After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

"Teacher Ye is here! Make way!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and the square, which was originally as chaotic as a pot of porridge, seemed to be forcibly pried open by an invisible hand, creating a path.

Liu Tie shuddered in fright, quickly swallowed the last bite of the choking black steamed bun, wiped his hands haphazardly on his cotton-padded coat, and craned his neck to look outside.

A slender young female doctor strode over. She wasn't wearing a mask, and her face, as white as porcelain, stood out starkly among the group of dusty-looking people. Behind her followed four or five students carrying notebooks, their steps brisk and efficient.

That's Ye Zhen, the miracle doctor from the newspaper!

Liu Tie didn't dare to breathe loudly, staring intently at this legendary "living Buddha".

Ye Zhen walked straight up to Li Hong, didn't waste any words, took the form and glanced at it: "What number?"

"Reporting, teacher! Number 042!" Li Hong straightened her back, her voice trembling slightly with excitement. "Suspected atrial septal defect combined with pulmonary hypertension, obvious squatting phenomenon, lips turn purple with the slightest movement."

Ye Zhen nodded, took the stethoscope, bent down, and placed it on the child's thin, bony chest.

One second, two seconds, ten seconds.

The square was so quiet you could hear the wind rustling through the fallen leaves. Liu Tie's heart was in his throat; his hands gripped the hem of his shirt so tightly his knuckles turned white. Those ten seconds felt longer than a day he'd spent hundreds of meters down in a well.

"Accurate judgment." Ye Zhen straightened up, a rare hint of approval on her face. "Li Hong, your basic skills are solid, and your grading is correct."

Li Hong's face flushed red to her ears with excitement. This was Teacher Ye's praise! It was even more effective than a certificate from the school!

Ye Zhen turned her head and her gaze fell on Liu Tie.

That look in his eyes didn't have the disdain of a city dweller looking at a country person, nor the condescending pity, but only the professionalism and calmness of someone who has seen through life and death.

"Uncle, the child's illness can be cured."

It's just a simple sentence, five words, but it makes a powerful impact.

Liu Tie's body went limp, his legs cramped, and he almost collapsed to the ground. Throughout his journey, he had been hitching rides on trains and sleeping under bridges, and what he feared most were hearing "Go back," "It's incurable," and "Prepare for your funeral."

"Can...can it really be cured?" he asked, trembling, his teeth chattering.

Ye Zhen nodded and said, "This child has a large defect. In the past, we would have had to saw open his sternum and make major surgery. The child is too thin to endure that kind of suffering."

When Liu Tie heard that he was going to have his bones sawed, his face turned pale.

Ye Zhen paused, her tone carrying an undeniable certainty: "I don't recommend doing it now. I'll make an appointment for you first. You take the child back and raise him for six months. Don't skimp on food; eat plenty of meat and eggs to strengthen his body. Once the new building in Beicheng is completed, you won't need surgery. You'll just get an injection in the groin, and he'll recover after a good night's sleep."

This is the prototype of future intervention and sealing techniques, which sounds like gibberish in this day and age.

Can a single injection really improve heart health?

Liu Tie was illiterate and didn't understand what intervention meant, but he understood the three most crucial words: no surgery!

"I'll treat him! I'll treat him!"

Liu Tie frantically unbuttoned the tattered cotton-padded jacket he was wearing underneath and pulled out a bag wrapped in several layers of blue cloth from the innermost pocket.

When the cloth bag was unfolded, it contained a stack of crumpled small bills, several nationally valid grain coupons, and two heavy "Yuan Shikai" silver dollars, which were left by his father before he died.

This was his savings for his funeral, the money he earned by risking his life at the bottom of the well, and also the life of his entire family.

"Doctor, this is all... a little over a hundred yuan! If it's not enough, I'll borrow more! I'll sell my blood! Please, give me an appointment, save my child!" Liu Tie cried, his face covered in tears and snot, grabbing the money and trying to stuff it into Ye Zhen's hand.

The surrounding students and patients fell silent, and many felt a lump in their throats as they watched this scene.

Ye Zhen frowned slightly and reached out to block the hand covered in black ash and calluses.

"Take it back."

Her voice was somewhat cold, even carrying a hint of command.

Liu Tie was terrified, thinking he didn't have enough money, and his knees buckled as he was about to kneel down: "Doctor, I..."

A slender hand supported his arm, preventing him from kneeling.

Ye Zhen reached into the pocket of her white coat and pulled out a stack of colorful pieces of paper—meal tickets.

She grabbed the child's little hand, which was frozen like a carrot, and forced the stack of meal tickets inside.

"Listen carefully, I won't take your money."

Looking into Liu Tie's terrified and cloudy eyes, Ye Zhen said, "The government will waive the surgery fee! The hospitalization fee will be covered by the donations in that red box! Use these meal tickets to buy meat, eggs, and milk for the child! If the child is still this thin in six months, then you're really disrespecting me, Ye Zhen!"

Liu Tie was stunned; his hands trembled as he held the meal ticket. Could there really be doctors in this world who didn't charge money and even gave out meal tickets?

"Also," Ye Zhen didn't intend to let him leave now. She turned to look at the tall figure standing not far away, "Since you've come all this way, don't leave tonight. Tonight I'll hold a 'temporary family class' in the auditorium to teach you how to take care of your children when you get home, how to tell if your child's complexion is off. These are life-saving skills."

"Where...where should I stay?" Liu Tie asked timidly, unwilling to even spend two cents on a dormitory-style room.

"The housing problem has been solved."

Gu Zheng, who had been standing silently on the periphery, walked over. He was wearing a military overcoat, with broad shoulders and long legs. Standing there, he looked like a tower, exuding an imposing aura.

Gu Zheng walked to Ye Zhen's side, his chilling murderous aura instantly softening. He nodded to Ye Zhen, then addressed the dozens of family members around him, like Liu Tie, in a loud voice:

"I've already spoken to the military region's logistics department, and they've cleared out two empty guesthouse warehouses. They've laid out straw and military blankets; the conditions are basic, but they'll keep out the wind and rain, and there's hot water. It's all free!"

After Gu Zheng finished speaking, he glanced at Ye Zhen, his eyes clearly saying: The matter my wife asked me to handle has been completed.

The crowd erupted in an uproar. Free medical treatment, free meals, and free lodging! They'd encountered a living saint!

Ye Zhen didn't glance at Liu Tie again, nor did she wait for the inevitable tears of gratitude that would follow. She turned and waved her hand: "Next, report the situation!"

At that moment, the winter sun shone through the bare branches, casting its light on her slightly thin but upright back, making her white coat dazzlingly white.

Liu Tie clutched the few meal tickets, still warm from his body, tightly in his hand. Standing in the cold wind, watching the tall officer escorting the departing figure, his knees suddenly buckled, and he knelt down on the hard cement ground with a thud.

This time, no one could stop him.

He didn't burst into tears; instead, he kowtowed heavily in the direction Ye Zhen had left.

"Thump!"

The sound of his forehead hitting the ground was as heavy as a clap of thunder in the quiet square.

On this day, at Beijing Railway Station and Yongdingmen Long-Distance Bus Station, there were dozens of parents like Liu Tie, carrying newspapers and clinging to a glimmer of hope, rushing to the north of the city.