Chapter 34 What a lively day!
"Director Chen, come quickly, the food has been reheated twice."
Yesterday was a day off, but Friday morning saw more patients than usual, and Chen Yun was so busy that she didn't have time to go downstairs for lunch until 1 p.m.
Duan Yun carried the aluminum lunchbox from the stove to the nurses' station and hurriedly urged Chen Yun, who had just washed her hands, to hurry up and eat.
"Thank you!"
"I've put five-pointed stars on your plate several times today. I think it won't be long before I have to put them on the bulletin board next door." Duan Yun peeked at Chen Yun's lunchbox and then joked with a smile, "Captain Gao is such a model husband. Look how good the color of this stewed meat is."
The lunchboxes are all the same, but the food inside is worlds apart.
If Duan Yun wakes up late one day, the whole family's lunchboxes will only contain pickled vegetables. Her husband will only say that he will cook tomorrow, but he never actually does anything about it.
"Does Head Nurse Duan have two children?"
The difference between Gao Ming and Chen Yun in cooking is that one can eat a lot and the other can cook well, so after they got married, Gao Ming usually took charge of cooking at home.
Unless he drives a sports car, Chen Yun will just eat noodles or porridge when he gets home at night.
It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
Chen Yun, who had only been married for a little over a month, perfectly embodied the essence of this statement.
"My eldest son is six years old and my youngest daughter is four and a half. They attend the primary school and kindergarten for children of employees right across from us."
Duan Yun is the most senior employee in the health center, without exception. During the period when the health center was first approved for establishment, she took on all the work except for being a doctor.
Liu Baoguo was the only doctor in the health center at the time.
I heard that Liu Baoguo personally arranged the meeting, but he was worried that Duan Yun would choose to stay when the factory moved from Beicheng to Panshui County.
"Summer vacation is almost here, right?"
The primary school and kindergarten for children of employees have winter and summer vacations. Every year, the vacation starts on January 1st and ends on February 28th.
Compared to the holidays in their previous lives, which were often accompanied by various make-up classes, the holidays for children now were truly holidays. Homework was almost negligible, and it was truly... pure play.
When the children are happy, it's a disaster for the parents.
At least when Duan Yun mentioned it, his smile faded considerably, and he sighed heavily with a bitter expression.
“My son wants to go to the mountains as soon as he has a holiday. I’m really afraid he’ll get bitten by a snake one day.”
“Snakes hibernate in winter, so it shouldn’t be a big problem for you to play around nearby.”
“His father said the same thing…” Duan Yun sighed.
"Only Dr. Ye isn't seeing any patients today." Li Hongmei stood up from the nurses' station after flipping through the register, and smiled at Li Weihong who was walking towards her: "Comrade, are you here for a checkup?"
“I’m registering for Dr. Chen’s appointment,” Li Weihong said.
The group all looked at Chen Yun.
Li Hongmei crossed out the number she had just recorded and put a checkmark next to Chen Yun's name.
"Wait two minutes, I'll finish eating." Chen Yun stood up with her lunchbox in hand, noticeably speeding up the pace at which she shoveled food into her mouth: "I was thinking this morning that you should be on your way to the hospital soon."
"Dr. Chen, please eat slowly. I'll go pay the fees and register first."
Li Weihong didn't come alone today. After Huang Xuegong nodded to Chen Yun, the couple went to the payment window to pay.
The hospital is almost deserted at noon, except for the doctors who are mostly taking a nap.
As soon as Chen Yun went up to the second floor, he immediately heard a faint sound coming from the second office.
The door wasn't closed properly, and the hushed sounds of arguing drifted out.
Fang Ping's office?
Chen Yun took a step and looked through the crack in the door.
"..."
Zheng Wen and Fang Ping...
The versions Chen Yun heard from Gao Ming and Ruan Qiu were similar: Zheng Wen and Fang Ping must have had a secret relationship.
"You have to give me an explanation, or I'll go to your partner for money."
"Anyway, I'm a grown man and I'm not afraid of gossip. If you want others to know what kind of relationship we have, then go ahead and say it."
Those gentle eyes now gleamed with a ferocious intensity, like those of a wild beast.
Zheng Wen sat facing the door, his legs propped up on his desk, looking completely relaxed, a stark contrast to Fang Ping's furious expression across from him.
"How am I supposed to live if you don't pay me back!" Fang Ping's chest heaved with anger, her tone even carrying a hint of pleading: "You know my family doesn't care about me anymore... I still need to eat and wear clothes."
