Chapter 113 Teasing Her on Deliberately

Lin Mengyao was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she stammered, unable to speak.

Just then, Jiang Wanqiu took over the conversation: "Minister Cui, Madam Cui, I am from Shanghai. It was my husband Zhao Wenchang and the others who rescued her. Because I had lived in Shanghai, I had some impression of the Cui family's missing person notice, so I recognized Comrade Cui Hua and asked my comrades to contact the military region to verify. I stayed behind to take care of Comrade Cui Hua because I was worried about her being alone."

Minister Cui nodded slightly as he listened: "I see."

“Originally,” she changed the subject, her gaze falling on Lin Mengyao, “after Comrade Cui Hua was sent to the health center, her condition remained stable. But for some reason, the day before yesterday, Dr. Lin suddenly transferred her from the internal medicine department to the surgery department under her supervision to take care of her.”

"I...I'm not!"

Before Jiang Wanqiu could finish speaking, Lin Mengyao hurriedly defended herself, "I only did it because the treatment conditions at her original clinic were too poor! I felt sorry for these women who had been trafficked, so I made a special report to the higher-ups and insisted on bringing her to the main hospital for treatment despite the leaders' objections! I've been so good to her, how could I harm her!"

Before she could argue any further, Chief Le couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough!" he said sternly, waving his hand. "Stop arguing! Saving lives is the priority! Old Zhao, make arrangements immediately to transfer him to the internal medicine department!"

At the command, the sound of nurses' hurried footsteps immediately filled the corridor.

The internal medicine ward was much quieter than the surgical ward, with bright and clean windows and no strong smell of disinfectant in the air.

Cui Hua was settled in a hospital bed by the window. Mrs. Cui changed the hot towel and gently wiped away the bloodstains on her daughter's face and neck, tears streaming down her face like broken beads.

Perhaps because her mother was by her side, Cui Hua was no longer like a frightened rabbit, but simply lay quietly.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Jiang Wanqiu tucked the blanket in a little more and said softly, "You should rest well. Auntie is here with you, so everything will be alright."

After she finished speaking, she turned to leave, but her clothes were gently tugged by a small, cold hand.

As soon as Jiang Wanqiu turned around, she met Cui Hua's big eyes.

"Sister...where are you going?" The little girl's voice was thin and weak.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu smiled slightly and said, "Your parents are here to look after things, so I'll be leaving now. Be a good girl and listen to your uncle and aunt."

Cui Hua clenched her small hands even tighter, refusing to let go: "Will you come back to see me?"

"Of course I will." Jiang Wanqiu raised her hand and gently rubbed her pale cheek with her fingertips. "I'll come see you again tomorrow, and I'll bring you White Rabbit milk candy, okay?"

A glimmer of light finally appeared in Cui Hua's eyes, and he nodded heavily.

Madam Cui, who was standing to the side, sniffed as she watched this scene. She looked at Jiang Wanqiu and asked gratefully, "Good girl, it was too chaotic just now, and I didn't have a chance to ask you properly. What's your name again?"

"My name is Jiang Wanqiu."

In the doctor's office.

Chief Le stood next to Director Zhao with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed in a frown.

Director Zhao pointed heavily at the medication orders recorded on the medical record.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" He pointed to a line on the medical record and sternly rebuked Lin Mengyao, who had followed him there unnoticed. "The child was traumatized and couldn't sleep well. We just needed to comfort her and give her some calming medicine, right? But you went and gave her a sedative! And such a large dose at that! What were you planning?!"

Lin Mengyao was scolded and could only stammer, unable to speak.

Commander Le's heart sank upon hearing this, and he asked, "Old Zhao, now... are you confident you can cure him? We don't want him to have any lingering health problems."

"Cure?" Director Zhao sneered angrily. "Sir, this child didn't have any serious illness to begin with! She was just frightened and suffered from long-term malnutrition, so she was weak! With proper care, she would have recovered in ten days to half a month! Now look what's happened, she's made herself sick! With thrombolytic drugs and sedatives, her liver and kidneys will be damaged! This is just a complete waste of time!"

Lin Mengyao, standing to the side, couldn't help but defend herself again: "You don't know Cui Hua's condition at the time. He was extremely aggressive, meeting the diagnostic criteria for manic-depressive disorder... that's why I..."

Upon hearing this, Director Zhao glared at the woman again.

Chief Le's brows furrowed even deeper.

He knew that this incident occurred within the military region.

If the Cui family were to expose this, the consequences would be dire!

This is not just Lin Mengyao's problem, but a matter of face for the entire military region! He has to be responsible for the entire military region.

Lin Mengyao must be dealt with privately.

He made up his mind, turned around and went back to the ward, and said to Minister Cui and his wife, "Old Cui, sister-in-law, Director Zhao just told me that the child is mainly suffering from long-term malnutrition, coupled with too much abuse and fright, and his body is severely depleted. This disease needs to be treated slowly and cannot be rushed."

Minister Cui was no ordinary man. Judging from Chief Le's expression and recalling the chaos just now, he had already guessed what was going on, but he didn't say anything. He just nodded heavily and said, "We understand. Old Le, no matter what, we are very grateful to you for this matter."

