After discussing with Lu Zhongjiang, the matter was settled.
The two no longer dwelled on the issue. They went upstairs to chat with their two new colleagues and then held a welcoming eting for the entire Health Clinic.
Du Heng did not show favoritism. Whether it was a doctor, a nurse, or even Fan’s wife—the newly hired help in the Canteen—he introduced them all to the staff.
However, after the eting, the logistics departnt approached Du Heng with a problem. "Dean, we’ve completed all the renovation work and cleaned the backyard as required. But I didn’t think things through initially, and we didn’t reserve dormitories for the two new doctors. What should we do now? Should I convert two of the newly renovated hospital rooms back?"
Du Heng was silent for a mont.
During the Li Qingde Era, the Health Clinic had few patients and many hospital rooms. Additionally, three nurses had always worked for the Township Governnt, so the Health Clinic had arranged a single dormitory for each of them. If they didn’t want to go ho at night, they could stay in the dormitory.
Now, with this change, the old houses in the courtyard were being reused, resulting in a shortage of rooms.
Staying in single dormitories now would be too luxurious.
"Let’s do this: change all the dormitories to communal ones. Those who don’t want to go ho at night can rest in the communal dormitories; single dormitories will no longer be provided. Put bunk beds in the rooms. n have fewer belongings and are less fuss, so one room will be enough. There are more won, so arrange two rooms for them."
"That’s doable."
With Du Heng’s approval, the logistics personnel left to inform everyone of the decision.
Actually, it should have been like this long ago. In the past few years, only Du Heng, whose ho was on the mountain, stayed in the dormitory with any frequency, usually when rain or snow prevented him from going ho.
As for the others, honestly, they might not stay a single night throughout the year. They usually just went there to take a nap during their lunch break.
Having finished with these matters, Du Heng checked the ti and realized it was almost ti to head to the Savings Bank next door.
Regardless of Old Wang’s intentions for offering him this interest-free loan quota, Du Heng felt he should be grateful.
Even if he intended to refuse, as a junior, he believed he should convey his decision in person rather than just making a phone call.
Old Wang’s life was much more leisurely than Du Heng’s. A tea set with carved dragons was displayed prominently in his office, exuding an air of sophistication.
"Uncle, I discussed it with my big brother yesterday. He said the sheep feed supply can’t keep up, so we don’t need the loan for now. I ca to thank you for the offer."
Old Wang, appearing calm and unperturbed, slowly poured the tea he had brewed into the cup in front of Du Heng.
The loan was just a pretext, Wang thought. If you don’t want it, plenty of others do.
Besides, giving it to you wouldn’t benefit in any way.
When lending to others, a 100,000 yuan quota often ant only a little over 90,000 yuan was actually disbursed. For those who weren’t well-connected, receiving only 80,000 yuan was also common.
My real intention wasn’t to give you a loan in the first place.
"No problem, that’s perfectly normal," Old Wang said. "In any business, one must be down-to-earth and not aim too high. That’s the only way to ensure long-term success. Don’t worry; when your big brother needs it, just co find ."
"Thank you, Uncle Wang," Du Heng replied.
Old Wang gestured for Du Heng to drink his tea. "I heard your Health Clinic is hiring nurses?"
"Yes, not only are we hiring nurses, but two new doctors from the Bureau were also assigned to us today." Du Heng picked up the small teacup and took a sip. It tastes really good, much better than just steeping tea leaves in hot water like I usually do.
Suddenly, he felt that his own tea, worth several hundred yuan, was being wasted by his crude brewing thod. Such tea, he reckoned, deserved a high-end tea set like this one.
But then again, he thought, wasn’t he being a bit excessive?
Before treating that old man, he used to drink tea worth only tens of yuan a batch, and he found it perfectly satisfying. After seeing the old man’s expensive tea, and since he wasn’t short on money, he had upgraded the tea for himself and his big brother. Now, seeing Uncle Wang’s tea set, he wanted to upgrade that too.
The problem was, he didn’t even drink tea as often as he ate als. The new tea he’d bought had been sitting there for almost a month, and he’d barely made a dent in it.
And now he was entertaining the idea of getting a whole new tea set? If this wasn’t obsessive, what was?
Old Wang, unaware of Du Heng’s thoughts, continued lightly, "Have you hired enough people? If not, I have soone I can recomnd."
