Chapter 31: Clues from the Clinic
Seeing that Cui Min finally stopped speaking, Cui Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself: Fifth Senior Brother's sharp tongue is getting stronger and stronger, even she can't resist it.
She quickly changed the subject, saying, "Sister Chen, how about I introduce you to our clinic?"
Hearing this, Shen Qingtang nodded, naturally delighted. The original owner of this body had always regarded Renxin Medical Clinic as a golden goose that laid golden eggs, but she had never visited it in person, so she didn't know much about the specifics of Renxin Medical Clinic.
With a smile, Cui Mingyue introduced, "Our Renxin Medical Clinic is the only clinic on Changchun Street. It's been open for thirty years, serving two schools and three communities. Back then, my father was a skilled doctor, and his prices were fair. Every year, our clinic also provides free medical consultations for people over 60, so we have a great reputation and are very popular." It was clear that Cui Mingyue was very familiar with this clinic and had a deep affection for it. She recounted various interesting anecdotes that happened in the front and back halls with great interest. Finally, she glanced at Shen Qingtang with a wistful look, as if carrying some kind of expectation, and concluded, "I grew up in this clinic, and I hope Renxin Medical Clinic can continue to thrive."
Hearing this, Qi Yi couldn't help but laugh and said, "Miss Cui, you're making it sound like Renxin Medical Clinic is about to go bankrupt." He thought the other party didn't trust Shen Qingtang, so he comforted her, "Don't worry, Sister Shen will definitely make Renxin Medical Clinic great and surpass Yonghetang."
Cui Mingyue moved her lips but did not respond. Soon, a sneer came from the corner: "It's simply overestimating yourself. Yonghetang is Old Master Huang's pharmacy. Even if Renxin develops for another hundred years, it still can't compare." In this area... no, in the entire capital, who doesn't know the famous name of Old Master Huang Linli? Appointments at his Yonghetang are as hard to get as appointments at top-tier hospitals.
Therefore, in Cui Min's mind, Qi Yi's words were no different from spouting nonsense.
Qi Yi scoffed, mindful of Shen Qingtang's earlier warning glance, and muttered in a low voice, "Old Huang personally said that Sister Shen has a bright future."
Because the volume was too low, Cui Mingyue couldn't hear clearly. She could only glare at Cui Min, then awkwardly touched her nose and casually changed the subject, saying, "Sister Chen is the owner of the clinic, I trust her."
She then explained in more detail: "Our clinic, including Director Chen, now has six people in total: one apprentice and five attending physicians. Today, some are on leave and others are out seeing patients, so it's just me, my fifth senior brother, and Director Chen here." Hearing this, Shen Qingtang frowned and said, "So, including you, there are only six people now?"
Cui Mingyue nodded and said, "That's right." As if she could see Shen Qingtang's doubts, she touched her face and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, there were thirteen doctors at the beginning, but since my father died, business has not been good, and some people have left one after another, leaving only eight doctors at the clinic."
"Aren't there still three doctors on duty?" Qi Yi asked anxiously.
Cui Mingyue bit her lip and said, "We used to have them. Those three doctors were some of the best in our clinic, but they've been poached by others with big pay over the past two months."
Hearing this, Qi Yi stopped asking questions. After all, people strive for better opportunities and water flows downhill; few people would remain unmoved by a high salary.
Shen Qingtang, noticing Cui Mingyue's hesitant expression, blinked and sensed something amiss. She asked bluntly, "Is this a normal job change, or..." She paused, then continued, "Or is someone deliberately targeting me, poaching doctors from my clinic?"
Cui Mingyue's heart skipped a beat; she hadn't expected Shen Qingtang to be so perceptive. She bit her lip, a look of embarrassment on her face. She hesitated, then suddenly looked up and met Shen Qingtang's bright, clear eyes. The thought suddenly crossed her mind: "Tell her, maybe she has a solution." Just as she was about to speak, Chen Maquan suddenly appeared behind her, giving her a warning look.
That gaze was like a laser gun, instantly piercing through Cui Mingyue's thoughts. She lowered her head, pursed her lips, and dared not speak again.
When facing Shen Qingtang and Qi Yi, Chen Maquan had already put on a smiling mask and leaned slightly forward, saying, "Qingtang, I've found the accounts. Come and take a look."
