Chapter 7

Lu Nong first went to the hospital. She hesitated briefly between dealing with work issues and getting a check-up, but ultimately decided that checking her health was more important than work. Upon entering the hospital, she immediately registered for an appointment.

She chose to see a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor. At that time, Western medicine wasn’t as advanced as it would become later, but there were still many skilled TCM practitioners around, hidden talents waiting to be discovered.

Before the founding of the nation, there were exceptional individuals in every field, but during the chaotic war years, many of these talents either went into hiding, disappeared, or perished. It wasn’t until after the nation was established that they dared to come out and make their presence known.

The doctor in the original owner’s memory was called Doctor Yuan, known to be a protégé of the renowned TCM master, Old Master Hua. She had extensive knowledge of gynecology and had treated many women’s health issues.

However, she was quite young, which made her less well-known. When first-time patients saw her age, they often shook their heads and refused her treatment. Most people were hesitant to entrust their health and lives to such a young doctor, despite her significant talents.

Consequently, her reputation was overshadowed by an older doctor in the same hospital, even though in certain aspects, her skills surpassed his.

The patients who sought her treatment were generally hospital staff like Lu Nong or were referred by acquaintances.

Because there weren’t many patients, Lu Nong was quickly called in. She pushed open the door to the office and stepped inside.

Inside the office, there were three or four desks. Doctor Yuan sat at her desk by the window, appearing to be in her late twenties, with a clear and delicate face and two small dimples on her cheeks. However, her demeanor was somewhat aloof.

When she saw Lu Nong enter, she merely glanced at her, paused for a moment, and then returned to writing the patients’ records.

“Have a seat,” Doctor Yuan said, slightly raising her head to indicate that Lu Nong should sit on the stool in front of her desk.

“Please extend your hand.”

Lu Nong sat down and placed her smooth, pale left hand on the pulse diagnostic area.

Doctor Yuan focused on Lu Nong’s hand for a moment before beginning to check her pulse. After finishing with one hand, she indicated for Lu Nong to switch to the other.

“You have quite a few health issues. Your qi and blood are insufficient, and you lack nourishment. At such a young age, you’re overly worried and stressed, which is affecting your heart and lungs and weakening your organs… If this continues, you won’t have many years left.”

Doctor Yuan stole a glance at Lu Nong, then looked away, slowly listing her health problems.

Lu Nong was taken aback. The original owner’s fate in the book was indeed a sad one.

In the end, Doctor Yuan not only prescribed several herbal medicines for Lu Nong but also provided detailed dietary recommendations when she learned Lu Nong wanted to supplement her diet. She covered everything, writing three large pages of notes, which took a total of two and a half hours.

…Wasn’t she supposed to be aloof?

Dazed, Lu Nong walked out of the TCM office, and to her surprise, Doctor Yuan followed her out and watched her leave.

As Lu Nong pondered whether the original owner had known Doctor Yuan before, a surprised voice called out from beside her.

“Lu Nong, is that really you?!”

Lu Nong turned to see a round-faced girl in a nurse’s uniform.

“Are you sick?” The girl followed Lu Nong’s gaze to the still-standing Doctor Yuan at the door, her expression changing to one of understanding. “Oh, it’s Doctor Yuan.”

Lu Nong: ?? Did she really know Doctor Yuan?

“Ha ha,” the round-faced girl laughed at Lu Nong’s confusion. “Doctor Yuan is the youngest attending doctor in our hospital. She’s usually quite proud and rarely interacts with others, but she makes an exception for one type of person… beautiful women. The prettier they are, the more patient she is.”

Lu Nong: …So it turns out she’s just a beauty enthusiast.

The round-faced girl looked at Lu Nong with envy, wondering how she seemed even more beautiful after just a few days apart.

“Doctor Yuan personally saw you out and is still standing at the door. That kind of treatment isn’t given to just anyone. But then again, you are the flower of our hospital.”

She looked at Lu Nong with nothing but admiration and no jealousy. Lu Nong finally remembered her name: Ma Xiaomei.

Ma Xiaomei worked in a different department, so their interactions were limited, and they were only familiar with each other’s faces.

But Lu Nong was a super beauty, and while she felt distant from others, they felt pride in conversing with her, which became a topic of discussion later.

Especially as the eyes of those around them kept falling on the two of them, Ma Xiaomei unconsciously straightened her back, as if the attention was directed at her.

“By the way, you sold your job? What a shame. That’s a lifelong iron rice bowl. A one-time transaction is such a loss…” Ma Xiaomei shook her head, disapproving of Lu Nong’s decision.

Lu Nong frowned. When did she sell her job?

Moreover, selling a job requires the person to come to the hospital personally to sign paperwork to cancel their employment, and since the original owner had taken leave after her husband passed away, she hadn’t returned to the hospital since.

This situation clearly had some hidden issues.

Lu Nong said, “I didn’t sell my job. The person replacing me is a temporary worker, which was agreed upon at that time.”

“What!? You didn’t sell it?” Ma Xiaomei was shocked. “But Lu Fang said you transferred your job to her for two hundred yuan. I thought that was too cheap! You didn’t know about it at all?”

