Chapter 30

Peijia Village

Jiang Xi, who was called stupid, was looking at her small clinic happily.

The place is not big, connected to a room of Pei’s house, divided into two rooms. The inner one is the pharmacy, used to store various medicinal materials. The consultation table was moved outside, and there are long benches outside.

On the table were cotton balls soaked in alcohol, a stethoscope, silver needles, and other things. The room was filled with a faint smell of medicine.

Others might not be used to the smell, but Jiang Xi quite likes it. This smell has been with her since she started studying medicine. In this atmosphere, she feels at ease.

There are also quite a few people in this small clinic.

Today, people didn’t come to see a doctor but to enjoy the new clinic. Though simple, it looked presentable.

“From now on, our village will have its own doctor!” one person said.

“I told my parents that seeing a doctor here only costs one work point. They were so envious,” another added.

“Yes, but it’s cheaper to go to other villages, even though they’re farther away,” someone else noted.

During the excitement, team leader Pei Shengcai arrived with firecrackers^[1]are small explosive devices used for celebrations. and announced cheerfully, “Everyone’s here!”

“We came early to watch,” the villagers said.

Pei Shengcai was delighted: “Let’s have some fun. I’ve got half a rack of firecrackers. Stay back while I set them off.”

The villagers moved aside, and the firecrackers went off with a loud pop, making nearby children scream and run.

The firecrackers were small and quickly finished, but everyone was still happy.

Even though seeing a doctor isn’t a big event, having a clinic close by made people feel better. After the firecrackers, everyone was reluctant to leave.

Pei Shengcai told Jiang Xi to do a good job, and she agreed, looking forward to seeing more patients and earning points.

Pei Shengcai then addressed the crowd: “The rice is almost ready to harvest. We’ll have a meeting tonight, and every household must contribute.”

The villagers were excited—harvesting rice meant having food. Despite the hard work, it was rewarding. Everyone needed to prepare for the busy season ahead.

Jiang Xi welcomed many patients and tried to stay healthy before things got too hectic.

_

Aunt Lanhua brought her daughter-in-law to see Jiang Xi, who agreed to speak with Wu Xueni privately.

Wu Xueni was shy but eventually admitted she felt unwell. Jiang Xi examined her and confirmed a gynecological condition, prescribing appropriate medicine.

Wu Xueni, relieved, felt fortunate to have a female doctor in the village, which was more comfortable for her.

Jiang Xi treated several similar cases that day, gaining trust quickly due to her good care and approachable manner.

_

The last patient arrived in the afternoon.

Jiang Xi explained, “You have rheumatism^[2]is a condition causing pain and inflammation in joints and muscles.. You need acupuncture every two days and medicine. The medicine costs one yuan per patch, and acupuncture is 1.2 cents per session. If you agree, sign here and I’ll start your treatment.”

The patient was shocked by the costs and complained, “I remember acupuncture being six cents per session.”

Jiang Xi clarified, “That rate is for Peijia Village residents. You’re from Linjia Village, so the price is different.”

Lin Zhenguo argued, “Our villages are close, and my daughter married here. We’re all related. I came because I heard you’re a good doctor.”

His daughter told him about a person who had worse rheumatism but was cured by Jiang Xi. Now, he praises Jiang Xi’s treatment. Even on rainy days, he no longer feels pain, so his daughter insisted he see Jiang Xi.

He had visited a team doctor recently, but it didn’t help. He was reluctant to come, but his daughter’s insistence made him endure it. He was frustrated with the higher fees compared to what his daughter mentioned.

Jiang Xi explained, “The price is fixed. If I charge less, I’d have to cover the difference myself, which isn’t fair. If you don’t want the treatment, you can leave.”

Lin Zhenguo, although frustrated, paid the amount and said angrily, “If the team doctor doesn’t cure me, you’ll need to compensate.”

“Okay,” Jiang Xi replied with a smile.

Seeing her calm response, Lin Zhenguo was even more upset and silent.

Jiang Xi didn’t mind and asked him to pull up his trouser legs for acupuncture.

_

Half an hour later, the last patient left.

Jiang Xi stretched and went back to the Pei family’s yard, calling out: “Jiang Yu, Jiang Mi, have you finished your homework?”

The two were still learning to recognize words.

Before teaching them pinyin^[3]is the Romanization of Chinese characters based on their pronunciation., Jiang Xi started with writing their names. She then got textbooks from town for the first and second grades to teach them according to those books.

Old Chinese textbooks are quite different from modern ones.

