Chapter 41: Having His Own Clinic

Eating and chatting at the same time is indeed a wonderful idea.

Perhaps the dining table culture came into being precisely for this reason.

Whether it is for resolving conflicts, conducting business partnerships, or attending blind dates, people usually arrange a gathering around a table.

Leaving aside whether it provides any substantive help, generally speaking, it at least does not have the opposite effect.

After all, as the saying goes, those who take gifts from others feel soft-handed, and those who eat food from others feel short-tongued!

The owner and employees of the Mingdetang Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic were gathered around together at this moment, about to savor the deliciousness of Xiangtianxia Hotpot.

Ma Hui, the owner, still had to drive later, and since there were exactly five people fitting into one car, calling a designated driver was not very convenient, so naturally she could not drink alcohol.

As for the few employees at the clinic:

Huang Biao had just recovered from a cold and fever, and was not fully healed yet, so it was not advisable for him to drink.

Zhang Jing almost never touched alcohol, and Guicui had just been prescribed traditional Chinese herbal medicine, meaning she could not drink either.

That left only Wang Sen, who in theory could drink to his heart's content.

However, seeing that no one else was drinking, drinking all by himself seemed rather uninteresting, and it would make him look like he was not blending in with the group.

Therefore, it was finally decided to order only two large bottles of authentic Coconut Tree brand coconut milk.

This beverage was strongly recommended by Guicui because she had been drinking it since childhood, felt its taste was the purest, and believed it was good for skin beauty.

Although substituting beverages for alcohol, the atmosphere remained just as harmonious amidst the exchange of toasts.

As the owner, Ma Hui took the lead in raising her glass: "My dear family members, today is an unforgettable day. I am very glad to be able to gather with all of you. Let's make a toast to a better tomorrow for Mingdetang!"

Clatter, clash...

All five glasses clinked together.

After finishing the opening "drink," Ma Hui instructed Guicui to refill everyone's glasses.

Guicui then stood up and, moving like a happy little bird, shuttled among her colleagues.

After pouring the drinks, Ma Hui smiled and said to Zhang Jing, "Xiao Jing, I don't know what kind of misunderstanding there is between you and Elder Huang, but as a young person, shouldn't you be more generous and take the initiative to toast the senior?"

Without even thinking, Zhang Jing immediately stood up: "Director Huang, I toast you!"

Upon seeing this, Huang Biao felt rather embarrassed instead and fumbled as he tried to stand up.

Ma Hui smiled and said, "Old Huang, you don't need to stand up when drinking with a youngster."

"Alright, then I'll indulge in my seniority for once." Huang Biao chuckled along.

Guicui, however, sneered inwardly: You certainly don't miss any chance to pull rank on others on ordinary days!

After finishing the toast with the beverage, Zhang Jing buried his head and began scalding some vegetables to eat.

In truth, he disliked such socializing scenes, especially the back-and-forth toast-making (with drinks). In his view, it was nothing more than tedious red tape and a huge waste of time.

Zhang Jing preferred to eat his meals in a straightforward and proper manner. Of course, it was fine if he wanted to drink alcohol or beverages himself, but as long as it was done freely, without excessive coaxing or endless toasting.

After all, so-called verbal respect at a dining table could never compare to practical actions in daily life.

Ma Hui soon noticed that Zhang Jing was not very sociable at the table.

To avoid awkwardness, she asked with concern, "Xiao Jing, do you have any plans for your future work? You might as well share them now and let us hear them."

Seeing that she asked with sincerity, Zhang Jing spilled out the plan he had been pondering for a long time: "Elder Sister, I want to have my own internal medicine consulting room."

"Sure enough! There is just an empty room on the second floor, and the internet cables are already reserved. All we need is a computer, and I'll go buy one tomorrow," Ma Hui replied readily.

"Can it be set up on the first floor?"

"The first floor?" Ma Hui was stunned upon hearing this, and asked in puzzlement, "There are no empty rooms on the first floor, are there?"

Huang Biao had been holding back a bellyful of anger ever since Zhang Jing directly asked the owner for a consulting room.

Seeing that the owner had even agreed, and yet he was pushing his luck further, Huang Biao could no longer hold it in.

He sneered loudly, "Boss Ma, haven't you understood yet? Little Zhang wants my current consulting room. It's fine, it's a good thing for young people to be ambitious, I'll just give it up to him."

