Many of the waiting patients saw the scene of Wang Jian and Ren Yu joking around.
The local villagers already knew them and were aware that they had been close since childhood, so it wasn’t a big deal. For the people from other villages, however, it was a different story. Bored from waiting in line, they started gossiping, with the won being particularly enthusiastic.
"Wow, that girl is so pretty."
"That must be Doctor Wang. Is that his girlfriend next to him?"
"Probably. I heard Doctor Wang isn’t married yet."
"Ah, a talented man and a beautiful woman. They look great together."
"What do you all think? Don’t they have the look of a married couple?"
"Now that you ntion it, they really do."
So people from their village couldn’t listen anymore. Since they knew both of them, they stepped in to clarify.
"Don’t spread rumors. That’s Jia Cheng’s daughter, Xiao Yu. She just got back for sumr vacation."
"Xiao Yu and Doctor Wang grew up together. They’ve always been incredibly close."
"We watched them grow up."
"Oh, is that Ren Jiacheng, the one who made money driving an unlicensed taxi?"
"Yes, yes, that’s him."
"That guy is swarthy and plain-looking, but he sure has a beautiful daughter."
"Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if she and Doctor Wang really got together. What a perfect match, don’t you all agree?"
"Hahaha, Lao Liu is right! I think they’re a great fit too."
Before long, so people had even started speculating on what Wang Jian and Ren Yu’s children would look like. It was quite a spectacle.
Wang Jian and Ren Yu walked quickly to the clinic entrance without stopping. Today wasn’t like yesterday. There weren’t many people in line, making for a much quieter scene, with only the fifty or sixty stools in the yard occupied.
Ren Yu was a new face. As the two chattered on their way over, she naturally drew the patients’ attention. At first, everyone thought she was Wang Jian’s girlfriend, but seeing her follow him into the consultation room made things seem a bit different.
Wang Jian and Ren Yu heard the murmurs from the crowd; they weren’t deaf. But there was nothing they could do. People were just bored.
Once inside the consultation room, Wang Jian grabbed a new white coat and put it on Ren Yu.
"You’re a dical student, so you should wear a white coat."
Although Wang Jian intended to use Ren Yu as a nurse, he saw her as a future doctor. He hoped she would pursue that path—and his reasoning had absolutely nothing to do with any weakness he might have for a woman in uniform.
"This is my first ti wearing a white coat in a hospital setting."
Ren Yu was intrigued. After putting it on, she kept examining herself, a delighted expression on her face.
Li Dayu had heard about Ren Yu’s arrival. He walked in and saw her in the white coat, and couldn’t help but tease, "Well, well, is this our new Doctor Ren? Welco, welco!"
"Village Chief, please stop teasing ." Ren Yu felt a bit awkward at Li Dayu’s joke and turned to Wang Jian. "Does the clinic have nurse uniforms? I think I should probably wear one of those."
"No need." Wang Jian knew what she was worried about but disagreed. "As long as I’m here at the clinic and you’re with , what you wear doesn’t matter. You could help out in your regular clothes for all I care."
Li Dayu also nodded. "I was just kidding, Xiao Yu, please don’t take it to heart. All we have to do is tell the patients you’re here helping as a nurse, and the whole neighborhood will know in no ti. There won’t be any misunderstandings, so just wear it with confidence."
This was the advantage of a village clinic. The patients were all locals, so everyone knew how many doctors and staff the clinic had. There was no need for uniforms to differentiate roles like in a large hospital, nor was there a need for standardized managent. After all, Wang Jian alone had the final say.
So, there weren’t many rules. If Wang Jian said it was fine, it was fine.
Since both Wang Jian and Li Dayu had said so, Ren Yu stopped worrying about it. In fact, the mont she put on the white coat, she felt a newfound respect for the garnt. It was as if wearing it transford her, making her unwilling to do anything that might tarnish its honor.
So this is what it ans to be a doctor?
Of course, this was all just in her head.
Wang Jian watched the change in her expression and couldn’t help but shake his head. He was all too familiar with this reaction. Perhaps every dical student felt this way the first ti, but to him now, it seed so sweet and naive.
He couldn’t resist saying, "Keep at it, Xiao Yu."
Though he spoke with the fondness of a veteran observing a rookie, Ren Yu found his words deeply encouraging.
After Li Dayu went outside, he announced the arrival of a new nurse to the people waiting. It was only then that they realized Doctor Wang’s "girlfriend" was also a dical student. Instantly, the flas of gossip, which had just died down, roared back to life.
The fifty-odd people in line were anything but idle.
However, in the last few seats, three figures stood out, looking utterly out of place among the others.
...
After a full day at the free clinic, Ren Yu finally began to truly understand how difficult dicine was.
