Chapter 22

She couldn’t believe it: “Is he really going to wake up?”

Vegetative patients don’t eat or drink through their mouths but can still taste bitterness. Does this mean his sense of smell might be recovering?

Jiang Xi thought about it, picked up the half-drunk sugar water on the table, scooped some with a spoon, and put it in his mouth. Since Pei Hejun couldn’t open his mouth by himself, she lifted him up slightly, leaned him against her, and pried open his lips and teeth to pour the sugar water in.

The brown sugar water was sweet, but someone in a serious vegetative state couldn’t swallow it on their own. This time, he seemed to feel it, and his Adam’s apple moved, with only a small amount of water spilling over.

He drank it!

Jiang Xi’s eyes lit up. She put him back down, wiped his mouth, and saw his frown had relaxed.

“There’s really a reaction!”

The system got excited and typed faster: [I told you! The host opened his eyes before, and you said it was a normal reaction]

[Wow, the host is finally well. You know, he had a big mission before the accident—]

The system suddenly stopped.

Two seconds later, the rest of the sentence vanished.

The system continued normally: [If the host wakes up, he will definitely take the initiative to complete the tasks. Even if he doesn’t know what the tasks are, he will automatically complete them. Then I will have two points income!]

Jiang Xi laughed, not minding the system’s glitch, and said calmly: “His condition has improved a lot, but we shouldn’t get our hopes too high. It would be great if he could really wake up.”

Although Pei Hejun died in the book, it was due to his two brothers not taking good care of him. Vegetative states are delicate, like plants. If not cared for properly, problems can arise. Now that Jiang Xi is taking good care of him, he should be recovering well.

However, as a doctor in her previous life, she had seen too many cases to have high expectations. She just tried her best and didn’t even dare to tell Pei’s parents.

She sighed and asked, “System, is there an electric fan?”

[Yes!] The system seemed to really believe that Pei Hejun was about to wake up, and was in a very high mood. It took the initiative to display all kinds of electric fans in the mall, and even made a shiny border special effect for her to see: [Host wife, which one do you want? They are all very good.]

Jiang Xi took a quick glance and was stunned by the dazzling array of items.

She really wanted a big electric fan, a very big electric fan, so that she wouldn’t have to fan herself and get tired.

However, she looked at it for a long time with greed, but had no idea at all.

I can buy an electric fan, but there is no electricity!

There is no electricity in the rural areas here.

Jiang Xi asked the system to close the mall. She let go of Pei Hejun’s hand, fanned herself, and felt drowsy.

To be honest, if the conditions here weren’t so bad, this would really be heaven.

Pei’s parents were good to her, and she had a source of income, but the work was not heavy and she had no boss. When there were no patients, she could lie down and rest, which was much better than sitting in the office all day.

She was muttering when there was a knock on the door. Mother Pei’s slightly excited voice rang out from outside the door: “Xiaoxi, are you asleep?”

Jiang Xi sat up: “No, Mom, come in.”

Mother Pei immediately opened the door, her face showing an extremely happy expression, a little less than the previous wedding banquet. She first glanced at her son, and seeing that he was fine, her smile became even more intense. She walked to the bed next to Jiang Xi and sat down: “Something big happened at the clinic just now!”

“The new team doctor got a lot of trouble from Xisheng’s mother, and now everyone on the team knows what he did! I don’t think he will be able to stay on the team any longer!”

Jiang Xi sat up straighter and looked at her with great interest: “What’s going on?”

Forgive her, it’s so boring here, that’s the only fun.

Pei’s mother smiled understandingly and began to describe to her in vivid detail the farce that had just taken place at the clinic at the entrance of the next village.

_

After Xisheng’s mother was rescued from Pei’s house, she ran away shouting about the money she had been cheated of.

She didn’t go back, but went to find the team doctor.

As someone who could even blackmail the doctors at the town clinic, she was used to being shameless in this regard, especially since she was in the right this time.

Xisheng’s mother didn’t need anyone’s help. She rushed to the clinic with the medicine jar in her arms. The fever from the team doctor had not yet worn off, and there were still a bunch of people waiting to see a doctor in the clinic. When they saw her coming, they thought she was also here to see a doctor.

But she just stood next to the examination table holding the medicine bottle and started to cry at the top of her voice: “This team doctor has no conscience! He charged me five yuan for a medicine that cost one yuan, and even lied to me that it can give birth to a child. It’s a liar! This big liar bullied a commoner like me!!!”

She is a great singer and songwriter, which attracted a lot of attention from people. After listening to the content of her song, their expressions changed.

Even the team doctor Li Quan, who hadn’t noticed her at all, was startled. Maybe because he felt guilty or something, he stood up suddenly, his face turned pale, and he angrily said, “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Xisheng’s mother wiped her tears and said, “I didn’t say anything nonsense. You just cheated me out of my money. You also said that if I drank thirty yuan worth of medicine continuously, my daughter-in-law would give birth to a son. I paid you all the money, but the medicine you gave me was just a tonic. I asked other doctors for help! You cheated me out of my money!”

After hearing this, Li Quan was startled for a moment. It was already a hot summer day, and at this moment, all the hairs on his body stood up, and sweat covered his whole body in the blink of an eye. He didn’t expect that in such a small mountain village, there would be people who could tell what these medicinal herbs were used for!

Wow!

The people around them exclaimed in surprise, and looked at the two people with doubt. Many people whispered, but some people didn’t quite believe it, mainly because the man still had a criminal record. A kind-hearted aunt frowned and said, “Xisheng’s mother, don’t talk nonsense!”

