Chapter 8: Recruiting Talent — Renowned Pediatrician

Lu Qingqiang wasn’t the type to be difficult.

Since she had already acknowledged Madam Lu as her mother, then any gifts from her mother were hers to use however she pleased.

No such thing as too much, and she wouldn’t complain if it was too little either.

“Tongzi, check my balance.”

While applying a face mask, Lu Qingqiang was feeling a bit bored, so she asked casually.

“Alright, Host, please wait a moment.”

“Balance inquiry complete. You currently have 1,347,800 yuan.”

“That fast? Tongzi, you’re amazing!”

Lu Qingqiang was so excited by the number that she nearly jumped up.

It hadn’t even been half a day, had it?

The system had already turned her initial 800,000 yuan into over 1.34 million through legitimate investments.

She couldn’t even imagine how much money she’d have after 900 days.

Wahaha, so happy!

“Host, would you like to enter learning mode?” the system asked.

“Hm? Learning? Learning what?”

“The driving skills previously gifted to you can now be practiced in simulation mode.”

“In addition, gardening and animal husbandry skills can also be activated for learning now,” the system said calmly.

“Learn!” Lu Qingqiang nodded without hesitation.

If she wanted to slack off in public, she had to suffer in private.

Skills were the kind of thing where the more you learned, the better.

The system might not be around forever.

Once she returned, she probably wouldn’t have any kind of cheat like this.

So why not take advantage of the opportunity to learn as much as she could?

The more the better, right?

Soon, lying on the bed, Lu Qingqiang began practicing driving skills in her consciousness.

She had wanted to learn how to drive for a long time.

But her health had been poor in the past.

Most of the time, she was stuck in a hospital bed.

She never even had the chance to learn.

And after transmigrating, her new family was too poor to afford driving lessons.

Who would’ve thought driving could actually be so fun?

She kept simulating all kinds of maneuvers in her mind—parallel parking, backing into a space, S-turns, starting on a slope, and so on.

Yep, those were all part of the driving test.

Once she got the hang of it, she’d find time to get her license.

Lu Qingqiang was a bit of a perfectionist.

Which meant she was especially meticulous during practice.

She followed the system’s instructions in her mind to the letter.

Even being off by one centimeter was unacceptable.

After practicing for most of the night, she finally drifted off to sleep with her eyes closed.

She had thought that after all the running around the day before, she’d be too tired to get up in the morning.

But surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.

Just past seven, she was already up and full of energy.

Only to find that Aunt Liu and Master Zhao were up even earlier.

At that moment, the two of them were already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

“Master Zhao, how come you’re here so early?”

“Hehe, I’m getting old, don’t sleep much. Figured I’d come over early since I had nothing else to do,” Zhao Guojiang said with a cheerful smile.

“Did you drive here, Master Zhao?”

“Yeah. Actually, if you leave early in the morning, there’s no traffic at all.”

“I’ll reimburse you 500 yuan a month for gas from now on,” Lu Qingqiang added.

“Thanks, Boss!” Zhao Guojiang said gratefully.

“Oh right, Master Zhao, I need to take everyone to the hospital for checkups today, so we probably won’t have time for breakfast.”

“No problem. I’ll boil some eggs and roast some sweet potatoes for you to take along. You can eat after the checkups.”

“That works. Thanks, Master Zhao.”

“You’re too kind, Boss.”

“Master Zhao, why are you calling her Boss? Call her Director!” Aunt Liu chimed in from the side.

“Ah, right, right, Director Lu, hehe!”

“~~~” Lu Qingqiang.

Alright, whatever makes you happy.

At exactly seven, the children woke up as well.

After washing up, Lu Qingqiang got everyone into the Bus and prepared to head to the hospital.

Before leaving, she reminded Master Zhao and Aunt Liu to keep a close eye on the construction team’s progress.

And to make sure they were provided with tea and water.

Once everyone was buckled in, the Bus set off.

Since it was the kids’ first time going out in a Bus, they were all wildly excited.

They kept peering out the windows, taking in the sights.

Even the driver, Xiao Zhang, was in a good mood.

It was his first time driving something like a school bus.

It felt kind of magical.

Of course, there was no need to question his skills—he had an A-class license.

As the vehicle made its way down the road, it attracted quite a few curious stares.

Most people assumed it was a school bus from some kindergarten.

After about forty minutes, they arrived at Ren’ai Hospital in Jiang City.

This was a hospital the Lu Family had invested in.

Though privately owned, it was built to the standards of a top-tier hospital.

Its medical equipment was state-of-the-art.

And the doctors and medical staff had been headhunted from top public hospitals with generous salaries.

With its great environment, excellent service, and strong medical team, the hospital naturally attracted many patients.

Of course, none of that mattered to Lu Qingqiang.

She had already been pre-registered.

As soon as they entered the lobby and gave her name, a staff member came to escort them to the second floor for the various checkup procedures.

Lu Qingqiang finished her checkup first.

Then it was Xiao Hui’s turn.

“Xiao Zhang, help me look after the kids. Once they’re done, just take them back,” she said.

“Got it, Director,” Xiao Zhang nodded.

Before coming, Lu Qingqiang had already explained everything to the other sixteen children.

They were all genuinely happy that she was willing to spend money to treat Xiao Hui’s illness.

