The Bai family watched coldly.

With Lin Yongliang drawing attention, no one bothered to focus on their family.

Soon enough, half a month passed.

In those two weeks, Bai Ji went to the county hospital to take an exam.

After the half-month passed, Lin Yongcheng came back home, bringing the good news that Bai Ji had passed the county hospital exam.

He also told them they had already found a house and that they should pack up.

Three days later, he would borrow a vehicle from the mine to move.

Little Bai Guo now knew they were moving.

For a moment, she was confused. Why were they suddenly moving? Had she missed something important?

The house became busy with preparations.

Bai Shu bought some baskets to pack things like food, and the pots, bowls, and bedding were packed last, as they would still need them for a couple of days.

The furniture and large items didn’t need to be moved, as Lin Yongcheng had already made arrangements.

They weren’t leaving forever, so there was no need to move large items.

However, there were still a lot of small things to pack, which made it very troublesome.

The Bai family hid the move very well, and no one knew anything in advance.

The day before the move, in the afternoon, Bai Shu invited Lin Zhijun and his sibling to the house for dinner. Only after dinner did Bai Shu explain things to them.

“Tomorrow, we’re moving to the county.”

Lin Zhijun and his sibling were extremely shocked; the news was so sudden.

They couldn’t quite process it.

Lin Qingni whispered, “Are we leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes, we’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Bai Shu paused and added, “The things I taught you, don’t forget them. Everything I promised you still counts. After collecting herbs, make sure to prepare them properly. Uncle Yongcheng will come back once a month, and you can give him the prepared herbs. When he comes back next time, he’ll give you the money.”

The siblings were still dazed, almost like they were in a dream.

They had planned to learn more from Bai Shu, hoping to become successful people.

Twenty years later, when their sister returned, they would be able to support her, and no one would be able to bully them.

But now, Bai Shu’s family was moving to the city.

The news of the Bai family’s move was undoubtedly a huge blow to the siblings.

It shattered their dreams in an instant.

Bai Shu kindly reminded them, “You’re at the age where you should be going to school. School is starting soon. If conditions allow, I hope you’ll go to school and learn a few words. Without literacy, you won’t get far on the path of medicine. In the future, you won’t even be able to write prescriptions. You’ll only be able to gather herbs or be barefoot doctors in the countryside.”

That was all he said. Whether they listened or not was up to them.

Whether they could afford school was also their own business.

Bai Shu wouldn’t sponsor them but wouldn’t look down on them either.

If they couldn’t afford to send both siblings to school, they could send one and teach the other to read.

He didn’t expect them to pass exams, but they couldn’t remain illiterate.

They didn’t have adults, but they had been with him for a while and had seen how he dealt with herbs. It depended on how much they learned and how hard they worked.

If they didn’t work hard, it would be as if he hadn’t taught them.

Fortunately for him, there were no losses for him personally, but it was a pity for them.

…

The next morning, Lin Yongcheng drove a car into the village, instantly attracting the attention of several households at the village entrance.

They had never seen him drive a car before.

Some even tried to get close to him, hoping to form a relationship. It was a car after all!

If they could learn to drive from Lin Yongcheng, that would be wonderful!

When Lin Yongcheng got out of the car, three uncles came over, their eyes sparkling as they circled the car.

The more they looked, the brighter their eyes got.

Seeing this, Lin Yongcheng just smiled.

The three uncles started to praise him.

“Truly a car, it’s so impressive! Yongcheng driving a car in is even more impressive! He’s the most successful young man from our Lin family.”

As soon as they spoke, it was about the old Lin family, as if they were closely related to Lin Yongcheng.

“Uncle Big Dog, you’re joking,” Lin Yongcheng shook his head. “I paid twenty yuan for the rental of the car from the mine. I rented it for half a day. How could I just drive it out freely?”

The twenty yuan was an exaggeration.

He went to the transport team to borrow a car, and they just let him drive it, but Lin Yongcheng still paid the rental to avoid leaving any evidence that could cause trouble later.

He paid three yuan just to be courteous.

The transport team leader even said he was being overly cautious.

