Chapter 29: Don’t be too greedy
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
This was Zhang Fan’s first time ever riding on an airplane. He had a window seat too. However, after the fresh sensation wore off, he felt nothing but endless fatigue.
“Sir, sir, the airplane has already arrived at your destination.” Zhang Fan opened his eyes and looked around.
“Really? That was quite quick!” He also needed to transfer planes. He hurriedly grabbed his luggage, and alighted the plane.
The border province in June was incredibly hot. While Bluebird City was also hot, there was at least the sea breeze there, and rain was also common in its area. Here in the border province, the heat was just like the bottom of a heated frying pan.
The plane from Bluebird City to the border province’s capital was a large aircraft that wasn’t apt to suffer from turbulence at all. However, the plane from the border province’s capital to Chasu City was a tiny plane capable of holding only 30 or so passengers. Even the cute stewardess was replaced by a middle-aged steward.
The flight in the small airplane was incredibly turbulent. Zhang Fan felt like he was riding on a tractor from his childhood. He was incredibly tense, and felt like he had zero control over his own life or death. Riding on a small airplane made him feel like he was a patient on the operating table, feeling the fear of not being able to control one’s own life or death.
When the plane arrived at Chasu City, Batu gave Zhang Fan quite a lot of face by personally coming to pick him up. Batu was driving the Toyota Cruiser Prado that he had previously loaned to Zhang Fan. Zhang Fan had returned the car’s key to Batu before leaving for Bluebird City.
“You should be fine for the examination. You don’t need to return to Kuake City today, since the examination will be held tomorrow at Chasu City Hospital.” Batu wasn’t in a hurry to talk about his own matters quite yet, as Zhang Fan was about to take his exam tomorrow.
On the next day’s exam, nice! Zhang Fan’s exam proctor coincidentally happened to be Director Gao Shijun. Although Zhang Fan wasn’t afraid of the practical skills exam, he was still quite happy to meet someone he was familiar with. Zhang Fan ended up getting full points for the standard movements and medical case diagnosis sections of the exam. Although he didn’t do as well on the electrocardiogram and ultrasound diagnosis, this didn’t affect his overall score too much. Since this was an exam, Gao Shijun didn’t say anything to Zhang Fan, but he did make a hand gesture for Zhang Fan to call him later.
After the exam, Zhang Fan waited outside the exam area for half an hour. Director Gao then came out.
“You little brat, I haven’t seen you at all since your previous brilliant flash of light. I think you probably passed the practical skills exam, didn’t you? Your hospital must be busy?” Director Gao didn’t know about Zhang Fan going to Bluebird City to further his skills there.
“I’m sorry for not contacting you for so long, Director Gao. There should be no problem with my exam. I’ve been studying and working in Bluebird City for the past few months.”
“Ah, I see. It’s good for you to study elsewhere. If you stay too long in a tiny hospital like Kuake City Hospital, your field of vision will become limited. Come, let’s have a meal together and chat as we eat.”
“Director, I apologize, but I must fly back to Bluebird City again tomorrow. I’m sorry that I can’t have a meal with you today. I brought some dried foods from Bluebird City, though. I was going to go to your hospital to give this to you as a present.”
“Thanks, although you don’t need to next time. It’s not convenient for you to bring things over thousands of kilometers. Alright, I won’t make you stay today, then. Go ahead and busy yourself, and read as many books as you can. Wait for the written exam results to come out in October. You definitely have to pass it!”
“Okay. I have to go now, Director Gao.” Gao Shijun counted as Zhang Fan’s first teacher on his path of medicine.
Batu hadn’t returned to Kuake City last night, either. He was waiting at the hotel for Zhang Fan.
“It seems unlikely that I’ll be able to become Director of the Bureau of Public Health. Kang Hua has told me directly that the Kuake City Communist Party Committee has chosen another candidate for the position.”
“Then what will you do?”
“I’m going to have to find a politician from a bigger city to help me join a Class B hospital in another city. I really can’t stay at Kuake City Hospital any longer.” Batu was rather afraid.
Kuake City Hospital had purchased a new CT scanner, and Batu had received a significant kickback from the purchase, but after he received the money, Batu was no longer able to sleep well at night. He had taken a great deal of money for himself over the years as superintendent whenever the hospital had to construct a new building or purchase new equipment. It would become a serious problem if he didn’t leave soon.
“What can I help you with, then?” Zhang Fan was an ordinary civilian. He didn’t have any grand sense of what was right or wrong. He would simply pay back his favors and help anyone who treated him well.
“That Mrs. Wang you know, I did some research on her. Her husband is a high-ranking politician. My matter will be easy for him to deal with, all that’s needed is a single sentence from him.”
“Okay, we’ll go visit her right away. I just happened to bring some dried food back with me. Take some with you as well when you go.”
