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and I grew up following him to the pharmacy to grind herbs and learn prescriptions. I never imagined that I would later be carrying a medicine box to the battlefield."
He picked up the teapot and added some hot water, his eyes darkening. "War was tough back then. Forget about medicine, even a hot meal was a luxury. When we marched, the soldiers carried guns, and I carried a medicine box. We walked along mountain paths, and when we were hungry, we would eat a hard cornbread, and when we were thirsty, we would drink spring water."
"A single anti-inflammatory pill was extremely precious at the time, equivalent to a year's worth of food for an average family. Most of them were donated by compatriots abroad or purchased by the country with great difficulty. Even so, a class might not be able to get a single pill."
Xu Xinghe tightened her grip on the teacup.
Of course she knew how tough things were back then. You could say that Director Li's generation fought the battles of three generations before they finally had the peaceful life they had today.
Director Li sighed, "Later we came up with a method: whenever we passed a mountainous area, we would stop and the whole class would go up the mountain to collect herbs. If we were lucky, we could find dandelions and violets, which we could boil into water to wash the wounds of the injured to reduce inflammation. If we were unlucky, we could search the whole mountain and not find many usable plants, and we could only watch the wounded sweat from the pain."
His voice lowered, carrying an undisguised heaviness. "In even more difficult times, when soldiers suffered external injuries and had no medicine to stop the bleeding, they could only grab a handful of lime and sprinkle it on the wound, or cover it with wood ash. Some even directly stuck a red-hot knife to the wound and used the fire to stop the bleeding... So many young men lost their arms and legs or their lives because of this kind of injury not being treated properly."
These words pierced Xu Xinghe's heart like needles. She couldn't help but recall Jiang Linchuan's injured back from the explosion, Zhou Chengmu's leg that had almost been crippled, and the soldiers stationed on the border, enduring wind and rain...
They defended their homeland, yet they lacked even basic medical supplies and could only endure the pain using such primitive methods.
She felt a tightness in her throat.
“Director Li, I’m not trying to shirk responsibility,” Xu Xinghe finally spoke. “My parents got that prescription for external injuries, but… its origins aren’t exactly honorable; it involves some old stories from the old society. You know the situation now, the investigations are very strict. I’m worried that if I reveal the prescription, someone will focus on its origins, and then not only will I not be able to help anyone, but I might also be branded as a ‘stinking intellectual,’ which would implicate Lin Chuan…”
That's half true and half false.
The source is indeed unknown, but she won't reveal the secret of the space, so she simply blames it on her parents.
They are already dead, and any secrets they may have kept have been taken to their coffins, and no one can find them now.
Upon hearing her reassurance, Director Li's eyes lit up immediately. He quickly put down the teapot, leaned forward slightly, and said, "Comrade Xu, you're mistaken! Providing the prescription is a timely help to the army, a great thing that benefits the country and the people. You are a hero! Anyone who dares to label a hero as a 'stinking intellectual' is going against the entire army and the country. I will be the first to object!"
He softened his tone, "As for the source, that's not a big deal! Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The country needs these prescriptions now, and the soldiers are waiting for these medicines to save their lives. As long as it can save lives, who will hold onto past grievances? Even if someone asks, just say it's a folk remedy passed down from our ancestors. It's reasonable, and no one will be so ungrateful as to pursue it!"
Looking into Director Li's sincere eyes, Xu Xinghe's heart began to tip the scales.
She took a deep breath. "Director Li, let me review the prescription carefully again. Once I've confirmed that everything is in order, I'll give you an answer."
"Good! Good!" Director Li smiled with satisfaction and quickly poured her a cup of tea. "No rush, take your time organizing. If you need any help, feel free to contact me!"
Xu Xinghe walked out of the guesthouse, her steps slower than when she arrived.
The afternoon sun fell on my shoulders, so warm it made me feel lazy.
But she was filled with complex emotions and couldn't help but sigh softly.
She raised her hand and rubbed her temples; experience truly does pay off.
If Director Li had put on airs of a general from the beginning, or used threats of benefits or pressure with policies, she would have refused out of consideration, no matter how soft-hearted she was.
After all, the secrets of the space are too important to be taken lightly.
But Director Li refused to make any demands. He only talked to her about the hardships of the past, the difficulties on the front lines, and the stories about the lack of medicine and the soldiers enduring pain. These stories were like a soft knife, gently cutting into her heart, making it impossible for her to remain indifferent.
She finally fell for his emotional appeal.
Xu Xinghe walked slowly along the path of the military headquarters. The leaves of the poplar trees by the roadside rustled in the wind, as if echoing her thoughts.
Fine, I'll give it to you then.
The country will never let its heroes feel disheartened. As long as it helps the soldiers, even if someone is curious about the source, they probably won't investigate further.
She believed in Director Li's promise and, even more so, in the value of the prescription she had provided.
When it comes to saving lives, those so-called issues of origin may not really be that important.
More importantly, she didn't want to have any regrets.
She had too many regrets in her past life: she couldn't protect what her parents left behind, and she couldn't stay by Jiang Linchuan's side.
She has the ability to help more people in this life. If she chooses to back down because she is afraid of trouble or the exposure of her secrets, she will surely toss and turn at night when she thinks of those suffering soldiers and how she could have done something but chose to stand by.
You can't go wrong if you do things according to your heart.
Xu Xinghe stopped and looked up at the training ground in the distance, where he could faintly hear the shouts of the soldiers training.
These people are all vibrant lives.
Others only see the glamorous life of soldiers, with their stipends and comfortable living conditions.
Little did they know that in the event of any danger, they would always be the first to rush in.
They deserve all of this because their lives could be lost at any moment.
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