Chapter 521 Arrival at the Village
Zhou Shanshan looked at Chen Yang and asked, "Brother, can you drive a manual transmission car?"
Chen Yang nodded and smiled at Zhou Shanshan, "Yes, I can drive. All the cars at my home are manual transmission."
Zhou Shanshan clapped her hands immediately and said, "That's great! Brother, you drive this car and take us to Qingshui Village."
Chen Yang nodded, then shook his head, "But I don't know the way."
Zhou Shanshan immediately took out a paper map and said, "It's okay. The village chief of Qingshui Village gave me a map before. I know the general route."
"Although the satellite navigation is not good in this area, we can definitely find Qingshui Village with this map."
Chen Yang nodded and got into the driver's seat. Zhou Shanshan sat in the passenger seat, holding the map and vaguely guiding Chen Yang.
In the back seat, Li Gang painfully rubbed the scar on his face. Listening to Chen Yang and Zhou Shanshan talk, Li Gang felt a surge of annoyance.
He snorted and said, "As expected, from a poor background, only able to afford manual transmission."
Zhou Shanshan, sitting in the passenger seat, asked Chen Yang, "Brother, why are you going to Qingshui Village? You look like you're from the city. Why are you going there?"
Chen Yang replied, "I've been wandering outside for most of my life, and I never knew where my hometown was. Later, when my family passed away, they told me my hometown was at the foot of Changbai Mountain."
"So, I thought I'd search around here to see if our Chen family had any roots there. By the way, why are you going to Qingshui Village? The map shows it's a very remote place. You all look like educated people. Do you have an important mission going to that remote corner?"
Zhou Shanshan smiled and said, "It's kind of an important mission. My senior brother and I study psychiatry. The village chief of Qingshui Village found my email from somewhere and emailed me saying that over a dozen people in Qingshui Village have developed mental illnesses, all appearing within the last six months."
"What's strange is that these mental patients all have split personalities, manic episodes, and even exhibit self-harm and homicidal behavior. It's terrifying. The local mental hospitals are unwilling to admit patients from their village."
"The villagers don't have the money to send the patients to mental hospitals, but they have to guard against those patients hurting others. So, they are in a desperate situation. They probably saw my contact information in some magazine or on TV or the internet and contacted me, hoping I would provide free treatment."
"Coincidentally, I have a research project on the link between mental illness and pollution, so my senior brother and I came."
"Professor Wang is a geological expert that my senior brother found in Jinling. Whether this place is polluted or not, and what the cause of the pollution is, depends on Professor Wang's investigation."
Hearing this, Chen Yang fully understood.
They continued to chat casually. Zhou Shanshan asked Chen Yang about his job. Chen Yang said he was doing quite well in the city, now a security captain, with full benefits and over 8,000 yuan a month.
Zhou Shanshan chuckled and nodded, "Brother Chen, your job sounds pretty good. Does a security captain have many subordinates?"
Chen Yang said enthusiastically, "Of course! You might think I'm just a slightly higher-level security guard, but the position of security captain can command hundreds of people!"
"Let's put it this way, it's comparable to a head nurse in your hospital."
Zhou Shanshan burst into laughter.
Li Gang, sitting in the back seat, heard Chen Yang bragging and making Zhou Shanshan laugh, and he became even more angry. He scoffed, "Bah, you compare yourself to a head nurse? Do you even know what a head nurse is?"
"Let me tell you, nowadays, you can't even think about becoming a head nurse without a master's degree. You, a humble security captain, dare to compare yourself to a head nurse."
Chen Yang ignored Li Gang's sarcasm. While he was chatting casually and seemingly at ease with Zhou Shanshan, Chen Yang was actually dispelling Professor Wang's doubts.
Originally, Chen Yang's arrival at Qingshui Village was aimless, with no particular direction. But now, seeing the hidden and mysterious Professor Wang, Chen Yang felt that by following them, he might find some clues.
At least, Professor Wang's visit to Qingshui Village was definitely not to rescue the villagers. His identity as a geologist was just a cover.
The car swayed and bumped along and finally arrived at the entrance of Qingshui Village after thirty-five minutes.
After crossing a rickety wooden bridge, the village of Qingshui came into view. At this moment, a group of people appeared at the entrance.
Seeing the car, they immediately waved.
Chen Yang drove the car over. An old man, bent over, walked towards them and said, "Are you Professor Zhou? I am Qin Ming, the village chief of Qingshui Village."
Zhou Shanshan opened the car door and got out, showing her ID to Qin Ming. She smiled and said, "Hello, Village Chief. I am Zhou Shanshan. You sent me an email earlier."
Qin Ming looked Zhou Shanshan up and down and was stunned. He hadn't expected the medical expert he had contacted to be such a young woman.
Qin Ming hesitated and said, "Dr. Zhou, I... I'm truly sorry. Inviting you from so far away, I... I really didn't expect you to be so young, and also a beauty. You must have had a hard journey, right?"
Zhou Shanshan smiled and said, "It's fine, it's fine, Village Chief. Where are the patients? Let's see them first!"
Hearing Zhou Shanshan's conscientiousness, Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly smiled and said, "No rush, let's have a meal first. You must be tired from your journey."
At this time, Li Gang also jumped out of the car. He said, "Yes, yes, let's eat first. To cure your village's illness, my junior sister and I have really suffered."
"We were even robbed on the way from the train station to your village. If I hadn't been brave and powerful, and driven those robbers away, you would have killed Dr. Zhou by now."
Qin Ming quickly apologized, and his respect for Zhou Shanshan grew even stronger.
At this moment, Chen Yang and Professor Wang also got out of the car. The village chief quickly shook hands with Professor Wang.
When he came to Chen Yang, the village chief looked confused. Before he could speak, Li Gang next to him said, "Don't bother with him, don't bother with him. He's just a security captain, the driver who drove us here, a driver. No need to pay attention to him."
"Let's go, we'll eat something first. I'm starving to death this night. Oh, and quickly prepare some rooms. Make sure they are clean, preferably with a toilet, and also a shower. Alas, coming to your village to treat illnesses is really a great hardship!"
Qin Ming smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes. We will entertain all of you experts with the best we have. Thank you so much. Our village really had no other choice but to invite experts from far away."
As the two sides were exchanging pleasantries, suddenly, a roar like that of a wild beast erupted from a nearby courtyard, followed by screams of women in pain and terror.