Jiang Yu smiled and handed in her homework, while Jiang Mi woke up sleepily, wiping her mouth.

Jiang Xi was surprised: “You fell asleep!”

Jiang Mi was shocked: “You stayed awake and did your homework?”

Jiang Yu: “Yes.”

Jiang Mi: “That’s awful!”

Learning was tough for her. At seven years old, she was used to playing rather than learning. Writing even her own name seemed complicated and tiring. She fell asleep after writing four words.

Jiang Yu, amused by his sister’s reaction, motioned her to hand in the homework: “Big sister is waiting. What will you do?”

Jiang Mi sighed: “I’ll just be scolded.”

She handed in the notebook with Jiang Yu, hoping that Jiang Xi’s good mood might mean less punishment.

Jiang Xi reviewed their homework. Jiang Yu had written neatly and even added extra words related to herbs Jiang Xi had drawn.

But Jiang Mi’s work was lacking—she had only written her name twice, and the second time, it was missing parts of the characters.

Jiang Xi’s face grew stern.

Jiang Mi, seeing the seriousness, was about to cry: “Sister, I didn’t mean it…”

Jiang Xi folded her arms and said sternly, “So you find reading and writing too boring and are too lazy, right?”

Jiang Mi, realizing her usual tricks wouldn’t work, quickly denied: “No, I just fell asleep. I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

“Finish the homework,” Jiang Xi ordered coldly. “Since you like sleeping so much, complete your work and skip dinner.”

Jiang Mi was devastated. She loved eating, and the thought of missing dinner was unbearable.

Jiang Yu felt sorry for her but couldn’t intervene.

Jiang Xi explained to him, “At this stage, you have two choices: study well or work in the fields. If you choose work, you’ll have to support yourself and buy your own food. It’s your decision.”

Jiang Mi knew her elder sister was strict and realized that working would be tough. She quickly agreed: “No, I want to study. I’ll work hard.”

Jiang Xi smiled and told her to continue her homework.

Jiang Mi nodded and went back to her room.

Jiang Xi then looked at Jiang Yu and asked gently, “I’m going to town soon. Is there anything you want to get?”

Jiang Yu, holding his notebook, asked shyly, “Can I get some cookies?”

Jiang Xi smiled and said, “Of course.”

Jiang Yu smiled and skipped back into the house to get 80 cents. In this era, that amount could buy a lot of things.

Snacks like cookies were bought with pocket money, and Jiang Xi sometimes paid for extra treats herself.

After taking the money, Jiang Xi quickly left on her bicycle. It was getting late, and she needed to buy meat before dark since she was the only one at home.

Unfortunately, the butcher shop had closed, and she could only get meat from the black market, but not much.

_

Jiang Xi rode quickly to town and first went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy biscuits. She spent 1 yuan and got a small bag of onion-flavored biscuits with sugar. They were sweet and refreshing.

Along with the biscuits, she bought staples like flour, mung beans, and small butterfly-shaped candies.

It was getting late, so Jiang Xi hurried home. When she arrived, everyone was there: Pei’s parents were in the kitchen, one child was cleaning the chicken coop, and the other was doing homework.

The meeting must have finished.

Jiang Xi carried her backpack into the house. Since she married Pei Hejun, Pei’s parents rarely stayed at the house for long, even when they needed to care for their son.

When she entered the room, it was empty except for Pei Hejun lying motionless on the bed.

She sat down, held his hand, and whispered, “Buy a pound of meat, four leg bones, and five pig’s trotters and put them in the backpack.”

The system replied: [Yes, 25 points have been deducted for you.]

Jiang Xi felt the backpack get heavier and noticed Pei Hejun, who should have been unresponsive, was gripping her hand slightly.

She tried to see if he would react, and he seemed to move his hand but failed to keep it up.

Jiang Xi realized that maybe he could sense his surroundings and hear her. This might mean he was close to waking up.

The system excitedly notified her: [The host grabbed your hand!]

Jiang Xi, feeling touched, held his hand more firmly and whispered in his ear: “Pei Hejun, you’re doing well. Take your time to recover. I’ll be here to help.”

His fingers responded weakly to her touch, as if acknowledging her words.

Just then, Jiang Mi burst in, her cheerful voice breaking the moment: “Sister, I’ve finished writing—ah! Are you kissing your brother-in-law?!”

Jiang Mi covered her mouth, peeking through her fingers, looking excited and surprised.

Jiang Xi: “…”

“Jiang Mi! Who told you to come in without knocking? Write it fifty times again!”

Jiang Mi: “!!!”