“Are we going back tomorrow?” the boy asked .
“Yes,” Gong Aiguo replied .
“Okay . These dishes are delicious,” the boy said .
Kids are always innocent .
“The living condition here is much better than the place we live,” his father replied .
People might laugh or not believe that the villagers from where Gong Aiguo came didn't often get the chance to eat pork . Occasionally, one of the villagers killed a pig for catering purpose . Normally, the pigs were used to exchange for money .
Gong Aiguo and his son got up early in the morning, so did Wang Mingbao . He made something simple for breakfast . After they had finished breakfast, Wang Mingbao took Guo Aiguo and his son to Wang Yao's clinic . By the time they arrived at the clinic, they saw Wang Yao coming down from Nanshan Hill .
“Dr . Wang gets up so early,” Gong Aiguo said .
“He normally sleeps on the hill,” Wang Mingbao said .
“What? Sleep on the hill?” Gong Aiguo was surprised .
Wang Mingbao didn't go into any details .
After they all gathered at the clinic, Wang Yao packed up before heading to Gong Aiguo's village . They were going to travel in Wang Yao's vehicle, functioned better and had more comfortable seats . His vehicle was also four-wheel-drive, which was suitable for the uneven roads on the hills . Wang Yao and Wang Mingbao would take turns driving .
Wang Yao said goodbye to his parents before leaving . After all, he was going to drive thousands of miles . His parents would be a bit worried about him .
Shangjun was located in Qinzhou, which was a very poor place . Wang Yao had never been there . He was going to meet strangers from thousands of miles away .
“Are you tired? If so, I can drive for a while,” Wang Mingbao said .
“I'm fine,” Wang Yao replied . He had only driven for about three hours . Given his current fitness level, he wouldn't even feel tired after driving for three days .
Purr! The boy's tummy started to rumble again .
“Are you hungry?” Wang Mingbao asked .
“Yes, a bit,” the boy said with some embarrassment .
“Let's stop for lunch then,” Wang Yao suggested .
He continued to drive until he reached the highway resting area . Wang Yao pulled in so they could all have lunch and take a break .
The food of the resting area was just so-so . However, Gong Aiguo and Gong Ziqiang seemed to really enjoy it . Compared to what they ate in their village, the food in the resting area was considered delicious .
After a while, they arrived in Bingzhou, where they planned to stay overnight . Bingzhou was a historical city with more than 4,000 years of history . However, it was not as developed as the cities on the east coast . The city was ancient with rich history and had a feeling of solemnity .
They walked around the city after dinner . The city at night was quite unique .
“I want to learn more about this place on our way back,” Wang Yao said .
He had never been there before . Since he was going to pass this place on his way back, he wanted to stay there a few days . Travelling was also a kind of practice .
“Okay,” Wang Mingbao replied after lightening a cigarette .
After walking around, they went back to the hotel to rest . The next day, everyone was in good spirits . They were soon back on the road .
It was close to noon when they arrived in Shangjun . Gong Aiguo's home was still some distance away .
They went back on the road after lunch . After driving on the asphalt road for a while, they entered an uneven, muddy road . The road was grinded by passing vehicles all the time . Fortunately, Wang Yao's vehicle was relatively easy to drive on uneven roads .
The last part of the route was made of soil . They arrived Gong Aiguo's village when it was close to evening . It was located at the foot of a hill . When they were approaching the village, they could hear roosters singing and dogs barking .
Most of the houses in the village were small and old . Wang Yao didn't find many new houses . The roads were muddy . The villagers all wore shabby clothes . This was indeed a poor village .
“Here we are,” Wang Mingbao said excitedly .
Wang Yao didn't know why Wang Mingbao sounded excited . He didn't think there was anything exciting about this village . Wang Mingbao's facial expression was not accidental .
“Mr . Wang, and Dr . Wang, would you like to have dinner in my home tonight?” Gong Aiguo asked .
“Yes . Thanks,” Wang Mingbao replied .
Wang Yao and Wang Mingbao didn't come to the village empty handed . They had brought quite a few things, the majority of which was food . They could have a nice dinner with the food they brought .
“Shall we go to see the kids first?” Wang Yao wanted to see the kids who might also have been poisoned .
“I'm afraid the kids had already gone home by now,” Gong Aiguo said .
“Let's go and have a look at the school,” Wang Mingbao said .
The school was built on the most even land in the village . It had a big yard with a flagpole in the middle . The five-star red flag was on the top of the pole . Next to the flagpole was a two-story building, where the classrooms were located . This was the tallest building in the village . It looked outstanding comparing to the small houses .
Gong Aiguo was right . All the students had gone home .
“Well, I need to go and see a person here,” Wang Mingbao said as he went into the building .
“See a person here?” Wang Yao was surprised .
“He must have gone to see Miss Han,” Gong Aiguo said .
