In the waiting time, everyone had come to know of Yang Mengchen's identity.

The crowd watching on couldn't help but praise the doctors for their benevolent hearts and reasonable charges at the hospital, deciding privately that if they ever fell ill, they would come to this hospital.

"Go home and make him more pork bone soup, remember to add a few red dates, and he should also eat more pork liver." Glancing at Mu Jin, Mu Jin immediately took out twenty taels of silver and handed them to the old woman. Yang Mengchen said indifferently, "Seventh Brother, after he recovers, arrange for him to work at the hospital."

"Okay," Yang Cheng'an nodded.

As the family was about to kneel and kowtow again, Yang Mengchen stood up and walked towards the upstairs office, leaving only her silhouette to the crowd.

The onlookers were stunned. Why did Ms. Yang leave without a word? Nevertheless, they greatly admired Ms. Yang's kindness and generosity.

"The patient needs to rest quietly; you all should take extra care," Yang Cheng'an advised, then instructed the nurse to take the patient to the upstairs ward.

After many thanks, the old woman finally left with her daughter-in-law and grandson, following the nurses pushing her son away.

In the office.

Yang Cheng'an and the others had returned to their workstations, while Yang Mengchen sat at the desk, quietly reviewing the case records the four had documented in the past few days (Yang Mengchen had requested that each treatment session be logged), occasionally making annotations with her pen.

It was nearing noon, and it was clear they wouldn't make it to Qinghe Prefecture, so Sister Jin instructed Shan Cha to find Chen Siyuan, who was in charge of Yongchang Town's affairs, to arrange accommodation. She then quietly waited alongside Hai Tang and the other seven.

After lunch, which Chen Siyuan had personally delivered, Yang Cheng'an and the others returned to the office. Like usual, they began to discuss the cases after lunch. Yang Mengchen taught the four new medical knowledge, especially in the area of surgery. They listened intently and took thorough notes.

At dusk, Yang Mengchen, Yang Cheng'an, and Doctor Luo arrived at the County Office.

Upon hearing that Yang Mengchen wanted the bodies of the executed prisoners, Magistrate Zhou's face changed abruptly, not understanding what Ms. Yang wanted with the corpses.

"Please rest assured, Magistrate Zhou, we are doing this to further our study of medical skills and will not commit any crimes." Since theoretical knowledge alone was too abstract and animal anatomy ultimately differed from humans, Yang Mengchen thought to use the corpses as teaching samples: "As far as I know, those executed bodies that go unclaimed end up in the mass graves.

Instead of throwing them away for nothing, it is better to let them contribute to medical science. We will be careful and discreet so as not to let anyone find out."

When she was building the hospital, she had the craftsmen construct a laboratory, which had yet to be put to use.

"This matter is of great importance, please allow me to consider it," Magistrate Zhou replied without immediate consent. Although the unclaimed bodies indeed end up in the mass graves and usually attract no attention, the consequences were unthinkable if someone were to notice and expose them.

Yang Mengchen understood that ancient people believed in gods, and spreading the word about using bodies for dissection was akin to provoking a sensitive nerve among the people. However, without specimens, and relying on the occasional case encounter, Seventh Brother and the others simply could not learn surgical operations better, thus resorting to extraordinary measures was the only option.

Watching the receding backs of Yang Mengchen and the other two, Magistrate Zhou wore a look of grave concern mixed with helplessness, then turned back to his study and immediately wrote secretive letters to Long Xuanmo and Xiao Hongtao, leaving the decision to them.

The next day, after breakfast, Yang Mengchen first visited Dongzi at the hospital, and then she, along with Sister Jin and the others, headed to the Qinghe Prefecture Office.

"Sister!"

Seeing Yang Mengchen alight from the carriage and waiting at the gate, Pingping and Anan, who were over a year old, happily called out and toddled over to meet her.

The nurse and maids hurriedly followed, afraid that the two children might fall.

Quickly stepping forward and squatting down with a smile, Yang Mengchen caught Pingping and Anan in her arms and exclaimed in amazement, "Pingping and Anan can actually walk now, that's really impressive!" Before the new year, Pingping and Anan still needed to be carried, and she didn't expect that they would be able to walk on their own after just three months apart.

With a kiss on the cheek for Yang Mengchen from both Pingping and Anan, who then complained in aggrievement, "Sister, miss!"

"Sister of course misses Pingping and Anan." Looking at the two children with small faces red and fair, and the accusation brimming in their large eyes, Yang Mengchen's heart melted. "Sister will stay here for a few days, and be with Pingping and Anan every day, how does that sound?"

"Good!" The two little ones immediately beamed with smiles.

After smiling and greeting Lady Xiao, Yang Mengchen, holding one child in each hand, slowly made her way to the inner courtyard living room. The two children insisted on sitting on either side of Yang Mengchen and even offered her pieces of pastries sequentially, causing Lady Xiao to laugh and scold her sons for being ungrateful, forgetting about their mother as soon as their sister was around.

The mischievous Anan quickly took a piece of pastry, slid down from the chair, and then brought it to Lady Xiao.

Yang Mengchen nodded in approval.

"Chenchen is here." Xiao Hongtao strode in, followed by Yang Chenghong and Shan Cha. Yang Mengchen had Shan Cha inform Sixth Brother to come to the County Office.

The next day after breakfast, Yang Mengchen, Xiao Hongtao, and Yang Chenghong, along with their attendants, arrived at Xiao Lianzi Village.

When the villagers heard that the group was a Doctor coming into the mountains to gather herbs, they didn't suspect anything, and the village head even volunteered to guide them.

Xiao Lianzi Village was neither too far nor too near from Qinghe Prefecture, but like the neighboring villages, it had only a very small amount of good farmland; the rest was all hills with poor soil. The villagers relied on hunting or digging wild vegetables to survive, living a life of poverty.

The reason why Yang Mengchen chose Xiao Lianzi Village and a few other villages was firstly because of those hills, and secondly because the villagers were simple and honest and got along harmoniously with their neighbors. Hence, she wanted to improve the villagers' lives, and of course, she also did it to enhance Uncle Xiao's political achievements.

After inspecting the several villages for three days and collecting some medicinal herbs, the group finally made their way back to the Prefecture.

Passing by the Quicksand River not far outside the city, Yang Mengchen suddenly had the carriage stop, got out, and walked to the riverbank. She looked at the broad river surface and then turned to look at the somewhat low-lying city walls with a slightly grave expression.

"Chenchen, what's the matter?" Xiao Hongtao, who had followed, saw Yang Mengchen's furrowed brows and couldn't help asking in confusion.

Without answering, Yang Mengchen counter-questioned, "Uncle Xiao, has there been a flood in the city before?"

"According to the state records, there was a major flood fifteen years ago that almost submerged the entire city, and many people died at that time," Xiao Hongtao answered earnestly, although he did not understand why Yang Mengchen would ask such a question.

"However, since then, the Imperial Court has been allocating funds every year to dredge and repair the river channels, and in recent years, even if there is a flood, the disaster isn't too serious."

Looking once more at the seemingly bottomless Quicksand River, Yang Mengchen turned and left. After returning to the County Office, she asked Xiao Hongtao to fetch the state records and the map of Qinghe Prefecture and spent a day studying them. Then, she invited Xiao Hongtao over and got straight to the point, "Uncle Xiao, I want to improve the irrigation systems of Qinghe Prefecture."

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