Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Liu Neng's courtyard was even more desolate.

The ground was littered with candy wrappers, melon seed shells, and flattened red envelopes.

At night, a cold wind swept through the courtyard, making a slight rattling sound at the windows. The house was eerily quiet, and the ticking of the clock on the wall could be heard clearly.

The kang (heated brick bed) in the room was still warm. Liu Neng sat cross-legged on the head of the kang, his back against the wall. The cigarette in his hand had been extinguished. He had been staring at Liu Ying's room and hadn't noticed anything.

Liu Ying's bedding was neatly folded in that room. In the past, Liu Neng would get upset every day looking at the unfolded bedding, scolding his daughter for being lazy and unwilling to tidy up, staying in bed late in the morning, and being slow and dawdling in everything she did.

Today, his daughter married into the Zhao family in a grand ceremony, and the room suddenly felt empty. Without that chattering figure, he felt a void in his heart, a tightness in his chest, and a suffocating feeling.

At the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), Liu Yingniang leaned against the bedding, also lost in thought and silent.

On the kang table sat an untouched dinner: the porridge was cold and had hardened, the steamed buns were hard, and next to it was half a plate of wedding candies and melon seeds that had been taken down from the wedding banquet earlier that day.

The elderly couple sat facing each other across the kang table, neither of them speaking, the only sounds in the room being the ticking of water and the wind outside the window.

After a while, Liu Neng coughed, his throat dry, and reached for a cigarette, preparing to smoke another one.

Out of the corner of his eye, Liu Neng noticed that his wife's eyes were red-rimmed, her eyelids were swollen, and tears were welling up in her eyes, about to fall. He immediately stuffed the cigarette back into his pocket.

Liu Neng is very good to his wife, otherwise he wouldn't have raised Liu Ying, who is so love-struck that she has to share even a pig's trotter with her husband.

Liu Yingniang raised her hand and gently wiped away her tears with her sleeve. Her lips trembled several times, and the words she was about to say were swallowed back down. She didn't say a word.

The daughter, whom I've raised for over twenty years, is getting married in style today. The wedding was conducted with great ceremony and the banquet was dignified. The whole village praised the wedding for being so well-organized.

The kang (heated brick bed) is still the same heated kang as in the old house, and the house is still the same house, but the little girl who used to circle around the stove, bicker and tease her parents, and cause trouble at home is no longer here.

Liu Neng lowered his head and touched his head, sighing silently to himself. "A daughter is like a tree that grows up and leaves home," he thought. "As long as she's doing well..."

……

After a period of calm, the weather in Northeast China turned completely cold, with temperatures dropping to minus 26 or 27 degrees Celsius in the middle of the night. Every household filled large vats with pickled cabbage, filling the air with a rich aroma of pickled cabbage.

Last week, Qi Santai went to the county to attend a special meeting on health work. He was publicly criticized by county leaders for his perfunctory work in the health services provided to villages and towns under his jurisdiction, which resulted in the lowest coverage rate and a lack of performance data. He was to be held accountable and have points deducted in the year-end assessment.

After the meeting, he called Wang Changgui that very night, his tone extremely anxious and serious:

"Changgui, I have serious business to discuss. The county hospital is about to send two people to your Xiangyashan Village to conduct a makeshift medical outreach program. You need to make sure the scene is well-organized and lively! The county propaganda officer will also be going with you to take photos for documentation!"

"This matter is directly linked to the year-end performance evaluation. The evaluation will depend entirely on these photos and materials, so don't let me down. Make sure the event is a success, understand? This is very important! Put aside the work at the station for the next couple of days. I'll talk to them about it."

Wang Changgui dared not disobey the town mayor's arrangement, so he nodded repeatedly and readily agreed.

The next morning, I rushed to the village primary school to borrow desks and benches, bought red cloth, painted banners, and busied myself preparing for the event.

The next day at noon, the old-fashioned loudspeaker in the village office blared, and Wang Changgui's booming voice echoed throughout every corner of Xiangyashan Village:

"Attention all villagers of Xiangyashan! Listen carefully: a team of experts from the county hospital will be coming to our village tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM to provide free medical consultations!"

"Blood pressure checks and everything else are completely free. After the consultation, you'll receive free medication. Anyone can go. Just line up at the village office entrance; get there early to get a number, or you won't get a turn!"

The announcement was broadcast repeatedly three times, and the news spread throughout the village in an instant.

Xie Guangkun's eyes lit up after hearing the announcement over the loudspeaker, and he chuckled to himself, muttering:

"Wow! Such a good thing? Free medical treatment and free medicine?"

"We absolutely have to go! Why not take advantage of this cheap deal? We can grab a couple of bags of common medicine to stock up at home, so our family won't have to spend money on medicine for minor ailments like headaches or fevers!"

Liu Neng, who feeds sheep at home, immediately straightened up upon hearing the announcement over the loudspeaker. He scoffed dismissively, but his actions betrayed his true intentions:

"Hmph, does the county really think it can provide free medical care and medication to ordinary people? I need to go and see if I can get a free consultation from an expert, and I can save money on medicine if they prescribe it."

