Song Tan's Notes

Swimsuits and swim trunks are fine to buy in the city center after lunch and a nap, since the temperature is high at noon now.

Everyone was in no hurry. Watching the children expend their energy going back and forth in the vegetable garden, the parents, even the grandparents who usually take care of the children, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Especially the He family, truly, anyone who has raised them knows.

When I take my child out to play, people around me always praise him, saying how lively, outgoing, and fun he is...

A family of four elderly people plus two adults couldn't keep an eye on one child, and all they could do was smile bitterly.

However, now that older children are taking care of them, they can finally let go completely and go to the vegetable garden and orchard to enjoy the pleasures of rural life.

The air in these mountains is so fresh!

Everyone sighed, chatting about how soundly and deeply they slept last night, waking up refreshed and saying that even the softest beds and pillows at home couldn't compare.

As the host, Lu Chuan arranged for Master Chai and his group to receive treatment from Dr. Guo, so there was no reason for him not to tell his friend.

But he didn't need to say more, especially since he and Qin Yun were already itching to try out moxibustion.

On the way, he boasted to Yunfeng about Dr. Guo's skills again—

Seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor is like fortune telling; it's a deeply ingrained hobby for Chinese people.

Apart from children with only primary school diplomas, everyone else enthusiastically and actively signed up.

Song Tan laughed and said, "Don't go on the weekend, there are long queues there. Let's schedule a time later and book half a day for ourselves."

We'll have to talk to Dr. Guo about which day hasn't been scheduled yet.

Qin Yun and his group weren't in a hurry: "We're going to stay here for 10 to 15 days, so it doesn't matter if it's a little earlier or later."

……

They weren't in a hurry. Dr. Guo was so busy he barely had time to breathe. While the next group of clients were still receiving acupuncture, he called Zhang Yanping over to discuss the matter:

"What do you think about me making the clinic bigger?"

She took over the original village clinic, and the building was built with government support. It's quite new, and it didn't cost her any money, but the architecture is relatively simple.

There's a courtyard in front, with one side like the rest of the village, containing a kitchen and storage room. Then there's the main room, where the living quarters have been modified by Dr. Guo; now they're separate moxibustion rooms for men and women on either side, and a small pharmacy.

Her own room was at the very back.

There should have been enough, but this year the effects of moxibustion have become apparent, haven't they? Many people have come from other places, and there must be more than one person.

Now there are two rooms with six beds, and people are still waiting in line outside.

Zhang Yanping shook her head:

"If you want to improve your living environment, the clinic can be further expanded and renovated. If you want to add wards, that's unnecessary, since the popularity of moxibustion therapy can't stay this high all year round."

These, the amount of moxa sticks, are limited, and their popularity is also limited.

Unless other medicinal herbs also work, this treatment has significant limitations and cannot be as busy as a traditional Chinese medicine clinic every day.

Rather than these, shouldn't we hire two assistants?
He paused, then changed his words: "It means nurses and doctors."

With Dr. Guo's income, those staff expenses are nothing, but how is her spinning around like this any different from expanding the production of Rosa laevigata pills before?

It's all about torturing yourself.

Dr. Guo thought for a moment and said, "We can hire people, and we are currently hiring, but we don't have a place to live. Several people who have come to inquire have said they would think about it because it's not very convenient."

If all the recruits are girls, that's fine; adding another room behind the clinic as a dormitory wouldn't be a problem.

But she not only wanted to hire a nurse, but also a surgeon with basic medical knowledge.

This kind of recruitment is more likely to be for men, which will make it inconvenient for both men and women to live here.

Besides, unless it's a girl from a nearby village, people aren't really comfortable letting her stay at the clinic.

This is indeed a problem.

but--

Who is Zhang Yanping?

He's useless at work, but he's got tons of ideas.

"It's no big deal!"

"Although Tan Tan didn't build the building in town, her idea is sound. You could rent a place in town, hire a male doctor, and arrange for him to commute to get off work regularly, taking the village bus, right?"

