Chapter 145: Preparing the Health Clinic, Buying Hats, and the Private Plot

It was already dark by the time they returned to Liujiawan.
Ming Dai sent off Third Uncle Liu and hurried back into the spatial dimension.
The diligent little Zhou had not only tidied up the space but also prepared dinner.
Looking at a basin of dumplings and a plate of dumplings on the table, Ming Dai felt a headache coming on.
Even delicious dumplings get tiresome if you eat them all the time!
Ming Dai went to stir-fry some pork with chili and make a cold cucumber salad, and with those alongside the dumplings, she finished her evening meal.
On the second day after their return, Auntie Huang came by their house. Aside from asking if her trip to Song City went smoothly, she also informed her about the upcoming start of farm work.
"Your uncle went to the commune to ask, and setting up a clinic ourselves in the village is not a problem at all. The only issue is that they cannot guarantee the supply of medicines and such, as those require requisition slips and are batched for procurement together at the county level.
By the time our turn comes around, there is basically nothing left. That is also the reason why several villages do not have a doctor."
Ming Dai nodded: "That is not a problem. My father worked in a hospital before he passed away, and I also worked there for a couple of days, so I know some people. As long as the village issues the requisition slip, I should be able to help procure them. It's just a matter of convenience."
Auntie Huang was extremely pleasantly surprised: "Really! I thought setting up the clinic was a lost cause!"
Ming Dai smiled. Her painstaking efforts to maintain relations with Auntie Niu in Beijing were all for the sake of obtaining pharmaceutical channels.
"Alright! Then there is no problem at all. Your uncle said he would find a room for you at the brigade office at the entrance of the village to serve exclusively as the clinic. You won't even need to be on duty all day long; just drop by and check on things frequently.
There is also some kind of exam. Your uncle said to wait for the county's notice and he will let you go take it. Once you pass the exam, our village clinic can open for business!"
Ming Dai was also happy. She really, truly did not want to work the fields!
Though with Zhou Sinian around in the future, it would probably still be exhausting!
Auntie Huang looked aside at Zhou Sinian, who was holding two small crochet hooks and seemed to be crocheting something, and spoke up.
"Your uncle said he will find a job for him too. Doesn't he like going up the mountain? Let him take you to gather some medicinal herbs. Your work points will be calculated as full work points, and his will be calculated as eight work points.
Usually, he won't need to do farm work, but during harvest and sowing seasons, everyone has to pitch in and work together."
Ming Dai had not expected such a stroke of good fortune and hurriedly nodded: "I know about this. Please thank Uncle for us!"
Auntie Huang waved her hand: "What's there to thank? You should prepare yourself too. In a couple of days, the land will be plowed. Your skin is tender, so find your gloves first. If you don't have a straw hat, go buy one from Dazheng."
Ming Dai thought that made sense, and glanced at Zhou Sinian, who was earnestly crocheting lace. The weather was warming up, and at last, he wouldn't have to wear his red headscarf anymore!
Zhou Sinian was crocheting happily, completely unaware that his beloved red headscarf was about to go out of season.
After Auntie Huang left, Ming Dai took Zhou Sinian to buy a straw hat from his good buddy Liu Dazheng.

When they arrived at Liu Dazheng's house, they found that he had once again laid out all his baskets and wickerwork, filling the entire courtyard.
Upon hearing the purpose of their visit, Liu Dazheng led them to the warehouse.
Seeing Liu Dazheng struggling to move things across the ground using both hands, Zhou Sinian grabbed him by the back of his collar and hoisted him straight up into the air.
Ming Dai was startled and wanted to tell him to put him down, thinking it was terribly impolite.
Over there, Liu Dazheng had already started expressing his gratitude: "It's truly great to have my brother Sinian here. This is so much easier! Let's go to the back courtyard; all the hats are in the backyard utility room."
Ming Dai: As long as you're happy.
Thus, Zhou Sinian carried Liu Dazheng to the back courtyard just like a chick being carried by its mother.
Opening the utility room, they saw the shelves along the walls packed with hats, all crafted by Liu Dazheng.
"Little educated youth Ming, take a look and pick whatever you like. These are about to be sent to the purchasing station soon, and right now is prime hat-selling season."
Ming Dai picked one up and examined it in her hand. The color was yellowish, and the material was wheat straw. The weave wasn't particularly exquisite, but it was sturdy, durable, and breathable, making it very suitable for wearing in the summer.
