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

Chen Ping stood up, put on his T-shirt, walked behind her, reached out his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then placed it on her shoulder.

"I'm really fine." His voice was soft. "I'm thick-skinned, I can take a beating."

Cui Ying turned around, her eyes red, glared at him, wanting to scold him, but unable to bring herself to do so.

She looked down and saw the shoes on his feet. The shoes were covered in dust, and one of the shoelaces was loose, dragging on the ground.

She squatted down, tied her shoelaces, stood up, and clapped her hands.

"You're not allowed to go alone anymore." Cui Ying's voice was firm. "You have to tell me where you're going and what time you'll be back. Your phone has to be on, you can't turn it off, and you can't not answer."

At this moment, Cui Ying's tone made her sound like Chen Ping's girlfriend!

Chen Ping looked at her and nodded.

"Did you hear me?" Cui Ying's voice rose a little.

"I heard you."

Cui Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and tidied up the things on the table.

She picked up the bag of eggs, looked at it, then put it down. She picked up the bag of mushrooms and smelled them.

"Did Sister Sun give it to you?"

"Um."

"I bought a whole chicken at my own expense at noon and stewed it for you to help you recover."

"Okay." Chen Ping didn't refuse and nodded.

The two stood in the examination room, neither of them speaking.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, warming them.

Someone came into the courtyard. Wang Tao yawned and was talking to someone.

Cui Ying walked to the door, turned around and glanced at Chen Ping, her lips curling up slightly—a very small movement, but Chen Ping saw it.

"You really didn't sleep last night?" Chen Ping asked.

Cui Ying didn't answer, and turned to leave.

Chen Ping stood in the consultation room, watching her disappear around the corner, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He looked down at his wrinkled T-shirt, the bloodstains were still there, the dirt was still there, and it had several holes.

He sighed, took off the coat, and rummaged through the cabinet in the examination room for a spare white coat, which he then put on to cover himself up.

At 7:30, Zhao Guosheng arrived.

He walked in through the gate carrying his enamel mug, and immediately noticed the new gauze on Chen Ping's head. He almost dropped the mug.

"Dr. Chen! What happened to your head?" Zhao Guosheng rushed over, looking you up and down several times. "Did something happen to you in Sunjiagou last night?"

"It's nothing, Dean Zhao, I just tripped and fell," Chen Ping said with a smile.

"You fell and got hurt?" Zhao Guosheng leaned closer to look; he could vaguely see stitches under the gauze. "A fall can cause this much damage? Who are you trying to fool?"

Wang Tao was squatting at the door of the clinic tying his shoelaces when he heard this. He looked up, saw the gauze on Chen Ping's head, and realized that he had left his shoelaces untied. He stood up and ran over.

"Dr. Chen, who did this?" Wang Tao's eyes widened like saucers. "Tell me, I'm going to find him!"

Liu Wei came in from the doorway, holding a notebook in his hand. He saw the gauze on Chen Ping's head, dropped the notebook on the ground, and didn't pick it up.

Li Fang and Wang Jianguo also arrived and surrounded Chen Ping, asking him questions with concern!

"Careless." Chen Ping no longer hid it from everyone, "He brought a group of people and ambushed me in Sunjiagou."

"Careless? Which casino's carelessness?" Wang Tao's fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "Call the police! I'm going to the police station right now!"

"Don't go, there's no evidence."

Chen Ping shook his head. "His men fought and then ran away. It's no use going there."

Wang Tao opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Liu Wei picked up the notebook, dusted it off, and stood there silently, but his expression was very unpleasant.

Zhao Guosheng stood in the middle of the courtyard, holding the jar, his expression changing repeatedly.

He wanted to curse, but didn't know who to curse.

He wanted to call the police, but knew it would be useless.

He wanted to do something, but he couldn't do anything.

"This man will get his comeuppance sooner or later," Zhao Guosheng said at the end. His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried weight.

"Alright, stop standing there." Chen Ping smiled. "Go do what you're supposed to do. If patients come and see you like this, they'll think something's happened at the clinic."

Zhao Guosheng stood in the courtyard, sighed, and turned back to his office.

