Su Mi was taking the exam to become a barefoot doctor, which meant the requirements were more extensive.
After all, in rural areas, treating colds, fevers, and diarrhea were basic skills. She also needed to know how to set bones, perform bone realignments, and carry out simple surgical procedures.
Acupuncture, gua sha, and even cupping therapy—she had to master them all.
No wonder some said traditional Chinese medicine was all-encompassing, especially ancient Chinese medicine. Unlike later generations, where it became more specialized, it was truly challenging to learn! Just memorizing theoretical knowledge, the names of medicinal herbs, and their properties and combinations could bring someone to tears, let alone everything else.
During harvest season, when everyone rushed to gather crops, many people would cut their legs or arms. These were usually large wounds that required stitches.
Moreover, the sun was at its fiercest during harvest time, and many people were prone to heatstroke. Preventing and treating heatstroke was almost a routine task for every barefoot doctor.
Su Mi went through the exams one by one, starting with pulse diagnosis and using a stethoscope, until it was already 5 p.m.
Some candidates still hadn’t finished their exams and would have to wait until the next day. However, Su Mi’s exam order was earlier, and she had already passed. The medical licenses would only be issued to those who passed after everyone had completed their exams the following day.
She was quite confident about this.
So, who exactly said being a barefoot doctor was easy? Not only did one need to be proficient in both Chinese and Western medicine, but they also had to know a little bit of everything. Of course, if categorized by skill level, an ordinary barefoot doctor would probably rank as an intermediate-level practitioner.
As for advanced or epic-level skills, they were completely out of reach.
After all, being a doctor in rural areas wasn’t as leisurely as being a doctor in a city hospital. Why were they called barefoot doctors?
It was because doctors in rural clinics were half-medical, half-agricultural workers. They also had to work in the fields, which gave rise to the term “barefoot doctor.”
Since she had finally made it to town, Su Mi decided not to return immediately. Instead, she went to the state-run restaurant and had a bowl of pickled cabbage and shredded pork noodles. Afterward, she bought several lunchboxes filled with pickled cabbage and shredded pork noodles, braised pork noodles, green pepper and shredded pork noodles, and tomato and fried egg noodles.
She bought so much because she wanted something to fill her stomach on days when she didn’t feel like cooking.
There was also rice available, but it was rationed. If Su Mi bought too much, others would have none left, and she didn’t want to be too greedy. So, she only bought a few boxes.
The town’s jurisdiction was large, and the residents’ homes were not very concentrated. The houses were scattered.
There were no chemical or industrial factories, so the town was relatively poor.
The few factories included a liquor distillery, which reportedly wasn’t doing very well. This was mainly because food was scarce, and people could barely fill their stomachs, let alone have extra grain for brewing alcohol.
There was also a canned food factory that was barely surviving, hanging on by a thread. Since it was a state-owned enterprise with poor performance, the government would provide support.
There also seemed to be a meat processing plant, though it wasn’t very large.
As for agricultural machinery stations, they were basically standard and existed in every town, so there was no need to mention them.
Su Mi gathered this information while eating, overhearing conversations among the other customers.
None of this concerned her personally. After finishing her meal, Su Mi used her letter of introduction to book a room at the town’s only guesthouse.
She went inside to check it out—just a table, a bed, and nothing else. It was quite simple, and the cleanliness was just average.
After settling into her accommodation, Su Mi leisurely headed out.
This was a habit formed during the apocalypse—whenever arriving at a new place, she would always want to explore everywhere. Was the area dangerous? Where was suitable for temporary rest? Where was good for escaping?
These were all matters of survival, so it had become a habit.
Su Mi had no intention of changing it. She walked into an alley. Now, as dusk fell, there was no one around, and the faint aroma of food lingered in the air.
As Su Mi walked, she practiced controlling her Mental Power. So, when she turned a corner, she discovered something valuable buried underground in one of the houses.
The key issue was that inside the room, whether it was the three-legged stool lying on the floor or the dried-up tree trunk outside that had been chopped down and left on the ground, everything indicated that this house was uninhabited.
The moral figures in Su Mi’s mind were battling on a scale.
“This place is already abandoned. Who knows if the owner is alive or dead? If I found it, it’s mine. Otherwise, someone else will surely take advantage of it later.”
“But what if the owner comes back alive? The treasures in that box might be their only lifeline. Wouldn’t it be unethical for us to do this?”
“Why care so much? If they come back and the things are gone, it’s their own fault. Even if we don’t take it, someone else will.”
“No, we can’t take it. How can an upright person take something without asking? That’s stealing. Your values are twisted.”
“Tsk! Who needs values? If you want values, don’t eat during the apocalypse! As if you paid for the things in the malls and supermarkets.”
“That’s not the same! You’re twisting the concept.”
The two figures in Su Mi’s mind, one in white and one in black, were almost coming to blows.
In the end, darkness triumphed over justice.
“Pah! The Leshan Giant Buddha—why don’t they invite you there?”
The black figure kicked the white figure away, laughing maniacally with hands on hips.
A smile also curled at the corner of Su Mi’s lips.
Just in case, Su Mi drew a line on her face with lipstick and then smudged it.
At first glance, it would look like the woman had a birthmark on her face.
Su Mi easily leaped over the wall. Of course, she could have quietly stored the box of jewelry into her Dimensional Space from outside.
But she felt this house was quite nice. If possible, she wanted to find the neighborhood committee or the owner to rent it, so she could come to the town and stay for a few days when she was bored.
Perception was still different from seeing with her own eyes, so she didn’t mind coming in to check the layout of the house.
There were two rooms on the east and west sides, each with a large kang bed. The middle served as the kitchen and living room, and farther away, near the corner of the wall, was a dry toilet.
All the furniture was gone, and the window glass had been smashed, lying shattered on the ground.
Since no one would come at this time anyway, Su Mi used her Spatial Power to store the box of treasures into her Dimensional Space, and the next moment, it appeared on the kang bed in front of her.
There was a lock on the box, but it couldn’t stump Su Mi. A piece of wire did the trick.
As soon as she lifted the lid, there were gold bars, pearl necklaces, and jewelry made of agate and jade.
On top was a letter specially treated to be waterproof and moisture-proof. Su Mi curiously opened it and took a look.
The letter contained a lot of content, but ultimately, it was left by the homeowner for their descendants.
If there hadn’t been this letter, Su Mi could have kept it for herself. But with the letter, she ultimately decided against it.
She placed the letter back in the box, restoring it to its original state, and then returned the box using the same method she had used to retrieve it.
If this wave doesn’t work, the next one definitely will.
Su Mi quickly left the courtyard. Even within the base during the Apocalypse, such leisurely moments were rare.