Pei Shengcai, busy with his own tasks, didn’t stay long: “Alright, Uncle Yao will handle it. I’ll ask my granddaughter Yan Zi to bring the payment later.”

Yan Zi is his granddaughter.

Mother Pei agreed and mentioned she would provide some medical advice when helping Jiang Xi with patients in the next few days.

Pei Shengcai agreed and, although his back was straighter, he wasn’t as flexible as before the sprain. But it was a huge improvement from how he felt initially.

The low cost of the treatment made it worth it.

However, when Pei Shengcai returned home, he saw his wife Cheng Yuezhi rushing back from the fields.

Cheng Yuezhi had her bicycle ready and held a handkerchief wrapped with money. Angrily, she shouted, “Pei Shengcai! Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Pei Shengcai was about to explain when Cheng Yuezhi asked, “Didn’t everyone say you sprained your waist? I even rushed back, not caring about the work points.”

Pei Shengcai touched his waist and quickly turned his back to show the plaster, saying with a smile: “I was on my way to town, but I met He Jun’s wife. She treated me, and wow, it really doesn’t hurt anymore. I got some plaster from her, and now I’m fine.”

Cheng Yuezhi looked closely and, seeing nothing unusual, asked, “Are you really hurt or just pretending?”

She tapped his waist.

“Ow, ow!” Pei Shengcai cried out in pain, covering his waist and moving away: “Please be gentle, I really did hurt my waist. She only massaged it; don’t make it worse.”

Cheng Yuezhi said, “I didn’t hit you too hard.” Seeing her husband’s reaction, she was surprised: “Wow, this girl is really good! The villagers praised her.”

“Isn’t she?” Pei Shengcai agreed, walked into the house, poured himself water, and sighed: “The Pei family is lucky to have such a talented daughter-in-law. With her skills, she could be a city doctor.”

Being a doctor in a hospital is respected.

Unfortunately, neither the Jiang family nor the Pei family could afford to send her to a hospital.

Cheng Yuezhi, now unconcerned about her husband, smiled and said, “If she can’t be a city doctor, she could still be a doctor in our brigade.”

Pei Shengcai froze, looking sharply at his wife: “What did you say?”

Cheng Yuezhi was startled by his reaction: “What did I say?”

“Becoming a brigade doctor?!” Pei Shengcai asked anxiously: “Why do you think that?”

Cheng Yuezhi explained, “There’s no doctor in our brigade. We have to travel to town every time we need medical help, which is expensive. Even though our family can afford it, others in the village can’t. If she became the brigade doctor, it would make things easier. I need to see her myself soon because I have persistent stomach pain…”

She was straightforward, simply wanting a local doctor who treated her well.

Pei Shengcai, initially excited, now fell silent, deep in thought.

Cheng Yuezhi noticed his thoughtful expression, chuckled, and said, “Since you’re better, I’ll go back to work. I asked for leave and lost time.”

She quickly left.

Pei Shengcai soon stood up, feeling some pain but excited, and went to get some money to pay for the treatment.

_

Minutes later, Pei Shengcai returned.

Mother Pei, hearing the commotion, came out nervously: “Is your waist still hurting? Could it be that the treatment didn’t work?”

She worried about Jiang Xi’s reputation.

Pei Shengcai smiled and shook his head: “No, it’s better now. Let He Jun’s wife come out; I have something to discuss with her.”

Mother Pei, seeing his smile, was relieved and called Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi, who had just laid down, stood up again. Pei Shengcai approached her, smiling, and said, “Xiaox i, your medical skills are impressive. Our brigade has no doctor, and going to town for treatment is inconvenient and costly. I’ve wanted to set up a clinic but lacked a doctor. Are you interested? You won’t have to pay to see patients, but the team will provide work points. Medicine costs will be the same as in town. What do you think?”

Jiang Xi: “!!!”

She quickly realized the opportunity: “Really? Can I?”

If this works, she’ll have plenty of work points! She wouldn’t have to work in the fields for them. The salary converted to work points is fine with her.

Pei Shengcai confirmed: “Absolutely. It’s the busy season now, and many people get injured. Going to town is a waste of time. I’ll check with each village for their opinions. What do you think?”

Mother Pei was excited and urged Jiang Xi: “Hurry and agree to this. It’s a great opportunity. You won’t have to do farm work anymore.”

Jiang Xi hesitated, saying: “It’s a good idea, but Pei Shengcai, you know my family situation. He Jun can’t be left alone…”

Pei Shengcai frowned, too.

Mother Pei felt touched but anxious. She hadn’t expected the third child to complicate things. She thought it would be the same for her to stay home and care for the third child, but she worried about running out of money. She and the old man couldn’t earn many work points and had to set someone aside to care for the third child. This meant less income with more mouths to feed.