"Or hire a taxi in the village to pick you up and drop you off every morning and evening—it'll cost at most twenty yuan a day, right?"

From their village to the town, the locals usually charge only five or ten yuan for a one-way trip.

"If that doesn't work, what if he has a car himself?"

Many young people own cars these days, right? If you rent a house in town and take into account housing subsidies and commuting allowances, you shouldn't have to worry.

As for Dr. Guo's plan to hire a surgeon, Zhang Yanping thought it was fine.

After all, ever since the skill of moxibustion spread, people from the surrounding villages have come here to see a doctor for minor ailments like headaches and fevers.

As for the quality of medical care in rural clinics...

Injections, IV drips, anti-inflammatory drugs, fever reducers—they cramm all sorts of things into it, prioritizing convenience.

That's not the same approach as traditional Chinese medicine treatment here.

Men prefer to look at things up close; it's convenient, quick, and efficient.

But when women have free time, they all love to gather here.

The reason is simple—many physical ailments cannot be systematically treated in rural clinics.

For example, the suffering they endured during childbirth in their early years is now a slow and silent process, and the discomfort is difficult for men to explain clearly. However, here, drinking traditional Chinese medicine can effectively alleviate this discomfort.

Although the price varies from person to person, and some are even quite expensive, you'll know once you experience the discomfort that even if it's not cheap, you'll still want to get treatment.

Over time, it became effective, and other problems were also solved here.

It would be good if Dr. Guo could hire another surgeon to reduce his workload.

Moreover, Zhang Yanping felt more at ease hiring another man – he couldn't stay at the clinic all the time, and if there were too many people, what if someone became unreasonable?
Having a man around at least makes people more cautious.

Although this man may not necessarily be able to protect people, he is still somewhat useful in today's understanding.

Otherwise, why would that drunkard only bully women and children, but not dare to rob a bank?
It's human nature to bully the weak and fear the strong.

As for the nurses... that doesn't really matter.

Help me get some medicine, do cupping, tidy up some things, and assist with moxibustion when needed...

That's fine!

The requirements in this regard are actually not high.

His casual remark made Dr. Guo happy:
"We're actually quite a good match."

She wasn't unaware of these things, but she certainly couldn't have thought of them as precisely and efficiently as Zhang Yanping.

Moreover, as the only child in his family, Zhang Yanping was highly valued by his parents. He had never lacked money since childhood, so he never considered money first when doing anything.

In this way, her way of thinking about problems is completely different from hers.

Guo Dong is different.

She grew up in a state of poverty and neglect, so even though she now has seven figures in savings, she is still affected by money...

Her previous desire to mass-produce rosehip pills shows that she is not short of money, but she is hesitant to take risks.

Hearing this, Zhang Yanping immediately laughed: "Of course! It's fate!"

The two chatted in the courtyard, while the patients waiting in line inside the house watched cautiously and then whispered among themselves:
"Don't you see those gangsters threatening our Dr. Guo?"

"I feel like it's so similar. Look at his sinister smile, how terrifying! It's a fake smile that doesn't reach your eyes..."

"Does he collect protection money here every day...?"

"No way, they're cracking down on organized crime and that kind of thing now. Besides, didn't Dr. Guo say this is her boyfriend?"

"Hey! With Dr. Guo's skills, how could she possibly have a boyfriend like that? I bet it's because she's a girl alone in the village and feels powerless..."

Everyone frowned, looking worried, and started thinking about how to subtly remind Dr. Guo not to be afraid when problems arise!
You should call the police!

Zhang Yanping was unaware of his ruined reputation. He only knew that his girlfriend had been exhausted lately, and seeing that there weren't many people in the clinic, he called out to her:
"I'll contact Zhao Fangyuan first to see if we can slightly modify the layout of the clinic, so as not to affect your business as much as possible."

Although the layout of this small clinic is overkill for a designer like Zhao Fangyuan, Dr. Guo is not short of money.

Moreover, Zhao Fangyuan never had to worry about anything when she did things; if possible, she could even provide the kettle and cups for the household.

