At this moment, the place was crowded with people.

Wang Qingsong looked around and ran to ask a nurse, realizing that they needed to register first.

The registration fee made his heart ache.

Three mao per person.

Two people would cost six mao.

There was no way around paying.

After paying, he followed the nurse’s instructions and went to the second floor to find a doctor.

Upon reaching the second floor, he found a line with fewer people and went straight in.

Inside was an ordinary room.

A middle-aged female doctor in a white coat was sitting there, seeing patients, with two long benches beside her where people sat waiting for their turn.

Wang Qingsong and his companions stood there in confusion.

The doctor, while using a stethoscope to examine a patient, pointed to the back of the room and said, “Go sit at the back, it’ll be your turn soon.”

She had the two of them sit there, while Wang Qingsong stood and watched.

His face showed envy.

In the commune, there were the “Eight Big Roles.”

In the city, there were also coveted positions: the stethoscope, the steering wheel, the butcher’s knife, and the salesperson.

These professions were also envied by ordinary people in the city.

The stethoscope naturally referred to doctors.

The doctor worked slowly; it took nearly an hour for the five people ahead to be seen before it was their turn, and a few more people had lined up behind them.

“Auntie, you go first!”

Seeing the doctor wave, Wang Qingsong hurriedly urged.

Widow Feng, hearing this, naturally sat down in front.

The doctor, seeing Widow Feng’s condition, already had an idea of what was wrong.

But she still asked routinely, “Where do you feel unwell?”

Widow Feng thought for a moment and shook her head, “I’m not sure either! My body is swollen, and I feel weak, but otherwise, I’m fine.”

Hearing this, the doctor nodded, “Stretch out your hand, let me check your pulse. The right hand.”

Widow Feng complied and stretched out her hand.

“Let me see your eyes…”

“Your tongue…”

“Let me listen…”

Finally, she used the stethoscope inside Widow Feng’s clothes for a while, making Widow Feng blush.

Fortunately, the doctor was a woman.

Seeing the doctor put away the stethoscope, Widow Feng quickly asked, “Doctor, what’s wrong with me?”

Hearing her question, the doctor continued to write while saying, “You’re suffering from long-term malnutrition. You have severe edema. I can prescribe half a pound of eggs or one pound of soybeans for you. You can only choose one. Eggs are 7 mao 2 per pound, soybeans are 1 mao 8 per pound.”

After a pause, she continued, “I can also prescribe two pounds of substitute food for you, either artificial meat or protein meat, both are 3 mao 2 per pound. You can also get three pounds of chlorella, 1 mao 2 per pound. It’s up to you whether you want them. But I must make it clear, this is a month’s supply, and you can’t come back to buy more within that time. Even if you do, there won’t be any.”

Widow Feng, after listening, asked in confusion, “Can I only choose between soybeans and eggs?”

“Yes, only one.”

“What is artificial meat?”

“Oh, it’s a type of substitute food made from soybeans.”

“Ah, and it costs over 3 mao per pound! Soybeans are only 1 mao 8 per pound!”

Widow Feng was surprised by the price.

Wang Qingsong quickly interjected, “Doctor, please prescribe everything you can.”

Goodness, Widow Feng must be out of her mind!
The prices outside for food are sky-high, and these items can only be obtained from the hospital. Shouldn’t we take as much as we can get?
He was familiar with substitute foods.

Currently, there were four grades of substitute foods.

The first and worst was made from corn cobs, rice husks, and corn stalks ground into flour. Early in the morning, Xiaozao would take corn cobs to grind into flour and mix it with cornmeal.

This type had the worst texture and was hard to swallow.

The second type was made from sweet potato leaves, sweet potato stems, and elm bark, which had high moisture content.

The substitute food they ate at school was this stuff.

The third type was the chlorella the doctor just mentioned. This was actually duckweed from ponds that used to be fed to pigs, but it was processed and refined, mixed with other things like soybean meal or wheat bran left over from oil extraction.

