Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

No one spoke for a long while.

Chen Shao didn't urge him either.

Finally, someone couldn't help it anymore, and stood in front of the crowd, bowed his hands, and said with a bit of confidence: "Since the monthly salary can be distributed to everyone in order to avoid exploitation, then in order to avoid nepotism, shouldn't it be stipulated that the relatives of the person who got the appointment book, no matter how far away, who want to enter the medicine shop need to be more strictly assessed than others?"

"Even if they pass the assessment," someone else stepped forward and added righteously, "relatives, no matter how close or distant, cannot become managers of the same pharmacy or pharmacies of higher or lower levels!"

"The assessment cannot be based solely on the scores of the people," said two people, and others came forward one after another. "Based solely on the scores of the people, it is inevitable that they will be opportunistic and only care about gaining favor in front of the people, and thus not doing their work seriously!"

"The reason why the assessment cannot be based solely on the people's scores is not only to prevent people from taking shortcuts, but also to prevent people from being maliciously graded because they are not good at socializing. For example, if a doctor has excellent medical skills but is not good at socializing and his words are not popular, he will definitely get a low score. According to the rewards and punishments mentioned by the adults before, he will be demoted step by step, and it is very likely that he will be kicked out of the medicine shop in the end."

Listening to their suggestions, which were more and more "fair and strict", Chen Shao felt a little disappointed. Before the discussion began, she had said that the criteria for whether to be included in the official pharmacy was to find three to five hundred people to score. However, when she casually asked Jishitang to join the official pharmacy, which obviously violated the rules she had set, no one dared to question it. Instead, everyone took Liu Chengxi as an example and tried their best to show fairness and strictness.

Such a group of people...

After shaking his head secretly, Chen Shao spent an hour and a half questioning everyone one by one.

The test questions were very simple. Some asked how many doctors and assistants there were in the pharmacy and what their names were. Some asked casually about the prices of a few medicinal materials and the procurement channels. Some asked about the medical records of a case they mentioned casually. Some even asked about a doctor's age, habits and preferences... There were all kinds of questions.

In response to everyone's answers, Chen Shao did not judge whether they were good or bad. He just asked Chan Yi and Quan Shu Yu to write down every word, and then let them go back.

The Seventh Master stayed.

Qi Ye showed a grateful expression on his face, for Chen Shao's previous protection, "Today..."

"Although today's discussion did not meet my expectations," Chen Shao spoke before him, "I am still satisfied overall."

Master Qi suppressed his emotions and asked, "Are you talking about Manager Liu?"

Chen Shao asked, "Seventh Master, do you know him?"

The Seventh Master shook his head. "Not really acquainted. I heard that Aunt Xu in the village was seriously ill a few years ago. Doctors from the village and town were invited one after another but none of them could cure her. The second boy couldn't bear to see his mother die like this, so he took her to the county town in a sheep cart to seek medical treatment several times. Many drugstores in the county town saw that his mother was seriously ill, and the fees charged were higher and higher. The second boy had a lot of filial piety, but he didn't have much money. He knelt down and kowtowed to people, but didn't get sympathy. Instead, he was beaten several times. When he cried and wanted to take his mother back to wait for death, this shopkeeper Liu passed by. After asking the reason, he let him take his mother to Jishidi. Although it cost a string of money to treat his mother, it was more than ten times cheaper than other drugstores. The second boy was grateful to Shopkeeper Liu for saving his mother, and from time to time in recent years, he would carry some fruits and vegetables to Jishidi."

After a pause, he continued, "I have often heard the second kid mention this person, but I have rarely seen him before. I have seen him a few times recently and have talked to him a few times, but because he always came with other shopkeepers, he was very polite in his words and deeds and never mentioned the second kid at all, so I didn't say anything explicitly."

"He sounds like a good guy," Chen Shao glanced at Chan Yi's records, "When I asked him about the medicine store earlier, he gave detailed answers, which shows that he is not a man of empty words."

