Chapter 90: Is It Feasible?

Ye Zhiqiu was still writing and drawing, keeping accounts. This was a new job she had taken on since coming here.

Jiang Nian definitely wouldn’t do these tedious tasks, and Ye Zhiqiu didn’t want to either, but there was no way around it. They had to be careful because they would be held responsible if they made a mistake.

The sun was shining brightly today. They ate their meal in the courtyard. Song Yanbai was also able to go outside, but he couldn’t move very well, so he couldn’t walk fast.

After finishing the accounts, Ye Zhiqiu was exhausted. “Master, I’m applying for an abacus. Also, didn’t Director Yan say that we could have two nurses? I think I can take one of the positions, but we need a financial officer more. Otherwise, we’ll spend so much time just doing these accounts.”

Chinese medicine was complicated. They set the prices themselves. Occasionally, they would have to charge less for people who were in need, or they wouldn’t charge at all for a few cents. People who liked to take advantage would also haggle over the price of medicine. After all, this was the countryside. Even though it was now a formal health center, it couldn’t compare to the ones in town in people’s minds.

This made keeping accounts even more difficult. It could be said that these accounts were impossible to keep.

Jiang Nian, who was usually calm, couldn’t help but feel flustered. She sighed helplessly. “I’ll go talk to Director Yan about this later. You can hold on for a few more days. I’ll find you an abacus later.”

In the past, she had enough money to last her a lifetime after one transaction. She threw money around like it was nothing. She had never had to worry about keeping accounts.

She didn’t understand this world. The herbs she collected from the mountains with her own skills didn’t belong to her. They belonged to the government.

She was baffled.

But her past experiences had taught her that one person couldn’t fight against a group of people. She had to go with the flow. At least she wouldn’t be wrong.

Song Yanbai saw that they had been worrying about the accounts for the past few days. He chimed in, “In your situation, you only need to keep track of the accounts for the drugs distributed from above. The prices of the herbs you collect or make yourself shouldn’t be too high. They are also used for the people. It doesn’t count as private appropriation. As long as the medicine is good and doesn’t cause any problems, you don’t need to record everything.”

“But the commune leaders said that we need to record everything clearly. Otherwise, it’s considered private appropriation of state property and is suspected of profiteering, which is a serious problem.” Ye Zhiqiu frowned.

“Profiteering refers to making profits through methods such as buying low and selling high, hoarding, and buying and reselling. Although your herbs are collected from the mountains, you also need to put in your own labor and process them. It’s the same principle as the villagers weaving straw mats. The grass grows in the fields, but it needs human labor to be turned into straw mats. So, it’s considered income from labor. It’s not illegal to exchange it for goods at the supply and marketing cooperative or in the market. You use it on patients, but you charge a small fee. This is also considered income from your own labor.”

Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes lit up. “So, that means we can do it like we did in Zhoujia Village. People who don’t want to pay can use things to offset the cost. We don’t need to keep accounts, right?”

Song Yanbai didn’t know how they did things in Zhoujia Village, but the logic was sound.

“If it’s a barter system, then it’s even less likely to be considered profiteering.” After all, it involves less money. But Jiang Nian and the others still involve some financial transactions.

“But the commune didn’t say that.”

“The same sentence can be passed on to ten people and become ten different meanings. This is also why some policies are different in different places. But the essence is correct. Whether or not it will be successful depends on your communication with the commune.”

Zhang Er looked at Song Yanbai suspiciously. “Comrade Song, have you… recovered your memory?”

He was here for amnesia treatment. It wasn’t a secret.

Song Yanbai was indeed stunned. He shook his head. “It seems… not yet.”

Because apart from his memories from the past few days, his mind was still blank about the past.

“Then how do you know all this?”

Jiang Nian explained, “Amnesia doesn’t mean you’re brainless. The knowledge you learned before hasn’t disappeared. It’s just stored in the depths of your brain’s memory. So, you still have common sense. Besides, your brain and body both have memory responses. Sometimes, trying to think about it deliberately doesn’t work. It’s only when you’re not thinking about it that it can work.”

Jiang Nian finished eating and put down her chopsticks. “I’m going to the commune now. It’s only half a month until the New Year. I’ll try to get everything sorted out before the New Year. You two should also discuss your work division. Don’t be so chaotic.”

After the New Year, the health center would have more staff. There would be more things to do, so Jiang Nian was in a hurry.

“Oh, okay.” Ye Zhiqiu suddenly remembered. “By the way, Master, I heard that people in factories get year-end bonuses and benefits for the New Year. Should we ask Director Yan for some?”

“You’re dreaming.”

Although Yan Jin seemed generous, the commune didn’t have money, and the town wasn’t very wealthy either. Some things were beyond their means.

Not to mention, Yanjiazhuang Commune had been making headlines recently. First, there was the health center, and then there was the primary school. None of these things were easy to achieve.

Some things, which seem like simple words to outsiders, actually require a lot of effort from the people who are working hard.

Yan Mu and Wang Juan had been discharged from the hospital and returned home two days ago. Even Wang Juan, who had argued with her at the police station, had asked Jiang Nian to check her injuries. It turned out that she had heard that Jiang Nian was also involved in the rescue that day, so she had come to apologize and thank her.

Yan Mu, on the other hand, didn’t say anything.

But Jiang Nian wasn’t surprised. She had seen what Yan Jin’s parents were like.

There were two reasons why she avoided Yan Jin. Besides his own self-centeredness and disregard for other people’s feelings, his parents were also a big reason. Jiang Nian didn’t want to get herself into trouble.

It just so happened that Yan Jin was at the commune, and Li Qing was there too.

This made her feel more at ease, avoiding being alone with him and causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

When Yan Jin saw Jiang Nian, his eyes lit up. He saw Li Qing running over happily. The usually introverted girl had a genuine smile on her face, with a hint of flattery. “Dr. Jiang, are you here to see my brother?”

She looked back at Yan Jin. She had completely given up on the idea of marrying him, so she started calling him “brother” behind his back. But she didn’t dare to disobey in front of her parents.

“I have a little something to ask.” Jiang Nian was pulled over by Li Qing and sat down.

Yan Jin’s smile faded a little. He knew that she avoided him when he went to see her. Why would she come here if she didn’t need anything?

“Dr. Jiang, do you need anything?”

Jiang Nian first explained her difficulties and then repeated Song Yanbai’s words. Then, she asked Yan Jin’s opinion. “I also think this is more convenient. Otherwise, we’ll spend a lot of time just keeping accounts every day, and it’s completely unnecessary. Comrade Song said this, so he must have had similar experiences. Director Yan is also a man of experience. So, I came here to ask. Is this feasible?”