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

The meeting room of Qingshan Town Health Center, 10:00 AM.

The inspection team temporarily requisitioned this room as an interrogation room. On the table was a black, brick-sized tape recorder, the tape already loaded, and the red recording indicator light was on.

Luo Yushan sat across the table, with a steaming glass of water in front of him.

His medical kit was placed at his feet, the canvas buckle not fastened properly, revealing a corner of dark blue coarse cloth inside.

Vice Minister Li sat opposite him, while Xiao Chen took notes beside him.

"Dr. Luo, did someone come to your house this morning?"

Luo Yushan picked up the enamel mug, took a sip, and then put it down.

"Two town officials came, accompanied by two militiamen wearing red armbands, and stood in front of my house for more than an hour."

"What did they say?" Deputy Minister Li asked.

Luo Yushan's gaze fell on the water, his voice deep.

They said my son teaches at a private middle school in the county, and he'll be promoted to a public school next year. They told me to cooperate fully with the investigation, keep my mouth shut, and not say anything out of line.

Xiao Chen paused on the paper, then looked up at Vice Minister Li.

Vice Minister Li's expression remained completely unchanged: "How did you answer?"

Luo Yushan turned the enamel mug halfway around.

"I told them I had high blood pressure and needed to take medication, and then I locked the gate and completely ignored them."

"And then?"

"Later, when your department's car arrived, they sensed something was wrong and slipped away."

Vice Minister Li nodded.

"Dr. Luo, I need you to tell me everything you know from the beginning, starting from the day Comrade Ye Zhen found you."

Luo Yushan looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, and then suddenly bent down and picked up the medicine box at his feet and put it on the table.

He opened the box and pulled out an oiled paper package from a hidden compartment. The oiled paper was wrapped tightly, and the outside was tied with two thin hemp ropes.

He untied the hemp rope, peeled back the oil paper, and inside was a stack of small notebooks with yellowed pages and curled edges.

"This is my medical record from the past twenty-three years."

Luo Yushan stacked the notebooks one by one on the table.

"I remember every single detail: which village's child has a bad cough, which child's lips are turning purple, which child keeps catching their breath while nursing."

"I didn't dare to bring these accounts up before, because bringing them up would be a slap in the face to the town and the county. I'm an old man nearing retirement, it's not worth making myself unhappy."

Vice Minister Li listened quietly without interrupting.

Luo Yushan's voice became a little hoarse.

"But after Dr. Ye came, she told me that there was a national project that could provide free surgery, and that children in the mountains could also survive."

He removed his calloused hands from the notebook.

"Since the child can live, why should I be afraid of losing my job!"

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Only the tape recorder was spinning, making a faint "hissing" sound.

Vice Minister Li reached out and gently gathered the heavy stack of notebooks in front of him.

"Dr. Luo, I need to take these logs with me as important evidence. Do you agree?"

Luo Yushan nodded emphatically.

"Take it away! It's just a piece of waste paper here. If you hand it over, maybe you can save a few more children."

Vice Minister Li stood up, walked around the table, and went to Luo Yushan.

He didn't extend his hand to shake hands, but simply stood upright and stared at the old village doctor for two seconds.

"Dr. Luo, I'll take care of your son's employment status. As long as I'm in this position, no one can touch him."

Luo Yushan's eyes instantly reddened, but he stubbornly held back his tears.

He nodded, fastened the buckle on the medicine box again, slung it over his shoulder, and stood up.

"Minister Li, there's something else I need to discuss."

"you say."

"There are still a few children in Luoying Village who haven't been checked, and the locust flowers in Shiao Village haven't been verified in the county yet. When Dr. Ye left, he specifically told me to keep a close eye on these matters."

He patted the medicine box on his shoulder.

"You can continue with your case, but the child's illness can't be delayed. I'll go to Luoying Village again this afternoon."

Vice Minister Li watched his retreating figure as he walked towards the door—his hair was graying, his back was slightly hunched, and his black cloth shoes were worn down to the point where his big toes were almost showing.

This is a barefoot doctor who walked for twenty-three years, even breaking his legs in the process.

Xiao Chen, standing nearby, couldn't help but mutter softly, "Minister Li, this is the backbone of our grassroots."

Vice Minister Li didn't respond, but simply and very quietly put the stack of journals into his briefcase and zipped it up.

***

The backyard of Qingshan Town Health Center, Tian Youfu's house.

When the inspection team arrived, Tian Youfu was huddled on a small stool in the yard, holding a long-extinguished tobacco pipe in his hand, staring blankly at the ant nest on the ground.