He paused, then changed the subject: "By the way, we'd like to meet Comrade Zhao Wenchang, the one who led the rescue team, to thank him in person."

In the reception room, Minister Cui looked at the tall, resolute young officer in front of him with admiration and gratitude in his eyes.

"Comrade Zhao Wenchang, on behalf of my whole family, thank you! You not only saved my daughter's life, but also our entire family!" Minister Cui held Zhao Wenchang's hand tightly, his words sincere.

"Minister, you flatter me. This is our duty as soldiers," Zhao Wenchang replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Minister Cui was increasingly pleased with himself: "You're a fine young man! It's a waste of your talent to stay here! I promise you, as long as you're willing, you can be transferred to Beijing or Shanghai at any time. I'll arrange your job and position for you!"

These words surprised even Chief Le, who was standing nearby.

This is an immense favor and a huge opportunity for my future!

Zhao Wenchang simply stood there calmly. Before he could even express his opinion, Chief Le smiled and smoothed things over, patting Zhao Wenchang on the shoulder without making a sound: "Old Cui, we appreciate your kindness. But Wenchang is still young and needs more experience at the grassroots level. I think there's no rush. Let's talk about it again after he gets a promotion, okay?"

When Chief Le said this, Minister Cui was taken aback at first, then seemed to have been enlightened.

A young man with an unstable foundation was promoted by this high-ranking official without warning, and his career skyrocketed. That's not a future for him; it's a target to be roasted on a fire. Countless eyes are watching him in the dark, waiting to find fault with him.

If things go wrong, someone might send a letter of complaint to the central government, which would be another problem.

He was so happy and grateful that he lost his head.

Minister Cui nodded: "Old Le is right. Wenchang, you're still young. You need to take things one step at a time. Remember, get promoted as soon as possible. I'll repay this favor then!"

These words were ostensibly addressed to Zhao Wenchang.

The implication in his words was a reminder to Chief Yue, who was standing to the side.

As he spoke, Minister Cui pulled a thick envelope from his inner pocket and, without saying a word, tried to shove it into Zhao Wenchang's hand: "This is a small token of our family's appreciation; you must accept it. I know this can't save my daughter's life, but..."

"Commander, this won't do!" Zhao Wenchang immediately withdrew his hand as if he had been burned. "Saving lives is my duty, I can't accept this."

“Take it! This is what you deserve!” Minister Cui said firmly.

Zhao Wenchang remained unmoved, meeting Minister Cui's gaze with an open and honest look: "Chief, if you really want to thank someone, go thank Comrade Jiang Wanqiu. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have been able to find a breakthrough so quickly, let alone confirm your daughter's identity so soon."

Upon hearing this, Minister Cui stopped his handing over the money and nodded thoughtfully: "Jiang Wanqiu, is it... Okay, I'll remember that."

Seeing that Zhao Wenchang was really stubborn, Minister Cui didn't press the matter any further. He took back the envelope, sighed, and changed his approach: "You don't want the money, fine. But you have to let us treat you to a meal, right? Find some time and bring Comrade Jiang Wanqiu along. Our whole family wants to toast you in person!"

This time, Zhao Wenchang did not refuse.

By the time Zhao Wenchang returned to the family compound, it was already very late at night.

He pushed open the door, and the only light in the room was a dim bedside lamp.

Jiang Wanqiu wasn't asleep; she was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), dozing off with her chin resting on her hand.

A literary book was laid out in front of the woman; she had only just turned to the second page of the preface.

The light outlined her slender and graceful neck, and her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes. Her small face, no bigger than a palm, was as white as warm jade in the halo of light, making her look both adorable and pitiful.

Hearing the door open, she woke up with a start, her big, watery almond-shaped eyes looking over. When she saw it was him, her eyes lit up immediately, and she jumped out of bed, slipping on her shoes to greet him.

"You're finally back!" Her soft, slightly nasal voice was full of worry. "How are you?"

As Zhao Wenchang watched her run over, one button on her pajamas had somehow come undone, revealing a small patch of fair skin and delicate collarbone. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he subtly looked away, deliberately putting on a stern face.

"Yes, we've finished talking."

He took off his military jacket, casually draped it over the back of the chair, then cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "Minister Cui said that, to thank us, he has specially approved a reward—20 catties of pig's trotters, 30 catties of pork belly, 10 fat chickens, 10 fat ducks, and two large grass carp weighing 10 catties each."

Jiang Wanqiu's eyes widened instantly.

In an era when everything required ration coupons and ordinary families rarely saw meat even a few times a month, this was an enormous sum of money!

She was completely stunned, counting on her slender white fingers as she began to calculate, muttering to herself, "My God... how are we going to store all this meat? It's cold now, so leaving it outside is fine. But what will we do when spring comes? We'll have to salt it as soon as it gets warmer. Are the chickens and ducks alive or dead...? If they're alive, we have nowhere to raise them..."

Her little face was scrunched up with excitement and worry, and her serious expression made her look like a little squirrel hoarding food for winter, which was incredibly cute.

Seeing her shameless, greedy look, Zhao Wenchang could no longer hold back, and a deep laugh rolled out from his chest.