Chapter 83: To Eat a Hearty Meal Without Any Restraint

It wasn’t until dusk that the two borrowed carts were fully loaded. As for the beds, tables, and chairs, they would have to come back for them another time.

Jiang Nian told Li Rui and Zhang Er, “You two go ahead. I’ll take Zhiqiu to the village head’s house and then follow you.”

After all, they were pushing carts, and they were riding bicycles. It wouldn’t take long to catch up.

No matter what, she couldn’t have easily used her medical skills to offset her work without the village head’s support. Besides, he was a person in charge, and she might need his help someday, so she had to build a good relationship with him.

She was leaving, so she should go say goodbye.

“Okay, you two go ahead. Don’t wait for us. We’ll have to come back for the bed and the cabinet. Those are heavy. We’ll need you to push them uphill.” Li Rui said.

Ye Zhiqiu quickly picked up the dried vegetables, mushrooms, and other dried goods she had packed. It was a big bag, and they couldn’t possibly finish it all by themselves.

Even on ordinary days, a lot of these things were given to villagers who came to visit.

The village head had actually known for a long time that Jiang Nian was moving. He thought about the doctor he had discovered. She would soon be labeled as belonging to Yanjiazhuang Commune. Although it was close, it wasn’t their own village anymore. Who would remember that Jiang Nian had actually come from this village?

He felt uncomfortable and couldn’t stand to look at anything.

He had known that the village clinic wouldn’t be able to survive when the Yanjiazhuang Health Center was built.

But when the day finally came, he still felt bad.

When Jiang Nian came, he looked up at her and let out a long sigh, but he didn’t say anything.

Jiang Nian had met many people, so she could tell that the village head was feeling resentful.

She asked Ye Zhiqiu to put the things down and stepped forward. “Uncle Zhou, thank you for your help these past few months. I really want to stay here, but I can’t make my own decisions about this. You should know.”

The village head was a part of the situation. How could he not understand what was going on? It was all Director Yan’s fault for being so meddlesome.

He sighed helplessly. “I know you’re a good girl. I’m not trying to stop you from going to a better place. It’s just that you’re leaving so suddenly, and it makes me feel uncomfortable. We should be happy for you. After all, the health center is definitely better for you than the clinic. It will allow you to develop your skills better.”

Thanks, she didn’t want this opportunity at all. She didn’t want to show off her skills.

But the village head had to say insincere things, and so did she.

“It’s just a change of location. You’ve been the biggest help to me since I came here. The villagers in our village are definitely different from others. I’m really going to miss you. When we settle down, you’re always welcome to come visit me.” She said, pretending to be relaxed.

Zhou Shitou was trying to smooth things over. Pomegranate was still holding her child, her eyes already fixed on the bag of dried goods, guessing what was inside.

“You’re too polite, young lady. I’ll take these things. Come back and visit often. Our village will always welcome you.” The village head called to his wife. “Old woman, go get a bag for Jiang.”

“I’ll go.” Pomegranate handed the child to Zhou Shitou and picked up the bag. The smile on her face froze.

Dried goods and hard goods weighed differently. As a farmer, she could tell what was inside just by lifting the bag.

She thought that since she was leaving, she would bring some good things. She didn’t expect Dr. Jiang to be so stingy.

She thought this in her heart, but she smiled without showing any emotion.

They had been neighbors for so long, and Jiang Nian knew her quirks. She didn’t have any bad intentions. She was quite enthusiastic and liked to gossip. There was nothing she didn’t know about the village. She also liked to take advantage of small things.

It was easy to deal with someone like this. It was like fishing. Occasionally, you let her take advantage of you, and she would be loyal to you for the next time. But you can’t give too much, or she will get greedy, or she will think it’s her right.

So, Jiang Nian didn’t care if she was happy or not. She said goodbye to the village head again and left with Ye Zhiqiu.

The village head glared at Pomegranate and said, “You’re so shallow.” Then he went back to his room.

Zhou Shitou also felt embarrassed, but Pomegranate didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

Li Rui said they didn’t need to follow them, so Jiang Nian didn’t go.

She stayed behind. When they came back, she packed the bed, the cabinet, and some other small furniture, filling two more carts.

The heavy carts needed someone to push from behind. They even piled the bicycles on top. Jiang Nian and Ye Zhiqiu followed behind, each riding a bicycle.

Jiang Nian had never been to the Yanjiazhuang Health Center. She had only seen it from the outside twice when she passed by. It was probably because land was cheap in the countryside, so it was quite large.

It was divided into two rows of houses, each row divided into two sides, left and right, enclosed by a high wall. There was also a piece of open land in the backyard, which could be used to raise livestock and grow vegetables. There was also a large piece of open land in the front yard. Even the gate had a roof, and there was a small house next to the gate where people could live.

It had to be said that Yan Jin had gone to a lot of trouble to entice Jiang Nian to come.

It was just a bit remote. It was separated from Yanjiazhuang by a pond. On the other side of the pond was Yan Jin’s house.

Zhang Er came over and asked her, “Dr. Jiang, which room are you going to live in? We can carry the bed and table in for you.”

“The one on the right side of the back row.” Jiang Nian chose her spot.

Ye Zhiqiu said hesitantly, “Then… can I live next door?”

Jiang Nian glanced at her and arranged, “The two rooms next to it will be used as a pharmacy. You live in the other one. The remaining four rooms will be used as wards. The clinic will be in the front row. We’ll take the four rooms on the right. The four rooms on the left will be for the other doctor. The wards in the back will be shared…”

Jiang Nian gave the orders, and they got to work. It didn’t take long to arrange everything.

By the time they had finished putting everything away, it was already eleven o’clock at night.

Li Rui shouted, “I’m going to lose a few pounds from working for you today. I don’t care. You have to treat me to dinner. You have to make up for it.”

Ye Zhiqiu retorted, “Will you ever need our help in the future?”

Li Rui was speechless. “You little girl, you used to be so well-behaved. You’ve been corrupted by your teacher.”

“Nonsense. My teacher didn’t corrupt me.” Ye Zhiqiu wouldn’t allow anyone to say anything bad about Jiang Nian, not even Li Rui.

Jiang Nian interjected, “I can treat you to dinner. There’s no stove here yet. I see a small house in the corner on the left side of the gate. We’ll use that as a kitchen. Come over tomorrow to help build the stove. Once it’s done, you can eat all the fish and meat you want.”

“No problem. Just watch me show you my skills.” Li Rui was happy as long as he got to eat.

Life was so hard. Now, they could only eat relief grain and duck eggs from home that they could exchange for grain in town. He didn’t even dare to eat them himself.

Only at Jiang Nian’s place could he eat a hearty meal without any restraint.