I knew that at this time, if nothing unexpected happened, Hua Qingqing would be eating in her office. She wasn't keeping any appointments now, nor did she need to entertain anyone. If it weren't for Yi Xiaorou and the others asking her out, she would eat in her office, rest briefly, and then start her afternoon's work.

When I quietly slipped into Hua Qingqing's office, I nearly made her spit out a mouthful of food. "Zhao Qian! How is it you! Xiaorou said you weren't supposed to come back! Fine, I’m going to report you."

It was the height of summer, and Hua Qingqing was wearing very little. Smelling that familiar scent of jasmine on her, I couldn't resist embracing her. Hua Qingqing pressed her head tightly against my chest. "You missed me, husband? I missed you too. You need to come back quickly; Xiaorou misses you terribly."

I kissed Hua Qingqing lightly. "Wife, there's no time to discuss that right now. Come with me quickly; we need to save someone."

"Save who now? Tell me if it's a man or a woman first. I’m certainly not going to let you go chasing after beautiful women."

"A woman," I said. "She's quite old; she wouldn't suit me."

Hua Qingqing huffed, "Does she have a daughter? I hope it's not like the time you rescued Susu's mother, and you ended up gaining a beautiful wife for nothing."

I could only tell the truth: "She does. She's not old, only seventeen."

Hua Qingqing let out a soft 'hmph.' "Hmph, I knew you had ulterior motives. I'll get ready. What's wrong with her?"

"Someone struck her on the head, leaving her with debilitating headaches and occasional mental derangement."

Hua Qingqing shouldered a small bag and held out her hand for me to carry her. "Let's go, husband. Don't worry, I'll keep this a secret, but you have to stay with me tonight, or I'll immediately go tattle."

I smiled and picked up Hua Qingqing. "Fine, you aren't leaving tonight; stay over at my place."

Hua Qingqing asked, "She won't get jealous?"

I paused. "Probably not. Let's not talk about that now. Close your eyes, and let's go!"

When I led Hua Qingqing by the hand into the cave dwelling, she froze on the spot. This was certainly her first time in a place like this, and she couldn't believe people actually lived in such conditions. The room was crowded; besides Ning Shixuan, Yun Yao, and Lan Feng, there were several villagers. Ning Shixuan's mother was quieter, but the headache forced a groan from her lips.

An old man with a weathered face said, "Yaoyao, when did you get back? And you brought so many guests! You should have notified everyone. We just got back from the fields; we rushed over when we heard a commotion here."

Although Baiyun Village was poor, the villagers were very kind. Having a guest was akin to the whole village having a guest. However, conditions were limited; there were no grand feasts even when guests arrived.

"Uncle Liu, thank you for taking such good care of Mom while I was gone... Brother Zhao, you're back!" Yun Yao spotted me standing at the door and shouted happily. But when she saw Hua Qingqing in white beside me, she gasped, "Who is she?"

In front of so many people, it was difficult to tell Yun Yao that Hua Qingqing was my eleventh wife. I could only say, "This is Doctor Hua Qingqing. Just call her Sister Qingqing. Everyone, please step outside first so Doctor Hua can treat Auntie's illness."

The cave dwelling was dim. It was then that Lan Feng clearly saw Hua Qingqing's face, and he blurted out, "You! You! You are Hua Qingqing of the Hua Pharmaceutical Group!"

I said to Lan Feng, "Brother Feng, I didn't expect you to be so well-informed. Please take everyone out; we need to start the treatment."

The villagers didn't know who Hua Qingqing was, and Yun Yao didn't know her well either, but Ning Shixuan knew exactly who Doctor Hua Qingqing was. She cheerfully told Yun Yao, "Yun Yao, don't worry. With Doctor Hua Qingqing here, your mom will be fine soon. She's a world-class doctor. Everyone says she has a magical medicine; one shot can even revive the dead!"

In reality, rumors accounted for much of it. The B-shot couldn't revive the dead; saving the dead required Xiao Xue's intervention, something nobody outside knew about. People only knew that shot cured all ailments, and as the story spread, they started believing it could even bring back the dead.

I was about to leave with everyone else when Hua Qingqing said, "Zhao Qian, you stay. I’m in need of an X-ray machine."

Hua Qingqing asked me to use my Clairvoyance to describe the internal damage to Yun Yao’s mother’s brain. Then, while preparing the medicine from her own kit, she remarked, "It's not a big problem. There is a blood clot pressing on and damaging some brain nerves. One B-shot will quickly repair the damaged brain cells, but expelling the clot will take some time—at most a month for a full recovery."

"You make it sound so simple. What about Jingjing’s illness? Why can't you treat her yet? I promised her I would, and now I'm too embarrassed to see her."

As Hua Qingqing expelled air from the syringe needle in the sunlight, she said to me, "I knew you were still worried about that little girl. You’ll have to ask Cai Jingjing about that yourself. Don't expect to pry any information out of me."

The needle slid into the back of Yun Yao’s mother’s neck. After a brief pause, Hua Qingqing asked, "Auntie, how do you feel?"

Yun Yao's mother let out a sigh of relief. "Much better. It doesn't hurt as much as before, and my mind feels much clearer."

Hua Qingqing turned to me. "If she's okay, let everyone come back in."

Yun Yao rushed in and asked, "Sister Qingqing, did you give my mother a shot of life-giving water? My mother will definitely be fine, right?" It seemed Ning Shixuan had been enthusiastically telling her about Hua Qingqing's miraculous abilities outside.

