A doctor who travels through two eras

Faced with Lin Sanqi's questioning, Village Chief Huang quickly denied it:
"How could that be? No matter how difficult things are for us, there are always a few villagers who go to primary or secondary school. In our Dizhu Village, for example, there are 10 children who go to primary school and 2 who graduate from junior high school."

"Wang Xidong, our village clerk, only graduated from junior high school, is 28 years old this year, and just meets Minister Lin's requirements. What a great young man, hardworking and diligent, and also a good student."

The old village chief suddenly pulled a young man out of the crowd and pushed him in front of Lin Sanqi.

Perhaps due to his long-term work in the fields, he looks like he's 38, even though he's only 28. But with his glasses, he has a different air about him from the other villagers.

Lin Sanqi believed this person must be educated; what ordinary person would have four eyes? So he asked with a smile:

"Comrade Wang Xidong, if we asked you to be a barefoot doctor and treat the villagers, would you be willing?"

Before Wang Xidong could answer, all the village officials nearby chimed in to answer:

"Yes, yes, of course I'd love to!"

Wang Xidong nodded solemnly and said, "Minister Lin, I am willing to serve the villagers."

Lin Sanqi then probed, "What if the pay for being a barefoot doctor isn't high? Would you still be willing to do it?"

Wang Xidong hesitated for a moment. After all, he was already married with children, and had elderly parents to support and young children to raise. If the barefoot doctor's income was unstable, he would definitely have to think twice.

Young people might act impulsively, but a middle-aged man like him has more to consider.

Seeing the atmosphere turn cold, Village Chief Huang's eyes lit up and he had an idea:

"Minister Lin, you see, our small mountain village doesn't have a large population, and it's impossible for people to be sick all the time. As long as we have a doctor, we can see a doctor, take medicine, and get injections when we are sick, that's enough."

So do you think this barefoot doctor can work part-time? Wang Xidong still works part-time as the brigade clerk. When he has nothing to do, he goes to work in the fields. If there are patients, he can be called out and go to the clinic to treat them.

This would solve the problem of barefoot doctors' income.

Lin Sanqi burst into laughter upon hearing this. Indeed, the wisdom of the people should not be underestimated.

"Village Chief Huang, what you said is right. That's also our plan. Barefoot doctors can work part-time in the fields to earn work points, or they can work full-time as doctors. It depends on the actual situation of each village and brigade."

In addition, barefoot doctors received a benefit: a basic salary of 10 yuan per month from the government, and all registration fees and drug price differences went to the barefoot doctor. So, their income was quite substantial.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xidong's eyes lit up.

Working in the countryside, toiling under the scorching sun, it's absolutely impossible to earn 10 yuan a month.

So even if he quit his job to become a barefoot doctor full-time, the business would still be profitable, especially since he would keep all the money from treating patients.

So the clever Wang Xidong immediately stood up:
"Minister Lin, I am willing to be a barefoot doctor."

Lin Sanqi nodded, then looked at the old village chief:
"Village Chief Huang, let's get this straight from the start. I know that clan ties are very strong in rural areas, and village officials have a lot of power. They can recommend or not recommend someone with just a word."

But personally, I think all educated young people in the village should be given a chance. If others are also willing to sign up and want to be barefoot doctors, I hope for a fair election.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xidong became anxious and was about to speak when Village Chief Huang stopped him:

“Minister Lin is right. All children in the village should be treated equally and fairly. This is an opportunity to change a person’s life. I should not make decisions unilaterally.”

After the old village chief finished speaking, he said to the security chief behind him:
"Ah Xin, immediately notify the whole village to gather at the village's threshing ground. Since Minister Lin is here today, we will conduct an on-site election."

Lin Sanqi clapped his hands and praised:

"Village Chief Huang, good, you've set a good example. What your Dizhu Village has done today will become a model for the whole country. I can call it the 'Dizhu Model.' We'll need to report to the leaders in the capital and publish it in the newspaper to promote it nationwide."

When Village Chief Huang and the other village officials heard this, they were all dumbfounded.

"Oh, is this matter so serious?"

