The work of emergency department medical staff, though the busiest and most tiring, made the administrative director of the emergency department a more coveted position than that of a general vice president, as it involved managing too many people and affairs, with opportunities for personal gain everywhere.
As soon as Lin Chenggang finished speaking, not only the administrative directors and deputy directors of other departments present, but even Vice Presidents Li Guigui, Qian Wanjiang, and Sun Shengjie, couldn't help but show envious expressions, feeling that Chen Xiao had truly struck gold.
However, Chen Xiao, without a second thought, kicked Lin Chenggang over and said with utter disdain:
"The current Dean Bai is right here! You, a clinical chief physician with no administrative position, dare to promise me an official post in public? Aren't you afraid of tarnishing the lifelong reputation that the former Dean Lin Huichun worked so hard to build? I still have to consider the dignity of both deans! Moreover, if I want to be the administrative director of the emergency department, I can achieve it with my own strength. Do I need a disloyal and unfilial dog like you to abuse your power for personal gain? Bah!"
"You..."
Seeing that his temptation had failed, Lin Chenggang hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, and threatened:
"You little bastard surnamed Chen, don't push your luck! My father might be too old and confused to bother with you, but my wife's elder brother is Kang Wenxue, the president of the Juxian City Traditional Chinese Medicine Wholesale Association! And my second brother is Kang Wuxue, the highly influential Deputy Director of the relevant supervisory department in the Juxian City pharmaceutical industry! With a single word from either of them, they can make you unable to stay at the Central Hospital!"
His words clearly carried significant weight. Li Guigui, Luo Qingping, and others present changed their expressions. Even Bai Su couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief:
"Deputy Director Kang... Deputy Director Kang is actually... your second brother-in-law?"
Everyone had assumed that Lin Chenggang's usual arrogance stemmed from having a father who had served as the dean of the Central Hospital for several terms. But now it seemed his greatest reliance was Kang Wuxue, who oversaw the normal operation of major hospitals in Juxian City.
Shocked, Bai Su quickly tiptoed and whispered into Chen Xiao's ear, trying to dissuade him:
"Chen Xiao, I know you've been wronged, but Deputy Director Kang is not someone we can afford to offend. To prevent your mother from worrying, why don't we... let it go for now? If Kang Wuxue is truly involved, even if I have to give up my position as dean, I'm afraid... I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you!"
Fearing Chen Xiao wouldn't listen, Bai Su even tightly clutched Chen Xiao's arm as she spoke, her fair and delicate fingertips almost bleeding from the pressure of her nails.
Noticing Bai Su's startled expression as she whispered to Chen Xiao, Lin Chenggang guessed that Bai Su was trying to persuade Chen Xiao not to call the police. He became even more smug. Enduring the intense pain from Chen Xiao's earlier blow, he sat arrogantly on the sofa and declared with extreme arrogance:
"Little bastard surnamed Chen, you're finally scared now, aren't you? Come on! As long as you kneel down in front of me and kowtow three times, I might consider letting bygones be bygones, hehe."
However, Chen Xiao was completely unfazed. He forcefully broke free from Bai Su's grip and delivered another kick to Lin Chenggang, sending him and the sofa tumbling over. He declared resolutely:
"The law is just! Since I, Chen Xiao, act with integrity, I am not afraid of your powerful brother-in-law! If you're not convinced, just have him come and argue with me! It would be best if he is just, but if he abuses his power like you, I'll beat him too!"
As he spoke, he glared fiercely at Luo Qingping.
Seeing that Chen Xiao still dared to lay hands on Lin Chenggang at this point, Luo Qingping became even more convinced that Chen Xiao had an unusual connection with the Northern Border Army. Without further hesitation, he personally grabbed Lin Chenggang and left.
Li Guigui and the others were almost scared out of their wits, completely forgetting their composure, and scrambled to flee. In the blink of an eye, the boisterous dean's office fell completely silent.
