"Let's go, let's go join the fun! What's the point of playing cards anymore!"
All that could be heard was the excited shouts of the villagers, their voices rising and falling, before they all got up and hurried toward Old Shen's house.
Someone in the crowd spoke up first: "Do you think she might have fainted from anger because of that Qian girl?"
The speaker was an auntie, her face full of curiosity and doubt.
"If you ask me, that's probably it! Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, such a joyous day. What other reason could there be besides her removing her son's name from the family genealogy that could make her so angry!"
Another villager readily voiced his guess, as if he already knew the truth of the matter.
Everyone chatted amongst themselves, and soon they arrived at Old Shen's house.
By this time, the Shen family's courtyard was already packed with people, three or four layers deep, completely blocking the doorway.
The people standing at the back tiptoed and craned their necks, trying to see what was happening inside the house.
Doctor Shen rushed over and, after squeezing through the crowd, entered the room to find it in complete chaos. Shen Zijing was tightly pinching his philtrum, his expression extremely anxious.
"Ouch! Okay, okay, please stop pinching! Look at this area around my philtrum, you've almost broken the skin!"
Dr. Shen shouted anxiously and rushed over to push the hand away.
He lay there heavily, blood seeping from his philtrum, but he remained unconscious.
Doctor Shen quickly pushed Shen Zijing aside and took over the task himself.
He first placed three fingers on the patient's wrist, carefully feeling the pulse. After a brief pause, he frowned slightly, his expression becoming somewhat serious.
Seeing this, Qian Danu, who had been anxiously waiting nearby, could no longer contain her worry and hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "Dr. Shen, what's the situation? Is something serious happening to my old man?"
Her voice trembled slightly with nervousness, and her eyes were filled with fear and unease.
Dr. Shen looked up at Qian Daniu, gently shook his head, and said, "It's too early to draw a conclusion. We'll have to wait until he wakes up to know if he's had a stroke."
After saying that, he took out a set of gleaming silver needles from his medicine box, carefully picked up one, and accurately inserted it into an acupoint on Zhong Chen's body.
Then came the second stitch, the third stitch... each stitch was incredibly precise, flowing naturally and smoothly like clouds and water.
Time passed by, and after about five minutes, Hencheng, who had been unconscious, finally slowly opened his eyes.
However, his body was still trembling uncontrollably, and he looked very weak.
Seeing this, Doctor Shen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank goodness, he's just trembling a little. Fortunately, he hasn't had a stroke. I'll go get some medicine and have him take it on time. With some treatment, he should recover completely."
Hearing this, Shen Zicheng, who was standing to the side, finally felt relieved. He said to Doctor Shen with tears of gratitude, "Thank you so much, Doctor Shen! How much will the consultation fee and medicine cost in total? I'll go back with you to get the medicine now."
“Five yuan,” Dr. Shen said after thinking for a moment.
"What? How can it be so expensive!" Upon hearing the price, Qian Danu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Seeing that Shen had regained consciousness, she finally felt a little relieved and began to negotiate with Doctor Shen.
"Sister Qian, today is the first day of the Lunar New Year! Everyone else is enjoying the holiday at home, but I rushed here to make a house call and treat patients. I didn't even charge you a penny for the house call, I only charged you 5 yuan for the medicine."
"If you think it's too expensive, you can go to the hospital and ask the doctors there to prescribe the medicine for you," Dr. Shen replied bluntly, not buying her act.
"Boss, hurry up and get some money for Doctor Shen." Lying on the bed, Zhong Chen, though still very weak, managed to muster his strength and give the order.
“Alright, Dad,” Shen Zijing agreed readily, then turned to look at Qian Daniu.
Seeing this, Qian Daniu, though extremely unwilling, could not continue the stalemate. She could only slowly and reluctantly reach into her pocket and rummage around for a while before finally managing to pull out a crumpled ten-yuan note.
He kept muttering curses under his breath, then shoved the banknotes into Dr. Shen's hand.
"Chengzi, come with me back to get the medicine!" Doctor Shen turned around with a cold and expressionless face, picked up the heavy medicine box on his back, and strode out.
"Alright, Uncle Shen, please wait a moment, I'll catch up right away!" Shen Zicheng didn't dare to delay at all, and quickly replied before hurriedly following after him.
At this moment, Shen Zijing smiled and said to the crowd that had not yet dispersed, "Fellow villagers, hurry home! Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Everyone is out visiting each other, or getting together to play cards and chat. It's so lively! There's nothing to see here, so everyone can go home now!"
Hearing this, the villagers nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's go play some cards to pass the time." One by one, the villagers left the scene.
After everyone had gone far away, Shen Zijing turned his gaze to the elderly couple in front of him.
At this moment, Lin Meimei and Qian Ahua stood quietly to the side, seemingly having no intention of leaving.
"Father, Mother, what exactly happened? Please tell us, why did Father get so angry that he vomited blood?"
Shen Zijing pressed on anxiously, determined not to give up until he got to the bottom of it.
After a moment of silence, Qian Daniu finally couldn't help but speak up: "Sigh... It's all because of what happened yesterday. I just can't swallow this anger, so when I found out today that I was going to be included in the family genealogy, I thought I'd go and argue with your third brother and get an explanation."
"Who would have thought that the bastard would actually adopt himself into your uncle's family on the spot!" As she said this, her chest began to heave violently again, clearly still furious.
"What do you mean? Mother! What exactly do you mean by that? I'm getting more and more confused."
Shen Zijing stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief, as if she couldn't understand what her mother had just said.
Qian Daniu's eyes darted around, avoiding eye contact with her son. She stammered as she explained, "I... I just wanted to put that kid in his place, to make him give in to me and say some nice things to make me happy."
"But who would have thought that unfilial son would be so heartless, adding your family name to the genealogy without a word and willingly becoming his son!" As she finished speaking, Qian Daniu's voice grew softer and softer, clearly indicating that even she herself found her words unconvincing.
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