Chapter 63: Strategizing and Planning
After a few minutes’ drive, they were about to arrive at the township health center when Wu Guodong suddenly coughed up several mouthfuls of fresh blood.
The air was thick with the strong smell of blood, mixed with the stench of alcohol. Lan Mo couldn’t help but feel nauseous—this guy had actually been driving drunk, with no sense of safety at all.
The passenger bus drove straight to the entrance of Xianshui Town Health Center, the only health center in the town. Though it didn’t look very large, it was considerably bigger than the average rural clinic.
The front courtyard was a two-story brick-and-tile building, while the back courtyard consisted of a row of small, single-story houses, likely serving as the cafeteria, dormitories, bathhouse, and restrooms.
The exterior walls of the brick building were not plastered, leaving the red bricks exposed and covered in thick moss.
The old, dark perimeter walls were surrounded by several large trees, casting an eerie and unsettling shadow.
As soon as the driver opened the door, Lan Yuanzhi, wearing a raincoat, rushed out to find the doctor on duty at the health center. Since they were busy tending to the injured, Lan Mo and the others were in no hurry to get off the bus.
Lan Mo wondered if her brother’s unusual enthusiasm today was because of Factory Director Qiao.
Saving people wasn’t something Elder Brother had accomplished alone—Factory Director Qiao and the others would have several people to thank. Should she try to find a way to make Elder Brother stand out among them?
After all, Elder Brother still had to make his way in the automobile factory for the next decade or so. To succeed, he would undoubtedly need Factory Director Qiao’s support.
If Elder Brother helped Factory Director Qiao, perhaps in a good mood, he might pull some strings and prioritize Elder Brother for a two-bedroom apartment in the housing queue?
Of the two injured, Qiao Xueli had not only hit his head but also seemed to have fractured his right arm, which was swollen like a large bun. Wu Guodong’s forehead was also badly swollen, and his face was crisscrossed with bloody scratches from the shattered windshield.
When Dr. Zhu, the surgeon, examined him, he found that Wu Guodong’s sternum was neither fractured nor dislocated, though there might be some minor cracks.
Dr. Ouyang Zhiqiang, the internist, relying on his years of clinical experience, also determined that Wu Guodong’s lungs were largely unharmed.
As for why he had coughed up blood earlier, it was likely due to a perforated stomach ulcer from excessive drinking. Moreover, he had just been in a car accident and suffered a severe impact to his chest.
This Wu Guodong was truly lucky to have survived such a disaster—how could his sternum not have fractured from such a collision?
Factory Director Qiao, sitting in the back seat, was not as fortunate. Not only did he have a fractured arm, but the area near the corner of his eye and forehead was mangled and bloody, likely requiring several stitches. It was unclear how he had sustained such injuries.
Soon, Hospital Director Liao Shaokang came out with two doctors on duty, carrying a simple stretcher.
Since Factory Director Qiao had been brought to their hospital, it was natural to hand him over to their staff. Dr. Zhu and the others briefed the hospital’s doctors on the patients’ conditions.
Of the five doctors who had come, only Dr. Wang Min from the gynecology department and Lan Mo were female; the other three were male colleagues in their thirties or forties.
Dr. Wang Min, the gynecologist, was just over forty. She hadn’t brought any bedding with her because she was a local of Xianshui Town and said she would stay at her parents’ home during this period.
Liao Shaokang took their doctors to attend to the patients, while a female staff member from the hospital pharmacy walked over holding an umbrella.
“Comrades, you’ve worked hard. The Hospital Director asked me to arrange your accommodations. Please follow me.”
Each of the single-story houses in this row was dilapidated. The female comrade arranged all the male comrades on the left side. She assigned Lan Mo to a small, rundown room near the bathhouse.
As for the rooms in the middle, they were probably occupied by their own people, right?
Lan Mo carried a cotton quilt and a bucket into the room, only to find that aside from a worn-out bed about one meter wide, there was nothing else inside. The bedposts of the wooden bed were riddled with rat bites, making it a truly pitiful sight.
Knock, knock, knock! Lan Yuanzhi, carrying a large pile of belongings, knocked on Lan Mo’s door. “Momo, I’ve brought all your luggage over. Come out and get it.”
Lan Mo stepped out and pulled Elder Brother Lan Yuanzhi aside. She glanced around and whispered, “Elder Brother, are you going to take care of Factory Director Qiao now?”