Then, seemingly casually, he said, "Mingyue, hurry up and prepare the cough medicine that Aunt Zhang's youngest son wants and send it over. She just called to urge us."
Cui Mingyue responded immediately, "Director Chen, I'll go right away." With that, she turned and hurriedly went inside the pharmacy counter.
Shen Qingtang blinked, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes, but she didn't stop the other party from continuing to ask questions. Instead, she followed Chen Maquan to the back hall at a leisurely pace and stopped in an office furnished with mahogany furniture.
On the desk, the account books were neatly arranged. Chen Maquan thoughtfully turned to the first page, added tea and pastries, and said with a smile that he was busy with the opening and could not accompany them, so they could take their time to look through and check the books. He also put the doorknob on.
Qi Yi didn't like the other party's classic sly smile. He casually grabbed an account book, sat on the sofa, and started flipping through it. Unfortunately, he wasn't good with numbers, and after just one glance, he felt dizzy. Seeing Shen Qingtang studying it intently for half an hour, he couldn't help but ask, "Sister Shen, have you noticed anything wrong?"
Unlike Qi Yi's impatience, as if he were sitting on a pin, Shen Qingtang examined the ledger very carefully, turning the pages without blinking. Instead of answering Qi Yi's question, she asked, "Do you think we can find any problems with the ledger he gave us?"
Qi Yi immediately realized what was going on and said with a displeased expression, "Sister Chen, could it be that this old man gave us a fake account?"
Shen Qingtang gave a nonchalant "hmm" and quickly turned the page.
Qi Yi laughed in exasperation: "That old bastard must have secretly embezzled funds from the accounts." After saying that, he paused and said, "Sister Chen, you know his accounts are fake, so why are you looking at them so carefully?" He scratched his head, his eyes showing a puzzled look. He really didn't understand what the other party was up to.
Even though Sister Shen is the real owner of Renxin Medical Clinic, she remained calm and composed even after knowing that Chen Maquan had used false accounts to deceive her. On the other hand, he, an outsider, was already red-faced with anger.
“Prices and quantities can be faked, but category expenditures cannot be faked.” Shen Qingtang pointed to a spot and said calmly, “In the past few months, Renxin Medical Clinic has been purchasing more and more Chinese herbal medicines. At the beginning of each month, we must pay a final payment of 100,000 yuan, otherwise we will be in a situation of cash flow problems.”
Qi Yi glanced at them and found that they were all precious Chinese medicinal materials such as cordyceps, ginseng, deer antler, musk, lingzhi, snow lotus from Tianshan, and dendrobium officinale. The quality of these materials was the best, and the prices were extremely high. Strangely, the quantities used in the accounts all matched up.
Remembering what Cui Min had said earlier about the neighborhood being mostly frequented by older, regular customers, his brows furrowed even deeper. He glanced at Shen Qingtang and said, "Sister Shen, I'll go take a look next door."
The room next door is the medicinal herb storage room.
Shen Qingtang stood up and said, "Qi Yi, I'll go with you."
Although the storage room was locked with two iron locks, Shen Qingtang easily opened it with a wire. No matter how many times Qi Yi had seen this, a look of deep admiration still crossed his face.
Her eyes were filled with admiration; Sister Chen was truly amazing.
Upon entering the storage room, the two quickly began inspecting the items. Ten minutes later, Qi Yi's face had turned completely dark. Shen Qingtang, however, remained calm, her eyes showing no extra emotional fluctuations. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Just as I expected." Sure enough, all the precious Chinese medicinal herbs had been used up.
Qi Yi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "That old bastard is really too greedy. He must have secretly sold these medicinal herbs to others to line his own pocket." Not counting Chen Maquan's monthly salary and commission, he could earn 300,000 just by selling these medicinal herbs!
This is pure profit from a business that requires no investment!
Shen Qingtang blinked but remained silent, instinctively feeling that things weren't so simple. These concentrated, large-scale, and high-value purchases of Chinese medicinal herbs had only suddenly begun two or three months prior.