Hua Qingqing laughed softly. "She's fine, don't worry. She will return to normal once the blood clot clears in a while. What's your name? You are very beautiful."

Yun Yao blushed. "My name is Yun Yao. How could I be as beautiful as you, Sister? Are you... are you Brother Zhao’s good friend? Thank you."

Hua Qingqing chuckled. "If you want to thank someone, thank your Brother Zhao. He saved my life, you know."

Ning Shixuan interjected, "Could it be that Zhao Qian was telling the truth about being a skin disease specialist?"

Hua Qingqing was taken aback for a moment, then remembered how I had managed to secure the title of an expert doctor at the 101st Army Hospital just to treat Yi Xiaorou. However, my methods were usually unacceptable to the average person. "Yes, his medical skills are even superior to mine. I should be learning from him."

Lan Feng was even more bewildered on the side. He couldn't grasp how I had suddenly managed to invite the world-class physician Hua Qingqing, nor how I had transformed from a college student, an educated youth sent to the countryside, into someone whose medical skill surpassed Hua Qingqing's. Of course, he didn't realize how much Hua Qingqing's words were laced with teasing.

Yun Yao and Ning Shixuan had many questions for me, but they knew this was hardly the place to ask. At that moment, Yun Yao’s mother sat up on the kang bed. "It's truly magical. My headache is gone too—a divine doctor!"

Saying this, the mother and daughter were about to kneel and kowtow to Hua Qingqing, which startled her into pulling both of them up with one hand. "Absolutely not! We aren't strangers; if you do this, I'll be angry!"

Ning Shixuan whispered a few words into Yun Yao's ear. Yun Yao looked at Hua Qingqing doubtfully, then at me, but ultimately refrained from kneeling to thank her. Yun Yao's mother said, "I’m so sorry for holding up everyone’s meal. The food hasn't cooled down; please eat."

I turned to Hua Qingqing. "Let's eat together. You didn't look like you ate enough earlier."

"Great," Hua Qingqing replied. "What filling are these dumplings? I love boiled dumplings the most."

Taking a bite, Hua Qingqing declared, "Delicious." She then picked up a chopstick of salted greens, tasted it, and said, "What is this? It tastes quite good too. I’ve never had anything like these before."

I laughed. "Just some rotten vegetable leaves I picked up at the market. If you like it, have more."

Hua Qingqing couldn't believe it. "Really? The flavor is very unique."

I turned to Ning Shixuan and Lan Feng. "See? This is a business opportunity. People in big cities have never tasted these things. Even rotten vegetable leaves can be sold for money; the key is how we process them."

Lan Feng stared at me with wide eyes. "Director Zhao, you are joking! Making the world's foremost doctor eat rotten vegetable leaves!"

Before I could say anything, Hua Qingqing interjected, "It's nothing. I like eating it; it has nothing to do with Zhao Qian. May I ask who you are...?"

Lan Feng quickly introduced himself. "I am Lan Feng from Peach Blossom Financial Investment Company, entrusted by President Xu to remain in Liangshan to assist Director Zhao with his work."

Hua Qingqing smiled. "That girl, Xiaojing, is quite sly, sneaking around to help you."

Lan Feng asked skeptically, "Divine Doctor Hua, do you know President Xu?"

Hua Qingqing glanced at me. "Yes, we are the best of sisters—the kind that eat and sleep together."

Lan Feng couldn't decipher the meaning behind Hua Qingqing's words and just nodded with half-understanding. "In the future, if I need saving, I hope Divine Doctor Hua will lend a hand out of respect for President Xu."

Ning Shixuan said to Lan Feng with a hint of sarcasm, "Are you only concerned about your own life?"

Lan Feng's face turned awkward, and he dared not say more. Hua Qingqing couldn't figure out the relationship between us for a moment, so she didn't ask further. The meal ended quickly, and the discussion immediately returned to the issue of whether to leave Baiyun Village.

What I didn't expect was the change in attitude from Yun Yao’s mother. "Fine! I’ve decided. For Yun Yao’s future so she doesn’t suffer like us, I will move down with you. Of course, we will be causing trouble for everyone from now on."

Ning Shixuan said happily, "Trouble? Come to think of it, we are all family; we must look after each other."

Leaving the village where generations had lived, there wasn't much to pack up; they barely had a few changes of clothes. As for the broken jars and bottles, Ning Shixuan stopped the mother and daughter from taking them along, saying they could buy new ones later if needed; these could be given to the remaining villagers.

Yun Yao and her mother went to the village cemetery to bid farewell to her father. Hua Qingqing saw me staring at the grave mound and asked, "Are you planning to use time travel to save him?"

I shook my head. "That’s what I wish, but the 'Measure of All Things' is a sentient being. It no longer allows us to travel through time. I think there must be a reason for it; we cannot go against it."

Hua Qingqing nodded. "Perhaps so. There are too many things in this world we cannot decide. Time is the primary factor driving the development of things. Let's go. I can tell Yun Yao is a good girl; treat her well in the future."

When we returned to the county government building, we found it in chaos. It was supposed to be a rest day, so no one should have been working, but now the place was buzzing and noisy. As soon as we entered the main door, Secretary Liu pulled me aside.

"Director Zhao! Where have you been? Mr. Fang from Dadi Energy is here, and he specifically asked for you by name! Everyone has been looking for you everywhere!"

"Mengmeng!" Hua Qingqing and I exclaimed in unison. "Where is she?"

Secretary Liu pointed upstairs. "She's in Secretary Ma's office. Secretary Ma has come down several times to rush us. If we can't find you, we're going to get scolded."