Chang Jianyi, upon learning Gu Yanxiao's true intentions, nodded and agreed, saying, "Don't worry, I will definitely help you accomplish this. With me as a witness, I can also explain things clearly if clarification is needed."
Chang Jianyi had been considering how to repay Gu Yanxiao. When her son was trapped in the cave, the damp and cold air inside had caused him to catch a fever. It was Gu Yanxiao who brought his fever down; otherwise, it was hard to say what might have happened.
Now, Gu Yanxiao's proposed condition was simple, which made Chang Jianyi agree decisively. Was it not just a matter of being a witness?
Gu Yanxiao had also found a partner for their sham marriage: Lu Kaiwen. They had known each other for a long time. Back then, Lu Kaiwen had been stranded in the Dabie Mountains by Shen Fengren and had to hitchhike back to Yuzhou. They had met while taking a boat. Now that he was helping out of kindness, Lu Kaiwen might as well help with the sham marriage as well.
Afterward, Gu Yanxiao brought up another matter. "Madam, there is one more thing I must clarify. Earlier today, you suggested I open a hospital. After much thought, I feel I do not have the capacity for it. Moreover, hospitals are in dire need of talent, and I cannot possibly recruit so many doctors to work at this time. Therefore, I would prefer to continue operating my clinic. If I can do well with selling medicine and treating minor ailments, I will be able to support myself!"
In fact, in this era, possessing any skill was enough to support oneself. Let alone an outstanding student from a professional institution like Gu Yanxiao, some vocational school students, who had barely read many medical books, dared to sell medicine. Some even dared to produce and sell their own drugs, and these people were surprisingly popular.
When Chang Jianyi heard Gu Yanxiao say this, she thought Gu Yanxiao was employing a strategy of "retreat to advance." After all, Gu Yanxiao had laid out her difficulties, which was tantamount to seeking help. At this moment, Chang Jianyi had two choices: one was to help Gu Yanxiao solve the problem, which would consume a considerable amount of energy; the other was to pretend not to understand. Wasn't she planning to run a small clinic? Then she should just go and run her clinic.
However, Chang Jianyi was always quite magnanimous. Adhering to the principle of seeing a good deed through to the end, she replied, "Isn't it just a lack of funds and talent? I will solve it for you. Please wait a moment; I will find someone to help you with this matter. It will be very quick."
With that, Chang Jianyi went out and said to someone outside, "Go and call the head of human resources, Tu Xuhuai. Tell him there's a matter that requires consultation."
Seeing Chang Jianyi's actions, Gu Yanxiao was bewildered. She had already intended to back out. Why was the Vice City Lord suddenly so enthusiastic?
Gu Yanxiao knew nothing of the "retreat to advance" tactic. She was simply speaking the truth, feeling that she lacked the ability to open a hospital, and therefore had no desire to get involved. Running a small clinic, stocking it with common medicines, and treating minor ailments like headaches and colds was enough. There was no need to open a hospital and end up in a mess that couldn't be cleaned up.
Tu Xuhuai soon arrived in the room and asked, "Madam, is there anything I can help you with?"
Chang Jianyi gestured for Tu Xuhuai to sit down and then pointed at Gu Yanxiao, saying, "My friend here needs to open a hospital and requires support in terms of funds and talent. The funding issue is easily resolved; I will give her some money. As for talent, you need to find a way to see if some personnel can be seconded from other hospitals to form a hospital."
Upon hearing this request, Tu Xuhuai couldn't help but frown and say, "This is a time of chaos, and talent is scarce, especially the training of doctors, which takes years. All hospitals are desperately short of doctors. It will likely be impossible to second too many."
Gu Yanxiao quickly said, "Since it's difficult to second talent, let's forget about it. It's not a big deal, and there's no need to disrupt the order of other hospitals for my sake."
Chang Jianyi did not speak but sighed and shook her head.
Tu Xuhuai had initially intended to refuse a troublesome task, but seeing the Vice City Lord's disappointed expression, he immediately became agitated. He thought, "If I can't do this well, will the Vice City Lord think I'm useless? If she then whispers in the City Lord's ear, my position might be threatened?"
Indeed, intelligent people tend to overthink. At this moment, Tu Xuhuai realized the consequences of failing to complete the task. If he couldn't do it, it would be a matter of capability. If the Vice City Lord found someone else to complete the task, his position would also be threatened.
Therefore, Tu Xuhuai changed his tone and said, "Although we cannot second too many doctors, it is still possible to establish a hospital. A large hospital is out of the question, but a smaller one is fine. We can appoint experienced and qualified doctors as heads of each department and then recruit a large number of interns. This strategy is definitely viable!"
"Interns? Are interns reliable?" Chang Jianyi couldn't help but doubt when she heard Tu Xuhuai's suggestion. Filling a hospital with a large number of interns was not a joke, was it?
Tu Xuhuai quickly looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping, then explained, "Vice City Lord, you may not know this, but medical interns are different. They have many advantages, and this is basically the treatment nationwide. Medical students, once they enter a hospital, can be ordered around arbitrarily. Interns cannot refuse, otherwise, if anything is written in their internship evaluation, their graduation will be affected. Moreover, they don't need to be paid!"
