Chapter 236: 236 Best of both worlds
Yang Yuansheng's problem couldn't be rushed. It could only be dealt with gradually.
So, after arranging everything, Du Heng went to his office.
Passing by Lu Zhongjiang's office, he saw that Lu Zhongjiang hadn't gone out today. Instead, he was in his office organizing his things.
"Secretary Lu, have you completed your task?" Du Heng walked into the office with a smile.
Lu Zhongjiang stopped his work, looked back, and said, "Dean, why didn't you go out either? Have you finished your tasks?"
"Only one left. He's now hospitalized in our Health Clinic. When he's better, my task will be completed too."
"I can't. The person I'm assisting... ah, never mind." Lu Zhongjiang sighed, picked up a small booklet from his desk, and walked over to Du Heng. "Dean, take a look at this. The booklet you asked for is done."
Du Heng was interested. He took the booklet from Lu Zhongjiang's hand and began to read it.
The more he looked through it, the more satisfied Du Heng became.
It not only included the text written by Du Heng and Yu Haiting but also featured pictures of various medicines. The indications and contraindications for each medicine were boldly highlighted, making them very eye-catching.
"How much does it cost?"
"For this version, if you print 1,000 copies, it's 3.7 yuan each. For 5,000 copies, it's 3 yuan each. For more than 10,000 copies, it's 2.1 yuan each."
Du Heng frowned. "So expensive?"
Lu Zhongjiang explained, "I chose better paper, and with the addition of pictures, the cost is higher."
"Is there a cheaper option?"
"Yes, with slightly lower-quality paper—thinner and a smaller size. For ten thousand copies, it's 1.6 yuan each."
"Do you have a sample?"
Lu Zhongjiang got up to get it from his desk. "Yes, I'll fetch it."
Du Heng compared the two booklets. The first one was much better in both texture and visual appearance. However, the cost was indeed a bit high, making it difficult for him to justify.
Lu Zhongjiang disagreed with using the Health Clinic's money, so the only funds available were those allocated by Song Jiaying.
But it's not enough. Can I really pay for this myself?
Soon, Du Heng rejected the idea.
If I weren't the Dean of the Health Clinic, I would have paid for it myself. But given my current position, paying for this out of my own pocket would undoubtedly make it seem like I'm trying to stand out. Not good. I can't do it!
In the end, with some reluctance, Du Heng put down the more expensive sample. "Secretary Lu, let's just use this one."
Lu Zhongjiang nodded. "How many copies should we print?"
Du Heng thought for a moment. "Just print 10,000."
"But there aren't that many households in Central Lake. Isn't 10,000 copies too many?"
"According to the price quote, there's not much difference in cost between printing 10,000 and 5,000 copies. We might as well print more."
"So, what about the cost...?"
Du Heng hesitated briefly. "You don't need to worry about that. It's just several thousand yuan. I'll figure something out."
With Du Heng's reassurance, Lu Zhongjiang finally felt at ease and picked up the two sample booklets Du Heng had set down.
Since Lu Zhongjiang was there today, Wu Buwei told him about the incident from yesterday afternoon, hoping to get some reliable advice from the seasoned veteran.
After listening, Lu Zhongjiang also fell silent for a while before saying, "This isn't easy to handle. If it's true, as you said, that they've all acquired such substandard medicine ingredients, we still aren't authorized to investigate them."
Du Heng was also troubled by this point.
Lu Zhongjiang's eyes shifted as a thought occurred to him. "Dean, why don't we report it directly to the Bureau and let them deal with the headache?"
To his surprise, Du Heng shook his head. "I had that thought yesterday, but I don't think it's a good idea. Much of our work relies on the cooperation of village doctors and village clinics. Reporting this to the Bureau would undoubtedly offend many people. This will inevitably create unnecessary trouble for our work."
Du Heng frowned slightly, paused, then continued, "For example, we might end up having to do this month's family health file follow-up visits ourselves."
This statement left Lu Zhongjiang troubled as well.
If they did nothing, allowing such medicine ingredients to circulate in the market could lead to uncontrollable situations. If no incidents occurred, everyone would be fine. However, if an incident did happen, it would be the Health Clinic's responsibility.
But if they tried to intervene, they had no authority to do so!
While they were grappling with the dilemma, Du Heng suddenly looked up. "Secretary Lu, when can these booklets be printed?"
Lu Zhongjiang looked at Du Heng, thoughtfully. "They can all be printed in three days. Dean, what do you have in mind?"
"I want to use the pretext of distributing these booklets to visit the various clinics with the Pharmacy Doctor. While there, under the guise of explaining the medicines and products, we can inspect their medicine ingredients. If there are no issues, we'll remain discreet and act as if nothing happened. If they have indeed acquired those substandard medicine ingredients, we'll remind them and let them handle it themselves."
As Du Heng spoke, his eyes sparkled. This is the approach that best serves everyone's interests among all the ideas I've considered. "After we've reminded them and they've dealt with it themselves, we'll then report it to the Bureau, letting them coordinate with other departments to investigate the matter thoroughly."
One tree doesn't make a forest, and a decorated sedan chair needs many people to carry it. Why would others help you if you don't help them first? Some things can't be resolved simply by having good medical skills.
CLAP!
Lu Zhongjiang clapped his hands sharply. "Dean, this method is excellent! It doesn't offend anyone and still gets the job done—truly a win-win solution. I'll urge them to speed up the printing."
"That would be best. If our village doctors really did acquire this batch of medicine ingredients out of greed, there could be serious trouble."
"That's what I was thinking too..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Wu Buwei appeared at the door. "Older Brother, there's someone from your village looking for you downstairs. He says he's your paternal uncle."
Du Heng was a little surprised. "Didn't he say who it is or what he wants?"
"No, he just looks quite haggard."
Who could it be? Du Heng thought for a moment but couldn't recall. "Please bring him up to my office. I'll just finish up with Secretary Lu."
Wu Buwei nodded and said, "Alright," then turned and left.
Du Heng stood up. "Secretary Lu, please urge them to speed up the printing. The sooner, the better. The longer this drags on, the more uneasy I'll feel."
"Don't worry about that; I'll make sure they expedite it. However, once they're finished, they'll need to be paid. What about the funds?"
Looking at Lu Zhongjiang, Du Heng felt a little helpless. He had already received ten thousand yuan from Song Jiaying, yet Lu Zhongjiang was still pressing him so hard for just a few thousand yuan.
Du Heng said, somewhat helplessly, "Don't worry. I'll go find the money shortly. We won't use a single penny from the Health Clinic's funds."
Lu Zhongjiang showed no sign of embarrassment, smiling as he said, "No problem. Dean, whenever you find the money, we'll pay them then."
Du Heng was speechless. He waved his hand and headed to his office.
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