When they heard the twenty yuan, which was just the rental for half a day, the smile on Uncle Big Dog’s face faded, and his heart almost skipped a beat.

Twenty yuan for just half a day’s rental?

That meant forty yuan for a full day!

That was too much!

Who could afford that?

He rubbed his hands and awkwardly laughed, “Your mine really makes money. Just renting out a car, you could make a lot every month!”

He had originally wanted Lin Yongcheng to teach his son how to drive, but now that was out of the question.

Cars were far more complicated than tractors, and renting a car for a day cost forty yuan.

Who knew how long it would take to learn?

If it took a month, that would be twelve hundred yuan.

Not to mention he didn’t have twelve hundred yuan. What if he rented the car and still couldn’t learn?

That money would be wasted!

Forget it, forget it. Better not dream about things that shouldn’t be dreamed about.

“The cars at the mine aren’t available for just anyone to rent. It’s not easy, it requires a lot of effort,” Lin Yongcheng smiled and continued, “If it wasn’t for the urgent need at home, I wouldn’t have rented the car.”

The other two uncles didn’t dare speak.

Forty yuan a day—just thinking about that amount of money made them break into a cold sweat.

Who would still dare to talk about learning to drive?

They didn’t have that much money!

Learning to drive was out of the question, but tractors were easier to learn.

Lin Yongliang learned in just two days, and their son could surely learn just as fast as him!

“Yongcheng, I want to ask you for a favor.”

“What is it, Uncle Haizi?”

“Well… your brothers who aren’t very dependable want to learn to drive a tractor.”

“This is a small matter?” Lin Yongcheng didn’t take it seriously and quickly came up with an idea. “You can try borrowing a tractor, then buy two packs of cigarettes, get two pounds of meat, and send the gift to Yongliang’s house. Let Yongliang teach them. I live in the county, so my time is unpredictable, but Yongliang lives in the team, so it’s easy to find him.”

He pushed the responsibility onto Lin Yongliang since he didn’t often come back.

Even if they could borrow a tractor, they wouldn’t be able to find him.

Lin Yongcheng didn’t consider himself a bad person, but he was far from a good person.

Not long ago, regarding the rumors about the small white fruit, no one had come to verify the truth with his family, but they still spread the rumors.

And now they wanted his help?!

No way!

Two packs of cigarettes and two pounds of meat weren’t difficult, but borrowing a tractor was.

Lin Yongcheng kept smiling, and no one could criticize him, since his attitude was good.

The tractor learning matter was now passed to Lin Yongliang.

So, the conversation shifted back to the car.

“What’s so special about your family? Why does it cost so much to rent a car?”

“Sigh… it’s my two kids,” Lin Yongcheng rubbed his hair, looking troubled as he confided in them, “My wife is starting a job at the county hospital next month. She doesn’t want to leave the kids behind, and they won’t let go of their mom either. I couldn’t deal with the situation, so I’ll have to rent a small place in the county and take the kids with me.”

As soon as he said this, the room fell silent.

Recently, they’d seen Bai Ji staying in the Shanglin team, and they thought her job had fallen through.

They didn’t realize she had a better opportunity!

In the past, she worked as a temporary worker in the county, but now Lin Yongcheng was talking about her working at the county hospital, which meant a permanent job!

That’s a steady job!

They were honestly envious!

Uncle asked, “But if you’re taking the kids to the county, don’t you need to rent a car?”

Twenty yuan for just that? All to bring your wife and kids to the county?

Isn’t that just wasting money?

The other eyes turned to Lin Yongcheng as well.

Lin Yongcheng said, “Both my wife and I work during the day. My eldest child is three years old, and the youngest is only six months. I can’t just leave them at home. My in-laws are coming to the county to help look after the kids, and we need to move all the pots and pans too.”

Before they could speak, Lin Yongcheng was already complaining.

“Houses in the county are hard to rent, and the rent is expensive. They’re inconvenient too. The laundry and kitchen are shared, even going to the toilet is a hassle. The house is so small, you can hear everything through the walls. Everything costs money to buy—unlike at home, where we have a garden for planting vegetables. Sigh… I’m really worried. Fortunately, I only have two kids. If I had two more, I wouldn’t be able to afford them.”

