Chapter 32 Heading to Gaduo Miao Village
The next morning, there was still a thin mist in the mountains, and the program recording officially began.
The first item of the itinerary was for the "Star Volunteer Group" to be led by Dr. Li, the only doctor at the village health station, to fully understand the medical and health conditions in Yuntouzhai.
As a flight doctor, Chu Yi naturally went along as well. He had basically understood the situation at the health station over the past two days.
Doctor Li is a middle-aged man of about forty years old, with dark skin and rough hands, but his eyes reveal the simplicity and tenacity unique to mountain people.
Wearing a washed-out white coat, he stood in the slightly dim examination room of the health station, rubbing his hands awkwardly. Facing the camera and several glamorous stars, he seemed a little nervous.
"Our health center has poor conditions and few medicines..." Doctor Li began in heavily accented Mandarin. "We usually treat headaches, fevers, scrapes, and leg injuries. For serious illnesses... we have to go to the town or the county."
The clinic was small, consisting of only two rooms. The outer room served as a combined clinic and pharmacy. Several old medicine cabinets lined the walls. The medicines inside were neatly arranged, but the variety was limited, mostly basic cold medicine, painkillers, disinfectant, and gauze. An old examination table held a blood pressure monitor, stethoscope, and other basic instruments.
There was an observation bed in the inner room, the sheets were clean but obviously old.
Chu Yi stood quietly by the side, and only made brief additions and explanations in clear and steady Mandarin when Dr. Li's introduction was a little hesitant or unclear.
For example, the indications for a particular drug, the inventory quantity, or the precautions for using certain equipment. His familiarity with the situation here clearly exceeded what he should have known after only two days in the field, and it was clear that he had put in a lot of effort to understand and compile it.
"Doctor Chu has been a great help," Doctor Li said, looking at Chu Yi gratefully. "He helped me sort out my medications and told me a lot of new things."
Zhou Jiashu and Qin Yaoyao looked at the limited medicines in the medicine cabinet curiously, and sighed softly: "It turns out there are so few medicines here..."
Xie Mo paid more attention to people and the environment. He asked some questions at the right time and guided Dr. Li to talk about the difficulties and touching stories he encountered in his medical practice.
Gu Jinyi listened attentively, nodded from time to time, and glanced at the simple facilities in the house with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Zhou Ai stood a little further back, leaning against the door frame, his eyes fixed on Chu Yi who was earnestly adding to his explanation.
Chu Yi wore a light grey collarless sweatshirt and light blue straight jeans today. Without the blessing of a white coat, he looked younger than his actual age.
He lowered his eyelashes, pointed at the medicines in the medicine cabinet with a focused expression and whispered something to Dr. Li. Zhou Ai's mouth corners unconsciously rose slightly.
"The most troublesome thing is making rounds," Dr. Li continued, pointing to a hand-drawn map on the wall that marked the locations of several nearby natural villages. "Some of the villages are even more remote, and the roads are difficult to get to. The elderly have difficulty walking, and it's difficult for children to get out if they're sick. So I have to go and check on them every once in a while, carrying my medicine box."
At this time, the director team timely proposed the next task: This morning, the volunteer team will follow Dr. Li and Dr. Chu to the most remote Gaduo Miao Village for a medical round.
When the task was released, several stars reacted differently.
Zhou Jiashu, young and energetic, immediately responded enthusiastically: "No problem! Doctor Li, is the medicine box heavy? I can help you carry it!"
Qin Yaoyao looked at the winding mountain road marked on the map, a trace of timidity appeared on her face, but she still nodded hard: "I... I can also help to get some things."
Xie Mo smiled and joked: "It seems that today is going to test my physical strength. Well, let me experience the hard work that Dr. Li usually goes through."
Gu Jinyi nodded: "As it should be, this is the meaning of our coming here."
Zhou Ai stood up straight, his eyes shifted from Chu Yi to the map, and he raised an eyebrow and asked, "How long will it take?"
"If we go quickly, it'll take three or four hours round trip," Doctor Li answered honestly. "The road is difficult to travel on, all over the mountains."
Zhou Ai didn't say anything, but just silently reached out and picked up the medicine box that Chu Yi and Dr. Li had prepared on the table.
But just as he extended his hand halfway, Dr. Li refused in a simple and honest manner: "I'm used to it, it's safer for me to do it myself."
Chu Yi also carried a smaller medical bag, which contained some common medicines and emergency supplies. He checked the items in the bag and confirmed that they were correct.
As they set out, Zhou Ai casually walked over to Chu Yi and glanced at the medical bag on his shoulder. "Doctor Chu, is it heavy? Do you need me to help you carry it?"
Xie Mo, who was walking in front, had sharp ears and heard it. He turned around and gave him a playful look.
Chu Yi didn't stop, looking at the rugged mountain road ahead, "It's okay, it's not too serious."
———
After walking on the mountain road for nearly an hour, the director team signaled everyone to take a break in a relatively flat and shady place to replenish their energy.
Everyone felt as if they had been pardoned. They found a place to sit down and took out the water and simple dry food prepared by the program team.
Zhou Ai naturally walked to Chu Yi's side and sat next to him on a large rock with a relatively smooth surface.
