Chapter 6

Next, Wang Xiaoqiang used the "Five Elements Spirit Spring" to "irrigate" all the more than fifty acres of fields at home. He felt very tired, as if he had done a heavy job, and he was both thirsty and hungry. He felt as if his whole body was empty.

Being tired was nothing; having grown up in the countryside, he had done plenty of farm work, and fatigue was a daily occurrence, not worth mentioning. However, this hunger and thirst were too intense. Wang Xiaoqiang had never felt so hungry and thirsty before. He felt as if his entire body was hollow.

Dragging his tired body, he walked home listlessly, just passing by the village health station.

The village health station had two doctors. One was a local, the old Chinese medicine doctor Lin Qingshan, who was sixty-eight years old. He had retired from a large hospital in the county and returned to the village to work at the health station. However, due to his advanced age, his eyesight was failing, and his energy was waning, so he could no longer manage the health station alone. Therefore, he hired a young doctor.

This young doctor was Xu Xiaoya. Once Xu Xiaoya arrived, Lin Qingshan became a hands-off manager, pushing all the patients to Xu Xiaoya. He only personally handled serious cases.

Recently, Lin Qingshan's health had not been good, and he had been resting at home. The health station was entirely managed by Xu Xiaoya.

It was evening, and there were no patients at the health station, but there were two "ruffians," Wang Dagang and Liu Erulu, who pretended to be sick to "harass" Xu Xiaoya. Although Xu Xiaoya disliked them, as an outsider, she had to tolerate them. However, she did not give them a good face, and she ignored them when they sat in the examination room in a carefree manner. Disgusted, Xu Xiaoya walked out to look at the scenery.

Just then, Wang Xiaoqiang passed by the road in front of the health station. Xu Xiaoya noticed him looking listless and, recalling the morning's events, concluded that Wang Xiaoqiang was really sick.

Xu Xiaoya was a principled girl. Although Wang Xiaoqiang's "little brother" had "invaded" her finger that morning, she believed it was unintentional and forgave him.

As a doctor, she was very concerned about Wang Xiaoqiang and wanted to call him over to ask what was wrong. So she waved at Wang Xiaoqiang and called out, "Hey, Wang Xiaoqiang!"

When Wang Xiaoqiang heard Xu Xiaoya calling him, he immediately turned his head and pretended not to hear. Thinking about the embarrassing incident that morning, his face turned red, and his heart started beating wildly.

Inside the health station, Wang Dagang and Liu Erulu, who had been sitting awkwardly in front of Xu Xiaoya, were surprised to see her actually call out Wang Xiaoqiang's name. They felt both jealous and astonished. Everyone knew that Doctor Xu was aloof and usually ignored most people. What did Wang Xiaoqiang have that made Doctor Xu greet him?

Driven by jealousy, the two immediately walked out to see what was happening. When they saw it was indeed Wang Xiaoqiang, they were even more surprised that he pretended to be deaf and ignored Xu Xiaoya's calls.

"Wow, the sun is rising in the west..." Wang Dagang thought to himself, "I've never seen anyone ignore Doctor Xu before."

"Good heavens, what's going on? Wang Xiaoqiang is really something..." Liu Erulu was confused. If it were him, he would have run over eagerly.

"Hey, Wang Xiaoqiang! Wang Xiaoqiang!!"

Seeing that Wang Xiaoqiang was ignoring her, Xu Xiaoya did not get angry but instead raised her voice and called out twice. By then, she had realized that she had overlooked something—she should have suggested that Wang Xiaoqiang see Lin Qingshan for a diagnosis. Lin Qingshan had many years of medical experience and might be able to identify Wang Xiaoqiang's illness.

Xu Xiaoya, who usually spoke softly, suddenly shouted loudly, shocking Wang Dagang and Liu Erulu. They looked at her as if they didn't recognize her.

No matter how loudly Xu Xiaoya called, Wang Xiaoqiang still ignored her and even quickened his pace.

Seeing this, Xu Xiaoya stomped her foot in embarrassment and anger, her delicate nose wrinkling, and she huffed in frustration.

Wang Xiaoqiang's behavior made Wang Dagang and Liu Erulu feel indignant. Even if it were a village girl, they thought, you shouldn't ignore her when she shouts at you like that!

Wang Dagang, irritated, slapped his thigh and said, "This Wang Xiaoqiang, what's he pretending? I really want to slap him a couple of times..."

Liu Erulu directly offered to Xu Xiaoya, "Doctor Xu, should I bring Wang Xiaoqiang back for you?"

Xu Xiaoya glared at them and said, "It's none of your business, get lost."

Saying this, Xu Xiaoya chased after Wang Xiaoqiang.

Although Xu Xiaoya was aloof, she was a principled and responsible girl. Since Wang Xiaoqiang had come to her for treatment, she felt responsible. Moreover, Wang Xiaoqiang's condition seemed unusual. If it was a serious illness, delaying treatment could be fatal. If that happened, she would be held accountable, as her diagnosis that morning was that he was not sick.

Seeing Xu Xiaoya chasing after Wang Xiaoqiang, Wang Dagang and Liu Erulu were almost shocked out of their wits. They looked at each other, finding the situation unbelievable. This was like a legendary case of reverse pursuit!

Wang Xiaoqiang, out of Xu Xiaoya's sight, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, he was extremely thirsty, and although he could endure the hunger, he couldn't bear the thirst. Just then, he walked past Aunt Dazui's supermarket, where an ice cabinet was set up outside, filled with ice cream. Seeing the ice cream, Wang Xiaoqiang felt his thirst surge. He couldn't resist stopping to buy one. Aunt Dazui was also outside cooling off and, seeing Wang Xiaoqiang stop, knew he wanted to buy ice cream. She said, "Xiaoqiang, buying ice cream? Which one do you want? Aunt will get it for you."

Aunt Dazui was a widow. Her husband was a good-for-nothing who drank, gambled, and womanized. After their divorce, Aunt Dazui raised her son alone, running the supermarket to support his education. Besides running the supermarket, she also worked as a matchmaker, earning some extra money. However, she never charged a fee for matchmaking in the village.

Wang Xiaoqiang, extremely thirsty, didn't have the heart to think about it and said, "Just get me any one."

"Then I'll get you a mung bean ice cream!" Aunt Dazui picked one for Wang Xiaoqiang. He took a bite, chewed it, and fished out a five-yuan note from his pocket to pay.

Just then, a voice called out, "Wang Xiaoqiang, are you really deaf or just pretending?"

Hearing Xu Xiaoya's voice, Wang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but shudder and threw the five-yuan note on the ice cabinet before running away.

"Hey, Xiaoqiang, here's your change..." Aunt Dazui called out.

Wang Xiaoqiang didn't respond and just kept running.

"You little brat, you're still running!"

Xu Xiaoya shouted and ran to Aunt Dazui's supermarket.

Seeing the two young people, one chasing and one fleeing, Aunt Dazui found the situation quite ambiguous. As a matchmaker, she thought this young couple had a special relationship, likely in love. However, from their behavior, it seemed one-sided, with the city girl Xu Xiaoya pursuing Wang Xiaoqiang, while Wang Xiaoqiang, whether out of shyness or fear, was avoiding her.

Watching the two figures gradually disappear, Aunt Dazui mused, "Xu Xiaoya is so good; Wang Xiaoqiang shouldn't ignore her. Ah, I see, it must be because Xiaoqiang is shy. I should help these two and act as a matchmaker. It's not easy for a country boy to marry a city girl. If I can arrange this match, it will show both Wang Xiaoqiang's and my capabilities. Yes, that's what I'll do..."

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