Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor Gao-Yuan

An emergency meeting at the Health Bureau.

The bureau leader sighed heavily, his expression somber, and said, "Comrades, you've all heard Secretary Cao. The situation in Huo Township is indeed very severe. Each village has numerous influenza patients, and many of the elderly and children have already developed serious conditions."

"From the onset until now, they've received no effective medical aid, and the situation is only escalating. This is our responsibility, and we absolutely cannot ignore what's happening in Huo Township. Director Li, you're the chairman of the Health Association and also the dean of the county hospital. What do you have? to say?"

"Well…" Director Li looked uncomfortable. "We just heard about Huo Township’s situation, and it’s certainly not looking good. We'll support them as much as we can. But we’re facing challenges too."

"You all know, our county hospital has only about 20 medical staff, and only 10 of them are doctors. We serve tens of thousands of people in the county. We're already scrambling as it is. And now there's a shortage of Western medicines. We're barely managing ourselves."

Seeing the bureau leader’s darkening face, Director Li added reluctantly, "Well, we can squeeze out a bit more medicine for Secretary Cao to take back, but as for doctors, we really don’t have any to spare. I wonder if the situation might be better for the traditional medicine department."

He looked over at Dr. Yan Qiao, who sat nearby and asked, "Dr. Yan, what do you think?"

Dr. Yan, slightly taken aback that the issue had been passed to him, hesitated briefly.

The bureau leader addressed him next: "Dr. Yan, you're the vice chairman of the Health Association and the head of the county’s joint health clinics. How many traditional medicine doctors can we mobilize to support Huo Township?"

Dr. Yan, nearly seventy years old but still full of energy, let out a couple of dry laughs. "As you all know, medical resources in the rural areas are far scarcer than in the county. Often, a few doctors have to care for tens of thousands of people, with the villages far apart from each other."

"Before I came here, I checked in on the situation. Everyone is at their wit's end. They set out at dawn and don’t return until after dark. The doctors are already exhausted. They're working so hard but still can't keep up. Mobilizing extra help from them is just not feasible."

The bureau leader immediately became angry, "Difficulties, difficulties! Everyone keeps talking about difficulties! Who doesn’t have difficulties? The people of Huo Township are the ones facing the greatest hardship! When there are difficulties, you overcome them! What’s the use of sitting here? complaining?"

Everyone fell silent, heads bowed.

Upon hearing that no solutions were being offered, Secretary Cao from Huo Township turned pale.

Dr. Yan sighed again, "Doctors simply can't be spared. How about... we wait another ten days? By then, we should be able to free up some doctors to go to Huo Township."

"Ten days?" Secretary Cao exclaimed. "We can't wait that long! The situation is already critical! Ten days? That would be disastrous!"

Dr. Yan, feeling helpless, wanted to say there was nothing more he could do, but in the end, he simply sighed and kept quiet.

"Is there really no way?" Secretary Cao anxiously looked at the bureau leader.

The bureau leader thought for a moment and said, "We’ll do our best to send some medicines to Huo Township, and we’ll try to arrange for a few doctors to go as well."

Dr. Yan shook his head. "It's not possible. We don't even have enough medicine now."

"Not enough traditional medicine either?" the bureau leader asked Director Qi Dongsheng.

Director Qi quickly nodded. "This flu outbreak hit so suddenly; we weren’t prepared. The demand has been huge, and we're already working hard to replenish. Please, everyone, bear with us a little longer."

Dr. Yan was not pleased with this response. "Oh, we should ‘bear with it,’ you say? Then how come Zhangzhuang Clinic is receiving special treatment? As far as I know, you’ve already sent several batches of medicine there, more than twice as much as any other clinic."

Everyone in the room froze.

The bureau leader turned to Director Qi. "Is this true?"

Director Qi was caught off guard by the question.

Someone leaned over and whispered to Director Qi, "Be careful of Dr. Yan. He’s the former father-in-law of Dr. Shen Congyun from Zhangzhuang Clinic. They’ve had long-standing grudges. Don’t get caught in the middle of it."

Hearing this, Director Qi frowned deeply.

Dr. Yan pressed further, "Do you have some special relationship with that clinic? Why else would they be getting such preferential treatment? We’re all struggling, but they seem to have plenty!"

