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

Afterwards, the group went to the canteen and dormitory in the backyard.

The canteen's stove was polished to a shine, and the pots and pans were neatly arranged.

The dormitory doors were all open, the bed sheets were neatly made, and the pothos plants on the windowsill were a vibrant green.

The old man walked around, neither saying good nor bad, but the smile on his face never left.

Finally, he stopped under the poplar tree, turned around, looked at Zhao Guosheng, and said, "Director Zhao, Dr. Chen from your health center is a good doctor."

Zhao Guosheng nodded repeatedly, saying yes, yes, yes.

The old man turned to Chen Ping, glanced at him, and said, "Dr. Chen, could you take a look at all these chronic ailments of mine?"

Zhao Guosheng hesitated for a moment, then quickly said, "Old leader, we have a consultation room, shall we go to the consultation room...?"

The old man waved his hand and said, "Just stand here in the courtyard."

"Wang Tao, go get a chair..." Zhao Guosheng said.

Wang Tao nodded, ran quickly towards the consultation room, then carried a chair from the consultation room, placed it under the locust tree, and invited the old man to sit down.

The old man sat down and stretched out his hand.

Chen Ping placed three fingers on the finger, closed his eyes, and remained silent.

The courtyard was quiet; even the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves seemed louder.

After a dozen seconds, Chen Ping released his grip and opened his eyes.

"Sir, you are feeling a bit better than yesterday, but some of your old problems are still there."

Your blood pressure is high, and you have bone spurs in your cervical spine that are compressing your nerves, which is why you occasionally experience dizziness and numbness in your fingers.

My stomach is also not good; it's probably a chronic gastritis. I can't eat cold, hard, or spicy food.

And then there's sleep. You usually only get four or five hours of sleep at night, and once you wake up, you can't fall back asleep.

The old man's smile faded, and he looked at Chen Ping without saying a word.

Chen Ping continued, "Today I will give you acupuncture to relieve your cervical spine problem, and then prescribe a formula to regulate your spleen and stomach and calm your mind."

Go back and take the medicine for half a month, then I'll check on you again. You don't need daily acupuncture, two or three times a month is enough. You don't need to come here; I'll come to your place to find you.

The old man stared at him for several seconds, then laughed—this time a genuine laugh, a wide, hearty laugh.

"You young man, you not only know how to treat illnesses, but you also know how to navigate social interactions."

"You don't need to come to my home, I can come to the health center. I plan to stay in my hometown for a while this time."

The old man said calmly.

"Okay, then I'll give you acupuncture first."

Chen Ping took out silver needles from the clinic, asked the old man to sit in a chair, and took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair.

The silver needles gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Chen Ping pressed his fingers a few times on the back of the old man's neck, found the acupoints, and inserted one needle into Fengchi, one into Tianzhu, and one into Dazhui.

His fingers twirled the toy, neither too fast nor too slow.

The old man closed his eyes, and his brows slowly relaxed.

The cadres standing nearby dared not breathe. Zhang Jianmin stood at the front, his hands clenched, looking very nervous.

If Chen Ping were to puncture it, none of them would be able to escape.

After more than ten minutes, Chen Ping removed the needle, pressed the injection site with a cotton swab, and said, "All done."

The old man opened his eyes, stretched his neck, turned it left and right, looked up and down a couple of times, let out a long breath, and stood up.

"The tendon in my neck has loosened up; I haven't felt this relaxed in years."

The old man patted Chen Ping on the shoulder and said, "Your acupuncture skills are better than those of the experts in the provincial capital."

Chen Ping smiled but didn't reply.

He wrote out two prescriptions and handed them both to Zhang Jianmin.

"This is for regulating the spleen and stomach. Take it home, decoct it in water, and take one dose a day."

"This is for dietary therapy. You put it in when you cook porridge and let the elderly eat a bowl every day."

Chen Ping gave Zhang Jianmin some instructions.

The reason he gave the prescription to Zhang Jianmin and instructed him was that he wanted Zhang Jianmin to spend more time with the old man.

A single word from a high-ranking official from the province can greatly benefit Zhang Jianmin's career advancement.

Zhang Jianmin understood Chen Ping's meaning, gave Chen Ping a grateful look, then took the prescription, carefully folded it, and put it in his shirt pocket.

The old man put on his coat, buttoned it up, and glanced at his watch.

Zhao Guosheng quickly said, "Old leader, the canteen has prepared the meal. Please stay and have a simple meal."

The old man waved his hand and glanced at Zhang Jianmin.

Zhang Jianmin stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Old leader, the township has already arranged lunch."

The old man nodded and turned to walk towards the courtyard gate.

Zhao Guosheng followed behind, his lips moving several times as if he wanted to say something to persuade them to stay, but he swallowed his words back.

The old man walked to the car, opened the door, and was about to bend down to get in when he paused, turned around, and glanced at Zhao Guosheng.

"Old Zhao, how many years have you worked at this township health center?"

Zhao Guosheng paused for a moment, his voice slightly choked, "More than thirty years."

The old man nodded, said nothing more, and bent down to get into the car.

The car doors were closed, and the windows were tinted, so you couldn't see inside.

The black Audi slowly drove out of the gate, followed by two minivans that turned onto the mountain road and drove further and further away until they were finally blocked by trees.

The courtyard was quiet.

The villagers who had gathered to watch had not yet dispersed; some were whispering among themselves, while others were still looking in the direction where the car had disappeared.

Zhao Guosheng stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking in the direction of the gate, without moving.

Chen Ping walked over and stood next to him without saying a word.

After a long while, Zhao Guosheng turned his head and glanced at Chen Ping. His eyes were still red, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Our old leader is from Songjia Village, Siping Township. He fought in the war in the 1980s and was awarded a first-class merit. Later, he transferred to the provincial government and worked there for more than ten years. Now that he's retired, he still misses his hometown and comes back to visit every year," Zhao Guosheng introduced to Chen Ping.

Chen Ping nodded; only now did he realize the identity of this old leader.

After seeing off the villagers who were still there, and tidying up a bit, it was lunchtime. The lunch was even more lavish than yesterday's.

Aunt Li went to town to buy vegetables before dawn. The pork ribs were stewed until very tender, and the fish was steamed. A layer of shredded scallions and ginger was placed on top, and hot oil was poured over them, making a sizzling sound.

These were originally intended for the leaders, but since the leaders didn't eat, they ended up being eaten by a few people from the health center.

Wang Tao and Liu Wei were eating with their mouths full of oil, unable to stop.

Li Fang kept rolling her eyes at the two men's pathetic behavior, but she never stopped eating.

Wang Jianguo would take a few bites, then pause, looking at the table full of meat and fish, and said with a faint smile, "If only our hospital's meals were like this every day."

"Dr. Wang, if we keep eating like this every day, it won't be long before our health center goes bankrupt."

Cui Ying said jokingly.

Wang Jianguo smiled and said, "I was just saying it casually. It's not healthy to eat a lot of meat and fish every day."