Especially after witnessing the scene of leaders flocking together yesterday, they assumed another leader was visiting now and hurriedly picked up their cellphones to make calls.

When Zhang Yongjun and the others got out of the car, they looked at the sign at the entrance of the Health Clinic, their eyes widening in disbelief.

Did we see that wrong? How could there suddenly be a "Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital Branch" sign at the entrance of this Health Clinic? Could it be...?

In an instant, everyone's eyes were riveted. Their first thought was that this Du Heng fellow was incredibly resourceful to have pulled this off.

But the Dean standing at the front was thinking more deeply. He even recalled a term: the "Large Branch Hospital Plan."

This "Large Branch Hospital Plan" was the best way for big hospitals to harvest pathogens and increase their visibility; even the Provincial Oncology Hospital had cooperative branch hospitals.

However, all large hospitals followed the same path: find a local hospital with existing strength and invest the minimum personnel and funds to achieve their goal. If that wasn't feasible, they would simply build an independent hospital for easier management.

The Health Clinic before them was definitely not within their plans. It had poor equipment, poor staff, and poor facilities. Moreover, such hospitals possessed distinct social and geographical attributes, including administrative responsibilities and intricate local connections, all of which these large institutions found highly unacceptable.

But didn't such hospitals offer benefits? Yes, and very significant ones. These hospitals were the initial point of treatment for patients. As long as their diagnostic capabilities could keep up, they could continuously supply a stream of patients to the main hospital, regardless of their own treatment proficiency.

Only with a sufficient patient base could a hospital discuss development. This would allow doctors and nurses to improve their skills, continuously hone their techniques, increase hospital revenue, enhance compensation for medical staff, attract more talent, and ultimately, form a virtuous cycle.

Although the benefits were obvious, such hospitals also presented numerous problems, especially concerning local entanglements, which were the most troublesome aspect.

However, since Du Heng dared to do this, he must have some significant backing. If he could bring all the frontline hospitals in Jinzhou—no, even just one-tenth of them—into this model, the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital could rapidly grow into a behemoth.

But this Dean of a Grade 3A Hospital couldn't fathom what Du Heng's backing was. Anyway, it wouldn't be money, he was quite confident of that.

Zhang Yongjun glanced at the preoccupied Dean and couldn't help prompting, "Dean Luo, shall we go in?"

"Alright." Dean Luo snapped back to reality and led the group into the hospital.

Just then, Yu Haiting and Qiu Pingzhen, who had been notified, emerged. Both looked bewildered, unsure which department's leaders were conducting a surprise inspection.

Just as they reached the entrance of the Hall, they ran straight into the visitors.

Yu Haiting composed himself and stepped forward to greet them. "Everyone, I am Yu Haiting, Vice Dean of the Health Clinic. Are you here to see a doctor, or is there another matter?"

Dean Luo, at the head of the group, stated his identity and purpose, then quietly awaited Yu Haiting's response.

What choice did Yu Haiting have? He naturally led the group towards Lu Zhongjiang's hospital room.

Qiu Pingzhen, however, deliberately lagged behind. Once the group had moved on, he immediately called Du Heng. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Kang Zhirong, upon receiving the call, sounded troubled. "Director Qiu, it's not that I won't inform the Dean. It's just that the Dean specifically instructed that he's not to be disturbed unless it's about a patient… Alright, I'll go take a look now."

Arriving at the conference room door, Kang Zhirong found it still tightly shut, which made him hesitate. The Dean of the Provincial Oncology Hospital had taken people to the Health Clinic, but Kang Zhirong didn't know the specifics of their visit. This uncertainty made it hard for him to judge if the situation warranted interrupting Du Heng, whether it counted as an emergency.

After pacing back and forth a couple of times, he finally decided to go in. Just as he resolved to do so, the conference room door opened from the inside, and Du Heng and Secretary Huang emerged, laughing and chatting.

As this group came out, there was a mix of expressions—some joyful, some worried. Director Zheng, in particular, looked so dejected that the flesh on his face seemed to sag towards the floor.

Kang Zhirong quickly scanned the group, then lowered his head and hurried to Du Heng's side. "Dean, Dean Luo from the Provincial Oncology Hospital has brought ten or so people to the Health Clinic."

Du Heng's smile vanished, replaced by a frown. He turned to Kang Zhirong. "When did this happen? Why did they go there?"

"Just now. Director Qiu from the Health Clinic called. He said they're there to see a patient."

A patient? The image of Lu Zhongjiang immediately flashed through Du Heng's mind.

Yet, Du Heng sensed something was amiss. These individuals were all extremely busy; they wouldn't come as a group to the Health Clinic merely to visit someone they considered insignificant.

So, their stated purpose isn't their real one, Du Heng thought.

Du Heng turned to Secretary Huang. "Secretary Huang, you heard. Let's go to the Health Clinic together."

"Alright. Shall we leave now?"

"Immediately."

As they walked, Du Heng and Secretary Huang spoke quickly, trying to deduce the group's intentions. Meanwhile, Dean Luo and his colleagues, the subjects of their speculation, were engaged in a rather undignified activity.

They had just entered the hospital room and exchanged barely a few words with Lu Zhongjiang when, due to intense intestinal peristalsis, he had to be helped to the toilet by his daughter.

Moreover, the facilities at the Health Clinic couldn't compare to those at the Provincial First Hospital, or even the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital. Consequently, its hospital rooms lacked private toilets.

After Lu Zhongjiang finished in the toilet and answered a few of Yu Haiting's careful questions, these tumor specialists went to the toilet area together. They then queued up to meticulously observe Lu Zhongjiang's excrement. Afterwards, they gathered and began to discuss. "Director Zhang, you practice traditional Chinese medicine. Tell us, is this a normal reaction to the medicine?"

The only one who hadn't gone into the toilet was Dean Luo, as he was an administrator, not medical personnel. Hearing his colleagues' discussion, he directly posed the question to Zhang Yongjun, who also practiced traditional Chinese medicine.

However, Zhang Yongjun was also perplexed. He had reviewed Du Heng's disease records concerning tumor treatments and was aware of Du Heng's basic prescription. He had even extracted and used it on Secretary Bai.

But he didn't know what symptoms resulted from taking these medicines.

Although analysis of the previous prescription suggested that detoxification and pus discharge were intended effects, Secretary Bai had not experienced such symptoms.

So now, he was thoroughly confused. If it's the same basic prescription, the patients' symptoms should show similarities. But comparing these two patients, I can't find any common ground; in fact, there are significant differences.

If he's not using the same basic prescription, then the purpose of our visit today might be largely undermined.

Zhang Yongjun swallowed hard, pretending not to have heard Dean Luo's question, and continued to ponder the discrepancies.