The morning flew by. Chen Ma knocked on the door and, without waiting for an answer, pushed it open and entered, saying, "Qingtang, have you finished looking at the accounts?" He greeted her with a smile, "It's already noon. I called all the staff over for lunch so they could get to know you and welcome you. The restaurant I found is authentic Kyoto cuisine, which everyone loves. I don't know if you'll like it."
Upon hearing this, Chen Li, who was standing beside him, chuckled and said, "She probably prefers spicy food." The original owner of this body was abducted from Chengdu, where people love spicy food. This was a subtle way of distinguishing Shen Qingtang from others.
Shen Qingtang glanced at Chen Li coolly and said, "I'm a native of Kyoto, so naturally I'm used to Kyoto cuisine. After all..." She gradually emphasized, "My roots are here."
Hearing this, Cui Mingyue, who had rushed over to urge him, almost couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. Chen Maquan was an outsider who came to Kyoto to make a living. Although Chen Li was born in Kyoto and was proud to be a Kyoto resident, his roots were definitely not here.
After calmly rebuking Chen Li, Shen Qingtang continued, "Uncle Chen, you are exceptionally capable, so there's naturally no problem with the accounts you keep."
Qi Yi retorted with a forced smile, "That's right, you won't produce the accounts even if they're problematic."
Chen Maquan seemed completely oblivious to the sarcasm in his words, and said with an unchanged smile, "It is my honor that Qingtang trusts me so much. If it weren't for your father's promotion, I wouldn't be where I am today. Even just for your father's sake, I will take good care of you. Today, you can get to know everyone. Let's go to Haoyue Hotel to eat and chat."
Shen Qingtang waved his hand and said, "Uncle Chen, I'll be taking over Renxin Medical Clinic from now on, so I should treat you to the first meal. Let's go to Haiyue Restaurant." Hearing this, Cui Mingyue was a little surprised and said, "Haiyue Restaurant? Is it the Haiyue Restaurant in Dongpu? I heard that it costs two thousand yuan per person and it's hard to get a table there."
She said with some concern, "It's mealtime now, I'm afraid we won't be able to get any food."
Cui Mingyue's voice was quite loud, which attracted the others to the back hall. Qi Yi immediately raised his head and said, "Of course we can book a room. Haiyuelou is a property of the Qin family, and they always reserve two private rooms every day."
Upon hearing this, the staff cheered, their eyes softening with friendliness and welcome as they looked at Shen Qingtang. Only Cui Min crossed her arms, her face darkening as she muttered, "Truly befitting a rich heiress, treating everyone to such an expensive meal on their first visit. I've heard Haiyue Restaurant has the freshest crabs; she can afford to treat everyone every day..."
Cui Mingyue quickly tugged at Cui Min's sleeve and whispered, "Fifth Senior Brother, please don't make things worse."
Cui bit her lip and whispered, "A bunch of ingrates, they don't deserve to eat so well."
As they were leaving, Chen Maquan's face twisted in pain. His son, Chen Li, looked puzzled and said, "Dad, why are you so unhappy? Shen Qingtang is willing to be the sucker, so we can take advantage of this."
Hearing this, Chen Maquan glared at his silly son with dissatisfaction, and finally sighed, "You don't understand anything." Originally, he wanted to introduce Shen Qingtang to everyone in the clinic as a new employee, but now the other party had changed his identity to clinic owner in just a few words.
However… a cold smile flashed in his eyes. To think that Shen Qingtang could win someone over with just one meal? She was oversimplifying things. Even if the other party wanted to take over the clinic, so what? Some things were already beyond saving.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As the old saying goes, "From small things, one can see the big picture." Often, one can glimpse the development trend or essence of things from the smallest details. In the time it took to eat a meal, Shen Qingtang discovered that Chen Tu, the senior brother Cui Mingyue mentioned, and Chen Maquan were likely on the same side.
The other man was nearly fifty years old, slightly fat and hunched, with a white beard grown early on and a face that had seen many vicissitudes of life. He looked like an experienced old Chinese doctor.
Upon seeing Shen Qingtang, he merely offered a perfunctory greeting, appearing indifferent, before engaging in a lively conversation with Chen Maquan. Judging from the behavior of the others at the table, Chen Tu was clearly the leader, possessing the highest medical skills among them. Perhaps due to this, he appeared somewhat arrogant, bordering on haughty.
