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

The next morning, Aunt Li got up early and steamed buns.

The filling is pork and scallion, the dough is fluffy and soft, and every bite is full of oil.

Wang Tao squatted at the entrance of the cafeteria, with a steamed bun in his left hand and another in his right. His cheeks were bulging like a toad's, and his eating manners were unsightly. But no one was in the mood to laugh at him because Fang Hai had arrived.

He walked over from the backyard carrying a bowl, his steps still so small, still so hesitant.

The new glasses couldn't hide the injuries on my face; they were bruised and purple. The bandage on my nose had been replaced, but the scabs on the corners of my mouth hadn't fallen off yet.

He was wearing a dark jacket with the collar turned up, as if trying to cover the injury on his neck, but not his face.

Zhao Guosheng was the first to see him. He paused for a moment, then quickly stood up, a smile plastered on his face: "Section Chief Fang, you've arrived? Please sit down, the steamed buns are fresh out of the steamer."

Fang Hai nodded without saying anything and sat down at the table.

He put the bowl on the table, picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, chewed it twice, and then picked up another one.

He didn't move much, but he ate very quickly. He hadn't eaten yesterday and was very hungry.

The table fell silent.

Wang Tao had a steamed bun stuffed in his mouth, forgetting to chew, his eyes fixed on the injury on Fang Hai's face, his lips twitching.

Liu Wei was drinking porridge with his head down, the bowl covering half his face, but his eyes peeked out from the rim of the bowl, peeking out furtively.

Li Fang held the bowl of porridge, pretending to blow on it, while her eyes darted around.

Wang Jianguo didn't look; he was wearing reading glasses and slowly eating his steamed bun, but the eyes behind the glasses were blinking faster than usual.

Chen Ping sat in the corner, holding Cui Ying's mug with a kitten printed on it. He took a sip of water, glanced at Fang Hai, and then looked away, his face expressionless.

Cui Ying sat next to him, head down, stirring her chopsticks in her bowl, but didn't eat a single bite.

Her lips were trembling, not from fear, but from suppressing laughter.

Wang Tao couldn't hold it in any longer. He made a "gurgling" sound in his throat, like a frog croaking. He quickly picked up the bowl of porridge and took a swig. He choked, coughed twice, and his face turned bright red.

Zhao Guosheng glared at Wang Tao, then turned to Fang Hai with a concerned expression: "Section Chief Fang, should we have Dr. Chen apply some medicine to your face? Dr. Chen's wound medicine..."

"No need," Fang Hai interrupted him, his tone hard, as hard as a rock.

He put down his chopsticks, glanced at Zhao Guosheng, then lowered his head and continued eating his steamed bun.

Zhao Guosheng, feeling rebuffed, picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and remained silent.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was very strange.

No one spoke; the only sounds were the clinking of chopsticks against bowls and the chewing of buns.

Fang Hai ate four steamed buns and drank a bowl of porridge. He stood up, said "Enjoy your meal," and left with his bowl.

The steps were still so small, still so slow, but much faster than when they came.

Wang Tao watched his figure disappear around the corner, and finally couldn't help but burst out laughing, spraying crumbs of steamed bun all over the table.

Liu Wei put down the bowl, laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking.

Li Fang was lying on the table, laughing so hard she couldn't straighten up.

Even Wang Jianguo laughed. His reading glasses were askew to one side, and when he straightened them, they were askew again.

"Did you see his face?" Wang Tao laughed until tears streamed down his face. "It was all blue, purple, and red, like a palette of colors."

"Keep your voice down." Zhao Guosheng glared at him, but then laughed, spilling tea all over himself.

Chen Ping smiled but didn't say anything.

Cui Ying finally raised her head, her eyes red, not from crying, but from laughing.

She glanced at Chen Ping, her lips curling into a wide smile.

"Stop laughing, everyone. Finish your meal and get back to work." Zhao Guosheng stopped laughing, but the corners of his mouth were still turned up.

8 o'clock, time to go to work.

Patients arrived one after another, and Wang Tao called out numbers at the door; everything remained the same.