“No need. Our factory director told me to go back to the city and notify his family to come over. He also asked me to call some people to help tow their car to the auto repair shop.”
Lan Mo asked, “Elder Brother, did your factory director thank you specially just now?”
Lan Yuanzhi rubbed his nose and smiled. “I wasn’t the only one there at the time. The doctors from your hospital were the ones who treated him. I just helped him up—it was nothing, really.”
“Actually, everyone should be thanking you, Younger Sister! If you hadn’t asked the driver to stop, the two cars might have collided, and we’d all be done for…”
Lan Mo waved her hand dismissively and joked, “I didn’t do much. There’s no need to thank me for this. Elder Brother, do you want to win your Factory Director Qiao’s favor?”
“Look, your factory director has a large gash near the corner of his eye. He might need three or four stitches. If his face gets scarred, his heroic image won’t hold up. He’d probably look a bit fierce…”
In her eyes, what did it matter if a man got injured and had a scar? It wasn’t like they were entering a beauty pageant.
But she still wanted to scheme a little for her elder brother. After all, a powerful connection was right in front of them—not seizing the opportunity would be foolish.
Helping her own elder brother was just a small effort, a simple gesture that didn’t require her to sacrifice anything.
“Elder Brother, you know I studied under a teacher when I was in school. The teacher gave me a few bottles of a family-recipe scar-healing ointment. Once your factory director gets his stitches removed, he can apply the scar ointment. If he uses it for half a month, I guarantee there won’t be a trace of a scar left near his eye…”
Lan Jingtian looked at Lan Mo with disbelief. His younger sister didn’t seem like the type to meddle in others’ affairs. Was she suggesting he use the ointment to bribe the factory director?
“Momo, I’m sorry you have to help me come up with plans and strategies. Honestly, I think it’s fine if we men look a bit ugly. He’s already old—why bother looking so sharp? You should keep that ointment for yourself, just in case.”
“Elder Brother, with such a great opportunity to make a good impression, don’t you want to make the most of it?”
Lan Yuanzhi thought for a moment and said, “Not for now. We just saved him together, so I shouldn’t keep hovering around him. Otherwise, he might think I’m trying to curry favor.”
“If our factory director really cares about his old face and comes to me for help, I’ll come to you to buy the ointment. He has money anyway—might as well earn it while we can.”
Someone who could become a factory director not only had skills but also more schemes than holes in a sieve. It was best to avoid such people unless necessary. If you tried to flatter them and failed, you might end up making things worse.
Lan Mo also realized that being too eager wasn’t good business—showing up uninvited was seen as currying favor. Only when he came to ask in person would he owe her a favor. She would just wait for him to come begging…
“Elder Brother, you’re right. I was mistaken! If Elder Brother ever needs anything, feel free to come find me.”
Tonight, she could take some tasty snacks to trade with the “Peerless Little Divine Doctor” for some scar-removing ointment to keep on hand. Although the medicine she refined didn’t contain Spiritual Energy like the “Little Useless in the Cultivation World,” its effects were still excellent.
“Momo, I’ll come see you when I have time. Right now, I need to hurry back. You can take your time tidying up!”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help his younger sister clean up, but as a grown man, it wasn’t appropriate for him to enter a female comrade’s room. Besides, he had to quickly finish the task the factory director had assigned him.
“Elder Brother, take this raincoat with you! I still have another one here anyway. Who knows when this rain will stop…”
Lan Yuanzhi took the raincoat and said, “Alright, I’ll head off then. Take good care of yourself. If it’s inconvenient for you to go home, just write a letter. If you need anything, I’ll send it to you.”
Taking the bus back to the city would take at least two hours, and from the station to their home, it was another ten-plus minutes on foot. If she only had one day off every half month, there was no need to rush back and forth.
“Okay, thank you, Elder Brother. You should hurry now! If you’re late, you’ll miss the bus back to the city.”
Earlier, Hospital Director Liao had sent someone to arrange accommodations for them and also notified them that they would officially start their shifts tomorrow morning.
This afternoon, they were given half a day to rest and settle in. While they had free time, they could stroll around the town and familiarize themselves with the surroundings.
Although the heavy rain had turned into a light drizzle, Lan Mo didn’t feel like buying anything and wasn’t planning to go out for now.
Rather than spending time shopping, she’d rather go into her space to plow the land and plant vegetables. She needed to quickly level up her farm to fifteen; otherwise, when the silkworm babies hatched, they’d have no mulberry leaves to eat and would starve to death.