Having witnessed firsthand how hassle-free the construction of a guesthouse was, Dr. Guo didn't hesitate at all: "Great!"

Zhang Yanping turned back: "I'm going to borrow a car from Tan Tan, I can go to town to look at houses—"

If the two people recruited are of the same sex, then there is a same-sex rental method.

If it's someone of the opposite sex, then there's a different way to rent to someone of the opposite sex.

In short, first find a good location and ask about the price. There is very little demand for rentals in town, so you can sign a contract anytime once you've decided on a place.

"First, write 'meals and accommodation included' in the job posting. I'll talk to Tan Tan about the meals—I'll send you some pictures of Chef Jiang's resume, as well as pictures of the three meals and the cafeteria. You can paste them all up."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Never mind, you go ahead and do your work. I'll take care of the recruitment."

Damn!

Dr. Guo turned and headed into the clinic with a happy smile, thinking to himself: The old saying is true! Men and women working together makes the work easier.

Although Zhang Yanping is not good at farming or doing farm work, it doesn't matter; he can handle these trivial matters.

That sounds like a lucky charm for his wife.

……

When Yanping returned to the guesthouse, he told Xin Jun what was going on, and while texting Zhao Fangyuan, he asked, "We can't keep going like this."

Xin Jun was taken aback: "Why not?"

Isn't this great?

Moreover, although the costs have not yet been recovered, the market is obviously booming. Nowadays, the occupancy rate of the homestay is about 50% every weekend, all thanks to Dr. Guo.

Isn't this also thanks to Zhang Yanping?

Zhang Yanping shook her head: "I'm not suited to working at the front desk. You're always the one handling the business during the day, it's exhausting."

It would have been better to teach Qiaoqiao back then, as the time would have been much more flexible.

Xin Jun himself doesn't really need to go out. You can tell from the fact that he can stay in the village for so long that he is essentially a homebody.

But Zhang Yanping's words also made sense. "How about..." he thought, "Aren't you helping Dr. Guo recruit people? Why don't you recruit a receptionist for us too?"

Booking and check-out are handled by a system that doesn't require extensive experience; a regular hotel receptionist's skills are sufficient.

He can fill in for the other person when they are on vacation, which is fine.

Zhang Yanping was quite embarrassed: "In the end, you're the one who's exhausted."

That's not how you say it.

Xin Jun's strengths are her gentle and easy-going nature, which makes her a perfect fit for the front desk.

But when it comes to business, there are always one or two exceptional individuals out of ten.

At this point, if you want to avoid disputes and troubles, you really need Zhang Yanping to step in.

Whenever someone wants to stir up trouble, they just call him over, and he stands there at the door, making the person's voice drop by six decibels.

The guesthouse has been running without a single problem since it opened, and the biggest contributor to this success is actually Zhang Yanping, who rarely appears in public.

If both sides feel that the other is irreplaceable and has suffered a great loss, then the business can continue for a long time.

He said this with a smile, and urged Zhang Yanping to quickly hire another receptionist, who could also provide accommodation—renting a house in town would only cost a maximum of three thousand yuan a year, and that would be for a large apartment.

If you add in transportation costs—which are shared among the people Dr. Guo recruits—the expenses will be even lower.

They are a legitimate guesthouse, and they provide all the necessary social insurances and housing fund benefits. Their salaries are slightly higher than those in the city, so they shouldn't have trouble recruiting staff.

After all, finding a job is really difficult these days.

Zhang Yanping thought about it and agreed that it was a good method: "Then you can work hard for a while longer..."

Xin Jun laughed: "It's not hard work, it's not hard work... I also need to take care of my health regularly."

“Oh, right,” he added, “remember to ask the villagers who would be willing to do cleaning for Dr. Guo.”

With so many patients and people coming and going, it would be too much work to clean everything yourself.

As for hiring someone later, the three of them cleaned up together...

It's not necessary!

Lu Chuan lived here for more than half a year. Xin Jun and Zhang Yanping would sometimes help him with things he bought and arranged for his family.

