Chapter 35.1

Guan Yue didn’t crave fame or fortune. What did the title of “leader of this field” even mean? She had never cared for such hollow titles.

However, Deng Weimin and all the traditional Chinese medicine practitioners at the sanatorium took the matter to heart.

After the leaders left, Deng Weimin wanted to speak with Guan Yue.

Guan Yue said: “I know what you’re going to say. Let me make it clear: the leaders were just praising me casually. Even if I had a meaningless title, it wouldn’t help you. Don’t get any delusions.”

Deng Weimin’s mind wandered to his old friends—those he had once sparred with in medicine, exchanging letters frequently when they were young. After the turmoil, some had died, others had gone their separate ways, and reconnecting was no easy task.

He had always wanted to do something for them. Now, an opportunity had presented itself, and he didn’t want to let it slip away.

Deng Weimin said: “With the leaders’ attitude, perhaps we can use this as a chance to do something else.”

“What do you want to do?” Guan Yue asked.

Deng Weimin sighed. “When my family moved to Qingchuan, I wanted to bring some older, disadvantaged tradition chinese medicine practitioners to the military hospital to settle them. But I had no influence, and the military hospital isn’t open to just anyone. I couldn’t even get my foot in the door to help them.”

Guan Yue asked: “You mean, you want to bring them to the sanatorium?”

Deng Weimin looked hopeful. “The sanatorium was set up because of you. If you… I think it could work if you’re willing.”

Guan Yue was silent for a long while, and Deng Weimin persisted: “Let’s just try. If it doesn’t work, we won’t push it. But if it does, we’ll have done a good deed.”

After a long pause, Guan Yue said: “I’ll talk to Li Dingbang.”

Li Dingbang was someone who had managed to become the Minister of Logistics, so he was certainly a smart person. Moreover, soldiers valued camaraderie, and considering Deng Weimin’s perspective, Li Dingbang might be more willing to help.

When the leaders had talked to Guan Yue earlier that day, Li Dingbang had overheard the conversation. Now, with Deng Weimin and Guan Yue coming to him to discuss the shortage of staff at the military hospital and the need to recruit more people, Li Dingbang listened carefully.

Li Dingbang said: “To be honest, I understand your intentions, but our sanatorium is small. We can’t afford to take in that many people.”

Guan Yue asked: “What if I support them?”

Li Dingbang raised an eyebrow. “How would you support them?”

Guan Yue glanced at him. “You just need to take them in. They won’t be paid by you, nor will they be fed by you. I’ll cover all their expenses.”

Guan Yue was never short of money, and now, with a group of wealthy individuals seeking her help, she was even less so.

Deng Weimin was anxious: “Minister Li, this matter is indeed a bit tricky, but it’s not impossible. Please help us preserve the foundation of our Traditional Chinese Medicine.”

“We Chinese medicine practitioners emphasize the passing down of knowledge from teacher to student. The old practitioners are all gone, and even if young people can recite medical texts from memory, it won’t do any good.”

Guan Yue smiled: “You’re talking about Deng Baishu, aren’t you?”

“How shameful! Our Deng family has so many medical books, but we have never allowed these books to reach their full potential.”

Li Dingbang thought carefully for a long time and then agreed that Deng Weimin was right. This was something that should be done, and they were capable of doing it. They could give it a try.

The military district’s sanatorium was somewhat different from other hospitals, and if they wanted to hire doctors, no one would object. Moreover, the Qingxi Village sanatorium had connections with several military districts, which made it quite influential.

Li Dingbang turned to Guan Yue: “Have you thought it through? If we do bring people in, it won’t be a small number, and the cost will definitely be considerable.”

Guan Yue sneered: “I had already thought it through before I came to see you. Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda. Spending some money on it is nothing difficult for me.”

“There’s another issue. If there are too many people, our sanatorium won’t have enough space to accommodate them.”

Guan Yue replied: “There’s plenty of space. Just keep building further inside. When there are too many doctors and not enough work, we can set up a medical school. It would be great for everyone to learn from each other and research medical techniques.”

Guan Yue had only one attitude: they would provide the people and effort, and she would provide the money.

After much deliberation, Li Dingbang finally made the decision: “Let’s do it!”

With Li Dingbang’s approval, Deng Weimin was overjoyed. He immediately returned to write letters to old friends in various places, asking about their current situations. If they needed it, they could come to the Qingxi Village sanatorium right away. If they knew anyone who was struggling, they were also welcome to come here.

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After handling the matter, Guan Yue went up to Xiaoqing Mountain to visit Master Zhao and the others.

Old Zhao asked: “Doctor Guan, how much longer do I need to be treated? I feel like I’m already completely healed.”

Guan Yue smiled and said: “It won’t be long, just wait another half month, and it should be fine.”

As for the other two or three patients with more severe conditions, they would probably need another ten days or so, but they would recover completely.

As for Xiao Huang and the others, they were already better. They had initially insisted on staying, saying they wanted to leave together with everyone. After a deep conversation with several leaders last night, they realized they had things to do and decided to leave the next day.

Xiao Huang said: “Doctor Guan, if you ever need anything, feel free to contact me. I’ll make sure to send it to you immediately.”

Guan Yue replied: “Thank you for your kindness. Right now, I don’t really need anything, but if I do, I won’t hesitate to reach out.”

“It’s no trouble at all, we’re straightforward people, no need for empty words.”