Zheng Wen raised an eyebrow and said casually, "I spent all the money at home. Didn't you come and see my house back then?"
The woman was trembling with anxiety, while the man remained calm and composed, as if he had nothing to lose.
Getting that money back is probably harder than climbing to heaven.
Footsteps came from the stairwell... Chen Yun immediately looked away and darted into her office.
Knock knock knock—
After the knocking, Li Weihong and Huang Xuegong walked in one after the other.
"Please have a seat, I'll take a look at the notebook."
Li Weihong handed the booklet to Chen Yun, as if some great secret was about to be revealed, her face flushed so much that even the roots of her ears turned pink.
This is a booklet that Chen Yun drew for Li Weihong a little over a month ago.
Starting from the first day of menstruation, record the cycle until the next menstruation. It is necessary to record the menstrual period in detail, the work schedule of both husband and wife, and whether or not they had intercourse.
"..."
Chen Yun watched very carefully, occasionally calculating in her mind.
“When I was in school, my teacher once mentioned a phenomenon that often occurs between working-class couples.” Chen Yun smiled and circled the date with her pen: “The three-shift system affects the time they spend in bed together.”
"What does that mean?"
"This has to start with the female menstrual cycle. Look at these few days..." He emphasized the dates: "These are the days when women ovulate, and Comrade Huang was on the night shift on those days. Last month, the time when we had intercourse was within your safe period. Although this calculation may not be accurate, it is more in line with scientific inferences."
Chen Yun didn't expect Huang Xuehui to come along, and pushed the form towards him again: "If you want to increase your chances of getting pregnant, I suggest you change your shift."
Huang Xuegong, looking troubled, came up with a solution.
Chen Yun continued to tell Li Weihong, "I may need to do some tests on you to check the condition of your uterus... Of course, you can consider whether to do the tests or not. We can also observe the situation for a few months by adjusting the shifts as I suggested."
First, it's necessary to rule out any uterine or ovarian diseases in the woman. As for hormonal issues, we can only speculate based on general bodily signals.
"We'll investigate, we can't delay any longer!" Li Weihong hurriedly stated.
Before going to the hospital, she had tried all sorts of methods like a headless fly. Now that Chen Yun was guiding her, Li Weihong would never hesitate for a second.
"Let me check the pulse first."
Li Weihong extended her wrist, and Huang Xuegong, having made up his mind, followed suit, saying, "I'll apply for a class change and try my best to get my child enrolled this year."
The couple made an incredibly firm decision.
"..."
After taking Li Weihong's pulse, Chen Yun wrote out a test order and also prescribed some medicine to regulate the body's balance.
"I heard from Comrade Xiaoruan that Liu Qiang made things difficult for Director Chen the day we left with the wild fruit last month?" Huang Xuegong asked.
"They had a few words exchanged."
"That bastard is a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. If he dares to cause you trouble in front of me, I'll beat him until he's crying for his parents."
"It's all a misunderstanding. Once it's cleared up, everything will be fine." Chen Yun smiled and continued writing: "There are quite a few people who want to beat him up."
“He won’t be arrogant for long.” Huang Xuegong became excited as he spoke, leaning forward unconsciously: “This day will change by the end of this year at the latest. From now on, we won’t have to worry about being reported when we visit each other to exchange gifts.”
As his father was the Party Secretary, Huang Xuegong would certainly know about any policy changes earlier than ordinary employees.
But he was somewhat surprised to find that Chen Yun simply smiled and nodded.
This year is 1977, and Chen Yun knows perfectly well what major events will happen, even the specific dates.
Besides, Hu Gangtie had just expressed his feelings about this matter last night, so she wasn't the only one who knew about it.
"There are quite a few tests. I have to pay for the black and white ultrasound myself, but the others are covered by the factory's employee medical reimbursement." Chen Yun handed the paper to Li Weihong.
That old black-and-white ultrasound machine, which was discarded by the provincial hospital, really worked hard today...
The couple happily took the bill and went downstairs to pay the fee.
After finishing the patient record, Chen Yun estimated that Li Weihong had almost arrived at the examination room before slowly going downstairs.
The couple who paid the fee were still looking around at the window.
Because there was no one at the cashier's office... someone was watching two women pulling each other's hair next to the nurses' station.
"Dr. Chen, isn't that a doctor from your hospital?"
As soon as Li Weihong saw Chen Yun, she pointed to one of the men in a white coat and asked Chen Yun.