After all, they had all been raised by Director Wu.

Director Wu had taught them to help one another, to treat the other children in the orphanage as siblings.

So the seventeen kids had a very close bond.

Sure, they had their occasional arguments.

But once the fight was over, they were back to being brothers and sisters.

Scheming and backstabbing? Didn’t exist among them.

After knocking on the pediatric cardiology head of dept’s office, Lu Qingqiang explained Xiao Hui’s condition to Doctor Shen.

She also handed over Xiao Hui’s ECG and cardiac ultrasound results.

Doctor Shen listened carefully, then examined the reports.

He picked up a stethoscope and listened to Xiao Hui’s chest.

“It’s definitely a classic case of congenital heart disease. The child is still young. If we schedule the surgery soon, there’s a good chance of full recovery.”

“Then I’ll trouble you to arrange the surgery for Xiao Hui as soon as possible,” Lu Qingqiang said.

“Of course. Are you the child’s…?”

“I’m his guardian. If anything comes up, you can talk to me directly,” she replied.

“Understood.”

“Here’s the situation: our best surgeon for this procedure, Doctor Ma, is currently on vacation.”

“He won’t be back for another three to five days.”

“How about we do the cleft lip surgery first?”

“Sure. Let me know what needs to be prepared beforehand.”

“……”

Technically, the earlier a cleft lip surgery is performed, the better the results.

But Xiao Hui’s had been delayed until now, which meant the surgery would be more complex and risky.

Still, it was fine. Lu Qingqiang called Madam Lu and had her bring in a top expert in the field.

She arranged Xiao Hui’s hospital admission and scheduled the surgery.

Soon after, Xiao Hui was wheeled into the operating room.

Before he went in, Lu Qingqiang hugged him gently and comforted him.

“Xiao Hui, don’t be scared. You’re just going in for a nap. When you wake up, everything will be fine.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right outside waiting for you.”

“Okay. Thank you, Mama Lu. I’m not scared,” Xiao Hui said, giving her a smile.

While waiting, Lu Qingqiang let her mind drift and re-entered the driving simulation mode.

She was in the middle of practicing when a woman in a white coat hurried by and accidentally bumped into her.

“Sorry, miss. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Are you okay?” Lu Qingqiang snapped out of it and looked at the woman in front of her.

She appeared to be in her fifties or sixties, with graying hair neatly tied back.

Her name badge revealed her identity.

Pediatric Chief Physician — Feng Shou.

Wait a second, wasn’t this the renowned pediatrician the system had recommended to her earlier?

I have to find a way to recruit her to the orphanage!

“I’m fine. Well, I’ll be heading off now.”

With that, Doctor Feng, dressed in a white lab coat, turned to leave.

But before she could take more than two steps, her legs gave out and she nearly collapsed to the floor.

“Please sit down and rest for a bit.”

“Here, this is for you.”

Lu Qingqiang handed her the bread and warm milk the hospital had given her after her check-up.

She also passed over two slices of roasted sweet potato jerky made by Master Zhao.

“Thanks.” Doctor Feng, who was a bit hypoglycemic, didn’t stand on ceremony. She took the jerky and bit into it right away.

{Hypoglycemic means having low blood sugar}

“Young lady, where did you buy this? It’s pretty tasty.”

“My family made it.”

“Oh, I see.”

As they were chatting, Doctor Feng’s phone rang.

“Hello, Mom? Where did you sneak off to this time?”

“I already told you, you’re retired now. Why are you still going back to work?”

“Your health isn’t great. Wouldn’t it be better to just stay home, tend to your flowers, and get some rest?”

“Why do you have to sneak off to the hospital to work?”

“Are you trying to drive me and my sisters crazy?”

Even though the phone wasn’t on speaker, the voice on the other end was loud enough that Lu Qingqiang couldn’t help but overhear.

“Juanzi, if I don’t work, what’s the point of staying at home?”

“I’ve been busy my whole life. How can I suddenly just sit around and do nothing?”

“Didn’t I promise you all? I’ll try not to work overtime, and I’ll come home early whenever I can.”

“Besides, I can earn a little extra money to buy toys for Mingming and the others.”

“Everything’s so competitive these days. All the other kids are going to tutoring classes. How can Mingming not go?”

“You all work hard all year, but how much money can you really make?” Doctor Feng said.

“Mom, you don’t need to worry about that. Mingming is my child, and his father and I will take care of everything.”

“What we want is for you to stay healthy, that’s all.”

“From now on, you’re not allowed to go back to work. If you’re bored, I’ll sign you up for a senior hobby class or something.”

“No way.” Doctor Feng refused flatly.

“Mom, this isn’t a discussion. I’m telling you.”

“You—”

Before the person on the other end could finish, Doctor Feng hung up with a loud click.

“She’s going to be the death of me.”

“I’m a grown woman. Can’t I make my own decisions?” Doctor Feng muttered.

“Doctor Feng, was that your daughter on the phone?”

“She really cares about you,” Lu Qingqiang said with admiration.

“Yeah, I know. But I just don’t want to sit at home all by myself. It’s so boring.” Doctor Feng sighed.

“Doctor Feng, I actually have a suggestion.”

“Hmm?”

“How about coming to work at our orphanage?”

“Huh?”