Standing next to him was a middle-aged man in a blue khaki jacket, who was sent by Ma Guoliang last night to "keep watch" him and had been keeping watch all night.

As soon as the two members of the inspection team stepped into the courtyard, the man in the jacket's expression changed drastically, and he stood up, trying to slip away.

Xiao Chen strode forward and shouted, "Comrade, please wait! Which unit are you from? What are you doing here?"

The man in the jacket turned around and chuckled twice.

"I'm from the town government, and I just stopped by to visit Lao Tian and have a chat."

Xiao Chen opened his notebook, stamped it with his pen: "Name, company, position, purpose of visit—please report honestly to cooperate with the registration!"

The man in the jacket froze on his face. He glanced at Tian Youfu, then at the cold and stern demeanor of the inspection team. In the end, he could only wilt like a frostbitten eggplant and honestly reveal his background.

After Xiao Chen finished writing, he pointed to the base of the wall and said, "Go wait over there. You're not allowed to leave until you've finished asking the questions."

The two members of the inspection team sat down on a long bench opposite Tian Youfu.

"Comrade Tian Youfu, we are an inspection team sent by the Ministry of Health. We have a few questions for you."

Tian Youfu tapped his pipe on his knee twice, not daring to look up: "Go ahead and ask."

"A few days ago, didn't a female doctor from the north city go to your Luoying Village and look for you?"

Tian Youfu rubbed his fingers together on the pipe.

Although the man in the jacket by the wall was a few steps away, his eyes were fixed on him.

Tian Youfu swallowed hard and remained silent for a full five seconds: "...I've been here."

What did she ask you?

Tian Youfu touched his lips together, then pursed them tightly.

The inspection team didn't rush them; they just waited quietly.

Tian Youfu's head was practically drooping down to his crotch, and his voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum.

"She asked me if the town had ever organized any village-level screenings for congenital heart disease, and I said... no."

The man in the jacket by the wall coughed suddenly, his words carrying a clear warning.

Tian Youfu's shoulders twitched in fright.

The inspection team members gave the man in the jacket a cold look before turning back.

"Comrade Tian Youfu, was what you told Dr. Ye back then the truth?"

Tian Youfu was completely speechless.

He kept his head down, his rough fingers turning the tobacco pipe around dozens of times.

He remembered the day Ye Zhen knelt before Tian Xiaobao's broken bed, placing the stethoscope on the child's chest.

He recalled those resolute words—"If it's diagnosed, it's treatable! The government will pay for the treatment, it'll be free!"

But then he remembered the man in the jacket's sinister tapping last night.

"Old Tian, ​​as long as you change your story and say that the female doctor induced you to give false testimony, your barefoot doctor qualification is guaranteed to be intact, and you won't miss out on next year's relief grain."

Tian Youfu threw his pipe on the ground, braced himself against his thighs with both hands, and slowly, little by little, straightened up.

He glanced at the inspection team, then turned and stared intently at the man in the jacket.

This time, he spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like pig iron hitting a millstone.

"Everything I told Dr. Ye was the truth!"

"The town never organized any village-level screening! All the records were made up and copied afterward! The signatures were forged by people from the town, and the official seal was also affixed by Cao Qing!"

The man in the jacket by the wall turned green with rage and rushed forward a step: "Old Tian! Don't do anything stupid!"

Xiao Chen shoved him aside: "Get back! How dare you obstruct the investigation! I'll handcuff you and take you to the police station right now!"

Tian Youfu completely ignored the man, his eyes reddening and his voice trembling.

"I know Tian Xiaobao is sick, but I don't have the ability to cure him!"

He lowered his head, his hands gripping the seams of his trousers tightly, the veins on the back of his hands throbbing.

"But then Dr. Ye came... She said she could cure him, and she said it would be free! She literally carried that half-dead child out of our poor mountain village!"

Tian Youfu suddenly raised his head, and his turbid tears finally fell.

"The child is almost dead! If I were to lie at this critical moment, would I even be considered a human being?!"

The courtyard was deathly silent.

The man in the jacket by the wall collapsed completely, all color draining from his face.

The inspection team members were filled with respect and pushed the notebook over to him.

"Comrade Tian Youfu, we have noted down everything you just said. We need you to sign and put your fingerprint on it."

"Sign! I'll sign right now!"

Tian Youfu picked up a pen, wrote his name in a crooked hand, and pressed his fingerprint down heavily.

He turned his head and looked at the man in the jacket as if he were looking at a pile of mud, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded.

"Go back and tell those guys in town. I, Tian Youfu, have been a coward for most of my life, but this time... I'm not going to be a coward anymore!"