“That’s right! Doctor Li is the team doctor! Is he really doing such a deceptive thing? Besides, he has only been here for a few days.”

Someone helped to speak up, and Li Quan quickly calmed down. He put on an unhappy face and said, “Don’t listen to other people’s nonsense. This medicine is definitely a good medicine. There are so many medicinal materials, how can you know which one is good and which one is bad? Not to mention that there are some precious medicinal materials in it. And this prescription is also passed down by my master. I don’t take it out easily. Otherwise, how can I charge so much?”

Is Xisheng’s mother so easy to deal with?

She was convinced that she had been cheated. When she looked at Doctor Li again, she was no longer afraid. Instead, she said, “The one who said that is the daughter-in-law of the Pei family. She also knows medical skills. If you don’t agree, let’s go to the clinic in town and ask the doctor there to see what your medicine is. Is it worth charging me five yuan a piece?”

Li Quan’s heart sank. He didn’t expect that she didn’t believe what he said at all. He couldn’t help but feel a little tricky.

After hearing this, everyone’s faces turned strange. Even those who originally supported Dr. Li began to disbelieve it. If they dared to go to the clinic in the town, it meant that there was some kind of ceremonial ceremony.

Looking at Li Quan again, his face was really dark.

Someone whispered, “Is he really a liar?”

Immediately, a voice said, “If this is a liar, who would dare to let him see a doctor?”

“To be honest, it’s better to ask Pei’s daughter-in-law to help. Although it costs some eggs, the price is not expensive.”

Li Quan listened to the murmurs with a sullen face, clenched his fists tightly, and said coldly: “I said I didn’t lie, so I didn’t lie. If you don’t believe me, return the medicine to me! Since you don’t believe me, don’t come to see me in the future.”

Then he looked at the people in front of him who were originally queuing but now gathered together to watch the fun, and said unhappily, “You are the same. If you believe in me, then listen to me. If you don’t believe me, leave quickly. There are so many people here. I am tired of seeing patients every day.”

He was so confident that a small number of people actually believed him again, and the whispers decreased a lot.

Xisheng’s mother was also upset. She had already offended the daughter-in-law of the Pei family. If she offended this doctor again, no one would treat her. When she thought of the money she had been cheated of, she was furious. She gritted her teeth and stuffed the medicine jar over: “Okay, you pay me ten yuan.”

Li Quan took the medicine jar, hoping to settle things. But when Xisheng’s mother demanded ten yuan, he was confused. He asked, “Isn’t it five yuan? You used the herbs, and I haven’t settled the bill yet. Why do you want ten yuan?”

Xisheng’s mother insisted, “You tricked me with this medicine and charged me extra. I need more compensation. I won’t accept less than eight yuan!”

Li Quan flatly refused, saying, “No way, the most I can offer is four yuan!”

The herbs cost one yuan each, and he didn’t want to give more.

Xisheng’s mother wasn’t satisfied and cried out, “This is so unfair! He cheated me, and now he won’t give me my money back. This doctor is bullying ordinary people!”

Her loud crying drew attention from people nearby, who were waiting for lunch. The commotion grew, and Li Quan felt increasingly stressed.

Realizing the situation was out of control, Li Quan reluctantly agreed, “Fine, I’ll give you eight yuan. Just stop the fuss.”

Xisheng’s mother immediately stopped crying and eagerly accepted the money. But then Pei Shengcai, the captain of the Sixth Brigade, arrived and confronted Li Quan.

Pei Shengcai quickly moved Li Quan behind him and scolded, “Aunt Fen, are you extorting money again? I’ve already warned you about your behavior in town. Don’t bully Xiao Li!”

Li Quan was shocked to see Pei Shengcai. He felt uneasy as Pei Shengcai and his cousin Lin Tao, along with other team members, looked on with disapproval.

Li Quan, feeling overwhelmed, tried to explain, “No, it’s fine, Captain, you don’t have to…”

Pei Shengcai was stern: “You don’t need to make excuses. I remember what you did. Aunt Fen, you should apologize to Doctor Li.”

Xisheng’s mother was defiant. She argued, “I didn’t do anything wrong! He lied about the medicine and charged too much. I only wanted fair compensation!”

Pei Shengcai was surprised and asked, “Is this true?”

Others nodded, confirming that Xisheng’s mother was right. “Yes, we saw everything. It’s not Aunt Fen’s fault this time.”

Pei Shengcai, disappointed, addressed Li Quan, “Doctor Li, you’ve only been here for a short time, and this is how you behave?”

Li Quan felt ashamed and sought help from his cousin, Lin Tao, who intervened, “Captain, my cousin is young and inexperienced. He didn’t mean to deceive anyone. Let’s overlook this this time. If he makes a mistake again, I’ll take responsibility.”

Li Quan nodded quickly, “Yes, Captain. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Deputy Captain Zhou Xin and others also supported giving Li Quan another chance, stating that everyone makes mistakes and that he was still learning.

Pei Shengcai, after hearing these arguments, decided on a compromise. He said, “Doctor Li will be fined one month’s work points as punishment, and everyone will keep an eye on him. If he makes another mistake, he won’t be the team doctor anymore.”

He made sure everyone heard this, and many villagers agreed to supervise Li Quan closely.

Li Quan, feeling relieved, agreed to the supervision, hoping to avoid further issues.

Pei Shengcai left with a cold snort, and the two men behind him relaxed their shoulders. As Li Quan was about to thank his cousin with a smile, Lin Tao kicked him and cursed, “Idiot!”