After enduring countless hardships, they finally managed to cross the mountain.
While everyone had arrived looking presentable, their appearances were now completely ruined, with mud covering their faces and bodies.
They glanced at each other and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Though exhausted, crossing this mountain gave them a strong sense of accomplishment.
Mingxi was panting heavily and didn’t feel like saying another word.
Lin Jianguo secretly observed Mingxi and couldn’t resist commenting, “Your stamina is truly terrible.”
Mingxi looked around and realized he was speaking to her: “Are you talking to me?The others watched them with gossiping expressions. Honestly, none of them had expected this former couple to be assigned together.
Putting everything else aside, they were quite well-matched in appearance. It was just a pity that Dr. Lin’s family had meddled and ruined their marriage.
“My poor stamina is my own business. As long as I’m not holding everyone back, that’s what matters. Life was too hard before – it will take some time to rebuild my physical condition,” Mingxi gave Lin Jianguo a meaningful look.
Who could she blame for her poor constitution? It was all because of his mother and sister’s mistreatment.
Lin Jianguo seemed to realize this too, his expression turning somewhat awkward.
After that, they didn’t exchange another word. This small mountain village had previously hosted visiting doctors, and the villagers had temporarily built them a place to stay. Though simple, there was no room for picky criticism here.
When the village head saw them arrive, his face blossomed like a chrysanthemum, wrinkles crowding together, clearly showing his warm welcome.
“Dear doctors, why don’t you rest well today and we’ll start seeing patients tomorrow. How does that sound?”
Dr. Liu Yao, being older and more experienced, was the team leader, so everyone looked to him.
Dr. Liu Yao smiled: “We’ll follow the village head’s arrangement.”
Though remote, this village had a considerable population with many children.
Seeing outsiders arrive, the children hid in corners, secretly watching them.
Mingxi scanned the environment – it was much better than she had imagined. She had pictured something close to sleeping outdoors and eating in the wind, but at least here they had shelter from the elements.
For the evening meal, they cooked for themselves. The village head had wanted to invite them for dinner, but they declined.
They had brought their own rations – it was more convenient to cook for themselves and minimize using the villagers’ resources.
Both Mingxi and Chen Ying had mediocre cooking skills. Originally, cooking was assigned to them while the men handled fire-making, tidying, and dishwashing.
But seeing how they handled the vegetables, everyone promptly pulled them away from the stove.
“Good heavens! Are you cutting vegetables or planning to cut off your fingers? Have you ever seen anyone chop vegetables like that?” Liu Yao’s heart trembled with fear – it was truly terrifying.
Chen Xi smiled sheepishly and explained: “I’m the only daughter in my family. My parents spoiled me and never let me cook.”
“But I can still cook. Though it might not taste great, I can manage on my own.” Besides, at the hospital everyone could eat in the cafeteria – she didn’t even need to cook for herself.
Everyone silently looked at Mingxi. Since Mingxi grew up in the countryside, they assumed a village girl should be quite handy with chores.
Mingxi said quietly, “My family are all doctors. My father was quite skilled in medicine and also an excellent cook. When he was around, our family circumstances were fairly good. As his only daughter, I rarely had to cook.”
“After getting married, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law would eat anything as long as there was food. I just needed to toss the ingredients into the pot and give them a casual stir. They were unwilling to do any work, but would eat when they got hungry.”
Everyone: …This sounds more like raising pigs than caring for family.
All eyes turned to Lin Jianguo, whose ears turned bright red.
Since Mingxi and Chen Xi weren’t skilled at cooking, they chose to wash dishes instead. Dr. Liu Yao, as the senior member and a married man, took on the important task of cooking.
By the time the meal was ready, the others had mostly tidied up their living quarters.
They found this meal particularly delicious, even better than what they had in the cafeteria.
Liu Yao said, “That’s because you’re all too tired and hungry. After eating, everyone should rest early. We’ll probably have patients coming first thing in the morning.”
With free medical services, everyone would come for a check-up whether they were sick or not.
After washing the dishes, Mingxi and Chen Xi chatted quietly for a while before going to sleep.
While they slept, the village was buzzing with activity.
Everyone was discussing the newly arrived doctors.
“I saw two female doctors – they look so fresh and delicate!”
“I’d like to marry such a beautiful wife too.”
“You? Dreaming of marrying such a beautiful wife? Keep dreaming!”
The bachelors felt restless, but only dared to entertain such thoughts in their hearts.
Early the next morning, Mingxi was awakened by the noisy commotion outside.
After a quick tidy-up, they promptly began seeing patients.
Mingxi looked too young and practiced traditional Chinese medicine, so many people distrusted her. In everyone’s perception, older TCM practitioners meant better medical skills, thus she had the shortest queue.
With no one lining up for her, Mingxi was quite content with the situation.
Lin Jianguo and the others were genuinely overwhelmed with work. Those with minor ailments acted as if they were dying, while even healthy people came to make trouble.
Fortunately, they had brought sufficient medicine – though just basic medications, it was enough to give out to those who needed them.
By noon, having nothing else to do, Mingxi thoughtfully prepared a meal for everyone.
Chen Xi said, “Actually, you don’t need to be so thoughtful.”
The others nodded in agreement. The food wasn’t exactly terrible, but the flavor was really quite ordinary – barely edible.
Even Lin Jianguo felt some admiration for his mother and sister. This food wasn’t even as good as what they could make themselves. To avoid work, they had endured such meals for two years – that was truly remarkable.
In the afternoon, a few people finally came to Mingxi, but only because the queues for the other doctors were too long, and her station was empty, forcing them to seek treatment from her.
After examining them, Mingxi found cases of excessive dampness, internal heat, and generally poor physical constitutions.
In the countryside, with heavy workloads, people tended to endure minor illnesses, and this constant endurance gradually damaged their fundamental health.
Mingxi prescribed several herbal formulas and offered some precautionary advice. After treating these few patients, she resumed her rest.
The next day, more people came to her place. It seemed that the person who couldn’t sleep yesterday had taken the medicine according to her prescription and slept soundly that night.
Chen Xi remarked with emotion, “You’ve won everyone over with your medical skills. Who says young practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine lack competence? What matters in a doctor isn’t age but ability.”