Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

The woman's crying started again, this time not towards Chen Ping, but towards the onlookers in the corridor.

She knelt on the ground, supporting herself with both hands, her head lowered so that her forehead almost touched the floor tiles.

His face was covered in snot and tears, and his voice was hoarse from crying, sounding like a broken bellows.

"Everyone, please be the judge! My man is dying. There's someone who can treat him, but the hospital director won't allow it. Isn't that putting his life at risk...?"

People in the corridor were whispering and gossiping among themselves.

A middle-aged man in a gray jacket crossed his arms and spoke softly, but everyone around him heard him: "This hospital director is so heartless! The person is almost dead, what's wrong with trying to help?"

An elderly woman nearby chimed in, "Exactly, what if it actually works?"

But others shook their heads. A young man wearing glasses pushed up his glasses and lowered his voice, saying, "Hospitals have their own rules. If someone isn't a doctor from this hospital, they can't practice medicine. Who's responsible if something goes wrong?"

The sounds from both sides mingled together, buzzing like a swarm of flies.

Su Wenzong stood at the door of the ward, his expression unchanged.

After listening to the woman's cries and the onlookers' comments, his lips twitched slightly, but it wasn't a smile or anger; it was an expression of disdain.

As the director of the Municipal People's Hospital, I have seen all kinds of patients and all kinds of their families.

He had even seen all sorts of people who had died from various diseases or accidents.

Death no longer affected Su Wenzong.

He turned to Director Qian and said, "Director Qian, you're in charge of this. Deal with it quickly. I don't want to see any family members kneeling and crying in the corridor within ten minutes."

After saying that, he turned and left.

The head of the inpatient department and the head nurse followed behind him. The three of them turned into the stairwell, and the sound of leather shoes stepping on the steps grew fainter and fainter.

Director Qian stood there, his face turning red and then pale.

He looked down at the woman kneeling on the ground, squatted down, and spoke in a very soft voice, as if he were coaxing a child.

"Sister-in-law, get up first, I have something to tell you." Director Qian pulled the woman up.

The woman looked at Director Qian, her eyes so swollen they were barely slits.

"If you do this, you can be discharged from the hospital, or transferred to Dr. Chen's hospital, where Dr. Chen can treat your man's illness."

Director Qian glanced at Chen Ping in the corridor. "The hospital has regulations that only doctors from this hospital can practice medicine here. If you transfer to another hospital, it's not the hospital's business. We can even send you a transport vehicle for free."

The woman paused for a moment, tears still on her face, but her crying stopped.

She stared at Director Qian for a while, as if trying to figure out what he meant.

After a while, she wiped her face, her voice still trembling, and asked, "Which hospital does that Dr. Chen work for?"

Director Qian hesitated.

He opened his mouth, thought for about two seconds, and said, "Siping Township Health Center."

The woman's face changed.

It didn't turn white, it hardened.

She stared intently at Director Qian, her eyes shifting from despair to anger, and then from anger to a cold laugh.

She laughed, but the laughter was more unpleasant than crying.

"Siping Township Health Center? You're telling me a doctor from a township health center can cure liver cancer?"

Her voice rose, and everyone in the corridor could hear her, "Your hospital will do anything to get rid of us."

They lied to me, saying there were doctors who could cure him, and told me to transfer to another hospital, then they wouldn't care anymore, right? I'm not leaving! I'm staying here! I'd rather die in your hospital!

She knelt down again, this time hugging Director Qian's leg tightly.

Director Qian struggled twice but couldn't break free, his face full of helplessness.

He glanced at the people in the corridor, then at the woman kneeling on the ground, sighed, and stopped struggling. He just stood there, like a tree entangled by vines.

In the corridor, Chen Ping stood not far from the ward door, watching everything unfold.

Hearing the woman's words, Chen Ping didn't say anything, but gave a bitter smile and turned to leave.

Back in Cui Ying's father's hospital room, Cui Ying's mother and Cui Ying were tidying up the things on the bedside table.

Neither of them went out, but they heard everything that was happening in the corridor.

When Cui Ying saw Chen Ping come in, she put down the plastic bag she was carrying and walked over, asking curiously, "What happened? Why was that woman crying?"

Chen Ping leaned against the bedside table and briefly recounted what had just happened.

He didn't talk about acupuncture or liver cancer, but just said that a patient was in very serious condition and he wanted to help by inserting a few needles, but the hospital director stopped him, and the family members cried in distress.

After hearing this, Cui Ying's mother sighed, "This woman is pitiful. Her husband got that kind of disease and didn't have the money to treat it. It's up to God to decide when he'll take her away."

When I was young, I had just married Lao Cui, and we were poor. We had to carefully calculate every penny we spent on a bowl of noodles.

She sat on the edge of the bed, glanced at Cui Ying's father lying on the bed, and then at Chen Ping. "At that time, I thought, isn't the purpose of living to earn more money and save up some savings so that we won't be unable to afford medical treatment when we are sick or unable to help others when we are in trouble?"

Old Cui has been drinking for so many years, and I've told him not to listen. This time he almost drank himself to death. Chen Ping, don't you think that makes sense?

Chen Ping looked at her, didn't say anything, but nodded.

Cui Ying's mother stood up, walked up to Chen Ping, and patted him on the arm.

"You're still young and capable. Don't spend your whole life in a rural clinic. If you should move up, then move up. If you should earn more money, then earn more money. It's not for others, it's for yourself."

After she finished speaking, she turned around and went to pour water for Cui Ying's father.

Cui Ying stood to the side, a slight smile playing on her lips, and glanced at Chen Ping.

Chen Ping leaned against the bedside table and smiled.

Both of them seemed to understand the meaning behind Cui Ying's mother's words.

Cui Ying tidied up the things on the bedside table, turned to look at Chen Ping, and asked, "You just told that woman you could cure it. Can you really cure late-stage liver cancer with acupuncture?"

Chen Ping leaned against the cabinet, his hands in his pockets.

He thought for a moment, then glanced at Cui Ying's father, who was resting with his eyes closed on the bed, and then at Cui Ying's mother.

Neither of them looked at him; one was peeling an apple, and the other was pretending to doze off, but both of them were listening intently.

"It can't be cured." Chen Ping smiled. "I'm not a god, but that guy doesn't have late-stage liver cancer."

Cui Ying was stunned for a moment.

"No one in the world dares to say that late-stage liver cancer can be cured."

Chen Ping's voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet ward, every word was clear: "But I can make the final days of terminally ill patients more comfortable, so they don't feel pain or shortness of breath, can eat, and can sleep through the night."

With good luck, they might live a few more months; with even better luck, a year or two. How long they live depends on their physical condition and mindset.

Cui Ying didn't respond, waiting for him to speak.

"Many people get cancer, but they don't die from the disease itself; they die from fear."

As Chen Ping spoke, his gaze inadvertently swept over Cui Ying's father.

Cui Ying's father's eyes were closed, but his eyelids twitched slightly.