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

The woman's lips trembled as she stared at Chen Ping for a long while.

Then she suddenly laughed, a laugh that was uglier than crying. Her lips were tugged upwards, but her eyes didn't move, like a puppet being pulled on strings.

"You were sent by the hospital, right?"

The woman's voice was tinged with anger. "That Director Qian just told me to transfer to another hospital, saying you could treat him. Now you're telling me to discharge him, saying you can treat him too. Aren't you just trying to kick my husband out? Aren't you afraid he'll die in the hospital and ruin your reputation?"

Chen Ping opened his mouth, wanting to explain.

The woman didn't give him a chance; her voice grew louder and louder until someone in the corridor poked their head out.

"I'm not leaving! Even if he dies, he'll die here! None of you are going to make us leave!"

The boy was startled by her voice. His lips trembled, tears welled up in his eyes, and he huddled behind the woman, sobbing uncontrollably.

The woman turned around, squatted down and hugged her child, crying as well. The mother and child embraced each other, their cries echoing through the ward.

Chen Ping stood there, looking at them, his lips moved, but all the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He released his grip, turned around, and glanced at the middle-aged man.

The man was rubbing his wrist, which had been gripped tightly, a cold smile on his lips, and a hint of contempt in his eyes.

Chen Ping ignored him and walked out of the ward.

Cui Ying was still standing in the corridor, leaning against the wall, in the same posture as before, as if she hadn't moved at all.

She saw Chen Ping come out, straightened up, and followed him.

The two walked down the corridor one after the other without saying a word, turned a corner, and went down the stairs.

"She doesn't believe you," Cui Ying's voice came from behind.

"Um."

"That guy is obviously no good. What targeted drugs, what clinical trials? He's just using patients as guinea pigs!"

Chen Ping didn't reply, but pushed open the door to the stairwell and walked into the hospital cafeteria.

The cafeteria was quite crowded, with long queues at the food serving windows. The air was filled with the smell of cooking oil and disinfectant mixed together—not pleasant, but very familiar.

He ate at this cafeteria for five years, and he knew perfectly well which window had the saltiest stir-fried dishes and which window had the hardest rice.

He picked up a tray and joined the end of the line.

Cui Ying stood next to him, without taking a tray, and glanced at the menu on the wall.

"You just told her that it could help that man live for another year or two, is that true?"

"Really." Chen Ping picked up the tray and took a step forward.

"Then why doesn't she believe you?"

Chen Ping thought for a moment, watching the people in front of him carry their food away one by one, and said, "If you were in his shoes, would you believe it?"

Cui Ying did not answer.

Chen Ping carried the tray to the food serving window and handed it in.

The lady serving the food recognized him. She paused in mid-air with her spoon, glanced at him again, and said nothing. She then served him a spoonful of braised pork ribs and a spoonful of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, pressing the rice down firmly.

Chen Ping said thank you and brought out the tray.

Cui Ying also ordered two dishes. The two of them put the food into plastic bags and carried them back home.

They went up the side staircase. There were few people in the stairwell, and their footsteps bounced on the empty concrete walls.

Cui Ying walked in front, and Chen Ping followed behind, neither of them speaking.

When they reached the corner on the second floor, Cui Ying suddenly stopped.

Chen Ping almost bumped into her, stepped aside, and followed her gaze.

The door to the stairwell was half open, and outside the door was the corridor.

Su Meng stood in the corridor, wearing a light gray suit jacket, her hair tied up, and holding a file folder in her hand.

She was talking to a doctor whose back was to the stairwell, so she couldn't see who he was.

As Su Meng spoke, her gaze inadvertently swept over and, through the half-open door, saw Cui Ying and Chen Ping.

She stopped talking.

The doctor was still talking when he realized she wasn't responding. He turned his head following her gaze, saw Chen Ping, paused for a moment, and then wisely left.

The corridor was quiet, with only the distant sounds of telephones ringing and keyboards clicking coming from the nurses' station.

Su Meng stood still, Cui Ying stood still in the stairwell, and Chen Ping was stuck behind, unable to go up or down.

Su Meng made the first move.

She switched the file folder to her left hand, took two steps toward the stairwell, stopped at the door, and didn't go in.

She glanced at the plastic bag Cui Ying was carrying, through which she could see the food inside, then at the same plastic bag Chen Ping was carrying. Her gaze shifted between the two bags before she looked away.

Cui Ying stepped aside to let Su Meng in, but to let Chen Ping come up.

Chen Ping walked past her and stood in the corridor.

The three people stood in a triangle, with Chen Ping in the middle, Su Meng on the left, and Cui Ying on the right. Each person was a step or two apart, not too far, not too close, just enough to see the expression on the other's face.

Su Meng's face was very pale, not the kind of paleness that comes from illness, but the kind of paleness that comes from not wearing makeup. She had only a thin layer of lipstick on her lips, and there was a very light bluish tint under her eyes, which was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

"What are you doing here?" Su Meng asked first, her voice full of confusion.

"My friend's father is in the hospital, so I came to visit," Chen Ping said.

Su Meng nodded and turned her gaze to Cui Ying.

Cui Ying didn't dodge, but met her gaze. Her lips were pursed, and the corners of her mouth turned down slightly, not because she was unhappy, but because she was nervous.

Su Meng glanced at her for two seconds, then turned back to Chen Ping.

"Is your head injury healed?"

"That's about it, the stitches have been removed."

"That's good."

Su Meng switched the file folder to her right hand and then back to her left, revealing her embarrassment and nervousness.

"Chen Ping, I have something to tell you. There's been a problem with the 500,000 yuan issue at the health center. A deputy director in the bureau keeps causing trouble."

She paused, glanced at Cui Ying, and asked, "Could we talk alone for a few minutes?"

Chen Ping glanced at Cui Ying.

Cui Ying didn't look at him, but at Su Meng. Her lips moved slightly, but she didn't say anything.

Chen Ping handed over the plastic bag he was carrying, and Cui Ying took it.

Without saying a word, Cui Ying turned and left.

Su Meng turned and walked downstairs, with Chen Ping following behind.

The two of them went down the stairs one after the other, walked out of the lobby on the first floor, and went to the courtyard behind the inpatient department.

The courtyard was small, with a few sycamore trees, and several elderly people in hospital gowns were sitting on the benches under the trees.

Su Meng walked slowly along the pebble path, with Chen Ping walking beside her, the two of them about half a step apart, neither too close nor too far.

"A deputy director in the bureau has been making quite a few moves lately."

Su Meng sighed softly, "He dug out the health center's funding plan and reviewed it again, saying that the supervision mechanism for the dedicated funds was not perfect, and that Fang Hai's review and approval were not strict enough, and that additional audits were needed."

To put it bluntly, they just want to stall, to drag things out until 500,000 is sitting in the account and can't be touched, or they want to use that as an excuse to get me fired.

Chen Ping didn't respond, waiting for her to continue.

"I've already had the finance department prepare all the receipts and plans submitted by Siping Township Health Center. He can't find any fault with them, so you don't need to worry too much."

Chen Ping nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Ping could tell that Su Meng's request to talk to him about the health center was probably just an excuse.

Su Meng glanced at Chen Ping but didn't say anything.