Although she was only a freshman, she had already been exposed to a great deal of dical theory and had studied hard. She had thought she was learning well, but now she realized how naive she had been.
Passing exams was one thing; applying that knowledge was another entirely.
When faced with actual patients, she was completely at a loss.
She realized that apart from serving tea and water, there was very little she could do to help in the consultation room. It was so bad that if Wang Jian asked her to fetch an herb, she wouldn’t even recognize it.
She felt so helpless...
A profound sense of powerlessness washed over Ren Yu, making her wonder if she was completely useless.
But the more she felt this way, the more amazing Wang Jian seed.
Whether it was a cold, a fever, or so hidden chronic illness, Wang Jian could diagnose it with perfect clarity just by taking a patient’s pulse. It was as if he could see right through them before they even said a word.
Sotis, he seed less like a practitioner of Chinese dicine and more like a fortune teller.
Many patients blurted out as they left, "He’s a miracle worker!"
It was the exact sa reaction people have after getting their fortunes told.
Ren Yu watched in awe. In all her life, this was the first ti she had ever seen Wang Jian work so seriously. A mixture of emotions she couldn’t quite articulate welled up inside her as she watched him.
As the day wound down to the last few patients, Wang Jian called the next number, and three people walked in.
The first was an old man, which was normal enough, but he was flanked by two tall, burly n. These two neither supported the old man nor showed any sign of warmth; they didn’t look like family.
Over the past two days, many patients had co with family, but Wang Jian felt sothing was off about this trio.
After the old man sat down, Wang Jian proceeded with his usual pulse-taking and questioning, but the answers he received were wildly different from what the pulse indicated.
The old man’s pulse was steady with an undercurrent of decline—a normal pulse for his age. At most, he might have so chronic indigestion. Yet, the old man himself stamred through his answers, often unable to respond, and kept glancing at the n beside him. His behavior was completely at odds with his pulse reading.
Overall, he didn’t seem like a patient at all.
Wang Jian frowned. For the first ti, he was unsure how to make a diagnosis.
He had to ask again, "Sir, could you please tell one more ti where you’re feeling unwell?"
At the question, the old man froze, as if he had forgotten the answers to a test.
The old man didn’t reply, but one of the burly n beside him did. "What’s wrong with you, Doctor? Are you deaf? He just told you. Why are you asking again?"
"If you can’t do your job, I’ll smash your sign to bits!" he threatened, deliberately showing off his tattoos—a blue dragon on his left arm and a white tiger on his right.
Only then did Wang Jian take a closer look at the man. He realized the symptoms the old man had described were a much better match for this man’s appearance. He had a sickly yellow complexion and bad breath. Putting that together with what the old man had said, Wang Jian started to understand.
"The old gentleman’s illness is quite interesting."
Wang Jian smiled at the group. The two thugs might have bulging muscles, tattoos, and fierce expressions that would scare an ordinary person, but Wang Jian was no ordinary person. He wasn’t the least bit intimidated.
In his eyes, these two were all bark and no bite.
Wang Jian spoke slowly, "The old gentleman’s pulse, while not as vigorous as a young man’s, is quite healthy for his age. At most, he’s had so poor digestion lately, causing stomach fire to rise, possibly with so frequent burping and heartburn. These symptoms, however, don’t match what he described at all."
Ren Yu, intimidated, had shrunk behind Wang Jian, pressing close to him. Hearing this, she was stunned. "But the old man said he has occasional liver pain, bad breath even after brushing his teeth, and trouble sleeping..."
Without looking back at Ren Yu, Wang Jian subtly shielded her further behind him and continued to smile at the two thugs. "That’s the interesting part. Why would the old man lie about his symptoms? The reason is simple: either soone is forcing him, or he’s doing it on purpose."
"You’re just a young doctor, yet you’re already spouting nonsense." The thug’s eyes narrowed as he spat, "I knew you were a quack. So young and already out here tricking people. Aren’t you afraid you’ll kill soone? You can’t figure out what’s wrong, so you start making excuses. I’ve seen plenty of frauds like you in Chinese dicine."
"Trying to cross ? You better watch your step when you’re walking at night. Don’t co crying to if you ’accidentally’ fall into a ditch and end up crippled."
"I suggest you think it over. Change the diagnosis and prescribe dicine based on what the old man said. Otherwise, don’t bla for what happens next."
This was an open threat.
The Cai family mbers helping at the entrance had already noticed the commotion, as had the last few patients in line. Soon, a small crowd had gathered at the doorway, watching the scene unfold.
An old man from Red Star Village apparently recognized the three troublemakers. He wasn’t surprised at all by what was happening and instead shot Wang Jian a look filled with hesitation and a touch of pity.
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