Chapter 128 - 108: Hiccups

Zhao Feiyang didn’t beat around the bush, he wanted Xu Chunliang to follow up on resolving the property rights issue of Weishan Island Hospital.Xu Chunliang was a bit puzzled, as the branch already had a director, Jin Yonghao, and now Vice Director Yan Huaiyi from Changxing is also here. Why did Zhao Feiyang bypass the two of them and choose him?

Zhao Feiyang told Xu Chunliang that he didn’t trust the abilities of the other two, and the only one he could rely on was him.

This declaration was somewhat encouraging for Xu Chunliang. In fact, Zhao Feiyang had already heard rumors that Yan Huaiyi had intentions to leave Changxing soon. How could he expect such a person to dedicatedly work for Changxing?

As for Jin Yonghao, if he were capable, the branch wouldn’t be in its current state.

Zhao Feiyang felt that destiny had its own arrangements. Just as he needed a sharp blade, fate placed Xu Chunliang on Weishan Island, giving him no reason not to use him.

He also believed that Xu Chunliang’s capabilities could surely help him carve a path out of the chaotic situation.

Since he intended to use Xu Chunliang, Zhao Feiyang gave him full trust and shared his entire future plan for Weishan Island with him, something he hadn’t even revealed to Yan Huaiyi.

Previously, Zhao Feiyang had promised Yan Huaiyi that the delayed wages would be paid within two days, mainly to stabilize the branch’s situation and prevent the staff from making a big fuss.

However, before this could be implemented, the branch staff had already begun organized protests.

The attitude of Hu Shan Town Government forced Zhao Feiyang to reassess Gu Houyi’s decision to withhold salaries.

The protest was directed at Changxing, but it was the Hu Shan Town Government that was troubled, having to immediately address this so-called historical issue.

Zhao Feiyang believed this was also Changxing’s historical problem. When Gu Houyi took over the Weishan Island Branch, he should have clarified the property rights. His ambiguity led to today’s predicament.

Blaming predecessors for issues is a common practice for successors, especially shortly after taking over, making it the best time to attribute problems to historical legacies.

The national-level resort is still at the planning stage, and before an official announcement, Changxing still has opportunities.

Zhao Feiyang entrusted Xu Chunliang with controlling the situation, allowing him to decide when to release the salaries.

Once Xu Chunliang felt that the situation on Weishan Island became uncontrollable, he would arrange for the financial department to release the salaries immediately.

Xu Chunliang decided to accept this task, but he also had a condition, hoping Zhao Feiyang would provide as much detailed information as possible.

To choose the most suitable response strategies, they must understand the branch’s past and present, which Zhao Feiyang assured wouldn’t be a problem.

Xu Chunliang also briefly reported the current chaos at the branch, and Zhao Feiyang encouraged him to proceed freely.

For example, if Xu Chunliang could recover the pending rent for the surrounding storefronts, the hospital would offer him a ten percent reward from it.

Yan Huaiyi was now most concerned about when the wages would be deposited. Just now, Finance Chief Li Jinxia came to him, having already contacted Changxing’s finance department, and they said they hadn’t received any notice for salary release yet.

Yan Huaiyi reassured Li Jinxia not to worry, as such a significant issue couldn’t involve deception from the director. He assured her the salaries would definitely be deposited within two days.

Li Jinxia was skeptical, but as a small branch finance chief, she could only keep a close watch on the accounts.

Yan Huaiyi wasn’t in good shape today, starting to hiccup after breakfast. Initially, he didn’t take it seriously, assuming drinking some hot tea would help, but as noon approached, it hadn’t stopped.

This condition prevented him from going to the town government today, as it’s clearly unsuitable for negotiations.

Feeling something was wrong with his body, he sought out expert Miao Xiujun.

Before retirement, Miao Xiujun worked in the gastroenterology department at Changxing Hospital, and this condition is termed diaphragmatic spasm in Western medicine and called "hiccup" in Chinese medicine.

Miao Xiujun believed the hiccups were typically caused by gastric issues. Given Yan Huaiyi’s history of chronic gastritis, the new environment, and the substantial alcohol consumption, he might have acclimatization issues, thus deciding to focus on treating the gastrointestinal tract.

He prescribed Omeprazole to inhibit gastric acid, aluminum phosphate gel to protect the gastric mucosa, supplemented by Amoxicillin capsules for inflammation.

He advised Yan Huaiyi to drink plenty of hot water upon returning and try holding his breath to alleviate symptoms.

These basic methods were familiar to Yan Huaiyi, and after taking medication, he went to rest in his dormitory, entrusting the afternoon’s quality control meeting to Jin Yonghao.

In fact, given the chaotic state of the Weishan Island Branch, quality control barely existed, and maintaining basic hospital operations was an achievement. The so-called quality control meeting was merely a formality for reporting to higher authorities.

Xu Chunliang didn’t attend the meeting either. Zhao Feiyang had already clarified his task, leaving quality control to others while his focus was on resolving the branch’s property issues.

Zhao Feiyang was in charge of coordinating with the upper echelons of Weishan County, while Xu Chunliang handled coordination at the grassroots level in Hu Shan Town. He was also given a title: Special Assistant to the Director of Changxing Hospital, which would be formally stated tomorrow.

