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

Around 3 p.m., Chen Ping was treating an elderly man when his phone suddenly rang.

Chen Ping took out his phone and saw that it was Zhang Jianmin calling, so he answered it.

"Dr. Chen, there's something I need your help with."

As soon as the call connected, Zhang Jianmin spoke directly.

"Secretary Zhang, just say what's on your mind," Chen Ping said.

"The swindlers we caught have been reported, and the higher-ups have ordered them to be sent to the municipal bureau. You'll need to go with them to give your statement, which will take up half a day of your time," Zhang Jianmin said.

"Okay, I'll ask Dean Zhao for leave first. When do we leave?"

Chen Ping asked.

"About ten minutes later, a police car from the local police station will pass by the health center. You can take their car there."

Zhang Jianmin said.

"Okay!" Chen Ping hung up the phone and went directly to ask Zhao Guosheng for leave.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guosheng immediately reassured Chen Ping that he could go without worry and that there was no need to concern himself with the health center.

"Dean, if we go to Tianhai City now, we'll probably arrive close to dark, and there definitely won't be time to return. So tomorrow..."

"I'll give you a day off tomorrow too, and it's paid leave. Don't worry, go on!" Zhao Guosheng waved his hand.

"Thank you, Dean..." Chen Ping said, then returned to the consultation room to change his clothes.

As Chen Ping passed by the accounting office, he saw Cui Ying sitting in front of the computer. He suddenly realized that Cui Ying hadn't been home for a while, so they could take this opportunity to go back and visit her.

At that moment, Cui Ying sensed someone was watching her, so she looked up and saw Chen Ping standing in the doorway, looking at her. She asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Ping thought for a moment, "I'm going to Tianhai City later to give a statement to the Municipal Public Security Bureau. If you want to go home and visit your family, we can go together and then come back together."

Cui Ying thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I'm not going back. The health center is very busy, and there's not much to see there."

Chen Ping was taken aback. He hadn't expected Cui Ying to not want to go home. He wondered if she still had a rift with her parents.

"Let's go see Xiaohe, it's been a long time since we've seen her," Chen Ping said.

When Zhou Xiaohe was mentioned, Cui Ying paused noticeably before nodding.

"Okay, I'll go ask the dean for leave."

After saying that, Cui Ying got up and went to ask Zhao Guosheng for leave.

Chen Ping originally wanted to go with Cui Ying and put in a good word for her, since it wasn't easy for Cui Ying to ask for leave, especially since she was the only accountant at the health center.

Before Chen Ping could follow, he saw Cui Ying enter the office and come out a few seconds later.

This surprised Chen Ping, who asked, "Why are you out? Did you get leave?"

"I'm done..." Cui Ying nodded.

"The dean agreed so quickly?" Chen Ping asked curiously.

"I didn't agree. I just went to let him know. Whether he agrees or not doesn't matter!"

After Cui Ying finished speaking, she headed straight for her dormitory to change her clothes and pack her things.

When Cui Ying came out of the dormitory, she was carrying a small bag, had changed into a clean coat, and had her hair tied up again, making her look much more energetic.

Chen Ping also went to the consultation room, took off his white coat, and then said a few words to Wang Tao.

"Let's go..." Chen Ping led Cui Ying toward the entrance of the health center.

Just as I reached the door, a police car from the local police station arrived.

The young police officer leaned out of the driver's seat and waved to Chen Ping.

Chen Ping opened the back door and let Cui Ying get in first, then got in himself and closed the door.

The young police officer glanced at Cui Ying, said nothing, and then started the car and drove off.

The car slowly drove out along the streets of Siping Township. When it turned onto the mountain road, the car bumped, and Cui Ying was shaken and leaned towards Chen Ping. Chen Ping reacted quickly and caught Cui Ying.

But when he hugged Cui Ying, Chen Ping suddenly felt as if his hand had touched something soft.

After rubbing for a couple of minutes, Chen Ping suddenly woke up and hurriedly let go.

Cui Ying's face was already red. She didn't dare to look at Chen Ping and looked out the window instead.

The mountains outside the window rushed past one after another, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, gilding the undulating ridgelines with a warm yellow rim.

Cui Ying leaned back in her seat, looking out the window with a slight smile on her lips, as if she was thinking about something happy.

Chen Ping glanced at her, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and didn't dare to speak before turning his gaze back to the road ahead.

The car drove steadily along the mountain road, heading towards Tianhai City.

When the car stopped in front of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, it was already dusk, with only a last vestige of dark red remaining in the west, like burnt-out charcoal.

Chen Ping pushed open the car door, stood on the steps and stretched. His back was stiff from sitting in the car all afternoon.

Cui Ying got out of the car from the other side, stood by the door, glanced at the words on the lintel of the Public Security Bureau building, checked the time, and turned to ask him, "Approximately how long will it take?"

Chen Ping thought for a moment, "If the statement is taken quickly, it will take one or two hours; if it takes slowly, it may take longer. You should go home first. Don't wait for me here. It's not like I don't know your house."

Cui Ying nodded, took out her phone and called a ride-hailing car. When the car arrived, she opened the door, got in, rolled down the window, and glanced at Chen Ping: "Send me a message when you're done."

Chen Ping responded, and the car drove off, its taillights flashing twice in the twilight before disappearing around the corner.

Chen Ping turned and entered the Public Security Bureau building.

The lobby was brightly lit. The police officer on duty led him to an office on the second floor. Inside sat a plainclothes detective in his thirties. A stack of documents was spread out on the table, and a half-finished cup of tea was next to him.

He shook hands with Chen Ping, said "Thank you for your hard work, coming all this way," then opened the notebook and began to ask about the situation.

They asked very detailed questions.

How did Vice President Sun contact the township government? What was the procedure on the day of the free clinic? What was the situation when they were selling physiotherapy equipment in the clinic? How did they use the elderly person's mobile phone to operate it? When did Chen Ping start to have doubts? What did they see? How did they confirm that they were scammers?

Chen Ping answered each question one by one, recounting the entire process from when Zhou Jie discovered the anomaly while delivering water to when Zhang Jianmin called to verify the information, without embellishing or omitting any details.

The detective listened and took notes, occasionally glancing up to confirm a few time points, his pen scratching across the paper.

When the statement was completed, Chen Ping glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost eight o'clock.

He stood up, stretched his stiff neck, said goodbye to the detective, went downstairs, and walked out of the police station.

It was completely dark outside. The streetlights illuminated the steps at the entrance, making them appear white. There were fewer cars on the street, and occasionally a car would drive by, its headlights leaving an arc in the road.

He stood on the steps, took out his phone, and the screen lit up, but there were no new messages.

He originally intended to take a taxi to Cui Ying's house, but his thumb paused on the input box of the taxi-hailing app before he locked his phone and put it back in his pocket.

He walked a few steps along the sidewalk, stood by the roadside for a while in the night breeze, his mind racing, and then hailed a taxi, giving the name of the neighborhood where Su Meng lived.