By the time the oxcart arrived at the entrance of Renjitang, Siyan had already made all the arrangements.
The young apprentice helped carry Zhou Jing'an down from the oxcart and led him to the house that had been prepared beforehand.
Everyone gathered in the room, watching Zhou Jing'an lying on the operating table.
Mrs. Yao said worriedly, "Son, don't worry, I'll stay right next to you during the surgery. I won't go anywhere else."
Upon hearing this, Si Yan frowned slightly and said, "When the surgery is about to begin, you all need to leave. Only Mr. Zhou and I will remain in the room."
Ning Huan glanced at him, then nodded slightly to Si Yan.
With Si Yan covering for her, things became much easier.
But Yao didn't care about Si Yan's status. Even though he was going to perform surgery on Zhou Jing'an later, she still dared to cause trouble for him.
She curled her lip and snorted coldly, "Why should we all leave? How can it be just the two of you in this house? If anything happens to my son, it will all be your fault!"
Upon hearing Yao's words, Si Yan's expression immediately darkened. He said, "I am the doctor treating Mr. Zhou. A doctor's heart is to heal the sick. How could I harm someone?"
This was truly the first time he had ever heard such absurd words, that someone would suspect him of murdering his own patient.
No wonder Ning Huan's wife kept telling him not to reveal that she knew medicine. With a family like that, it's definitely better to avoid trouble.
Yao was still trying to say something more, but the village chief's eyes were practically glaring through Zhou Dashan.
Moreover, Zhou Dashan also felt that Yao had gone a bit too far today, so he quickly stopped her and said, "Alright, stop making a scene here. If you upset Doctor Si, how will he treat Jing'an?"
These words made Yao shut her mouth immediately, and some of the village elders had long disliked her.
He cursed Yao in his heart. This woman was really troublesome. She quarreled with her daughter-in-law in the village, and when she came to the town, she even caused trouble for the doctor at the clinic.
We shouldn't have brought her here. She should have stayed home quietly. She really embarrassed them and almost ruined things.
The village chief scolded Yao Shi, then said to Si Yan, "Doctor Si, country women don't know any rules, please don't take offense."
Si Yan nodded and replied, "Village Chief, don't worry, I know you are concerned about Mr. Zhou's health. I will do my best to treat him."
With these words, the village chief and the elders felt much more at ease and quickly said with smiles, "Thank you for your help, Doctor Si."
So everyone in the village was arranged by Si Yan to wait in the Renji Hall. Just as Zhou Jing'an was about to be treated, Ning Huan knew she had to quickly think of an excuse to leave.
She glanced around and then said to the village chief and the others, "Village chief, uncles and aunts, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go outside and buy you some food."
The village chief waved his hand and said, "No need, Jing'an's wife will have to make the trip. We can all just wait."
Just as Ning Huan was about to say something more, Yao spoke up from the side: "I haven't eaten anything yet, and your father is also a bit thirsty. Look, his lips are all chapped. Go buy him some more drinks."
Seeing that no one paid attention to her, Yao said in a shrill voice, "I said to you, you little hussy, didn't you hear me? I'm hungry, go buy me some glutinous rice cake to try."
Having accompanied Ning Huan all the way, Madam Yang had long disliked Madam Yao. She spoke up, "Auntie, this glutinous rice cake isn't cheap. Do you have enough money on you?"
Yao was taken aback for a moment, then said matter-of-factly, "What's it to you whether I've had enough time or not? My son and daughter-in-law are here, do you think I need to spend money on them?"
The village chief was also a little angry when he heard this. Ning Huan was the only daughter-in-law. Her family was already in financial difficulty, so it was not unreasonable for Yao to buy food when she was hungry. But she insisted on eating glutinous rice cakes, which were not cheap.
Even after Yao had said all that, Ning Huan still ignored her. After counting the number of villagers present, she said to the village chief, "Village chief, apart from the elders, the villagers who came with us haven't eaten much either. I'll go out and buy some now."
“You all need to eat something. Doctor Si just told me that if my husband’s surgery is treated, it might take a long time.”
Before the village chief could even discuss it with her, Ning Huan called out to Yang Shi, "Sister-in-law, I might not be able to carry it all by myself. Could you come with me?"
Madam Yang nodded and replied, "Alright, sister. I'll go with you."
Although Ning Huan had a considerable amount of money, she didn't buy the villagers any fancy food. Instead, she went to a nearby shop and bought two large steamers of vegetarian buns. Even so, Yang felt a little bad about the thirty coins Ning Huan had given away.
“Sister, I’m not criticizing you, but Brother Jing’an is currently receiving treatment at the clinic, and we don’t know how much more money it will cost in the future. Everyone in the village knows about your family’s situation, so they certainly won’t ask you to buy any delicacies.”
"Just buy a little something to fill your stomach, that's enough. You should save the money you can for later!"
Ning Huan responded immediately, then interrupted Yang Shi and said, "Sister-in-law, please take these buns to the village chief and the others. If they are thirsty, just tell the staff at Renjitang and the medicine boy."
Hearing Ning Huan's instructions, Madam Yang asked curiously, "Sister, from what you're saying, aren't you coming back with me?"
She nodded, then pretended to be weak and unsteady on her feet, saying, "I'll take a walk around here. Just thinking about my husband being treated inside, and not knowing what the outcome might be, makes me very anxious."
"I tremble just thinking about the clinic, I'm so scared..."
Yang looked at Ning Huan's pale face and the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, and nodded understandingly: "Sister-in-law understands. How about this, after I deliver the things to the village chief and the others, I'll come back and keep you company for a while?"
Ning Huan shook her head: "Auntie, I can manage on my own. I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on my mother-in-law and the others at the clinic. If my mother-in-law causes trouble again while I'm not around, it'll be terrible."
Yang patted her chest and said, "Sister, don't worry, I'll take care of it."
After Ning Huan watched Yang leave, she immediately headed towards the other end of the alley.
She had just looked around Renjitang and noticed that there was another passage in the backyard leading to this alley. It not only allowed her to go directly into Zhou Jing'an's room but also allowed her to avoid the waiting room where the villagers were.
Just as Si Yan was wondering how to call Ning Huan in, she appeared in front of him the next second.
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