Chen Maquan introduced Chen Tu and Shen Qingtang with a smile, and then looked at Chen Tu and said, "Old Chen, you have the same surname as me, so you can be considered family. Qingtang said she's going to run a clinic, so you'd better take good care of her."
Chen Tu looked Shen Qingtang up and down, and said coldly, "Beautiful women are all poisonous. I dare not take care of them." After saying that, he snorted heavily and downed the glass of wine in his hand.
Upon hearing this, Chen Maquan quickly patted her back to comfort her, saying, "Your sister-in-law betrayed you and made you a cuckold back then. That was because she was a bad person. Qingtang is actually a pretty good person." After saying that, he paused and said, "Although Qingtang wants to run a clinic, she needs to understand how a clinic operates. So I want to entrust her to you to train. Although she just got her junior TCM doctor's license and has no internship experience, her learning attitude is definitely very good."
After saying that, he raised his voice slightly, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said, "Qingtang, don't you think so?"
Cui Mingyue, who was standing to the side, lowered her head and said in a low voice with concern, "Sister Chen, you'd better not do your internship with Senior Brother. He hates pretty women the most."
Shen Qingtang's eyes darted around, as if she hadn't heard the warning, and she nodded, saying, "Yes, it's my honor to be able to learn from Doctor Chen."
Chen Tu's face darkened, his tone turned somber, and he said coldly with a look of disdain, "If it weren't for Director Chen's sake, I wouldn't have accepted you."
"Beautiful women are all a curse!"
Cui Mingyue's words were not an exaggeration. Sure enough, just as she was starting her internship that afternoon, Chen Tu started finding fault with Shen Qingtang, making sarcastic remarks about her several times, both openly and subtly.
If Shen Qingtang hadn't possessed exceptional mental fortitude, most men and women would probably have burst into tears on the spot.
At 6 p.m., Renxin Medical Clinic finally closed.
Qi Yi drove Shen Qingtang home, muttering to himself in a resentful tone, "Sister Shen, I think that Chen Tu is deliberately making things difficult for you."
“You are the owner of Renxin Medical Clinic, and he’s making things difficult for you like this? He’s incredibly audacious. If you ask me, you should probably skip it tomorrow.”
Shen Qingtang had been grinding medicine powder all afternoon, and her arms were slightly stiff. She shook her head and said, "If I don't go, that's what they'll want."
Qi Yi: "..." He pouted and said, "They say you're beholden to someone who feeds you, and that old man Chen is really shameless!"
Hearing Qi Yi's exaggerated complaints, Shen Qingtang smiled and said, "It's alright." In fact, these difficulties were nothing to her. A strange thought arose in her mind; she seemed to have encountered even more difficult situations before, and she was already used to them and knew how to deal with them.
Upon returning home, Shen Qingtang immediately spotted Qin Guanlan sitting in the center of the dining room, and her pace quickened involuntarily.
When their eyes met, they asked the same question in unison.
"Brother Qin, how was your first day at work?"
"Qingtang, how was your first day at the clinic?"
The two of them couldn't help but laugh together, which sounded like that of an old married couple, and at the same time gave the same answer: "It's okay."
Qin Guanlan's style within the group has always been decisive, efficiency-first, and meritocratic. This contrasts sharply with his father Qin Yuan's lukewarm and hesitant approach. In the past, some had harbored ulterior motives, but Qin Guanlan suppressed them all with swift and decisive measures. Now that he has returned to the company after being crippled for so long, he will naturally face some resistance. Fortunately, he also has a considerable number of loyal people who are protecting his empire, so the situation can be described as "fortunate."
Although it was a little troublesome, it's okay, I can handle it.
Upon hearing Shen Qingtang's words "It's alright," Qi Yi, who had been holding back all day, could no longer contain himself and began to fire off words like a laser gun.
"Brother Qin, don't listen to Sister Chen's nonsense. She's not well, she's been not well all day."
"Although her clinic is small, there's a big demon causing trouble. The account books are strange, and the medicines are being misappropriated. At noon, Sister Shen even took them to Haiyue Restaurant for lunch. As a result, in the afternoon, Sister Shen was assigned an extremely difficult intern mentor. Oh, and there's also a sharp-tongued man in the clinic who doesn't know how to talk nicely!"
