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

The family entered the consultation room.

The girl sat down on the chair, the young man stood behind her, and two elderly people stood beside her. The old lady held the girl's hand tightly the whole time.

Chen Ping sat down behind the consultation table and opened the patient's medical record.

The results of the last examination have been recorded. The pulse is deep and hesitant, and the radial pulse is weak and thready. Palpation revealed a mass on the upper right side of the cervix. It was irregular in shape, with indistinct edges, and was hard in texture. It could not be moved and had an abnormally rich blood supply around it.

Looking at the few lines he had written, Chen Ping's judgment was the same as last time: this thing was most likely malignant.

The old lady spoke first, her voice hoarse and her lips trembling as she spoke, "Dr. Chen, last time you told my daughter that there was something growing in her stomach. Later we went to a big hospital in the city, had an ultrasound, and then that... MRI, and the doctor there said exactly the same thing as you, that there was a tumor in her uterus and that she needed to have surgery immediately."

She took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and found it to be an imaging diagnostic report issued by the city hospital.

The document was covered with technical terms, and in the diagnosis section, it read in black and white: "A space-occupying lesion in the right posterior part of the cervix, measuring approximately 3.2 x 2.8 cm, with indistinct borders and abundant blood flow signals, is considered potentially malignant. Surgical resection and pathological biopsy are recommended."

Chen Ping took the report and looked it over; it completely matched his palpation results.

He returned the report to the old lady.

"How much did the doctor at the city hospital say for this surgery?" Chen Ping asked.

The old woman folded the report again, stuffed it back into her pocket, lowered her head, and her voice grew softer and softer, "They said that to be admitted to the hospital, I need to pay a deposit of 30,000 yuan first, and the total cost will be at least 50,000 or 60,000 yuan. Even with the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme reimbursement, I still have to pay 30,000 or 40,000 yuan out of pocket. My family really can't afford that much money. Dr. Chen, I beg you..."

She was about to kneel down when Chen Ping grabbed her arm and stopped her from doing so.

The old man who hadn't spoken until now finally spoke up, "We only have a few acres of land, and we don't earn much money all year round. Her younger brother is still in high school, and we have to borrow money for his tuition. Dr. Chen, please have mercy on us."

Chen Ping looked at the elderly couple in front of him. Their faces were deeply lined with wrinkles, their hands were covered with cracks, and their fingernails were stuck with dirt that couldn't be washed off.

During his time in Siping Township, he saw too many elderly people like this, who had spent their entire lives toiling in the fields, yet their savings weren't enough for even a few days' hospitalization at a major hospital.

But he also had concerns.

Last time, I kindly offered to perform a palpation on a girl, but I was chased and beaten all over the yard. If Wang Tao and Liu Wei hadn't stopped me, that chair would have hit me instead.

If something goes wrong again this time, he really won't be able to explain himself.

"Uncle, aunt," Chen Ping said in a calm tone, "Last time I examined the girl, I did all the necessary tests, and the diagnosis was the same as the city hospital. This thing needs to be dealt with as soon as possible; if it spreads, it won't be good for the girl."

"However, I must make this clear first. I am a male doctor. If further treatment is to be carried out, palpation will be necessary. If you still have reservations and cause trouble again, I cannot bear it, and you will also delay the girl's treatment."

After he finished speaking, the consultation room was silent for several seconds.

Then the young man walked around the chair, stood in front of Chen Ping, and slapped himself twice.

Two sharp, loud snaps startled everyone present.

"Dr. Chen! I was a jerk last time, I wasn't human!"

Two red marks appeared on the young man's face, his lips trembling. "Treat me however you need to, examine me however you need to, I promise I won't do it again. Deduct what you need to deduct, touch what you need to touch, if I utter another word, call the police and have me arrested!"

Hearing this, Chen Ping frowned and glanced at him. "What do you mean by 'touching'? That's called palpation. I've told you so many times."

"Yes, yes, yes, palpation, palpation, palpation!" The young man nodded repeatedly, his face burning red, this time it really seemed like he was embarrassed.

Seeing the young man's attitude, Chen Ping nodded: "Alright, but I still need to perform another palpation, since it's been a few days since the last one."

"Okay, okay, Dr. Chen, feel free to touch...feel free to palpate." The young man nodded repeatedly.

The little girl blushed and nodded.

"Zhou Jie, come here for a moment," Chen Ping called out towards the outside of the consultation room.

Zhou Jie heard Chen Ping call her and went into the consultation room.

Chen Ping pulled her aside and explained the situation in a low voice: the girl had a growth in her uterus and needed to have another palpation to verify the situation. Although the family had assured him they wouldn't cause any more trouble, precautions still needed to be taken.

After listening, Zhou Jie's eyes widened. "Dr. Chen, you want me to be a witness?"

Chen Ping shook his head. "Let's put aside the witnesses for now. Last time, it was just me and the patient in the room, and when something happened, there were no witnesses, so it was hard to explain. This time, you'll stand by the side the whole time and take nursing notes."

He paused, then added, "Also, you're a female nurse. Your family will feel more at ease if you go in."

Zhou Jie nodded vigorously and straightened the collar of her white coat.

"The family members should go outside and wait..." Chen Ping said.

The young man and the girl's parents walked out of the clinic.

This time, Chen Ping didn't close the door completely, but left it slightly ajar, with a small gap.

The curtains were drawn tightly, dividing the examination bed into a small room.

The little girl started taking off her clothes inside, and this time she seemed much more experienced.

After all, I've already had one check-up, and the process is the same when you go to a big hospital in the city.

Zhou Jie stood to the side, holding a nursing record folder in her hand, her back ramrod straight, her expression as if she were carrying out an important task.

Outside the clinic, the young man and the girl's parents were sitting on a bench in the corridor. All three of them were sitting, but none of them were really sitting still.

The old woman gripped the hem of her clothes with both hands, gripping and loosening them repeatedly.

The old man looked down at the surface of his cloth shoes, remaining motionless.

The young man stood up, took a couple of steps, sat down, and then stood up again.

A few hushed conversations drifted out from behind the curtain, followed by the soft clanging of metal as the instrument panel was pulled, and then silence.

About fifteen minutes later, the curtain was drawn back.

Chen Ping walked to the sink, took off his gloves, squeezed out hand sanitizer, and slowly rubbed his hands together.

Zhou Jie followed out from behind the curtain, her face flushed but her expression steady. She opened the nursing record folder and handed the contents she had just recorded to Chen Ping for review.

Chen Ping dried his hands, took the record folder, looked it over, nodded, returned it to her, and then walked to the door of the clinic, waving to the family in the corridor.