Chapter 33.3

On the northern side of Xiaoqing Mountain, many small houses had been built, and there were people regularly patrolling the mountaintop. They had just walked through the trees without paying much attention, but now, as they walked beneath the trees, they were stopped as soon as they crossed the mountain.

When the patrollers saw who it was, they said: “Doctor Gu, why did you come this way?”

Gu Sui responded: “We just went to Qingsong Brigade.”

Guan Yue blinked and said: “I haven’t taken this path before, so I wanted to try crossing the mountain and coming back this way.”

The two patrollers laughed heartily. “The mountain paths aren’t as easy to walk as the flat ground, right?”

“Exactly.” Gu Sui agreed.

When they heard the voices, Xiao Ma walked over. “You’re back already?”

Xiao Ma knew they had gone to the Qing Song Brigade today.

“It was just delivering medicine, we didn’t stay long, so we came back quickly. What are you doing here?”

Xiao Ma replied: “Isn’t someone supposed to be coming? Director Li asked me to get ready.”

Guan Yue frowned. “Let it be this time, but after this, our reputation will grow. From now on, we’ll only accept three people a year. Let them bid against each other, and whoever offers the most can come.”

Xiao Ma scratched his head and chuckled. “I’ll report your idea to Minister Li.”

Guan Yue nodded and walked off with Gu Sui.

Xiao Ma was someone who had been personally mentored by Li Dingbang, and he was very good at reading people’s moods. He sensed that Guan Yue wasn’t joking and quickly ran back to find Director Li.

Li Dingbang slammed the table and stood up. “What? Guan Yue is upset? Who pissed her off?”

“No one upset her. Well, she frowned, maybe because there were too many people coming? She also said that from now on, there will only be three spots per year, and they’ll have to compete for them.”

“Uh-oh, uh-oh, what does the little lady want to do?”

Now that everything was set up, if Guan Yue, the key figure, suddenly decided to quit, it would cause a huge mess.

Li Dingbang couldn’t focus on his work, so he hurried to find Guan Yue. Guan Yue, however, was calm and relaxed, resting in the courtyard, lying on a chair, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Li Dingbang forced a smile. “Doctor Guan, Divine Doctor Guan, how are you feeling today?”

Guan Yue glanced at him. “Not bad.”

Li Dingbang’s heart sank. Her cold response didn’t seem like a good sign.

Finally, Li Dingbang gritted his teeth. “Please, tell me what you’re thinking. Let’s sit down and talk.”

Guan Yue’s lips curled into a smile, waiting for this very moment.

Guan Yue said: “Let’s first talk about the daily operations of the sanatorium. From now on, I’ll work every Monday. The patients you send to me must be scheduled around my availability.”

Li Dingbang asked: “What do you mean by working on Mondays? Are you saying you won’t work any other day of the week?”

Guan Yue replied: “That’s right, I won’t work.”

“Six days off? That’s really not suitable, right?” This was even more extreme than working only two hours a day.

Guan Yue calmly answered: “It’s perfectly suitable. I work one or two hours a day, and when you add it up, it’s less than ten hours a week. Isn’t working one full day on Monday the same?”

She pointed at the books on the table. “I’m not being lazy, you know. I need to set aside time to improve my medical skills.”

How could he argue when she needed time to improve her craft?

Li Dingbang pressed further. “What about the patients from Hong Kong?”

“I was just about to bring that up. The next batch of patients has already been scheduled, so that’s settled. From now on, anyone who wants to sign up to come here will have only three spots per year. We’ll hold an auction, and whoever can afford it will come for treatment.”

Li Dingbang was nearly scared out of his wits. “Only three spots a year? That’s really too few, and it’s not in our best interest, is it?”

Guan Yue grew impatient. “Fine, we’ll make it five spots. We can also allow past patients to recommend others, raising the bar. With fewer spots, we can focus on improving quality.”

“Are you serious?”

Guan Yue nodded. “I’ve thought it through carefully.”

With that one statement from Guan Yue, everything was about to change. Li Dingbang could only say: “I can’t make this decision. I’ll need to report it higher up.”

“Go ahead and report it. I’ll be waiting for your good news.” Guan Yue said.

Li Dingbang, looking like a dog chasing its tail, hurried to find Guan Yue and then hurried down the mountain the same way.

It was lunchtime, the usual break period, and Li Dingbang’s sweat-soaked face and serious expression were seen by everyone.

“I just saw it. Director Li came down from Big Qing Mountain.”

“I bet Doctor Guan is planning something.”

