Chapter 355: Chapter 355: Extending an Olive Branch
In normal circumstances, no one should be able to investigate these things, but now that he can produce them, he feared that he might be the only one in the world able to handle it all.
With these thoughts, he lay down on the sofa fully clothed and slowly drifted into dreams.
Early the next day, he was awakened by a knock on his door. Liu Zheng found it quite strange—recently, he didn’t know why there had been so many emergency cases, always knocking on his door just when he was in the middle of his deepest sleep.
He checked the time; it was already 6:00 in the morning. Well, since he had been woken up, he guessed that someone must have come to see him for a reason,
"Alright, I’m coming."
He answered while quickly getting himself ready before hastily opening the door. Unexpectedly, standing outside was not someone else, but Uncle Li, the village chief.
"Uncle Li, what’s the matter with you? Are you feeling unwell? Come in, I’ll examine you."
In Liu Zheng’s memory, the village chief had always been quite robust, except for a minor heart surgery a couple of years ago, which didn’t have much impact and hardly affected his life at all.
"Don’t worry, it’s not always that people come here just for medical treatment. I was taking a walk after getting up early in the morning and saw that you hadn’t opened up yet. So, I just wanted to hurry you along, get you to start business on time."
While talking, the village chief entered the clinic and casually glanced around the room.
"By the way, about that ghost rumor that was going around recently, what’s the situation now? It seems quiet these days, and there haven’t been any problems. Surely, there won’t be any more issues in the future, right?"
"Village chief, that issue has been resolved, so rest assured, it will definitely not occur in the village anymore."
"Oh, it’s been resolved? How did you manage that? Could it be, you know how to catch ghosts?"
The village chief looked at him with a somewhat peculiar expression.
He knew that Liu Zheng was an expert in treating illnesses and a Divine Doctor, but since when did he know about these things?
"Village chief, you’re teasing me. How could I possibly know about such things? Besides, those things don’t exist in this world; they’re just rumors. I found those two people, and they definitely weren’t ghosts because they were in a state of suspended animation, not truly clinically dead."
"Well, I’ll be! There are such things in this world? There’s such a thing as fake death and real death? I don’t understand all that; it seems that my knowledge is really too superficial."
"Village chief, this is just a clinical explanation in medical science, so you don’t need to know too much about it. By the way, did you come here this early in the morning just to tell me to open up the clinic for business?"
"No, that’s not the case. I have another important matter to discuss with you today. Say, Liu Zheng, hasn’t your clinic been doing quite well these days? And the villagers have been full of praise for you."
"It’s been okay. It’s all thanks to everyone’s support. Besides, most cases have been minor symptoms, nothing too challenging to solve."
"Do you plan to keep running this health center forever? Don’t you ever think of doing something else?"
Indeed, Li Yanling’s information wasn’t wrong; she really did intend to discuss the matter of the village chief candidacy with him.
Although Liu Zheng had heard the news the night before, now that the village chief had mentioned it, he could only pretend to be unaware and faced the choice anew.
"Uncle Li, you must be joking. I’ve spent my life studying medicine and treating people. Aside from that, I don’t know anything else. What kind of development could I possibly have? Honestly, if you’re talking about development, my only thought is to continue expanding our village health center. Only then can I provide the villagers with better medical facilities..."
Afterwards, the village chief looked back at the dilapidated health center. To tell the truth, it had been nearly 20 years since it was established, and there hadn’t been any significant changes in all that time.
"To speak of it is to feel ashamed. In over a decade, I’ve never focused on the basic infrastructure of the health center, including its hardware. I haven’t kept up with the times. However, I’m about to retire, so these issues will have to be left for the next village chief to solve."
"But village chief, if I may be so bold, I’d be grateful if you could mention the health center to your successor before you leave office, to recommend that they prioritize it. If there’s funding available, please ensure it’s invested in the health center first. After all, that’s essential for maintaining the well-being of the public."
"Doctor Liu, you’re someone who spends each day just treating patients; you might not understand other matters. Even if I am going to retire, I definitely cannot interfere with the work of my successor, understand? This is a matter of political principle, so I won’t just say anything. Of course, if you truly have hopes, you can always try for yourself."
"Try for myself? Hmm, how exactly should I try? Should I write a report to the next chief when he comes into office? Then let him thoroughly review it? Let me tell you, non-professionals do not give any thought to these infrastructure requirements. So, I fear that speaking up would likely just waste my energy."
"Ah, your words really hit the mark. Let me tell you, non-professionals really don’t understand what you need here. What do you need, a couple of medicine cabinets? Or maybe more medication? Honestly, we just don’t know, so if you want to accomplish this, you must take the initiative yourself."
"Take the initiative myself? What do you mean? Uncle Li, why are you speaking so oddly this morning? What are you trying to say? Can’t you speak more clearly? I’m a simple man; I don’t understand all the niceties of officialdom."
"Heh, Liu Zheng, tell me, how old are you this year?"
"Village chief, you’ve been the village chief for over a decade. You should know everyone’s age, their household situation, their family circumstances—even with your eyes closed, you could probably say it all. Don’t you know how old I am? I’m already 32 this year."
