"Is there anything else, Secretary Lu?" Du Heng stopped when called and turned to look at Lu Zhongjiang.
Lu Zhongjiang’s smile vanished, and he said seriously, "Dean, after you went out this afternoon, several people came to me asking about our recruitment. I wasn’t sure how to answer them, so I told them all to find you." Upon hearing this, Du Heng understood it was similar to what Fan had mentioned at lunch, though he didn’t know what positions these people were recommending.
"Why push this to me? You could have handled it all," Du Heng said. "Also, Fan came to me at noon asking if his wife could come help him in the canteen. What do you think?"
Lu Zhongjiang shook his head with a light smile. "I’m just in charge of finding the construction team and supervising the ward renovations. This is Central Lake, your territory. You handle it."
Seeing Du Heng was about to say more, Lu Zhongjiang cut him off, picked up his things, and headed out. "Alright, get busy. I have to go."
Without waiting for Du Heng’s response, Lu Zhongjiang walked away without looking back.
Du Heng’s outstretched hand froze mid-air, waving awkwardly as he watched Lu Zhongjiang’s retreating figure, before he slowly lowered it. He understood Lu Zhongjiang’s meaning. This meant Lu Zhongjiang was leaving the business of granting favors to him and wouldn’t get involved. However, it was indeed a matter of granting favors, just as Du Heng had thought.
As he was packing up to leave work, Wang Zhenzhen appeared in his office. "Xiao Heng, are you free tomorrow?"
Du Heng paused, thought for a moment, and said, "It’s Saturday tomorrow. I plan to visit a few village doctors’ clinics. What’s up, Sister Zhenzhen? Do you need something?"
"Here’s the thing: Instructor Gao from Gong’s unit wants to invite you to dinner."
"Invite me to dinner? What do you mean, Sister Zhenzhen?"
Wang Zhenzhen had let her hair down, and it draped over her shoulders. She casually brushed it aside and walked over to Du Heng’s desk. "Our hospital is recruiting nurses, right? Director Gao’s wife has been home since her child was born and is looking to start working here."
Du Heng was a bit surprised. "No way, Instructor Gao’s wife would want this position?"
"You don’t know, but she used to be a nurse at the first affiliated hospital of JZU and was under contract. She resigned after having their child. Now that the child is a bit older, she wants to work again." Thɪs chapter is updated by n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net
"That doesn’t seem right. With her experience, she could go back to the JZU affiliated hospital. Besides, this is a temporary position, and the pay is only 1,800 yuan. It’s no match for the affiliated hospital."
Wang Zhenzhen glared playfully at Du Heng. "Are you still pretending to be clueless with me? Our hospital is on track for an upgrade. If we continue at this pace, it’ll happen in six months at most. After the upgrade, there will be authorized job slots. Won’t our own staff get priority?"
Well, well, the upgrade isn’t even confirmed yet, but someone has already set their sights on it.
"How old is Director Gao’s wife?"
"I know what you’re asking. She’s 30 this year and graduated from the Provincial Health School."
Her age isn’t an issue, and her specialization fits. She’s recruitable. Moreover, Gong Daoyang had helped him several times. Given their relationship, he had to do Gong this favor. But this favor was really for Gong Daoyang; Director Gao would owe the favor to Gong Daoyang.
"Alright, since Gong is involved, I agree. But let’s skip dinner. I really need to visit the village doctors’ clinics over the next two days."
When Wang Zhenzhen heard Du Heng agree, her face lit up. She also understood his unspoken message. "Okay, I’ll thank you on Gong’s behalf."
"No need for thanks between family. Gong has helped me a lot too."
"By the way, you just mentioned going to the villages. Are you talking about those Medicine Ingredients from a few days ago?"
"Yes, I plan to use the delivery of booklets as an excuse to inspect their Medicine Ingredients."
Wang Zhenzhen’s expression turned serious. "You really need to be careful with this. I’ve heard from villagers coming to get medicine that some village doctors are recommending health products, and some even use health products instead of actual medicine."
Du Heng was slightly puzzled. "How do the villagers know they’re health products?"
"Younger family members found out when they went home. Apparently, some even got into fights with the village doctor over it."
"I think I heard it was Xicha. You should look into this quickly. I suspect medical representatives might have contacted the village doctors directly."
Du Heng’s brows furrowed. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a medical representative contacting a village doctor, but if health products are being substituted for medicine, that’s a serious issue.
Du Heng kept mulling over this even after Wang Shuqiu picked him up, and all the way home.
First, it was the poor-quality Chinese herbal medicine, and now health products substituting medicine. Why have there been so many issues with the village doctors recently? Has someone specifically targeted the rural market?
Rather than rushing to confirm things, Du Heng decided to proceed as planned the next morning: he and the Pharmacy Doctor would start delivering booklets to the village clinics. Their first stop was Wangjiazui, the clinic of Wang Shizhen, situated at the highest geographical point.
It was almost July, and the weather was growing hotter. However, Wangjiazui’s location made it especially comfortable. The temperature wasn’t high, and a gentle breeze blew from time to time. Standing at the highest point offered a view overlooking all of Jinzhou City. To the left, right, and behind, dense mountain forests stretched out—a rare sight in the Northwest. The only drawback was the slightly more intense ultraviolet rays.
But for those visiting just for the day, this wasn’t a major issue. One day’s exposure to UV rays wasn’t enough to redden their faces; instead, the ample sunlight often left them feeling invigorated.
So, this place was undoubtedly a perfect summer retreat.
This situation also made Wang Shizhen’s agritourism business quite popular.
Early in the morning, Wang Shizhen’s entire family of four was already busy at their agritourism business. Consequently, his actual place of work—the clinic—was securely locked, guarded by the "Iron General."
Seeing the large lock on the door, Du Heng knew what Wang Shizhen was up to. He dropped the booklets by the clinic entrance and turned to head towards the agritourism area.
However, he didn’t go straight to Wang Shizhen’s agritourism. Instead, he walked a few steps further, towards Wang Shiyuan’s house.
Earlier, as he drove past, Du Heng had caught a glimpse through Wang Shiyuan’s wide-open gate; the courtyard seemed to be filled with various items.
"Is anyone home?" Upon reaching the gate, Du Heng called out loudly before stepping into the courtyard.
It wasn’t just Wang Shiyuan and his wife at home; several guests were seated in their living room. The couple was busy serving their guests tea and water.
Startled by the voice at the gate, they exchanged a look, then, faces beaming with pleasant surprise, they put down the teacups and kettle and hurried out of the living room.