After finishing their meal, they bid farewell to the villagers and set out for the next village on their medical rounds.

The villagers of this era were simple and sincere. When Gao-Yuan and his team left, the villagers escorted them far down the road, touching Zhao Huanzhang and Shen Congyun deeply. It was the first time they had received such treatment, and suddenly, they felt that their arduous night journey through the rain had been worth it.

After saying goodbye to the villagers, they hastened to the next village—the one where the couple with the sick child came from.

As usual, they set up their clinic in the village hall. Li Shengli took care of the initial consultations while they wrote the prescriptions.

Several serious cases emerged, and people instinctively sought out Zhao Huanzhang first. Zhao took a few deep breaths and glanced at Gao-Yuan multiple times before gritting his teeth and making a diagnosis. However, when it came time to write the prescription, he hesitated. After staring at the yellowed paper for what seemed like an eternity, no ink touched the page.

The patient, growing anxious, began to feel even more worried. He didn’t realize his condition was so grave that even Zhao Huanzhang seemed stumped.

“What is it, Dr. Zhao? Am I... am I in trouble?” the patient stammered nervously.

Finally, Zhao Huanzhang put the pen down, defeated, and said, “You should go see Dr. Gao. He's better at treating severe cases.”

“Huh?” The patient looked at Gao-Yuan in confusion.

Gao-Yuan sighed softly. The saying, "A leopard cannot change its spots," came to mind. It was difficult to transform someone, and even harder for them to revert to their old ways.

The patient was hesitant, unsure of the young doctor before him.

Fortunately, the couple with the sick child was also in the village hall. With their endorsement and the boy’s remarkable recovery as proof, the patients quickly placed their trust in Gao-Yuan, flocking to him one after another.

Seeing this, both Shen Congyun and Li Shengli turned to look at Zhao Huanzhang. His brow was furrowed, and his face showed a deep sense of defeat and struggle.

By late afternoon, all the patients in this village had been seen.

Gao-Yuan checked on the child from the previous village. By this time, his temperature had returned to normal, his abdomen was no longer swollen, the thick tongue coating had diminished, and his pulse had stabilized—though he still had a lingering cough. This indicated that the cold was dissipating, the fever was subsiding, and both the surface and internal illness had been resolved. Gao-Yuan adjusted the prescription, giving two doses to harmonize the lungs and stomach for recovery.

Afterward, the group once again rushed to the next village.

Along the way, they snacked on hard, dry food and drank cold water to stave off hunger.

By dusk, they arrived at the third village. As usual, they treated patients in the village hall, with Zhao Huanzhang still referring the severe cases to Gao-Yuan. Fortunately, there weren’t many critical cases this time.

By eight in the evening, they had finished treating the entire village.

Gao-Yuan urged them to continue, insisting they march to the next village.

The group, carrying only the essentials, set out again for the fourth village.

By the time they finished in the fourth village, it was already the middle of the night.

“Ugh…” Shen Congyun’s voice trembled with exhaustion.

Zhao Huanzhang collapsed into a chair, his limbs shaking. He was truly spent. The previous day, he had rushed back from the county, treating patients without even drinking water until the evening. Then, they had trekked through the rain and arrived at Fucun in the middle of the night. Having barely slept three hours, they had risen at dawn to treat patients and hadn’t stopped until well past midnight.

Zhao Huanzhang felt like his very soul was about to leave his body.

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Li Shengli, being the youngest, with a military background, was the only one still standing.

The village secretary approached with a smile, saying, “Doctors, you’ve worked so hard. I’ve arranged for accommodations. Let me take you there so you can get some rest.”

Zhao Huanzhang politely replied, “Thank you very much. We appreciate it.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” the village secretary said, waving his hand dismissively.

But Gao-Yuan spoke up, “There’s no need. We won’t be staying in the village. We need to leave immediately for the next village.”

“What?” Zhao Huanzhang and Shen Congyun’s voices rose in surprise.

Even Li Shengli looked puzzled.

The village secretary was stunned. “What? It’s already the middle of the night, and you’re still going to the next village?”

Gao-Yuan nodded. “That’s right. We’ll be leaving shortly. Don’t worry about us, and you should rest as well.”

The village secretary, still confused, returned to his duties.

Meanwhile, the other three doctors stared at Gao-Yuan in disbelief.