But Bai Su's heart was churning like ants on a hot pan. She muttered to herself:
"No! The priority now is to get Old Dean Lin to intervene. If he can persuade Deputy Director Kang, that would be best. If not, the problem will be serious!"
As she spoke, she made a move to call Lin Huichun, who happened to be off duty that day.
Chen Xiao, with a wry smile, snatched the phone away and handed her the milk tea:
"Aunt Bai, things will work out in the end. Stop worrying and drink your milk tea to calm down, or it will get cold."
He paused and then comforted her:
"Besides, Deputy Director Kang is definitely not the type to abuse his power. Otherwise, I would have encountered him long ago."
"Hmm?"
Bai Su was slightly stunned at first, then jumped up as if her backside was on fire:
"You brat! What do you mean by that? Could it be... have you already offended Deputy Director Kang?"
"You could say that!"
Chen Xiao said calmly, without hiding anything:
"I beat up Kang Wenxue last night, and he's definitely in the hospital by now. I'm not sure if it's our Central Hospital, though. If Deputy Director Kang were a petty person who abused his power like Lin Chenggang, why wouldn't he have come after me? With his status, it would be as easy as pie to deal with a mere practicing doctor like me!"
"Pfft—"
Bai Su, who was forcing herself to drink milk tea to calm her nerves, was so startled by Chen Xiao's words that she spat it out.
As the current dean of the Central Hospital, she was certainly aware of Kang Wenxue, the president of the Juxian City Traditional Chinese Medicine Wholesale Association, and even interacted with him frequently. She also knew that Kang Wenxue was a lecherous and unscrupulous scumbag whom she had always kept at a distance.
Chen Xiao's ability to beat Kang Wenxue into the hospital should have earned his praise.
But the crucial issue was that Kang Wenxue's brother was Deputy Director Kang!
Although... although based on Bai Su's interactions, she also felt that Deputy Director Kang was indeed a good official who was impartial and upright.
She let Chen Xiao haphazardly wipe the milk tea from her mouth and chest with a tissue, and nervously scolded:
"You scoundrel! Deputy Director Kang not bothering you doesn't mean his sister—that is, Lin Chenggang's wife, Sister Kang—won't bother you! You have no idea how overbearing that woman is!"
"Overbearing? I don't think so!"
Chen Xiao shook his head without hesitation:
"Her son is called Lin Zhenyi, isn't he? He's my university alumnus. Not long ago, I also beat him into the hospital at Zhegu Tian. If she were as overbearing as you say, there's no reason why she wouldn't have come after me after all this time, is there?"
"So, the grandson that Old Dean Lin has been visiting at the First Affiliated Hospital of Provincial Medical University recently was also beaten into the hospital by you?"
Bai Su was dumbfounded, her face drained of color, completely stunned.
She had a vivid memory of Lin Zhenyi's hospitalization because after he was admitted, Lin Huichun, who had been on duty without fail for decades, 365 days a year, and even continued working after retirement, suddenly started taking leave every now and then, which completely overturned her perception of Lin Huichun.
But what was even more astonishing was Chen Xiao's series of outrageous actions recently!
Before, she had heard that Chen Xiao had beaten Liu Zihao and thought it was fake. She had heard that Chen Xiao had beaten Bai Lang and also thought it was fake. She had heard that Chen Xiao had beaten so-and-so, and it was all fake. After all, she had watched Chen Xiao grow up and had participated in every stage of his growth. She knew that Chen Xiao, in order not to make things difficult for her and Chen Qing, had learned to endure and retreat since childhood, and would never believe that Chen Xiao would hit anyone.
But now, not only had she witnessed Chen Xiao hitting someone, but she had also heard him personally admit to it.
The more she forced herself to calm down and think about Chen Xiao's recent behavior, the more she felt it was unbelievable and incomprehensible. After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly, disregarding everything, began to tug at Chen Xiao's pants, saying nervously:
"Quick, take them off and let me check! I seriously suspect you're not the little brat I raised!"
"Uh..."
