Chapter 44

Pei Deming and his family came here at night, mainly because they were afraid of being embarrassed, so they came secretly.

Now he’s running away secretly again.

But is there any impenetrable wall in this world?

Especially in the past two days, the Pei family was in the limelight. There were always people watching them when they had nothing else to do. Naturally, they saw the scene of this family leaving in shame. If they were smiling, everyone might think that the two brothers had reconciled.

But this didn’t look right.

Then everyone knew that the two Pei brothers had fallen out.

Immediately, everyone in the village started gossiping about why the two brothers had fallen out. Everything Pei Deming had said was brought up and criticized over and over again.

For a moment, Pei Deming and Xu Cui felt like people were pointing fingers at them whenever they went out.

Sometimes when they went to work, someone would pull them aside and say, “Are you stupid? He Jun is fine now, so he will have a bright future. Why did you fall out with him?”

“Should you not have been so excessive before? Now that the family is well, you have offended them.”

“No, no, no, please be a little more kind in your daily life.”

Some even went so far as to pull their own children aside and admonish them: “Don’t learn from this family. They thought about dividing the property before the person died, but now that the person is alive, they can’t get any advantage at all.”

Pei Deming and Xu Cui: “…”

They also tried to get their three children to go over to soften the old couple’s hearts.

However, even if the children went there and ate and drank well, they were not allowed to take them back, and they were told to go back empty-handed, or not to go back at all. Even if the children went there several times, they always came back to complain about what they did in the first place.

The children were instigated to go there, and were initially ignorant, but after staying at their grandparents’ house for a long time, they could see that their parents were still not forgiven by them. Their uncle no longer loved them as much as before, and their aunt was also very distant. Even though their grandparents treated them the same, they could still feel the difference. After so many times, they naturally didn’t want to go.

After all, they were not ignorant children of four, five, or six years old.

Pei Deming and Xu Cui now regret their actions. They were greedy at the beginning and now they are in a difficult situation. If they had known this would happen, why did they do it?

But it was too late.

Jiang Xi treated Pei Deming and Pei Deyi’s families the same way. She ignored them anyway. If they came to see a doctor, she would treat them. Otherwise, she would never take the initiative to deliver food and drinks to them. As for the children from the two families, if they called her, she would respond. If they didn’t, she would treat them as strangers.

Pei’s parents were still tolerant of him. It was impossible for them to completely sever ties with him, so they would occasionally give him some food in private.

Jiang Xi pretended not to see it because the two old people didn’t have much good stuff themselves, and they wouldn’t just give money to one person, they would also give money to Jiang Xi’s two sisters. They wouldn’t say anything because of Jiang Xi’s coldness towards the two families, so it was good that they could live in peace.

The only thing that was not so good was Zhou Xin, the deputy captain of the Sixth Brigade, who was even more shameless than Jiang Xi thought.

Li Quan left in a rage, leaving behind a mess.

Who in the team doesn’t know that Zhou Xinfei didn’t want Jiang Xi to be the team doctor, and he did everything he could to invite a doctor back, but he turned out to be a cobbler?

Too many people knew about it, and Zhou Xin was too embarrassed to admit it.

Especially now that villages like Zhoujia Village and Linjia Village have lost their team doctors, although there is still a village doctor in the neighboring Peijia Village, it is inconvenient to see a doctor and it costs so much to see a doctor in other villages!

Although Li Quan is useless, fever and cold can still be treated. They have enjoyed the convenience of having a doctor, so why would they be willing to spend more money or even go to town?

So everyone urged Zhou Xin to quickly find a way to get another team doctor.

But people with medical skills are not cabbages, where can he find one?

Especially the salary of the team doctor. Although it was much higher than that of people in the village, it was far from enough compared to people in the town and city. So the two sides were deadlocked for two days.

Finally, Zhou Xin couldn’t bear it anymore. He had to give everyone an explanation, otherwise his dream of becoming the team leader would be difficult to realize.

So he took advantage of the fact that no one was in the clinic and came to Pei’s house. Facing Jiang Xi, he spoke very confidently, leaving her stunned.

_

“You want me to tell the Ministry of Health that it was Pei Sheng who didn’t let me be the team doctor?”

Jiang Xi looked at the man in disbelief.

How can you have the nerve to say such things?

Did we all think that we were blind and couldn’t see what he did back then?

Zhou Xin’s face turned red when he was looked at, but he was determined to do it, otherwise he would be embarrassed in front of the commune. He promised: “If you agree, Lin Tao and I will give you eight centimeters a day, two days off a month, and two yuan. This treatment is really good.”

The corners of Jiang Xi’s mouth twitched. She was originally struggling over whether or not to be the team doctor, but now looking at people like Zhou Xin, she didn’t want to be one. It was nice to stay in this village. At least most of the people there were lovely, and Pei Shengcai was there to protect her.

When he arrived at the team, Pei Shengcai was no longer the only one who had the final say. The situation was different then.

She was originally a nobody, having been a minor doctor in her previous life, and she had no major aspirations in this life, so she decisively said, “No need, I think this village doctor is pretty good.”

Zhou Xin: “?”

He was shocked: “Are you crazy?! What good can a village doctor do?”

As if he knew what Jiang Xi said was true, he quickly added: “If you perform well in this training, I can still find a way to recommend you to study in the city next year. If you seize the opportunity, you may be able to be assigned to the hospital!”

Jiang Xi forced a smile and said, “I still can’t. Captain Zhou knows my husband is well now. He might go to the army soon, and I’ll follow. Forget about being a team doctor.”

