m made that sound, however, rather than gloating over his victory, Xiao Yu quickly retreated.This time, Xiao Yu didn't linger in battle; he immediately withdrew after achieving his goal. He remembered...Chapter 603: Free Clinic (2)
Xiao Yu and the others dodged left and right as they stepped into the landfill. Xiao Yu had been here before, so he was somewhat accustomed to the environment.
However, it was the first time for Xiao Hongyang and Yuan Chao and the others to come here. Looking at everything around them, they were all deeply shocked. Although they had seen such natural settlements around landfills on TV, nothing could compare to the impact of seeing it in reality.
Not only them, even Old Dai, who was more than half a century old and experienced, had never been inside this place before. Watching everything here reminded him of disaster areas hit by floods.
The stench-filled environment, low and narrow tents, muddy paths, and children playing in the muck made up the whole scene here.
They didn't expect such a place to exist in this modern metropolis. Seeing everything around them weighed heavily on their hearts. Now they understood why Xiao Yu insisted on holding a free clinic here.
"Erxi, where is Doctor Xiao"
"He's just ahead... Alright, let's hurry over there. We haven't properly thanked him for saving Erya last time..." As Xiao Yu and the others were walking forward, voices suddenly came from an alleyway in front of them.
Xiao Yu and company stopped upon hearing these voices.
Moments later, three people emerged from the alleyway. Erxi was leading the way, with a man in his thirties and another in his forties following closely behind him. The trio continued to chat as they walked.
"Doctor Xiao is there!" When the three came out of the alleyway, seeing that Xiao Yu and company had already stepped inside, Erxi turned back to the two people behind him and said.
Hearing Erxi's words, the other two raised their heads and looked forward. Upon spotting Xiao Yu standing不遠處，兩人快步越過前方的二喜，向蕭煜這裡走了過來。
"Doctor Xiao...... Doctor Xiao...... Thank you, thank you so much! You are our family’s savior!" When they reached behind Xiao Yu, the middle-aged man in his forties said to him with an agitated expression.
The middle-aged man nodded at Lao Dai and the others behind Xiao Yu, treating it as a greeting after he spoke.
Seeing this forty-something-year-old man with half of his hair already white, deep wrinkles like gullies on his face, and mud all over his body, making his clothes unrecognizable in their original color and patched up everywhere, Lao Dai and the others felt a strange sense of sadness and couldn't help but nod at him as well.
"Haha, you're too polite. Saving people is just part of a doctor's duty!" Xiao Yu chuckled when he heard what the middle-aged man said.
Xiao Yu remembered these two men; the younger one was the man who had sought out a tricycle for him during his last visit, and the older one was the father of the poisoned little girl!
"Little Wang, go buy a chicken and a fish, plus a good bottle of wine. I want to properly entertain Dr. Xiao for lunch!" The middle-aged man's excitement didn't subside; he pulled out some loose change from his pocket and handed it to the younger man.
"This... " After Little Wang took the money from the middle-aged man, he looked at Xiao Yu and the others' clothes, then turned around hesitantly. He whispered something in the middle-aged man's ear.
Upon hearing what Little Wang said, the middle-aged man was stunned for a moment before reacting: "Right, right... Look at me, I got carried away seeing Dr. Xiao come! Alright, go ahead and buy those things. We'll eat over there in the restaurant."
"Little Wang, wait!" Seeing Little Wang leave with the money, Xiao Yu quickly called him back. Turning to the middle-aged man, he said, "Old Zhou, you don't need to buy anything; earning your living is hard enough as it is. If you really want to thank me, help us find a few tables and chairs instead!"
"That's not right Dr. Xiao, at the very least let me... Haha, listen to what I say!" The middle-aged man quickly said when he heard Xiao Yu’s words. But before he could finish his sentence, Xiao Yu waved dismissively, looking serious.
"This… Alright then, I'll follow Dr. Xiao's advice," Old Zhou saw Xiao Yu's firm attitude and hesitated for a moment before saying.
After speaking, Old Zhou led Little Wang and Erxi to look for tables and chairs.
Awhile later, the three of them each brought over one table and chair. Xiao Yu had them place the furniture on relatively flat and dry ground.
The three tables and benches that were moved in were already worn out, but at least all four legs of each piece were still intact and could be used.
"Erxi, go tell everyone that we're providing free medical consultations today. Those who need to see a doctor can come over!" After sitting down, Xiao Yu instructed Erxi.
"Yes, Dr. Xiao! I'll go right away!"
