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

"You fell?" Zhao Guosheng leaned closer to examine you, then gasped. "Section Chief Fang, that was quite a fall! Should we have Dr. Chen take a look? Dr. Chen's medical skills..."

"No need, no need!" Fang Hai quickly waved his hand, but the movement pulled at his wound, causing him to wince in pain. "It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious."

Zhao Guosheng glanced at him, opened his mouth as if to ask something, but then swallowed his words.

"Section Chief Fang, we don't have an optician's shop around here," Zhao Guosheng said. "Your glasses..."

"I know," Fang Hai interrupted him. "Dean Zhao, do you have any bicycles here? I'll ride to the next town to get a pair."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhao Guosheng turned around and called to Wang Tao, "Wang Tao! Bring your bicycle over here!"

Wang Tao ran out of the clinic and pushed his bicycle over. It was an old-fashioned 28-inch bicycle; the bell didn't ring, but everything else rattled.

Fang Hai glanced at it, frowned, but still took it.

"Section Chief Fang, we just discussed it and drafted a fund usage plan. Please take a look and give it your approval!"

Zhao Guosheng handed the four points that Chen Ping had mentioned to Fang Hai!

Fang Hai took it and squinted at it for a long time.

Zhao Guosheng stood to the side, barely daring to breathe, his fingers rubbing together the seams of his trousers.

The patients in the courtyard had already left. Wang Tao squatted down at the door of the clinic, pretending to mop the floor, his ears perked up like a rabbit's.

Li Fang was leaning against the pharmacy window, clutching a handful of medicine that hadn't been fully dispensed, and forgot to put it down.

Liu Wei leaned halfway out of the consultation room, his pen dangling in mid-air, ink dripping onto the floor, but he didn't notice.

They were all waiting; as long as Fang Hai nodded, the matter would be settled!

"Um."

Fang Hai snorted, moved the paper back and forth several times, finally making out the gist of it: "Repairs, equipment, medicine... and what kind of fund?"

"The village medical mutual aid fund," Zhao Guosheng quickly interjected. "It's a program where you get medical treatment first and pay later, for those villagers who can't afford medical care..."

"I know what it means," Fang Hai interrupted him, his tone neither warm nor cold.

He looked at it again, nodded, folded the paper, and tucked it between his fingers. "The plan is good; it's quite comprehensive. Dean Zhao, did you draft this?"

Zhao Guosheng opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.

He glanced at Chen Ping's clinic. Chen Ping was standing at the door, holding the mug with the kitten printed on it. He didn't come over, just watched from a distance.

Zhao Guosheng withdrew his gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"It was...it was a decision we made together."

"Who started this?" Fang Hai asked.

Zhao Guosheng hesitated.

He wanted to say "I took the lead," but his mouth wouldn't listen, and his tongue seemed tied in knots. After all, it was a bit unethical to try and steal credit like that.

He cursed himself inwardly, gritted his teeth, and told the truth: "It was Dr. Chen's proposal."

Fang Hai's fingers stopped.

He held the folded piece of paper in his hand, his fingertips pressing against the edge, creating a shallow crease.

His face was expressionless, but his left eye, which was swollen to the point of being just a slit, seemed to suddenly widen a little.

"Chen Ping?" Fang Hai's voice remained unchanged, still businesslike, but he switched the paper from his left hand to his right, and then back to his left.

"Yes, Dr. Chen..." Zhao Guosheng wanted to continue, but seeing Fang Hai's expression, the words got stuck in his throat.

Fang Hai placed the paper on the windowsill very gently, but after putting it down, he didn't pick it up again.

He held the paper as if it were a butterfly that might fly away at any moment.

A few seconds of silence followed, but to Zhao Guosheng it felt like an eternity.

"Dean Zhao, this plan won't work."

Zhao Guosheng was stunned.

He stared at Fang Hai with his mouth agape, thinking he had misheard.

"Section Chief Fang, didn't you just say..."

"I said it was good because the proposal was well-written."

Fang Hai interrupted him, his voice still calm, "But a good plan doesn't mean it can be implemented. The source of funding, the scope of use, and the supervision mechanism all need to be re-evaluated."

Especially that so-called fund, the "treatment first, payment later" scheme—where does the money come from? Who will bear the bad debts that can't be recovered? These things haven't been clarified, yet they're rushing to report it upwards; it's outrageous.

Zhao Guosheng's lips trembled twice, as if he wanted to say something, but then he swallowed it back.

He's not stupid.

He served as the director of the Siping Township Health Center for twenty years and had seen all sorts of people. While he wasn't exactly a master at judging people, he certainly had a good intuition.

Fang Hai's suggestion wasn't a plan, it was Chen Ping's.

As soon as Fang Hai mentioned that Chen Ping was in charge, his attitude immediately changed.

"Well... Section Chief Fang, what do you mean...?" Zhao Guosheng's voice was dry and monotonous.

"Let's discuss this some more." Fang Hai pushed the paper back. "The plan needs to be revised. We'll submit it again once it's revised. There's no rush. I'll be here for a while longer; we have plenty of time."

There's plenty of time.

These four words were spoken neither too lightly nor too heavily, but Zhao Guosheng understood the underlying meaning.

It's not that I have too much time, it's that I'm not leaving, so don't try to fool me.

"Okay, Section Chief Fang, you go ahead with your work. We'll discuss it further." Zhao Guosheng picked up the paper, folded it, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Fang Hai nodded, got on his bike, and rode wobbly out of the health center gate.

His figure bounced along the dirt road like an injured duck, swaying back and forth, and soon disappeared at the end of the road.

Chen Ping and Cui Ying stood at the door of the clinic, watching that figure from behind, and smiled at the same time.

Wang Tao stood to the side, looking bewildered: "Dr. Chen, what are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing." Chen Ping turned and went back to the consultation room.

Cui Ying turned and went back to the accounting office, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.

After Fang Hai left, Zhao Guosheng gathered everyone together again.

The shadows under the locust tree shifted, and the sunlight grew stronger.

Zhao Guosheng held the jar, his expression not very pleasant.

"Section Chief Fang looked at the plan and said it wouldn't work."

He sighed, opened the notebook and closed it again. "He said... never mind, I won't follow his example. Anyway, it's a no."

"Why?" Wang Tao asked anxiously. "What's wrong with our plan?"

Zhao Guosheng shook his head: "He said he'd discuss it further."

"What are we discussing?" Liu Wei asked anxiously. "Dr. Chen's plan is so comprehensive—repairs, equipment, medication, funding—aren't all of these important matters? What gives him the right to object?"

Zhao Guosheng glanced at Chen Ping, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

He rubbed his hands together and whispered, "Dr. Chen, did you... offend Section Chief Fang? His face changed immediately when he heard that you proposed the plan."

The courtyard was quiet.

All eyes were on Chen Ping.

Chen Ping leaned against the locust tree, still holding the mug in his hand; the water had already gone cold.

He smiled but didn't say anything.

Cui Ying stepped forward.

She took two steps forward and stood in the middle of the crowd. Her expression was calm, but there was a fire in her eyes.

"Fang Hai's facial injuries weren't from a fall."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Cui Ying.

"It was Chen Ping who made the call," Cui Ying said.