The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

The two women argued more and more fiercely in front of Yang Shuisheng's house, their voices growing louder and louder.

The people who gathered around pointed and whispered among themselves at Liu Xianglan and Wu Xiaohe.

"Gentlemen and ladies, come and see for yourselves."

Seeing that more and more people were gathering around, Liu Xianglan became even more excited and raised her voice a few decibels as she addressed the villagers around her: "This Wu Xiaohe is a married woman, and her husband is still working hard outside to earn money. But she, on the other hand, comes out of Shuisheng's bachelor's yard at the crack of dawn."

"She even said she was bringing breakfast. Tell me, doesn't she have any shame?"

"How can she do this to her man?"

The crowd erupted in commotion, all eyes fixed on Wu Xiaohe, and a cacophony of disdainful and curious whispers filled the air.

"Oh dear, really? Xiaohe usually seems quite well-behaved."

"That's hard to say. You can know a person's face but not their heart."

"Exactly, it's really inappropriate for someone to come out of a man's house so early in the morning."

"If her husband knew, wouldn't he be furious?"

……

Wu Xiaohe was being pointed at and whispered about by the crowd, and her face turned somewhat ugly. However, she quickly composed herself, straightened her back, and put on a frank and even somewhat aggrieved expression. She loudly retorted, "Sister Xianglan, you need to provide evidence for your words."

"I did come to see Dr. Yang for a medical checkup. I'm not feeling well, so can't I even see a doctor?"

"As for this breakfast, it's to thank Dr. Yang for treating me before. His fees were low, and his medical skills were excellent. I brought some of my own food as a token of my gratitude. What's wrong with that? Is it illegal?"

"When others help you, who among you hasn't given them a gift?"

"I, Wu Xiaohe, have done nothing wrong and have nothing to fear from your opinions!"

Her words were spoken with such conviction that they quieted down the discussions among some of the villagers.

Indeed, it's common practice in rural areas to bring a small gift as a token of gratitude when visiting a doctor.

But some older women frowned and said earnestly, "Xiaohe, that's true, but you are a married woman after all. It doesn't sound good for you to come out of a young man's house so early in the morning."

"If you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about Shui Sheng, and think about the man you're with outside."

Wu Xiaohe, however, was getting impatient and retorted, "I've done nothing wrong, what's there to be afraid of gossip about?"

"I was just helping out by bringing them breakfast. I didn't do anything to anyone. Let them say what they want; it's none of their business!"

"But you, Sister Xianglan!"

After she finished speaking, she abruptly turned her attention to Liu Xianglan, her voice rising even higher: "What gives you the right to say that about me?"

"Weren't you also bringing breakfast to Shuisheng in a basket?"

"We're both equally guilty, so why are you accusing us of being the guilty party first?"

"You arrived later than me and missed the train, so you got angry and threw dirty water on me? Tell me, what were you thinking?"

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Liu Xianglan and the basket in her hand, and their expressions became playful.

Indeed, the basket in Liu Xianglan's hand didn't look like something someone would use to come for a medical appointment.

"I'm not like you!"

Liu Xianglan was caught off guard by Wu Xiaohe's counterattack and felt a little embarrassed, but she quickly calmed down, snorted, raised the basket in her hand, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I admit that I came to deliver breakfast to Shuisheng."

"But in recent years, who in the village doesn't know that Shuisheng is a young man whose parents passed away early, and he has difficulty eating alone?"

"As his neighbor, what's wrong with me bringing him some food and taking care of him?"

"I call this helping each other as neighbors; it's perfectly aboveboard!"

"I have nothing to hide, I'm not afraid of you looking at me, and I'm not like some people who have something to hide and are sneaking around early in the morning."

Liu Xianglan's words were reasonable and well-founded; she was acting out of concern for her neighbor, which was completely different from Wu Xiaohe's sudden and secretive actions.

Many of the onlookers nodded in agreement, feeling that Liu Xianglan's words made more sense.

"Oh, Xianglan, you know it's just villagers helping each other out?"

