Chapter 130: Picking a Fight? You're Welcome!

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Sheng Qianqian froze for a moment at Wen Mubai’s cold expression, then quickly came to herself. “N-Nothing. I’m here to see Doctor Tang.”

Wen Mubai gave her a suspicious glance and opened the door. “Come in.”

Sheng Qianqian obediently followed him inside. She secretly studied his back, which was much taller than hers, and felt her heart tremble.

He was rather tall. How had she never noticed before?

Her gaze drifted toward his shoulders, then his trim waist. Two rosy clouds spread across her cheeks. He certainly was not the weak, pretty-faced man everyone described him as. His shoulders were actually quite broad.

Lost in her thoughts, she heard Tang Banxia ask, “Who is this?”

Wen Mubai pointed behind him at Sheng Qianqian. “She said she was looking for you.”

Tang Banxia turned toward Sheng Qianqian. “Comrade Sheng, what can I do for you?”

Sheng Qianqian was still immersed in her own thoughts.

Tang Banxia waved a hand in front of her. “Comrade Sheng?”

“Huh? Oh!” Sheng Qianqian snapped back to reality.

“Comrade Sheng, did you need something?” Tang Banxia asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

Sheng Qianqian bit her lip, her eyes darting about. When she spotted the earthenware pot simmering with medicine, inspiration struck. “Yes, I do.”

With an air of arrogance, she said, “I’m not feeling well. Examine me.”

Tang Xinyi frowned in displeasure, but Tang Banxia merely asked her to sit down and took her pulse. “Where do you feel unwell?”

A flicker of guilt passed through Sheng Qianqian’s eyes. “I have a headache.”

“Where does it hurt? What kind of pain is it?”

“It’s a headache. My whole head hurts!” Sheng Qianqian insisted firmly.

After all, it was her head. Whether it hurt or not was not for anyone else to decide.

At that moment, her gaze toward Tang Banxia held unconscious scrutiny and disdain, along with a barely perceptible hostility.

Tang Banxia noticed, but still dutifully asked about her symptoms before saying, “Are you sure?”

Sheng Qianqian nodded. “I have a headache. Don’t tell me you can’t treat it? In that case, you might as well give up your position as the village doctor. Otherwise, people will think all of us educated youths are boastful people like you.”

Tang Banxia was not angry in the least. She withdrew her hand and wiped it with a handkerchief. “No, I can treat it.”

She turned to Wen Mubai. “Mubai, go get my needles. The long one.”

Wen Mubai knew exactly which needle she meant. He smiled and went to the dispensary to fetch it.

At first, Sheng Qianqian did not understand. But when she saw the needle, her face changed with fright.

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There was a reason: the needle Tang Banxia held was nearly eight inches long.

“What—what are you going to do?”

Tang Banxia flicked the needle and smiled faintly. “Why, acupuncture, of course.”

She rose, smiling with gentle warmth. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll give you one little prick, and then it won’t hurt anymore.”

Sheng Qianqian swallowed and glanced at Wen Mubai beside her. “Where are you going to prick me?”

Tang Banxia’s smile grew even more tender. “Wherever it hurts, naturally.”

As she spoke, she held the needle over Sheng Qianqian’s head and gestured with it. “Don’t move. If I miss, that could be troublesome.”

She continued explaining as she moved the needle. “The head is the most important part of the human body. If you accidentally injure it, the consequences can be serious. A minor injury could leave you with a crooked eye, a twisted mouth, and drooling. A severe one could cost you your life. So whatever you do, don’t move.”

As she spoke, she raised the long needle and gently parted Sheng Qianqian’s hair, as though searching for the precise place to insert it.

The hand above her head moved with exquisite gentleness, yet Sheng Qianqian broke out in a cold sweat.

“Oh, there it is. Right here.”

Sheng Qianqian’s whole body shuddered. She hurriedly pushed Tang Banxia’s hand away, then scrambled to her feet and fled outside. In the blink of an eye, she had vanished.

Tang Banxia gave a soft snort of laughter and put the needle away.

After watching the entire scene, Tang Xinyi sighed, “Little one, you’ve grown up.”

She still remembered how, in the past, whenever Tang Banxia was bullied, she could do nothing but run home and ask her older siblings to stand up for her.

Now she could deal with troublemakers on her own. A trace of melancholy crossed Tang Xinyi’s face. She could not help wondering how much hardship her little sister had endured to become so calm and unshaken.

Tang Banxia watched Sheng Qianqian disappear and nodded toward the door. “Close it.”