If all three could earn work points, it would be ideal.

She quickly thought of an idea: “How about your father and I bring the third child to the clinic every day? You can look after him, and we’ll take him back when we return. If the clinic gets busy, just send someone to tell me, and I’ll take a leave to care for the third child. How does that sound?”

Pei Shengcai agreed: “That’s fine. What do you think?”

Jiang Xi found the arrangement a bit troublesome, but it was worth it for the work points. She agreed, saying: “Okay, Captain. Thank you for your help.”

Pei Shengcai smiled, “I’m sorry to trouble you. Please help me with this big problem!”

If successful, it would benefit the whole team.

_

After everything was confirmed, Pei Shengcai rushed to the brigade to discuss it with the deputy captain, accountant, and others. He learned that there was an unused clinic in the brigade.

However, the doctor had left, and the clinic had been empty for half a year. No doctor wanted to stay there. With the increasing number of educated youths, the clinic had been repurposed as housing and had fallen into disuse.

The clinic was in the next village, quite far away, so a new clinic needed to be built.

The new clinic didn’t need to be large—just a small building on the edge of the village, close to several surrounding villages. After the busy farming season in May, it could be built in ten days with a few hired workers. The cost wasn’t high.

Pei Shengcai had planned all this. The next morning, he gathered a few people to discuss it.

He spoke passionately and took a big gulp of water, but no one agreed.

Pei Shengcai was puzzled: “Don’t you think this is great? Jiang Xi is a really good doctor. Many villagers have received treatment from her, and no one has complained. Isn’t it good to have a doctor?”

In the brigade, there are cadres from each village, including the brigade leader (refers to Pei Shengcai) and the deputy captain, accountant, cashier, secretary, and custodian, who are from other villages. For instance, Deputy Captain Zhou Xin is from Zhoujia Village.

These people make almost all decisions for the Sixth Production Brigade.

Pei Shengcai was hopeful, but the other five people were not impressed. They didn’t know Jiang Xi and were concerned about the cost. Although it wasn’t a lot, it was still a significant amount of money for poor people.

They hesitated and were unwilling to agree.

Pei Shengcai was frustrated: “Why don’t you agree? Do you really want to suffer minor illnesses or travel to the town for treatment? It’s only eight work points a day. Our team can afford it.”

Deputy Captain Zhou Xin laughed and said, “Of course not, but you’re being too hasty. What if she can only treat minor injuries?”

The captain replied with a smile, “We don’t need her to perform surgery. What’s the problem?”

Zhou Xin: “…”

Accountant Lin Tao tactfully said: “We might not need eight work points a day. That’s too much.”

Pei Shengcai realized that eight work points might be too high. After thinking, he said, “If it’s less, we might not cover the cost since consultation is free. For example, if I sprained my waist and she only helped with a massage or dislocation recovery, it’s free.”

Lin Tao saw an opportunity and said: “This is an issue. The villagers might not agree. Look at our account book. An educated youth borrowed ten yuan after breaking his leg hunting, and our funds are low… Look…”

Others nodded: “Yes, we don’t have much money now. It’s better not to bother.”

“Even though the clinic seems inexpensive, costs for bricks, tables, chairs, benches, and beds add up. It’s quite troublesome…”

The reluctant colleagues spoke up, leaving Pei Shengcai unable to respond.

He understood and his expression darkened.

As the team leader, he knew the team’s finances, but building a clinic could improve medical care for the surrounding villagers.

He thought it wasn’t just his brigade without a doctor. Several nearby brigades were in the same situation. A local clinic would be more convenient than traveling to town and could even be profitable.

Realizing his colleagues were unlikely to agree, Pei Shengcai took a deep breath and decided not to argue further. If others didn’t see the need for a clinic, it was their problem.

He said sternly: “If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

Zhou Xin laughed awkwardly: “It’s not that we don’t want to, but…”

Pei Shengcai left, uninterested in further discussion.

The office staff exchanged looks. Zhou Xin, feeling frustrated, muttered, “You act like you’re working for the good of everyone, but you only care about helping the Pei family? Do you want to help them up?”

Accountant Lin Tao, who shared the same opinion as Zhou Xin, quickly said: “Besides, how capable can a 17 or 18-year-old girl be? It seems Pei Shengcai is eyeing this position. Eight work points a day is a good deal. It’s just wishful thinking.”

He spoke freely because the remaining two people—the cashier and the administrator—were from another village and were supported by the previous team leader. They were usually honest and didn’t dare to report issues.

Lin Tao agreed, and Zhou Xin, who was listening, was convinced.

It did seem like a lucrative job.

Zhou Xin hadn’t considered this before, but now that Pei Shengcai wanted it, he started thinking about whether there was a suitable person for the position. It would be advantageous to be the first to get it since a team doctor could have a significant influence in the team.