Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

After the blood pressure measurement was completed, they began distributing so-called free medicine as a form of charity.

Each person received a transparent bag with a faded "Donation Medicine with Heart" logo, containing the usual three items:

Bulk painkillers, common cold capsules, and a few band-aids.

Xie Guangkun was the first to receive his medicine. He squinted at the sunlight to carefully examine the batch number. After finishing, his eyebrows furrowed, one eye larger than the other, and he raised his voice:

"Wait a minute? This batch number was produced in 03? It's been sitting for two years! Is it almost expired? Could this medicine cause any problems?"

The old nurse immediately turned hostile, rolling her eyes and raising her voice even louder than Xie Guangkun:

"We're already being generous by giving you the medicine for free! Why are you being picky? It'll be fine for the next three years. If you don't like it, just give it back. There are plenty of other people waiting to get theirs!"

Xie Guangkun, a man who loved to take advantage of others, immediately stuffed the medicine tightly into his cotton-padded trouser pocket, and with a fawning smile, reached forward:

"No, no, no, I want it, I want it! Hey, could you give me some more? My Yongqiang is a college student, he didn't come today, I want to bring some for him too."

The older nurse raised her hand and shoved his hand away, her face grim.

"It's clearly stated that each person gets one serving, not a single grain more! Don't cause trouble and delay the progress!"

Xie Guangkun sheepishly withdrew his hand. He wanted to argue, but there were too many people in line behind him, so he decided to give up.

On the periphery of the crowd, Lin Chen leaned against the supermarket entrance and watched coldly from the sidelines. He had seen through this staged farce from the beginning and watched the two of them fool people without saying a word.

Xie Xiaomei stood to the side, her brows furrowed, and muttered angrily to Lin Chen in a low voice:

"These two are going too far! They're just using the villagers to complete their mission, and all they're giving them are nearly expired stockpiled medicines."

No sooner had he finished speaking than an argument broke out in the center of the crowd.

Mr. Li, an elderly man living alone in the village, had been coughing for almost half a month after winter started. He couldn't bear the chest tightness and shortness of breath, so he waited in line for half a day to have a doctor listen to his lungs and check their condition.

The young doctor was already impatient; it was supposed to be a free clinic all day, but he just wanted to leave work early. He waved his hand dismissively, his tone arrogant and overbearing.

"I've told you a million times! We're only taking blood pressure today! If you have a cough or lung problem, go to your village doctor! Don't block our way and delay us from finishing get off work!"

The young doctor probably didn't mean it, but the old man was old and weak. When the doctor waved his hand like that, he slipped and staggered backward, almost hitting the corner of the desk on his head and falling to the ground. Everyone around him quickly helped him up, and Chang Gui was terrified.

Lin Chen's expression immediately darkened.

He strode into the crowd, reached out and steadily supported the unsteady old man, protecting him behind him.

Turning his head, his eyes were icy as he stared at the doctor and nurse, his imposing presence silencing the surrounding crowd. His tone was utterly uncompromising:

"Do either of you even know how to treat a patient? Do you have any medical ethics? If you can't treat patients, you should go back to the hospital and stop causing trouble for ordinary people!"

"In this freezing weather, you made all the elderly people in their seventies and eighties from the village come out and stand in the cold wind for so long, just to take a couple of perfunctory photos for you?"

"You got these near-expiry, counterfeit medicines from who-knows-where and are using them as a charity to fool the villagers! If someone gets sick from taking them, can you two take responsibility? Can your hospital take responsibility?"

The young doctor, relying on his position as a county-level dispatched personnel, retorted defiantly, his attitude remaining arrogant:

"Who are you? Do you even have the right to speak? We're a county health bureau organizing a free clinic in the countryside! This is the procedure, the rules set by higher authorities! The medicine is also provided by the hospital. If you think we're being ripped off, you don't have to queue or get the medicine. Nobody forced you to come!"

Lin Chen was so angry he laughed. He pulled out his phone, waved it in front of the two of them, and spoke in an even harsher tone, making no attempt to hold back:

"Just because someone is sent by the county doesn't mean they're so great. Does that give them the right to bully rural people and slack off on their duties? Fine, you want to talk to me about the rules, huh?"

"Let me tell you, we're not without people in our county. I know the county newspaper reporters very well, and I also know the provincial reporters. Let's put this out in the open and have a proper discussion. I want to see if the hospital sent you two here to fool us, or if the hospital gave you expired medication. I'll also ask other rural clinics what kind of medicine they're distributing!"

"Let's see if someone is swapping good medicine for near-expiry drugs and profiting from the price difference!"

Lin Chen pointed at the two of them while holding the phone:

"I'll send you to the countryside for medical treatment again. All the evidence of your rude attitude and shoving of elderly people will be exposed in the county's report! Everyone present is a witness. I want to see which leader approved this. Whoever approved it should take the blame! I'd like to see if you two, and your department head, will still have any jobs at the end of the year!"

The two men instantly turned pale and cowered on the spot.

