Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

After finishing his speech, Officer Chen turned and left decisively, leaving behind a room full of young people with different thoughts.

After a brief silence, the dormitory erupted in a buzz of chatter.

They were all young people facing the same challenges and unknowns, so they quickly gathered in twos and threes and started discussing things, including the recent training, their speculations about the training, and interesting stories from their respective teams.

"Good heavens, we have to learn so much in three months, and there are exams too! This is going to kill us!" a round-faced young man wailed.

"You're only hearing about it now; you'll know how tough it is once it officially starts!"

"It's Dr. Wang again. He's very strict; he doesn't allow even the slightest mistake..."

Suddenly, Lin Shengli felt a light tap on his arm.

Turning his head, he saw a young man in his early twenties with dark skin, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, grinning at him, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Hey buddy," the young man said in a low voice, with a hint of familiarity, "you're a sent-down youth, right? Which village did you come from?"

Lin Shengli was somewhat surprised and nodded: "Lin Shengli, from Heisonggou Village. How did you know?"

"My name is Niu Aidang, from Kaoshantun!" The young man warmly extended his hand and shook hands with Lin Shengli. His palm was rough and strong. "Hey, that's easy. Just by looking at you, you're obviously from the city."

Niu Aidang is clearly an extremely lively and outgoing person; once he starts talking, he can't stop.

He not only introduced Lin Shengli to the other people in the dormitory, but also took the initiative to introduce him to them.

With his silver tongue and enthusiasm, Lin Shengli quickly became acquainted with the dozen or so people in his room.

Besides Niu Aidang, there was Sun Jianguo, a "retake student" who missed the mark by a few points last year, Zhou Weidong, a quiet but steady militia member, and Zhang Zhiqiang, Li Mancang, and others from other villages.

As names and faces gradually came together, the initial awkwardness and distance in the dormitory melted away considerably.

Lin Shengli learned from everyone's conversation why all the trainees were young people. It turned out that in those villages with traditional doctors, the old doctors had already been issued certificates, which was completely different from the young people like them.

At noon, the canteen opened for lunch. The food was so simple it was almost coarse: dark steamed buns with bran mixed in, a large bowl of boiled cabbage and radishes with no oil in them, and a spoonful of watery vegetable soup for each person.

Meal tickets were a fixed amount, so no one dared to waste them. Everyone carried their own bowls and basins back to the dormitory and devoured their first meal of the training.

While munching on a steamed bun, Niu Aidang was still daydreaming: "Once we finish our studies, we can go back and cure the illnesses of our fellow villagers. Maybe someone will even share some of their game with us!" This caused a burst of laughter from the crowd, but it also eased some of their anxiety about the future.

Around 1 p.m., the trainees arrived early at the open space in front of the outpatient department to gather, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Officer Chen arrived on time, accompanied by an elderly man with gray hair, a thin build, and wearing a faded but exceptionally clean white coat.

The old man wore a pair of reading glasses on the bridge of his nose. His gaze, calmly sweeping over the queue behind the lenses, immediately silenced the previously slightly agitated crowd.

After the roll call was completed, Officer Chen gave a few brief instructions and left.

The old man stepped forward, his voice not loud, but clear and strong: "Many comrades may know me. My name is Wang Zhenhua, and I will be in charge of this year's barefoot doctor training again."

He didn't waste any time with his opening remarks, getting straight to the point: "Our goals for the next three months are very clear. First, we need to master the most basic medical knowledge and diagnostic methods, and be able to identify common diseases. Second, we need to learn simple debridement, suturing, bandaging, fixation, and injection techniques. Third, we need to memorize the treatment methods for some common diseases and be able to prescribe appropriate medications based on the conditions of our fellow villagers. Remember, in the future, you will be working at the grassroots level, solving problems in the simplest way possible. Therefore, 'practicality' and 'safety' are the highest principles."

Dr. Wang's speech was concise and clear. After finishing, he led the trainees into the outpatient area.

He divided the twelve people into four groups of three, and assigned each group to a relatively free doctor or experienced nurse in the health center for training.

Lin Shengli, Niu Aidang, and Zhou Weidong were assigned to a group, and their mentor was a middle-aged doctor surnamed Liu from the health center.

This half-day of "learning" was less about studying and more about watching and doing odd jobs.

Dr. Liu was very busy; patients were constantly coming and going from his consultation room—some with colds and fevers, some with cuts, some with stomach aches, some with back and leg pain…

While quickly examining the patient, Dr. Liu explained briefly to the three people standing beside him, "Look, this member's tongue coating is thick and greasy, which mostly indicates excessive dampness and poor digestion..."

"This wound isn't deep, but it's covered in mud, so you must rinse it clean first, then disinfect it with iodine..."

"Auntie, your back pain is from overworking. Just taking medicine won't work; you need to rest. Let me teach you an acupressure point to massage yourself..."

Lin Shengli and the other two followed behind, helping to hand over gauze, get a tongue depressor, and tidy up the used instruments, but their ears were perked up and their eyes were fixed on every movement and every question from Dr. Liu.

Niu Aidang was a little reserved at first, but gradually opened up and took advantage of the time when Dr. Liu was writing the medical record to ask some questions in a low voice.

Zhou Weidong watched intently, nodding slightly from time to time.

Lin Shengli, like a sponge, silently and efficiently absorbed all the information, from the logic of the consultation and the order of the examination to the choice and dosage of drugs for different conditions, and even the tone and skills of Dr. Liu when communicating with patients. All of these were included in his observation and learning.

After dinner, the trainees were gathered in the large, vacated office.

