Although he didn’t comment, he immediately went to find Zhou Xin and said, “Brother Zhou, you were right. We need to speed up the process. Pei Sheng really wants her as the team doctor. The certificate says she’s a doctor from Peijia Village, but soon she’ll be a doctor from the Sixth Brigade!”

Zhou Xin’s face darkened when he heard this: “I know.”

He had been thinking about this issue for a while. Finding a doctor was difficult. Most doctors either work in regular hospitals or are in high demand, making it hard to attract them to a rural area like theirs.

Lin Tao understood this and suggested, “How about hiring someone with less experience?”

Zhou Xin looked at him.

Lin Tao licked his lips and said, “One of my cousins has been learning from a doctor for a few months. He has some talent. What if we invite him?”

Zhou Xin frowned slightly, unsure. He doubted the cousin’s skills given the short training period.

Lin Tao continued, “My cousin doesn’t ask for much. He’s not strong and can’t do farm work. Just give him six work points a day. That’s all.”

“…Bring him here for me to see,” Zhou Xin said.

Lin Tao grinned: “Okay, I’ll talk to him right away.”

_

Meanwhile, Jiang Xi had already received the certificate from Pei Shengcai and went to the pharmacy in town. Her acupuncture needles had arrived, packed in a wooden box with twenty-three basic needles.

Jiang Xi wasn’t disappointed as her expectations were low. She paid the balance and bought various medicinal materials. The quantity was so large that the clerks were amazed: “You’re almost emptying the pharmacy!”

The clerk looked at the almost empty medicine cabinet and said, “This purchase will last a long time.”

Jiang Xi laughed dryly: “It’s not that exaggerated. This will last for a while.”

The clerk, teasing, said, “Who would visit a doctor for just a minor illness? That would be endless. By the way, are you an apprentice doctor in the brigade?”

Jiang Xi shook her head: “No.”

She didn’t elaborate. In this profession, age can matter, and young doctors might face doubts about their skills.

The clerk assumed Jiang Xi was helping with the shopping and didn’t think much of it. He mentioned, “I heard the Sixth Brigade is looking for a doctor. They asked me if I wanted to go, but I lack the skills. If you were an apprentice, you might consider it.”

Jiang Xi paused and asked in surprise, “Sixth Brigade? Are you sure?”

The clerk pointed to the direction of the Sixth Brigade and said, “Yes, that’s where they are.”

Jiang Xi was curious but decided not to probe further. She thought about Pei Shengcai’s avoidance and wondered if something had happened.

However, not being a team doctor wasn’t a big loss. She knew that building a good reputation would attract patients eventually.

After buying the medicine, Jiang Xi went to get gas and buy daily necessities. By the time her bicycle basket was full, it was almost dinner time when she returned home.

Jiang Xi was hungry and hurried back.

Upon arriving at Pei’s house, she didn’t smell food. Jiang Ermei quickly pulled her inside, saying anxiously, “Sister, Uncle has sprained his back. Go and see him.”

“Sprained back?!” Jiang Xi was shocked and went straight in without worrying about her belongings.

In rural areas, most houses have open doors, so she just walked in.

Inside, she smelled medicated oil. Father Pei was lying on the bed, his body thin but showing no obvious injuries. Mother Pei was rubbing his back with red eyes.

When Father Pei cried out in pain, Mother Pei gritted her teeth and didn’t show sympathy.

Seeing Jiang Xi, Pei’s mother stopped and said, “Xiaoxi, you’re back. Please massage your father. I’m not strong enough and don’t dare to press too hard.”

Jiang Xi took over, applied the medicated oil to her hands, warmed them up, and started massaging Pei’s father’s back, asking, “Does it hurt here?”

After locating the pain, she worked quickly. Father Pei, who had been crying out loudly, now remained silent, his face buried in the pillow and sweat covering him.

Jiang Xi encouraged him, “Dad, if it hurts, just let me know. It’s okay.”

Father Pei gritted his teeth and said nothing, too embarrassed to cry out loud in front of his daughter-in-law.

Mother Pei understood and scolded him gently while sitting by the bed, “You’re just being stubborn. If it weren’t for this, you wouldn’t have hurt your back. Don’t you know your age?”

Father Pei groaned in response.

Jiang Xi asked, “Dad, how did you hurt your back? Were you doing heavy work?”

Mother Pei’s face darkened as she replied angrily, “It’s because of the second son. Since he found out I made a desk for you, he’s been unhappy. Your pharmacy is open, but there’s no door. The cart we lent to the second son before, he refused to return it this time, saying it was borrowed in advance.”

She added with red eyes, “He just returned it this morning. He just doesn’t want to lend anything.”

“But your father was very stubborn. He was so angry that he refused to use the cart and instead carried the door back himself. After carrying it all the way, he came back complaining of severe back pain.”

“If I had known they were like this, I wouldn’t have had them, just to make myself suffer.”

Jiang Xi: “?”

So what?

If she had really taken advantage, the second brother’s family might have trouble explaining it, but in fact, the eldest and second brothers benefited more.

Previously, when Pei Hejun was still in the military camp, he saved most of his allowance and sent a small part back to his parents. He also often bought things to show his filial piety. These items were not cheap, and Pei’s parents were reluctant to use them. Not only did he give them all, but he could also ask Pei’s parents for money when needed.