That’s just how people are. When you’re powerful and capable, the friends around you are loyal and willing to help. When you’re not as capable, everything you want to do seems to be met with obstacles.

Guan Yue gave a faint smile. “Since you’re leaving tomorrow, I wish you all a smooth journey in advance.”

They had come in a group of thirteen, and by the next morning, eight of them had left. The remaining five needed to stay for further recovery, but it wouldn’t be long. Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

When Guan Yue saw off the last group of people, Master Zhao gave her a plaque: “Take this. If you encounter anything you can’t solve later, come find me. At least in Hong Kong, I, Zhao, still have some influence.”

Guan Yue did not refuse his goodwill. “I’ll accept it. You all can head back now.”

“When are you marrying that young man? Be sure to send us an invitation when the time comes.”

Having stayed here for over twenty days, and with Gu Sui visiting Xiaoqing Mountain several times, not to mention his scheming nature, always mentioning his relationship with Guan Yue in conversations, it was clear to Old Zhao and the others what was going on.

Guan Yue smiled. “The wedding will be in two years. If we do have one, I’ll definitely send you an invitation.”

“We’ll be waiting for it. Doctor Guan, goodbye.”

Guan Yue waved her hand and watched as the car drove off.

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On her way back, she ran into Deng Weimin, who was holding a few letters.

About half a month ago, after sending out dozens of letters, the recipients had spread the news further.

The news spread quickly through the industry as it was passed along step by step. Not only Chinese medicine practitioners, but also some Western doctors facing difficult circumstances received the news from their friends, and they too wanted to go to that idyllic haven.

For Guan Yue, helping with this was simply lending a hand. For those struggling in hardship, it was undoubtedly a lifesaver.

When you’re about to drown, and someone offers you a lifeline, wouldn’t you grab it immediately?

When Deng Weimin set out to do this, he didn’t expect the news to spread so widely. Soon, letters started arriving from all over the country, thousands of them.

Deng Weimin was a little flustered. Would they be able to accommodate all these people?

Guan Yue confidently brought two large boxes down from the mountain. One box contained foreign currency that others had gifted her, and the other was filled with gold bars.

Guan Yue said: “If this isn’t enough, come find me.”

Xiao Ma was filled with envy. Doctor Guan was incredibly rich!

Li Dingbang remarked: “Alright, enough with the envy. Let’s get the buildings fixed first. With so many doctors coming, where will they stay?”

Xiao Ma suggested: “I think this time we should build a multi-story building, maybe six floors. If one isn’t enough, we’ll build another.”

“Fine, get on it quickly.” Li Dingbang agreed.

Not far from Qingxi Village, after confirming the list from the letters, Li Dingbang and the others had already begun negotiations. The doctors who had been sent to work in cow sheds and farms had started arriving, and some of them were already staying in dormitories.

The dorms could still accommodate a few people, but if more arrived, there would be no room left.

Guan Yue didn’t concern herself with these details. She had officially begun her weekly clinic schedule.

To accommodate her schedule, the people sent to the sanatorium during this period mostly arrived on Sundays. They would rest for the night upon arrival.

On Monday morning, Guan Yue would start her work, treating them, confirming their treatment plans, and then handing the cases over to Deng Weimin and his team.

This system had been running for over a month, and it was quite efficient. It ensured that the patients received effective treatment without taking up too much of Guan Yue’s time.

From Tuesday to Sunday, Guan Yue didn’t need to squeeze time to go to the sanatorium in the mornings. She had more time for studying and making medicine.

In the past month, Guan Yue had provided Li Dingbang and the others with twice as much medicine as before.

Every time Guan Yue asked them to move things from the mountain, Li Dingbang’s face would light up with a broad smile.

The higher-ups no longer criticized Guan Yue for being unreasonable.

Making medicine was a small task for Guan Yue. Most of her time was spent studying. Her progress in basic medicine was decent, but her progress in virology was quite slow.

She strongly felt that she needed a professional teacher.

Virology wasn’t a field that received much attention in the country, but foreign researchers were studying it. It was said that interest in it started after the bacteriological warfare incidents.

Guan Yue sighed: “These virus-related English terms are so long, what do they mean? I can’t even find them in the dictionary.”

Gu Sui helplessly replied: “I can’t help you with that.”

Guan Yue suddenly stood up, determined. “No, I need to find a teacher.”

Finding a teacher wasn’t easy, especially one so specialized. She could only ask Zhang Mingrui and the others to help her search slowly.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, after Zhang Mingrui and Xu Huaping, two more well-known businessmen returned from the mainland.

They didn’t hide it at all and openly admitted that they had gone across to the other side for medical treatment.

Especially Old Zhao, who made the headlines the day after he returned. The reason he was featured in the newspaper was that, during his time away from Hong Kong, his youngest son had been dragged into gambling, and Zhao had beaten him up for it.

Old Zhao himself had been involved in the underworld when he was young, but he didn’t allow his son to get involved in such things. His son was required to study hard and pursue a legitimate career.

To his surprise, his son had gone off to gamble while he was away. When Old Zhao found out, he was furious, took off his belt, and was about to beat his son.

His youngest son had been spoiled since childhood and was not the type to stand there and take a beating without running away.

Thus, father and son chased each other around, eventually running out onto the street outside the villa, where paparazzi caught them in the act.

People who knew him saw the newspaper and thought: “Isn’t this the Old Zhao who always carries a doctor with him when he goes out? Looks like he’s in good health now, chasing his son for a few kilometers and still full of energy.”