Luo Ziling, while gathering herbs on the mountain, heard a huge roaring sound from afar and then saw a helicopter flying past the valley, disappearing into the woods, but the buzzing noise continued.
When he saw the helicopter flying by, Luo Ziling didn't think much of it.
Although this small mountain village was very secluded and rarely visited by outsiders, military helicopters would occasionally fly in this direction.
It was probably a flight path that passed over the small village.
But after the helicopter flew by, the sound didn't fade away quickly; the roaring was still ringing in his ears, and he felt something was off.
His heart stirred, and he immediately thought of something. He stopped gathering herbs and quickly emerged from the cedar forest, running towards the direction of the village.
He even left his backpack behind in the woods.
He ran at breakneck speed, almost sprinting the whole way.
Gasping for breath, he pushed open the door and hurried to the bed where the woman had been lying.
Without any surprise, the woman was gone.
The bed was still warm, and the set of clothes that the woman had been wearing, which were his clothes washed and hung out to dry in the yard, were still dripping.
The woman's clothes that had been folded by the bed and her personal belongings had all disappeared, leaving only her scent in the bedding.
Luo Ziling felt a sense of loss, as if he had lost a treasure, and sat down woodenly at the doorway.
Although the woman was cold and not fond of talking, Luo Ziling, who had always lacked playmates since childhood, still liked having her around.
It wasn't that the woman made his hormones surge and his thoughts drift to matters of men and women, but having someone his age in the house made him feel less lonely.
Although his grandfather was very affectionate towards him, staying with his grandfather all the time didn't let him feel the vibrancy of his youth. Being with someone of a similar age was what brought the restlessness of youth, the passion and the blood boiling—it was still related to whether the hormones were surging.
There were children in the village, but his grandfather didn't let him play with them, and he didn't like playing with them either, without knowing why.
When he was very young, he had a companion, a girl who was a year and a half older than him, a pretty little girl.
He didn't remember why the girl came to their small village, he only knew that they spent two months together.
The girl wore beautiful clothes and was proud like a princess. At first, she was indifferent to him, but he still liked playing with her. With her by his side, he felt he had a playmate and was no longer alone.
Later, they became friends.
He took her to play on the mountain behind, taught her to recognize various plants and herbs, picked wild fruits, and even caught a wild rabbit for her. Once, when they went out to play, she twisted her ankle and couldn't walk, and it was Luo Ziling who massaged her, treated her with herbs, and then carried her back down.
But in the end, she still left the small mountain village and he never saw her again.
Luo Ziling also believed that the woman he had saved would also probably never be seen again after she left.
Thinking of this, and the incredibly tempting sight of the woman, his heart felt tight with gloom.
Luo Ziling didn't go back to gathering herbs but just sat idly in the yard for half a day.
He felt very depressed, having spent many days with the injured woman, but not knowing who she was or even her name.
Everything was so muddled, it really felt lackluster.
And just as Luo Ziling was sprinting towards his house at the speed of a hundred-meter dash, on a hilltop a few hundred meters from their village, two women and a man stopped just before crossing the ridge.
After stopping, the tallest woman signaled her two companions to let go of her.
Standing alone, she turned around, looked back at the small village that was still clearly visible, and at the house on the edge.
Suddenly, she saw a figure in the distance running quickly towards the village, and she understood what was happening.
Seeing that figure dash down the hillside, not even bothering to open the gate, and jumping over the fence with an unbelievable leap into the yard, directly rushing into the inner room, she was stunned, and her eyes felt unexpectedly warm with astonishment.
After looking for a moment, she stood straight towards the direction of the house, raised her hand to her forehead, and silently thought, "I owe you my life!"
The man and woman with camouflaged faces beside her also stood straight, raised their hands to their foreheads, and gave a solemn military salute towards the same direction.
*****
Two days later, Grandfather Luo Liansheng returned.
Luo Ziling had already tidied up the house well, and all traces of the injured woman were gone.
Luo Ziling couldn't have imagined that his grandfather's return would bring him a huge shock.
"What? Grandfather, you want me to go to Yanjing to study?" Luo Ziling was stunned as he took the admission notice from Yanjing University's Medical College handed to him by Grandfather Luo Liansheng.