Though separated, people in rural areas believe that even if family ties are strained, they still exist. So Pei’s parents would not truly abandon the two children and were quite generous in their efforts.

In terms of getting a bargain, Pei Hejun was the one who lost out.

Pei Deyi was unwilling to lend the cart?

Jiang Xi frowned, but since Pei Deyi was Pei’s biological son, even if they treated her well, she couldn’t criticize him easily.

It’s not the right time to discuss this. Looking at Pei’s father, he seemed quite embarrassed.

She avoided the topic and asked directly: “Don’t you have a cart at home? Mom, how about we buy one?”

“We had some before. This isn’t a family division, so we just split up all those things. Anyway, we can just ask them for what we need. Just this time…” Mother Pei sighed. It was a headache for her two sons not to get along. But when she thought about buying a cart, she hesitated and said, “It’s not worth spending the money, is it? A cart is not cheap, and it’s not often used. Can we just borrow one from someone in the village?”

Jiang Xi smiled and said, “That won’t work. I still need to buy one. It’s not good to keep borrowing from others.”

She took back her hands from massaging Pei’s father and, looking at her pretty but still somewhat childish face, said decisively: “It’s settled. Mom, buy a cart tomorrow and see if there’s anything else the family needs. You don’t have to borrow from others. I’ll pay for it. Is one hundred yuan enough?”

Seeing her so certain, Pei’s mother smiled helplessly and sighed inwardly. The second son said that the two old people were confused and treated a stranger better than their own son.

But in fact, they were just very aware.

The son might deliberately make his father angry out of spite, but the daughter-in-law can be so generous.

Mother Pei said angrily, “How can I use your money? Your father and I still have some savings.”

Jiang Xi said firmly, “That won’t work. I said I wanted to buy it. Besides, Dad got injured because of me.”

She was adamant, and it couldn’t be refuted.

Pei’s parents were not strong-willed, and with Jiang Xi’s generosity, they appreciated it. Even though Pei’s father was injured because of his son, he was still happy during dinner.

_

On the other side,

Others are not as idle as she is.

Especially those with children, or more than one, have very noisy households.

Liu Xiaohua was busy running around, cooking for the whole family, washing dishes, doing laundry… she never stopped.

As a housewife in the countryside, she handles all the work at home and outside. Men might go out to chat and play cards, but she remains busy at home.

Compared to Xu Cui, she manages family matters better.

So, she really didn’t have time to go to town in the afternoon.

She thought it would be fine to go tomorrow morning.

Her son just had diarrhea, which she thought wasn’t serious.

But when the whole family went to bed, Liu Xiaohua fell asleep and then vaguely heard her daughter exclaiming: “Mom, my brother is twitching!”

Liu Xiaohua woke up suddenly and checked her son. He was hot all over. Her daughter Xia Hong fumbled to light the kerosene lamp. In the dim light, she saw her son’s dry, peeling mouth and trembling body.

“Fengshou! Wake up!” Liu Xiaohua was afraid to pat her son.

But the little boy lay on the bed and didn’t react at all.

Oh no!

Something happened!

Suddenly, Liu Xiaohua remembered Jiang Xi’s words at noon.

“If we continue to let this go on, I’m afraid he will develop a fever, become comatose, or even go into shock.”

She hadn’t taken it seriously then. Everyone has diarrhea, but her son’s was a bit worse. It should be fine once his stomach was empty.

Who knew it was so serious?

He was shaking with fever.

You know, if the fever is severe, people can become delirious. Her son is her life, so she can’t let him suffer like this.

Liu Xiaohua, anxious, turned around to call her husband. She called him several times, but he remained asleep. Angry, she slapped him and said, “Your son is in trouble, and you’re still sleeping?”

Pei Deyi woke up: “Son! What happened to my son?”

Liu Xiaohua wanted to hit him with a club. The more she looked at him, the more useless he seemed. But her son was more important now. She hugged her son and urged him, “Go to your parents and get a bicycle to take him to town…”

“Oh, yes.” Pei Deyi quickly found his slippers and was about to leave.

After taking only two steps, Liu Xiaohua hesitated and followed with her son in her arms.

Pei Deyi said: “You wait at home. I’ll go to my parents’ house and get a bike to pick you up.”

Liu Xiaohua ignored him and quickly walked toward her husband’s house. Jiang Xi knew her son’s condition, so she should be able to help, right?

She was wrong. She shouldn’t have ignored the advice at noon.

How nice it would be if they had gone to town at noon!

She never expected a simple diarrhea could become this serious.

Her son didn’t react at all. If he hadn’t been feverish and shivering, she would have thought he was dead.

A seven-year-old boy, the Pei family lived well. Even though they had split up, the good things Pei Hejun brought back were usually shared between the two elders. As a result, Fengshou grew up stronger than ordinary children.

Despite the heavy weight of the situation, she felt surprisingly light.

She had become a strong woman, pushing her husband aside, and was the first to reach her husband’s house. She knocked urgently on the door and cried out, “Dad, Mom, Jiang Xi, open the door! Fengshou has a fever, Dad, Mom, Jiang Xi! Open the door quickly…”