After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

In the early morning, the flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, and the aroma of rice mixed with the smell of firewood wafted through the narrow kitchen.

Although Qin Lie had instructed Lin Qingqing not to do too much housework, the men's cooking was really bad, and Lin Qingqing wasn't lazy, so she decided to cook one or two meals a day.

She was holding a long-handled wooden spoon and stirring the white porridge in the clay pot in one direction.

Last night's rain was thorough, and the air this morning was filled with the damp, earthy smell. The kitchen was warm, though, and the heat made her nose covered with a fine layer of sweat.

I heard rustling footsteps behind me.

"Wow, this porridge is quite thick."

Li Dongye's gaze passed over Lin Qingqing's shoulder, peered into the pot, and then wandered restlessly over the smooth, white skin on the back of her neck.

"Qingqing, you got caught in such a heavy rain yesterday, but you look great this morning." Li Dongye exhaled a smoke ring, and his peach blossom eyes narrowed as the smoke swirled around him. "It seems that although Third Brother looks frail, he's quite good at taking care of people."

Lin Qingqing paused in stirring the porridge, then poked the firewood in the stove a little further, and boldly retorted, "If Fourth Brother is so bored, he can sweep up the puddles in the yard."

"Tsk, you're quite adept at ordering people around." Li Dongye chuckled and took two steps forward.

The kitchen was already tiny, and his presence made the space feel even more cramped.

Li Dongye reached out and brushed his fingertips against her rosy cheeks, the blush from the fire earlier, the smoothness making his fingers itch.

"What are you hiding from?" he chuckled, his voice slightly hoarse from just waking up. "Why is your courage so fickle?"

"Fourth Brother!" Lin Qingqing turned her head away, dodging his hand, "The porridge is about to overflow!"

"So what if it overflows? We can just have Xiao Wu lick it clean." Li Dongye had barely finished speaking when he was hit on the head.

It's not heavy; it's a rolled-up book.

Gu Qiangying was standing at the doorway at some point, still holding the book in her hand.

He gave Li Dongye a cool, indifferent look.

"Get out of here, you're horny this early in the morning."

Li Dongye clutched his head. "Gu Laosan, could you go a little easier on me? If you beat me senseless, will you take care of me?"

"I wouldn't even raise a pig to support you." Gu Qiangying ignored him and walked straight to Lin Qingqing's side.

He spread out the old medical book on the stove, pointing to a hand-drawn herbal illustration on it, surrounded by densely packed tiny characters.

Do you recognize this?

Lin Qingqing leaned closer to look. The painting depicted a plant growing in a crack in a rock, with slender leaves and gnarled roots. It looked unremarkable, but its name was quite strange—Shilongrui.

"Is this... for treating tuberculosis?" Lin Qingqing asked, somewhat uncertainly, as she looked at the annotation next to her.

"You have a good memory."

Gu Qiangying nodded approvingly, tapping the pages twice with her finger. "That old man in the next village who's coughing up blood is coughing so hard his lungs are practically rotting; ordinary medicine can't suppress it. We need this as a medicinal guide, and it has to be freshly picked; the soil on the roots can't even be dry."

Li Dongye, listening nearby, frowned. "I've heard of this kind of grass. It's very delicate; it only grows on shady cliff faces. There was a torrential downpour last night, and the mountain is covered in mud. You're going to pick this? Are you crazy?"

As they were talking, the radio in the main room started crackling and popping.

Qin Lie's daily routine, without fail, is to listen to the news.

"...According to the latest news from this station, a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.2 struck a mountainous area in southwest China early yesterday morning...The epicenter was at a depth of...It has caused a large number of houses to collapse, and the number of casualties is still being tallied...Aftershocks continue, and rescue work is facing enormous difficulties..."

The announcer's clear and resonant voice carried a sense of solemnity and gravity.

Li Dongye, who had been grinning, fell silent, his expression stiffening for a moment.

In this era, the word "earthquake" represents absolute destruction and powerlessness.

As Lin Qingqing listened to the cold numbers on the radio, her heart felt like it was being blocked by something.

Yesterday, the old man with the rotten leg, the stench filling the room, and the little girl clutching the White Rabbit candy tightly in her hand—all these images flooded my mind in an instant.

Human life is too fragile.

Like paper, it will fall apart when rain falls and shatter when the ground shakes.

Gu Qiangying didn't react much, only pushing up her glasses and closing the book. "Did you hear that? The King of Hell never looks at the days when he takes people. That old man's lungs won't last more than three days. By the time the weather clears and the roads dry, his body will be cold."

"Then you can't risk your life."

Li Dongye was unusually serious, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. "It just happened. Although we're far away, the earth's crust might still be moving. Plus, there was that torrential rain last night. The road behind the mountain is already dangerous. If we go up now and encounter a landslide, even a god couldn't save us."

"If I don't go, he'll die." Gu Qiangying's voice was flat, without the slightest hint of emotion. "I'm a doctor. If I stand by and watch someone die, I won't be able to sleep at night."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Lin Qingqing.

Those narrow eyes held a hint of scrutiny, and a hint of provocation.

"How are you? The road is difficult to travel. If you're scared, just stay home and cook some porridge, and wait for me to come back."

Lin Qingqing looked at him.

He told her to stay, but his eyes clearly said: Do you dare to come? Didn't you want to learn some skills? Are you scared now?

Lin Qingqing tightened her grip on the wooden spoon.

Is she afraid?

Of course afraid.

She was afraid of the dark, afraid of pain, and afraid of death.

But she was even more afraid of the feeling of being powerless.

Now she wants to do something, even if it's just handing out a knife or carrying a first-aid kit.

"I'll go."

The voice was soft and gentle, but there was no hesitation whatsoever.

Li Dongye's eyes widened. "Qingqing, what are you doing, going crazy like this?"

"Third Brother can't carry that many things by himself, and..." Lin Qingqing took a deep breath and met Gu Qiangying's gaze, "I am his assistant. There is no reason for the doctor to risk his life while the assistant stays at home drinking porridge."

Gu Qiangying's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, and the coldness in her eyes faded, replaced by a hint of amusement.

"it is good."

Just then, Qin Lie walked over.

The small kitchen was instantly filled to the brim by several big men, and the air seemed to thin out.

Qin Lie walked up to Lin Qingqing, his face still expressionless, as cold and hard as a stone. He lowered his eyelids, his gaze falling on Lin Qingqing's face for a while, then suddenly raised his hand.

Qin Lie pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, then slid it down her cheek and pinched her earlobe.

"Want to go?" he asked.

Lin Qingqing nodded.

Looking at her stubborn expression, Qin Lie thought, "This little fledgling has grown bolder before its wings have even hardened."

"If you want to go, then go."

Qin Lie turned around, his gaze sweeping over Gu Qiangying and Xiao Yong before finally settling on Li Dongye.

"The fourth brother stays behind to watch the house and also keep an eye on the fifth brother, making sure he doesn't let him feed the pigs to death."

Gu Qiangying raised an eyebrow. "Is my older brother going too?"

Qin Lie nodded:

"The road is difficult to travel, so I'll go and have someone to look after me."