Knowing that Huang Biao had misunderstood, Zhang Jing quickly explained, "Director Huang, it's not like that. I want to set up the consulting room in the small medicine storage room on the first floor. Because patients' pulse conditions are easily affected right after climbing the stairs, they need to rest for quite a while, and that would waste time in vain."

Upon hearing this, Huang Biao realized it indeed made sense, and he found it hard to argue further.

Ma Hui furrowed her brows slightly: "The small medicine storage room could technically work, but there is no internet cable inside, and the window is also quite small. Xiao Jing, have you really thought this through?"

"Yes!" Zhang Jing nodded firmly.

"Alright then. Anyway, our clinic lobby already has wireless internet. How about I get you a laptop instead? I just don't know how the Wi-Fi signal is inside the small medicine storage room."

"No need, no need. I don't need a computer. I'll just write prescriptions by hand like Director Huang does. I've already communicated with Xiao Cui, and she agreed to help input them directly when charging patients," Zhang Jing quickly said.

"Right, right, right! It was something I volunteered to propose. It would be a pity if Dr. Zhang's handwriting, which is so handsome, wasn't used for writing prescriptions," Guicui chimed in to support him.

Ma Hui nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "Then there's no problem. Tomorrow, I'll call a few movers to transfer the medicine storage room to the second floor."

"Elder Sister, there's no need for that either," Wang Sen quickly stood up as well. "I've got time to spare anyway, just leave this matter to me."

Ma Hui looked at the three of them approvingly, her face filled with gratification: "Very good, very good! This is what a family should look like!"

Immediately afterward, she raised her glass once more and said solemnly, "I propose a toast to Dr. Zhang of our Mingdetang, who is about to open his own consulting room!"

Thus, the five glasses clinked together once more.

...

After eating and drinking their fill, the five members of Mingdetang headed back.

Just like on the way there, Guicui insisted on squeezing into the back seat.

According to the optimal driving route, the colleagues living in the communal dormitories reached the entrance of their residential compound first.

After the three of them got out of the car, Ma Hui continued to drive Huang Biao to the residential compound where he lived.

Before Huang Biao even reached the foot of his building, the Redmi phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

Pulling it out to check, he saw it was little Guizi.

"Uh~ hello, little Guizi, uh~ is something the matter?" Huang Biao burped and spoke slowly.

"Third Uncle, it's bad!" little Guizi's anxious voice came through the phone.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Huang Biao was startled out of his wits, stopped burping, and asked hurriedly.

"It's the medicine I got from you this morning. After I boiled it this afternoon, I drank it just once, and as a result, I've had continuous diarrhea. In less than two hours, I've already gone nearly ten times now." By the end, his voice became smaller and smaller.

"Ah?" Huang Biao gasped in shock, his mind racing at full speed: "No way, the medicine shouldn't have any problems. Did you eat something bad for dinner?"

"No, I ate at the cafeteria just like usual, and besides, my coworkers ate it too and none of them had any issues."

"Is that so!" Huang Biao sucked in a breath of cold air, pondered for a moment, and then continued, "Then it must be that your stomach and intestines are naturally weak, and you are inherently sensitive to traditional Chinese medicine. When I diagnosed you today, I also explained it to you in detail. The syndrome differentiation and prescription used are definitely without any problems."

"Third Uncle, I am definitely not doubting your intentions, but having diarrhea constantly like this is no solution either. Tell me, what should I do now? Should I continue drinking the medicine?"

Without even thinking this time, Huang Biao immediately replied, "Stop drinking the traditional Chinese medicine for now. Go to the pharmacy and buy some Xialiting first, and come back to the clinic to let me examine you again when you come to work tomorrow."
"Do I have to ask for leave to go again? The foreman already criticized me today, saying my pay will be deducted if I'm late again," little Guizi muttered.

"What? Is your Third Uncle's word no longer useful, huh? Don't worry, if your pay is really deducted, I'll make up for it, alright?" Huang Biao said sternly.

In truth, Huang Biao was not being so kind-hearted as to genuinely require him to come back for a follow-up examination to find out where the problem lay.

Rather, a flash of inspiration had suddenly struck his mind, giving him a very brilliant scheme.

One targeted entirely at Zhang Jing.