The whole village was buzzing with discussion. Old men and women, housewives, and young people all planned to get up early the next day to line up at the village office. Even the children were dragged along by their parents for a free check-up.

Everyone in the village believed there was genuine free medical care. Nobody knew that it was all just a formality by the town to appease higher-ups and create materials for their assessments. The villagers were merely background figures used to fill out the picture.

The next morning at nine o'clock, the sky was overcast, and the north wind was biting, making people's faces hurt.

The old tree at the entrance of the village office had lost all its leaves, leaving its bare branches swaying wildly in the wind, looking particularly desolate.

The entrance to the village office was decorated in a very orderly manner, with a large red banner hanging at the door bearing the words in black calligraphy:

The county hospital sent medical personnel to the countryside, bringing warmth and love to Xiangyashan!

The strong wind made the banner sway from side to side, making a loud rustling sound.

Two peeling wooden desks, which Wang Changgui had someone move from the village primary school classroom, were neatly arranged under the banner.

The so-called county hospital free clinic team consisted of only two people.

One is a young doctor who graduated only half a year ago and is still not very skilled. It's unclear whether he has been officially hired or not. He can't even write prescriptions for simple and common diseases properly. The other is an old nurse who is about to retire and is just getting by. She is carrying an old mercury sphygmomanometer in her hand, and the edge of the cuff is worn and white.

This combination is absolutely brilliant; the county hospital has already taken away all their talent, clearly showing they don't take it seriously.

Qi Santai drove to the scene early in the morning, accompanied by people from the town's health center. He stood with his hands behind his back in the middle of the banner, deliberately raising his hand to straighten his collar, striking a composed and dignified pose as a leader.

The propaganda officer from the county, carrying a camera, circled around the leaders, directing them to pose.

"Mayor Qi, please move a little closer to the center! Doctors from the county hospital, please move closer! Director Wang, take half a step forward! Yes, yes, everyone, smile and look more energetic!"

"Take several close-up shots, and choose the most presentable ones to publish in the county's health work report!"

Soon, villagers began to gather around to watch the spectacle. Once the crowd was complete, the leader shouted:

"Ready!"

Qi Santai and the others held hands tightly, their faces bearing standard fake smiles.

The young doctor and the older nurse stood on either side, smiling obsequiously, snapping photos in quick succession, quickly taking more than a dozen archived pictures.

Mission accomplished. Qi Santai's official smile vanished instantly. He patted Wang Changgui on the shoulder and whispered, "..."

"Okay, Changgui, the event was organized perfectly. This matter is settled today. The county leaders will definitely see the enthusiasm of our town. I have another meeting in town, so I won't linger here. You can organize things here."

"Keep a close eye on the situation. Most importantly, fill the patient registration book with lots of names, make it look like there are a lot of patients, and the performance data will look better."

After giving his instructions, he jumped into the Santana, stepped on the gas, and sped away.

In the cold wind, only Wang Changgui remained, rubbing his frozen hands, standing under the banner looking at the chaotic crowd, and sighing.

Once the leaders left, the photo-taking task was completed, and this so-called charity clinic was simply abandoned.

The two hospital staff didn't conduct any multi-item examinations; they only did one thing throughout the entire process: mechanically measuring blood pressure.

The older nurse looked impatient and was rude. She casually pulled the cuff over her arm, ignored the stethoscope, and didn't even look at the mercury column as it flickered. She mechanically recited the data:

"160 bpm, eat less salt and drink more water, next."

"A blood pressure of 180 mmHg is a serious problem. Go to the county hospital for an X-ray and further examination. Next!"

Nine out of ten people use the same two clichés; they can't be bothered to explain anything more to the villagers.

An elderly woman, burdened with mobility issues and using a cane, slowly moved forward, enduring the pain in her knees from a winter of chronic cold, and timidly asked:

"Doctor, my breasts hurt a lot when it gets cold, and it's making it hard to walk. Could you please take a look and see what's wrong?"

The old nurse immediately frowned and impatiently waved her hand to stop anyone from coming closer.

"I said we're only taking your blood pressure! Don't come to us with bone and joint problems, go to the hospital for X-rays! Free medical consultations and you're being so picky, wanting to see everything? Why are you making such a fuss?"

The old lady blushed deeply after being rebuked, and sheepishly retreated to the side of the crowd, leaning on her cane, not daring to ask any more questions.

Liu Neng squeezed to the front of the line, deliberately clutching his chest and frowning, feigning illness and discomfort in a high-pitched voice:

"Doctor, doctor, I...I...I...I..."

"What do you mean, 'you'? Next one, explain yourself before you come over, don't waste time."

Liu Neng quickly said:

"I have this persistent, dull, stabbing pain in my chest, it comes and goes, it just doesn't stop. Could you prescribe me two bottles of nitroglycerin pills to keep on hand?"

The doctor didn't even look up, nor did he bother to write, coldly tossing out a sentence:

"No nitroglycerin pills available. If you want to buy them yourself at the pharmacy, next!"

Liu Neng was turned away, so he squeezed out of the line with his hands behind his back and a sullen face, muttering complaints under his breath:

"What kind of lousy free clinic is this? There's not a single decent medicine; it's just a complete rip-off to fool us ordinary people. We've wasted half a day queuing up!"

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