He took out a pack of biscuits from the side pocket of his backpack and handed it to Chu Yi next to him.
Chu Yi paused while taking the water from his bag and looked at the biscuit package handed to him. It was obvious that this was not something that could be bought here.
"Thank you." Chu Yi whispered a thank you and took it.
Inevitably, their fingertips touched each other.
An unusually hot temperature came from Zhou Ai's fingertips, clearly imprinted on Chu Yi's slightly cool skin.
Chu Yi, almost out of his doctor's instinct, was startled and immediately looked up at Zhou Ai.
Looking closely, Zhou Ai's face seemed paler than usual, with an abnormal paleness, and a slight unnatural redness on his eyelids.
The pair of peach blossom eyes that always flashed with a lazy and mischievous light now seemed to be covered with a layer of moisture, appearing a little sleepy and weak.
Chu Yi frowned and was about to ask, "You..." Are you feeling unwell?
However, before he could even ask the question, Zhou Ai's hand suddenly moved faster and covered the back of his hand holding the biscuit. It seemed like a casual movement, but her fingertips were burning hot. She pressed slightly hard and then released it without a trace.
At the same time, Zhou Ai shook her head slightly and almost imperceptibly, and her peach blossom eyes, which were sparkling due to the fever, blinked quickly, giving him a look with a hint of request and prohibition.
Chu Yi's words were instantly stuck in his throat.
He understood Zhou Ai's hint - he didn't want to make it public, and didn't want to interrupt the filming because of his "little problem" and cause trouble for everyone.
Chu Yi swallowed the professional question that was about to come out of his mouth. He was silent for a moment, lowered his head, tore open the biscuit package in his hand, took a biscuit, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.
He no longer looked at Zhou Ai, but his professional ethics as a doctor prevented him from completely ignoring her.
Chu Yi observed Zhou Ai's condition out of the corner of his eye and saw that although he was still trying to stay alert, he would occasionally frown subconsciously, as if he had a headache. His sitting posture was not as relaxed as usual, and he showed a hint of imperceptible fatigue.
The other people around were still chatting and resting, and seemed unaware of the brief confrontation and undercurrent here.
Chu Yi swallowed the biscuit in his mouth, sighed silently, and then calmly opened the medical bag he carried with him. He took out a pack of individually wrapped portable disinfectant wipes and handed it to Zhou Ai. "Wipe your sweat? The wind in the mountains is strong and it's easy to catch a cold."
He didn't look directly at Zhou Ai, and his voice was low so that only the two of them could hear it clearly.
Zhou Ai was stunned for a moment, looking at the wet wipes handed to him, then looked up at Chu Yi's profile, which looked as if nothing had happened, but he had deliberately emphasized the word "caught a cold". A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he obediently took the disinfectant wipes and whispered, "Thank you."
He wiped his forehead and neck with a wet wipe, and the slight cool feeling seemed to temporarily dispel some of the discomfort.
Chu Yi, who was standing by, didn't feel very good after handing over the disinfectant wipes.
He lowered his eyes and thought for a few seconds, then observed Zhou Ai calmly with the corner of his eyes, and saw the fatigue that was difficult to conceal despite his forced efforts and the occasional furrowed brows.
Chu Yi frowned, then calmly opened his medicine bag again, pretending to look for something, but in fact he quickly and covertly took out a pill from a box of fever-reducing medicine and held it in his palm.
While the others were chatting and laughing, and the camera's focus was temporarily not on their corner, Chu Yi very naturally stretched out the hand holding the medicine in front of Zhou Ai, opened his palm, and revealed the small white pill.
His movements were small, and his body tilted slightly to the side, causing a brief visual obstruction.
Chu Yi looked at the mountain road ahead, and lowered his voice so low that only the two of them could hear it. However, his tone was serious, a doctor's style, and it brooked no refusal: "Eat it."
Zhou Ai lowered her head and saw the pill in her palm, and was stunned for a moment.
Chu Yi didn't wait for his response and continued to add quickly in a very low voice, almost in a warning tone: "Vigorous activities when you have a fever may cause myocarditis. Do you want to take the risk?"
Zhou Ai was silent for a moment, and finally, in compromise, he sighed almost imperceptibly and quickly took the pill from Chu Yi's palm.
Chu Yi felt his palms empty, and his heart settled a little. He took out the thermos cup he brought with him from his bag and handed it over. His voice was still low: "I filled it with hot water this morning. If you don't mind, you can take it and drink more hot water."
Zhou Ai took the thermos cup from Chu Yi and drank several mouthfuls before whispering in a hoarse voice, "...Thank you."
Chu Yi didn't respond. He simply rezipped his backpack, stood up, pursed his lips, looked at Zhou Ai, and added, "If you don't mind, take the cup."
After saying that, he took out an unopened bottle of mineral water from the side of Zhou Ai's backpack and shook it, "In exchange."
Zhou Ai looked at the hesitant and conflicted expression on Chu Yi's face and found it adorable. She lowered her head, curled her lips, and smiled. She looked at Chu Yi, nodded, and stood up with him.
The team moved forward again towards Gaduo Village deep in the clouds. Chu Yi walked in front, but a part of his mind was behind. He was always paying attention to Zhou Ai's situation.
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