Chan Yi asked, "Since he is a good person, how can the business of the medicine shop be so bad?"

The Seventh Master said, "I'll ask someone to find out later."

"Then let's try to ask around." Chen Shao nodded.

From the previous discussion and the matter of saving the second boy's mother, combined with the people she had contacted in the past, Chen Shao could more or less guess the reasons why Jishitang's business was not doing well. Liu Chengxi was too straightforward and did not give people face at all. In addition, he was compassionate and could not bear to charge patients more medical expenses. If he opened his own medicine shop, it would be fine. With this "conscience", just like the current Huimin Medicine Shop, the business might not be bad, but he was also "working" for others. Every time he paid a "conscience", he was probably criticized behind it, and he even paid out of his own pocket to make up for the difference in the price of that "conscience".

She had seen many such benevolent doctors in modern times. As for whether Liu Chengxi was such a person, she would only know after asking around.

After talking a few more words about Liu Chengxi, Chen Shao turned to the reason why the Seventh Master was kept: "The fourteen doctors from the town and the village have a good foundation. They are familiar with the pathology and medication of minor illnesses and pains. The integration of drug stores will definitely screen out a group of doctors. These fourteen people will be temporarily placed in Huimin Drug Store. When there are vacancies in other drug stores in the future, they will be assigned to them."

Qi Ye had a certain understanding of the doctors from the fourteen towns and villages. He brought them to Chen Shao with the original intention of keeping them in Huimin Pharmacy. Now the store of Huimin Pharmacy has expanded a lot, and the number of hospitalized patients has increased accordingly. However, the doctors are still the same doctors, and the assistants are still the same assistants. Everyone is busy and busy. If they join, it will greatly reduce everyone's burden. Qi Ye thought so, and Chen Shao also arranged so, so he nodded and agreed.

"Since Huimin Pharmacy opened, the doctors and shop assistants haven't had much rest, right?" Chen Shao asked.

The Seventh Master nodded. "In the past, the people who came to see the doctor were all suffering from minor illnesses. Since they knew that the pharmacy could provide hospitalization and the price was cheap, the people who came to see the doctor recently mostly had chronic diseases or illnesses accumulated from years of hard work and hunger. Many of the chronic diseases require two or even three doctors to take care of them all the time. Nowadays, the pharmacy is big, but there are not many doctors and assistants. The burden assigned to each person is not light, and there is no time for them to rest."

Chen Shao took the opportunity to say, "Then, while these fourteen doctors are here, we have enough manpower and we should try to arrange for them to take turns to rest. Benefiting the people is important, but your own health is more important."

The Seventh Master agreed.

It was noon, so Mr. Qi was invited to have lunch.

in the afternoon.

Chen Shao was sorting out the information of the medicine shop, and Chan Yi and Quan Shuyu stayed to help.

There wasn't much information, and Chen Shao's so-called sorting was just a review of the answers from the shopkeepers of the various medicine shops. Seeing that the whole book had been guarding, Yu said, "Go and do what you want. Chan Yi and I will sort out this information."

"Master Wang is not only hardworking, but also very organized. With him watching over it, the inventory of the treasury and grain warehouse will not be messy." Quan Shuyu was also looking at the information of the drugstore, mainly to see what Chen Shaodu asked. When she heard her words, she answered, "I stayed not only to help, but also wanted to learn the methods of selecting drugstores, and see if I can borrow them to select shops."

After hearing her say this, Chen Shao had nothing to say.

After finishing the information about the pharmacies, Chen Shao looked through them again. After marking the backs of several pharmacies that impressed him the most, he told Chan Yi, "It's still early. Let Fu Jiu prepare the carriage. Let's go to Huimin Pharmacy."

While Chan Yi went out to make arrangements, Chen Shao handed the information about the medicine shop to Quan Shuyu so that she could look at it. He then stood up and said, "If you were to select the medicine shop, which aspects would you start with?"

