Chapter 42: Rules

"You still dare to ask about the rules!" The tall, thin man glared fiercely, pointing at Zeng Yi's nose and said, "Let me tell you, our section chief's words are the rules. If he says you don't meet the rules, then you definitely don't! If you dare to argue, the fine will be doubled!"

"A mere section chief, and he has such authority!" Guo Penghui sneered, "I doubt even the director of your municipal bureau, Zhang Qiang, has such power!"

The people from the Health Bureau were momentarily stunned. They carefully examined Guo Penghui, wondering who this person was, daring to call Director Zhang by his name and speaking with such authority. Uncertain of his background, they dared not take any action.

"How many times have I told you to enforce the law civilly!"

The section chief with a beer belly, being more experienced, quickly regained his composure. He rubbed his belly and said, "You want to talk about rules? Fine, I'll explain them to you."

He picked up Zeng Yi's medical practice certificate, "See this? This certificate was issued three years ago. According to the regulations of the provincial health department, to open a private traditional Chinese medicine clinic, one must have at least five years of experience. This is only three years, clearly not meeting the rules!" The beer-bellied section chief had some skills; he wasn't entirely ignorant of the policies and regulations, often using them to impose fines and generate revenue.

The tall, thin man looked at Zeng Yi, "Did you hear that? This is the regulation of the provincial health department. If you're not satisfied, go and complain to the provincial health department!"

"Why argue with this legal ignoramus? Just seize the certificate and impose a heavy fine until he dares not say a word!"

Guo Penghui's face turned green with anger. The health department did have a five-year requirement, but it applied to ordinary practitioners. If one reached the level of a chief physician, they were exempt from this requirement. Zeng Yi was an expert in the expert group and a board member of the Chinese Medicine Association. In terms of physician level, he was already above a chief physician. Opening a small clinic didn't require a medical practice certificate.

He realized that the other party was just looking for trouble. Even if all the conditions were met, they could still find other issues. Today or tomorrow, they would find something. Dealing with such people, reasoning was useless. The most effective way was to have their superior intervene, ensuring they would comply!

Guo Penghui took out his phone, furious, "Fine, I'll call your director now and see if he says the same!"

"Go ahead, I'll stand here and wait for you to finish the call!"

The beer-bellied section chief was not at all flustered. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and stood there smoking, glancing at Guo Penghui, "Let me tell you, even if you call the State Council today, we will still seize the certificate!"

In Rongcheng, many people knew the director, but whether the director knew them was another matter. Even if he knew the director, did the director know who he was? The beer-bellied section chief didn't take Guo Penghui seriously. "I'm just doing my job according to the rules, what are you afraid of?"

Guo Penghui called the director of the Rongcheng Health Bureau, Zhang Qiang. After a moment, the phone indicated it was turned off. He tried again, with the same result.

The people from the Health Bureau laughed, "Can't get through? Did you write down the wrong number? Do you need us to provide Director Zhang's number?"

The beer-bellied section chief didn't bother to argue. He had guessed right; this was just a paper tiger. He waved his hand, "Seize the certificate first! Then issue the penalty notice and post it on the website. Anyone who visits the site will know the director's name. The director's phone number is also posted, but have you ever heard of anyone getting through? These days, every director has several phones. Do you think you can find the director with any random number? It's a joke. If you can find the director's secretary, you're doing well. I'll let you be the section chief."

The tall, thin man took out a penalty notice from his bag: revoke the license and impose a fine of 30,000 yuan. The seal was already stamped, clearly prepared in advance.

"You have 48 hours to come to the bureau to explain the issue and accept the penalty. Otherwise, we will hand it over to the court, and the consequences will be on you!"

The tall, thin man slapped the penalty notice on the table and took away all of Zeng Yi's certificates, "We will re-examine all these certificates!"

Guo Penghui was furious with Zhang Qiang. In the past, he was always there for drinking and eating, but when it mattered, he let him down. Seeing Zeng Yi's certificates about to be taken away, Guo Penghui panicked. If these people seized Zeng Yi's certificates in front of him, he would have no face left as a director.

"Stop! Do you know who I am?"

In a fit of anger, Guo Penghui said something unprofessional. He reached into his pocket to take out his work ID, thinking it would be enough to scare them, even if he couldn't do anything to them.

