The next morning at seven o'clock sharp, Wan Yunting woke up.
However, being away from home, he had no time for his morning boxing and martial arts practice. After a few minutes of washing up and packing, he woke Huang Jingshan, then went to Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao's room to knock. By the time everyone was ready, it was already eight o'clock.
They all went downstairs together and headed to a breakfast stall. After eating a bowl of local marinated noodles, they saw Chen Minxue slowly approaching in a beat-up minivan.
"Good morning, Team Leader Chen! Have you had breakfast yet?" Wan Yunting called out, waving.
Chen Minxue slammed the car door shut and walked over, smiling. "I haven't yet. Here, this is the car key."
"Thanks, appreciate it."
Wan Yunting took the car key. He had asked Chen Minxue to rent this minivan to facilitate their fieldwork.
"Then, after Team Leader Chen finishes breakfast, we'll set off for Beisong Village," Wan Yunting said.
"Alright…"
Everyone chimed in. After Chen Minxue finished his breakfast, they all piled into the minivan. Although there were fourteen people in total, the van, including the driver, only had nine seats. However, the minivan had been modified, so they could squeeze in.
Huang Jingshan complained, "I say, Old Wan, it's not like we're short on money. Couldn't you have been more generous and rented two cars? This is so cramped and uncomfortable."
Sitting comfortably in the passenger seat, Wan Yunting turned his head to look at Huang Jingshan and Zhang Nong, who were forced to sit on the car floor. He chuckled, "The budget is limited. Everyone just squeeze in. The road isn't that far, we'll be there soon."
"Fine…"
Huang Jingshan couldn't be bothered to argue with him. He could only squeeze in the back with Zhang Nong and Lu Xin Jue, giving up their seats to Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao.
Driven by Chen Minxue, they headed directly to Beisong Village. It was only a few kilometers away. After passing the middle school in Qianshan Town, it was another few kilometers to Beisong Village.
Chen Minxue led Wan Yunting and the others directly to the village clinic.
The clinic was a single-story building with three rooms. The main hall was for the village doctor's consultations, while the two rooms on either side were for patients receiving IV drips and resting. It was quite decent.
In fact, Beisong Village had produced many wealthy individuals, and the village was very well-developed, having been recognized as a culturally beautiful village. Therefore, the simple equipment in the clinic was adequate, and everything they needed was available.
"Yunting, this is He Jiasheng, the doctor at the clinic."
As Chen Minxue spoke, he also briefly introduced Wan Yunting and the others to He Jiasheng.
"Hello, Doctor He. Sorry to bother you," Wan Yunting said, shaking hands with He Jiasheng and smiling politely.
"Not a bother at all, not a bother. We're delighted to welcome you," He Jiasheng said, shaking Wan Yunting's hand with visible excitement and nervousness.
Wan Yunting released his hand and surveyed the clinic, smiling. "Doctor He, your village clinic is quite spacious."
"It's alright."
He Jiasheng spoke with a strong local accent and began introducing his clinic to Wan Yunting and the others, explaining how many patients they typically saw and what kind of patients they usually were.
Generally, village clinics like this were for villagers who had colds or minor illnesses. The village doctor would treat them if possible, and if not, they would advise the patient to go directly to the town hospital.
Therefore, the village doctors at these clinics generally had average medical skills and were not equipped to handle serious cases.
"Jiasheng, how much is it?"
An elderly villager, who had just finished getting his grandson treated, took out money from his pocket and asked.
He Jiasheng apologized to Wan Yunting and then smiled at the villager. "Uncle Qiang, it will be eighty-seven yuan."
"Eighty-seven?"
The villager's eyes widened. "We just had two IV drips, why is it so much? It used to be sixty-eight yuan."
"Oh, Uncle Qiang, the prices of medicines are increasing now. I can't help it," He Jiasheng said with a look of helplessness.
The villager took out a hundred-yuan bill and placed it on the table, huffing, "I think you're just trying to build your house!"
He Jiasheng took the money to make change, forcing a bitter smile. "Uncle Qiang, what are you saying? We're all neighbors. If I truly had a choice, I wouldn't be raising prices."
"Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense. Who doesn't know your family is building a house? Hurry up and give me my change," the villager said impatiently, waving his hand.
He Jiasheng gave him the change and could only smile apologetically. The elderly villager grabbed his grandson's hand and left, muttering, "I won't come here next time…"
"Take care, Uncle Qiang."
He Jiasheng could only force a smile to see him off, but he shook his head helplessly.
Meanwhile, Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang exchanged glances and asked, "Doctor He, are medicine prices really increasing so rapidly?"
Speaking of the matter, He Jiasheng began to complain, "Not just rapidly, they're increasing almost daily!"
This statement puzzled Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang. Even Chen Minxue looked surprised. He Jiasheng continued, "Take saline solution, for example. Sodium chloride, 500ml. At the beginning of the year, it was twelve yuan. Now? It's directly increased to twenty yuan. Tell me, if I don't raise prices, how can I support my family?"
"Twenty yuan for a bottle of saline solution? That's even higher than the prices at our city hospitals."
Hearing this price, Qi Miaomiao, Huang Jingshan, and the others were shocked. Even Chen Minxue was surprised. "How is that possible? Even the drug prices in the county town aren't this high."
"When did you check?" He Jiasheng asked.
"Last month," Chen Minxue replied.
"The increase happened before this month," He Jiasheng waved his hand.
Wan Yunting frowned and asked, "Why would the prices be so high?"
"This is an order for a batch of medicine I purchased a few days ago. You can take a look at the prices." As he spoke, He Jiasheng pulled out an order for the medicine he had purchased and showed it directly to Wan Yunting and the others.
Indeed, the prices on the order were generally several yuan higher than normal. Various cold medicines, and even medical supplies like syringes, were also priced higher.
This surprised Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang. They commented, "A simple cold costs eighty to ninety yuan. This is the same price as some small clinics in our city, Huadushi."
"The key point is that this is a village clinic," Li Peiyong added.
"These pharmaceutical vendors are too greedy!" Qi Miaomiao exclaimed, glaring.
Wan Yunting turned to Chen Minxue and asked, "Team Leader Chen, are you aware of this?"
However, Chen Minxue was already frowning. He shook his head. "I'm only finding out now. I didn't expect Liu Mingde to inflate these drug prices so much. Isn't this clearly robbing the people?"
"Liu Mingde?"
Wan Yunting and the others were confused. Chen Minxue explained, "Liu Mingde is the largest pharmaceutical merchant in our Xuwen County town. You could say he supplies all the medicine to the hospitals and clinics in the towns and villages of Xuwen."
"His prices are so high, what's the difference between this and robbery?" Qi Miaomiao said indignantly.
"Exactly. Isn't there anyone in authority to manage this?" Sun Zhinan asked.
"Manage what?"
He Jiasheng complained, "Those people are all in cahoots. Otherwise, how could prices increase like this?"
Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang raised their eyebrows and looked at Chen Minxue. He nodded in agreement. "This Liu Mingde has backing! Otherwise, he wouldn't have the ability to monopolize the county town market!"
Wan Yunting said no more and continued to inquire with He Jiasheng about other aspects of the clinic, noting down what was needed. Later, they would procure and deliver the necessary hardware medical equipment and supplies for the clinic.
By eleven o'clock in the morning, Wan Yunting and his group left the clinic and drove directly to the next village, Houkeng Village.