Knowing that she was giving him some advice, Quan Shuyu first recalled the information of each pharmacy, and then thought about her selection criteria before answering, "If it was before, I would probably start with the size of the pharmacy, the business conditions, etc. After seeing the questions that the young master asked those shopkeepers, I would probably start with the reputation of the pharmacy outside, the personalities of the people in the pharmacy, and the medical skills of the doctors, etc."

Chen Shao praised: "You learn very quickly."

Quan Shuyu said embarrassedly: "I always thought that you kept me by your side because you pitied me. Today I believe that you really value my ability."

Chen Shao laughed: "I thought you already understood when I used Qi Ye, Zhao Liangzhu and Xu Guang."

Quan Shuyu said boldly: "But the young master also used the Ren family, Lord Ding, Lord Zhao and Mr. Luo."

"This shows that you haven't observed carefully enough," Chen Shao said bluntly, "Although I used Ren Jia, Ding Lisheng, Zhao Lin and Luo Ye, what did I use them for? Look at Qi Ye, Zhao Liangzhu and Xu Guang, what did I use them for?"

Quan Shuyu was stunned for a moment, and the gray veil that had been covering his heart suddenly disappeared. The brightness between his eyebrows and eyes could almost be compared to the rising sun. "Sir, you use the Ren family, Lord Ding, Lord Zhao and others to better eliminate them. You use the Seventh Master and Uncle Liang Zhu, just like me, to do things that benefit the people."

Before the carriage came, Chen Shao said sincerely: "Even if I don't keep you by my side, with your tenacity in surviving in hell, I can't say that anything you do will be 100% successful, but the result will not be bad."

Quan Shuyu quickly said, "It's better to follow the young master."

Chen Shao said bluntly: "That's natural."

It only took the Seventh Master an hour to return to Huimin Pharmacy.

When Master Qi returned to Huimin Pharmacy, the fourteen doctors from the town and the village had not left yet. After Master Qi told them about Chen Shao's decision, the fourteen were all a little overjoyed. Master Qi let them be happy for a while before pouring cold water on them, saying, "Although the master has kept you here, whether you can stay or not depends on you. Go back today and tell your family members, and bring your stuff here before noon tomorrow. I will also have someone clean up your place while we have time."

The fourteen people expressed a lot of gratitude before leaving one after another.

They had to be grateful. In the past, the county town's pharmacies were expensive, and ordinary people could not afford to see a doctor, so they mostly went to them. Now Huimin Pharmacy has fair prices, and both the doctors' medical skills and the service of the shop assistants are excellent. When people have any illness, they no longer consider them. Their income is getting lower and lower, and in order to make a living, they have to go to Qiye.

Fortunately, the results are good.

After they left, the Seventh Master went to the back house and had someone prepare accommodation for them. Chen Shao also arrived.

Qi Ye was not surprised by her arrival. "Your Excellency, are you planning to investigate them at Huimin Pharmacy?"

"I do have this plan," Chen Shao said, "but I don't know if anyone has ever seen a doctor in their pharmacy."

"Yes." Wang Yue, who was passing by, heard the voice and answered quickly, "Uncle Fang in Ward A No. 3 has seen patients in many pharmacies before."

When Master Qi heard Uncle Fang's name, he introduced him: "When Fang Shun was young, he did business with others in Jiangnan. When he was older, he came back to Hongyuan County. He bought a farm near the county town and hired more than ten farmers to farm for him. He had a lot of spare money."

After Huimin Pharmacy expanded, Chen Shao came here for the first time. He followed Wang Yue to Ward A-3 while looking around. The site was wider, and both the front hall and the back hall were more neatly planned than before. Without asking anyone, just looking at the layout here and the orderly state of the servants who came and went, either carrying medicinal materials or doing odd jobs, one could get a glimpse of Master Qi's intentions.

There are four Ward A rooms, hidden behind a row of sycamore trees.

