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

"Dr. Chen, are you done with your work?"

Old Sun pushed the door open and stood at the door without going in, probably afraid that the dirt on his body would dirty the clinic.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, instinctively wanting to smoke one, but then pulled his hand out again. "The foundation trenches are dug, and the ash has been laid. We'll start tamping tomorrow."

He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from another pocket, unfolded it, and found it to be a construction schedule drawn in pencil, with several rows of densely written text, and the budget amount marked after each process.

"Dr. Chen, I have something to tell you. Look at my schedule: foundation compaction, building the foundation piers, pouring the foundation beams, backfilling the earth, erecting the first layer of the frame, capping the roof, building the walls, plastering, tiling—each step requires buying materials and hiring labor."

"What I mean is, let's work on a step-by-step basis, and get paid for each step as it's completed. That way, you don't have to put up a large sum of money all at once, and I don't have to pay too much for labor and materials upfront. It's easier for everyone."

As Old Sun said this, his eyes kept glancing at Chen Ping, perhaps because he was afraid that Chen Ping would get angry.

After all, it costs money as soon as construction begins, especially for such a large project, so people are bound to be unhappy.

But even though it was free, Lao Sun wasn't at ease, so he had to pay for the labor and materials himself.

If Chen Ping really doesn't give it to me then, that would be a real problem.

Chen Ping took the progress chart, glanced at it, and nodded. "Okay, we'll do it your way. I'll give you an advance. How much do you need?"

When Old Sun heard that Chen Ping agreed so readily, he was immediately delighted.

He rubbed his hands together, hesitated for a moment as if considering how much money to ask for, and after a long while said, "Let's get an advance of... fifty thousand before we start ramming."

Old Sun himself didn't sound very confident, and his voice wasn't loud. After he finished speaking, he quietly waited for Chen Ping's reaction.

If Chen Ping bargains and asks for 20,000 less in advance, Lao Sun will accept it.

Chen Ping didn't haggle. He handed the progress sheet back to Lao Sun and said, "Okay, come with me to the accounting office."

"Great!" Old Sun grinned and quickly followed behind Chen Ping, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

The accounting office door was ajar. Chen Ping knocked twice, and Cui Ying's voice came from inside, "Come in."

Pushing open the door, I saw Cui Ying sitting in front of the computer, with several ledgers spread out in front of her, and a pen in her hand calculating the details of the expenses.

The wound on her back hadn't fully healed yet, so she sat with her back ramrod straight, not daring to lean back in her chair.

Seeing Chen Ping and Lao Sun enter one after the other, she put down her pen and turned her chair around.

Chen Ping repeated what Lao Sun had just said, and when he mentioned payment according to milestones, Cui Ying nodded.

Taking her phone out of the drawer, Cui Ying opened her mobile banking app in front of Lao Sun and said to Chen Ping, "I'm transferring two million to you now. From now on, you can directly contact Master Sun regarding project payments; you don't need to go through me anymore."

After saying that, Cui Ying started transferring money to Chen Ping. She lowered her head, typed a string of characters, then a number, and finally pressed the screen.

A few seconds later, Chen Ping's phone vibrated. He took it out and saw a text message notification that his bank account had received a deposit.

Old Sun watched from the side, his eyes wide with amazement.

He had spent most of his life working on construction projects in Siping Township. Building a single-story house for a farmer would only cost tens of thousands of yuan, and building a two-story office building for the village committee would only cost two or three hundred thousand yuan. He had never seen anything like this before.

He turned to look at Chen Ping, his Adam's apple bobbing, and finally couldn't hold back, "Dr. Chen, is all this money... yours?"

Chen Ping didn't answer the question; instead, he opened his phone, found WeChat, and asked, "Master Sun, can you receive payments via WeChat?"

Old Sun snapped out of his daze and quickly pulled out his phone.

His phone screen was cracked, with one corner taped up with transparent tape, and it took him a while to open WeChat.

Chen Ping transferred 50,000 yuan to Lao Sun via WeChat. Lao Sun's phone rang, and he glanced down at the amount received, grinned, and the deep lines on his face deepened.