“Lu Fang? Isn’t it Zhao Honghua?” Now it was Lu Nong’s turn to be surprised.

The original owner had initially found a temporary worker named Zhao Honghua to fill in for her for a few months, offering half of her salary, while the remaining half was stored by the hospital.

Ma Xiaomei looked constipated, “Zhao Honghua worked for less than two days before Lu Fang came to your department and claimed you gave your job to her. Lu Fang’s father has some connections, so they fired the temporary worker.”

Lu Nong finally realized how weird the Lu family was.

Lu Fang was the original owner’s cousin, the eldest daughter of her second uncle’s family.

When the news about the hospital hiring nurses reached the Lu family, Lu Nong’s second uncle privately hoped his daughter would get hired. At that time, several girls from the Lu family’s third branch were also seeking jobs.

Lu Nong’s second uncle had full confidence in his daughter. With him, a big director, guiding her, she had an advantage over the others. Therefore, he didn’t consider the other girls from the first and third branches significant, and he shared the news with both branches, acting as if he were doing them a favor.

They thought it would be a simple way to make money without much effort, a guaranteed profit for Second Uncle Lu’s family. However, they never expected that the original owner would emerge as a dark horse.

Not only did she get the highest score in the written test for the nursing recruitment that year, but she also excelled in the interview, outshining everyone else. Lu Fang, who came in second, believed that if it weren’t for Lu Nong, she would have secured a stable job. Since then, she has developed a poor attitude toward Lu Nong, often treating her with disdain.

After Lu Nong married Gu Weiguo, Lu Fang’s attitude worsened, tinged with resentment. 

…She felt that Lu Nong had robbed her of her marriage.

Perhaps because of her frustration, she insisted on finding a partner comparable to Lu Nong, but there weren’t many high-ranking military officers available for her to choose from. After much searching, she was still unmarried.

Her marriage prospects weren’t going well, and she remained a temporary worker. Ironically, the year Lu Nong passed the exam was the last time the hospital recruited formal staff in several years.

Lu Fang’s situation worsened. After failing to pass the nursing exam, Second Uncle Lu used his connections to arrange for her to work in the logistics department, hoping for a permanent position. Year after year, she waited for that chance, but there were no openings.

Lu Nong suspected that the Lu family must have learned about Gu Weiguo’s death and thought that Lu Nong had lost her support. They were eager to take advantage of her situation. After all, even her biological mother and brother couldn’t resist taking advantage of the original owner. Given Second Uncle Lu’s family’s tendency to bully the weak, it would have been strange if they didn’t seize the opportunity to take a bite out of her.

Understanding the ins and outs of the situation, Lu Nong told Ma Xiaomei, “I’m not sure, but since I’m at the hospital today, I’ll go check to see what’s happening.”

Ma Xiaomei seemed to concoct her own story, looking at Lu Nong with sympathy and nodding vigorously, “Yes, yes, go ask. You’re much better than Lu Fang. She can’t even tell the difference between medications.”

Lu Nong worked in the surgical department. When she arrived, the head nurse was reprimanding a little nurse who wasn’t wearing her cap. “You don’t wear your cap when you’re in the operating room. What about your professionalism? You don’t wear it when you’re off duty either. What happened to your appearance standards?”

The head nurse yanked the little nurse’s red flower from her hair and threw it into her hand. “You’re here to work, not to find a partner. I’m embarrassed to mention this, even the guard in room three has complained to me. You keep hanging around there, and everyone knows what you’re up to. Do you think we’re all fools?”

Her voice grew stern as she pointed at the nurse, saying, “Do you even want to work here? If not, pack your things and leave!”

Lu Nong initially felt embarrassed and was about to step away. However, the little nurse turned her face at that moment, and they locked eyes.

“…”

“…”

What a coincidence.

The “little nurse” was none other than Lu Nong’s cousin, Lu Fang.

Lu Fang stared at Lu Nong with an expression of disbelief.

Lu Nong smiled at her.

Lu Fang’s expression darkened as she blurted out, “What are you doing here?”

Lu Nong replied, puzzled, “Why can’t I be here? I’m back to work, of course.”

Upon hearing this, the head nurse frowned slightly, while Lu Fang’s face showed panic.

“Didn’t you sell your job to Lu Fang?” The head nurse’s gaze darted between Lu Nong and Lu Fang.

“Yes!” Before Lu Nong could respond, Lu Fang rushed to answer. “Nong Nong was just joking with you. She came today to sign the paperwork to transfer her position to me, right, Nong Nong?”

As she spoke, Lu Fang kept giving Lu Nong significant glances, urging her to agree with her answer.

Lu Nong thought it was ridiculous.

“Of course not,” Lu Nong denied vehemently, looking at Lu Fang in shock. “When did I sell my job to you?”

Then she turned to the head nurse and feigned ignorance. “Head nurse, I hired a temporary worker to fill in for me for a few months, right? Where is she?”

“She quit,” the head nurse had started to grasp the situation and shot a meaningful look at Lu Fang.

Lu Fang gasped, nearly cursing at Lu Nong. She forced a stiff smile and said, “Uncle and Aunt know about this. They took the money, didn’t they tell you?”

**

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