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

But as soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ping felt as if he had said something wrong.

"I...I mean, you're a good cook..." Chen Ping explained.

Cui Ying blushed, looked up at Chen Ping, and curled her lips into a smile: "Really?"

"Seriously, it tastes even better than Old Zhou's noodles."

"You're good at saying nice things." Cui Ying lowered her head, the corners of her mouth curving up even wider.

After the two ate for a while, Chen Ping took a bite of the poached egg, and the runny yolk flowed out. He caught it with his chopsticks, spread it on the surface, mixed it, and then took another big bite.

"Do you usually cook for yourself?" Chen Ping asked.

"Well, the canteen isn't open, so we can't eat at Uncle Liu's every day. I'll go to the village market every few days, buy some vegetables, and cook for myself."

"Isn't it troublesome to cook for one person?"

"I've gotten used to it. When I first came, I didn't know how to cook, and I could even overcook noodles. But I gradually learned, watched videos, and asked Uncle Liu, and now I can at least eat them," Cui Ying said.

"You call this 'at least edible'?" Chen Ping pointed to the noodles in the bowl. "You're being overly modest."

Cui Ying laughed out loud, her eyes crinkling, just as beautiful as they had been under the moonlight last night.

After finishing their meal, Chen Ping offered to wash the dishes, but Cui Ying pushed him away, saying, "Why are you, a grown man, washing dishes? Go back and rest."

"Shall I go then?"

"Let's go."

Chen Ping walked to the door and glanced back at her.

Cui Ying was bending down to clear the dishes, her hair slipping down from behind her ears and falling beside her face. She raised her hand to tuck it behind her ear, a very natural movement.

"Thank you," Chen Ping said.

Cui Ying looked up and smiled, "No need to thank me, it's just a bowl of noodles."

"It's not about thanking me for the food, it's about thanking you as a person," Chen Ping said with a slight smile.

He turned and left after he finished speaking. He didn't see Cui Ying pause for a moment, then her face turned red again.

Back in his room, Chen Ping lay down and stared at the ceiling.

I heard the sounds of water and clinking dishes from next door. After a while, it became quiet, and then the bed creaked.

"Dr. Chen." Cui Ying's voice came from next door, muffled through the wall.

"Um?"

"What do you want for breakfast tomorrow? I'll make it for you."

"Anything is fine with me, I'll eat whatever you make."

"Then I'll have congee, steamed buns, and my pickled vegetables."

"OK."

Good night.

"Good night."

The health center got busy in the following days.

It's not just ordinary busyness, it's the kind of busyness where you're constantly on the go from morning till night.

The news spread that Chen Ping could cure snake venom, that he could cure lumbar disc herniation, and that he could cure insomnia, diarrhea, leg pain, headache, stomach pain... he could cure everything.

Although Siping Township is remote, it has many villages in the mountains.

The word spread from one village to another, and from one village to the next. In less than three days, the entire Siping Township knew that a miracle doctor had come to the health center.

On the third day, Chen Ping saw sixteen patients.

Day four, nineteen.

On the fifth day, there were twenty-two.

Wang Tao ran around so much that his legs became thin from running, but he was full of energy.

Liu Wei's little notebook is already more than half full, and he looks at it over and over again every night when he gets home.

For the first time, Li Fang's pharmacy ran out of medicine. She was so anxious that she stamped her feet and called the county's pharmaceutical company to send medicine over as soon as possible.

Wang Jianguo's clinic was still not very crowded, but he wasn't in a hurry.

He reads the newspaper as usual every day, and occasionally old patients come to him to have their blood pressure checked and get their antihypertensive medication prescribed.

He has a great attitude and sometimes even goes out of his way to help Chen Ping, like handing him a needle or lending a hand.

Zhao Guosheng has been walking with a brisk pace these past few days.

For twenty years, the health center has never been this lively.

He stood in the courtyard, watching the patients come and go, forgetting to drink from the enamel mug he was holding.

On the morning of the sixth day, around 10 a.m., someone came in through the gate while things were bustling around in the yard.

His face was covered in pockmarks, and he was wearing a fake gold chain.

Liu Mazi.

Zhao Guosheng was the first to see him, and his face immediately changed, almost dropping the jar in his hand.

He rushed to Chen Ping's clinic door, taking three steps at a time, and called out in a low voice, "Dr. Chen! Liu Mazi is here!"

Wang Tao was handing a needle to Chen Ping when he heard this, and he almost dropped the needle.

Liu Wei stood up from his chair, his face pale.

Even Li Fang leaned out of the pharmacy window, nervously watching the doorway.

Several people walked up to Chen Ping and stood behind him without prior arrangement.

Wang Tao clenched his fists, Liu Wei stood in front of Chen Ping, and even Wang Jianguo came out of the consultation room and stood in the corridor, frowning as he looked at Liu Mazi.

Chen Ping walked out of the clinic and saw Liu Mazi standing in the courtyard, alone, without his henchmen.

Liu Mazi saw him too, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over.

"Dr. Chen."

He called out, but not loudly, and it was completely different from when he first came.

That time he was arrogant, this time he's... bowing his head.

"Is something the matter?" Chen Ping asked.

Liu Mazi rubbed his hands together, a rare look of embarrassment on his face: "Dr. Chen, I'm not here to cause trouble. I... I'd like to ask you for a favor."

Zhao Guosheng winked at him from behind, signaling him to ignore him.

Wang Tao clenched his fists, looking ready to make a move at any moment.

"What kind of busy work?" Chen Ping asked.

"My mom has had a bad stomach for many years. She can't eat anything and is so thin she's just skin and bones. She went to the county hospital, where they diagnosed her with chronic atrophic gastritis and prescribed medication, but it didn't work. They went to the city hospital, but it still didn't help."

"Dr. Chen, I know I was wrong last time, and I apologize. Could you... take a look at my mother?" Liu Mazi asked.

Chen Ping looked at him without saying a word.

Liu Mazi thought he wouldn't agree, and hurriedly took a step forward, but Wang Tao immediately blocked his way: "What are you doing!"

"I didn't mean to do anything!" Liu Mazi cried out anxiously. "I just wanted to ask Dr. Chen to treat my mother! My mother is over seventy years old, can't eat anything, and is so thin she's just skin and bones, I..."

As he spoke, his voice became hoarse, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes became very red.

"Where is he?" Chen Ping asked.

Liu Mazi was taken aback: "What?"

Where is your mother?

"At...at the door, I told her to wait outside, because I was afraid you wouldn't want to..."

"Bring him in." Chen Ping turned and went back to the examination room. "Wang Tao, tidy up the examination bed."

Liu Mazi paused for a moment, then took off running, shouting as he went, "Mom! Mom! Come in! Dr. Chen agreed!"

A short while later, Liu Mazi helped an old lady walk in.

The old woman was extremely thin; the bones in her face protruded, her complexion was sallow, she walked unsteadily, one hand clutching her stomach, her brow constantly furrowed.

"Auntie, please sit down." Chen Ping pulled over a chair.

The old lady sat down and looked Chen Ping up and down: "You're the doctor who treats snake venom?"

"it's me."

"So young?" the old lady asked, somewhat skeptical. "Are you sure you can handle it?"