In the Northeast, especially in areas rich in waterways, the winter fishing around the New Year was the biggest event of the year. It usually lasted two or three months.
In this age of scarce supplies, during a brutal winter when food was short, a grand winter catch could both alleviate famine by bringing in large quantities of fish and stir the people's enthusiasm and drive. That made it an especially important occasion.
Tahe bordered Huma County to the east and Mohe to the west, with only the Heilongjiang separating it from the Russians. Its waters were particularly abundant, so naturally it was no exception. Following the principle of communal production and sharing, the heads of nearby farms, villages, and fisheries jointly took the lead, with the district committee organizing cooperation among all parties. Preparations for fishing and hunting had already begun around the first lunar month.
And anything that grand was bound to be lively.
People from more distant farms and villages often set out early in the morning with lines of mule carts and donkey carts, carrying the young and able-bodied members of their production brigades and the educated youths sent down to the countryside. Shouting slogans about defying the bitter cold, they braved wind and snow to enter town, both to buy New Year supplies and to choose stretches of river where they could cut holes in the ice for the winter catch.
As the forest farm's director, Qin Yuhu had gone out fully equipped before dawn.
Only after seeing his uncle get up so early did Lian Youming close his exhausted eyes in relief.
The two of them had shared a bed last night, and that snoring had been no different from stepping into an enemy bombing zone, booming loud enough to shake the heavens. Lian Youming had no idea how Shen Qinghong and her daughter had endured it all these years.
But he had barely slept for a little while with his head covered before he felt someone pull away his quilt.
Luckily, the weather here was cold, and he slept in padded trousers and a sweater. Still, the sight of Qin Hongxiu beside the bed gave him a headache. "Why are you so reckless? Is that something you can just yank off?"
"What's the big deal?" Qin Hongxiu said unconcernedly. "It's not like I've never seen your bare backside."
Lian Youming's face darkened. "I was only five or six then."
"Oh, please. Your big sister already has someone she likes."
Qin Hongxiu rolled her eyes, then flashed the watch on her wrist as if showing it off.
Lian Youming had given it to Shen Qinghong last night, but before Aunt Shen could even warm it in her hands, this plump girl had wheedled and pestered it out of her.
"Still sleeping? Mom said we should go to the post and telecommunications office and call Aunt Zhao and Uncle Lian. New Year's almost here. Don't you miss home?"
At that, Lian Youming lost the desire to linger in bed. He quickly dressed and washed up, then went out amid Shen Qinghong's reminders.
Lian Youming rode the bicycle with Shen Qinghong sitting behind him, heading for the post and telecommunications office through the smoke and bustle of neighborhood life, amid laughter and playful chatter.
Unlike in later years, making a phone call these days was extremely difficult. Kaoshan Village did have a hand-cranked telephone, but its range was limited. To call another province, they still had to go to the post and telecommunications office.
With New Year approaching, the streets were bustling. Beneath the deep blue sky stood rows of adobe and brick houses, while the only two multistory buildings stood alone in the cold wind, like cranes among chickens.
The pair played around as they went and even stopped for breakfast. By the time they reached the postal building, they found it full of people waiting in line, most of them educated youths hoping to call home.
By the time Lian Youming got a number, he was already fifty-sixth.
As luck would have it, Wu Kui was among the crowd too, and immediately came over when he spotted Lian Youming.
After more than a month apart, he had grown dark and thin, his cheeks red from the cold, and he was much more outgoing. Perhaps because he had spent so long in Tahe, his speech had even picked up a northeastern accent. He complained about feeding livestock every day in another village, even sleeping in the animal pen.
Amused, Lian Youming introduced Qin Hongxiu, then took a handful of roasted melon seeds from his pocket and pressed them into Wu Kui's hand.
The three gathered together, chatting on and off as they waited for their numbers to be called.
As they talked, however, Lian Youming glanced aside and saw a female educated youth emerge from the telephone room, her face downcast as she wiped away tears. Without a word, she turned and silently joined the back of the line again.