This wasn’t just for appeasing but also to facilitate Xu Chunliang’s work. Without a suitable title, how could he negotiate with the local government?

Before beginning his work, Xu Chunliang had to understand the background and development of this matter.

He spent the entire afternoon in his room studying materials in this area.

Xu Chunliang’s style is either not to do it at all or to go all out once accepted.

After his symptoms eased, Xu Daqing first went home, and Jin Yonghao, on behalf of the hospital, made a formal decision to suspend him. Considering the possible fierce retaliation, the plan was to announce the dismissal a few days later.

The result of the handling from the police station had also come out—detention for seven days and a fine of 500 yuan.

To the north of Weishan Island is the Ma Lou Detention Center. After recovering from his injuries and undergoing a health check, Xu Daqing could be sent for detention.

Zhang Haibin came to the hospital in the afternoon and participated in the quality control meeting. His overall performance was fairly normal.

After the meeting, Jin Yonghao and Tang Mingmei went together to see Yan Huaiyi to report work. They hadn’t even entered the door when they heard hiccup sounds from the room.

Even after taking medicine, Yan Huaiyi didn’t see any improvement. He had thought of all sorts of methods, but from morning until now, his mood had turned extremely irritable.

The two saw his state and felt embarrassed to report to him. Tang Mingmei suggested that Yan Huaiyi could see a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner.

Jin Yonghao knew there was a TCM clinic in Shiliang Village nearby, where the sitting doctor was surnamed Liu. His skills were quite good, with several secret recipes, and he offered to take Yan Huaiyi there.

Yan Huaiyi shook his head like a rattle drum. As Vice Director Changxing, having to seek a rural doctor would make people laugh off their teeth. Plus, his hiccups were starting to become stylish, hic, hic, hic...

Listening to his hiccups, Tang Mingmei recalled a line from a Tang poem, "Curved neck singing to the sky," and couldn’t hold back her laughter.

She quickly stifled her laughter, realizing it was too late. Yan Huaiyi looked at her with a face full of grievance, hic, hic, hic... thinking that Tang Mingmei was gloating.

Tang Mingmei suggested, "Isn’t Xiaoxu from a family of TCM practitioners? Maybe he has a solution."

Jin Yonghao said, "A family of TCM practitioners doesn’t necessarily mean they know TCM."

"He...hic...he...hic hic...isn’t a doc...tor...tor...hic hic hic..." This stuttering hiccup was a rare delight to hear, like a rap performance.

Not only Tang Mingmei wanted to laugh, but Jin Yonghao also wanted to laugh. However, he could hold back; Tang Mingmei’s threshold for laughter was a bit lower.

At this point, Xu Chunliang also heard the commotion and came over, "Dean Yan, what’s going on? Still hiccuping?"

Hic hic hic...Yan Huaiyi’s hiccups had him trembling, hoping the three would leave quickly so he could quietly savor this sour experience.

Despite being a leader, do I not care about my face? My image?

Tang Mingmei said, "Xiaoxu, perfect timing. Your Huichun Hall is an old brand in Dongzhou. Do you have any ancestral secret recipe for treating hiccups?"

Xu Chunliang asked, "Did you see anyone about it? What did the experts say?"

Jin Yonghao said, "Director Miao examined it: diaphragm spasm."

Xu Chunliang said, "Not at all, not at all. I think it’s hiccups. The disease is located in the diaphragm; the stomach is below the diaphragm; stomach qi rises and agitates the diaphragm."

Jin Yonghao thought to himself that it seemed somewhat logical. But isn’t hiccup just diaphragm spasm? What’s with the ancient text? Young people have so many good things to do, yet they choose to show off. Don’t they know everyone is in the medical system?

Tang Mingmei said, "You surely have a way to treat it, right?"

Xu Chunliang smiled and said he could give it a try. He approached Yan Huaiyi and had him straddle the chair for a massage.

Yan Huaiyi didn’t care if Xu Chunliang was a doctor now; as long as he could cure the hiccup, it would be fine. Western medicine had already been tried and didn’t work, hoping Xu Chunliang learned real skills from his grandfather.

The first-choice treatment for hiccups is massaging the Yifeng acupoint.

Yi means to discard, and Feng means wind; this acupoint can treat stroke and was thus named Yifeng.

Yifeng acupoint is one of the commonly used acupoints on the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian, located on the face, below the ear, in the posterior inferior concave part next to the earlobe root.

The Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian and the Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian cross here. Pressing this acupoint can expel wind, connect the channels, and open the orifices.

Hiccup’s cause is the disorder of the qi mechanism. The Sanjiao is the path of the operation of water-fire qi. The Sanjiao Meridian governs diseases caused by qi, and pressing the Yifeng acupoint can help smooth the qi mechanism of the Sanjiao.

An expert knows if there’s a real deal. Xu Chunliang was accurate in locating acupoints, holding down Yan Huaiyi’s Yifeng acupoint. With slight pressure, Yan Huaiyi’s cheeks immediately felt sore and bloated, like swallowing a lemon, as if a large amount of hydrogen peroxide had quickly injected into his parotid gland.

Yan Huaiyi’s mouth and tongue flowed with saliva, and as Xu Chunliang pressed the Yifeng acupoint, the intervals between his hiccups noticeably lengthened.

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