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

"How is it?" Zhao Guosheng asked.

"Old Song said he'd help make a phone call," Chen Ping replied.

"Then there's no problem. As long as Elder Song is willing to step in, this is no big deal. Don't worry about it."

Zhao Guosheng patted Chen Ping on the shoulder, got up and left.

Around 2 p.m., Chen Ping was taking an elderly man's blood pressure in the clinic when the sound of a car engine came from the courtyard again.

Wang Tao peeked out from the corridor, his expression changed, and he turned and ran into the examination room. "Dr. Chen, they're here again! Those law enforcement vans are here again!"

Chen Ping put down the blood pressure monitor and walked out of the consultation room.

Three law enforcement vehicles were already parked in the yard. When the doors opened, the same people got out as in the morning. The one in the lead was still the one wearing sunglasses, but this time he wasn't carrying a folder.

What surprised Chen Ping even more was that the two people behind him were not unloading cameras and measuring tapes from the car, but the tools that had been confiscated that morning.

Old Sun neatly arranged his level, two vibrators, several shovels, and pickaxes along the corridor.

The man wearing sunglasses walked up to Chen Ping, his expression completely different from that morning.

In the morning, he was cold and aloof, all business. But now, with a smile on his face, he politely extended his hand, "Dr. Chen, the matter this morning was due to our inadequate work; we came without fully understanding the situation."

"The city just called and said that your clinic is a key livelihood project in Siping Township, and the approval procedures will be handled on a case-by-case basis. They told us to send the tools back first so as not to delay your construction."

Chen Ping shook hands with him and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

The man wearing sunglasses repeatedly said, "It's no trouble at all, it's my duty," exchanged a few more polite words, and then led the people into the car and drove away.

As the three law enforcement vehicles turned out of the health center gate, they sped away as if they were afraid that Chen Ping would cause them trouble.

Wang Tao stood in the corridor, watching the cars drive away. He turned to look at the tools piled on the ground, then at Chen Ping, his mouth agape. "Dr. Chen, what connections did you make? These people were acting like they wanted to eat me alive this morning, and this afternoon they personally brought the tools back?"

Chen Ping didn't explain, but took out his phone and called Lao Sun.

Less than twenty minutes later, Old Sun returned with his dozen or so workers.

As soon as Old Sun entered the yard, he ran towards the foundation pit, squatted down and touched the concrete that had been half-poured that morning. He stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and walked up to Chen Ping, his expression a mixture of surprise and delight.

"Dr. Chen, you're really something. You settled it in half a day. I've been doing construction work in Siping Township for so many years, and I've been stopped by administrative enforcement notices more than once or twice. I've never heard of having your tools confiscated and then having them personally returned. Your connections are really strong."

Chen Ping smiled, ignoring the question, and pointed to the foundation pit, saying, "Let's get to work. Can we still use that half-truckload of concrete from this morning?"

Old Sun squatted down, took a hammer, tapped the concrete surface, listened to the sound, stood up, and shook his head. "The surface has partially set; we can't pour any more on top. We have to chip off a layer before we can continue."

"It's alright, I'll have the workers work overtime to chisel out this section today, and then we can continue pouring the concrete first thing tomorrow morning. It won't delay the construction schedule."

After saying that, he turned and waved to the workers, his voice so loud it could be heard throughout the entire backyard, "Don't just stand there, grab your tools and get to work!"

The workers scattered with a whoosh, some grabbing hammers, others pushing carts, and the construction site became lively again.

Chen Ping smiled as he watched the workers get to work; he hadn't expected Old Song to have such influence.

Even after retirement, a phone call is so useful. Without Old Song's call, Chen Ping probably wouldn't have been able to get it done even if he ran himself ragged.

In this society, without connections, you really can't get anything done.

Chen Ping returned to his consultation room to continue seeing patients.

Around 3 p.m., a man in his forties was sitting on a bench in the waiting area of ​​the corridor. He was wearing a dusty old jacket with shiny, worn-out sleeves, messy hair, and stubble on his face that he hadn't shaved for days.

The pair of liberation shoes on his feet had one red shoelace and the other blue shoelace, clearly just two random shoes of different colors that he picked up and wore.

He sat on a bench, legs crossed, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, his eyes darting around. He looked more like someone who had come to see a doctor than someone who had come to a temple fair.

When it was his turn, Sun Xiaoyan led him into the examination room.

The man plopped down in the chair, stretched his hands on the table, and said loudly, "Dr. Chen, I feel unwell all over. I'm dizzy, have chest tightness, my legs hurt, my stomach is bloated, nothing feels right. Can you take a look?"

Chen Ping glanced at him, said nothing, and placed three fingers on his wrist.

Once he felt the pulse, he knew what was going on.

This person does have some underlying health conditions: spleen and stomach deficiency, liver qi stagnation, and a bit of rheumatism, but none of them are serious and can be treated with some conditioning.

These problems are half real, and half are accumulated over the years from not taking themselves seriously; they are definitely not as serious as he claims.

"It's nothing serious. I'll prescribe a medicine for you. Take a few doses when you get home. Just drink less alcohol and eat on time."

Chen Ping wrote out the prescription and handed it to him. He then asked him to take off his coat and lie face down on the examination bed. Chen Ping inserted a few needles into his back to clear his meridians.

Less than two minutes after the needle was inserted, the man lying on the examination bed suddenly convulsed, foam began to come out of his mouth, and he made incoherent hoarse sounds.

Zhou Jie was making nursing records nearby when she saw this scene. She was so shocked that she dropped her pen and her face turned pale instantly.

Sun Xiaoyan reacted quickly and rushed over to help the man, but Chen Ping grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch him yet."

Chen Ping walked to the examination bed, bent down and examined the man's eyelids. The pupils reacted normally to light, and the eyeballs did not roll upward.

I pressed his wrist again; his pulse was steady and strong, even more so than before the acupuncture.

Looking at the white foam again, it wasn't the fine white foam that rose from deep in the throat, but rather it was piled up at the corners of the mouth, like toothpaste being stirred up in the mouth.

Chen Ping straightened up, already understanding seven or eight parts of the situation.

The man was still rolling around on the examination bed when he collapsed to the ground, yelling, "It hurts so much!" and "I'm going to die!" His voice was so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire corridor.

Patients waiting for their turn peered in, and one elderly woman was so startled that she quickly pulled her grandson behind her.

Hearing the commotion, Wang Tao ran over from the pharmacy. He glanced at the man on the examination bed who was foaming at the mouth and howling, paused for a moment, and then pulled Chen Ping to a corner.

He then lowered his voice and said, "Dr. Chen, I've seen this man before. He's from the next village, surnamed Wu, and he's a notorious scoundrel in this area. He specializes in extorting money from various health centers and clinics. He pretends to be dead or sick as soon as he comes to see a doctor, waiting for people to pay him money."

"Last month, he extorted two thousand yuan from the health center in the next town. The director was afraid that making a big fuss would have a bad impact, so he gave it to him. He got a taste of success and came back to us."