“Miss Han?” Wang Yao asked .
“Yes, our literature teacher . She's really nice,” Gong Ziqiang replied .
“She?” Wang Yao said almost subconsciously .
“Yes, she's nice and pretty,” Gong Ziqiang said .
“I see!” Wang Yao suddenly got it . “But how did they know each other?”
Soon, Wang Mingbao came out of the building with a young woman . Miss Han was very elegant . She was not very pretty at first sight but still very attractive . She had bright eyes and wore simple clothes . She was slim and looked around 25 years old .
“Let's me introduce . This is my best friend Wang Yao . This is Miss Han, Han Jia,” Wang Mingbao said .
“Hello, nice to meet you,” Wang Yao said .
“Hello,” Han Jia responded .
They all had dinner at Gong Aiguo's home . Since Wang Yao and Wang Mingbao had brought enough food, Gong Aiguo made some simple dishes . Gong Aiguo's mother was also skinny . Almost everyone in the village was skinny .
The infrastructure around the village was bad . Without adequate income, the villagers couldn't afford to by many items, including food .
There was no hotel or motel in the village . The closest motel was in town . It was about a 20-minute drive from the village . Wang Yao and Wang Mingbao stayed overnight in one of the villager's houses .
To welcome Wang Yao and Wang Mingbao, Gong Aiguo took out the new quilt he had saved for years .
“Thank you, but you really don't need to do this for us . ”
After dinner, Wang Mingbao told Wang Yao how he met Han Jia: on the internet . Han Jia had come to the village to teach . She was also a member of an organization that supported children's education in poor areas . During an online donation campaign, she met Wang Mingbao . The two of them started to talk . Then, Wang Mingbao came to the village to see Han Jia .
“The first time I met her, she made me feel that she's the woman I've been looking for . ” Wang Mingbao honestly described how he felt when he met Han Jia the first time .
“Where is she from?” Wang Yao asked .
“Bingzhou . She's been here three years . The kids here really like her, so do the villagers here . Of course I like her, too,” Wang Mingbao said .
Wang Yao laughed .
“Well, what do you think of her?” Wang Mingbao asked .
“The first impression is good . ” Wang Yao was telling the truth . She was elegant and seemed to be well-educated . Giving up the comfortable lifestyle in a big city and coming to teach in such a poor place was admirable .
“But, she has a boyfriend,” Wang Mingbao said .
“Boyfriend?” Wang Yao asked .
“Yes, but he has gone to Beijing . He rarely comes here . I think this is a really good opportunity for me to win her heart,” Wang Mingbao said .
“Has she broken up with her boyfriend?” Wang Yao asked .
“Not yet,” Wang Mingbao said without any disappointment . “She will . ”
“Hey, take it easy . This is Qinzhou, not Lianshan,” Wang Yao said .
“What are you talking about? I'm here to chase a girl, not make trouble,” Wang Mingbao replied .
Both of them had a good night's sleep . They got up very early in the morning and found Gong Aiguo was about to kill the hen laying eggs .
“Good morning, Mr . Gong . Please don't kill the hen . ” Wang Yao stopped him in time .
Gong Aiguo had minimal income and only a few farm animals . He needed those animals for income and should keep them as long as he could .
“No, I don't have anything at home to welcome you guys,” Gong Aiguo said .
“That's fine . Don't worry about us,” Wang Yao said .
He and Wang Mingbao had homemade noodles and pan fried eggs for breakfast . They then went to the school after breakfast .
The school had one headmaster and five teachers . There were 45 students from year one to year six . Children from the other villagers nearby also came to the school .
“Dr . Wang is going to examine the students for free?” The headmaster, who was in his 50s was really happy to meet Wang Yao . He had been concerned about his students' health . More than 10 students in the school had complained about pain in their bodies . The local doctors couldn't find the cause of the pain . In fact, some students hadn't been to the hospital at all .
The headmaster seemed to have gained more white hair in the last few days .
“Yes,” Wang Yao replied .
“Great! Thank you very much,” the headmaster said .
Wang Yao showed the headmaster his medical certificate to remove any doubts .
The way Wang Yao examined the students surprised the headmaster and teachers . He checked each student's pulse . He was a Traditional Chinese Medical Practitioner, so he used the four ancient methods of diagnosis .
He examined the students as fast as he could . It took him the whole morning to finish examining all of them . He found 12 students were poisoned .
“They have toxins inside their bodies . I need to remove the toxins,” Wang Yao said .
Initially, the headmaster didn't completely trust Wang Yao, but he changed his mind after Wang Yao had identified the students who were ill . They were exactly the 12 students who had been complaining about pain . They also had symptoms of diarrhea .
“How are you going to treat them?” the headmaster asked .
“Give me a pot . I'll brew some herbal decoctions for them,” Wang Yao said .
Chapter end
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