Hearing Qi Yi's complaints, Shen Qingtang said with a wry smile, "It's not that bad."
Qin Guanlan glanced at Shen Qingtang with some concern and asked, "Do you need me to help you?" Shen Qingtang shook her head and said, "Brother Qin, no need, I can handle it myself." She rarely showed such a clear smile, and made a gesture of opening, turning and clenching her hand: "Everything is under control."
Qin Guanlan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. I believe you have the ability to handle this matter, but if it exceeds your expectations, don't hold back."
Shen Qingtang felt a warmth in her heart, as if she had drunk a cup of sweet honey water, and said, "I will." After saying that, she added, "Brother Qin, can I borrow a car from the garage? I can go to the clinic by myself from now on, without Qi Yi picking me up and dropping me off."
Qin Guanlan initially wanted to refuse, but seeing the determination in Shen Qingtang's eyes, he nodded in agreement. After the meal, he took out a square jewelry box filled with car keys and handed it to Shen Qingtang.
After careful consideration, Shen Qingtang chose the most understated and cheapest BMW.
*
One week later.
"How did she perform today?" After finishing contacting the supplier in the morning, Chen Maquan took advantage of lunchtime to call his son to a restaurant to inquire about Shen Qingtang's situation.
While eating her favorite spicy crayfish, Chen Li carefully recalled the scene from the morning and had to admit with a frown, "She was quite diligent. Old Man Chen kept making things difficult for her, either making her run errands to grind medicine or giving her several medical books to copy, but she never got angry or cried once."
Upon hearing this, Chen Maquan pursed his lips, lightly tapped the table with one hand, and frowned, saying, "I didn't expect Shen Qingtang to be such a troublesome character."
Chen Tu had been cheated on by his wife years ago, and he had always disliked beautiful women. That's why Chen Maquan deliberately arranged for Shen Qingtang to work under her as an intern. However, he did not expect that she would be so calm and obedient, working as a handyman and enduring all kinds of scolding and difficulties.
Chen Li nodded while rubbing his cheeks, saying, "Yes, and Shen Qingtang's medical records are always very detailed." This made it impossible for him to find any fault with her, leaving him feeling frustrated.
Chen Maquan rubbed his forehead, looking a bit of a headache, and said, "It seems we'll have to think of another way to get rid of her and then sell Renxin Medical Clinic to me."
Hearing this, Chen Li said, "Dad, if you can't get rid of him, then so be it. Just resign as soon as possible. Anyway, Renxin Medical Clinic will go bankrupt under Shen Qingtang's management." He curled his lip in disdain and said, "It's so small and dilapidated. Buying it would have been a loss." He muttered with his head down, "It's nowhere near as big as our clinic."
Seeing his son's self-righteous shrewdness, Chen Maquan reached out and gave him a hard slap on the back, saying, "You've really gone stupid from studying too much. If Shen Qingtang hadn't suddenly decided to run a pharmacy, this Renxin pharmacy would have been mine all along. Why would I have spent money to buy it?" Moreover, what he bought was not just a pharmacy, but the title of the "only" pharmacy on Changchun Street.
Chen Li scoffed, saying dismissively, "How can Boss Chen and Director Chen be the same? Are we Chen family destined to work for the Shen family for the rest of our lives?"
Chen Maquan twitched his lips, picked up a few crayfish with his chopsticks and stuffed them into Chen Li's mouth, saying, "Eat quickly, and go study early to get your junior TCM doctor's license, just like Shen Qingtang."
On the other side, it's lunch break time.
Cui Mingyue's eyes lit up when she saw Shen Qingtang behind the counter. She quickly walked over and whispered gratefully, "Sister Shen, thanks to the prescription you gave me yesterday for regulating menstruation, I feel much better today after drinking it. If I have any patients with menstrual pain in the future, I will recommend the prescription you gave me, and all the profits from the medicinal materials will be yours."
The doctors at the pharmacy are paid a base salary plus a commission from the sale of medicinal herbs. Cui Mingyue did this so that she could benefit the patients without taking advantage of them.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtang waved her hand calmly and said, "No need, it's just a small prescription." She had thousands of prescriptions like this in her mind, it was just a small favor.