“Right away.” Wen Mubai hurried over to shut the door.

It was merely a minor interruption, and Tang Banxia did not take it to heart. Once it was dealt with, she dragged over a sack and poured out the walnuts inside.

“Is this enough?” Wen Mubai asked.

“It’s enough.” Tang Banxia nodded. “I’ll leave them to you. I remember there’s still a piece of fresh meat in the ice cellar, right?”

“Yes. There’s also a piece of beef. A-Meng sent it over,” Wen Mubai replied.

Tang Banxia went down to the ice cellar and brought back two pieces of meat along with a basket of peanuts. She placed the peanuts in front of Tang Xinyi. “Sister, shell some of these for me. I’ll make you a savory sauce to eat with rice. You can take it home and share it with my brother-in-law.”

“You haven’t loved me for nothing.” Tang Xinyi was thoroughly pleased.

Wen Mubai cracked walnuts while Tang Xinyi shelled peanuts.

Tang Banxia went outside and picked a string of dried chilies. She washed them, separated out the seeds, and then began cutting the meat into small cubes. She took some dried mushrooms, soaked them until soft, and diced them as well.

Next, she brought out half a bowl of soybean paste dried by Sister-in-Law Sun. Finally, she chopped some scallions and ginger. The preparations were complete.

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By then, Tang Xinyi had shelled quite a number of peanuts. Tang Banxia took them, washed them, and dried them thoroughly.

She poured oil into the wok. When it reached the proper heat, she tipped in the peanuts.

With a loud sizzle, the fragrance of fried peanuts filled the room. Tang Xinyi twitched her nose, growing even more eager to taste the savory sauce.

Tang Banxia wielded the spatula with complete concentration. Once the peanuts had fried until their skins loosened, she scooped them out and set them aside. Then she added the diced meat to the wok and fried it until it turned white. After that came the chopped scallions and ginger, followed by the minced dried chilies and chili seeds.

The moment the chilies hit the oil, a pungent heat filled the air. When they had fried until their color changed, Tang Banxia returned the diced meat to the wok, then added the peanuts, mushrooms, scallions, and ginger. She stirred everything together, poured in the soybean paste, and turned up the heat.

Only after stir-frying until the oil glowed a vivid red did she stop. She ladled out a little to taste and announced, “It’s ready.”

Her beloved older sister immediately squeezed her aside. “Let me try.”

Tang Xinyi dipped her chopsticks into the sauce and put a little into her mouth. She pursed her lips, and her eyes instantly lit up. It was fragrant and spicy, the sort of thing that made you want another bite the moment you swallowed.

She quickly fetched a spoon. Tang Banxia silently handed her a steamed bun.

Tang Xinyi gave her a knowing look. Without even waiting for it to cool, she ate bite after bite of bun dipped in sauce right beside the wok, savoring every mouthful.

Once the sauce had cooled, Tang Banxia found several empty jars and divided the entire wokful among them. “Sister, they’re all for you. Take them home and enjoy them slowly.”

Tang Banxia smiled mischievously. How had she never realized that her sister was such a foodie?

Tang Xinyi shot her a sideways glance without the slightest embarrassment, though she did eventually relinquish her place of honor beside the stove.

Next, Tang Banxia used the beef to make a large pot of beef sauce, then cooked another pot of mushroom sauce. She used up every jar in the house before finally stopping.

For lunch, Tang Banxia made thin flatbreads and stir-fried shredded potatoes. She spread the freshly cooked meat sauce over a white-flour flatbread, added the potatoes, rolled it up, and took a steaming bite. Her entire stomach felt comforted.

Even though it was delicious, Tang Banxia stopped after eating two. As a doctor, she knew perfectly well that eating until one was only eighty percent full was healthiest.

Tang Xinyi had no such restraint. She devoured five flatbreads before finally stopping with deliberate composure, though she was already thinking about eating the same thing at home.

As for Wen Mubai, he polished off ten flatbreads in one sitting. If Tang Banxia had not stopped him, he could have eaten even more.

Tang Banxia cast him an exasperated look. “Do you not want your stomach anymore?”

Wen Mubai smiled obediently, though he cast a lingering glance at the bowl of meat sauce. This batch tasted even better than usual.

Naturally. Tang Banxia had fried the ingredients generously in oil. How could it compare with the earlier batches?

After eating their fill and delivering the message she had come to give, Tang Xinyi still had to work that afternoon, so she took her leave.

The moment she left through the front door, someone came looking for Tang Banxia through the back.

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