Wu Xiaohe felt a bit annoyed by Liu Xianglan's seemingly innocent but actually righteous statement, but she was quick-witted and immediately seized on the loophole in Liu Xianglan's words, retorting, "Then how did my bringing breakfast to Dr. Yang become you being shameless and seducing him?"

"So, you, Liu Xianglan, are allowed to be the good person, but I, Wu Xiaohe, can't even express my gratitude?"

"What kind of logic is that?"

"Just because you live nearby, you're the only one allowed to bring food to Dr. Yang in the village, and nobody else can?"

After she said that, some people in the crowd thought that there seemed to be some truth to it.

Yes, if Liu Xianglan could give it, why couldn't Wu Xiaohe?

Just because Wu Xiaohe is a married woman?

But they also said they came here on the side while they were there for a medical check-up.

"Stop trying to argue with me!"

But Liu Xianglan was convinced that Wu Xiaohe was hiding something. Looking at Wu Xiaohe's self-righteous demeanor, she felt more and more that Wu Xiaohe was trying to cover something up. Her anger flared up, and she pointed at Wu Xiaohe's nose and yelled, "You come to see a doctor? Do you need to come before dawn to see a doctor?"

"You're all red-faced and your hair is a mess from all that doctor's visits? You're kidding me!"

"I think you're shameless, coming here so early in the morning to seduce Shui Sheng."

"Maybe you came last night and stayed until this morning, but I just happened to run into you when you were leaving."

"You're talking nonsense!" Wu Xiaohe was completely enraged by Liu Xianglan's hurtful words. She raised her hand and threw the bamboo basket at Liu Xianglan. "Liu Xianglan! Stop spouting nonsense."

"I clearly arrived this morning!"

"If you dare spout any more nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

The bamboo basket hit Liu Xianglan and fell to the ground, the white cloth inside coming apart.

"Well, you little whore, you seduced someone and then dared to lay a hand on them!"

Liu Xianglan was hit and completely bristled, screaming, "I'll tear your fox skin off!"

As she spoke, she lunged at Wu Xiaohe with bared teeth and claws, grabbing Wu Xiaohe's hair.

"Hey! You bitch, how dare you hit me?"

Wu Xiaohe screamed in pain as her hair was pulled, but she didn't back down and reached out to grab Liu Xianglan's face. The two of them instantly started fighting, pulling each other's hair and grabbing each other's faces, all while cursing each other rudely, completely disregarding their image.

"Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him!"

"Quickly pull them apart!"

"Oh dear, what kind of talk is this!"

……

Seeing this, the villagers who were watching rushed forward to try to break up the fight and separate the two women. However, the two women were now fighting with bloodshot eyes and their strength was astonishing. Several women tried to pull them apart for a long time, but they were unable to separate them completely and were almost accidentally injured.

The scene was chaotic, with shouts and calls for help mingling together.

"Stop it, all of you!"

Just then, a powerful voice suddenly rang out, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, drowning out all the noise.

Everyone was taken aback and looked in the direction of the sound. They saw that Yang Shuisheng had opened the courtyard gate at some point and was standing at the door with a stern face, looking coldly at the two women wrestling at the door.

Upon hearing Yang Shuisheng's voice, Liu Xianglan and Wu Xiaohe froze almost simultaneously, instinctively releasing their grip on each other's hair and clothes.

The two were panting, their hair disheveled, their clothes torn and askew, and their faces covered in scratches—they looked utterly disheveled.

But seeing Yang Shuisheng's angry face, both of them felt as if they had been doused with cold water. Their anger instantly subsided, replaced by a sense of panic and tension, fearing that they would leave a bad impression on Yang Shuisheng.

Liu Xianglan let go and took two steps back, quickly tidying her clothes and hair, and lowered her head, not daring to look Yang Shuisheng in the eye.

Wu Xiaohe quickly let go, wiped the corner of her mouth that had been grabbed with the back of her hand, and lowered her head as well, but her eyes still couldn't help but secretly glance at Yang Shuisheng, with a hint of grievance and pleading.

The villagers who had been watching quieted down, their eyes scanning back and forth between Yang Shuisheng and the two disheveled women.