The arrogant and domineering attitude from before vanished completely. The old nurse's face turned deathly pale, and her hands and feet began to tremble. She was about to retire, and she couldn't afford for anything to happen to her.

The young doctor hung his head, his voice stammering and lacking confidence:

"You...you mustn't be impulsive...we're just following orders, not trying to fool you. Wouldn't it do you any good if this got out?"

Lin Chen smiled dismissively:

"No benefit to me? Don't keep bragging. I'll expose you and see what you can do about it. You think you can scare me?"

"Does following orders mean you can be heartless? Does following orders mean you can bully honest people from the countryside?"

Lin Chen raised his voice a few decibels, his aura intimidating the entire scene. The villagers watching all joined in the commotion, criticizing the two for going too far in their actions.

"I'm saying this one last time: pack up your junk equipment and expired medicine right now and get out of Ivory Mountain! Don't get in the way of the villagers!"

"Go back and tell your superiors exactly what I said: if you dare send a bunch of quack doctors like you to Ivory Mountain to engage in empty formalities and fool the villagers again, I'll drive straight to the county and report you to everyone involved. I'll make sure none of you get away with this!"

The two were so ashamed by the scolding that they dared not raise their heads and dared not utter a word in reply.

He hurriedly stuffed the blood pressure monitor and medicine bag into his backpack, then, head down and covered in dust, he made his way through the crowd, dashed onto the van waiting at the village entrance, slammed the door shut, and drove away from Ivory Mountain.

As the two men fled, all the villagers clapped and cheered.

The two had been running for less than half an hour when Wang Changgui's cell phone rang. It was Qi Santai calling.

Wang Changgui answered the phone with a pained expression, listened for a couple of sentences, looked troubled, and silently handed the phone to Lin Chen, whispering:

"Xiao Chen, Mayor Qi is looking for you. Should you answer him? It looks like he's here specifically to plead for you."

Lin Chen took the phone and held it to his ear, speaking calmly as he listened to Qi Santai's polite, smiling face on the other end:

"Oh, Xiao Lin, this is truly a case of poor work arrangement on our part! Those two staff members had a terrible attitude and were careless in their work. This medicine has nothing to do with the county; they acted on their own initiative. I apologize on their behalf to you and all the villagers of Xiangyashan. Please don't be angry; calm down!"

"I'll report this to the county immediately. This kind of person deserves a city-wide reprimand!"

Lin Chen lit a cigarette, his tone neither too soft nor too hard:

"Old Qi, I'm not targeting you, nor am I trying to sabotage you. You've had it tough too, dealing with the year-end assessments from your superiors. I understand all of that, and I won't stop you."

"But you have to stick to the bottom line. You can't use our villagers as props for a show. You make a bunch of old people stand in the freezing cold in line, only to give them a bag of nearly expired pills and fool them into meeting your performance targets. That's not fair."

"If you're going to do a free clinic, do it properly. Send honest and ethical doctors to treat patients. If you're just doing it to take photos and collect materials, then don't bother the villagers anymore."

Qi Santai echoed repeatedly on the other end of the phone, his voice extremely low:

"Your criticism is absolutely right! Our work has been superficial and bureaucratic! It's our oversight that's causing the problem."

"Okay, I guarantee you that after the New Year, I will personally lead a team to the countryside and send key doctors in internal medicine and ophthalmology to visit the elderly in the village to test their blood sugar and screen for chronic diseases for free. We will provide real medical care for the villagers and will not just put on a show."

His tone softened and became pleading:

"It's Xiao Chen. Could you please be lenient this time and not contact reporters to expose this? I've been very strict with my year-end performance evaluation this year. If this gets out, it will affect my job. Otherwise, why would I do this? I admit my mistake and am willing to correct it. Consider it a favor I owe you."

Lin Chen always leaves room for maneuver, never pushing people to the brink, and calmly remarked:

"Alright, Lao Qi, it's you, you've always taken good care of me. I'll give you face today, and this matter will end here. I won't expose it. But I'll remember your words, and you must keep your word next month."

"Officials should be worthy of the people's trust. Everyone has discerning eyes. If you do practical things, everyone will remember you. If you always do these empty gestures, no one will respect you."

"Understood, understood! Definitely going to do it!" Qi Santai felt like he had been granted a pardon, thanked him repeatedly, and hung up the phone.

Wang Changgui sighed deeply, rubbing his frostbitten, red hands, and said helplessly:

"Chen, please try to understand me. I'm just a small village cadre, and I'm caught in the middle. I get pressured from above, but the people below want real benefits. I'm suffering from both sides, and there's nothing I can do."

Lin Chen shook his head:

"Uncle Changgui, I understand. I'm not targeting you personally. I just can't stand these people fooling the villagers. If any elderly people in the village really have health problems, they should be treated. Don't let formalism delay the villagers' access to medical care."

"That's right, that's right, there's nothing wrong with that." Chang Gui lit another cigarette for Lin Chen, quickly refilled it, and tried to appease him.

Before long, the villagers who had come to watch the spectacle gradually dispersed.

The red banner was still swaying in the Korean style, with only two lonely old desks underneath, making the scene very desolate and messy.