"What? No salary? Who would do that?" Chang Jianyi seemed to have heard something extraordinary and began to doubt her ears. Although she was also a medical student, she had not yet participated in an internship and was not very clear about the inner workings. After hearing Tu Xuhuai's words, she immediately felt something was amiss.
Tu Xuhuai said matter-of-factly, "Vice City Lord, this is where you are not informed. For forty years, medical student internships have been like this. Hospitals at most provide room and board for interns. If the conditions are particularly good, the hospital will provide a subsidy of two hundred yuan per month. Some hospitals with poor performance don't even provide room, board, or subsidies. It has been like this for forty years, and it's still the same now."
"That's amazing. An internship opportunity allows countless students to intern at their own expense, and interns do whatever the doctors do, and they cannot resist. I've learned something new!" Chang Jianyi couldn't help but exclaim.
"Not only do they intern at their own expense, but some even pay the hospital to intern!" Tu Xuhuai felt his experience was coming in handy. It was because Chang Jianyi and Gu Yanxiao were both inexperienced and not familiar with the rules before the apocalypse, while those who had experienced it understood. Those who hadn't experienced it completely misunderstood.
"Continue speaking; we are listening!" Chang Jianyi continued to ask. Could there be even more outrageous things besides self-funded internships?
Tu Xuhuai calmly took a sip of tea and then said, "For medical students, internships are very important. Without internship experience, even graduation is a problem. If they cannot graduate, they cannot find a job. Therefore, some medical institutions collude with schools, allowing students to intern at specific units. These units provide positions for students to intern, but not for free. They charge internship fees! You only get to intern after paying!"
"Truly... amazing, truly... extraordinary!" Even Gu Yanxiao found it exaggerated at this point, not expecting such outrageous unspoken rules.
It was one thing for students to bear their own room and board for internships, which was merely working for the hospital for free for half a year. But now, there were positions that required payment to intern. It could be said that they did the work, did not have room and board covered, and had to pay an additional sum to the medical institution. Such a business would make even capitalists weep. What is called bloodsucking? This is true bloodsucking! What is called cutting leeks? This is truly cutting leeks that doesn't even spare the roots!
"That's not all. If medical institutions want to be even more disgusting, they can simply set a lot of rules. As soon as a rule is violated, they will be fined. A hundred yuan per violation. A few more violations, and the interns will simply be unable to bear it!" Tu Xuhuai continued.
Chang Jianyi and Gu Yanxiao found these unspoken rules to be preposterous. They couldn't believe such bizarre things could exist in the world, finding it simply unbelievable.
"Wait a minute, how could such outrageous rules exist? Logically, someone should have objected from the moment these internship rules were formulated, but it seems like no one is causing trouble. It's very strange!" Chang Jianyi noticed something amiss. Such rules that exploited interns should not have existed at all.
Not to mention anything else, interns are mostly in their twenties, their minds are already mature, and moreover, young people are full of vigor and are in their rebellious phase. How could they be manipulated like this? This does not align with the mindset of young people at all.
Regarding this issue, Tu Xuhuai thought carefully and then replied, "Whether these rules are reasonable depends on the era. Forty years ago, such rules were absolutely reasonable, and even considered benefits. Think about it, forty years ago, what was the value of two hundred yuan? It could guarantee a month's living expenses. These subsidies were considered benefits. At that time, interns could be assigned jobs, at the very least to township health centers. How could such rules be obstructed?"
Chang Jianyi was enlightened by Tu Xuhuai's answer. Indeed, some rules that seem outrageous now were the most reasonable rules back then. Who wouldn't complain when there was a guaranteed job? It was only later, when jobs were no longer guaranteed, that loopholes appeared in the internship system.
Of course, Chang Jianyi also noticed something even more outrageous: forty years had passed, and the internship subsidy for medical students had not increased. Two hundred yuan in a big city would probably only cover food for a week. The subsidy had completely become symbolic.
"Dr. Gu, you've heard everything. As long as you recruit interns, your hospital will be staffed. You have nothing to worry about now. I wish your hospital a smooth opening!" Chang Jianyi then said to Gu Yanxiao with a smile.
Gu Yanxiao had initially thought opening a hospital would be a difficult task, with issues of funding, talent, and technical expertise that she couldn't solve. She felt it would be better to open a small clinic, as it wouldn't lead to major problems. However, after hearing about these unspoken rules, Gu Yanxiao suddenly realized that in the apocalypse, making money could also be very simple. As long as one understood the rules, one could make money and gain fame.
"Then I'll give it a try. However, the treatment for interns is too miserable. I plan to improve their benefits; we can't let them work at a loss," Gu Yanxiao quickly said.
Seeing that he had perfectly resolved the task assigned by the Vice City Lord, Tu Xuhuai finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his capabilities would not be questioned. As for how the hospital would turn out later, that remained to be seen.
In reality, the unspoken rules of the medical system could be discussed for three days and three nights. They were deeply rooted, and those outside the industry wouldn't know how deep the water was. Only those within it could understand what the unspoken rules of the medical system were like. To change them, one would have to touch the very foundation.