Chapter 18: The Big Hole Was Sewed Up

Du Ruoxia is staying at home to study for the medical qualification exam. She thinks that working in a hospital will be like being a beast of burden, so she might as well take a break now and enjoy the time of being a couch potato.

So she didn't listen to Dean Hu and go to the outpatient clinic first. Instead, she stayed at home. Dean Hu valued talent and didn't want to let Du Ruoxia go. So he agreed that it wouldn't be too late for Du Ruoxia to start working after she got her certificate.

Days passed by, and before she knew it, Du Ruoxia had been living in Yuxi Village for a month. She didn't have to work, and she had money in her hands, so she was enjoying her life.

However, Du Ruoxia stayed in the village instead of going to work at the hospital, and gradually rumors began to circulate in the village.

Especially towards Lin Meifeng and He Chunhong, who harbored resentment towards Du Ruoxia, they, being big mouths, began spreading rumors—

"Didn't Du Ruoxia say she got a referral letter from the county hospital to become a doctor? But she's been playing in the village for a month now, why hasn't she gone to work yet?"

"So you're saying, which hospital would refuse to let a doctor work?"

"Oh dear, do you think Du Ruoxia's letter of introduction might be forged?"

"Huh? Really? Could Du Zhiqing be that kind of person?"

"You can't see into someone's heart, how would we know what they're thinking?"

"You know what, after Du Ruoxia came back with the letter of introduction, she started making demands on the brigade leader. She was showing off because she was going to be a doctor. She's just a girl, and the brigade leader even gave her two big rooms to live in."

"Yes, even the brigade leader isn't this good to the people in our village."

"This is incredible. This little girl is so cunning. She managed to win over the brigade leader with just a letter of introduction."

"Hehe, it's a skill for people to be able to lie."

Under the big locust tree, a group of gossipy old ladies were discussing Du Ruoxia. In fact, the brigade leader Jiang Dezhu was also a little unsure. He looked at the letter of introduction repeatedly, but couldn't find any flaws. It shouldn't be fake.

But Du Ruoxia now stays in the village every day and doesn't go to work at the county hospital at all, which makes Jiang Dezhu uneasy. Could it be that the letter of introduction is too convincingly forged?

Jiang Dezhu's wife, Ma Guihua, was knitting a sweater when she saw her husband looking like this and couldn't help but laugh.

"Captain Jiang, you didn't believe those rumors in the village, did you?"

Jiang Dezhu paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. "I know those women are always idle and like to gossip, but why is this Du Zhiqing so indifferent to the work at the county hospital?"

“I think Du Zhiqing is an honest girl. Besides, I went back to my hometown, Yulin Village, yesterday. The village head, Lao Ma, told me something.”

Ma Guihua paused here, revealing a mysterious expression, which piqued Jiang Dezhu's curiosity. "What's the matter?"

"Du Zhiqing is indeed a skilled doctor. Last month, Ma Xiangqian was kicked by a cow and got a big hole in his body. Thanks to Du Zhiqing's superb skills, he managed to sew up such a big hole. Isn't that amazing?"

Jiang Dezhu pondered for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then Du Zhiqing really does have some skills; he's quite capable!"

"Yes, if it's just one person, it's a coincidence, but what about two or three?"

Ma Guihua continued, "Luo Xiaojuan, Luo Zhiqing, when I was chatting with the young girl, I found out that Du Zhiqing had saved an old man on the train to the village. There was a doctor, Gao Yuyang, on the train at the time, but it was Du Zhiqing, an outsider, who saved the old man. Doesn't that prove that Du Zhiqing's medical skills are superb?"

"I was surprised to learn that this actually happened. Why didn't anyone tell me?" Jiang Dezhu exclaimed.

"Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. What's the point of spreading stories about letting others steal the spotlight? Everyone has that mentality!"

Jiang Dezhu thought about it and realized that his wife was right. It seemed that Du Ruoxia was indeed a capable young woman.

In the grove.

He Meiling picked up the clothes beside her, her fingers trembling slightly as she buttoned them up. She then tidied her messy hair, her lipstick already smudged.

Zhang Qingsong looked satiated, his shirt open to reveal his chest, and then he grabbed He Meiling and gave her a squeeze.

"I didn't expect someone who looks so thin and small to be quite chubby."

Tears seemed to glisten in He Meiling's eyes, but she held them back when she thought of Du Ruoxia, and then said, "Don't forget what you promised me."

"Isn't it just about messing with Du Ruoxia? I've already thought of a way." Zhang Qingsong pinched He Meiling's chin. "Give me a kiss. I really like you."

He Meiling forced herself to stay awake and took off her clothes again.

Since losing her job as a scorekeeper after being tricked by Du Ruoxia last month, He Meiling has had to work in the fields every day. She was lazy and loved to eat at home, so how could she endure this kind of hardship?

Almost every day, they couldn't complete their tasks, and if they couldn't, they would be scolded by the team leader, and they might not even earn work points or have food to eat.

He Meiling's lack of food gave Zhang Qingsong an opportunity to take advantage of her. He Meiling was willing to eat peach shortbread that had been sitting for a month or two, and she even had to rely on Zhang Qingsong's "charity" to get a steamed bun.

In fact, Wang Sufeng would share her food with He Meiling, but He Meiling also resented Wang Sufeng. She felt angry just looking at Wang Sufeng, so it was even less likely that she would eat her food.

After a month or so of this, He Meiling felt like each day was an eternity, especially when she saw Du Ruoxia just lying at home all day without having to do anything. He Meiling was insanely jealous.

Why is Du Ruoxia able to live such a comfortable life?

He Meiling gave Lin Meifeng and Wang Chunhong ideas to ruin Du Ruoxia's reputation, but that wasn't enough; she also wanted Du Ruoxia to disappear forever.

So He Meiling found another simp, Zhang Qingsong.

Zhang Qingsong said he had a way to deal with Du Ruoxia, and He Meiling was overjoyed. However, when Zhang Qingsong's hand reached into her clothes, He Meiling realized that this "simp" was not someone she could control.

Zhang Qingsong is an egoist. He never does anything without a reward. After flirting with He Meiling for so long, he is certainly not satisfied with just holding hands. He has long been lusting after He Meiling. Now that He Meiling has something to ask of him, she is simply a piece of fat meat delivered to his door.

He Meiling made up her mind that she was willing to pay any price to bring Du Ruoxia down, so she arranged to meet Zhang Qingsong in the grove.

It was dark by the time she finished. He Meiling hurriedly ran back to her room. Tian Xueying glanced at her and, unusually, asked with concern, "Hey, why do you look so disheveled?"

He Meiling is usually very vain and would never let her two braids be loose, and she even buttoned one of the buttons on her collar wrong.

Feeling guilty, He Meiling said, "I...I tripped and fell."

She immediately added, "Don't tell anyone."

"Because...because...it's too embarrassing," He Meiling stammered, her heart pounding, afraid that Tian Xueying would discover something.

Little did she know, Tian Xueying had no interest in He Meiling whatsoever. She wasn't one to pry, so she didn't press the matter further and continued reading her book.