It turned out that long-distance calls not only required manual connections, but might not get through at all if the signal was poor. Then the caller had to line up again and wait for another number.
Lian Youming thought she looked familiar but could not remember where he had seen her. Then she pulled down her scarf and angrily took a hard bite of the meat bun in her hand. With the way her cheeks bulged as she ate, he remembered instantly.
Wasn't she the educated youth he had seen on the journey here, her face covered in soot as she secretly ate roasted corn?
Wu Kui craned his neck toward her. "Lingyun, couldn't get through again?"
The girl looked up, then shook her head dejectedly. "No."
"You know her?" Lian Youming asked.
"We're in the same village," Wu Kui said animatedly. "Like us, she's come down from the mountains to shelter from winter for now. She's from Wuzhou, Guangxi. She might look as quiet as a sealed gourd, but she's a genuine heir to a family of traditional Chinese physicians. She knows all sorts of things, especially treating illnesses. She's our village's precious treasure."
Lian Youming raised his brows. "A family of traditional physicians? Is she that good?"
"She's amazing." Wu Kui nodded repeatedly. "She can treat every illness our village's folk doctor can't handle, and she's especially good at acupuncture. Pretty, kindhearted, and clever too. She just loves eating."
Lian Youming suddenly lowered his voice. "Quick, you're drooling. Wipe it off."
Wu Kui instinctively reached to wipe his mouth, only realizing halfway through the motion. "Get lost."
Then Wu Kui sighed. "She's just unlucky. She came to line up yesterday, went through the queue nine times, and didn't get through once. She only went back when the office closed."
Qin Hongxiu agreed sympathetically. "That really is rotten luck. Her home's in the south, and she's up north. That's much too far apart."
Wu Kui grunted in agreement. "I asked why she'd come so far to join a rural production team. Guess what she said? She believed that saying-what was it? 'Beat roe deer with a stick, scoop fish with a ladle, and pheasants fly straight into your cooking pot.'"
"Just look at that dedication."
Lian Youming wore an odd expression. Seeing the girl's pitiful appearance, he found it both amusing and rather admirable. A young girl traveling across countless mountains and rivers from Guangxi to this corner of the Northeast to join a production team was truly unusual. And she came from a family of traditional physicians. These days, anyone with a skill hoped to be recruited for a job back in the city and secure an iron rice bowl, but she...
Hmm, a family of traditional physicians? Then she should know the body's meridians, muscles, and tendons, right?
An idea suddenly stirred, and he began quietly making plans.
As it happened, the girl kept stealing glances in their direction too. At first, her eyes were full of confusion, but before long, her large eyes suddenly lit up, as though she too had recognized Lian Youming.
"My name's Yan Lingyun. What's your name, comrade student?"
While he was thinking, Lian Youming heard someone speak beside him. The thoroughly authentic northeastern accent left him blinking in surprise.
He turned to look. It was the girl.
"Didn't you say she was from Guangxi? What happened to her accent?" Lian Youming instinctively looked at Wu Kui.
Unexpectedly, the girl's ears reddened at his words, and she said rather weakly, "What's wrong with being from Guangxi? Can't someone from Guangxi speak with a northeastern accent? I think it's cute."
Lian Youming studied her closely and found that she really was tall, at least over 1.7 meters. Standing there, she was half a head taller than even Wu Kui.
"You two know each other?" Now it was Wu Kui's turn to look dumbfounded.
"Of course," Lian Youming said. "We came on the same train."
"Number forty-two."
Just then, someone in the telephone room called Wu Kui's number.
He immediately ran inside, delighted.
"Hello, comrade student. My name's Lian Youming."
Lian Youming answered with a smile and was about to say more when the girl before him suddenly made a startling remark. "You're injured."
Lian Youming's eyes narrowed slightly. "How do you know?"
