That evening, Huang Taihe returned home from work, and Huang Taizhou also came home. Last summer, the two brothers were both transferred from their respective border troops back to Beijing to take up positions. Huang Taihe knew that his rapid promotion was due to his many military achievements, including two first-class merits. If it weren't for his mother, he would have died and wouldn't have been able to be saved.
He earned two first-class merits for surviving two brushes with death. Secondly, it was due to his parents' influence; they were highly decorated military officers and possessed exceptional medical skills, having treated numerous high-ranking leaders on multiple occasions.
Since their mother passed away and their father disappeared from Beijing, the leaders compensated the two brothers. Their promotions were swift and smooth, and they were transferred back to Beijing from the border.
Around noon in Taizhou, my dad called my office. He asked how my brothers, wives, and children were doing. I asked him when he was coming home, and he said not for now, but he would come back later.
Brother, how is Dad doing? Dad means he's going home, right? It's just that the time hasn't come yet, is that right?
That's what it means. Also, Dad said he's taken on an apprentice, a thirteen-year-old girl from the village where he settled down to become a doctor. She's now learning medicine from him. The girl is studying while learning from Dad, and he says she has a very high level of understanding.
Also, what Dad means is that you and I are both soldiers, and unless something special or unexpected happens, this profession will accompany us until we grow old and retire.
Our Huang family has practiced medicine for generations, but that tradition has ended with your generation. Our children are still young, and they're all boys; we don't know if they'll be interested in studying medicine in the future. Father intends for that girl to inherit Father and Mother's mantle and to be the successor of the Huang family's medical lineage.
I have no objection. My parents were excellent military doctors, so it's good that someone will follow in their footsteps. Besides, my father has high standards; the person he chooses must have exceptional qualities to catch his eye.
Alright, this way we can at least give an explanation to our ancestors. From now on, we'll treat that girl we've never met as our younger sister. She's a bit too young, so she can only be our younger sister. If we treat her as our daughter, the generational order will be messed up. Huang Taihe couldn't help but laugh at the thought of mistaking a thirteen-year-old girl for a middle-aged widow.
In Sujia Village, Old Mrs. Su and Zhao Xiaohua, the wife of Su's eldest son, were sneaking out of the village. They kept looking around and stopped frequently until they reached another village.
The two women, a mother and daughter-in-law, arrived at a dilapidated house. They looked around the door several times to make sure no one was passing by before knocking on the door.
"Who is it?" A hoarse, aged voice came from inside the door. "Aunt He, we need to talk to you. Can we come in first?"
The door slowly opened, and a white-haired head poked out from the crack, startling the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who were waiting at the door.
The old woman in front of her, Aunt He, looked at the two mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Old Lady Su and Zhao Xiaohua, expressionless, and smiled awkwardly as they leaned against each other.
"Come in," the two people following behind entered the house. They felt a sense of unease, their eyes darting around as they looked inside, becoming increasingly uneasy.
"Speak, what brings you here?" Aunt He was a sorceress, a practice she had maintained since her youth, and she never married. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the campaign to eradicate superstition, Aunt He could no longer claim to be a sorceress; being caught practicing superstition meant imprisonment or being sent to the countryside.
Old Mrs. Su and Zhao Xiaohua kept passing the buck over their wallets, each hoping the other would speak. In the end, Zhao Xiaohua had to speak, since Old Mrs. Su was her mother-in-law.
"Aunt He, call me Aunt He," Zhao Xiaohua repeated after being corrected. "Aunt He, my mother-in-law and I have come today to ask for your help. We've encountered a ghost, and an evil one at that."
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