After his complaints, Lin Yongcheng pulled out some cigarettes and handed them to the others.

Then, he lit them for them himself.

“What I just said, just forget it, uncles. I was just venting. Don’t let my wife hear it; I’m afraid it will make her uncomfortable.”

Though he said this, he knew that Shanglin team had many big mouths.

Even though he handed them cigarettes, he couldn’t stop them from gossiping.

Of course, he actually wanted them to spread the word, so others would know that his life in the county wasn’t as glorious as they thought, to avoid too much resentment.

Lin Yongcheng pointed to the road leading into the village, “You guys take your time chatting. I’ll go home and start moving things. This rental fee is so expensive, I’m really hurting. If I delay the move, it’ll cost another twenty yuan. I’m under a lot of pressure to support my family. Twenty yuan isn’t a small amount.”

“Okay, go ahead!”

The uncles waved him off.

They also felt the pain at the thought of twenty yuan.

As soon as Lin Yongcheng left, they gathered under the big banyan tree to gossip, forgetting his request to keep it quiet.

The people under the banyan tree were in an uproar.

They first heard that the Lin family was moving to the county, and some people got sour.

“Yongcheng is really successful now. His whole family is moving to the city.”

“Moving to the city? Dr. Bai’s family of three was already from the city! If it wasn’t for Yongcheng marrying his daughter, they wouldn’t have come to the countryside!”

“True, they were originally city people.”

“The stethoscope and steering wheel are both iron rice bowls! They’ve got both!”

“Tsk… twenty yuan for the rental is too expensive. Yongcheng is really generous. If it were me, I’d just rent a bullock cart. Who would waste money like that?”

“In this hot weather, sitting on a bullock cart, you’d just get sunburned! They don’t have many kids, and the youngest just got sick. Can they take that heat?”

“……”

The Lin family once again became the center of gossip.

Though they were sour, they didn’t resent them too much.

After all, Lin Yongcheng was far ahead of them in every aspect. They could never catch up, no matter how sour they got. The bitterness would never change their situation.

Even more people gossiped about Lin Yongliang.

…

Bai’s house was far from the village entrance. One side was in the east, the other in the west, spanning almost the entire Shanglin team. They knew the move couldn’t be kept secret, and it couldn’t be done quietly, so Lin Yongcheng openly told others.

As soon as Lin Yongcheng got home, the moving began.

Lin Zhijun and his sister came to Bai’s house early, saying they were here to help.

Lin Yongliang and his wife heard about it and also came to help.

Some carried baskets, others moved things, and with Lin Yongcheng and Bai Zhu’s help, the moving was fast. After two trips, everything was moved out.

Once everything was done, they left with the two kids.

Bai Zhu carried Little Bai Guo in front, Bai Ji held Little Zi Su behind, locking the yard gate and carrying a small basket with daily items for Little Bai Guo.

After everything was moved out, the people under the big banyan tree clapped their thighs.

“Dr. Bai is leaving! Our village won’t have a barefoot doctor anymore!”

One sentence woke up the gossipers.

Earlier, they were all busy gossiping, mocking the Lin Yongcheng family for moving to the county town, and fantasizing about the wonderful life in the city. They had even forgotten something so important.

When it was mentioned that Baizhu was leaving, everyone at the scene panicked.

“What are we going to do in the future?”

“Should we ask the team leader to persuade Doctor Bai?”

“He can’t leave! If he leaves, where are we going to see a doctor in the future?”

People under the banyan tree quickly went to the team office to find Lin Changjin and Lin Shiyuan. Actually, they already knew—if someone wants to leave, what can they do about it?

Not long ago, someone in the village spread rumors, and Lin Changjin had already had this worry.

But he never expected that this day would come so quickly.

Lin Shiyuan sighed too. “Their child is a treasure!”

Honestly, he had lived a long life and never seen such a family treating their child like a precious gem.

Because of a few rumors, they were moving out, and if you count the cost of moving, the rental for a car alone would cost twenty yuan, and renting a house in the city was no small expense.

What about future living expenses?