Deng Baishu, holding his lunchbox, said: “From my experience, Guan Yue must have made some very difficult demand. Otherwise, even Director Li, who’s usually all smiles, wouldn’t be looking so grim.”

What could possibly make Li Dingbang look so serious?

Li Dingbang returned to his office and started calling up the chain of command. Guan Yue’s actions had undoubtedly angered some short-tempered higher-ups, but there was nothing they could do about it.

The phone calls went around in circles, and by the time the afternoon passed, a decision was finally reached before nightfall: Listen to Guan Yue!

Compared to the Southwest Military District, the higher-ups in other military districts were even more furious. They had just received the first batch of good news about the wounded soldiers, and the second batch of names was already prepared. But now, Guan Yue was threatening a strike.

One day a week wasn’t quite a full strike, but it was still disruptive.

No matter how powerful they were, they couldn’t command Guan Yue. What could they do? They had no choice but to listen to her.

One of the higher-ups slammed the table. “Isn’t there anything that can control that little girl?”

Some people were closer to Guan Yue than others, and Gu Sui and Xu Hua’an were probably her closest allies. But even they couldn’t act on their own; offending anyone was bad, but offending a skilled doctor, especially one like Guan Yue, was unthinkable.

To outsiders, what seemed like an impossible situation had become a reality with Guan Yue.

The next morning, when Guan Yue went to check the first-level wards, Li Dingbang found her and followed her instructions.

Guan Yue nodded. “Once this matter is over, we’ll begin the implementation.”

After Guan Yue left, Deng Baishu asked Li Dingbang: “Minister Li, implement what?”

The people in the ward all turned to look at him. Li Dingbang glanced at everyone. “From now on, Dr. Guan’s working hours will be every Monday.”

Deng Baishu doubted if he had misunderstood. “Only one day a week? Four days a month?”

A nurse standing nearby added: “Sometimes there are five weeks in a month.”

What difference does that make?

Deng Baishu asked: “Can we all do that?”

Li Dingbang snorted. “Hmph, do you think you are Guan Yue? Get back to work, all of you!”

After Li Dingbang left, Deng Baishu clicked his tongue. “Look at that, he’s anxious.”

The patients in the ward looked at each other. They had just reported to the leadership a few days ago, and now Dr. Guan was quitting. What would happen to the next batch of brothers?

The people sent here from other military districts as the first group of wounded soldiers, coming from miles away to try their luck, were all like top soldiers. The old leadership couldn’t bear to see them discharged like this, so they quickly sent them here when the opportunity arose.

Dr. Guan was indeed remarkable. They were slowly recovering to their peak condition, but what about the other brothers coming after them?

Deng Baishu reassured them: “Don’t worry, Dr. Guan now just comes by every morning to take a look at you all. Whether she’s here or not, it doesn’t really matter.”

Of course, there was a difference between coming every day and coming once a week.

However, no matter what they thought, Guan Yue only cared about what she thought.

Guan Yue’s good days were coming, and she was feeling quite pleased with herself when something else good happened.

Cai Jin sent her another ten boxes of things, one of which had a label specifically marked: “Female Supplies.”

Wang Tiejun and the others didn’t dare to touch the boxes and went to find some female colleagues to help check them.

They were all internal staff and knew a little about the situation. Besides, this wasn’t the first time things had been sent over, so they didn’t think there was any danger.

They said they were having a few female colleagues come to check the items. They, however, started chatting away as they checked—this white dress looks nice, that black pair of pants is pretty…

They just couldn’t move on once they saw something they liked.

As it was almost time to get off work, Wang Tiejun worried that the nurses would rush in to see what was happening, so he urged them: “Could you check a little faster?”

One of the women shot him a glare. “What’s your rush? Can’t you see? The label on the back of this dress has foreign letters, it must be from a foreign brand, of course, we have to check it carefully!”

“Exactly, you’re a big man, what do you know? Stay away, what if you accidentally see something you shouldn’t?”

Wang Tiejun couldn’t control the situation and at least knew to call for backup. Xiao Ma came over, and a group of women finally managed to pack the boxes before the doctors and nurses got off work.

Wang Tiejun and the others quickly carried the boxes up the mountain.

Guan Yue was studying when they arrived. “Who sent me things again?”

“It says here, Cai Jin.”

Guan Yue responded: “Thank you for delivering them.”

“No need to thank us.” With the items delivered, Wang Tiejun and the others left.

Guan Yue opened the boxes, and there really was everything. The sizes and styles were all perfect for her.