Zuo Lingling smiled and answered for Chen Yun, "It's Fang Ping." Then she pointed to another person and asked, "Who is the other woman?"
Song Shiwei...
Chen Yun silently uttered the name in her heart.
The already delicate Song Shiwei was no match for Fang Ping. Her proud long hair was pulled by Fang Ping, and she couldn't even straighten her back.
"Why were they fighting?" Zuo Lingling asked the nurses who had been in the lobby. Duan Yun shook his head: "The two fought for a long time without anyone saying a word."
The two were having a silent fight, pulling and spitting at each other, but neither of them uttered a sound.
The trigger for this "silent play"... Chen Yun quickly spotted Zheng Wen in the crowd.
That fair complexion makes her easily recognizable wherever she stands.
He stood there like an outsider, showing no extra expression regardless of whether Song Shiwei's collar was ripped open to reveal her shoulder or Fang Ping's eye was scratched.
Chen Yun: "..."
Is he the same man who loved his wife unconditionally and was willing to be mentally controlled?
"Yo!"
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared outside the crowd. Old Ma, carrying a bundle, emerged from the crowd and stopped abruptly as she passed two people fighting.
"Isn't this Comrade Song Shiwei!"
After the old woman finished speaking, she immediately glanced into the crowd and then pointed a finger at Zheng Wen, who was huddled behind the crowd: "Comrade Zheng, your wife is being beaten and you're not helping her."
If there were any sound in sight, Chen Yun felt that it would definitely be a synchronized whoosh at this moment.
Everyone looked at Zheng Wen, and Duan Yun immediately said to Chen Yun and the others, "That's Zheng Wen from the publicity department. He even took photos for our hospital."
Chen Yun cleared his throat: "How did Comrade Zheng's wife end up fighting with Doctor Fang?"
“Yes! How did they end up fighting?” Zuo Lingling chimed in.
"I remember now, just now I..." Chen Yun said in a low voice, but her statement that she "saw Zheng Wen and Fang Ping arguing in the office" made sure that everyone around heard it.
Li Weihong quickly joined the conversation: "We just ran into Comrade Zheng coming out of Dr. Fang's office when we went upstairs. My wife even said a few words to him."
“Why else could it be…” Chen Yun said.
"The two women are probably just jealous of each other," Old Ma said casually, her hands tucked into her sleeves. "In our village, anyone who steals a married man is publicly shamed and paraded through the streets. How come no one in such a big hospital cares about this?"
Liu Baoguo: "..."
"Get them separated right now. What kind of nonsense is this, making a scene in the hospital lobby?" Liu Baoguo, the person in charge, finally stepped forward, his expression becoming increasingly serious: "If they don't stop, I'll call the security department."
Once the security department takes action, the reason for the fight between the two today will be posted in writing in the announcement.
Fang Ping realized the situation was serious and tried to stop, but Song Shiwei didn't give her a chance. As soon as she let go, her face was scratched twice.
Her beautiful face, flushed red, was completely distorted, and her mind was filled with nothing but hatred.
"It's probably just some old saga from the brothel again," Old Ma commented sharply, her posture shifting back to her hands behind her back, the burden now in Ma Cuifen's hands.
"Mother, I saw Doctor Chen." Ma Cuifen saw Chen Yun standing in the innermost circle watching the commotion.
He was all smiles and very interested, chatting with others from time to time, watching more intently than anyone else.
"Whose mother is that? She's hit the nail on the head."
Every word Ma Lao Niang said hit the nail on the head, making it hard not to applaud her.
“My neighbor across the hall is Aunt Ma,” Chen Yun said with a smile.
"She's looking at you!" Zuo Lingling noticed that Grandma Ma's gaze was coming this way and finally remembered who it was: "The twins' grandmother?"
“It belongs to their family,” Chen Yun replied.
Old Ma pulled Ma Cuifen toward her, waving from a distance: "Dr. Chen, I need to talk to you."
"Is there something wrong with Comrade Zhang?" Chen Yun asked curiously.
“She’s not my daughter-in-law…” In just a few words, the mother and daughter had already walked to Chen Yun’s side and forcibly dragged her out of the crowd: “Let’s talk somewhere else.”
Chen Yun turned to look at the hall, where Zheng Wen had stepped forward...
They couldn't hear what happened next. Old Ma stuffed a bundle into Chen Yun's arms, then pressed it down on Ma Cuifen's head: "Kneel down now."
Chen Yun was so frightened that she took several steps back.
"Auntie, what's wrong?"
