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

Chen Ping ate at a moderate pace, picking up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks, chewing it, and swallowing it.

Cui Ying sat next to him and put a piece of fish belly meat, the kind without bones, into his bowl, and then put a piece into Zhou Xiaohe's bowl as well.

Zhou Xiaohe ate more today than yesterday, finishing more than half of a bowl of rice. Cui Ying glanced at Chen Ping, who nodded in agreement.

From yesterday to today, Zhou Xiaohe's complexion changed from sallow to pale yellow, and her lips regained some color.

It wasn't that the medicine worked; it was that the change of environment made me more relaxed, and I was able to eat again.

After finishing his meal, Chen Ping put down his chopsticks and went to the ward.

The man with liver cancer leaned against the bed, while the woman sat beside him, holding a bowl of soup and feeding him spoonful by spoonful.

When the man saw Chen Ping enter, he opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

The woman quickly stood up, placed the soup bowl on the bedside table, and wiped her hands on her pants.

Chen Ping waved his hand, telling them not to move.

He walked to the bedside, took the man's wrist, and placed three fingers on it.

The pulse was a little better than yesterday. Although it was still weak, the rhythm was regular, and it no longer skipped a few beats.

He let go and pulled the blanket up to cover the man's shoulders.

"Starting tomorrow, if you can get out of bed, walk around in the yard. Walk for five minutes the first day, ten minutes the second day, and gradually increase the time. Don't rush, and sit down to rest if you can't walk anymore."

Chen Ping looked at the man and said in a low voice, "I'm not telling you to exercise, I'm telling you to get some sunshine and meet some people. Staying cooped up indoors all the time will make you sick even if you weren't already."

The man nodded, his eyes reddening, but he didn't cry.

The woman stood to the side, clutching the crumpled towel she had used to wipe her mouth. "Dr. Chen, thank you, thank you..."

Chen Ping waved his hand, stopping her from continuing.

He turned and left the ward, standing at the doorway, glancing at the sunlight in the courtyard.

The sun began to slant westward, and the shadow of the locust tree stretched from beneath our feet to the edge of the flower bed.

There were more patients in the afternoon than usual.

The news of the completed renovation of the health center spread, and people from several nearby villages came to see what was happening and, incidentally, to get medical treatment.

One after another, people complained of back pain, leg pain, coughs, and high blood pressure. Wang Tao shouted these calls at the door until his voice cracked.

Liu Wei was writing down the recipe in a notebook, and he went through two pen refills.

Li Fang was so busy in the pharmacy that she barely had time to breathe, grabbing and dispensing medicines all the time, muttering to herself, "What's going on today?"

Chen Ping sat in the consultation room, examining each patient one by one.

He examined patients at a moderate pace, asking detailed questions and taking their pulses carefully.

After reviewing the prescriptions, I performed acupuncture where possible and prescribed medication where appropriate, without rushing or getting impatient.

The sun shone through the window and onto his face.

As it was almost time to leave work, the courtyard finally quieted down a bit.

After the last patient left with his medication, Wang Tao leaned against the door of the consultation room, stretched, and his joints cracked a few times.

Liu Wei closed the notebook, tucked the pen behind his ear, and stood up to stretch his neck.

Li Fang was checking the medicines in the pharmacy, stacking them neatly one by one, muttering to herself, "I need to stock up on more cold medicine tomorrow."

Chen Ping closed the medical record book on the table and was about to stand up when he heard hurried footsteps coming from the courtyard gate. They weren't walking; they were running.

A woman rushed in carrying a child. Her hair was disheveled. The child, who looked about eight or nine years old, had his face buried in the woman's shoulder. He wasn't crying or making a sound, but he was limp and weak, like a ball of cotton without bones.

The woman's voice was shrill and urgent, "Doctor, doctor, please look at my child!"

Wang Tao came out of the consultation room, glanced at the red spots on the child's face, his expression changed, and he turned around and rushed into the consultation room calling "Dr. Chen".

Chen Ping has already walked out.

He glanced at the child's face, then at the child's exposed arm. The red spots weren't patches, but rather small dots, and were dark red in color.

The child's lips were dry, his eyes were half-open, and his pupils were moving slowly, as if he hadn't woken up and couldn't be woken up no matter what.

Chen Ping asked the woman to put the child on the examination bed. The child groaned once when it lay down, but then fell silent.

"When did it start?"

Chen Ping placed his hand on the child's pulse; the pulse was rapid and irregular.

He used his other hand to lift the child's eyelids; the conjunctiva was congested, but there was no discharge.

"This happened when I picked him up from school. He said he was itchy on the way home, and when I looked, I saw that his hands and body were covered in red spots. I thought it was an allergic reaction."

The woman's voice trembled. "He said the school organized a trip to Xiaoxishan this afternoon, the whole class went. Dr. Chen, did he eat something bad?"

Chen Ping released his grip, stood up, walked to the door of the consultation room, and called out, "Dean Zhao."

The sound wasn't loud, but Zhao Guosheng heard it in his office. He ran out and saw Chen Ping's expression, and paused for a moment.

Chen Ping doesn't usually call him that; when he does, it means something serious has happened.

"Dean Zhao, call Dr. Wang, Liu Wei, and Li Fang over here." Chen Ping's voice was very low, so low that only Zhao Guosheng could hear it.

Zhao Guosheng didn't ask why, and turned to leave.

Less than a minute later, Wang Jianguo came out of the consultation room, Liu Wei ran over from the treatment room, and Li Fang came out of the pharmacy. Several people surrounded the door of the consultation room.

Chen Ping described the child's symptoms in a low voice, but everyone's expression changed.

Wang Jianguo leaned over to look at the child's face, flipped his eyelids, felt his pulse, straightened up, looked at Chen Ping, and said nothing.

"Li Fang, prepare the medicine."

Chen Ping turned around and announced the names and dosages of the medicines one by one, his voice steady but fast.

Li Fang listened to it once, repeated it once, then turned and ran back to the pharmacy, the bottles and jars clattering all around.

Chen Ping ordered another type of medicine and asked Liu Wei to prepare the IV drip equipment. Liu Wei responded and ran off.

Wang Tao stood at the door, unsure of what to do. Chen Ping glanced at him and said, "Go help Liu Wei." Wang Tao turned and ran away.

The woman stood by the bed and watched them suddenly become busy; her face turned pale.

"Dr. Chen, what's wrong with my child? Isn't it an allergy?" the woman asked.

Chen Ping looked at her, paused for a moment, and said nothing else but two words: "Poisoned."

The woman's legs went weak, and she had to hold onto the examination bed to avoid falling over.

Her mouth opened and closed several times, the words squeezing out from her throat. "Poisoned? What kind of poison? Could it be...?"

Chen Ping didn't let her finish. "Sister, the child isn't in mortal danger, but he needs immediate treatment; we can't delay. Could you tell me first, how many children are in his class? Did they all go to Xiaoxishan this afternoon?"

The woman nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Thirty or so, all gone. Dr. Chen, what about the other children...?"

Chen Ping didn't reply, but turned to look at Zhao Guosheng.

Zhao Guosheng's face had turned pale. His lips moved several times, but before Chen Ping could speak, he said, "I can't contact those parents. I'm not the principal."