Zeng Yi reached out and stopped Guo Penghui. He felt he could handle this himself and didn't want to owe Guo Penghui a favor. Besides, if Guo Penghui revealed his identity and they still didn't care, it would be embarrassing for Guo Penghui in the medical community.

The beer-bellied section chief stopped, but after waiting for a while and seeing no movement from Guo Penghui, he became angry, "Damn, I've been patient with you. If you keep nagging, don't blame me for being rude!"

"Section chief, calm down, why bother with such a person!" The tall, thin man advised the beer-bellied section chief, while looking at Guo Penghui with a mocking expression, "We don't know who you are, but Director Zhang does. If you have any grievances, go talk to Director Zhang."

The beer-bellied section chief glared at Guo Penghui and left.

Guo Penghui was so angry that he almost fainted. He had never been so humiliated in the health department, being mocked and threatened by a few section chiefs.

"Boy, remember, 48 hours. If you exceed 48 hours, the consequences will be on you!" The tall, thin man warned Zeng Yi before leaving.

Zeng Yi looked at them coldly, "Tell your section chief, however you take my certificate today, in a couple of days, you'll have to return it!"

"Ha! What a pair of lunatics, go home and take your medicine!" The tall, thin man, having achieved his goal, didn't bother to argue with Zeng Yi. He took the certificates and left to catch up with the beer-bellied section chief.

"Lawless, completely lawless! I will definitely report this to their director!"

Guo Penghui's chest heaved with anger. He had heard before that these grassroots health bureau officials would deliberately find faults with newly opened clinics and medical institutions to impose fines, but he never expected it to be this severe. Zeng Yi's clinic hadn't even opened, and he was already fined 30,000 yuan. Asking one more question would double the fine. It was utterly shameless!

"Calm down, calm down, there's no need to get so angry. The certificate will be returned in a couple of days!" Zeng Yi tried to calm Guo Penghui.

After cursing for a while, Guo Penghui calmed down a bit, "Mr. Zeng, I am truly ashamed. I let them take your license."

"Director Guo has done his best! You know, these grassroots officials are used to acting arbitrarily and don't listen to reason."

"Shame, shame!" Guo Penghui sighed. After this incident, he felt he couldn't stay there. He got up to leave, "Mr. Zeng, rest assured, I will definitely get your certificate back for you."

Zeng Yi smiled, "I trust Director Guo! But you are busy with important matters. I don't want to trouble you with my small issues. I'll try to solve it myself. If I can't, I'll ask for your help."

Seeing Zeng Yi say this, Guo Penghui couldn't insist, "Alright, let's do it this way!" He got into his car and drove away, not heading back to the health department but to find Zhang Qiang.

In the evening, the woman who sold herbs came again. She wore a different pair of shoes, but they were still high heels, and she walked in with the same "click-clack" sound.

"So, have you decided? Are you returning the herbs or not?"

The woman found a place to sit, as if she were at home.

The tall, thin man brought up the herbs issue as soon as he entered. Zeng Yi had suspected that today's incident might be related to this woman, and now he was sure. He said, "I didn't expect you to have such strong connections in the health department."

"Of course!" The woman crossed her legs, looking arrogant, "Let me tell you, I'm the only one supplying traditional Chinese medicine in the entire Tianfu district."

"Admirable, admirable!" Zeng Yi's face still had a hint of a smile.

"Enough talk, what have you been doing all this time!" The woman took out a contract and threw it on the table, "But it's not too late. If you sign this supply contract, I guarantee your clinic will open smoothly. However, you still have to pay the fine from the health department. I will only get your certificate back for you."

Zeng Yi didn't even look at the contract. His face suddenly turned cold, "Don't bother. My clinic will definitely open on time. I have no interest in signing this contract, and I won't pay the fine from the health department."

The woman's eyes looked at him as if he were a monster. After a long moment, she stood up, snatched back the contract, and said arrogantly, "Boy, when you regret it, don't blame me for not giving you a chance. I'll put it this way, if your clinic opens, I'll change my last name to yours."

Zeng Yi raised his hand, "The door is that way, take your time, no need to see you off!"

"Ungrateful!" The woman huffed and left, swaying her hips with the same "click-clack" sound as before.

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End of the chapter.