The girl who called herself Yan Lingyun wore a dog-fur hat and a sable scarf. Her large eyes were limpid, but she seemed rather timid and shy. She said cautiously, "Your breathing is shallow and short, your complexion is poor, and your steps are unsteady. You clearly have internal injuries, including injuries to your heart and lungs. But there's also a very strange medicinal smell lingering on you. You must have used some kind of Old Medicine."
The more she spoke, the quieter her voice grew and the lower she bowed her head.
Now Lian Youming was genuinely surprised. "You even know about Old Medicine?"
The night before last and again last night, he had followed Gong Wuer's method, dissolving the Old Medicine in strong liquor and massaging it into his chest. His complexion really had visibly improved.
Yan Lingyun looked hesitant. Only after a long while did she say softly, "I once saw a recipe for Old Medicine in a medical book and secretly tried making it."
"Huh? You can make Old Medicine too?"
Good grief. Hearing that, Lian Youming nearly stared his eyes out of their sockets.
Yan Lingyun seemed frightened and quickly shrank behind Qin Hongxiu.
Qin Hongxiu had been listening in complete bewilderment. When the girl hid behind her, she instinctively spread her arms like a mother hen protecting her chicks and shouted at Lian Youming, "What? Are you going to eat her, staring like that?"
Yan Lingyun peeked out and said quietly, "I made it a few times, but I was missing two main ingredients, so the effects were very strange. I didn't come to the Northeast for food either. I wanted to look around. I heard there are lots of rare medicinal herbs in the mountains here."
Qin Hongxiu was utterly baffled. "What herbs and Old Medicine? Are you two trying to refine elixirs? Take your big sister's advice-feudal superstition is no good."
Lian Youming hurriedly took a deep breath and steadied himself. After a good while, he softened his tone and asked gently, "Do you still have that recipe?"
Yan Lingyun shook her head. "It was all burned."
Lian Youming immediately fell silent.
But just as he was sighing repeatedly to himself, the girl unexpectedly changed tack. "But I remember all of it."
The corner of Lian Youming's eye twitched. After a while, he asked, "Isn't Old Medicine supposed to become more effective the longer it's stored? What effect could a freshly made batch have?"
The girl shook her head at that. "That isn't entirely true. Often, only the recipes for these Old Medicines are passed down. Many people making them may not even understand their pharmacology. Add generations of oral transmission, and naturally people accept it as truth. Some Old Medicines may still be somewhat toxic when first made. Years of storage are meant to reduce that toxicity and bring out their medicinal properties. But this is a new age. I've studied Western medical methods, and I can completely eliminate the toxicity by sacrificing a small portion of their potency."
The longer Lian Youming listened, the stranger his expression became. So she was a rogue cultivator combining Chinese and Western medicine.
Yan Lingyun seemed to see through his thoughts. "Those Old Medicines may seem precious, but they often need to be stored carefully for years, a decade or more, even several decades before they can be used. If I make them, they'll lose a small portion of their potency, but there won't be any time restriction."
Lian Youming pondered this and was about to ask a few more questions when he saw a female educated youth run over, panting.
"Lingyun, hurry! Your brother's here to see you. The Party secretary wants you back in the village right away."
"I'm assigned to Qingshan Forest Farm. If there's anything else you want to know, you can come find me."
Learning that someone from her family had come, Yan Lingyun hurriedly left him those words, turned, and ran back.
Watching the girl's retreating figure, Lian Youming's eyes shone.
Wu Kui was right. She really was a precious treasure.
If people like Gong Wuer learned that someone could make Old Medicine without any time restrictions, he wondered whether they would fight themselves bloody over her.
He had already experienced its effects firsthand. Never mind his own injuries-even some of Qin Yuhu's old injuries had improved after he tried it once. Its medicinal effects were truly extraordinary.
She had actually told him so directly. He did not know whether she was innocent or ignorant.
But then he remembered Wu Kui saying she had come to the Northeast for food. Clearly, that too had been an excuse the girl had deliberately made up.
