Dean Cao always felt that this Zhang Chenghui fellow performed a little too well, seemed especially fake, but after all, it was his family's private matter. As long as he didn't cause trouble in the hospital, Dean Cao couldn't be bothered to meddle.
Xiao Mandong followed Director Qi back to the internal medicine department. Director Qi didn't ask anything, didn't say a word, and led the group on their ward rounds.
He first wanted to gauge the level of the trainees and formulate a study plan based on each person's actual situation.
Actually, Director Qi should have retired long ago, but with the current shortage of medical staff in the country, the hospital asked Director Qi to train two outstanding successors before retirement. If they were promising talents, they could be directly retained and made full staff. Director Qi was sincerely dedicated to teaching them, and he also hoped to quickly cultivate suitable successors.
For each patient who came in, Director Qi would have the three of them take the pulse first, then state their conclusions, and give treatment plans based on the conditions. Over a whole morning, Director Qi discovered that this newcomer Xiao Mandong truly had great talent, and couldn't help but give her more attention.
At noon, Xiao Mandong came to Director Qi's office, intending to ask for leave. She needed to buy a bicycle and also wait for the bicycle management office to open to have it stamped with a serial number.
Just as she knocked and opened the office door, she saw the doctor who had been with Shao Tingting in the logistics department earlier that day, the one who claimed they were having a child, eating lunch with Director Qi, with a woman sitting beside him.
Director Qi introduced: "This is the new intern doctor, Comrade Xiao Mandong."
"This is my daughter, her name is Qi Yuqing, and this is my son-in-law, the head of the urology department, Zhang Chenghui. When you go for your surgical rotation, let him take you under his wing."
Xiao Mandong didn't expect that this Director Zhang was actually Director Qi's son-in-law. No wonder Shao Tingting was determined to have her expelled from the hospital.
Zhang Chenghui gave Xiao Mandong a meaningful look. His father-in-law had just been praising this woman's talent. Expelling her from the hospital was indeed a pity, but she had overheard things she shouldn't have, so she could only blame her own bad luck.
Actually, he already had a child back in his hometown, but it was a girl. He wanted to have a son.
"So you're Xiao Mandong? My dad has been singing your praises just now, saying he hasn't come across such a good prospect in years."
Qi Yuqing had a gentle, proper appearance, and spoke in a soft, mild tone. She seemed like the kind of person easy to get close to.
"Hello, Comrade Qi. Am I interrupting your meal?" Xiao Mandong explained the purpose of her visit.
"No interruption at all. I've already finished eating. You want to buy a bicycle? I can help. I work at the department store, and as it happens, a few women's 26-inch models just came in yesterday."
Xiao Mandong couldn't believe the coincidence—it was a pillow arriving just when she was about to fall asleep.
Earlier at the supply and marketing cooperative, they only had men's 28-inch bikes with the heavy crossbar, so she had kept putting off the purchase.
"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Comrade Qi."
"Just call me Sister Qing. Calling each other Comrade this and Comrade that feels so distant."
With that, she pulled Xiao Mandong along as they headed out. Zhang Chenghui quickly stood up and called out to Qi Yuqing: "Change your shoes. I have a pair of cloth flats in my lounge. You've been wearing those leather shoes all morning; your feet must be tired."
Hearing all these caring words from Zhang Chenghui, Xiao Mandong almost doubted that everything she had overheard at Shao Tingting's place that morning had been a hallucination.
"Oh, stop it, you're so fussy." It was a scolding, but the tone carried affection.
One could tell that the two of them appeared to be on wonderful terms on the surface.
Director Qi also laughed and scolded his daughter for being nearly forty and still acting like a child, saying she still needed Zhang Chenghui to worry about her.
Zhang Chenghui was somewhat anxious, wondering if this woman might start talking nonsense. But even if she did, he wouldn't admit it, and Yuqing wouldn't necessarily believe her anyway. Besides, she had no witnesses. Zhang Chenghui consoled himself.
Xiao Mandong followed Qi Yuqing for about ten-plus minutes until they reached the department store. As soon as they entered, someone greeted Qi Yuqing: "Section Chief Qi, you're here."
It was then that Xiao Mandong learned Qi Yuqing was actually the head of the personnel division at the department store.
With Qi Yuqing's help, Xiao Mandong used one bicycle coupon, thirty industrial vouchers, plus one hundred and sixty-five yuan to buy a blue Phoenix brand women's bicycle.
Although Xiao Mandong had only just met Qi Yuqing, she could tell that Qi Yuqing was a very easy person to get along with. Add to that Director Qi having helped her that day, and perhaps because of the deception she had suffered in her past life, she felt an urge to tell Qi Yuqing about what she had discovered that morning.
But without evidence, no one would believe her. Maybe she should wait. She didn't plan to interfere anyway—if she stopped Zhang Chenghui and Shao Tingting, there would be another Wang Tingting or Li Tingting, and then gathering evidence would be even harder.
Leaving the department store, she first went to the post office to mail the report letter, then went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some meat. By this time what was left was mostly lean meat. She bought some chives, found a secluded spot, and tossed everything into her spatial storage. She planned to make dumplings at home that evening. After finishing all this, she estimated the bicycle management office would be open. Xiao Mandong rode her bike over to have the serial number stamped.
Back at the hospital, she was more than half an hour late. Zhou Qiaolian started speaking with a sarcastic edge: "Must be nice to have talent—you get to be late on your very first day."
Zhou Qiaolian felt a bit resentful. Before Xiao Mandong arrived, Director Qi often praised her, but the whole morning today, Director Qi had only been complimenting this Xiao Mandong.
Xiao Mandong didn't want to get into a conflict with a colleague on her first day, especially since she had already had an argument at the hospital that morning. Constant fighting wasn't good. She just couldn't understand why so many people went out of their way to cause trouble.
Xiao Mandong sighed and tried to explain: "I did ask Director Qi for leave."
But this Zhou Qiaolian refused to let it go.
"What's so important that you need leave on your first day? The internship was announced in advance—shouldn't you have handled your personal affairs days before starting? You show up in the morning, pick a fight with the logistics department, delay our ward rounds, and then you're late in the afternoon. You have absolutely no sense of discipline."
Xiao Mandong really wanted to slap her, but this was the hospital. Would it be appropriate for her to use her hands?
"Xiao Mandong, Dean Cao wants to see you in his office."
Xiao Mandong instinctively felt this wasn't good news. She ignored Zhou Qiaolian and hurried to the dean's office.
"Pah, that divorced piece of trash, daring to compete with me for the full-time position," Zhou Qiaolian muttered hatefully under her breath.
With an anxious heart, Xiao Mandong had just reached the dean's office door when she heard arguing from inside:
"I'm telling you, this Xiao Mandong is the best prospect I've seen in years. I finally find one, and you people want to stir up trouble. What, do you want me to keep working until I'm eighty?"
Dean Cao sounded exasperated: "Old Qi, this isn't something I decide on my own. I received a report, so I have to follow procedure. I've already informed the commune today, and the commune has ordered me to temporarily suspend Comrade Xiao Mandong's internship pending investigation. What can I do? If no one had reported it, I could have pretended not to know. But now that I know, I'm obligated to report it truthfully."
