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

backyard!

Chen Ping sat on the bench, head down, smoking.

His expression showed a mixture of anger, helplessness, and, most of all, grievance.

Hearing footsteps, Chen Ping looked up, saw it was Cui Ying, then lowered his head again, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and exhaled.

Cui Ying walked over to Chen Ping, sat down, and quietly looked at him.

"Was it good?"

Cui Ying asked with a smile.

Chen Ping was taken aback, looked up at Cui Ying, his eyes full of grievance.

Seeing Chen Ping's expression, Cui Ying patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Alright, that's how it is in the countryside. You'll get used to it. Rural people are generally quite conservative."

"Dr. Wang once treated an old lady. Because he felt her hand while taking her pulse, the old lady was unwilling and insisted on marrying Dr. Wang."

"Is that so?" Chen Ping asked incredulously.

"Of course, you can ask him yourself. Dr. Wang said it himself; he's told us this several times."

Cui Ying put her hands in her coat pockets and spoke slowly and deliberately, "He said that when he was first assigned to the health center, an old lady came in with a headache. He took her pulse and felt her wrist, which took less than two minutes."

"When the old lady got home, she told her son that Dr. Wang had touched her hand and that according to the old custom, he had to marry her. The next day, she brought her son to his house, which scared Dr. Wang so much that he ran away by climbing over the back wall."

Chen Ping looked up at Cui Ying, his lips twitched, it was unclear whether he wanted to laugh or not.

"Really, I'm not kidding you."

Cui Ying turned her head to look at him. "Dr. Wang said he hid in the backyard for most of the day and didn't dare to come out until it got dark. Later, Dean Zhao had to step in and explain to the old lady for a long time that taking a pulse was for diagnosis, not for touching her hand, and that was the end of it. The old lady was quite unhappy when she left, saying that Dr. Wang had taken advantage of her and was not going to admit it."

Chen Ping stubbed out his cigarette, threw it into the nearby trash can, and rubbed his face.

Seeing his expression, Cui Ying didn't say anything more to comfort him, and just sat there with him.

After about two minutes, Chen Ping stood up, stretched, and said, "That's all, let's get back to work."

Cui Ying stood up, and the two of them walked across the courtyard one after the other.

As they reached the corner of the corridor, Cui Ying spoke again, "In this place, medical skills are important, but so is the ability to handle people. Especially with young female patients, it's better to say a few more words before examinations, even if it's a bit long-winded, than to be chased and beaten up afterward."

Chen Ping nodded without saying anything and returned to his consultation room.

Wang Tao and Liu Wei had already cleaned up the consultation room.

The medical records were stacked up again, the blood pressure monitor was put back in its place, the stethoscope was picked up and hung on the wall, and the broom that had broken in two was thrown next to the trash can by the door.

He picked up the pen holder on the table and put the pens back in one by one.

The wooden chair sat neatly in the corner, as if nothing had happened.

Chen Ping sat down behind the consultation table and had just opened the medical record when Zhao Guosheng came in carrying a jar.

Zhao Guosheng closed the door, sat down in the chair opposite Chen Ping, placed the jar on the table, and didn't drink.

He looked at Chen Ping, his expression not particularly serious, but much more earnest than usual.

"Dr. Chen, I won't say whether you were right or wrong in today's matter. I know you followed the procedures. But you also have to understand that Siping Township is not Tianhai City. The people here, especially those with feudal ideas about the separation of men and women, have some deeply ingrained beliefs."

"If you go to a big hospital in the city and make female patients take off their pants for an examination, they might blush for a moment, but they'll forget about it as soon as they leave."

"But here, for a young, unmarried woman, asking her to take off her pants, especially with a male doctor, is a huge deal in the eyes of her boyfriend. The fact that this young man didn't bring a bunch of people back to smash up the clinic today shows he has a good temper."

Chen Ping put down his pen and looked at Zhao Guosheng. "Dean Zhao, I understand what you mean. In the future, when there are gynecological patients, I will ask them first. If it is possible to avoid palpation, I will not do it. If it is necessary, I will explain it to the family first and let them choose whether to have me do it or transfer them to the county hospital."

Zhao Guosheng nodded, stood up, and patted Chen Ping on the shoulder. "I know you feel wronged, but this is what it's like at the grassroots level. You'll get used to it eventually."

Zhao Guosheng carried the jar away.

Chen Ping continued to see doctors.

A little after ten o'clock, a head peeked into the clinic; it was Li Fang.

She walked in with a glass of water in her hand, smiling, and placed it on Chen Ping's table.

"Dr. Chen, have some water to calm your nerves."

Li Fang sat down in the chair, her lips curled up in a wide smile. "You were chased all over the yard today. I saw it through the pharmacy window. You were running pretty fast."

Chen Ping picked up his water glass, took a sip, and didn't reply.

Li Fang leaned forward, lowered her voice, and her eyes sparkled, "Dr. Chen, honestly, what's wrong with that girl? You felt something just by touching her?"

Chen Ping put down his cup and glanced at her. "What do you mean by 'touching'? That's called palpation, done with gloves on and according to the examination procedures."

"Alright, alright, let's do a palpation test."

Li Fang waved her hand dismissively. "That girl is quite pretty. So young, and she has something growing in her uterus? What's wrong with her?"

"This is not something you should be asking." Chen Ping picked up his pen, opened the medical record book, and decided not to continue the conversation.

"Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore."

Li Fang stood up with a smile, walked to the door, then turned back. "Dr. Chen, if you need any more gynecological examinations in the future, just call me and I'll stand next to you as a witness, so you won't get chased and beaten up again."

She finished speaking and left, her laughter echoing down the corridor, fading into the distance along with the sound of her high heels.

Chen Ping shook his head and continued writing the medical records.

Around eleven o'clock, footsteps echoed down the corridor, followed by Wang Tao's voice, sharp and urgent, as if he had seen something extraordinary.

"Dr. Chen! Dr. Chen, please come out and take a look!"

Seeing Wang Tao's anxious look, Chen Ping thought something had happened, so he put down his pen, stood up, and walked out of the consultation room.

Wang Tao stood in the corridor, pointing towards the courtyard gate, his expression a mixture of excitement and nervousness, like a child who had just seen a candied hawthorn vendor.

Chen Ping looked in the direction he was pointing.

Zhao Guosheng carried the jar in front, followed by two young girls, and they were walking towards the office.

The two girls were both in their early twenties. One had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing a light yellow sweatshirt. She was not tall, had a round face, and had two shallow dimples when she smiled.

The other one had long, flowing hair, wore dark blue jeans and white sneakers, was tall and thin, had an oval face, long, narrow eyes with single eyelids, and a sharp look.

Both of them were carrying backpacks and plastic bags filled with toiletries such as towels and toothbrushes, so it seemed they were planning to stay.