Shen Congyun protested, “Dr. Gao, last night when you said we needed to rush to Fucun overnight, I understood because it was so far away. If we had set out in the morning, we would have arrived late in the afternoon, and the delay would have affected treatment. But we’re already in the village, and it’s the middle of the night. Do we really have to leave now?”

Zhao Huanzhang added, “Yes, we’re all exhausted. Our strength is nearly depleted.”

Gao-Yuan shook his head. “No, we have to reach the next village as soon as possible and rest there. We can’t waste any time.”

“Why the rush?” Shen Congyun grumbled. “We’re moving faster than any other medical team, aren’t we?”

Zhao Huanzhang also felt something was off. “I feel like you’re not telling us everything, Gao-Yuan.”

Hearing this, Gao-Yuan finally revealed his reasoning. “The reason we need to hurry is because my ultimate goal is Huo Village.”

“Huo Village?” the three of them echoed in surprise.

Gao-Yuan explained, “Huo Village is deep in the mountains, with no doctor in the entire village. It takes them a full day to walk to the nearest clinic. Normally, they are already severely lacking in medical care, and now, with this flu outbreak, their situation will be even worse.”

“In these outer villages, three towns with over 40,000 people have just four doctors. The doctors in the joint clinics outside are already overwhelmed, and none of them will go to help Huo Village. The situation there must be dire.”

Li Shengli interrupted, standing up. “Dr. Gao, you don’t need to explain further. I get it now. No objections here—let’s set out immediately!”

Once again, Li Shengli’s blood boiled with enthusiasm.

But Shen Congyun and Zhao Huanzhang both wilted, their faces filled with reluctance.

Seeing the other two’s exhaustion and unwillingness, Li Shengli was about to speak when Gao-Yuan stopped him. Gao-Yuan turned to Shen Congyun and said, “Dr. Shen, no other doctor will go to help Huo Village.”

Shen, frustrated, cut him off. “But what does that have to do with us? Huo Village is so far away. Why should we run ourselves ragged just to help them?”

“Say that again!” Li Shengli flared up instantly.

“I’m just stating the facts!” Shen, worn out, became more irritable the more tired he got.

Li Shengli was about to start another argument, but Gao-Yuan quickly intervened, calming the young man down. He repeated to Shen, “Dr. Shen, no other doctor will go to Huo Village.”

“What… what do you mean?” Shen looked at Gao-Yuan, confused.

Gao-Yuan looked directly into his eyes and said, “When the people of Huo Village are most in need, when no other doctors in the county can help, who is willing to risk their lives to support a village miles away? Dr. Shen, we are the only team in the entire county that can go.”

Gao-Yuan raised his voice. “Dr. Shen, it’s just us! We’re the only ones in the entire county!”

Shen’s pupils slowly dilated as he mumbled, “The... the only ones...”

Gao-Yuan nodded firmly. “If you sleep now, all our efforts will be in vain!”

Shen’s lips trembled violently. Finally, he grabbed his hat, threw it on the ground, and cursed, “Damn it! To hell with it! Let’s go. Now!”

Li Shengli was stunned. He looked at Shen, then at Gao-Yuan, and suddenly realized that what he lacked wasn’t just medical skill.

Gao-Yuan then turned to Zhao Huanzhang.

Zhao smiled wryly, popped two ginseng tablets into his mouth, chewed slowly, and said, “Alright, let’s go. I can’t let you all be the best in the county while I’m dead last. can I?”

Gao-Yuan smiled in return.

Once again, the team set off in the middle of the night.

Before leaving, Li Shengli pulled Gao-Yuan aside and asked, “Dr. Gao, what did you do in the army?”

Gao-Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

Li Shengli looked puzzled. “You’re even better at giving speeches than our political commissar.”

Gao-Yuan chuckled, giving him a gentle push. “Alright, let’s move.”

Thus, Gao-Yuan and his team continued their gruelling pace, marching through the night and treating patients at first light. Their days were so hectic that it felt like they were on the verge of burning out. Given the speed at which they worked and the fact that they provided medicine directly in each village, there was a growing shortage of medical supplies.

Fortunately, Director Qi had their back, prioritizing their access to the necessary medicine. Zhang Yuancai tirelessly drove his mule cart, delivering cartloads of supplies to them. However, because of this, Director Qi faced significant criticism in the following emergency meetings for his decisions.