Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

When Zhao Guosheng entered the ward carrying fruit, Fang Jianguo's wife was sitting by the bed, holding a bowl and feeding her son porridge again.

The boy leaned against the pillow, a mouthful of porridge in his mouth, not swallowing for a long time. His eyes were fixed on the phone screen. He saw a funny video, his lips twitched slightly, and then he closed them again.

The lady didn't urge him; she held the spoon up and waited.

"Mrs. Fang, hello, hello."

Zhao Guosheng placed the fruit on the bedside table, bending down even more than he usually did when meeting the director of the health bureau, his face beaming with smiles, and rubbing his hands on his pants a couple of times before reaching out.

The lady put down the bowl, stood up, shook hands with him, and smiled politely: "Dean Zhao, you're too kind of yourself to have made such a special trip."

"Of course, of course."

Zhao Guosheng glanced at the boy on the bed. The boy looked up at him, then looked down at his phone again.

"The child is recovering well, and looks much better. Dr. Chen's skills are excellent, aren't they? Let me tell you, when Dr. Chen was working at our health center, he was truly..."

Chen Ping stood at the door and coughed.

Zhao Guosheng turned around and saw him, then changed the subject: "...That's really our health center's precious child. Don't worry, Mrs. Fang, with Dr. Chen here, the child will definitely recover quickly."

The lady smiled and said, "Dr. Chen's medical skills are indeed excellent."

After the lady finished speaking, she poured Zhao Guosheng a glass of water.

Zhao Guosheng took the drink, drank a sip, put it on the table, exchanged a few more pleasantries with his wife, glanced at Chen Ping, and left the ward.

The two people stood by the window at the end of the corridor.

The window was open, and the afternoon breeze blew in, carrying the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms from the garden downstairs.

Zhao Guosheng loosened his collar, let out a long breath, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and was about to light it, but after looking at the "No Smoking" sign on the corridor wall, he tucked the cigarette back behind his ear.

"Let's go, to the yard..." Chen Ping said with a smile, looking at the cigarette on Zhao Guosheng's ear.

"Let's go!" Zhao Guosheng nodded.

The two walked down the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Once downstairs, Zhao Guosheng eagerly lit a cigarette and handed one to Chen Ping.

Chen Ping took the cigarette, and Zhao Guosheng naturally lit it for him.

Chen Ping took a drag and slowly exhaled smoke. "Director, how's the renovation of our health center going?"

"Hey, I was just about to tell you about the renovation."

Zhao Guosheng leaned against a tree, one hand in his pocket, the smile gone from his face, replaced by a worried expression.

"The construction team worked very quickly. The clinic, wards, and canteen are almost finished, and the dormitories in the backyard have also been renovated."

However, the money was spent quickly. Five hundred thousand seems like a lot, but it didn't last long when it was actually spent. Material prices went up, labor prices went up, and even the price of garbage trucks went up.

I did the math, and after everything's done, I'm afraid there won't be much money left. I still need to buy equipment and medicine.

Chen Ping smoked a cigarette but didn't say anything.

Zhao Guosheng took a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled a long puff, as if trying to blow away the frustration in his heart.

"That's why I came to see County Magistrate Fang's son. I wanted to get on good terms with County Magistrate Fang. You treated County Magistrate Fang's son's illness, which is a great favor."

Not only County Chief Fang, but you also need to maintain good relations with Dean Ma. If the county can allocate some funds, and if the county hospital can provide some equipment and medicines, the renovation of our health center will proceed smoothly.

"Dr. Chen, it's not appropriate for me to say this; you have to say it. You have connections with them, so your words are more effective than a hundred of mine."

Chen Ping looked at him, neither agreeing nor refusing.

He thought for a moment, took a drag of his cigarette, and said, "Dean Zhao, I'll give it a try."

Zhao Guosheng patted Chen Ping's shoulder with considerable force, causing Chen Ping's shoulder to slump down.

"It's not a trial, it's a must-win. Whether our health center can survive depends on this one blow."

Zhao Guosheng threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it a few times. "Alright, I'm going back. The construction team can't be left unattended. You stay here and focus on getting the county magistrate's son treated. Nothing else is urgent."

"If there's not enough time, your vacation will be extended, and you'll still be paid..."

Zhao Guosheng left after he finished speaking.

Chen Ping watched Zhao Guosheng's retreating figure, threw the cigarette butt in his hand on the ground, stomped on it a few times, and then turned and went back into the building.

Over the next few days, Chen Ping stayed at the county hospital.

Every morning, I would first go to the boys' ward to get injections, then go back to the dormitory to have breakfast, and then be invited by Dean Ma for a consultation.

For patients with difficult or complicated illnesses who couldn't be diagnosed at the hospital, they would all ask Chen Ping for a consultation.

Dean Ma was very polite to Chen Ping, and specially assigned a nurse to follow him wherever he went, serving him tea and water, and taking his medical records. Her attentiveness made Chen Ping feel a little uncomfortable.

That day, Chen Ping was consulting with an elderly woman suffering from intractable asthma. She had been staying in the county hospital for half a month, receiving nebulizer treatments, hormones, and antibiotics in rotation, but her breathing was still like a bellows.

Chen Ping took the pulse, and all sorts of thoughts surged into his mind. It wasn't an infection, but an allergy. The allergen wasn't in the lungs, but in the stomach.

He had the old lady stop taking one of her medications, changed her prescription, and then inserted several acupuncture needles into her back.

That afternoon, the old lady's breathing eased, and the next morning she was able to get out of bed and walk on her own.

The attending physician was a young man in his early thirties who stood by watching Chen Ping receive acupuncture, his eyes wide with surprise.

After Chen Ping left, he chased after him and asked, "Dr. Chen, what acupoints did you insert those needles into?" Chen Ping named a few points, which he took out his phone to write down. He then left, thanking Chen Ping profusely.

The next patient to be consulted was a middle-aged man with cirrhosis. His abdomen was so swollen it looked like a pot had been turned upside down. He had ascites drained, but it kept growing back, and he had to have it drained again and again.

Chen Ping examined his tongue coating and pressed his stomach. The thoughts in his mind told him that the problem wasn't with his liver, but with his spleen.

Spleen deficiency and water retention cannot be cured simply by draining the ascites. He prescribed a formula with high doses of Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos, and Astragalus membranaceus, and also inserted acupuncture needles into the Sanyinjiao and Taichong acupoints on his feet.

Three days later, the ascites had significantly subsided, and the man was able to get out of bed and walk on his own. His wife held Chen Ping's hand in the corridor, her eyes filled with tears, and said "Thank you, Dr. Chen" several times.

Every day thereafter, one or two difficult cases were brought to Chen Ping's attention.

Dean Ma seemed to be deliberately testing his limits, bringing out all the toughest challenges in the hospital.

Chen Ping treated each patient one by one, using acupuncture for some, medicine for others, and a combination of both.

Some showed immediate results, while others took several days, but all of them showed improvement.

The doctors at the county hospital looked at him with a change of curiosity, which turned into admiration, and then into a habit.

Every morning during the consultation, a group of doctors, young and old, would gather in the corridor, all holding notebooks and listening attentively as Chen Ping explained the patient's condition.

These doctors all acted like students, each one showing great respect. Whenever they passed Chen Ping, they would stop and greet him.

Whether it's a general practitioner or a chief physician.

Whether it's a regular nurse or a head nurse.

Anyway, throughout the entire county hospital, even the security guards at the gate and the cleaning staff who swept the floors treated Chen Ping with great respect, knowing that Chen Ping was awesome.