She took a look at everything, then closed the boxes, deciding to wait until the clothes were washed before trying them on properly.

At the mountain villa, she had an enormous walk-in closet, and once inside, it was hard to want to leave.

The nurses at the sanatorium heard that Dr. Guan had received a lot of beautiful clothes again, and they were envious. Unfortunately, they hadn’t seen them for themselves.

“Hey, who do you think keeps sending things to Dr. Guan every few days?”

“I’d like to know too. Every time, the items look so expensive.”

“Yeah, and some are foreign goods. Where are they coming from?”

“I’m telling you, these kinds of good things, I’ve never seen in Beijing. They definitely aren’t from around here.”

Someone in the logistics department, who was in the know, quickly interrupted them. “You’re getting more and more ridiculous. The things Dr. Guan receives are all coming through proper channels. You can enjoy the spectacle, but don’t go around spreading rumors and causing trouble.”

“Where could we go, staying here at the sanatorium all the time?”

“We’re just talking amongst ourselves. We definitely wouldn’t dare say anything outside.”

“As long as you know.”

Dr. Guan wasn’t afraid of what others said. She wore whatever she wanted, and it was rare to see her wearing the same outfit twice. Of course, they were envious, but they knew she had the ability to be so unique.

Look at her, she didn’t even have to show up for work, and Minister Li didn’t dare do anything about it.

On his way home after work, Gu Sui had already heard many people talking about how Dr. Guan had received more good things.

When he returned home, he checked the house and the yard for boxes.

Guan Yue said: “Oh, I put them in the space. I’ll wash them tonight at the villa and enjoy them slowly.”

Gu Sui smiled and said: “They’re all saying you wear different outfits every day.”

“Who said that? In the winter, I really liked that pink coat. I wore it several times.”

He pinched her smooth, fair cheek and said: “My salary isn’t enough to buy you a few outfits.”

“Aw, feeling insecure?”

“Insecure? What am I insecure about? I’m proud, you know. I have a girlfriend, and she can support me. Who doesn’t like living off others?”

Guan Yue burst out laughing. “Comrade Gu Sui, you’ve got a good attitude!”

That evening, when she returned to the mountain villa, she immediately dried the clothes she had washed and started trying them on one by one in the fitting room.

But it wasn’t just the clothes; she had to change her jewelry and shoes too.

Most of the dresses Cai Jin sent were conservative long dresses, suitable for her to wear here without being too flashy. However, there were also a few risqué ones tucked away at the bottom of the chest, sultry and seductive.

Guan Yue was trying on a strapless little black dress, the length just above her knees. She swapped for a matching pair of high heels, applied some lipstick, and curled her hair into lazy, seductive waves.

As she admired herself in the mirror, she wondered what Cai Jin had been thinking when she picked out this dress for her.

“Knock knock knock…”

There was a knock at the door, and Gu Sui’s voice came from outside. “I tried making a cake with the oven. Want to eat some?”

“Yes, yes, bring it in!”

Gu Sui entered with a small cake in one hand, and with the other, he opened the door. When he saw his girl, wearing the black dress, her delicate arms and long legs exposed, and the sight of her chest…

The door slammed shut with a loud *bang*.

Guan Yue quickly reacted, leaning against the wall and laughing heartily, then opened the door and ran out to find Gu Sui.

At that moment, Gu Sui was standing in the living room, the small cake on the table, facing the glass wall of the living room as if in time-out.

Guan Yue deliberately ran over and hugged him from behind. “You ran away after just one glance. Did you see clearly?”

Gu Sui pulled her arms off. “Stop messing around.”

Guan Yue insisted on hugging him. “I want to mess around.”

She had many beautiful high heels, all bought for her by her mother, but she hadn’t worn them much, and wasn’t used to walking in them. Now, as she was playfully messing around with Gu Sui, she stumbled and fell with a loud *ouch*.

Luckily, Gu Sui turned around and caught her, or that fall would have been unavoidable.

Gu Sui was concerned. “Did you twist your ankle?”

Guan Yue moved her foot and grinned. “Hehe, no, I’m fine.”

Gu Sui, unable to do anything with her, simply picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, sighing. “Go wash up and get to bed early.”

The bedroom door closed, and Guan Yue kicked off her shoes, happily rolling around on the bed.

She glanced at the time. It was indeed getting late, so she needed to rest soon.

The next afternoon, the second batch of patients from Hong Kong would be arriving.

Fortunately, once this batch was sent off, she would be free.