Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

Chen Lihua walked among several female educated youths, clutching a handkerchief in her hand, talking to Zhao Xiuqin beside her.

As the group passed by the clinic, someone noticed Li Su'e standing at the clinic door.

Chen Lihua was the first to stop, turning her head to glance at Li Su'e. Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone in front and behind to hear:

"Hey, Comrade Li Su'e, why didn't you go back to the educated youth settlement to sleep last night? We waited for you until midnight and didn't see you. We thought you had gotten lost."

Zhao Xiuqin also stopped, a smile of someone who loved watching the drama unfold spreading across her face, her voice drawn out:

"Now that they've climbed the social ladder, why would they come back to our shabby educated youth settlement? They have a new place to live now, so naturally they won't come back."

"I told you, they're very capable." As she spoke, she gestured towards the clinic with her chin, her eyes conveying a knowing look.

Wang Jinshan also stopped in the crowd, carrying a hoe in his hand, with a mischievous smile on his face that he thought he had hidden well, but which was particularly glaring in Zhou Haibing's eyes:

"Hai Bing is really capable, he's a barefoot doctor and he rides a bicycle, tsk tsk tsk."

Although he said it with a smile, his tone carried an undisguised sourness and sarcasm.

A few people in the crowd laughed along. The laughter wasn't loud, but the snickers, which carried a sense of schadenfreude, were particularly jarring in the morning air.

Li Su'e stood at the door, her face suddenly turning red, the blush spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears.

Her gaze was slightly lowered, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes, crumpling the thin fabric slightly, as if she didn't know how to deal with the gazes and laughter of these people.

Zhou Haibing walked out of the consultation room and stepped into the open space by the door, blocking Li Su'e's way.

His gaze swept from Chen Lihua's face to Zhao Xiuqin's, then to Wang Jinshan's. His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet morning atmosphere.

"Have you said enough?"

Chen Lihua was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously took half a step back.

Zhao Xiuqin shut her mouth.

The smile on Wang Jinshan's face froze for a moment.

Zhou Haibing took out the dark red marriage certificate from his pocket, opened it, and held up the innermost page towards the crowd.

The national emblem, the official seal, and his and Li Su'e's names were printed side by side on the paper, clearly visible in the morning light:

"Comrade Li Su'e and I obtained our marriage certificate yesterday, and we are a legally married couple."

She didn't go back to the educated youth settlement last night because she stayed at my place. She's my wife now, so it's only natural for her to live with me.

If anyone continues to speak ill of my wife behind her back or maliciously slander her, don't blame me for being ruthless.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Chen Lihua opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but when her gaze fell on the deep red marriage certificate, she swallowed her words back.

Zhao Xiuqin turned her face away, pretending to look at the roadside weeds.

The smile on Wang Jinshan's lips vanished completely. His gaze lingered on the marriage certificate for a moment before shifting away, a look of embarrassment and awkwardness appearing on his face.

Li Su'e was deeply moved, her eyes welling up with tears. She hadn't expected Zhou Haibing to protect her so much; he was truly wonderful to her.

Chen Guoqiang stood at the front of the crowd. He had already heard what was said and seen the marriage certificate in Zhou Haibing's hand.

He took two steps forward, cleared his throat, and began to speak in the authoritative, stern tone typical of a captain addressing his team members:

"Listen up, all of you. You're not allowed to say things like that again."

They are a legally married couple, living an upright life. It's none of your business to gossip behind their backs.

If I let anyone hear them gossiping again, don't blame me for disciplining them in my team.

Go to work, don't block the road here.

Chen Lihua and Zhao Xiuqin fell silent, lowered their heads, and followed the crowd forward.

Wang Jinshan followed, walking faster than usual, as if he wanted to leave this awkward situation as soon as possible.

The crowd began to move again, continuing along the village road towards the fields.

Seeing that Chen Guoqiang was about to follow the crowd, Zhou Haibing called out to him:

"Captain Chen, wait a minute, there's something I want to tell you."

Chen Guoqiang stopped, turned around and looked at him, fanning himself twice with his straw hat:

"Hai Bing, what's wrong? Tell me."

Zhou Haibing walked up to him, her voice steady and clear:

"Captain Chen, I'd like to ask Li Su'e and my sister Zhou Haiqing to stay at the clinic and help me out."

I'm the only one working at the clinic. As the number of patients increases, I often have to make house calls. There's no one to look after the pharmacy, and I'm too busy to handle everything.

The two of them will come and help me. I'll teach them how to identify herbs, pick them, and organize them. They'll also be able to share some of the workload later on.

Chen Guoqiang frowned slightly:

"One assistant is acceptable, but wouldn't having two be a bit too much?"

Although Chen Lihua and Zhao Xiuqin were walking ahead, they kept their ears perked up.

Hearing this, Chen Lihua couldn't help but turn around and say something, her voice carrying a sarcastic tone:

"The clinic is such a small place, and they want both a wife and a sister? This isn't a shortage of staff, it's abuse of power for personal gain!"

Zhao Xiuqin chimed in, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the people behind her to hear:

"If we stuff all our own people in, then no one else has to do any work."

Zhou Haibing didn't look at them.

He continued, saying to Chen Guoqiang:

"I plan to cultivate a plot of land behind the clinic to grow medicinal herbs. The demand for commonly used herbs is quite large."

The supply and marketing cooperatives often have incomplete supplies. If you grow your own, you can save money on purchasing and also ensure the freshness of the medicinal herbs.

Planting medicinal herbs, harvesting them, drying them, cutting them, and storing them all require manpower.

He paused for a moment, then his voice became even more steady:

"And I won't add to the production team's burden. Li Su'e gets five work points a day, and my sister only needs three."

The two of them together only earned eight work points, far less than what they could earn working in the fields.

Upon hearing this, the crowd slowed down, and several people perked up their ears.

Chen Lihua turned to look at Zhou Haibing, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right words.

Zhao Xiuqin turned around, her expression changing from mockery to surprise.

Eight work points is indeed not a high number; anyone would do the math in their head.

According to the production team's attendance records, Li Su'e usually worked in the fields and could earn at least 8 work points per day.

Zhou Haiqing was also quite hardworking; despite his young age, he could earn at least 6 work points every day…