Chapter 126: Could you please check my wife's pulse?

Facing Xu Lin’s concerns, Wang Facai patted his chest confidently.
“The principal is an old friend of mine. As long as your grades are good, leave the rest to me. I guarantee you’ll be admitted.”
“Actually, after Han Zhiqing asked me last time, I went to make some inquiries. I was going to tell you all, but I got busy and forgot.”

Xu Lin felt warm inside and her impression of Wang Facai improved greatly. She had thought this matter would be difficult, but it turned out he had already done the groundwork.

She had even considered that if she couldn’t arrange to study, she would just give up. Even without a diploma or the chance to attend university, she wouldn’t live a poor life.

With her medical skills, she could still thrive in Longguo.

Still, since she had the chance to study for a few years, Xu Lin was not willing to waste it. She had even decided to enroll in the philosophy department.

Every day pondering those unsolvable questions—well, if they remain unsolved, that would be wonderful.

Xu Lin left the unused tickets at the brigade office. Before she could leave, Wang Facai was already surrounded by a crowd.

Listening to the noisy chatter, Xu Lin felt she had been very wise.

Without saying a word, she decided to leave quickly.

After exiting the brigade office, Xu Lin checked the sky. It was still early, and since there was nothing pressing back at the educated youth camp, she thought she might as well go to the mountain for a look.

Without hesitation, she returned to the camp, grabbed a carrying basket, and headed toward West Mountain.

Passing by a grass hut, she heard coughing from inside. Using her mental energy to scan, she discovered an elderly woman with graying hair lying inside.

The old woman looked very ill, coughing violently—it was clearly more than a common cold.

It seemed like pneumonia.

Judging by the sound and her facial features, it was still in the early stage of pneumonia. If she could be sent to a hospital promptly, recovery would be guaranteed.

However, it wouldn’t be easy to get the old woman to medical care.

Xu Lin shook her head at the thought, then looked closely at the woman’s face. Her features were delicate.

They say time does not defeat a beauty, and this was true.

Even though the old woman had fallen on hard times and was plagued by illness, her former beauty was still evident.

Moreover, the elderly lady was a person of great virtue, undoubtedly having done many good deeds in her life.

If she could survive this crisis, she still had twenty years of happiness ahead.

Xu Lin thought for a moment and decided to help. She sent her consciousness into her spatial dimension, instructing the divine spirit to prepare medicine pills for treating pneumonia.

As for how to give the medicine to the old woman, Xu Lin hadn’t figured that out yet and hurried into the mountain.

Green sprouts were beginning to appear on West Mountain after the snow melted. Soon, the great mountain would be full of life.

Her luck held out—she soon found some dried yellow herbs inside the mountain.

After careful identification, Xu Lin realized these herbs were not found in her spatial dimension. She transplanted some into her space and dug up the rest to place into her basket.

Time slipped away amid her busy gathering. By the time she descended the mountain, dusk was approaching.

Her basket was full of herbs, with a wild rabbit and a pheasant at the bottom.

Her spatial dimension also contained two wild rabbits and three pheasants—her gains from this trip.

Halfway down the slope, Xu Lin heard a sharp “ouch,” sounding like it came from an elderly person.

She immediately released her mental energy to search and, about twenty meters away, found the source.

Huang Hongli was sitting on the ground, rubbing his ankle and sighing softly. Age was catching up with him.

He had barely dug a few herbs when he almost fell and injured himself.

But thinking about his bedridden wife, he gritted his teeth and continued. Her illness was worsening.

Western medicine had been useless—despite taking plenty, her condition only grew worse.

He believed only ancestral remedies would help now.

Xu Lin observed him for a while and then spoke gently, “The medicine you’re collecting to treat a cold won’t work.”

“Who’s there?” Huang Hongli cautiously stood up, wincing as pain shot through his ankle, refusing to lower his guard.

“It’s me, an educated youth.” Xu Lin stepped out from behind a tree, leaning lazily against it.

“I passed by the grass hut and heard coughing inside. That sound isn’t right—it’s not a cold.”

“Not a cold?” Huang Hongli hurried forward, but after two steps, he fell again.

The pain in his ankle made it impossible to continue.

“It’s not a cold. It has developed into pneumonia. If you keep treating it like a cold, it will only get worse.”

Xu Lin approached him. “Since you’ve sprained your ankle, don’t try to push yourself.”

“Are you a Chinese medicine practitioner?” Huang Hongli’s eyes rested on her basket, which was full of herbs—something ordinary people wouldn’t recognize.

“I’m self-taught.” Xu Lin set the basket down and crouched before him. “Let me take a look at your ankle.”

“Is that okay?” Huang Hongli blushed slightly. “My feet smell.”

He grew even more embarrassed when Xu Lin began removing his shoes. “It’s been a few days since I washed.”

Xu Lin smiled softly, paying no mind. During the post-apocalyptic era, not bathing for months was normal.

Back then, having drinkable water was a luxury. Anyone who wasted clean water by bathing would be scolded.

Even those with high status dared not squander water resources.

So Xu Lin’s cleanliness didn’t mean she couldn’t tolerate dirt. She naturally helped Huang Hongli take off his shoes.

Rubbing and pressing his ankle, a crisp crack sounded, and Huang Hongli’s eyes lit up instantly.

“It’s better! No more pain. You’re amazing—this technique takes over ten years to master.”

Huang Hongli hadn’t realized that the young girl before him was barely a teenager. Even if she had been studying medicine since birth, she couldn’t possibly be that skilled.

Before he could finish, Xu Lin smiled faintly. “The ten years you mentioned apply to normal people. Geniuses don’t need that long.”

Her confident tone amused Huang Hongli, who immediately gave a thumbs-up. Indeed, geniuses defied ordinary logic.

After putting his shoes back on, Huang Hongli took a few steps and found no pain in his ankle—it was truly miraculous.

“Thank you, young comrade. Are you sure my wife has pneumonia? How should we treat it?”

“It’s just early-stage pneumonia and very treatable. You can brew the medicine yourself or buy pills from me.”

“How effective?” Huang Hongli asked.

“The effect is the same. Pills are just more convenient and less bitter than decoctions.”

Xu Lin explained casually, though in truth, her pills were even more effective because they were made with herbs from her spatial dimension—premium quality.

“If I buy your pills, can you also diagnose my wife’s pulse?” Huang Hongli asked shyly.

“I know this might bring some risk to you. Don’t worry, I’ll carry your wife down the mountain for the diagnosis.

If anyone encounters us, we’ll say it was a chance meeting. It won’t implicate you.”