Fang Hai didn't go back to his dormitory. He sat in the accounting room with an account book spread out in front of him, but he didn't look at it. He just sat there, staring blankly out the window.

Cui Ying typed on the keyboard in front of the computer, ignoring him.

Around nine o'clock, two people entered through the gate of the courtyard.

They were all young people in their early twenties, wearing ordinary jackets, and looked like they came from nearby villages.

One was taller, the other shorter. The taller one was clutching his back and walking with a limp, while the shorter one was supporting him.

"Dr. Chen, is Dr. Chen here?" The shorter one shouted as soon as he entered the door. His voice was loud enough for everyone in the yard to hear.

Wang Tao went up to them: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"My brother has a backache that's lasted for several days. I heard that Dr. Chen is good at acupuncture, so I came here specifically to see him." The shorter one spoke hurriedly, as if he was in a rush.

Wang Tao led them into Chen Ping's consultation room.

Chen Ping was taking an old woman's pulse when he glanced at the person who came in and said, "Wait a moment."

After the old lady finished reading and left, Chen Ping washed his hands and invited the tall man to sit down.

"What's wrong with your back?"

The tall man grinned, clutching his lower back: "It hurts, it's sore and achy, I can't bend over or squat down. I can't work, and I can't sleep well."

Chen Ping told him to stand up and then reached out and pressed on his lower back.

The muscles in the kidney area were not tight, and the bones were not crooked. When the pressure was applied, the tall man did not react much; he did not flinch, shout, or even furrow his brow.

When someone has real back pain, their body will have an instinctive reaction when you press on the painful spot; they will either flinch or cry out. They can't fake it.

Chen Ping paused for a moment, glancing at the taller man.

The taller one was still baring his teeth, but his eyes weren't on Chen Ping; they were glancing at the doorway.

"Lie down, let me take a look," Chen Ping said, pointing to the examination bed.

The tall man lay down, and Chen Ping pressed on his waist a few more times, but there was still no reaction.

Just as he was about to speak, the tall man suddenly stiffened, foam came out of his mouth, rolled his eyes upward, and began to convulse. He trembled on the examination table as if he had been electrocuted.

"Brother! Brother, what's wrong?"

The shorter one lunged forward, his voice loud enough to be heard throughout the entire house, "Doctor! What have you done to my brother? He was perfectly fine when he came in! You've ruined him!"

Chen Ping took a step back, looked at the convulsing person on the examination bed, and didn't move.

The white foam was coming from the corners of his mouth, not rising from his throat. He wasn't biting his tongue, and his eyes were still moving when they rolled upwards. The convulsions were rhythmic, like he was counting beats.

Feigning illness.

It looks convincing, but it's not convincing enough.

The shorter one was still shouting, his voice growing louder and more urgent: "Help! The doctor has killed someone! The clinic has made a mistake!"

Wang Tao rushed in from outside, and when he saw the person on the examination bed, his face turned pale: "Dr. Chen, this..."

Liu Wei also ran over and stood at the door, the notebook in his hand falling to the ground.

Li Fang peeked out of the pharmacy window and saw the chaos. She ran over without even putting on her shoes.

Zhao Guosheng ran out of the office without even taking the jar.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Zhao Guosheng squeezed into the examination room and saw the person on the examination bed foaming at the mouth and convulsing. His legs went weak. "Dr. Chen, this..."

"Quick! Get him to the county hospital!" Fang Hai's voice came from the doorway.

He arrived at some unknown time, standing at the door of the consultation room, wearing his new glasses and with a serious expression.

He commanded Zhao Guosheng in an unquestionable tone, "Dean Zhao, arrange a car immediately and take the person to the county hospital. If someone dies, your health center cannot bear the responsibility."

Zhao Guosheng was completely flustered by his words and turned to Wang Tao, shouting, "Hurry! Find a car! Find a car from the township government!"

Wang Tao turned and ran, but Chen Ping stopped him at the door.

"No need to go."

The consultation room fell silent.

Everyone was looking at Chen Ping.