Strictly speaking, Luo Ziling, who had never attended school, didn't even qualify as a primary school graduate and couldn't possibly take the college entrance exam, but his grandfather had managed to get him an admission notice to Yanjing University's Medical College, telling him to go to Yanjing for university.
He couldn't figure out where his grandfather had gotten the admission notice from.
Looking at the university admission notice in his hand, Luo Ziling no longer believed that his grandfather, in his twilight years, was an old man who stayed out of worldly affairs. He believed that his grandfather, in his youth, must have been a person who had a tumultuous and magnificent life.
Otherwise, where did he get this university admission notice for him?
But then he immediately thought that perhaps the admission notice wasn't arranged by his grandfather, but by someone else.
"Don't ask so many questions, if your grandfather tells you to go, then just go," Grandfather Luo Liansheng, with his white hair and beard, looked at Luo Ziling with a loving gaze, "Some things, you don't have to ask your grandfather, you will know in the future, understand?"
"Grandfather, I just want to know, did you arrange this, or was it someone else?" Luo Ziling thought for a moment and finally voiced his doubts, "Is it you who wants me to go to Yanjing to study, or is it someone else?"
Not expecting Luo Ziling to ask this, Grandfather Luo Liansheng was taken aback for a moment, but eventually smiled and shook his head, not directly answering Luo Ziling's question, but simply said, "You can't stay in this small mountain village forever, you have to go out and see the world."
Hearing Grandfather Luo Liansheng say this, Luo Ziling basically understood what was going on, and his heart couldn't help but be moved, but he was also filled with anticipation.
Anticipation for a woman, for another kind of life.
After thinking for a while, he asked another question, "Grandfather, you once said that my medical skills have truly been passed down from you, and with enough experience, I could become a great doctor. If that's the case, then why do I still need to go to medical school?"
This was Luo Ziling's biggest puzzle.
Luo Liansheng gestured for Luo Ziling to sit down and talk.
Obediently, Luo Ziling sat down in front of Luo Liansheng, waiting for his grandfather to answer him.
"Ling'er, you've followed me and learned medicine for so many years, and indeed, your medical skills are not bad, but," Luo Liansheng paused here, "due to many reasons, the development of traditional medicine has now come to a standstill. Most of the practitioners of traditional medicine rely on studying ancient books to find diagnostic and treatment methods, unwilling to innovate, unwilling to delve deeper, which is the sadness of traditional medicine. We all know, no matter the field, it develops through constant exploration and research, and only when many people are willing to delve into it can there be progress and development. What a pity!"
Having said this, Luo Liansheng let out a long sigh and continued, "Our practitioners of traditional medicine just lie on the achievements of their predecessors and reap the benefits without innovation and change, resulting in today's situation where traditional medicine is considered by many to be pseudoscience. Most people, when they fall ill, choose Western medicine first, and only when Western medicine can't cure them do they turn to Chinese medicine with a defeatist attitude, as a last resort. This is the sorrow of Huaxia's traditional medicine."
Hearing Luo Liansheng speak this way, Luo Ziling became even more confused, "Grandfather, then why are you asking me to study Western medicine?"
Could it be that Grandfather also thinks Chinese medicine is inadequate, thus wanting him to switch to studying Western medicine?
"To integrate the strengths and compensate for the weaknesses, to assimilate the essence of Chinese medicine, as long as you can do this, you can become a generation's Medical Honorific," Luo Liansheng said with a laugh that seemed laden with deeper meaning, "Many aspects of Chinese medicine have been proven wrong by the times, and Western medicine is the same. It's like this with every discipline, embracing the true elements while discarding the false is what allows us to not treat the findings of our predecessors as infallible, and to keep improving and advancing. In fact, there's no need to see Chinese medicine and Western medicine as opposing each other, as they both have their strengths. By learning their essence and taking the best of both, don't you think you can tremendously improve your medical skills?"
"You're right, Grandfather, it's definitely like that," Luo Ziling nodded in agreement with Luo Liansheng's words.
In fact, Grandfather has always been doing this, otherwise Luo Ziling wouldn't have been able to learn the skillful surgical techniques nor some other diagnostic methods outside the scope of Chinese medicine. Taking the essence and discarding the dross is the attitude every field must have to avoid being outpaced by time and to develop significantly.
