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

At lunchtime, Chen Ping didn't go to Uncle Liu's place or go back to cook noodles; he just sat in the clinic, lost in thought.

A head peeked in through the door; it was Cui Ying.

The blush on her face had faded, but her ears were still red.

"Come out here."

Chen Ping stood up and followed her to the backyard.

Upon entering her room, there were several bags on the table. She took out the items from the bags one by one; they were all clothes she had bought for Chen Ping.

"Try it on." Cui Ying handed him the clothes and turned her head away.

Chen Ping looked at the clothes, then at Cui Ying's back, and something stirred in his heart—a soft, warm feeling.

"You took the day off just to buy me clothes?"

"Yes, there's a market in the next town, bigger than the one in Siping Township, and with more things."

With her back to him, Cui Ying said, "You don't even have a change of clothes. You can't keep wearing that blood-stained shirt."

Chen Ping held the dark blue T-shirt without saying a word.

"Try it on to see if it fits."

Cui Ying still had her back to him. "If it doesn't fit, I'll take it to exchange this afternoon."

Chen Ping put on the T-shirt; it fit perfectly, neither too tight nor too loose, with the neckline neither too high nor too low.

"alright."

Cui Ying turned around, looked him up and down, and curled the corners of her lips: "Not bad."

She then handed over the light gray shirt: "Try this one too."

As Chen Ping put on his shirt, and buttoned up to the second button, Cui Ying came over and reached out to help him turn up his collar. When her fingers touched his neck, both of their hands paused for a moment.

Cui Ying withdrew her hand, took a step back, and lowered her head: "This one suits me too."

"Thank you," Chen Ping said.

"You're welcome."

Cui Ying's voice was very soft, "You've helped me so many times, what's wrong with me buying you a few clothes?"

The two stood there for a while, neither of them speaking.

Li Fang's voice came from outside the window; she was talking to someone in the front yard, laughing heartily.

"that……"

Chen Ping spoke up, "How much did it cost? I'll pay you back."

"No need to pay it back."

"No, it has to be returned."

Cui Ying looked up at him, her eyes filled with a mix of grievance and stubbornness: "If you want it back, I'll return the clothes."

Chen Ping opened his mouth, but swallowed the rest of his words.

Cui Ying lowered her head and stuffed the remaining socks and underwear into his hands: "Take these too, they were all bought in your size."

Chen Ping stood in her room, holding that pile of things, looking like a fool.

"Let's go eat."

Cui Ying pushed him towards the door, saying, "You have to go to work this afternoon."

The two of them left the backyard one after the other. As they passed the front yard, Li Fang was standing at the pharmacy window. Seeing them, she smiled meaningfully: "Oh, Dr. Chen, new clothes? This color is really nice, who bought them?"

Chen Ping didn't reply, and Cui Ying walked over quickly with her head down.

At the door of the consultation room, Wang Tao gave Chen Ping a thumbs-up and mouthed two words: "Awesome..."

Cui Ying is a top student, and her family is clearly well-off. Many people in Siping Township used to have their eyes on her.

However, Cui Ying didn't like any of them, but Chen Ping had only been there for a few days, and Cui Ying actually took the initiative to buy clothes for Chen Ping.

Zhao Guosheng stood at the office door, holding a jar, watching them walk by, shook his head, and smiled.

Chen Ping and Cui Ying didn't go to Uncle Liu's place; instead, they went to Old Zhou's restaurant and ordered two bowls of noodles.

"Are you wearing this to work this afternoon?" Cui Ying sat opposite Chen Ping, stirring noodles with her head down, her ears still a little red.

"Um."

"I'll wear that light gray one tomorrow."

"it is good."

The two of them stopped talking and started eating their noodles.

There were more patients in the afternoon than in the morning.

As soon as Chen Ping sat down in the consultation room, there were already five or six people lined up at the door.

Wang Tao was outside maintaining order, his voice hoarse from shouting: "Line up, line up, one at a time!"

They have all sorts of ailments, including lumbar disc herniation, knee joint effusion, chronic bronchitis, insomnia, and stomach pain.

Chen Ping examined each patient one by one, taking their pulse, asking questions, prescribing medicine, and administering acupuncture—a process that flowed smoothly and efficiently.

Around 4 a.m., a woman in her forties came in, clutching her chest and saying she felt palpitations, couldn't sleep at night, and had no energy during the day.

Chen Ping took his pulse, and a flood of thoughts rushed to his mind. It wasn't a heart problem, but a cervical spine problem.

The cervical spine compressed the sympathetic nerves, causing palpitations and insomnia.

He inserted several needles into both sides of the patient's cervical spine, and then wrote a prescription for her to drink for a week.

The woman stood up, stretched her neck, and exclaimed, her eyes lighting up, "Wow, I'm not panicking anymore! Dr. Chen, you're amazing!"

Chen Ping smiled and told Wang Tao to call the next person.

As the sun was setting, the last patient passed away.

Chen Ping stood up and stretched his neck. His fingers were very sore, and his wrists were a little stiff.

Wang Tao slumped in his chair, saying weakly, "Dr. Chen, I saw twenty-three patients today, a record high."

"Thank you for your hard work." Chen Ping patted him on the shoulder.

"It's not hard at all," Wang Tao sat up straight, his eyes sparkling. "Learning from Dr. Chen, no matter how tiring it is, it's not hard."

Liu Wei stood up from the corner, closed his notebook, and nodded to Chen Ping: "Dr. Chen, I'll think about those prescriptions again when I get back. I'll ask you if I don't understand anything tomorrow."

"OK."

Wang Jianguo locked the consultation room door, walked over, and patted Chen Ping on the shoulder: "Dr. Chen, you saw more patients today than I did in a whole week."

"Dr. Wang, please don't say that."

"I'm serious." Wang Jianguo smiled. "Since you came, the health center has come alive. It used to be deserted, but now it's bustling with activity every day."

After saying that, he pushed his bicycle and left.

Liu Wei left too. Li Fang locked the pharmacy, changed her clothes, picked up her bag, and left. The courtyard became quiet.

Cui Ying came out of the accounting office, locked the door, and walked to Chen Ping's side: "Let's go back and cook."

What are we eating today?

What would you like to eat?

"Anything is fine."

"Then let's stir-fry some cabbage and heat up two steamed buns."

"OK."

The two walked towards the backyard.

After dinner, Chen Ping went to bed early; he was indeed quite tired these past two days.

The next morning, Chen Ping had just put on his light gray shirt and pushed open the door when Cui Ying was already waiting in the yard.

She was still wearing that white short-sleeved shirt, her hair was tied up, and she was holding a tray with two bowls of porridge, two steamed buns, and a dish of pickled vegetables on it.

The two people sat facing each other, drinking porridge.

Sunlight streamed into the courtyard, making the dewdrops on the poplar leaves sparkle.

The old hen was already foraging for food in the backyard, clucking and not hiding from people.

"You look great in this today," Cui Ying said, glancing at him.

Chen Ping looked down at himself: "Really?"

"Yes, the color makes your skin look brighter."

Chen Ping smiled but didn't reply.

After they finished eating, the two went to work.

Around noon, the sound of a car engine suddenly came from inside. It wasn't a van, but a sedan.

Then came the sound of the car door closing, and someone talking. The voice wasn't loud, but you could tell they weren't locals.