"Dr. Chen, you are very honest and straightforward. I, Old Sun, will not cut corners. I will come to work on it first thing tomorrow morning."

He took out the crumpled progress sheet again, put a checkmark in pencil after "foundation trenching" on the first line, drew a circle next to "ramming", and then folded the paper back and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Master Sun, the quality of the project must be guaranteed, but I also hope the construction period can be completed as soon as possible. I hope the building can be completed and officially put into use before the ground freezes."

Chen Ping followed Lao Sun's instructions.

Old Sun counted the days on his fingers, then nodded heavily: "Don't worry, Dr. Chen, even if it's a 24/7 shift, I'll get the project done on time."

"Then I'll have to trouble you..." Chen Ping said, taking out a cigarette and handing one to Old Sun.

Old Sun took the cigarette, and Chen Ping lit it for him. Old Sun then habitually touched the back of Chen Ping's hand as a sign of politeness.

Chen Ping lit one for himself, chatted with Lao Sun for a few more minutes, and then Lao Sun left.

After Lao Sun left, the accounting office became quiet.

Cui Ying put her phone back in the drawer, picked up her pen again, and opened the ledger.

Her profile was illuminated by the light from the computer screen, and her eyelashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow beneath her eyes.

"Don't smoke in the accounting office." Cui Ying turned and glanced at Chen Ping.

"Oh..." Chen Ping quickly retreated into the corridor. "Don't stay up too late to change the dressing tonight. Don't cover the wound."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Hearing Chen Ping's words, Cui Ying's face flushed slightly.

What would I do if Chen Ping really touched me inappropriately or did something outrageous while I was changing my dressing?

Cui Ying was lost in thought, but one thing she was certain of was that no matter what Chen Ping did to her, she would eventually forgive him and would never call the police.

"Dinner's ready..."

Aunt Li's loud voice came from the backyard.

The group walked out of the clinic and headed towards the cafeteria.

The cafeteria had a different menu today. Aunt Li probably felt that everyone was getting tired of the same old braised pork and stir-fried vegetables, so she specially bought a bag of small silver fish from town, coated them in egg batter, and fried them until they were golden brown. Every bite was bursting with fresh juice.

It was served with a large bowl of homemade pickled green beans stir-fried with minced meat. It was sour, salty, and slightly spicy. You could eat two large bowls of rice mixed with it.

There was also a bowl of loofah and egg drop soup. The loofah was freshly picked from the trellis in the backyard that morning, so tender that it would burst with juice when pinched.

Wang Tao ate the fastest, crunching the silverfish loudly. Before he could even swallow, he reached for a second bite, only to be smacked on the back of his hand by Li Fang. "Slow down! You're like a starving ghost. Zhou Jie hasn't even eaten yet."

Wang Tao withdrew his hand and secretly glanced at Zhou Jie. Zhou Jie smiled and pushed the plate towards him.

Zhao Guosheng held the bowl of soup and drank a couple of sips before putting it down. He glanced at Cui Ying and asked her how her wound was. Cui Ying said it was much better; Chen Ping had already changed the dressing once last night, and it didn't hurt much anymore.

Zhao Guosheng nodded, then glanced at Chen Ping and said that Director Ma from the county hospital had called that afternoon to inquire about the follow-up condition of the woman who had amniotic fluid embolism. He had already prepared the medical records and asked Chen Ping to take a look at them later.

Chen Ping nodded.

The experience of successfully treating amniotic fluid embolism can be used as a teaching material, regardless of the hospital where the patient was treated.

If a health center in Siping Township were to treat a pregnant woman suffering from amniotic fluid embolism, the county hospital would certainly take it seriously and report it, as this would be considered a contribution from Cangyang County.

"Dean Ma said that you might need to give a report in person, so you should be mentally prepared."

Zhao Guosheng said another sentence.

Chen Ping nodded, his face expressionless.

Saving a pregnant woman from amniotic fluid embolism is the greatest qualification and asset for every medical worker.

This is something that can be shown off for decades, so it's normal to give a report on it.

Chen Ping was familiar with the process of giving reports at major hospitals, nursing schools, and medical schools.