"Why is your ointment packed in wooden boxes?" Jiang Biyun asked, pointing at Huang Cai’s ointment with curiosity. "Your village produces such good things, if they were to be sold, they must be expensive, right?"
"Because the wood was chopped from the mountains, it’s free and naturally moisturizing," Huang Cai chuckled. "Who doesn’t have this ointment in our village? It’s worthless, we make it for our own use. Who would buy it?"
"We will!" Chen Xiting and Jiang Biyun exclaimed in unison.
Huang Cai was taken aback, and then she let out an involuntary laugh, "Sure, I’ll bring it for you guys next semester! Our village doesn’t have much else, but we have plenty of this!"
"That’s a promise! If you don’t bring it for us, we’re going to be upset!" Chen Xiting was the happiest of them all, "With your miraculous ointment, I won’t be afraid of next summer! I’ll let those pesky mosquitoes bite me!"
The next day, He Zhilan took the deep green ointment given by Huang Cai and went to military school with Jiang Biyun. It was unclear what competition was being held at the military school that weekend, but it was buzzing with activity. At the parade ground, He Zhilan spotted He Teng and Lin Deng standing near each other.
"Brother!" He Zhilan called out nervously, wondering when He Teng started becoming such a social butterfly that he had joined the crammed crowd of spectators.
Hearing He Zhilan’s voice, He Teng and Lin Deng made their way out of the crowd. To He Zhilan’s relief, it happened without any trouble, as people around them made way for He Teng to leave peacefully. Seeing Jiang Biyun, Lin Deng followed He Teng, smiling all the way toward them.
"They’re having a freshman skills competition over there, want to take a look? That kid Feng Zheng is pretty amazing!" Lin Deng grinned, pointing at the crowd, with his eye focused on Jiang Biyun.
"Brother, stay away from the crowd! Don’t get bumped!" He Zhilan pulled He Teng away to a less crowded area, then proudly showed him the ointment from Huang Cai. Knuckles white as she spoke, she told him that the ointment was known for its healing effects on scars. "Here, try it on your face! It’s a beautiful color, but it stinks!"
As she spoke, He Zhilan dabbed a bit of the ointment on He Teng’s nose. He Teng leaned his head down to take a sniff, then wrinkled his nose at the heavy scent of herbs. Touching his scarred cheek, he looked at He Zhilan skeptically, "Is it very ugly?"
"Not really, it’s right in front of your ear on the jawbone, so it’s not very conspicuous," He Zhilan commented as she gently applied some ointment to He Teng’s scar. The ointment was quickly absorbed by the skin and wasn’t oily. "How does it feel, brother?"
"I don’t feel anything." The rugged He Teng shook his head. Only then did he notice the injury on He Zhilan’s hand that was holding the ointment. He held her hand up and took a closer look, lifting his eyebrow in surprise, "What happened?"
"I fell," He Zhilan replied in frustration.
"You’re already grown up and you’re still falling?" He Teng scolded He Zhilan gently. Before Zhilan could explain, Jiang Biyun, overhearing their conversation, came over.
"You can’t blame He Zhilan for this, it was Gu En who pushed her!" As soon as Gu En’s name mentioned, Jiang Biyun started telling all about Gu En’s deeds of the week. The complaints turned into a sort of rant, her voice grew louder with every word.