The fourth type was naturally made from soybeans, like artificial protein and artificial meat, which were said to have high technical content.

Seeing that he wanted to buy so much, Widow Feng didn’t say anything.

She could only say, “Then… Doctor, please prescribe them.”

Hearing this, the doctor began to write. While writing, she asked, “Did you bring your household register and proof documents? I need to register them. The pharmacy will keep a record. You can only do this once a month.”

“Ah, yes!”

Widow Feng nodded.

She quickly handed over the proof.

The doctor took it and asked, “Do you want eggs or soybeans? Artificial meat or protein meat?”

Hearing this, Widow Feng looked at Wang Qingsong again.

Wang Qingsong was also in a dilemma and asked the doctor, “Doctor, what do you recommend? We don’t know much about this.”

The doctor thought for a moment and said, “I suggest you get soybeans. The cause of edema is a lack of something called protein, which soybeans have more of than eggs. For substitute food, you can get protein meat. That’s also made from soybeans.”

Wang Qingsong had heard of protein during school, but it was only briefly introduced.

However, he trusted the doctor. How could the doctor be wrong?

“Alright, Doctor, please handle it. Prescribe everything.”

As he spoke, Wang Qingsong mentally calculated how much money they would need.

One pound of soybeans was 1 mao 8, two pounds of protein meat totaled 6 mao 4, and three pounds of chlorella was 3 mao 6.

In total, 1 yuan 1 mao 8.

Adding the 4 mao 2 for the bus fare and the 6 mao for registration, it came to 2 yuan 2 mao.

After calculating, he felt relieved. Even if Xiaomai was prescribed the same, they had enough money.

Soon, the doctor finished writing the prescription with the proof.

She casually handed it to him, “Alright, go pay and then pick it up directly from the pharmacy.”

“Ah, yes, thank you, Doctor. My sister also needs to be seen.”

Wang Qingsong thanked her and quickly pulled Xiaomai over.

The doctor examined Xiaomai thoroughly.

Finally, she said, “The little girl has the same condition, but it’s slightly milder. I can only prescribe two pounds of protein meat and three pounds of chlorella for her. Do you want them?”

Hearing this, Wang Qingsong was disappointed.

“Doctor, my sister is like this. Can you prescribe some eggs?”

The doctor naturally understood his thoughts, but she shook her head, “I’m sorry, prescriptions must be based on the condition. I can’t just prescribe anything.”

Wang Qingsong thought for a moment. There was no fooling the doctor!
Finally, he nodded and followed the doctor’s prescription, getting some protein meat and chlorella for Xiaomai, totaling exactly 1 yuan.

Out of five yuan, 3 yuan 2 mao was spent.

After the consultation, the three of them went downstairs to pay.

On the way, Xiaomai smiled and said to him, “Brother, what you said didn’t work! You can’t fool people.”

Wang Qingsong smiled, “It’s not surprising. That’s their job. If they couldn’t tell, things would be a mess!”

Hearing this, Xiaomai nodded, “That’s true. Do you think the doctor lacks these things?”

Wang Qingsong thought for a moment.

He shook his head, “I’m not sure about that.”

But he also knew the old saying: those who live by the mountain eat from the mountain, and those who live by the water eat from the water. There must be some tricks involved.

They went downstairs, paid the money, and after asking around, found the pharmacy on the side of the first floor.

They received their “medicines.”

The soybeans were wrapped in kraft paper.

The protein meat looked similar to dried bean curd, but Wang Qingsong felt it was more like paper.

It felt like yellow paper to the touch.

The chlorella was a pile of dark green powder.

Widow Feng looked at the items and asked, “How do we eat this?”

“Oh, I know. Soak the protein meat in water, then cook it in soup or stir-fry it. The chlorella is for drinking with water.”

He hadn’t seen or eaten it before.

But he had heard about it!
At the county school, some students had eaten this stuff.

Widow Feng nodded gently.

They then left the hospital.