Zhou Xin: “…”

He was disappointed but accepted it. After all, they were married and had no children, so separation was not an option.

Zhou Xin was discouraged but tried his best to offer the best conditions and persuade her again. Jiang Xi remained firm in her decision, so he gave up. Before leaving, he said, “Let’s keep the team matters private. I’m sorry for what happened, but we’re on the same team. If you’re good, I’m good, and everyone benefits.”

Jiang Xi replied with a smile, “Of course.”

Only then did Zhou Xin leave, feeling relieved.

As soon as he left, Jiang Xi frowned in disgust. Talking to him required great effort to remain calm and not laugh at his shamelessness.

She took a deep breath and turned back. There, she saw a hurried figure at the door and Pei’s mother smiling and scolding, “Slow down, slow down. The doctor said you can’t be anxious. If you fall, I can’t help you!”

Jiang Xi was puzzled: “……”

What was happening? Why was he at the door? When did he arrive? How much did he hear?

Jiang Xi guessed that Pei Hejun must have heard the last few sentences. Pei’s mother wouldn’t be smiling otherwise.

Jiang Xi covered her burning face and asked, “What’s going on?”

Just then, a villager called her, “Doctor Jiang!”

Jiang Xi quickly returned to her senses and went to the examination table: “What happened today? Is your wound bothering you?”

The villager showed her the wound and asked curiously, “I saw the deputy captain walking by. What was he doing here?”

Jiang Xi said casually, “He asked me to be the team doctor. I would have to tell the commune that Pei Sheng thought I wasn’t capable and didn’t let me be the team doctor.”

Villager: “What?!”

He was angry: “How can that be? We know how hard the captain worked on this! Doctor Jiang, you didn’t agree, did you?”

Jiang Xi smiled and said, “No.”

The villagers trusted her: “Sorry for the trouble. Don’t worry, the captain is a good man and will follow the rules.”

Jiang Xi nodded: “I know.”

After the villagers left, everyone in Peijia Village quickly learned about Zhou Xin’s conversation with Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi didn’t share this with anyone, but in a close-knit community like theirs, it wasn’t a secret for long.

Zhou Xin was infuriated by the rumors that worsened the situation. Pei Shengcai came to explain to Jiang Xi that his silence for the past two days was to make Zhou Xin admit his mistake and invite Jiang Xi to be the team doctor.

Pei Shengcai was tired of Zhou Xin’s shameless behavior and wanted to explain things to Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi didn’t take it personally and added, “Captain, I don’t want to be a team doctor. This is fine.”

The captain was surprised and asked, “Why? Being a team doctor is a great honor!”

Jiang Xi explained again, repeating what she had told Zhou Xin. The captain understood but felt regretful: “It’s a pity, we finally have a doctor here.”

Jiang Xi, feeling a bit awkward, added, “I don’t know when I’ll leave. Besides, I’m teaching Sister Ai Mei how to treat illnesses. She can be the village doctor when I leave.”

The captain was pleased and encouraged Li Aimei to learn as much as possible before Jiang Xi left.

Li Aimei was confused and worried about Jiang Xi’s departure. She hadn’t mastered the medical skills yet. However, seeing Jiang Xi behaving normally, she decided not to ask questions and waited for Jiang Xi to explain in her own time.

Jiang Xi was relieved no one asked her about these concerns. She felt comfortable discussing them with outsiders but felt embarrassed when asked by those close to her.

That night, Jiang Xi lay on the bed, falling asleep as usual. She had been anxious recently, wondering about her remaining merit points.

When Pei Hejun first woke up, she used all her points to exchange for medicinal herbs not available locally, which she used to help the Pei family. She felt her skin was improving.

Pei’s mother mentioned that she felt more energetic to work after taking the medicine.

However, she didn’t buy much of it, and when it ran out, she wanted to buy more.

Why doesn’t Pei Hejun know about this system himself!

Jiang Xi was torn about whether to tell Pei Hejun about the system and that he couldn’t see what she could. She wondered how he would react if she told him.

While thinking about this, she heard a light cough beside her ear. Pei Hejun then asked quietly, “Are you willing to join the army?”

The sudden question jolted Jiang Xi awake.

She turned around and saw Pei Hejun, who was still full of energy despite his long day, looking at her with expectation. After a moment of hesitation, she replied, “Well… I’ll think about it again, okay?”

Pei Hejun’s expression fell, but he nodded and said, “Okay, no rush. Think about it.”

He turned over and lay flat on his back, not looking at her anymore.

Jiang Xi felt a mix of pressure, anger, and guilt. Was it wrong to delay her decision?

She was unsure if she could maintain her marriage with Pei Hejun and worried about her younger sisters, Jiang Yu and Jiang Mi. If she joined the army, what would happen to them? Especially Jiang Yu, who is sensitive.

Jiang Xi decided to take things one step at a time. She closed her eyes, put everything aside, and tried to sleep.

But Pei Hejun’s disappointed look lingered in her mind, preventing her from falling asleep. She woke up suddenly and found it was late at night.

She turned her head and saw Pei Hejun sleeping soundly beside her.

Feeling restless, Jiang Xi gently poked his shoulder to ensure he wouldn’t wake up.

No response.

Good.

She carefully placed her hand on his fingertips, which were resting by his side. The system screen appeared, showing: 2461 points.

Jiang Xi was shocked.

She quickly withdrew her hand, and the system control panel disappeared.