Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 187 - 182 Go Home

When Wang Jian returned home, he had expected Cai Qiong to be the one driving to pick him up, but after leaving the station, the person he saw was Li Shuang.

Having not seen him for some time, Wang Jian noticed that Li Shuang had changed a lot. The Li Shuang of the past had looked like a troublemaker, but now he was dressed in a polo shirt and casual pants. He wore a belt with a large ’H’ buckle and tucked a crocodile skin wallet under his arm. If it weren’t for the flip-flops on his feet, Wang Jian might have thought he had the wrong person.

That being said, with his new image and smug expression, Li Shuang did look like a semi-successful person.

"Mr. Li, looks like you’ve made it big," Wang Jian said jokingly. "With an outfit like that, why insist on wearing flip-flops?"

Li Shuang just smiled, ignoring Wang Jian’s joke. Wearing flip-flops in the summer was one thing he refused to give up. "HAHAHA, I’ll stop when the weather cools down."

"Right," Wang Jian nodded. He wasn’t interested in dwelling on the topic, so he looked around and asked, "Did Cai Qiong not come?"

Li Shuang was now in the herbal medicine business with the Cai Family. Judging by his appearance, he had clearly made some money.

"Miss Cai had something come up at home, so she sent me to pick you up first," Li Shuang explained as he led Wang Jian and Chairman Kang toward the parking lot. "We were originally planning to come together, but halfway here, Miss Cai got a call from Mr. Cai and had to rush off. She didn’t say much before she left, just asked you to give her a call once you get home."

"Is that so?" Wang Jian pondered this. He had no idea what had happened with the Cai family, and since Cai Qiong hadn’t sent him a message, he was completely in the dark. Still, since Li Shuang said to call her after getting home, he figured there was no need to worry.

So, Wang Jian didn’t dwell on it and introduced Chairman Kang to Li Shuang.

Upon learning that Chairman Kang was a medical university student, Li Shuang was stunned. When he and Chairman Kang shook hands after the introduction, Chairman Kang said, "I am here to learn from Doctor Wang."

Wow. It hasn’t been long since we last met, and Wang Jian is already mentoring university students?

Li Shuang already knew Wang Jian possessed great medical skills, but he never had a concrete grasp of how great they were. To him, a university student was already impressive, so someone who could teach a university student was on another level entirely. He finally had a clear benchmark for Wang Jian’s abilities.

After getting in the car, Wang Jian and Li Shuang chatted about recent events. Wang Jian learned that Li Shuang was no longer living in the village but had moved to the city with Liu Zi. Firstly, it was more convenient for business. Secondly, their herbal medicine trade wasn’t limited to their village; they had to travel to other parts of the city, and living in the village made getting around inconvenient.

After the Gu Poison incident, the Cai Family had taken over the entire herbal medicine business in the city. Li Shuang and his partners had been lucky. They had suffered alongside the Cai family, but in doing so, they’d formed a positive connection. Now, it looked like they had landed a fantastic gig.

These weren’t the only changes in Li Shuang. His attitude toward Wang Jian, compared to when Wang Jian had first returned to the village, was now like the difference between heaven and earth. Beyond the warmth of an old friend, there was also a hint of a desire to curry favor.

When they got out of the car, Li Shuang specifically stopped Wang Jian to say, "Thanks," then turned and left without giving him a chance to reply.

Wang Jian only had time to wave and call out for him to drive safely. It was only then that he noticed that while the car was the same model as Li Shuang’s family car, the license plate was different.

He bought a new car? Looks like this guy has made quite a bit.

Li Shuang said thanks because he knew the Cai Family’s willingness to entrust him with the business was partly due to Wang Jian. Therefore, he didn’t resent having to pick Wang Jian up; on the contrary, he was more than happy to do it.

After all, the influential members of the Cai Family treated Wang Jian like one of their own. His own relationship with Wang Jian was now intertwined with his success. Maintaining a good attitude toward Wang Jian, both professionally and personally, could only benefit him.

He used to be just a punk. Everywhere he went, people would gossip about him—if not to his face, then behind his back. But now? Ever since he started working for the Cai Family through Wang Jian, people respectfully addressed him as "Mr. Li." Even on the rare occasions he returned to the village, he was met with praise. It wasn’t just him; even his grandfather, Li Dayu, carried himself with more prestige.

Sometimes, a man just lives for his reputation.

That was why Li Shuang had thanked Wang Jian. It wasn’t just him; Liu Zi felt the same way, but he had been too busy to come along this time.

"I don’t recall seeing that person the last time I was here," Chairman Kang remarked as he and Wang Jian watched Li Shuang’s car disappear into the distance. "Is he really from your village?"

He could tell that Li Shuang’s thanks had been heartfelt, which made him curious. He had a feeling there was a story between the two of them.

"Yes," Wang Jian nodded, grabbing a suitcase for Chairman Kang as they started walking home. "This way, follow me..."

