NOVPUBChapter 58: Chapter 57 The Unchangeable Reality
Chapter 58 -57 The Unchangeable Reality
This sentence made Chaoyang momentarily startled.
Could a wisher harbor two wishes at the same time? It seemed not impossible. Judging from the shape of the light pillar, both prayers were directed at him… or rather, that fabricated Paradise Master. “But why is her wish the lesser of the two?”
“How would I know?” Ailuodi muttered, “Besides, why should I be offering ideas to a Demon? You figure it out yourself.”
Having said that, she stood up, patted the mud off her pants, and walked out humming a tune.
It seemed the Angel was in quite a good mood.
Was it because she hadn’t truly fulfilled the nun’s wish? For a moment, Chaoyang was perplexed, wondering if he was the villain, or if it was actually the Angel who was the villain?
However, he also had a way to solve this.
If the reason was unclear, just go ask.
Of course, not asking Jenny herself.
But his “pawn.”
…
After the modest dinner concluded, the group returned to their residence on Emerald Street, and Chaoyang reappeared before everyone.
“Is that it?” Anthony almost had dissatisfaction written all over his face, “I mean, is that even a task? A million US dollars is no small amount, host, I don’t think this is in keeping with the spirit of the Paradise game!”
“Weren’t you the one who didn’t even stay at the Yeni Temple?” Qianyuan Meiko coolly replied, “You must have wandered outside. In such a distinct world, even just for sightseeing, the money is worth it.”
“But what I want is the thrill! Just like the previous two rounds of the game! Understand, woman!”
“The task is not yet over,” Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly interjected.
“What?” The others were taken aback, their gazes instinctively turning towards Chaoyang.
Yet, Chaoyang gave no reaction, as if he hadn’t heard what the other said.
“What’s up, Brother Zhang?” Zhou Zhi was curious.
“We haven’t solved the troubles of the temple. I thought Miss Jenny was interested in further understanding the impact of microbiology in medicine to reduce patient mortality, but, in fact, I found that she was more concerned about medicinal issues. Simply put, she hoped to inquire from a non-existent friend of mine about some medication formulas. Regardless of the effectiveness, the most important aspect was that they be cheap.”
“She did seem to mention the term ‘medication’ multiple times,” Zhou Zhi reflected, “Could it be that in this world, medical practitioners have to know how to prepare medicines themselves to be considered competent?”
“If the field of microbiology hasn’t been developed, medicine seems to indeed play a vital role,” Qianyuan Meiko mused, “Of course, we could also pull out antibiotics, our ace in the hole, to satisfy the nuns’ needs.”
“That’s not the issue at all,” Zhang Zhiyuan kept shaking his head, his tone filled with anger, “Right now, we can’t solve anything.”
“That can’t be…” Zhou Zhi expressed his doubt, “Didn’t you say that simply boiling water had already saved many of their lives before?”
“That’s all there is to it.”
He took out a piece of paper filled with the content he had previously recorded, “The patients treated at the temple can generally be divided into three categories, with the bulk being occupational injuries from the mines and factories; next are the gang fight casualties, and finally, the mercenaries and adventurers who returned from exploring the Misty Zone. The types of ailments are mainly surgical, mostly physical trauma.”
“What about internal medicine?” Zhou Zhi curiously asked.
“I don’t know, but indeed, I have not seen many internal medicine patients after my rounds,” Zhang Zhiyuan continued, “But the key issue isn’t this, it’s the temple’s expenditure ratio. I inquired with several nuns during dinner and discovered a great problem with the temple’s expenses. Their income essentially comes from corporate subsidies, gifts from the city lord, and medical fees, with proportion I calculated being roughly seven to two to one.”
“Wow, you were able to find that out?”
“This is hardly a secret at Yeni Temple; many are aware of the specific figures. Their expenses can also be categorized into three: mainly medical consumables, nun salaries, and temple maintenance. This is slightly more confidential, and I got it directly from Miss Jenny. After comparing the numbers from both sides, I found that the ratio of these three types of expenses is astonishingly eight to one to one.”
“How can that be…” Zhou Zhi was greatly surprised.
Qianyuan Meiko also furrowed her brows deeply.
“As you have seen, the medical environment of Yeni Temple is quite dreadful. They do not have enough enclosed rooms, not even sufficient hospital beds. All their towels and bedding have been overused, and even items like bandages, which are commonly needed, are of the lowest quality,” Zhang Zhiyuan said gravely, “The temple’s income each year is around two thousand gold, and if eighty percent is spent on purchasing these consumables, their quality definitely couldn’t be this poor!”
“Someone must be embezzling,” Anthony muttered, “Isn’t that quite common?”
“The temple counts as a semi-charitable organization, and its management is quite rudimentary. I asked Jenny, and above her, there are only three senior nuns, and many people can review the accounts, so even if there is embezzlement, it wouldn’t have such a big impact,” Zhang Zhiyuan said in denial, “It ultimately comes down to corporate subsidies.”
“Didn’t you say that corporate subsidies make up seventy percent of the temple’s income?” Zhou Zhi asked.
“That’s correct, but the subsidy isn’t unconditional,” Zhang Zhiyuan slammed his fist onto the table, “According to Miss Jenny, the enterprise and Yeni Temple have signed a contract, which mandates that this money must be used primarily to purchase medical products from Lesun Company. That wouldn’t have been an issue, but the situation suddenly changed over the past year. Lesun suddenly raised the prices of their goods, especially the medicine, by three to four times, and the quality of commonly used items like bandages also dropped significantly. What’s more disgusting is that there are about ten private clinics inside Magnificent Castle, and Miss Jenny had someone inquire about them; they haven’t encountered a similar problem, so this move is clearly those enterprises deliberately targeting Yeni Temple!”
“But… why would they do that?”
“Because the subsidy was not given willingly by the corporation,” Chaoyang suddenly chimed in, “The contract between the two parties originated from public pressure and the lord’s balance.”
At the same time, he was inwardly amazed; Zhang Zhiyuan’s performance had once again exceeded his expectations, no wonder he was highly regarded in the international police department. To be able to investigate Yeni Temple’s issues so thoroughly in just one day—his capabilities at his age were truly exceptional.
“So you were listening,” Qianyuan Meiko glanced at him, “Host, is this also within your plan?”
“You could try to find a solution.”
“I’m afraid there isn’t one,” Zhang Zhiyuan seemed tired after his anger, “I’ve thought about it all night, but it’s a dead end. Even if Miss Jenny got her hands on cheap medicine formulas, what then? Could she produce them herself? If the large companies found out about this, the fruits of her labor would surely be plundered. Lesun Company dares to target Yeni Temple precisely because the temple is overly dependent on that subsidy. Suffering in silence, they can still exist; but if the relationship is severed, the temple will probably go bankrupt immediately!”
“So the things you taught them… are of little help to them…” Zhou Zhi gradually understood his teammate’s feelings.
“That’s right, Miss Jenny is doing her best, but this slight decrease in patient mortality is already the limit,” Zhang Zhiyuan said in a low voice, “No matter how much the nuns pay attention to hygiene, no matter how much they disinfect their hands, there won’t be much difference in such a medical environment compared to before.”