Lin Sanqi laughed and said, "It concerns millions of villages and hundreds of millions of farmers across the country. Do you think it's serious or not?"

Village Chief Huang jumped up again: "Hurry, call for help, and be quick!" After all, it was a small mountain village. Half an hour later, all the hundreds of villagers in the village gathered around the threshing ground in the center of the village.

A large bonfire was lit in the middle, illuminating the entire night sky. Of course, it also attracted mosquitoes, but fortunately, the mountain people were used to it.

Village Chief Huang stood in the center of the field, holding the electronic megaphone provided by Lin Sanqi, and somewhat awkwardly shouted to the entire village:
"Today, Minister Lin, a high-ranking leader from Beijing, came to our village in person. He wanted to set up a barefoot doctor in our village so that he could treat the villagers."

This is a good deed, a great good deed, which reflects the care of the Party Central Committee and Mao Zedong for us. In the thousands of years of our country's history, this is the first time that anyone has put the health of us farmers in their hearts.

As per the directives from higher authorities, each village will be allocated one barefoot doctor position.

It should be noted that this barefoot doctor must be literate and will undergo a month of medical training before being able to take medicines from the city back to the village to treat patients.

This was an honorable task, and the government would subsidize barefoot doctors with 10 yuan per month per year. In addition, the 5-cent registration fee and the price difference of medicines all went to the barefoot doctor.

This was a very lucrative job; if you did it well, you could earn as much as, or even far surpass, a government-employed worker in the city.

With a little coaxing, the villagers all erupted in chaos.

They didn't listen to anything else, but everyone listened to the 10 yuan monthly subsidy, which, as mentioned before, was definitely a high salary in the countryside.

So a group of villagers started chattering, all eagerly recommending their own nephews and nieces.

This is exactly the effect Lin Sanqi wants. The first hurdle to becoming a barefoot doctor is open election. He doesn't want village officials to engage in underhanded dealings, so that truly useful people can be recommended.

Absolute fairness is impossible, as the phenomenon of village officials having absolute power is still very serious in some areas.

But at least it can achieve relative fairness and allow ordinary people to actively report violations.

This also represents Lin Sanqi, representing the people of the whole country decades later, who have been recruiting bitter radishes for a long time.

Another point is that the 10 yuan subsidy for barefoot doctors must be clearly explained to the people.

It's impossible for Bao'an County to provide subsidies to every barefoot doctor in the country in the future. There are millions of villages across the country, so where would Bao'an County get the manpower?
Therefore, it will definitely be issued in the name of the Ministry of Health.

The funds are distributed from the ministry to the province, from the province to the region, from the region to the county, and then through various district offices and communes. This means the special funds are in danger of being misused.

Lin Sanqi's approach was to make the policy open and transparent from the beginning, so as to prevent anyone at the grassroots level from withholding the subsidy and to ensure that it was delivered to the barefoot doctors.

Money is the driving force behind all work.

If barefoot doctors don't receive this subsidy and have few patients, they are likely to give up their positions, and rural healthcare will still be doomed.

To preserve firsthand information for writing summary materials.

Wang Jin filmed the entire process with a camera, while Li Yujie took notes and recorded what happened.

The purpose of filming and recording is to use it as a documentary and educational film to be shown nationwide in the future. After all, having "video" guidance is definitely better than written records.

As for why the camera was a digital camera instead of the film camera of that time?
Film cameras are simply too bulky; they are not only difficult to carry, but also require a certain level of technical skill to shoot.

Unlike digital cameras, which you can just turn on, point, and shoot, and that's it.

After filming is finished, Lin Sanqi can easily return to another time and space to convert the digital data into film, make thousands of copies, and send them to various counties for them to keep and study.

After village chief Huang finished speaking, he silenced the murmurs of the villagers before continuing:

"Now, those who want to sign up to be barefoot doctors, come forward."

With a whoosh, and with the anxious support of their parents and relatives, a total of 13 young people came out.

Some villagers were jeering: "Little rascal, you've never been to school, how come you signed up to be a barefoot doctor?"

A young man in his twenties retorted indignantly:
"I may not have gone to school, but I can read. The village chief just said that being literate is enough." (End of Chapter)