As three urban youths, they got along very well, and their consumption views and values ​​influenced each other to some extent.

For example, Lu Chuan doesn't often buy clothes and shoes that need to be taken care of for Lao Song's family anymore, but Xin Jun also feels that although hiring a cleaner would cost some money, it would save a lot of trouble.

Doctors should do their job, and nurses should do their job too!
When everyone performs their respective duties, efficiency will actually be higher.

Zhang Yanping thought about it and then became worried: "It's probably going to be hard to recruit people from the village now."

To be precise, since the area of ​​the mountainous area expanded, it has become difficult for the village to recruit people.

After all, a clinic is such a small place, the cleaning staff's salary can't be very high.

But if it's 2000 yuan a month, why wouldn't people work odd jobs at Old Song's place? They could earn that much by working a few days during the busy farming season.

Or tidying up the vegetable garden at home—driving out pests and pulling weeds—is actually not easy either.

In short, neither the villagers nor people from other villages looked down on him.

Zhang Yanping's contorted face showed distress:

"I'll just post a simple job opening."

……

Everyone has their own troubles, but on the mountain, there is only simple joy.

The children's screams and laughter echoed through the mountains. After listening for a while, even Song Tan felt her head buzzing. She wondered how these people who raised children managed to keep them in their homes.

Then look at Qiaoqiao—okay, she's also a high-energy big kid.

Now, I'm in the vegetable garden with a bunch of younger siblings who haven't even gotten their primary school diplomas yet, and it's just as lively.

Qin Yun had always thought of her daughter as a sweet little princess, and now she explained, "She's usually very quiet at home..."

Come on.

His own mother rolled her eyes:
While you've cut down the mosquito net, put on high heels, and are having a blast at home with lipstick all over the floor, you're still outside playing video games with someone else!

It's not that she looks down on her son; to be honest, this family would really fall apart if it didn't have a daughter-in-law!
Her son has a lot of bad habits; besides being able to make money, he really has no redeeming qualities.

There were a few times when they sensed something was wrong, and the elderly couple were so worried that they couldn't sleep at night.

Fortunately, he's more sensible now; he hands over all his money and only receives about two thousand yuan a month for pocket money.

Damn!

The parents breathed a huge sigh of relief.

In a stable family, the most likely mistakes a woman can make are spending too much money or running away with the money.

But men are different. They can indulge in all sorts of vices, from eating and drinking to gambling and whoring. Getting involved with any of them is a bottomless pit.

They're old, what kind of farces haven't they seen? They really cherish the life they have now.

Qin Yun had been criticized from many sides, and seeing things weren't going well, and noticing his wife's ambiguous smile, he quickly changed the subject:

"Honey, we're going to Song Tan's house for lunch. What should we bring?"

The daughter-in-law laughed—"I really mean it!"

Her in-laws were kind to her, her daughter was healthy and happy, she controlled the family finances, and although her husband almost went astray, he didn't have any major flaws overall.

That's all. The reason you're putting on this face is just to get someone to take advantage of you.

However, when dining at the Song family's house, one must not neglect the proper etiquette.

After all, they were Lu Chuan's friends, and Lu Chuan had treated them with utmost hospitality, so they should also show the same courtesy and respect.

Moreover, Qin Yun's wife knew that the other party had almost lost his mind back then, and it was only after Lu Chuan gave him a good scolding that he snapped out of it.

When she and He Kuang's wife chatted privately, they both felt that this friend was exceptionally rare, and that the things they prepared were also very sincere.

And then there was Yunfeng's wife—the editor's family wasn't as well-off as they were, but since everyone came together, they tried to distribute the gifts evenly, and finally, after some discussion—

"Do not worry."

She said to Qin Yun, "I've prepared some tonics and jewelry, and besides, I brought cigarettes and alcohol from home, and Yunfeng's family brought a hundred sets of books..."

Yunfeng frequently deals with copyright departments and has many acquaintances at publishing houses. He can easily find some quality books in their inventory, which is affordable and reasonable.

