Chapter 6: Matchmaking

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Song Yiren glanced towards Su Jinyue’s room. After hesitating for a while, she walked forward. She still wanted to know what Jinyue would say after all.

“Doctor Song, prescribe me some cold medicine. I keep sneezing today and I feel so uncomfortable,” a middle-aged man shouted to Song Yiren as he walked into the clinic.

“Okay!” Song Yiren replied begrudgingly and walked over to the middle-aged man. “Third Uncle Wu, do you have any other symptoms besides sneezing? Does your throat hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt, but my nose is itchy. I keep wanting to sneeze… Ahchoo!” Then, Third Uncle Wu sneezed.

Song Yiren swiftly dodged, so as not to be sprayed by his saliva and mucus. She said, “In that case, I will prescribe you some woad root and anti-inflammatory medicine.”

“Okay!” Third Uncle Wu nodded in agreement.

Song Yiren walked over to the medicine cabinet and opened it. She then took out a box of woad root and anti-inflammatory medicine from the cabinet, handed it to Third Uncle Wu and said, “That will be a total of five yuan and twenty cents. Take it three times a day after meals.”

“That’s so expensive! How about I just take the woad root then.” Third Uncle Wu’s brows furrowed as he looked at the medicine in Song Yiren’s hand. He only earned about ten yuan a month yet this prescribed medicine cost so much. He couldn’t bear to spend that amount of money.

“Colds are caused by viruses. You’ll only be able to recover quickly if you take anti-inflammatory drugs,” Song Yiren advised.

Third Uncle Wu pondered about it for a while before saying, “In that case, I’ll just take a box of anti-inflammatory medicine. I don’t want the woad root.” He still had a few mouths at home that were relying on him to feed. He had to save whatever he could.

“Alright then, the anti-inflammatory medicine costs three yuan and fifty cents.” Song Yiren passed the anti-inflammatory medicine to Third Uncle Wu. The people of Shangxin Village were all farmers and didn’t make much money in an entire year, so she could understand why Third Uncle Wu was reluctant to spend money.

Third Uncle Wu took the anti-inflammatory medicine from her and took out a cloth bag, which had been folded into a square shape, from his pocket and unfolded it layer by layer. Reluctantly, he took out three one-yuan and one fifty-cents pieces from inside and handed it to Song Yiren. If it weren’t because the sneezing was affecting his work, he would not have come to buy medicine and wasted all that money.

Song Yiren took the money from him and put it in the drawer. Glancing at Third Uncle Wu’s back view as he left, she shook her head and sighed, before walking to the medicine cabinet and putting the woad root back in its place.

Come next year, she would go to the city to find a job for sure. She did not want to live a life like that in the future, where she would have to divide even one cent and use it as if it were two cents.

The sound of footsteps came from behind her. Song Yiren knew that Xu Tiansheng had come out. She spun around and looked at him. Seeing that his expression did not look great, she bit down on her lip and said, “Teacher, I didn’t do it on purpose and I’ve already apologized to Jinyue.” Jinyue must have told Teacher what happened, so she should just be honest and admit her mistake.

“What happened?” Xu Tiansheng asked in surprise.

“Didn’t Jinyue tell you?” Song Yiren regretted it. She had just confessed without being pressed for answers.

“Tell me!” Xu Tiansheng sat down in the chair and waited for Song Yiren to recount what had happened.

Song Yiren pursed her lips and slowly recounted the sequence of events. “Teacher, I really have apologized already. I didn’t expect Jinyue to fall either.”

Xu Tiansheng’s face fell and he reprimanded her, “Have I taught you nothing all these years? How could you inject penicillin without doing a skin test. You really have a lot of nerve. If something goes wrong, are you able to take responsibility for it?”

“I made a mistake! I won’t do it again next time,” Song Yiren hung her head and sincerely apologized. However, she still felt a little indignant on the inside. It was not the first time that she had injected penicillin into someone, and nothing bad had ever happened.

“Go and copy the ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’ ten times, and give it to me in three days.” Yiren and Jinyue were both single-handedly raised by him, and he knew their personalities the best. In comparison to Yiren, he was not as worried about Jinyue.

“Yes!” Song Yiren replied to him with a bitter expression. She knew Teacher’s temper well. If she dared to negotiate with him, she would definitely end up copying it more than ten times.

Sister Liu came in carrying a basket. When she saw Xu Tiansheng, she walked forward with a smile and passed him the basket. “Dr. Xu, take these eggs. If it wasn’t for Dr. Su today, who knows when my Second Child will recover.”

“Big Sister Liu, you don’t need to be so polite. It is a doctor’s duty to treat and save people. You should take the eggs back.” Xu Tiansheng said with a wave of his hand.

“That won’t do. These eggs are for Dr. Su to build up her health. Since she’s injured, she should eat more eggs to heal faster.” Big Sister Liu saw that Xu Tiansheng still wanted to decline, so she simply put the basket on the table.

Seeing that he couldn’t decline anymore, Xu Tiansheng had no choice but to accept it. “In that case, I thank you on Jinyue’s behalf.”

“No need for a thank you! By the way, Dr. Su and Dr. Song are almost twenty years old right? Do they have boyfriends yet? I happen to have a younger male cousin, who not only has a good character but is also from the city. He’s working in a state-owned enterprise. His monthly salary is more than 50 yuan, and the factory also assigns employee dormitories. If you’re keen, they can meet up,” Big Sister Liu said with a smile. This was the true intention of her trip here.

“You’ll have to ask them for their opinions, I can’t make the decision,” Xu Tiansheng smiled and replied to her. There were also other villagers who wanted to matchmake Jinyue and Yiren, but neither of them agreed to it.

Big Sister Liu looked at Song Yiren, and said with a smile: “Dr. Song, my cousin is really not bad. How about you meet him to check him out.”

“Big Sister Liu, thank you for your kindness, but I’m not thinking about that at the moment,” Song Yiren rejected her. Zhan Yihan was the only one in her heart. Other men were not to her liking at all.

“Then, let me ask Dr. Su,” Big Sister Liu said persistently. In fact, she actually preferred Dr. Su more. It would be great if Dr. Su could become her cousin-in-law.

When Su Jinyue saw Sister Liu enter, she put down the book in her hand. Big Sister Liu was talking so loudly just now, of course she heard everything.

“Dr. Su, I came here to matchmake you. I have a younger cousin who is handsome and from the city. He now works in a state-owned enterprise. If you’re interested, I’ll get him to come over and meet you. He’s really quite a good young man,” Big Sister Liu said with a smile.

“Big Sister Liu, I appreciate your kindness, but I’m not thinking about finding a partner at the moment,” Su Jinyue said. Not to mention that she already had Zhan Yihan in her heart. Even if there was no Zhan Yihan, she would not go on a blind date with someone.

“Dr. Su, you can just meet him first. Maybe you’ll take a liking to him after meeting him. This younger cousin of mine is really quite a good catch. Many young ladies in the factory like him,” Sister Liu pressed on. Dr. Su was so beautiful and had wonderful medical skills. It would be great if she became her cousin-in-law.

“Big Sister Liu, thank you for your kind intentions, but I don’t want to find a partner so early.” Su Jinyue picked up her book and continued reading.

Big Sister Liu stared at Su Jinyue for a long time, before shaking her head and walking out. Since Dr. Su did not agree, there was nothing she could do.

Su Jinyue closed the book in her hand. Turning her head to look out of the window, she reminisced about the memories of her time with Zhan Yihan in her previous life, and her lips couldn’t help but spread wide in a bright smile. Yihan, what are you doing right now?