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

Chen Ping returned to the consultation room and sat in a chair for a while.

The courtyard outside was noisy again, with patients coming and going. Wang Tao shouted from outside, "Line up, line up!" His voice cracked.

He picked up the wooden box from the corner of the table, placed it in front of him, and stared at it for a while.

The copper lock remained the same, quiet and unresponsive.

I opened it once that day and never opened it again.

He put his hand on the lock and tried it, but he felt nothing. It was as if the warmth and vibration from that day were all a dream.

Chen Ping withdrew his hand, stood up, and walked to the door.

There were four or five patients waiting in the courtyard, all unfamiliar faces, probably from villages further away.

An old woman was sitting on a bench, clutching her knees and grimacing.

A young man was standing with his arms crossed, his elbow wrapped in a bandage that had turned black, probably because it hadn't been changed for many days.

"Wang Tao, call the next one," Chen Ping said.

There were more patients in the afternoon than in the morning.

Chen Ping watched until after 4 a.m., without even drinking a sip of water in between.

They have all sorts of illnesses, including lumbar disc herniation, arthritis, chronic bronchitis, and high blood pressure.

He uses acupuncture where possible, and prescribes medicine for cases where acupuncture is not feasible. If it is beyond his ability, such as an elderly man suspected of having early-stage lung cancer, he tells him the truth and asks him to go to the city for further examination.

At 4:30, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the clinic.

Chen Ping looked up and heard Liu Wei's voice, filled with anger: "Dean Zhao, you can't do this! It's been three months, and we haven't received a single penny of salary. We can barely afford rice anymore!"

Then came Zhao Guosheng's voice, with a hint of pleading: "Liu Wei, keep your voice down, there's a patient here..."

"I don't care!"

Liu Wei's voice grew louder, "My wife argues with me every day, saying I'm a coward, that I've worked at the health center for over a year and haven't brought home a single penny! My child needs tuition fees, what am I supposed to do?"

Chen Ping came out and saw Liu Wei standing at the door of Zhao Guosheng's office, his face flushed red and his fists clenched.

Zhao Guosheng stood opposite him, holding an enamel mug, his face grim.

Wang Tao peeked out of the consultation room, Li Fang stood at the pharmacy window, and Wang Jianguo also came out of his consultation room. All of them were looking in this direction.

"What's wrong?" Chen Ping walked over.

When Liu Wei saw Chen Ping, his anger subsided slightly, but he was still very agitated: "Dr. Chen, you be the judge. I haven't been paid for three months. I went to Dean Zhao to ask for some money, but he wouldn't give it to me."

I don't need the full amount, just a little to tide me over; we're really struggling to make ends meet."

Zhao Guosheng sighed: "Liu Wei, it's not that I don't want to give it, it's just that I really don't have the money. You see, there are more patients these days, but we also need to stock up on a lot of medicine."

Li Fang told me yesterday that the pharmacy's medicine supply was almost gone and they needed to restock quickly. "We haven't secured that money yet, so how are we going to pay salaries?"

"But we can't not give them a single penny!"

Liu Wei panicked, "My wife said if we don't get the money back, she's taking the kids and going back to her parents' house!"

"Liu Wei, listen to me..."

"I won't listen!"

Liu Wei's voice rose again, "Director Zhao, I know the health center is struggling, but I'm struggling too! I've been here for over a year, and my salary has never been paid on time! I'm a licensed doctor, and I earn less than someone working outside!"

Li Fang leaned out of the pharmacy window and whispered, "Don't even mention you, I'm in an even worse situation as a temporary worker. I haven't been paid for three months, and I don't even dare to buy a new piece of clothing."

Wang Tao also came over and rubbed his hands together: "Dean, I haven't received my first dose in three months either..."

Even Wang Jianguo spoke up, his voice not loud but earnest: "Old Zhao, I know you're having a hard time, but it's really not easy for anyone."

Liu Wei's child needs to go to school, Li Fang is a temporary worker, and Wang Tao is still an intern. Could you please give everyone something, even just a month's worth?

Zhao Guosheng was surrounded in the middle, holding a jar, his face turning red and white in turns.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then swallowed it back, finally letting out a long sigh.

"You think I don't want to post this?"

His voice lowered, tinged with bitterness, "I want to pay your wages more than anyone else. But as you know, the health center is in a state of disrepair; we haven't had many patients in the past few months."

"Dr. Chen has been here these past few days, and there are more patients, but the income is only so-so. If we buy medicine, we don't have money to pay salaries; if we pay salaries, we don't have money to buy medicine."

"It's not that I didn't try. I submitted several reports to the county hospital, requesting support, funding, and equipment, but they ignored me."

Last month, I made a special trip to the county, waited for ages, but the hospital director wouldn't even see me. He just sent a department head to fob me off, saying the county was also struggling and we had to figure it out ourselves.

The courtyard fell silent.

Liu Wei fell silent, his head bowed, and his clenched fist slowly loosened.

Li Fang retreated behind the pharmacy window, while Wang Tao stood there, his hands rubbing together, then stopped.

Chen Ping stood to the side, listening to these words, feeling uneasy.

He knew that Zhao Guosheng had a hard time, and he also knew that Liu Wei had a hard time.

No one is at fault; the health center is just too poor, so poor that it can't even pay the most basic salaries.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Everyone, stop arguing. Arguing won't solve anything."

Several people looked at him.

"Liu Wei, don't panic."

"You know Dean Zhao's difficulties. It's not that he doesn't want to pay, it's that he really doesn't have the money. But everyone knows your difficulties too. Not getting paid for three months, anyone would be anxious," Chen Ping said.

Liu Wei nodded without saying anything.

Chen Ping then looked at Zhao Guosheng: "Dean Zhao, we still need to find a solution regarding the wages. Liu Wei's child needs to go to school, and Li Fang is a temporary worker whose salary is already low. If this drags on any longer, how will they make a living?"

Zhao Guosheng sighed: "I know, but..."

"Let me finish speaking first."

Chen Ping interrupted him, "What I mean is, everyone, please bear with it a little longer. The number of patients is increasing these days, and the trend is good."

At this rate, the health center's income should stabilize in another month or two. Then the salary issue will be much easier to resolve.

He looked at Liu Wei: "Do you believe me or not?"

Liu Wei paused for a moment, then nodded: "Dr. Chen, I believe you."

"Then let's be patient for a while longer. If we still can't get paid in a month or two, I'll go with you to ask Dean Zhao for it."

Liu Wei gave a wry smile and said nothing more.

Chen Ping then looked at Li Fang and Wang Tao: "You two too, just hang in there. Once the health center gets better, everyone's lives will be better."

Li Fang leaned out of the window and smiled, "Dr. Chen, I like hearing that. Okay, I'll bear with it a little longer."

Wang Tao nodded vigorously beside him.

Wang Jianguo patted Zhao Guosheng on the shoulder: "Old Zhao, Dr. Chen is right, let's all hang in there a little longer. Don't just rely on the county government, you still have to use the connections you need to, and ask the people you need to ask for help."

Zhao Guosheng nodded, picked up the cup, and took a sip of tea. The tea had long since gone cold, but he didn't notice.

"Alright, everyone disperse and go do what you were doing," Chen Ping said.

The group dispersed.