She tried putting it on her head, only to find it wouldn't work; the hat was too big, and she couldn't keep it steady.
Zhou Sinian took it and tried it on, and the size happened to fit him just right.
Liu Dazheng squinted at her head and pointed to the corner: "Little educated youth Ming, there are two smaller ones over there, woven according to children's head shapes. Try those."
Ming Dai rummaged through and found two at the very bottom. She tried one, but this one was too small.
Ming Dai began to worry. Farm work was about to start; what on earth should she do?
In the end, Liu Dazheng offered to weave a new one for her on the spot, noting that they happened to have some leftover wheat straw at home. Only then did Ming Dai let out a sigh of relief.
After using a cloth strip to measure the circumference of her head, Liu Dazheng began weaving the straw hat. Zhou Sinian watched from the side and, after a short while, started trying his hand at it as well.
Ming Dai had some business to attend to at Auntie Huang's house and asked for his opinion. Zhou Sinian decided not to go and wanted to stay right there to watch Liu Dazheng weave the hat.
That was fine too. Bringing Zhou Sinian out with her was precisely to prevent him from staying home with nothing to do and letting his mind wander.
Watching the two of them discussing how to innovate the hat design, she gave a brief instruction and walked towards the brigade captain's house.
When she reached Auntie Huang's house, she found that Liu Dazheng's father, Liu Dazhu, happened to be there. The family was busy turning over the soil in the back courtyard, planning to plant vegetables.
"Brigade captain, I have to trouble the village to make a few cabinets for us so we can store medicinal herbs later."
Liu Dazhu put down the shovel in his hand: "That's no problem at all. There is plenty of timber in the warehouse. My boys and I will squeeze in some time to build them. See if there's anything else you need, and we can make it all together."
Ming Dai thought for a moment: "Please also prepare two single beds, a consultation desk, and a few chairs. We won't need anything else besides that."
Liu Dazhu nodded: "Alright, I've noted it down, and I'll build them for you these next few days. Little educated youth Ming, has the educated youth point allocated a private plot of land to you yet?"
Ming Dai shook her head: "No."
Liu Dazhu let out a cold snort: "I knew those good-for-nothings wouldn't be doing any proper work this year either. Would you like to pick a plot, clear it up, and dig up the earth to let it bake in the sun so you can plant and eat your own vegetables?"
Of course she wanted that!
Ming Dai nodded: "Alright, then I'll come over tomorrow."
Liu Dazhu nodded: "Great, we'll go together tomorrow morning after breakfast. By the way, little educated youth Ming, when I went to the commune, I happened to see Wang Defang had returned. But he looked rather sinister and not quite normal. If you go to the commune or anywhere else, take educated youth Zhou with you and don't go alone!"
Ming Dai raised an eyebrow. Was he back from seeing a doctor?
"Understood, Uncle. You can rest assured about that."
Returning home, she found that Zhou Sinian hadn't come back yet. Ming Dai went into the spatial dimension to get busy, intending to find some clothes for Zhou Sinian to wear for farm work in the next few days.
Outside the spatial dimension, wearing the old man's padded jacket provided by Ming Dai, Zhou Sinian looked relatively normal. Aside from his headscarf and brightly colored sweater, he dressed pretty much like most men in Liujiawan.
Inside the spatial dimension, however, it was an entirely different story.
Ming Dai still had no idea how he managed to dig out so many red and floral-patterned clothes from among dozens of racks of black, white, and gray garments—especially a pair of bright red trousers!
If Ming Dai hadn't strictly forbidden it, he would have worn them every single day!
Furthermore, he possessed his own unique aesthetic sense of pairing, following the rule of making himself as eye-catching as possible. Ming Dai hardly dared to open his wardrobe.
To prevent Zhou Sinian from stepping outside and assaulting everyone's eyes with his fashion sense, she matched several outfits for him and placed them in the wardrobe within the spatial dimension.
Right before dinner time, Zhou Sinian came back carrying his large bamboo basket.
During the meal, Ming Dai asked about the progress of her hat.
Zhou Sinian acted all mysterious, saying it wasn't finished yet but she would definitely have it before farm work started.
Ming Dai didn't think much of it, assuming it simply hadn't been completely woven yet, and changed the subject to talk about going to open up the wasteland for their private plot tomorrow.
When she finally received the hat right before heading out to work, she realized how rash she had been—she really shouldn't have trusted Zhou Sinian so blindly!