“Let my daughter Cuifen learn medicine from you. The gift inside the bundle is for her apprenticeship,” said Old Ma.
Still reeling from the shock, Chen Yun instinctively took a few more steps forward to support Ma Cuifen and prevent her from actually kneeling down.
With Ma Laoniang exerting force, Chen Yun could only pull the person to his side to avoid her.
“Auntie, it’s not a question of whether I’ll take Ma Cuifen as my apprentice or not, it’s that doctors at our factory hospital simply cannot take on apprentices.”
"You can't take on apprentices!" Old Ma clearly didn't believe it, and in just a few seconds she gave Chen Yun a list of which barefoot doctors in the brigade had taken on apprentices.
"Auntie, think about it yourself. Even if they took on a master, did they eventually become doctors at the brigade's health center?" Chen Yun asked.
Old Ma thought carefully, then slapped her thigh hard: "The doctors at the health center were all transferred from outside!"
"This is a new society now. If you want to become a doctor, you either have to go to medical school or participate in barefoot doctor training." Chen Yun quietly handed the bundle back to Ma Cuifen and explained to her the different ways to become a doctor by spreading her fingers.
The training of barefoot doctors is gradually decreasing this year and there is a trend of cancellation. In the future, those who want to become doctors can only rely on medical school assignments.
"First of all, to get into medical school, you need one to three years of work experience... Ma Cuifen doesn't have that, does she?"
Does Cuifen's farming at home count as farming?
"It has to be related to medical treatment. Some people apprentice under barefoot doctors, but it's probably more about gaining work experience."
"Then you should take Cuifen as your apprentice now, let her work for a few years and then take the medical school exam."
Ma's mother was quite decisive; once she made the decision, she had already planned to tighten her belt for the next few years to fully support her daughter's education.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yun sighed and shook her head regretfully: "Ma Cuifen is not an employee's immediate family member, so I have no right to let her go to the hospital to help."
Some people have opportunities right in front of them but don't cherish them, while others want to seize them but don't have the chance.
Old Lady Mao, her face gloomy, grunted in response. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she pondered something: "Then I'll go back and ask our brigade's barefoot doctor to take Cui Fen as his apprentice."
“Auntie.” Chen Yun couldn’t bear to see Ma Cuifen waste several years of her life, so she pulled Ma’s mother a few steps further down the corridor: “If you trust me, don’t let Cuifen go down the path of medical school.”
"I believe you." Old Ma looked at Chen Yun deeply and said in a deep voice, "Just tell me."
“Even if Ma Cuifen has enough work experience, there are still several hurdles to overcome. Even if she goes to medical school, she probably won't be assigned to a good unit.” Chen Yun patted Ma Cuifen on the shoulder: “Do you really want Ma Cuifen to end up being assigned back to the brigade's health center?”
“Our brigade’s health center is so dilapidated that it’s drafty everywhere. I definitely don’t want my daughter to work there.”
She wanted her daughter to have a bright future, hoping she could change her destiny and become a city dweller through her own hard work.
All that hard work only to end up back at the brigade as a doctor... wasn't that all for nothing?
"Did Ma Cuifen attend junior high school?" Chen Yun asked again.
Ma Cuifen nodded: "She studied at a vocational school for a year and a half, but then she stopped daring to go out because of a scoundrel..."
"How were the results?"
"The teachers all said that if Cuifen had lived in the past, she could definitely have gone to study in the city, and they even specially delivered books to my house."
If it weren't for Ma Cuifen's academic excellence, her mother wouldn't have been so determined to send her to medical school.
“Then study hard and wait to take the college entrance exam to apply directly to medical school,” Chen Yun said.
"..."
Old Mrs. Ma didn't know what the college entrance exam was, but Ma Cuifen's eyes suddenly lit up: "Dr. Chen, you said the same thing as our teacher!"
Ma Cuifen's vocational school teacher once told the whole class that the country would eventually reinstate the college entrance examination, and that many people would change their fate through the college entrance examination in the future.
Chen Yun only learned about future trends because of time travel, but those who remained farsighted even amidst turbulent times are truly admirable.
Hu Gangtie's old comrade-in-arms was Ma Cuifen's vocational school teacher.
"If you want to study high school material in preparation for the college entrance examination, I can help you borrow books."
"No need to borrow books." Ma Cuifen tightened her bundle, her eyes brimming with undisguised joy: "My teacher gave me a lot of books, and I brought them all!"
Chen Yun chuckled softly, overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
"If you have any questions in the future, you can come and ask me."