Du Heng snapped out of his reverie and quickly said, "Oh, Uncle Wang, why didn’t you say so earlier? We just finished hiring yesterday! We just had a welcoming eting for those two new doctors; they’ve officially joined. You should have ntioned it sooner, Uncle Wang! I would have saved a spot. Our Health Clinic is expecting an upgrade soon, and there will definitely be vacant authorized positions then. This... what a pity!"
Du Heng certainly had so acting talent; his words were delivered with such heartfelt sincerity.
Old Wang’s hand paused mid-pour. But, being a seasoned individual, he quickly recovered and said with an air of nonchalance, "It’s fine if you’ve hired enough. Soone else actually asked to inquire, and I was wondering how to turn them down. So, you’ve actually helped out."
Du Heng didn’t try to discern whether Old Wang was telling the truth or not; he simply took his words at face value and responded with more expressions of pity and regret.
Regardless, their conversation didn’t lead to anyone being replaced or any additional staff being hired.
After nearly half an hour of this polite dithering, Du Heng finally rose to leave.
By then, it was just about ti to get off work.
Returning to the Health Clinic, Du Heng breathed a long sigh of relief. That conversation was even more draining than talking with the higher-ups, he thought. But it’s over now, thankfully. Finally, he could chat with Wei Kaida, who had been left waiting all afternoon, and then wait for Wang Shuqiu to pick him up after work.
However, Wei Kaida didn’t chat with him for long. Once Li Nating and Wei Kaida’s sister finished tidying up, the three of them left together, leaving Du Heng alone in the office to wait.
It’s good they left; it’s more peaceful being alone, Du Heng thought. It’s a good chance to get so other things done.
But things didn’t go as planned. He had barely worked for two minutes when his phone rang urgently. Wang Shuqiu’s anxious voice ca from the other end, "Xiao Fang got beaten up!" Then she hurriedly hung up.
Du Heng was startled. Zhao Xinfang got beaten up?
Why did they fight? Who hit him? Was it Liao Yuzhu’s ex? Where did it happen? Is he okay?
That kid has epilepsy! If the stimulation causes a relapse, it could be a major problem!
Quickly gathering his things, Du Heng walked out while dialing Wang Shuqiu’s number again.
However, the call went straight to a ssage: her phone was turned off.
He then tried calling Zhao Xinfang. The call connected, but no one answered, even after several attempts.
Once outside, Du Heng managed to hail a minibus. However, as soon as he got in, he froze.
Wang Shuqiu had hung up after that one sentence, and neither she nor Zhao Xinfang was answering their phones. Now, where should I go?
The hospital? Zhao Xinfang’s workplace? Or their rented house?
There’s no other choice, he thought. I’ll go to the rented house first. Hopefully, the beating wasn’t severe, and he doesn’t need to be hospitalized.
Halfway there, he suddenly rembered Liao Quansheng. Why didn’t I call him?
Given the ti Wang Shuqiu called, Zhao Xinfang should still have been at work, according to his usual schedule.
If nothing unexpected happened, Liao Quansheng should know about it.
But the unexpected often happens. "I don’t know," Liao Quansheng said. "Xiao Fang took the afternoon off, and my sister took ti off too. I guess they went out to have so fun. Why are you calling so urgently? Is sothing wrong?"
Du Heng was extrely frustrated. He had just assud Zhao Xinfang was at work and hadn’t expected him to have taken ti off. "He just started! Why would you give him ti off?"
"Old Du, are you crazy?" Liao Quansheng retorted. "Xiao Fang has been working for a week. What’s wrong with giving him a day off? Besides, that’s your brother-in-law. He’s resting. Why do you sound unhappy about it?"
Du Heng lost his patience. "Cut the crap! Hurry up and send your sister’s phone number. I need to find her for sothing important."
"You’re the one with the problem!"
Within a minute of hanging up, Liao Quansheng sent a phone number. Du Heng imdiately dialed it.
However, it was Zhao Xinfang who answered. "Ah, Brother-in-law, are you here too?"
"What do you an, ’here too’? Where are you guys?"
"Didn’t my sister tell you? We’re at the clinic just outside our rented house."
"Are you okay?"
"It’s nothing serious."
Du Heng was exasperated. "If it’s nothing serious, why didn’t you answer your phone? Do you know how many tis I called?"
"I accidentally broke my phone just now."
Du Heng was utterly speechless.
Du Heng hung up. The minibus had just arrived at his stop. He imdiately paid the fare, got out, and hailed a taxi, heading to the clinic Zhao Xinfang had ntioned.
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