Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 172

Xiangzi thought that his act was a bit fake, and that Dr. Chen wouldn't believe him when he saw him like this, and would expose him on the spot. But Xiangzi didn't expect that he had actually fooled Chen Shuyi at first. It turned out that he also had a bit of a talent for deception. Thinking of this, Xiangzi raised his head with some pride.

When Chen Shuyi saw Xiangzi's somewhat smug and foolish expression, he couldn't help but get angry and said, "What are you thinking? You're even proud of faking illness to deceive people? If you're so capable, why don't you just fly to the sky?"

Chen Shuyi was also angered, and his words became more aggressive, but Xiangzi didn't think anything of it. Instead, he asked excitedly, "Dr. Chen, you really couldn't tell that I was pretending to be sick and have a stomachache? It turns out I do have some acting talent. Even you, a doctor who has been doing this for decades, couldn't tell. Of course, no one else could tell either."

Chen Shuyi's lips twitched. "It's not that I couldn't tell, it's that you came in and started banging on the big iron door of my clinic. I was sleeping soundly, and then your knocking woke me up. I wasn't even fully awake yet, my head was still spinning. You said you had a stomachache and a headache, and I thought you were having a serious attack, so I didn't have time to check on you. I pulled you into the room, thinking you could sit on the bed and rest. But when I looked closely, I realized you weren't really sick at all. You were obviously faking it, and faking it so exaggeratedly. Anyone with eyes can see you're faking it. Tell me, why did you come here pretending to be sick?"

Xiangzi scratched his head sheepishly and replied, "It's nothing, Dr. Chen. I just wanted you to diagnose me. My stomachache is caused by chicken plague."

Chen Shuyi asked in bewilderment, “Why do you keep bringing up chicken plague? You’re clearly not sick, so why pretend? And why do you keep bringing up chicken plague? Chicken plague is a matter for the neighbor, the scholar with the cane. What does it have to do with our Dongtaizi Village?”

Xiangzi hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the whole story. "Dr. Chen, it's like this. There's a chicken plague outbreak in the neighboring village of Jurenzhang, but you see, the New Year is coming soon. Jurenzhang is famous for raising chickens, ducks, and geese, and it's close to our Dongtaizi Village. The villagers in this village aren't as knowledgeable as you, Dr. Chen. Even if there is a chicken plague outbreak, the neighboring village will lower the price, and then everyone in our village will buy chickens, ducks, and geese from Jurenzhang. But the chickens, ducks, and geese they buy will inevitably carry the chicken plague. You know, Dr. Chen, chicken plague is very easy to spread. When the villagers eat these chickens, ducks, and geese with the chicken plague, they'll all get sick and that's why they all come to you for treatment."

"Then, to prevent such things from happening, the village chief forbade the villagers from buying chickens, ducks, and geese from Jurenzhangzi. But look, what kind of logic is it to forbid villagers from eating chickens, ducks, and geese during the New Year? When chicken plague occurs, the price of chicken, duck, and goose meat will drop, and who wouldn't secretly buy a few? Maybe the villagers will get sick from eating these chickens, ducks, and geese with chicken plague. So, I pretended to be sick in a big way so that when the village chief issues the ban and those villagers come to cause trouble and refuse to obey, I can stand up and let them see that they have eaten chickens with chicken plague." The consequences of eating chicken, duck, and goose meat frightened the villagers, making them never want to eat it again. I believe this would stop most villagers from secretly buying chicken, duck, and goose meat from the butcher. However, if I'm just faking illness, it won't be easy for people to tell, and I don't think the villagers will believe me. That's why I came to you, Dr. Chen. You've been a doctor in the village for decades, and everyone trusts you. If you've approved an illness, even if it's fake, it's still a real illness. So I..."

Before Xiangzi could finish speaking, Chen Shuyi snorted and replied, "So you came to me to pretend to be sick, wanting me to agree with you and admit that you're ill? To have you act out a scene of being sick because of chicken plague, so that the villagers can see the serious consequences of eating chicken, duck, and goose meat contaminated with the plague? And so that the villagers can better obey the village chief's prohibitions. In short, you want me, a doctor, to cooperate with you in faking illness and putting on a show?"

