The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

The hallway was very clean; the cement floor was so smooth you could see your reflection in it.

The walls were painted with a waist-high green wainscoting, with white walls above, and several slogans posted on them: "Serve the people" and "Heal the wounded and rescue the dying, practice revolutionary humanitarianism".

The logistics department is located at the very back of the first floor.

Ling Heping knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the voice of a middle-aged man from inside.

Pushing open the door, I found the office to be small, with two desks and a filing cabinet.

Behind the desk by the window sat a short, stout middle-aged man in his forties, bald, with a round face, wearing a blue Zhongshan suit, looking down at documents.

Hearing the noise, he looked up, saw Ling Heping, paused for a moment, then smiled and stood up to greet him.

"Oh, it's Comrade Ling! I recognized you as soon as I saw your height! You've finally arrived! Minister Zhang called me yesterday to say you were coming today! Please, have a seat!"

He was overly enthusiastic, his face crinkling with laughter.

This is Director Zhao, the head of the logistics department. He's a very shrewd person. Zhang Qingshan had already warned Ling Heping, and the latter had told Qi Weiwei everything.

Ling Heping smiled and shook hands with him: "Director Zhao, thank you for your trouble."

"No trouble at all!" Director Zhao waved his hands repeatedly. "Minister Zhang's friend is my friend, Old Zhao's friend! Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything!"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Qi Weiwei, sizing her up and down. A hint of amazement flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his respect: "This is..."

"This is my cousin, Ling Xiaohong," Ling Heping introduced. "She just came to the city from the countryside and is looking for a job. Minister Zhang said you need people here, so he asked me to bring her here to give it a try."

Qi Weiwei lowered her head at the opportune moment, pretending to be a little nervous, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and speaking softly:

"Hello, Director Zhao."

She deliberately wore a slightly worn floral cotton-padded jacket, her hair was styled into two braids, and she didn't apply face cream, making her look like a naive young girl who had just come from the countryside.

But in reality, she has been eating and sleeping well at Liang Bing's house these days, and her face has been replenished with collagen. Her skin is fair and rosy, and her eyes are watery. She is nothing like the haggard and sallow look she had when she was working like a slave to serve the whole family.

Director Zhao indeed mistook her for a young woman in her early twenties, and his smile became even more amiable.

"Ling Xiaohong, hmm, that's a very nice name! Comrade Ling, your cousin is really pretty!"

Ling Heping smiled but didn't respond to that. Instead, he said, "Director Zhao, my cousin has never traveled far from home. She's timid and shy. Do you think you could arrange an easier job for her?"

"Yes! Of course!" Director Zhao patted his chest confidently. "We're short-staffed right now! Comrade Xiao Ling, don't worry, your cousin will definitely be well treated here!"

He took a form from the drawer and handed it to Qi Weiwei: "Comrade Xiaoling, fill out this form first. I'll arrange an internship as a waitress for you, so you can get familiar with the environment in the sanatorium area. We'll take turns working there, and once you're officially hired, you can choose whatever position you want!"

Qi Weiwei took the form; it was a mimeographed "Staff Registration Form" that required her to fill in her name, age, place of origin, political affiliation, and so on.

She picked up the pen on the table and began to fill in the blanks.

Name: Ling Xiaohong.

Age: 22 years old.

Place of origin: A county in Shandong Province (this was a fake identity prepared for her by Zhang Qingshan).

Political affiliation: Masses.

Education level: Junior high school.

After filling it out, I handed it to Director Zhao.

Director Zhao glanced at it, nodded, then took out another work ID, affixed the photo Qi Weiwei had brought, stamped it with the official seal, and handed it to her.

"Alright, Comrade Xiao Ling, from now on, you'll be an intern service worker at our 913 Sanatorium. Your monthly salary is 28.5 yuan, including meals and accommodation. You can pick up your uniform later; your dormitory is room 203 in the women's dormitory building."

Qi Weiwei took the work permit and carefully put it in her pocket.

Ling Heping chatted with Director Zhao for a few more minutes, then asked, seemingly casually:

"By the way, Director Zhao, why is there a queue for your oxygen therapy now? I heard it's quite effective, and I'm thinking of trying it today."

Oxygen therapy is a specialty of the 913 Sanatorium, which claims to use hyperbaric oxygen chambers for treatment, with remarkable effects on heart and lung diseases.

But in reality, this thing was still a novelty in 1975, and only a few high-end sanatoriums had it.

Upon hearing this, Director Zhao winked and lowered his voice:

"There's a queue, it's a premium attraction! Seats are limited, and many people want to use it. But..."

He paused, glanced at Ling Heping, and said meaningfully, "You can also cut in line? You're Minister Zhang's friend..."

Ling Heping immediately said seriously, "It's okay, we won't cut in line, we'll follow the rules."

Director Zhao understood and gave a thumbs up: "You truly uphold principles! No wonder you're Minister Zhang's friend!"

The two chatted for a while longer, talking about everything from the food at the sanatorium to recent political studies, from which leader came to inspect the facility to which patient had passed away.

Ling Heping asked the question skillfully, getting the information he wanted without revealing his true purpose.

Qi Weiwei listened quietly from the side, silently noting down useful information.

From Director Zhao's words, she learned several key points:

First, the sanatorium does have several seriously ill patients living in the innermost special care area, which is inaccessible to ordinary people.

Secondly, a young female patient surnamed Tang recently arrived in the special care ward. She has late-stage heart disease and her condition is very bad.

Third, the patient surnamed Tang's family rarely visited. Only one middle-aged man came a few times, and each time he spoke privately with the hospital director.

Middle-aged man...

Tangqu?

Qi Weiwei sneered inwardly.

It seems that Tang Tiantian is indeed here!

Moreover, Tangqu has already taken care of things!

……

After chatting for more than half an hour, Ling Heping got up to say goodbye.

"Director Zhao, then I'll trouble you to take good care of my cousin. I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Director Zhao nodded repeatedly, "Comrade Xiao Ling is with me, there's absolutely no problem!"

Ling Heping then turned to Qi Weiwei, his tone gentle: "Xiao Hong, do your job well here and listen to Director Zhao. I'll come see you again in a few days."

"Okay, cousin," Qi Weiwei said softly, her head down.

Ling Heping is gone.

Director Zhao personally escorted him to the door and watched him drive away before turning back to Qi Weiwei and saying:

"Comrade Xiaoling, come on, I'll take you to get your work uniform and then we'll take a look at the dormitory."

Qi Weiwei followed Director Zhao and took a tour of the sanatorium.

As they walked, Director Zhao lowered his voice to give his introduction.

The sanatorium is indeed very large, divided into several areas: general sanatorium area, special care area, rehabilitation area, and logistics area.

The regular sanatorium area is for retired cadres; the conditions are quite good, with each person having their own room and a private bathroom.

The special protection area is located at the very back, in a separate building with guards at the entrance, and registration is required to enter or exit.