Manbao finished her lunch, pulled out the needles of the patients whose treatment time had come, and then tossed them into boiling water. She left them to Lijun to pick up with tongs and hang to dry for further use.
Manbao continued to see patients. The patients at this time were still mostly elderly women, the youngest of whom had several children. They didn't much care for the male gaze. When they noticed the male patients next door pointing and whispering about them, not only did they unabashedly let them look, they even turned around and started pointing back at the men, eliciting bouts of laughter.
Eventually, the male patients next door turned red with embarrassment and annoyance.
One of the formidable women spat at them, saying, "See if you dare to spout nonsense again, acting as if you've never seen a man before."