Xiangzi scratched his head and chuckled, "Old ginger is spicier, indeed. I haven't even finished speaking, and Dr. Chen has already summarized it. That's exactly what I meant."

After speaking, Xiangzi looked at Chen Shuyi with shining eyes, as if expecting Chen Shuyi to answer his request to act in the next moment.

Chen Shuyi looked at Xiangzi with a half-smile, "Xiangzi, tell me the truth, is it really because you care about the villagers and don't want them to get sick from eating chicken, duck, or goose meat contaminated with fowl plague that you pretended to be sick to warn them? Is that really what you were thinking?"

Xiangzi felt a little guilty, but he still nodded and said, "Of course, Dr. Chen, that's really what I think, and it's for the sake of this village."

But Xiangzi didn't dare look up at Chen Shuyi when he said this. If he were to tell the truth, it was because he didn't want to bear the cost of compensation for buying chicken, duck and goose meat with fowl plague for the villagers. Another reason was that it was his aunt's request, so Xiangzi came to act. But Xiangzi felt that these reasons were not good to say, at least they didn't sound good, not high-class enough, not pleasant enough, and he couldn't let Chen Shuyi agree to act for him. Although his aunt had taught him other ways to force Chen Shuyi to help him, Xiangzi didn't want to use that method until the last minute.

Chen Shuyi knew at a glance that Xiangzi was definitely lying. He snorted coldly and said, "I think you just don't want to tell me the truth. What do you mean by thinking of the villagers and the village? I don't believe you. You're just a deliveryman who hasn't been to school for many years. Your understanding of chicken plague is as half-baked as the villagers'. But in your conversation just now, you seemed to know a lot about chicken plague. No one taught you, so how would you know? You're the one who begged me. You don't even show sincerity and you want me to cooperate with your act? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Seeing this, Xiangzi panicked, but he couldn't reveal the real reasons, otherwise Chen Shuyi wouldn't help him. He planned to mix up good and bad words. Xiangzi said, "Uncle, I'll call you Uncle Chen then. What you said is true. I do have some selfish motives, but most of it is for the villagers' benefit. Think about it, you're a doctor, you know the consequences of fowl plague. The village chief's ban on the circulation of chickens, ducks, and geese is no match for your explanation of the consequences of fowl plague. Fowl plague is now spreading in Jurenzhangzi. Most of the chickens, ducks, and geese in their village are infected and can't be eaten. Some unscrupulous people will sell these infected chickens, ducks, and geese to our villagers at low prices. We also have elderly people in Dongtaizi Village. Think about it, how can those elderly people resist the temptation of these cheap chickens, ducks, and geese? They don't care about anything else. They only know that chickens, ducks, and geese are cheap now, and they have to buy them to take advantage of these small gains."

"You said it yourself, eating chicken, duck, and goose meat contaminated with fowl plague can easily cause stomach upset and dizziness. If you eat too much, you can even get poisoned and be hospitalized. I've heard that eating too much can damage your kidneys, and it costs tens of thousands of yuan to treat it. But who in our village is a millionaire? Most people have a few thousand yuan in savings at most. Asking them to use all their savings wouldn't be enough. Besides, everyone works hard to earn money these days. In our village, everyone earns their money through hard work. If they end up in the hospital because of eating chicken, duck, and goose meat contaminated with fowl plague and have to spend all their savings on treatment, life will be too difficult. Some elderly people might choose to stay at home and wait to die so as not to burden their families. Uncle Chen, ask yourself honestly, do you want to see that happen?"

Every word Xiangzi uttered came from the bottom of his heart. Yes, he had selfish motives, but he also wanted to see the people in his village doing well. After all, he had lived in the village for more than ten years and had deep feelings for it. He could call out the names of every household there, and every elder there was someone who had watched him grow up. He also hoped that his hometown would be well and not be troubled by chicken plague.

Xiangzi's words undoubtedly touched Chen Shuyi's heart, but unexpectedly, Chen Shuyi smiled and shook his head. He said, "Let me put it this way, Xiangzi, even if what you said is right, I can cooperate with you to act and make the villagers wary, so that they can avoid a lot of consequences that should not happen. But Xiangzi, have you ever thought that this is also an opportunity for me? If everyone eats the chicken, duck and goose meat that is infected with chicken plague, and everyone gets sick and has an upset stomach, then they can come to me to spend money to treat their illnesses, and I can earn money from it that would take me several years to earn."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiangzi stared wide-eyed in shock. He never expected that Chen Shuyi's reason for refusing him would be this. "No... um... Uncle Chen, how... how..."