Director Li chimed in, "I’ve heard something about this. A while back, Director Qi’s grandson had encephalitis and was treated at our hospital. But then they called in a doctor from the Zhangjiang Clinic to treat him. People at the hospital are still talking about it."

Dr. Yan was surprised, not knowing the reason behind the extra supplies being sent to Zhangzhuang Clinic.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

A young man entered and said, "Someone from the medicine company is here to see Director Qi. It’s urgent—they need approval for a shipment of medicine."

The bureau leader frowned. "Let them in."

"Yes," the young man replied and brought in the visitor.

It was Zhang Yuancai.

Seeing so many officials in the room, Zhang Yuancai looked nervous.

The bureau leader asked, "Which clinic are you delivering medicine to, and how is the situation there?"

Zhang Yuancai quickly replied, "I’m delivering a batch of medicine to Zhangzhuang Clinic. They’re running very low."

His words left the room in stunned silence.

"Zhangzhuang again?" The bureau leader looked puzzled.

Dr. Yan was even more surprised. "Zhangzhuang has already received more than twice the amount of other clinics. How could they still be short?"

Zhang Yuancai nodded honestly. "Yes, they've received that much already."

Dr. Yan was incredible. "Then why are they short again? Are they using the medicine? as food or selling it on the black market?"

The room grew agitated.

The bureau leader's face darkened, and he asked sternly, "What’s really going on?"

Secretary Cao from Huo Township was also anxious: "We’re so short on medicine in Huo Township. Why do the neighbouring townships need so much? Think of us!"

Zhang Yuancai quickly waved his hands, "No, no, it’s not like that. Dr. Gao and his team are short on medicine because they’re bringing supplies to support Huo Township."

"What?" The room fell silent again.

Even Secretary Cao was stunned. "They’re planning to support Huo Township?"

Zhang Yuancai clarified, "Not planning to—they’re already on their way. They left last night, traveling through the night with the last of their supplies. But the medicine they brought won’t be enough, so they asked me to get more approved as soon as possible."

The room went completely silent again.

Then Secretary Cao suddenly clapped his hands excitedly, "This is great! Finally, some doctors are coming to us!"

Everyone turned to look at Director Qi.

Director Qi, with a cold sneer, glanced at Director Li and Dr. Yan without a word.

Both men were left feeling awkward.

Dr. Yan muttered, "This can’t be right. Isn’t there still an outbreak in the neighbouring town? How did they manage to treat everyone so quickly?"

Zhang Yuancai explained, "They distributed the medicine directly to the villages, so villagers in remote areas could get treatment close to home. Every night, they traveled long distances and started treating patients at dawn. They barely slept three hours a day, rushing to treat patients in three neighboring towns."

Everyone looked at Director Qi again, understanding now why so much medicine had been consumed. They had treated so many patients so quickly.

Director Qi added, "They left at dawn and returned after dark. Our doctors have been working incredibly hard."

He echoed Dr. Yan’s earlier words, throwing them back at him, leaving Dr. Yan speechless.

What could he possibly say in the face of these tireless workers?

The bureau leader was deeply moved, "This is the attitude we need in overcoming difficulties. No tasks assigned, no extra compensation, no one urging them on. yet they voluntarily rushed to the most difficult place in the middle of the night! These are doctors who truly care for the people! These are doctors with people in their hearts! These are the people’s doctors!"

Director Li and Dr. Yan blushed with embarrassment.

Zhang Yuancai quickly added, "Only one doctor stayed behind at Zhangzhuang Clinic. Dr. Gao has already taken the others to Huo Township. They should be arriving soon. We need to get the medicine to them quickly!"

The bureau leader nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes. We must prioritize supplying Huo Township!"

"Understood," Director Qi nodded in agreement.

Still doubtful, Director Li asked, "Can this be true? In less than a week, they treated three towns, traveled hundreds of miles through the mountains, and cared for over 40,000 people across dozens of villages—how did they manage that?"

Zhang Yuancai replied, "Dr. Gao has been encouraging the other doctors to make up their minds, to not fear sacrifice, to overcome all obstacles, and to strive for victory."

The bureau leader paused and then asked cautiously, "Which Dr. Gao are you referring to? "

Zhang Yuancai replied, "Dr. Gao-Yuan."