Dr. Wang sat in the front, the dim light casting his shadow on the wall.

He didn't take the book and began asking questions one by one: "Sun Jianguo, tell me, what impressed you most during today's clinical observation?"

"Niu Aidang, if a child has a fever, how do you make a preliminary judgment between a cold and indigestion?"

……

The questions were either specific or open-ended, and the trainees answered haltingly. Dr. Wang was not critical, but simply listened patiently and then offered comments, corrections, or supplements.

Then, he began to systematically explain some of the most basic concepts: the normal range of body temperature, pulse, and respiration.

Starting with common causes of disease and the basic diagnostic methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation, the explanations are presented in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, often using examples from rural life to make these abstract concepts easy to understand.

The trainees' pens flew across their notebooks as they took notes.

The days flew by in this rhythm of observing and practicing during the day and studying, questioning, and summarizing in the evening.

The theoretical learning gradually deepened, from the most basic human anatomy to the pathology, diagnosis, and prevention of common diseases, and then to practical operations.

The process allowed everyone to transition from observation to hands-on practice—taking blood pressure, listening to each other's heart and lungs, bandaging each other, practicing intramuscular injections, and even later, directly performing simple wound cleaning and suturing under the guidance of doctors.

In the herbal medicine class, Dr. Wang led everyone up the mountain to identify and collect herbs, which were then dried and processed upon their return.

In Western medicine classes, the importance of dosage, contraindications, and allergic reactions is repeatedly emphasized.

Lin Shengli was like a sponge thrown into an ocean of knowledge, absorbing, digesting, and integrating everything at an astonishing speed.

His powerful memory and comprehension allow him to remember almost everything he sees and apply what he learns to other situations.

However, he controlled his performance well, maintaining an above-average level in both theory and written tests, occasionally "making mistakes".

In practice, he demonstrated stability and meticulousness, but his speed was not particularly outstanding.

Before we knew it, it was the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year, and the training came to its final assessment.

The written exam was held in the morning in a cold classroom.

The five mimeographed exam papers covered all aspects of what we had learned over the past three months: basic theory, disease diagnosis, drug application, first aid knowledge, preventive healthcare...

There were quite a few questions, and only two and a half hours to complete them.

The only sounds in the classroom were the scratching of pens on paper and the occasional anxious turning of pages.

Lin Shengli answered the questions calmly and fluently, but deliberately left traces of "thinking" in some unimportant details and controlled the speed of his answers.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Niu Aidang next to him biting his pen, his brows furrowed in worry; Sun Jianguo was sweating profusely and scratching his head from time to time.

Even the usually composed Zhou Weidong seemed quite cautious when he wrote.

The afternoon session was a practical assessment, conducted in the outpatient treatment room. Dr. Wang personally oversaw the assessment, while Officer Chen took notes.

The assessment items include: taking medical history and writing simple medical records, measuring blood pressure and body temperature, cleaning and bandaging wounds, administering intramuscular injections, identifying commonly used herbs and Western medicines and explaining their main uses and contraindications.

The trainees went in one by one, creating a tense atmosphere.

It was evening when all the assessments were completed. After a brief deliberation by Dr. Wang and several heads of the health center, the results were announced on the spot.

Of the twelve trainees, five passed the final assessment, with Lin Shengli's name prominently listed. His evaluation was "solid theoretical foundation, steady and reliable practical skills, rated as excellent."

Niu Aidang barely passed the test, and Zhou Weidong and Sun Jianguo also passed smoothly. The other person was a young man who was usually quiet but studied extremely hard.

When the barefoot doctor certificate was handed to Lin Shengli, and he opened it to see his name, photo, and the bright red official seal of the health center, even with his firm resolve, Lin Shengli couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

All the hard work, boredom, and even occasional frustration of the past two months have become worthwhile at this moment.

Subsequently, the health center provided each newly appointed barefoot doctor who passed the assessment with a wooden medicine box printed with a red cross.

The box contained basic, commonly used medicines, as well as two syringes, needles, a thermometer, and other supplies.

Officer Chen told everyone that every month, the barefoot doctors of each brigade could use this certificate to collect a certain amount of supplementary medicines and necessary consumables from the health center according to the plan, and the cost would be settled uniformly by the production team.

Lin Shengli had already asked a villager who came to the commune to send a message back, informing him of the assessment date.

As he walked out of the health center carrying his luggage and bedding, and holding the heavy medicine box that symbolized his new identity and responsibilities, he saw Hu Dongliang driving that familiar oxcart, rubbing his hands and looking around under the eaves of the opposite building.

When Hu Dongliang saw Lin Shengli come out, his eyes lit up. He jogged over to greet him and, without saying a word, took the medicine box from Lin Shengli's arms and the bedding roll from his shoulder, carefully placing them into the cart bed covered with dry straw.

"Victory, you...you really passed the exam?" Hu Dongliang's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement and envy, his eyes fixed on the red first-aid kit.

Lin Shengli nodded and patted him on the shoulder: "Yeah, it's done, Dongliang-ge, thank you for making this trip."

"Oh! What are you talking about!" Hu Dongliang's face lit up with a smile, even happier than if he had passed the exam himself. "That's wonderful! That's wonderful! Our Heisonggou Village now has its own barefoot doctor! Uncle Guangming will be so happy when he finds out! Quick, get in the car, let's go home!"

Hu Dongliang nimbly jumped onto the carriage shaft, the whip cracking crisply in the air.

The old ox strode forward, its wheels crunching over the remaining snow on the commune streets, making a creaking sound as it steadily drove towards Heisonggou Village.