After saying that, she pointed to the computer and said, "Can you take a look at my medical records and see if there's anything that needs to be improved?"
Cui Mingyue's gaze immediately shifted to Shen Qingtang, who was filling in the medical records on the computer one by one. She couldn't help but say, "Sister Shen, you are so meticulous. With these medical records, we doctors can also understand the basic situation of other patients."
Cui Min walked by and snorted coldly, "What a waste of time. Do you think our senior brother would treat his patients?"
This is considered an unwritten rule in the clinic, because it involves salaries. Each doctor's patients are essentially a separate source of income. If a doctor takes on someone else's patient without authorization, the nature of the problem is just as serious as poaching a client who is selling a house or car.
While this practice may cultivate a customer base, it is ultimately detrimental to the pharmacy. This is because patients will trust the doctor who treats them, rather than the specific clinic.
Cui Mingyue bit her lip and said, "Senior Brother might not be staying at Renxin Pharmacy. Maybe..." As if she suddenly remembered something, she immediately glanced at Shen Qingtang, shut her mouth, and punched Cui Min in the chest, saying, "Alright, Fifth Senior Brother, this idea is good. Don't discourage Sister Shen."
Shen Qingtang blinked and said in a calm tone, "Maybe it will come in handy in the future." She was certain that the future wouldn't be too far off.
Chen Maquan had secretly reviewed Shen Qingtang's medical records, which contained detailed information from basic details such as name, gender, home address, and phone number to recent symptoms, medical records, and prescriptions.
The blue light from the computer screen reflected on his face, suddenly making him feel a chill. With this medical record, even if he took all the doctors with him in the future, the other party would still be able to receive these patients.
He tried hard to suppress the urge to delete it with one click, because he knew that Shen Qingtang added and saved the updated version to the cloud every day. Deleting it would only alert her, aside from venting his anger.
A glint of light flashed in his eyes as he waited... waited for the perfect opportunity. An opportunity to make Shen Qingtang "make a mistake" and force her to hand over the clinic.
Half a month passed uneventfully when suddenly a luxury car pulled up outside Renxin Medical Clinic. A plump woman, estimated to weigh 200 pounds and dressed in Chanel, jiggled her fat as she rushed into the clinic, shouting, "Dr. Chen, please prescribe some antidiarrheal medicine for me!"
Because she was so fat, her facial features were all squashed together, but she still had a friendly and kind face.
It was clear that Chen Tu was very familiar with the woman in front of him. His brows were furrowed as if he wanted to crush a fly: "Mrs. Li, have you been taking diet pills again? Didn't I tell you last time that these diet pills contain hormones, which will only make your physical condition worse?"
Mrs. Li, also known as Li Tianwen, sighed helplessly and said, "Dr. Chen, I know, I know, I understand the dangers you mentioned, but I already weigh 230 pounds! My son and daughter-in-law's wedding is next month, and I have to be thin when I go out. You have no idea how that bastard Wang Po mocked me."
"Never mind." She waved her chubby hand and said, "Hurry up and write me a prescription. The air conditioning in your clinic is so weak." In the short time she had just entered the room, sweat was pouring down her forehead and her back was soaked, as if she had just been pulled out of the water.
Chen Maquan emerged from the back hall at some point and hurriedly offered her a cold drink and a small fan, saying, "Mrs. Li, don't worry, Old Chen will write the prescription right away."
Chen Tu knew the other person's situation, so he stopped trying to persuade him. He quickly finished writing, and Chen Maquan immediately took it. He turned to Shen Qingtang and said, "Qingtang, you've been interning at the clinic for half a month now. Cui Min went out to see patients today, so why don't you try to get the medicine according to this prescription?"
Mrs. Li moved closer to the air conditioner vent, and when she saw Shen Qingtang's appearance, a look of amazement flashed in her eyes. She smiled and said, "So you're still a junior apprentice." After saying that, she pretended to be serious and warned, "Don't you dare give me the wrong medicine, or I'll make sure your clinic is in big trouble."
Chen Maquan's eyes lit up, and he smiled even more broadly, saying, "Don't worry, Mrs. Li, if we prescribe the wrong medicine, our clinic won't be able to stay open."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to reader iyexxi for providing nutrient solution.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
