Dong Yuezhang seemed to take it quite personally. He glared at Du Heng and said, "If this kid really is a Doctor in the Hospital, then he must have some knowledge about the effectiveness of the Chinese Medicine Department's treatments. If he knows this and still bad-mouths it, he must have an ulterior motive."

Swallowing hard, Dong Yuezhang continued, "If this kid isn't a Doctor in the Hospital, then his intentions are even clearer. And the most important point is, this kid keeps saying he doesn't understand traditional Chinese medicine, yet he can accurately attack its weak points. He's clearly a professional troublemaker who came prepared."

Du Heng chuckled softly. "Alright, I was the one in a bad mood initially. How did you end up being the annoyed one? Let's find somewhere to sit. It's too hot; I can't take it any longer. If we continue walking like this, I'm going to get dehydrated."

Hearing Du Heng change the topic, Dong Yuezhang managed to relax. "You're right, I got a bit carried away."

Just then, they noticed a roadside stall selling peaches. Seeing the pink, plump peaches, Dong Yuezhang smiled and said, "Let's buy some peaches to eat." He then asked the vendor, "Elder Sister, how much are the peaches?"

The stall was actually just two baskets placed before the vendor, who used an old-fashioned steelyard for weighing. The Elder Sister, seeing a potential customer, quickly said, "These are homegrown white peaches—thin-skinned, juicy, and very sweet. Seven yuan per kilo. Sir, you can pick out a few."

The Elder Sister was very enthusiastic. She even handed a peach to Dong Yuezhang. "Try one, sir. If it's not sweet or tender, you don't have to buy it."

Looking at the peach, which was bigger than his fist, and then at the Elder Sister's clothes, Dong Yuezhang did not accept it. Instead, he squatted down, took a plastic bag, and started picking peaches.

Du Heng, standing to one side, casually asked, "Elder Sister, don't wholesalers usually buy up all the white peaches directly? Why are you selling them by the roadside yourself?"

While the Elder Sister held the plastic bag open for Dong Yuezhang, she replied to Du Heng with a smile, "This year the market is bad. There are very few people buying peaches, and they all sell them on some internet platform. I don't understand any of that, so I can only pick some out to sell by the roadside."

"But selling them for seven yuan is a bit cheap. Those in the market up ahead sell them for eight to nine yuan per kilo." Du Heng also squatted down next to Dong Yuezhang, took another bag, and began picking peaches himself. "Why don't you sell yours at the market or where there are more people? You're selling them at such a low price; they'll be sold out soon."

Upon hearing Du Heng's words, the Elder Sister's smile froze. "The market would be better, but you have to pay fees there. The man of the house isn't in good health; we've been constantly buying medicine, so we can't afford it.

"Besides, these peaches are so juicy they won't last long. I need to sell them quickly, or half of them will be bad by tomorrow."

Dong Yuezhang had finished picking his peaches. He stood up and said, "They're much stricter about roadside selling now; they probably won't allow it. You could try selling in the residential areas. You're selling them so cheaply, and the peaches look good. They should sell out quickly there."

The Elder Sister took the peaches Dong Yuezhang had picked to weigh them. After weighing, she said, "Three kilos. Just give me twenty yuan." She then passed the weighed peaches to Dong Yuezhang. "I've tried going to the residential areas, but the security guards either don't let me in or they kick my peaches over. So I don't go anymore. I don't have that many to sell, anyway. Plenty of people pass by here, so I can sell them all."

Du Heng winced as he listened, unsure what to say.

Security guards... nowadays, you hear stories about their unreasonable and high-handed behavior everywhere. They have such a simple job of guarding a gate, yet some of them manage to abuse that power to the extreme.

Seeing Du Heng also picking peaches, Dong Yuezhang asked, puzzled, "We just need a couple to eat. Why are you buying so many?"

Du Heng had also finished picking his peaches and handed them to the Elder Sister to weigh. "I'm getting some for my Sister-in-law and for Wei."

"Why are you giving some to Wei?"

"Well, I sent Xiao Yi to him as his Disciple, didn't I? He's been teaching well for over half a month. He's worked hard; I should reward him."

Dong Yuezhang asked in surprise, "You sent Xiao Yi to him to teach? Aren't you afraid he'll mislead the boy?"

"Heh, that's where you're mistaken," Du Heng said with a smile. "That guy might not be much of a good doctor himself anymore, but he's definitely a great Teacher.

"In that half-month, Wei has been taking Xiao Yi to learn about Traditional Chinese medicinal materials. He's incredibly thorough, teaching him everything from their medicinal properties and pharmacological effects to their processing methods. He has really put in a lot of effort to teach Xiao Yi. He deserves to be rewarded."

Dong Yuezhang looked away dismissively. "Reward him? Sounds more like you're just incentivizing him, like dangling a carrot to make a donkey pull a grindstone."

The two paid, and carrying the two big bags of peaches, they walked a few steps before finding a random tea stall and sitting down. "Ah, on a hot summer day like this, relaxing by the bank of the Yellow River with a bowl of tea is the best," Du Heng groaned contentedly.

Dong Yuezhang agreed, "It is comfortable, but that's not a life for us."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. You're not that busy over in Central Lake."

"Nonsense! Where do you get the idea I'm not busy?" Dong Yuezhang immediately retorted. "Just the reform of the Health Clinic has kept me on my toes this whole month. And wasn't it you who landed me with this work? How dare you say I'm not busy?"

Du Heng sat up abruptly. "I'd forgotten about that until you mentioned it. There's something I need to consult your township's opinion on: the appointment of the Dean. Has your township given it any thought?"