As they walked, he explained, "We grew up together, but after we went to different high schools, we stopped hanging out as much. He didn’t go to college, so we naturally drifted apart. But hey, we’re from the same village. Since I came back, we’ve slowly gotten reacquainted. He’s in the herbal medicine business now, so we have more to talk about... There’s another friend named Liu Zi. I’ll introduce you guys later."

After entering the village, Wang Jian and Chairman Kang passed the large tree at the entrance, where they saw a group of elderly men and women cooling off. They were villagers, some holding banana-leaf fans, others with towels soaked in mountain spring water. In their midst was a stone table with a tea set, where they were sipping on chilled herbal tea.

In the last days of summer, these remedies were far more comfortable than air conditioning. The herbal tea, in particular, was perfect for this weather, sending a cooling chill right through you.

Li Dayu was among them. His eyes lit up when he saw Wang Jian, and he eagerly came over to greet him, with even more enthusiasm than before.

"Hey, Xiao Jian, you’re finally back!" His tone was joyful yet agitated, though it was unclear if it was from the heat or from impatience. "While you were gone, lots of people from other villages came for treatment. But they all left when they saw you weren’t here. Your clinic has only been open for a month or two; you can’t be dropping the ball like this! The good reputation you painstakingly built up is being wasted."

As he spoke, Li Dayu grew more and more animated, as if the clinic were his own. "It’s like I’m more invested in this clinic than you are. Anyway, you’re back now, so you should be able to get back to work normally, right?"

Wang Jian rubbed his nose, feeling a bit embarrassed. After recovering from his injury, he had indeed been slacking for a long time. Now that he was back, and with Chairman Kang in tow, he couldn’t make any more excuses.

So, he faced the issue head-on. "Yes, I can get back to work. But I just got back today, so I’ll take the morning off. We’ll start this afternoon."

"Thanks for the trouble, village chief," Wang Jian said as he watched Li Dayu take out his phone and start sending out notifications. He couldn’t help but ask, "What are all these groups for?"

Li Dayu smiled and handed his phone to Wang Jian. "Oh? Don’t think that just because I’m old, I don’t know about the things you young people use. We’re on WeChat a lot, too—micro-business groups, online shopping groups, discount groups, you name it.

"Ever since your free clinic, this clinic of ours has become famous in the area. People are always asking me about you, like when they can come for a consultation.

"As more and more people asked, I couldn’t just add every single one of them as a friend. I figured it would be more convenient to start a group to make announcements. That way, if there’s an emergency, I can let you know right away.

"I’d say you should join, too. Sometimes there are minor issues you could just answer in the group, which would be a great help."

Li Dayu’s suggestion sparked an idea. If I want to make this village clinic bigger and better, making good use of this software is a great way to do it. Just as the village chief said, some minor problems don’t require a clinic visit. I could just answer them in the group, which is much better than sitting around in the clinic waiting for patients to show up.

With this in mind, Wang Jian nodded in agreement. "The village chief has a point... And speaking of which, I brought back another doctor for our clinic."

He pulled Chairman Kang forward and introduced him. "This is someone I brought back from the Capital City. He’s a top student from a medical university and will be working with me at the clinic from now on."

Wang Jian gave a brief overview of Chairman Kang’s background and then took out his phone to add him to the group as well.

He hadn’t realized it before, but upon joining, Wang Jian saw that the group was already massive, with almost five hundred members.

"How are there so many people?"

"Oh!" Li Dayu was still in shock. Wang Jian had only gone on a trip to take Ren Yu to school, yet he’d returned with a promising medical student. Moreover, this talented young man named Chairman Kang treated Wang Jian with the respect one would show a teacher or an elder.

Hearing Wang Jian’s question, Li Dayu snapped back to reality. "Heh, all these people are here because of how skilled you are. It’s got nothing to do with me."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before Wang Jian left with Chairman Kang.

Once Wang Jian was out of earshot, one of the people cooling off spoke up. "If only the young people in our village were all like Xiao Jian, our village wouldn’t be so deserted."

"You can say that again."

The sentiment resonated with everyone. In recent years, everyone in the village, young and old, men and women, seemed to only think about leaving to find work elsewhere. Few ever thought about coming back. Someone like Wang Jian, who not only returned but also brought other talented people back with him, was exceptionally rare.

Li Dayu couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. "That’s because he’s truly capable. He’d be an impressive figure no matter where he goes. How could others possibly compare?"

He felt this more deeply than anyone. It was because of Wang Jian’s return that his own son, Li Shuang, had found a proper line of work. He had watched his own son change for the better, right before his very eyes. As a father, this was everything he could hope for, which was why he was more and more willing to help Wang Jian out. There was no ulterior motive; he was just happy.

Just as he finished speaking, Li Dayu took out his phone and, with a smile, continued to promote Wang Jian’s clinic.

In reality, it wasn’t as simple as he made it sound. As the village chief, he had put in a great deal of effort to organize and build this group.