Chen Xiao, caught off guard, almost had his pants completely pulled down by Bai Su. His face instantly turned green, and he hastily dodged, explaining with a wry smile:
"Aunt Bai, you watched me grow up. You know better than my mother how many times I've endured humiliation since I was a child, right? But after enduring it all, I found that people only called me a good-for-nothing except for being good-looking! So, I realized that instead of enduring it and being a coward for a lifetime, it's better to throw a punch! It's better to die standing than to live kneeling for even a second!"
"You..."
Bai Su was suddenly speechless, then choked up, and her eyes welled up with tears.
For so many years, she and Chen Qing had tried their best to protect Chen Xiao, not out of pity for him being bullied and tormented? After all, compared to children who cried and made a fuss, children who endured humiliation silently were even more heartbreaking.
But Bai Su knew that the priority was to ensure Chen Xiao's safety. Crying was useless, so she wiped away her tears and urged Chen Xiao:
"Brat, let's not waste time. Choose a hospital in Mingzhu City or Yanbei City. I'll arrange paid further studies for you immediately. Until Lin Chenggang's trouble is resolved, I forbid you to come back!"
Let him abuse his power if he must. As long as Chen Xiao could be protected from any harm, she would do it without hesitation.
"Paid further studies?"
Chen Xiao was overwhelmed. Jin Fang Pharmaceutical had just been taken over, and Chen Qing was still recovering from serious injuries. How could he leave Juxian City?
Just then, Xu Jingyin called:
"Dr. Chen, are you coming back? We've encountered another strange patient that Dr. Meng is also helpless with, and there are two of them. They specifically requested you to see them!"
Chen Xiao deliberately turned on the speakerphone so Bai Su could hear what Xu Jingyin was saying. Then, he quickly seized the opportunity to get up and leave, saying without looking back:
"Aunt Bai, we can talk about paid further studies another day. The clinic really can't do without me!"
...
At this moment, Lin Zhenyi, wearing a hospital gown from the First Affiliated Hospital of Provincial Medical University, sat nervously in examination room number eight, accompanied by his mother, Kang Jiamei.
Although Lin Zhenyi harbored resentment after being beaten by Chen Xiao at Zhegu Tian and hospitalized not long ago, the "Jingui Shunqi San" (Golden Chamber Qi-Soothing Powder) that Chen Xiao forced him to try had caused him to visibly lose weight at an astonishing rate.
He had inherited his mother Kang Jiamei's tendency to gain weight and had been obese since childhood. Before being forced to try the Jingui Shunqi San, his weight was over 360 jin. However, when he was admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Provincial Medical University, he weighed just over 300 jin. He desperately wanted to beg Chen Xiao for more Jingui Shunqi San to lose weight.
Therefore, during his hospital stay, no matter how his family questioned him, he never revealed that he was injured by Chen Xiao.
Now that he could finally move around with some difficulty, he eagerly took Kang Jiamei, who weighed around 300 jin, in a wheelchair to see Chen Xiao.
Meng Baobao looked at Kang Jiamei, who was as round as a ball, and then at Lin Zhenyi, who was as fat as a pig. Without saying a word, she turned and left with a dark expression. Xu Jingyin, holding her forehead, quickly spoke to appease their emotions:
"Mr. Lin, Ms. Kang, please wait a moment longer. Dr. Chen will be back soon."
Kang Jiamei was already very annoyed that Meng Baobao and Xu Jingyin didn't recognize her and her son. Seeing Meng Baobao leave without saying much, she became even more enraged and couldn't help but complain, as if showing off:
"Zhenyi, ever since your grandfather stepped down as dean, the management of the Central Hospital has been getting worse and worse. It's one thing that that arrogant banshee Meng Baobao ignores us, but even the doctors on duty can just leave their posts at will!"
Lin Zhenyi was startled and quickly covered Kang Jiamei's mouth, whispering:
"Mom, say less! Dr. Chen's divine medicine can really help us lose weight. If you accidentally anger him, won't it all be for naught? You'll never know how much humiliation I've endured to come here to see Dr. Chen."