Under the sycamore tree, there are two stone tables, each surrounded by four stone squats.

Chen Shao stopped in front of one of the stone tables. Without being told, Wang Yue went to the ward on his own initiative and brought Fang Shun out.

When Fang Shun saw Chen Shao, he instinctively bowed slightly and said flatteringly, "I am honored to meet you, sir."

Chen Shao nodded, motioned him to sit down and talk, then asked him about his condition with concern, and then turned the topic to business, "I heard that you have been to many pharmacies for treatment before?"

Fang Shun thought she was comparing other pharmacies with Huimin Pharmacy, and immediately spared no effort to disparage other pharmacies.

The Seventh Master couldn't listen any longer and interrupted him, saying, "It should be what it is, don't talk nonsense."

Fang Shun secretly glanced at Chen Shao and argued, "How can this be called nonsense? What I am saying is..."

"My Lord is inspecting the pharmacies in the county to see which ones are suitable for official inclusion," Seventh Master interrupted him again, "I found you because you have been to many pharmacies and can give a fair evaluation."

"My Lord, are you going to bring all the other pharmacies under the government?" Fang Shun looked at Chen Shao. Seeing that Chen Shao was looking at him, he immediately stood up in fear, shrank his neck and stammered, "Isn't this... not appropriate?"

Chen Shao asked: "Why is it inappropriate?"

"This..." Fang Shun showed a hesitant expression on his face. After Chen Shao signaled him to speak freely and not to worry about anyone causing trouble for him, he looked at Qi Ye, Chan Yi and others and said, "My lord, you don't know that when you go to those drugstores to see a doctor, besides the medicine is more expensive than other places, if you want to see a doctor with better medical skills, you have to give gifts to the clerks, managers, and shopkeepers in the drugstores."

Qi Ye was puzzled: "What gift?"

"Of course it's the same as the government office. If you want to get something done, you have to pay the gatekeeper, the yamen runners and others for tea and water before you can see the officials who are doing the work." Fang Shun glanced at Chen Shao, quietly hiding his thoughts, and muttered in a low voice, "Although the pharmacy is not a government office, if you want to see a good doctor, there will be layers of obstacles."

He had been away from Hongyuan County for many years and was already unfamiliar with the people and things here. After returning, he suffered a lot during his exploration. Especially when he was seeing a doctor at the pharmacy, most of his wealth was cheated away by them. When he was angry and reported to the police, he was cheated of a lot more. In the past, he could only admit his defeat, but now that Chen Shao took the initiative to ask him, he naturally had to vent his anger!

Qi Ye was surprised by his words.

Chen Shao also found it incredible, but when he thought of what the Zhu family and the Gu family had done, he immediately understood. He temporarily ignored his thoughts and continued to ask, "Which drugstores set up obstacles?"

"There are Xuanhu Tang, Miaoshou Tang, Renkang Tang..." Fang Shun named eight pharmacies in a row, and could not hide his disappointment that she did not ask about the government office.

Chen Shao still ignored his thoughts and asked Quan Shuyu to take out the information of each pharmacy and mark it. Then he changed the subject and asked, "Do you have to pay this money every time you go to the government office to do business, or just once in a while?"

"Of course I have to give it every time!" Fang Shun blurted out. Seeing that Chen Shao was not angry, he continued with a guilty conscience, "Not only do I have to give it every time, but they will also split one thing into several times before they can complete it, which means I have to give it several times for one thing!"

"Is there any specific person?" Chen Shao asked.

"Everyone is the same." Fang Shun said. There were many people in the government who had taken money from him.

"It's all the same..." Chen Shao repeated these words, then thanked him with a smile. He asked Wang Yue to take him back to the ward, then he turned his head and told Fu Jiu, "Follow Wang Yue to ask around in each ward to see if there are any patients who have been to other pharmacies for treatment."

After a pause, he added: "By the way, let me ask if anyone has reported it to the authorities."