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

"Thank you." She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and looked up at him.

Chen Ping picked up the medicine box and turned to walk out.

When I got to the door, I suddenly realized that my back was involuntarily leaning forward and bending over as I walked.

The movement didn't seem like he was tired; he didn't dare let her see the lingering reaction on his body.

He quickly held the first-aid kit in front of him, took two steps out of the door, said "Get some rest" without turning his head, and went straight back to his dormitory.

Cui Ying sat on the edge of the bed, watching his back as he walked away quickly with his back bent over. She paused for a moment, then slowly buried her face in the pillow.

My shoulders were twitching, but this time it wasn't from pain, it was from laughing.

Zhou Xiaohe saw Chen Ping carrying a medicine box out of Cui Ying's dormitory, and only then did she sensibly return to her dormitory.

"Sister Cui Ying, why did Dr. Chen leave so soon?" Zhou Xiaohe asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.

"How much longer will it take to change the medication?"

"But Sister Li Fang told me to be prepared to sit outside for another hour. She said Dr. Chen is very skilled and it will take an hour," Zhou Xiaohe asked, puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Cui Ying blushed immediately. "That Fang Jie, how could she talk nonsense to the child like that?"

"Xiao He, go to sleep. That was just a joke."

Cui Ying patted Zhou Xiaohe's head and told her to go to sleep.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the roar of machinery could be heard outside the health center.

Chen Ping got up early, and when he finished washing up and walked to the front yard, Lao Sun's construction team had already arrived.

A flatbed trailer pulling a small excavator was parked on the side of the road, and several workers were unloading tools: shovels, picks, levels, and bundles of wooden stakes were piled up on the ground.

Old Sun was still wearing his faded blue overalls, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, squatting on the ground drawing lines on the open space with chalk.

Seeing Chen Ping approach, he stood up, stubbed out his cigarette, and dusted off his hands.

"Dr. Chen, I've drawn the baseline. Could you check if the orientation is acceptable?"

Chen Ping went over to take a look. The lines drawn by Lao Sun were square and straight, facing south, parallel to the dormitory building, and the spacing was wide enough so that some flowers and plants could be planted in the middle later.

"Okay, let's do it this way."

Old Sun nodded, turned around and waved to the excavator driver.

The excavator's diesel engine roared to life, blasting black smoke from the exhaust pipe. The bucket slammed into the ground, and it began digging its first scoop of soil.

Chen Ping went back to his dormitory and took out the firecrackers he had bought yesterday. After unpacking them, a long string of bright red firecrackers was laid out on the open ground, like a red snake lying on the yellow earth.

Old Sun took out a cigarette, lit it, and handed it to Chen Ping, who then lit the fuse of the firecracker.

The fuse hissed and sparked as it shot forward, then exploded with a crackling sound, scattering red paper scraps in the smoke, covering the workers' heads and faces.

After the firecrackers stopped, a pleasant smell of gunpowder filled the air, and wisps of smoke rose upwards.

"Good luck on the first day of work!" Old Sun shouted, and the workers responded and picked up their tools to get to work.

Chen Ping stood on the open ground for a while and watched; the mud trough had already been dug half a meter deep.

One by one, Wang Tao and the others arrived. Seeing that the excavator had already been working for half a day, they couldn't help but sigh.

"These construction workers are really hardworking. How long have they been here?" Wang Tao said, licking his lips.

"You should stay at the health center. The salary isn't high, but you don't start work until eight o'clock, and it's not tiring. Otherwise, you'll have to work on a construction site."

Liu Wei patted Wang Tao on the shoulder and walked towards the cafeteria.

After lunch, everyone officially went to work.

There weren't many patients in the morning. Chen Ping saw a few regular patients and adjusted the prescription for the liver cancer patient.

Zhou Jie and Sun Xiaoyan were taking the temperature and blood pressure of patients waiting in the corridor, while Wang Tao was registering and calling out numbers. Everything was the same as usual.

Around ten o'clock, a few people came in through the gate of the courtyard.

Wang Tao was squatting at the door of the clinic registering people when he looked up and his expression changed.

He tucked the notebook under his arm, stood up, and went to meet them, spreading his arms to block the doorway to the consultation room, his tone very forceful.

"Why are you here again? I'm not showing you today." Wang Tao's face darkened.

The man who arrived was none other than the young man who had chased Chen Ping all over the yard a few days ago. He was wearing that dark blue work jacket, and his hair was still cut short, but the expression on his face was completely different from last time.

Last time he was glaring angrily, this time he was looking down, unsure of what to do with his hands.

The girl followed behind him, still wearing the same light blue thin jacket, her head down, her complexion even worse than last time.

Behind the girl were two elderly people, around sixty years old. The man was wearing a faded gray cloth shirt, and the woman had gray hair and deep, thick wrinkles on her face, clearly a farmer who had worked in the fields all her life.

The young man was stopped by Wang Tao and awkwardly rubbed his hands. "We're not here to cause trouble. We're here to see Dr. Chen."

"see a doctor?"

Wang Tao sized him up, his lips curling downwards, his eyes full of wariness. "Last time you chased Dr. Chen all over the yard with a chair, why didn't you think you were there for a medical checkup? What are you up to this time? Another fight?"

Last time, Wang Tao was a little unconvinced and wanted to challenge the young man. They were both young men in their early twenties, so who was afraid of whom?

The young man's face turned bright red. He opened his mouth to explain but didn't know what to say, and his lips trembled several times.

The old woman behind him stepped forward, pushed the young man aside, and walked up to Wang Tao. Her voice was hoarse, with the dullness and pleading of a farmer, "Young doctor, please have mercy and let us see Dr. Chen."

"We went to a big hospital a few days ago, and they said my daughter has a growth in her stomach and needs surgery, which would cost tens of thousands of yuan. We really can't afford that much money. Please, Dr. Chen, save our lives."

Wang Tao tried to stop him, but the door to the consultation room was pushed open from the inside.

Chen Ping came out, still wearing his white coat, holding a medical record book in his hand, and glanced at the person at the door.

When the gaze swept over the young man, he subconsciously took half a step back, and the muscles in his face twitched.

"Dr. Chen!"

The young man suddenly stepped forward, stopped in front of Chen Ping, and bent down, his head almost hitting his knees. "Dr. Chen, I was a bastard last time. I shouldn't have hit him. I was wrong. Please save my girlfriend."

Chen Ping didn't speak, looking at the young man bowing deeply in front of him, and then at the pale-faced girl next to him.

"Come in first." Chen Ping turned and went back to the consultation room.

Although Wang Tao was unwilling, he couldn't stop Chen Ping after he spoke, so he stepped aside to make way for him.