Du Heng arrived late for lunch today, and he was the only one left in the canteen.
So, he didn’t bother to retrieve his lunchbox and just smiled at Chef Fan. "Old Fan, if you have sothing to say, just say it. Don’t try to be so ingratiating."
Old Fan’s obsequious smile intensified. After a couple of giggles, he took a small step closer to Du Heng. "Dean, I heard our canteen is going to be expanded?"
Upon hearing Old Fan’s words, Du Heng smiled faintly and said, "Yes, that’s right. We have more patients now, and consequently, more people eating. It’s not practical to always have patients and their families bring food to the hospital rooms. So, we plan to expand the canteen by knocking through the adjacent room, providing a proper place for everyone to dine in."
Old Fan bent over and chuckled again. "Dean, if the canteen is expanded, does that an we’ll be hiring more people?"
Du Heng looked at Old Fan aningfully. "Old Fan, just say what’s on your mind. Don’t beat around the bush. Is it one of your relatives who wants to work in the canteen?"
This sudden frankness made Old Fan a bit awkward, but since the topic was already broached, he didn’t try to hide it. "Dean, I’ve been busy working at the Health Clinic, and my wife has been taking care of our land at ho. But she’s getting older now and can’t manage it all by herself anymore. Besides, Dean, you’re aware of the state of our farmland in Central Lake these past few years. So, I’m planning to have my wife stop farming after this year’s harvest. Since we happen to be hiring, I was wondering if we could find a job for my wife too."
As Old Fan spoke, Du Heng’s mind raced. It’s not just the canteen that needs expansion; more hospital rooms need to be added as well. This ans we’ll need to add one logistics staff mber and three more nurses.
This was the outco of his discussion with Lu Zhongjiang. Since the Health Clinic would have to cover the salaries and benefits for these new hires, they couldn’t hire too many people. The salaries wouldn’t be very high either, just eting Jinzhou’s minimum wage. The logistics staff mber would even be paid less than the minimum wage—only 1,800 yuan.
So, since Old Fan had asked about the logistics position, agreeing wouldn’t be out of the question, especially as it was just a temporary job. However, Lu Zhongjiang was in charge of handling this matter. While Du Heng could approve it himself, it would be disrespectful to Lu Zhongjiang. Moreover, if he agreed to Old Fan’s request too easily, it might beco problematic if others started recomnding their own relatives or family mbers.
Du Heng placed his chopsticks in his lunchbox and chuckled. "Let’s not rush this. The expansion hasn’t even started yet. How about this: I’ll discuss it with Secretary Lu and get back to you. What do you think?"
Old Fan nodded hastily in agreent. He knew that such a good opportunity was unlikely to fall into his lap so easily.
Although the Health Clinic only offered temporary positions with a re 1,800 yuan salary, this was Central Lake—a mountainous area. Here, farming for a year often yielded less inco from the land than the initial investnt. How could these old farrs not be interested in a job that wasn’t too tiring and also provided three als a day?
After the noon break, Du Heng was about to complete the remaining treatnts when Lu Zhongjiang arrived, accompanied by a delivery truck.
In the office, Lu Zhongjiang comfortably sipped his tea. "Dean, working overti, we’ve got everything made."
Du Heng was examining a bag of samples that had been brought to the office. Hearing Lu Zhongjiang, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Secretary Lu, getting everything done in just two days!"
"Hey, ten thousand sets might seem like a lot to us, but once they set up the template, that big machine just needs a few CLACKS, and it will print them all in a day. By the way, Dean, they’re still waiting for the money. Have you managed to find the remaining funds?"
At this, Du Heng’s hand paused as he was flipping through the samples.
Damn, how could I have forgotten about this? Where am I going to get several thousand yuan now?
Seeing Du Heng pause, Lu Zhongjiang imdiately sat up straight. "Dean, don’t tell you didn’t look for the money yesterday? I told you, we can’t use the Health Clinic’s funds for this."
Hearing Lu Zhongjiang’s sowhat anxious tone, Du Heng’s eyes lit up. He picked up three small booklets and started walking out. "We definitely won’t use the Health Clinic’s money."
"Don’t go! You have to tell where the money’s coming from. They’re waiting for us to pay them."
"I’ll be back."
As he finished speaking, Du Heng had already taken the items and ducked into his office.
Lu Zhongjiang quickly chased after him, but just as he reached the doorway, he saw Du Heng erging from the office with a bag.
"Dean, where are you going?"
"To see Director An."
"Will it work?" Lu Zhongjiang asked.
"It’s a sure thing. Wait for to co back," Du Heng replied.
After instructing Wu Buwei to complete the remaining treatnts, Du Heng left the Health Clinic.
When he reappeared at the entrance of the Health Clinic, it was already 4:30 in the afternoon.
He walked to the registration office window, took out two stacks of money from his bag, and placed them on the counter. "Sister Wang, please record this as inco."
Wang Zhenzhen looked at the two stacks of money, a bit confused. "What money is this?"
"It’s from the Bureau. You can just record it under any suitable category."
With that said, he briskly went upstairs, not particularly concerned with how Wang Zhenzhen would record the inco.
This money wouldn’t stay long anyway. Lu Zhongjiang would likely take it as soon as the accounting entry was made. As for whether Lu Zhongjiang might take a small cut, that was a minor detail and of no real consequence.
"Secretary Lu, it’s all settled. You can go to finance later to get the money," Du Heng announced as soon as he entered the room.
Lu Zhongjiang wasn’t surprised at all. Given Du Heng’s current standing, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to ask Director An for several thousand, or even ten to twenty thousand yuan, as long as he wasn’t asking for an exorbitant amount. So, he simply nodded to acknowledge it.
However, when he saw the joyful expression on Du Heng’s face, he couldn’t help but ask, "Dean, do you have more good news?"
Du Heng was ecstatic. He hadn’t expected that a trip to the Bureau would not only secure him so money but also bring good news. "Yes, there is good news. Director An has managed to get two doctors seconded to our Health Clinic from other places—one surgeon and one Ergency Doctor."
Hearing this, Lu Zhongjiang also beca excited. "Dean, are you saying an Ergency Doctor has been transferred here?"
Du Heng chuckled. "Yes."
"Does that an... our Health Clinic’s upgrade might actually be possible?" Lu Zhongjiang asked Du Heng carefully, but the excitent in his eyes and on his face was hard to conceal.
Du Heng didn’t keep him in suspense. "From what Director An implied today, it seems likely. However, this isn’t sothing we can rush. We need to continue working hard and show the higher-ups our achievents; only then can this upgrade truly be implented."
Lu Zhongjiang rubbed his hands in excitent and paced back and forth in front of Du Heng. "That’s great! I was afraid this matter had been forgotten."
Du Heng was also happy, but having known the news for a bit longer, he was able to keep his emotions in check. "Alright, Secretary Lu, stop pacing. You should quickly arrange for soone to clear out a few offices."
"Okay, don’t you worry. Just focus on being our leader, and leave the logistics work to ."
"Alright then, Secretary Lu, I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to make my rounds in the hospital rooms."
Just as Du Heng was about to leave after sharing the good news, Lu Zhongjiang suddenly called out and stopped him.
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