Xiangzi was stunned and speechless. He wanted to angrily accuse Chen Shuyi of wrongdoing. How dare he earn this money? This was money earned without conscience!

But Chen Shuyi just smiled and brushed it off, replying, "Xiangzi, are you trying to say that my idea is too selfish? But don't forget, everyone is selfish. I have a better option in front of me, so what reason do you have to convince me to cooperate with you? Are you going to give me money? But how much money would you have to give me to persuade me to cooperate with you?"

Others only know that doctors are born to save lives and heal the wounded, and that they are naturally selfless. But this does not mean that all doctors think this way. Doctors also have families and their own lives, and they also want to live a better life.

When Chen Shuyi was a child, his wish was simply to treat patients. But as time went by, that simple wish became mixed with many realities. He had to build a house, raise children, and support his daughter's education. Every aspect of life, from firewood and rice to oil and salt, required money. His income as a clinic doctor was far from enough. The village was only so big, and there were only so few people. Who would come to see him every day? Sometimes his salary wasn't even as high as that of a normal farmer. He only did this job because it was easy and relaxed, and it only seemed prestigious to outsiders.

His daughter recently got into university, which requires money everywhere. Chen Shuyi saw an opportunity to make money and didn't want to miss it. So when chicken plague was about to appear in Dongtaizi Village, he was conflicted. He really wanted to make this money, but it would also be money earned against his conscience. Chen Shuyi couldn't sleep last night. He had seen news reports of many people getting stomach aches or even needing to go to the hospital for treatment after accidentally eating chicken, duck, or goose meat contaminated with chicken plague. He felt terrible about it. Many times he wanted to warn the villagers in advance not to eat chicken, duck, or goose meat contaminated with chicken plague. Chen Shuyi knew that if he went in person, it would be much more effective than the village chief saying it.

But whenever it came to the crucial moment, Chen Shuyi just couldn't bring himself to speak. Chen Shuyi hated himself; he wanted to do something for the villagers, but he also wanted to make some money from it. So Chen Shuyi couldn't sleep at night. He always felt that he shouldn't make money off the suffering of the villagers, but his financial difficulties didn't allow him to pretend to be virtuous.

It wasn't until Xiangzi came to him that Chen Shuyi realized he was faced with another choice: should he betray his conscience to make money, or should he cooperate with Xiangzi's act to warn the villagers? Both options put him in a difficult position, so Chen Shuyi wanted to hear Xiangzi's answer.

The hardships of life were causing him considerable distress. He knew he was wrong, but his family was short of money, and he had no other options. In the countryside, especially in winter, where could he get money? He had no money…sigh…

Xiangzi said angrily, "Uncle Chen, you are the only doctor in the village. How can you just stand by and watch the villagers eat chicken, duck and goose meat that is infected with fowl plague? You know it's wrong, but you don't say anything to stop it. Uncle Chen, how could you become like this? In my memory, you have always been kind and gentle. I thought you would agree to cooperate with me, but you have disappointed me."

Listening to Xiangzi's accusations, Chen Shuyi felt a little better. Any guilt he felt for making money against his conscience gradually dissipated with each condemnation. Chen Shuyi smiled and shook his head. Xiangzi only knew how to blame himself; he didn't understand his own situation at all. Chen Shuyi thought that when Xiangzi desperately needed money and discovered another way to make quick money, perhaps Xiangzi would make the same choice as him.

"There's an old saying, 'Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together.' Xiangzi, we're not on the same path. Don't try to persuade me. I'm not as noble as you. I need money too. I haven't even managed to raise enough for my daughter's university tuition, so I have no reason to help you. Only when there's more chicken plague in the village will I have a steady income. Besides, it's not like I caused the chicken plague. It's only right that I earn money by treating patients, isn't it? So... I'm sorry, Xiangzi, maybe I'm just a selfish person. No matter if you hit me or scold me, you can't persuade me. I won't expose your faking illness. How many villagers you can get to listen to and not touch chicken, duck, or goose meat contaminated with chicken plague is your business."