Village doctors, dubbed "guardians of health", have played an important role in treating hundreds of millions of farmers. Xu Qiusheng, 81, often looks out of the window of his clinic when he is not with a patient, as he feels relief（轻松）when looking up at an old camphor tree that stays green all year round.
Over half a century has passed since Xu graduated from medical school and started working as a village doctor in Yangfang village, in East China's Jiangxi province.
"Three generations of my family, my parents, and my grandchildren all come to Uncle Xu for treatment," says Chen Donggen, who took his feverish granddaughter to Xu's clinic. After briefly inquiring（询问）about the little girl's condition, Xu took out a very thin needle and gently inserted the needle into the skin of both her hands and head.
The kind of treatment is the most commonly used way to treat pain in traditional Chinese medicine. Xu has used the set of silver needles for decades to help villagers relieve discomfort.
Xu says that treatment and medicine are usually free for villagers facing financial difficulties. He allows them to pay later though living a frugal（节俭的）life himself.
Ahead of this Spring Festival, Xu together with his daughter, who returned to the village and followed in his footsteps, went door to door visiting the elderly. The health of more than 1,400 villagers in Yangfang has become the responsibility for rural doctors like Xu and his daughter.
"I see my patients as my family members, and I hope the next generations of doctors in rural areas can continue to be the guardians of villagers," Xu says.
