The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 34 Guo Yuting's Advice
"Yuting, have you finished compiling the list of missing medicines that I asked you to yesterday?"

The head of the pharmacy department called out from the office door. Upon hearing this, Guo Yuting quickly took out a list and walked towards the head of the pharmacy department.

"Director Xu, this is the quantity and type of medicine that is missing. I have already reported it to the Ministry of Health, but their reply is to ask us to wait a while."
It's best to overcome it yourself.

Upon hearing this, Director Xu complained before even looking at the list, "Isn't this ridiculous? What can we overcome? It's not us who need the medicine; it's the patients who need it!"
"Tsk. Why are there so many missing? Didn't we get a new batch last time?"

Guo Yuting explained, "Last time I only replenished less than half of it, expecting it to last five months, but in reality, it's good if it can last for two months."

Upon hearing this, Director Xu sighed deeply. If the medicine ran out and she, as the head of the pharmacy department, couldn't produce any more, she would probably be scolded by the doctors again.

She stood there for a while, almost pulling her hair, but Director Xu still couldn't do anything. If she weren't a woman, she would be smoking and thinking at the same time.

"Hold a meeting, send out the notice, and tell everyone who hasn't arrived yet to come back so we can discuss what to do next."

After receiving Director Xu's order, Guo Yuting quickly went to find someone to inform him.

When Guo Yuting saw Gu Jiayu organizing medicines, even though she didn't want to talk to the woman, she still told him about the upcoming meeting before continuing to look for others.

It has been almost three months since their last argument, and Guo Yuting has barely paid any attention to Gu Jiayu while she is in the hospital.

She and Zhou Zhiqiang had talked about Gu Jiayu several times that night, and she eventually learned from her husband that Gu Jiayu was probably just jealous and that's why she kept bothering her.

The only thing that could be criticized about Guo Yuting from childhood to adulthood was her studies; apart from not being a good student and being sent to work by Guo Linhua after graduating from high school, there was basically nothing wrong with her.

After all, Guo Linhua was a professor before 1949 and was quite strict about the family's atmosphere.

Guo Yuting had some minor quirks from being raised in a wealthy family, but after Zhou Zhiqiang corrected them using scientific methods, she has become much better now.

Moreover, Guo Yuting is also extremely beautiful. If she stands next to Gu Jiayu, she will definitely steal everyone's attention from Gu Jiayu.

She wasn't short of money. Although her family wasn't as well-off as Gu Jiayu's, with a professor father, their material conditions were definitely not bad.

Gu Jiayu was jealous, which is why she would tease Guo Yuting from time to time. However, Guo Yuting was a bit naive before and didn't notice at all.

It wasn't until after they got married, when Guo Yuting overheard Gu Jiayu speaking ill of her husband, that she realized Gu Jiayu wasn't the 'good friend' she thought she was at all.

The two barely speak to each other anymore, and they don't even greet each other when they meet. Guo Yuting feels that she can't hear anything nice from Gu Jiayu.

A short while later, Guo Yuting called over the six people from the pharmacy department.

After Director Xu arrived and saw that everyone was there, he went straight to the point and said, "As you all know, we are facing a severe shortage of various medicines recently. What do you all think we should do to solve this?"

"Director, shall we go to the Health Bureau to apply for a batch of medicines?"

Lan Yun spoke first, saying that she and Guo Yuting were also in the pharmacy department and had a fairly good relationship.

Upon hearing this, Director Xu waved his hand without hesitation and said, "No, I just made a call. The chances are slim. Let's try another method."

Another colleague from the pharmacy department whispered, "There's no other way but to contact the health bureau. All medicines are controlled substances; we can't conjure them up."

Upon hearing this, Director Xu sighed. This is quite true; medicines are not like rice, flour, or cooking oil, and are subject to very strict regulations.

Forget about anything unplanned; even for a single pill, they have to write down its purpose and have someone sign it.

"Director, how about we try cutting costs?" Guo Yuting hesitated before speaking. This was a method she had mentioned to her husband during a casual chat before bed the night before.

At that time, Guo Yuting was also troubled by the shortage of medicines, so she talked to Zhou Zhiqiang about it, and then Zhou Zhiqiang told her a few methods.

However, it was a bit inappropriate to explain the method, so Guo Yuting hesitated. But considering that the supply of medicine might not last long, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Upon hearing this, Director Xu immediately called out, "What kind of cost-cutting? Comrade Yuting, please explain in detail."

"It means that the diagnosing doctor will make a tiered assessment of the patient's condition. If the condition is not very serious, the medication will be postponed and reserved for the seriously ill patients."
We can also consider traditional Chinese medicine. Western medicine is too scarce. Some Chinese medicines are effective and can treat diseases. After verifying their efficacy, we can recommend Chinese herbal decoctions to patients.

Guo Yuting quickly recounted all the methods Zhou Zhiqiang had told her that evening, including the part about not prescribing medication to those with mild symptoms, which she considered stingy.

After all, most of the people who come to the hospital now are urban residents, and most of them are workers. If they are sick and are not given medicine, it is easy to cause trouble.

"I thought it was some good solution, but it turns out they just won't prescribe the medicine."

Gu Jiayu curled her lip and said, "Easy for you to say. Who will take responsibility if the patient makes a scene? If we don't prescribe the medicine, aren't we just letting the patient die?"

"I'm just suggesting a way to alleviate the drug shortage. Besides, it's not that we won't prescribe the drugs, but rather that we'll prioritize the supply of medications to critically ill patients."

Guo Yuting was too lazy to argue with Gu Jiayu, but she needed to explain things clearly in this matter.

"If you, Gu Jiayu, have a better idea, then you can tell me."

"Humph!"

Gu Jiayu snorted coldly, then said to Director Xu, "Director Xu, my mother knows people in the Health Bureau. I'll ask her to inquire about it when I get home tonight."

"Is that so? That's a good thing. I'll leave this matter to you, Comrade Gu Jiayu."

Director Xu nodded, but although she said that, she knew in her heart that the chances were slim.

When she called in the afternoon, she asked about the situation. Currently, medicines are scarce in various hospitals, and even the larger hospitals that are ranked closer to their Second Hospital are waiting for the Health Bureau to distribute medicines.

This isn't something that can be solved by a few connections; even the head of the health bureau might have trouble.

On the contrary, Director Xu somewhat agreed with Guo Yuting's method; at the very least, it was a way to alleviate the drug shortage.

I just don't know if those doctors were willing. A few years ago, they were clamoring to abolish traditional Chinese medicine, which was quite a big deal. It was only after that person spoke up and established a traditional Chinese medicine hospital that things gradually calmed down.

Now, if you tell them, "If all else fails, recommend some traditional Chinese medicine," Director Xu feels she will be scolded by those doctors.

However, this is indeed a way to alleviate the shortage of medicines. She herself had taken traditional Chinese medicine before, and her illness was cured in just a few days. She is still doing well now.

Demonization and such are too extreme.

Having made up his mind, Director Xu said, "Comrade Yuting, summarize what you just said, write a detailed document tomorrow, and then hand it to me."

She's going to take it to the vice president and talk to him. Maybe this is the best way, or maybe the vice president should try to find connections at the health bureau.

She, as the head of the pharmacy department, was truly at her wit's end.

(End of this chapter)