He stopped at the door, turned around, and said, "Dr. Chen, if you're not feeling well, take a day off today. Liu Wei and Wang Jianguo can cover for the patients."

"No need, I'm fine."

Chen Ping walked into the consultation room, sat down in a chair, picked up the mug on the table. The mug contained warm water, which must have been poured by Cui Ying.

He took a sip and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

Just then, Aunt Li's voice came from the backyard, calling everyone to have breakfast.

Zhao Guosheng came out of his office and walked to the backyard. Standing in front of Fang Hai's dormitory, he called out, "Section Chief Fang, breakfast is ready!"

Fang Hai's dormitory door opened.

He was wearing a dark jacket, his hair was neatly combed, he was wearing new glasses, and the wound on his face hadn't fully healed, but the swelling had gone down a bit since yesterday.

He walked out of the dormitory carrying a bowl, his steps still small, but a little more agile than a few days ago, probably because he had gotten used to it after staying there for a few days.

He walked to the backyard gate and immediately saw Chen Ping.

Chen Ping was walking out of the clinic, the new gauze on his forehead was so white it was almost glaring.

Fang Hai's gaze lingered on Chen Ping for a moment, then his lips twitched slightly.

It wasn't a laugh, but it was more obvious than a laugh.

It's that kind of curve that you try to hold back but can't, and that finally leaks out from between your teeth, so small it's almost invisible.

He quickly composed himself, lowered his head, carried his bowl into the cafeteria, sat down at a table, picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, and chewed very slowly.

Wang Tao saw it.

He squatted at the entrance of the cafeteria, holding a steamed bun in his hand, not taking a bite, staring at Fang Hai for several seconds.

He stood up, walked into the cafeteria, placed the steamed buns on the table, and looked at Fang Hai.

"Section Chief Fang, Dr. Chen was beaten up last night," Wang Tao said.

Fang Hai looked up at Wang Tao, his expression calm, as calm as a mirror: "Really? What happened?"

"Careless. That guy from the casino brought a bunch of people to ambush Dr. Chen in Sunjiagou."

"Oh." Fang Hai lowered his head and continued eating his steamed bun. "Is he alright?"

"He had several stitches in his head, and his body was covered in injuries."

"That's good." Fang Hai picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

Wang Tao looked at him, his fist clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

Liu Wei came in from outside, pulled him aside, and dragged him out.

Chen Ping stood at the door of the consultation room, holding a mug and taking a sip of water.

He ate at Sun Xiuying's house this morning, so he didn't go to the cafeteria!

Cui Ying came out of the accounting office and saw Chen Ping standing motionless at the door of the clinic, so she asked, "Let's go eat..."

"I ate at Sister Sun's house this morning, you can go now!"

Chen Ping laughed!

Cui Ying nodded and then went to the cafeteria in the backyard!

Entering the cafeteria, Cui Ying sat down opposite Fang Hai. She glanced at Fang Hai, then lowered her head to drink her porridge.

Fang Hai looked up at her, then lowered his head again to continue eating his steamed bun.

The atmosphere in the cafeteria was strange.

No one spoke; the only sound was the chopsticks tapping against the bowl.

Aunt Li brought out a plate of pickled vegetables from the kitchen, placed it on the table, looked at this one, then at that one, said "Eat more," and turned back.

Zhao Guosheng stood at the entrance of the canteen, holding the jar, but didn't go in.

He glanced at Fang Hai, then at Chen Ping's consultation room, sighed, and turned to leave.

Chen Ping sat in the consultation room, flipping through the patient's medical record. He finished the water in his mug but didn't pour any more.

When Cui Ying returned from the cafeteria, she saw that Chen Ping's cup was empty, so she took the cup to the water dispenser, filled it with hot water, and placed it in front of Chen Ping.

"Call me if you need anything. You're injured, so don't wander around," Cui Ying said.

"Um!"

Chen Ping nodded, picked up his cup, and took a sip.

"Does it still hurt?" Cui Ying asked.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Chen Ping smiled.

Cui Ying glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to go to her accounting office.

However, Chen Ping saw the heartache in her eyes, a very genuine kind of heartache!