Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

Liu Dong? He's a cadre, someone under the organization's control. If he does well, he can be promoted to deputy section chief in one step; if he does even better, he can become a section chief, deputy director... his path is very clear.

"Okay, okay, I saw it all, I accept your kind offer! Go get your food, don't crowd around me, the people in line behind are getting impatient!" As soon as Liu Dong finished getting his food and sat down, some enthusiastic coworkers and neighbors came over with their lunchboxes.

"Director Liu, my mom's homemade fermented soybean paste is absolutely delicious with rice! Please try some!"

"My fried peanuts are crispy! Eat them while they're hot!"

In another corner, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Jia Dongxu squeezed around a small table, their chopsticks dangling in mid-air, frequently glancing this way.

Liu Haizhong clicked his tongue: "So he's become a director...tsk tsk, surrounded by followers, so glamorous!"

"If I could be a department head, I'd walk with a swagger!"

Jia Dongxu scoffed and tapped the table with the tip of his chopsticks: "Director? The public announcement period isn't over yet, you're calling me too early!"

Yi Zhonghai, who had been eating with his head down, suddenly looked up when he heard this and asked in a low voice, "Dongxu, what are you planning?"

Jia Dongxu grinned, lowering his voice even further: "I'll report him! Tomorrow I'll go to Director Yang and expose his entire background—he fooled the leaders and cheated his way into getting the spot!"

"Foolish!" Yi Zhonghai's eyelids twitched, and he glared at him. "This foreign exchange earnings were achieved through his own hard work. Your complaint is tantamount to slapping the factory leaders in the face!"

"What should we do then?" Jia Dongxu asked dejectedly. "Should we really let him smoothly take the position?"

"If he becomes the director, who in our compound will still acknowledge you as 'Big Uncle'? Everyone will be lining up at his door to pay their respects! You, the 'boss,' will only have the title left!"

"Second Uncle, don't just stare at me—your 'second' reputation is probably fading soon."

These words struck a nerve with both of them.

Yi Zhonghai slowly finished chewing his food and wiped his mouth: "There's a meeting in the compound tonight."

Liu Haizhong was taken aback: "What kind of meeting?"

Yi Zhonghai picked up his enamel mug and took a big gulp of cool boiled water, his voice low and deep: "Voting meeting." "I understand!" Liu Haizhong slapped his thigh. "Tonight when the votes are tallied, whatever Liu Dong wants, we'll give him the same answer—no votes! Let him be humiliated in public, and let him wake up: he may hold a director's hat at the factory, but in this compound? Hmph, he's nothing! The daily necessities, who comes and goes, all depend on the whims of us old brothers!"

Yi Zhonghai grinned: "That's right, that's the idea—to put him on a lower level!"

So much free time!

Liu Dong, the director of the foreign exchange earnings office, is so bored that he's practically itching to get back to work.

In the office, a cup of strong tea, an old newspaper, and a well-worn copy of "Story Collection"—an afternoon would pass by in a flash.

Around four o'clock, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the infirmary.

A man in his early forties, his face as red as a freshly steamed crab, plopped down in front of Ding Qiunan.

"What's wrong?" Ding Qiunan asked casually.

The man didn't even lift his eyelids: "Where's Liu Dong? Call Director Liu! You? No good, your skills aren't up to par!"

Ding Qiunan almost bent the stethoscope in her hand.

What does "not up to par" mean?

She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath: "Tell me where it hurts first."

"My head hurts! It's excruciatingly painful! My body is shaking... and my phlegm is thick and yellow..."

"Cough cough cough—"

Before he could finish speaking, he coughed violently, his shoulders shaking.

Ding Qiunan picked up the stethoscope "007," listened to his back, then pried open his mouth to check his tongue coating. She slammed her hand on the table: "Just a cold. Two doses of medicine. Go home, drink plenty of water, and keep him covered in blankets. He'll be better in three days, and back to his lively self in seven or eight!"

"That won't do! I have to work tomorrow, how can I afford to take a break?"

"Besides, you can't just say you have a cold and suddenly you do!"

"My throat hurts so much that swallowing saliva feels like swallowing razor blades! I've never had this problem with colds before!"

"Summon Director Liu! Immediately! Right now!"

Ding Qiunan's temper flared up instantly: "Are you here to cause trouble? It's just a common cold, and you're specifically asking for a miracle worker? Director Liu isn't here! Take it or leave it—the hospital doors are wide open!"

The man slammed his hand on the table: "Hey! You little brat, are you trying to annoy me?"

"Fine! I'm not leaving! Let's see what you can do to me!"

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Ding Qiunan gave in: "Fine, fine, you sit tight... I'll go get Director Liu!"

She rushed upstairs, pushing open Liu Dong's office door: "Director Liu, there's an uproar downstairs! Come down immediately!"

After hearing what had happened, Liu Dong slowly put down his pen: "It's nothing—come on, watch me."

Upon seeing the figure, the man immediately jumped up from his chair: "Oh, Director Liu! I've been waiting for you! Everyone says you're incredibly skilled, even treating illnesses that foreign experts wouldn't budge on! Please take a look—this is definitely not a minor cold! This girl is just spouting nonsense!"

"My throat is burning hot!"

Liu Dong pulled up a chair and sat down: "Sore throat? Talk less. Hold out your hand."

After taking his pulse and glancing at his tongue, he already knew what was going on—it was just a common cold, not even a swollen tonsil.

His face darkened: "It's not a cold."

"Huh?" The man's eyes lit up.

"It's more serious than a cold," Liu Dong said decisively.

"Hey! That's it!" the man slapped his thigh and laughed. "I knew it! It couldn't be a cold!"

"This little girl is giving completely useless advice!"

"So...Director Liu, what exactly is wrong with me?"

Liu Dong said expressionlessly, "Chronic pharyngitis can develop into throat cancer—at most, you can only hold on for another month."

"puff--!!!"

Ding Qiunan, who was drinking water with her head down, sprayed a mouthful of tea all over his face.

The man, not even bothering to wipe his face, wiped it again, his hands trembling: "Director Liu...is it...is it really cancer?"

"Absolutely true."

"Is there... any hope?"

"Of course!" Liu Dong crossed his legs. "I, Liu Dong, am an internationally certified 'Miracle Doctor Number One.' What difficult or complicated illness is nothing to me? Two days' worth of medicine, and I guarantee you'll be as energetic as ever!"

"That's great! That's great!" The man rubbed his hands together with delight. "How much is the medicine?"

Liu Dong raised an eyelid: "Selling to foreigners, the starting price is 60,000. As for you... I'll give you a discount—6,000, no bargaining."

"Puff puff puff puff—"

Ding Qiunan's hand trembled, and the teacup fell onto the table. She laughed so hard that she squatted down and pounded the floor, her shoulders shaking.

The man paused for a few seconds, then wiped his face and said with a pained expression, "Dr. Ding... could you please stop spraying water right now?"

Ding Qiunan looked up, panting, then glanced at the man and then at Liu Dong—good heavens, the car was going too fast, and she hadn't even shifted her mind yet!

"No...no money, Director Liu...six thousand? I emptied my pockets, and I can't even scrape together six coins..."

Liu Dong shrugged: "No money? No problem—turn left when you go out, go to the Second Hospital. They charge 50 cents for registration, 20 cents for medicine, and they don't even charge for a bench. This little shabby place of ours doesn't have the equipment; we really can't treat 'serious illnesses'!"

"Sigh...sigh..."