Old Zhou turned and asked Erxi as he was about to leave the alley at Xiao Yu's instruction: "Hey, what does 'free medical consultation' mean"
Earlier, when Erxi told everyone that Xiao Yu had arrived, he didn't mention why Xiao Yu came. Now hearing Xiao Yu’s words made it clear there was a purpose for his arrival. Earlier, Erxi found it strange that Xiao Yu asked to borrow tables and benches but didn’t say why. However, not wanting to ask questions, he hurriedly went about finding them. Hearing Xiao Yu's instructions to Erxi now clearly indicated that Xiao Yu had a specific reason for coming, though what exactly he meant by 'free medical consultation' was unclear.
People like them were originally from mountainous villages where they didn't even have electricity and lived off the land, praying to heaven for rain. In case of drought or flood, they could starve to death.
They had heard stories from villagers who worked in cities that the city was full of opportunities. With this vague hope, they moved here. But once they arrived, they found out that life wasn't as easy as they imagined.
Their families sold almost everything to raise the money needed for their journey. As a result, even if they wanted to go back home, they couldn’t afford it. So, they had no choice but to survive by scavenging in garbage dumps. They found that this was more profitable than what they used to earn at home, so most of them stayed.
Gradually, the management of residential complexes became stricter and didn't allow people like them inside. Consequently, they lost their source of income.
Luckily, they discovered that garbage trucks brought waste here daily, including cardboard boxes and drink bottles, so they could sustain themselves by scavenging in this dump.
Though life was tough for them, the few dozen or even over a hundred yuan they earned each day was better than what they used to earn back home. As long as they lived frugally, they hoped that when their children grew up, they could build houses and marry wives in their hometowns. That would mark the end of their mission.
Once their mission was accomplished, it would be their next generation's turn to live this kind of life. Yet despite everything, they felt quite content with their lives because there was always something to look forward to.
In addition, these honest folks don’t even understand some of the terms used. Although they have lived in this big city for nearly twenty years, there was no such thing as free clinics back then. However, ever since they moved into this landfill area, they rarely venture out; if they do go out, it’s only at night when they have spare time to wander around nearby, and even then, they avoid places with many people due to the fear that others would shun their pervasive stench.
“Haha, Old Zhou, a free clinic means we provide medical services for you guys without charging. If you’re not busy, please help us manage the crowd!” Upon hearing Old Zhou’s question, Xiao Yu chuckled and explained to him.
“Doctor Xiao, is... this really true” After hearing what Xiao Yu had said, a look of disbelief appeared on Old Zhou’s face as he asked Xiao Yu.
"Hmm..." Hearing his words, Xiao Yu nodded in affirmation, responding softly.
The moment Old Zhou and Little Wang saw Xiao Yu nod, they immediately wore a look of astonishment and hurriedly told Xiao Yu, "Hey... hey, I’ll go get the villagers right away! Doctor Xiao, we’ll bring the villagers to thank you! You’re truly a living Buddha!!!"
Having said that to Xiao Yu, the two quickly dashed into the alleyways. Such an unprecedented opportunity was too precious for them to miss.
Naturally, if it were someone else, they might suspect ulterior motives behind such actions; however, with regards to Xiao Yu, there was no need for any suspicion whatsoever. Back then, after saving his daughter, Xiao Yu didn’t mention anything about payment and simply left, so now they completely trusted him.
Although these people here had nothing, one can never be too cautious in this world. Moreover, over the past decade since they moved to this place, not a single person had ever come here for medical treatment, let alone government assistance; their existence seemed deliberately forgotten by society at large. Thus, if someone suddenly came to offer free healthcare services, it would naturally raise suspicion about what ulterior motive they might have.
As Old Zhou and Little Wang shouted through the alleys, gradually, some people began emerging from their tents toward Xiao Yu’s group.
However, most of those who came out were elderly folks and children; currently, able-bodied men were busy scavenging newly arrived garbage heaps on the landfill mountain. If Erxi hadn’t come along today, both Old Zhou and Little Wang would also have been there helping with the work, but right now their wives were already out working.
"Free medical treatment No way! Who’d come here to offer free medical services"
"Exactly. Could it be that they provide the service for free today and then ask for money later on ‘No payment, no treatment’... who knows It’s never happened before!heir meeting at Section 13. They were genuinely impressed with Xiao Yu's medical skills, so when Zhang Dahan proposed this suggestion, it quickly passed unanimously because any one of them could be th...