"If I asked you to go to the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, what do you think you would learn?" Luo Liansheng said with a proud smile, "None of the teachers there could teach you anything more, you could teach any of their professors. Therefore, Grandfather wants you to study Western clinical medicine, hoping you can learn the essence of Western medicine, especially pharmacology, and after absorbing what's beneficial, use the advantages of Chinese medicine to rejuvenate Huaxia's traditional medicine further."
Luo Ziling was a bit shaken by Luo Liansheng's words and suddenly didn't know what to say.
"Of course, that's not the most important reason for you to go to Yanjing to study," Luo Liansheng's smile faded, and he spoke almost word for word, "You're already twenty years old, you can't continue to live in this remote little mountain village, you need to go out and see the world, to reintegrate into modern life. This is Grandfather's wish, and also… her demand."
In the end, Luo Liansheng decided it was better to tell Luo Ziling this.
At these words, Luo Ziling was momentarily stunned; he knew who "she" was, whom his grandfather was referring to.
For all these years, Grandfather had never brought up this person voluntarily—it was the first time today.
The thought of this woman filled Luo Ziling's heart with a flood of emotions.
"Sigh!" Luo Liansheng let out another sigh without saying anything.
He went inside the room, took out a photo, and handed it to Luo Ziling, "Take this photo with you!"
Luo Ziling stood up and silently took the photo from his grandfather's hand.
He had secretly looked at this photo many times before.
In the photo, that almost ineffably beautiful woman was looking at him with her expressive, large eyes.
Luo Ziling avoided his gaze, but he could still feel the woman's eager eyes in the photo.
A trace of faint sorrow crossed Luo Liansheng's face as he looked at his grandson and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ling'er, don't resent her, she had no other choice, she has already done very well. After you go to Yanjing for school, I believe you'll soon meet her."
"Grandfather, I've never thought about this matter. After all, I've never seen her, and it doesn't matter whether I see her in the future." Luo Ziling lowered his head and said softly, "Grandfather, in my heart, you are my only family."
"You're still holding a grudge against her for abandoning you when you were little," Luo Liansheng sighed heavily again, "But it's understandable, anyone who has gone through such a thing would complain. However, Grandfather still hopes you won't hold any resentment against her; she has had a harder life than anyone, it hasn't been easy for her. Sigh!"
Luo Ziling opened his mouth, wanting to ask something but not knowing how, and in the end, he said nothing.
"She is the woman who loves you most in this world, there's no other."
Luo Liansheng's words struck Luo Ziling's heart, almost making him unable to hold back his tears.
Seeing Luo Ziling's sad face, Luo Liansheng also felt somewhat wistful and suddenly didn't know what to say.
After a moment of silence between grandfather and grandson, Luo Liansheng remembered another very important matter.
"There is another very important task that I need you to do," Luo Liansheng, taking Luo Ziling's hand, gestured for him to sit down.
Luo Ziling obediently sat down.
"Do you remember when you were five years old, a lovely little girl came to our house?" Luo Liansheng asked Luo Ziling, "There was also an old man who came with her, a very tall old man. That little girl came to seek medical treatment."
"I remember," Luo Ziling nodded, the little girl was the playmate he had always remembered. That proud little princess, after so many years, he still remembered how pretty she looked back then.
"Back then, Grandfather and her grandfather arranged a marriage for you two through a child betrothal!" Luo Liansheng said, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"What?!" Luo Ziling was once again surprised, feeling a bit slow to grasp it all.
That beautiful little girl, she was his bride-to-be? In an instant, Luo Ziling's heart rate quickened.
Could it be that Grandfather wanted him to study in Yanjing and also to take the opportunity to welcome that girl to their home?
"You take this letter from me, find that old man, and call off the marriage," Luo Liansheng handed Luo Ziling a letter.
Luo Ziling was stunned yet again, feeling as if his mental capacity was insufficient.
Luo Liansheng explained with a smile, "She's older than you, and you two aren't suitable. Also, there are people who disagree with the arrangement. So, when you go there to study, Grandfather wants you to call off the engagement as well."
"Alright!" The considerable ups and downs of life came too fast, and Luo Ziling struggled to keep up, managing only a mechanical agreement,
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