Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1424 Pilot Drug Shortage, Hidden Channels Hard to Block (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

"Be more specific?" Fang Yan took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it directly to the other person.

Upon seeing the unfamiliar foreign writing on the cigarette pack, the other person paused for a moment, examined the pack from all angles, and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, what kind of cigarettes are these? A foreign brand! Do you all smoke this in Beijing?"

"A friend brought these from Hong Kong. They're not the best, but you should try them." Fang Yan pushed the cigarette pack towards him with her fingertips.

The other person quickly waved his hand, his fingertips not even touching the cigarette pack: "Hey, no, no, just one to satisfy your craving, carrying the whole pack is too conspicuous." As he spoke, he was about to take out a cigarette and hand the cigarette pack back.

Fang Yan pressed his hand down and said with a smile, "Take it, it's nothing. I just came down from the capital and I'm completely clueless. I just want to hear the real situation. The telegram says all the right things, but I still feel uneasy. If you can give me some pointers, I can avoid some detours when I get to Lingshi. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I won't be able to explain it when I go back."

The other person's fingers twitched as he held the cigarette pack, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. He glanced at the people accompanying him, then turned his gaze back to Fang Yan: "College student, it's not that I don't want to talk about it, but this matter involves a lot of people, including fellow villagers and superiors and subordinates. If I just blurt it out, it might get back to the leaders, and I'll be in a bad position."

"Don't worry." Fang Yan lowered his voice, his tone sincere. "I'll just take this as a reference and I definitely won't tell anyone that it was you who said it. Think about it, if I go to the spirit stone without thinking and follow the old path, and the problems get out of hand, not only will it be difficult for me, but it will also be troublesome for you comrades at the grassroots level to clean up the mess, won't it?"

He paused, then added, "I know you're afraid of getting into trouble, but we're all trying to get things done so that the villagers can truly benefit. Just tell me what you can say that doesn't involve any specific people, and I'll have a general idea."

The other person was silent for a few seconds, looked down at the cigarette pack in his hand, then glanced up at Fang Yan's open and honest expression, and finally relented. He put the cigarette pack in his pocket, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Hey, you're a really honest young man. Alright, I'll just tell you what I said, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone that I told you."

Fang Yan immediately nodded: "Don't worry, I'm very tight-lipped."

The other person glanced at the connecting area between the carriages to make sure no one was paying attention before lowering their voice and saying, "Sigh, in the end, it's mainly because there are too many patients and not enough medicine, and the distribution is uneven."

Fang Yan was taken aback. Something was wrong; there was no mention of this in the telegram. Besides, Lingshi County, the pilot area, shouldn't have many liver patients, right? They've sent a lot of medicine here, even with a surplus. Could there be a problem with the health statistics below? Or has the medicine been withheld? That doesn't make sense!
Fang Yan frowned and said, "There can't be a shortage of medicine, right? I know the quantity shipped from the capital. According to the statistics of the people in the communes around Lingshi County, unless there is a problem, there shouldn't be a shortage in the pilot program."

The official smiled and said, "Well, the problem lies in this pilot program."

"Your prescription is only being piloted in a few communes around Lingshi County, and the number of slots is limited. Only eligible people in these pilot areas can apply for the medicine."

“But there are also many hepatitis patients in other communes that are further away, such as Pingyao, Jiexiu, and Yuci! They want to get treatment but don’t know how.”

"Your prescription is supposed to be a secret recipe, but it's all powdered and packaged so that you can't tell what medicine is used from the outside. You can't even get the medicine yourself according to the prescription."

He sighed and continued, "As a result, some people came up with a way to get their hands on medicine from relatives and friends who were qualified to receive it."

"Here's the problem! Some people find these 'tampered' medicines really effective; but others see absolutely no effect! Tell me, how can this situation not be chaotic? Your medicine promotion project is now a complete mess!"

“Some commune cadres, with sick family members, would use the guise of ‘coordinating pilot projects’ to obtain several extra packets of medicine, either for their own family members or to give to people with connections. Meanwhile, the people who were truly waiting for treatment had to ask for favors, wait in line, and some even had to exchange grain for medicine packets. How could the villagers feel at ease if this got out?”

The more he listened to the dialect, the more his brows furrowed. It turned out that the "everything went smoothly" in the telegram concealed so many unspoken contradictions.

Uneven distribution of medicinal materials, inaccurate diagnosis and treatment, and rent-seeking at the grassroots level are clearly loopholes in grassroots governance.

The cadre took a drag of his newly lit cigarette, letting the smoke swirl in his throat before exhaling. With a thoughtful expression, he said, "Well, actually, this isn't that difficult. The core issue is just one thing: there aren't enough medicines to go around."

“Think about it,” he said, “if the higher-ups could allocate more medicine, not only would the pilot communes in Lingshi be fully covered, but patients in surrounding counties like Pingyao and Jiexiu would also benefit. Who would still need to pull strings or find connections to smuggle medicine?” He tapped his knee with his finger and continued:
"At that time, everyone will be able to get medicine openly and honestly, and officials will not need to take more under the guise of it. Ordinary people will not have to fight or exchange for medicine, and they will feel at peace."

"As for whether it works for some people and not for others, that's a minor issue!" He waved his hand. "The villagers don't understand anything about diagnosis and treatment. As long as they can get the medicine, they're at ease. If it really doesn't work, they can always find an old Chinese medicine doctor to adjust it. It's better than not having any medicine at all now."

“You’re a college graduate from Beijing, so your words carry more weight.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice even further. “If you go back and report to your superiors that there are many patients at the grassroots level and a large shortage of medicine, and ask them to deliver more medicine and expand the pilot program, this chaotic situation will surely be straightened out.”

“When the time comes, your pilot project will be a success, the villagers will appreciate your efforts, and the grassroots cadres won’t be caught in the middle. Isn’t that a win-win situation?” he said, taking another puff of his cigarette, looking like a wise old man.

Fang Yan smiled and nodded at the cadre, saying:
"Hey, thanks for your guidance, brother. If you hadn't told me, I would have had to go through so many detours to figure it out."

As he spoke, he took out another pack of cigarettes and stuffed it into his hand.

"Here, take this pack of cigarettes too."

Seeing this, the cadre didn't refuse; on the contrary, he was quite pleased. Fang Yan was right; if he hadn't said something, it would have taken who knows how long to figure out what was going on.

He spoke in the dialect:

"I only said this because I like you. I wouldn't bother with anyone else. Your prescription is good, but the people above haven't investigated the situation at the grassroots level. This can't be rushed. If they had done more research and asked for feedback from the people below, it definitely wouldn't have turned out like this."

Fang Yan nodded and said:

"I have noted down what you said. Once I get to the Spirit Stone and understand the situation clearly, I will report it truthfully to my superiors."

At that moment, his mind began to race.

He knew in his heart that what the cadre said seemed simple, but distributing more medicine was not something that could be done in a few words.

There are also grassroots management issues involved. This person should be a middle-level leader. He is only thinking about solving the current problems and hasn't considered other aspects. There are many more things to consider regarding dialects. The entire process needs to be thought out clearly, otherwise, other problems will arise after the medicine is distributed.

It seems that the first step in getting to Lingshi is to optimize the management methods at the grassroots level.

PS: I've gained another 100 monthly votes, so I still owe you 3,000 words after finishing this chapter.

Continue tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)