"Tsk. Looks like she's trying to hook me. Does she want something?"
Qin Hongxiu came over just then, smiling. "What, already taken a fancy to her?"
Lian Youming curled his lip. "Oh, please. Worry about yourself first. Dating behind Uncle Qin's back-you'd better not expect me to stop him when the time comes."
Inside the post and telecommunications office, Wu Kui had finished his call and came trotting out.
"Huh? Why'd she leave? Isn't she calling home?"
After the three chatted a little longer, number fifty-six was finally called from the telephone room.
Even though Lian Youming had lived two lives, his eyes still reddened when he picked up the receiver and heard his parents' voices on the other end.
His parents had apparently jogged to the neighborhood office and were slightly out of breath. He could also hear his younger sister and brother shouting.
There was no idle conversation, only his parents' repeated reminders. Throughout the call, Lian Youming did little but say "Mm," barely getting a word in.
When he finally managed to open his mouth and was about to say something, his mother spoke rapidly from the other end. "Everything's fine at home. Take care of yourself there, remember to eat well, and go to your Uncle Qin if anything happens. It's almost two minutes. One second over and they'll charge for three. That's all from Mom. I'm hanging up."
Lian Youming opened his mouth, then could only smile wryly as he listened to the disconnected tone.
Exactly two minutes, no more and no less. Two yuan and four jiao.
After leaving the telephone room, Lian Youming said goodbye to Wu Kui, then rode around Tahe twice with Qin Hongxiu on the back of his bicycle.
People were already cutting holes for the winter catch in the frozen river. Others stood scattered about, pulling on glistening lines and hauling fishing nets through smaller holes. From a distance, their taut fingers looked red and swollen, like carrots.
The dong-dong of drums also sounded in the distance.
Several more days passed in the blink of an eye.
That evening, the night was deep and still.
Perhaps because the winter catch was approaching, Qin Yuhu was busy handling affairs and did not sleep at home, giving Lian Youming a rare spell of peace.
Outside the window, silver moonlight bathed the earth.
By the moonlight, Lian Youming poured a cup of Maotai and took a piece of Old Medicine from the small blue-and-white porcelain bottle.
Unlike those round medicinal pills, this Old Medicine resembled a piece of dried longan flesh, its surface uneven and shriveled, sealed beneath a layer of wax.
Once he had warmed the liquor on the bed, Lian Youming put the Old Medicine into it.
As the wax seal melted, an indescribable medicinal scent immediately spread with the fragrance of liquor, and the liquid in the cup turned reddish-brown.
Lian Youming felt a pang of regret. This was the last piece.
These past few days, apart from running wild outside with Qin Hongxiu, he had spent his remaining time studying under Shen Qinghong's supervision. His thoughts had gradually calmed and settled.
His injuries, too, had improved by the day under the Old Medicine's treatment, leaving his complexion wholly refreshed.
Sitting cross-legged in the moonlight with his upper body bare, Lian Youming rubbed his palms together, wet them with the liquor, and pressed them against his chest.
When Third Brother Xie had kicked him, he had thought it was merely a casual blow. Who could have expected there was such a thing as Inner Strength? The bruising it left lay beneath the skin and flesh, invisible to the naked eye.
"That old bastard. Sooner or later, I'll have my revenge."
Lian Youming's teeth itched with hatred.
He quietly exerted force through his palms, slowly massaging in the medicinal liquor. Wherever that force passed, his chest first turned icy cold, then blazing hot. Once his essence, Qi, and spirit recovered, and spring came, with Earth Qi rising and the mountains warming, it would be time to prepare those dietary tonic recipes.
Before that, though, Lian Youming felt he still needed to seek out Yan Lingyun.
Since she came from a family of traditional physicians, she might recognize some of the rare and unusual herbs listed in the recipes. Once he thoroughly understood the recipes, everything else could flow naturally, like water into a ready channel.
"If no one will guide me, I'll do it myself..."
(End of chapter)
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