“This is no time for such a thing. I’m not in the mood. Give it all to Mrs. Wang for me.”
***
“Mrs. Wang, I brought some dried foods back from Bluebird City where I was studying at. Have a try. Watch out, though, it’s really salty. You might not like it.”
“Silly child, this is something good. You just don’t know how to cook it properly. Have you eaten yet? I’ll cook a good meal for you.” It happened to be the weekend. Wang Qian was home, and as always, her husband wasn’t home.
“I’ve eaten already, Mrs. Wang. There’s something that makes me feel awkward to ask you about, but I have to.” Zhang Fan’s face was rather flushed. This was his first time trying to use backdoor connections.
“Go ahead and tell me. Why be so reserved with me? Could it be that you’ve fallen in love with some girl and want me to help be the matchmaker?”
“Nah, it’s about our Kuake City Hospital’s superintendent. He’s really nice to me. He learned that I’ve been treating your back pain, and he wondered if you could help him change his job.”
“He’s already a hospital superintendent. Where does he want to go?” Wang Qian spoke up after thinking it over for a while in silence.
“He would like to go to a Class B hospital in a bigger city. If that won’t work, a different smaller city hospital will also work.”
“I’ll ask for you for your sake. What’s your superintendent’s name?”
“Batu.”
Wang Qian understood quite well that Zhang Fan would of course have to ask for the sake of his boss; the superintendent was the highest-ranking boss of the hospital. She went to her bedroom and closed the door before calling her husband.
“Old Jiang, you know that young Doctor Zhang who helped cure my back pain...?” Wang Qian told her husband about what Zhang Fan wanted. Her husband immediately responded as he recognized Batu’s name. “It’s too late for that Batu. His actions have already been discovered. Keep this a secret. Only tell Doctor Zhang that his boss Batu should go back and wait for the news. Batu is severely corrupt, and has stolen too much money from his own hospital. Someone has already been willing to use their real name to report him. The Communist Party Disciplinary Committee is already investigating him, and is preparing to punish him to make an example for others. You absolutely can’t tell this to anyone else.”
When Wang Qian left her bedroom, she had a rather unpleasant expression. She wasn’t angry at Zhang Fan, but rather at his boss Batu. She hadn’t known anything about him, but if she’d helped Batu out, and this was later discovered in the investigation of Batu, her husband would have been dragged down by this matter.
If only Batu had also been here, someone as smart as him would have immediately realized that things were bad for him upon seeing Wang Qian’s expression. However, Zhang Fan noticed nothing.
“Mrs. Wang, how is it? Is there any hope for him? Hmm? Your complexion looks unwell.”
“Haha, I’m alright. I didn’t sleep well last night. Go back and tell your superintendent that he should return and wait for the news.”
“Okay, Mrs. Wang. I’ll be leaving then.”
“No need to be in such a rush. You didn’t even get to eat anything with me. Take some smokes and tea back with you. But, don’t smoke too much. You’re still young.”
Zhang Fan then left Kaifa District where Wang Qian resided. Batu’s car was parked not far away.
“How were things? Is there any hope for me?”
“Mrs. Wang made a phone call, and then she said that you should go back and wait for the news. She didn’t say anything else, but she did give me some smokes and tea.”
“You little brat, you really have such good connections. What did she say on the phone?” Batu was delighted to hear this. He felt that there was hope for him to get what he wanted.
“I didn’t hear anything. She went to her bedroom to make the phone call.”
“Let’s go, then. What would you like to eat? I’ll treat you to anything you want.”
Zhang Fan needed to go back to Bluebird City tomorrow, and didn’t have much free time. After dinner, Batu handed the Toyota Cruiser Prado’s car key back to Zhang Fan. “Go ahead and use this car to do anything that you want while you’re here. When you’re done with the car, leave it at your hotel. I’ll bring it back with me when I check out of the hotel for you.”
Li Liang, Li Hui, and the others from Kuake City Hospital were also taking the practical skills exam portion of the medical license examination in Chasu City. It was certain that they were probably having fun in Chasu City after finishing their exam. Zhang Fan wanted to properly thank Li Liang as the latter had helped him with signing up for the exam. After giving Li Liang some dried foods, Zhang Fan also brought some dried foods to Kang Hua’s home. Although Kang Hua had too much of a politician’s aura around her for Zhang Fan’s tastes, she had still helped him out with the study program in Bluebird City. Luckily, she was at home since it was the weekend.
After Zhang Fan thanked everyone that he wanted to thank, he then started to prepare things to take back to Bluebird City. He purchased some local dried fruits as well as raisins. This border province area was most renowned for its beef and mutton, but he was unable to take that with him. Two large suitcases of dried foods was the limit of what the plane would allow him to take.