“I still want to go to medical school in the future.” Ma Cuifen looked at Chen Yun with bright eyes: “I want to be like Dr. Chen and become a great doctor to save people and cure diseases.”
"good!"
The little girl was dark-skinned and thin, and the most striking feature of her face was her eyes; when she smiled, her whole being became lively and charming.
"Then you go back and organize the books first. I'll come to your house tonight to see if there's anything missing."
Just because she unconditionally trusted Chen Yun without even asking when the college entrance examination would be reinstated, Chen Yun would definitely do her best to help her with this favor.
Chen Yun put his arm around Ma Cuifen's shoulder and walked into the hall.
Old Ma gasped, then rushed forward, grabbed Ma Cuifen's arm, pulled out the bundle, and stuffed it into Chen Yun's arms.
There's no reason to take back what's given away.
Chen Yun: "..."
"My mother embroidered this pillowcase herself, Dr. Chen, please accept it." Ma Cuifen whispered, then looked at her mother-in-law, "My mother embroidered your name on the pillowcase at noon, so it can't be given to anyone else later."
When Ma's mother went back home, she didn't eat lunch or drink a drop of water; she was busy embroidering Chen Yun's name on the pillowcase.
Also, because the character "蕴" was too complicated, Ma Zhigang wrote it down on paper and embroidered it stroke by stroke.
Although Chen Yun later discovered that... the character "Chen" was wrong.
"I'll get Ma Cuifen an old fountain pen later; it's also important that she writes well."
How well a student writes on their exam papers is also considered when assigning marks, especially in the Chinese language subject where it carries even greater weight.
As Chen Yun passed the toll booth, he casually placed the bundle on the table, which meant he had accepted the gift.
"They're not arguing anymore."
The crowd gathered in the hall is dispersing, and the two women involved in the incident have been separated.
Zheng Wenfu whispered something in Song Shiwei's ear, while Fang Ping, just a few steps away, was being seriously criticized by Liu Baoguo.
Chen Yun escorted Ma's mother and daughter to the entrance of the hall.
Zheng Wen turned his head away, pretending not to see. Song Shiwei had a few tears on her eyelashes and her eyes were slightly red. Her gaze towards Chen Yun was full of sorrow.
Chen Yun was speechless and choked with emotion.
The way she looked at him was like she was looking at a heartless man; anyone who didn't know better would think Chen Yun had stolen her husband.
"Director Chen, come here for a moment."
These days, Liu Baoguo has been busy dealing with employees' personal matters and is having a lot of troubles. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of Chen Yun walking by and a flash of inspiration struck him.
Chen Yun's intuition told her she shouldn't go, but how could she refuse since her superior had summoned her?
The answer is obviously no...
"Dean."
"As the director of our hospital, you not only have to manage the department's daily work, but also things like doctors getting into fights with others are within your management scope."
Chen Yun: "..."
"Dr. Fang's matter has had a very negative impact." Liu Baoguo took a deep breath, his face solemn. "I'm leaving the matter to you. Write a report on the outcome and submit it to me."
After saying that, he turned and left, taking bigger strides than anyone else.
So this mess has been dumped on her...
"Director Chen, the dean is smiling." Only Duan Yun was bold enough to expose Liu Baoguo's smile, which he couldn't hide.
"The dean dumped all the work that offends people on me." Chen Yun chose to speak directly to Fang Pingming: "Dr. Fang, do you think I should handle this, or should you handle it yourselves?"
If Chen Yun is to handle this, then the whole story must be clarified. If they are left to handle it themselves, then Fang Ping will definitely fabricate the report herself.
In any case, no matter who writes the report, it can only be a fabrication.
If any of these phrases appear in the report—cheating, not repaying loans, or catching someone in the act—the entire hospital will be publicly criticized.
I believe that Liu Baoguo, that old fox, already knew what was going on, which is why he left this mess behind.
"I'll hand this report to you before I go to work tomorrow morning." Fang Ping wiped the blood from her jaw with the back of her hand, then glanced away. "Thank you for today."
"You're welcome." Chen Yun forced a smile, and before turning to leave, he suddenly said to himself, "I heard that the welder who built the second floor didn't receive any money."
After a hearty meal and drinks yesterday, Hu Gangtie, emboldened by alcohol, launched into a tirade against Zheng Wen and his wife.
This includes an example of a welder who went to collect a debt but was falsely accused of taking on private work and almost lost his job.
A scoundrel won't target just one person!
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