In short, no one will ever come empty-handed!
After chatting and laughing for a while, he looked at the orchard ahead, first focusing on the leaves, then at the light yellow paper bags covering the fruit trees.

"Can I take this apart and take a look?"

“Sure,” Song Tan said with a smile, “Just unpack it and go back.”

Yunfeng asked curiously, "I see that orchards are all using these kinds of bags now. Is there some reason for it?"

There are quite a few things to consider.

"Firstly, it ensures even coloring, resulting in better-looking fruit. Secondly, it protects against pests, diseases, rain, and excessive sun exposure..."

When buying fruit these days, appearance is a major factor in the evaluation.

Although the fruits from Old Song's family are unique in taste, it's far from enough for Yanran and his group.

If you're going to make something high-quality, make it high-quality in every way, so that people can tell it's a good product at a glance.

Therefore, the work of thinning flowers and fruits and bagging fruit all over the mountains and fields has become a major source of income for the villagers this year.

It's just too labor-intensive.

It's fortunate that the Song family didn't take on such a big undertaking last year, otherwise, given their heavy debt situation at the time, they wouldn't have been able to afford to hire anyone.

Yunfeng's wife pointed ahead and said, "I smell a faint orange scent. Is that an orange?"

Ahead lay a large expanse of lush, short, sturdy trees, with tiny, delicate fruits hanging from them, looking like oranges or lemons at the same time.

But the soil was unusually fresh; unlike other orchards where grass was sprouting, there were only a few tender grass shoots scattered on it.

This is normal, after all, they were just planted not long ago, and today is the time when they have finished their recovery period and entered their growth period again.

Song Tan looked over and said, "They're not oranges, they're tea tangerines. I bought them to try making dried tangerine peel."

Dried tangerine peel?

The elderly people, who were quite knowledgeable about food, became interested: "I've heard that the older the better, is that right? If it's been stored for a hundred years, a single piece could fetch an astronomical price?"

"No."

Song Tan had spoken with the young lady selling dried tangerine peel:
"Those are all rumors circulating online. In reality, if dried tangerine peel is aged for too long, all the active substances inside will be gone, so it won't have any effect and can even cause harm. There is a certain age limit to it."

However, the exact number of years depends on how it is stored and the quality of the dried tangerine peel itself.

Despite this, it still felt exceptionally comprehensive to everyone.

Besides, his wife also took a sniff and said, "I didn't expect its leaves to have a fragrance."

"Have."

Song Tan explained, "Like lemons, tea tangerines also have fragrant branches and leaves. The fragrance of lemon branches and leaves is very mild, and you can smell it when you get close. There are many tea tangerines planted here, so the scent is slightly more noticeable in the wind."

But it doesn't smell bad; in fact, you could say it smells nice.

Everyone took a gentle sniff; it smelled like oranges, but milder, with a slightly astringent taste from the orange peel and a hint of cool grass...

In short, no one here is an expert in this field, so we can only rely on our intuition to explain things one by one.

Song Tan laughed, and then took out a pair of scissors from the basket:
"Don't just smell it. If you like it, you can cut a few branches and put them in your room. The scent can soothe your mood, so it's nice to have it in the bedroom."

Looking down the mountain again, he thought, "It's a pity the timing is wrong. If it were later, when the papayas were ripe, I could just take a couple back and put them by my bedside. That would be truly delightful."

The local medicinal papaya turns a bright golden yellow when ripe, is firm with little moisture, and is easy to store.

It doesn't taste good, but it's exceptionally good as a Chinese medicine.

Moreover, the color is beautiful, and as long as there are no pests, the fragrance can last a long time when placed by the bedside. Just smelling it will make anyone smile. It's really sweet.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately expressed their regret: "That's right! Why did we come at such an inopportune time?"

Let's look at Lu Chuan again—

Actually, many people have discussed that it's a pity he stayed in the countryside for the girl he liked.

But now it seems that life in the countryside is completely different from what they imagined! (End of Chapter)