Chapter 665: The Villagers' Enthusiasm
Chapter 665: The Villagers' Enthusiasm
A middle-aged woman, seeing Ruan Tang wiping her face with Zhou Chengsen's handkerchief, mistakenly thought they were a couple. She laughed and asked Zhou Chengsen, "Ah Sen, is this your new girlfriend? She's quite something, isn't she? And she's a doctor? That's great! Now, whenever someone in the village gets sick, we won't have to go to the hospital anymore."
Ruan Tang was taken aback, her face turning red. She continued wiping her face, pretending not to hear.
To avoid the awkwardness, Zhou Chengsen replied with a light-hearted tone, "She is a doctor, but not my girlfriend. She's a friend of Xia and Yingying. Auntie, don't joke around like that. People might think I'm an old bull trying to eat tender grass! I could be Dr. Ruan's uncle. Besides, she might already have a boyfriend, and it wouldn't be good if she misunderstood."
The village women loved to joke around, and Zhou Chengsen had grown up with them. At his age, he could handle any situation with ease, defusing awkward moments with just a few words.
However, while his words might have resolved the awkwardness for others, Ruan Tang didn't feel particularly happy. The self-deprecating comment about being an "old bull eating tender grass" and the suggestion that he could be her uncle stung her.
She wished she hadn't called him "uncle" in the first place!
"Oops, I'm sorry, I'm sorry", the woman quickly apologized to Ruan Tang.
Ruan Tang smiled. "It's okay."
People generally have a natural respect for doctors, and the auntie had just heard Zhou Chengsen call Ruan Tang "Dr. Ruan." Seeing Ruan Tang respond, she seized the opportunity to chat further. "Dr. Ruan, which hospital do you work at? The town health center?"
"No, the city hospital."
The words "city hospital" alone were enough to make the surrounding women look at her with newfound respect!
City hospitals were large and prestigious!
To be a doctor in the city at such a young age, how impressive!
Jiang Xia's friends were clearly no ordinary people!
The women began to try to get closer to Ruan Tang. They wanted to become familiar with her so they could ask for her help if they needed to go to the city hospital in the future.
After all, who could guarantee they wouldn't get sick?
The city hospital's beds were in short supply.
"Wow, you're a doctor at the city's major hospital at such a young age? That's amazing!"
"Dr. Ruan, what kind of doctor are you?"
"A pediatrician." Actually, Ruan Tang was an internal medicine doctor, but when she transferred, there was an opening in pediatrics, so she became an internal and pediatric doctor. She had also studied basic surgery and gynecology.
"Wow, a pediatrician! That's great!"
As soon as they learned Ruan Tang was a pediatrician, someone immediately asked, "Dr. Ruan, my son has a runny nose all the time. Can you take a look at him?"
"Dr. Ruan, my grandson had a cold last week and is still coughing. Can you help him?"
"Dr. Ruan, …"
...
Zhou Chengsen realized his mention of "Dr. Ruan" had caused her trouble. He said, "Aunties, how can Dr. Ruan treat anyone here? There's no stethoscope, no medicine. Even if she could examine your children, she can't prescribe any medication! Besides, Dr. Ruan is here for sea gathering, and her hands are covered in fish scent."
"Even if she can't prescribe medicine, she can still take a look! Dr. Ruan can write a prescription, and we can buy the medicine ourselves. That would be cheaper than going to the hospital! I don't mind the fish scent! My child is covered in mud all day, he's even smellier!"
Zhou Chengsen: "The medicine doctors prescribe is prescription-only. Dr. Ruan's prescription might not be available outside, so don't waste your time. Dr. Ruan is about to leave."
Someone chuckled, "Ah Sen, Dr. Ruan isn’t your girlfriend. Why are you so protective of her?"
"Exactly! Anyone who doesn’t know might think she’s your girlfriend!"
Zhou Chengsen: "……"
He instinctively glanced at Ruan Tang, afraid she might misunderstand.
Ruan Tang was also looking at him.
Their eyes met.
The tension was palpable.
Zhou Chengsen’s heart skipped a beat.
Dr. Ruan’s eyes……
He wanted to say something to everyone, but his Adam’s apple bobbed as he struggled to find the words.
Ruan Tang hadn’t expected Zhou Chengsen to look at her and quickly averted her gaze, too nervous to look at him again.
Jiang Xia interjected, "Dr. Ruan is our guest and the savior of Yingying and Zhou Zhou. Of course, we need to protect her! Besides, we’re not at the hospital; there’s no equipment here. How can Dr. Ruan examine your children? If you need help, you can go to the hospital."
Jiang Xia didn’t mention Dr. Ruan’s hospital, which wasn’t accessible to ordinary people.
Ruan Tang suppressed her racing heart and continued, "Aunties, I can take a look at your children, but I don’t have a stethoscope with me. Without it, some conditions might not be diagnosed accurately. Each doctor has their own prescription habits, and the medications vary between hospitals. The medications I usually prescribe are specific to our hospital and might not be available elsewhere. You’d probably need to go to the hospital to get them. Also, each hospital’s pharmacy only accepts prescriptions from their own doctors and won’t fill prescriptions from other hospitals."
"That’s fine. Just feel my grandson’s pulse and see if he’s getting better and if he needs to continue taking medicine."
"Right, check my daughter too, see if she needs to see a doctor."
……
With such persistence, it was hard to refuse, and it wasn’t a big deal to help. Ruan Tang smiled and nodded, "Alright, are your children here? I’ll check them now. I have to head back to the city after we finish gathering from the sea."
The women immediately responded, "I’ll go get her right away!"
"I’ll drag that brat over now!"
……
They all ran off to fetch their children.
Whether sick or not, everyone went to find their children. Usually, they thought their kids had minor issues but didn’t want to spend money on a doctor.
Now, with a free doctor available, they seized the opportunity.
Ruan Tang was finally left alone.
The fishing net was long, and most of the men were at the other end with Zhou Fu, quite a distance away. Zhou Chengsen stayed at this end to watch over the children.
Zhou Chengsen said to Ruan Tang, "Some of the women in the village are like this. They’re quite bold and don’t hesitate to make any request. If you find it bothersome, you need to be as bold as them and just refuse."
Ruan Tang smiled at him, "It’s not a bother for me. It’s just the villagers’ enthusiasm. For me, it’s a small favor. Since I have the time, it’s only right to serve the people."
Zhou Chengsen looked at her curved eyebrows and averted his gaze.
He rarely saw her smile, except when she was with children. She was usually cold and distant with adults, and her words were sharp. This time, her smiles were more frequent.
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Happy May Day! (End of Chapter)
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