Chapter 114 isn't enough; I want other rewards.
He stretched out his long arm and, before Jiang Wanqiu could react, pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
The man's warm chest was firm and strong, forcing Jiang Wanqiu's cheek against it. Listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, she was instantly stunned.
"What...what are you laughing at?"
Zhao Wenchang rested his chin on the woman's fragrant, soft hair, greedily inhaling her scent. The vibrations of his chest transmitted through the thin fabric, and his voice was low and deep, with a teasing huskiness: "You big glutton, I was just kidding."
"Huh?" Jiang Wanqiu looked up at him with her charming face, staring blankly.
“There’s nothing there.” Zhao Wenchang looked down at her slightly parted, rosy lips, his eyes darkening, and he couldn’t help but gently stroke them with his fingertip.
Jiang Wanqiu's face fell instantly, her joy turning to disappointment in the blink of an eye.
She raised her little fist and lightly punched his chest, muttering angrily, "How could you do this... You made me so happy for nothing! You did such a great service this time, and you really didn't get anything? The army is so stingy!"
"It's not that stingy..." He deliberately dragged out his words, looking at the woman's flushed cheeks and nervous expression, before slowly adding, "This mission gave us a generous allowance, enough for us to buy lots of things and have a prosperous New Year."
He paused, then added with a coaxing laugh, "Besides, Minister Cui said he's going to treat us to the best restaurant in the county. Don't worry, he won't let your little gluttonous mouth go to waste."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu protested with a hint of reproach: "Who said I'm greedy!"
Zhao Wenchang gently tilted his head, pulled the woman back by the waist, and said with a light smile, "Is that all? Your man has done something great outside, doesn't he get any reward when he gets home?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu's ears immediately flushed a suspicious blush: "Then tell me, what reward do you want?"
Zhao Wenchang replied, "If I ask for a reward, it doesn't count as a reward. Only a reward that you give me voluntarily can be considered a reward."
"You..." Jiang Wanqiu really had no way to deal with men.
After thinking it over, she finally tiptoed and quickly kissed the man on the lips, which she considered her reward.
Zhao Wenchang's eyes darkened instantly, and his large hand around the woman's waist tightened abruptly, pressing her slender waist firmly against him. He lowered his head, his hot breath brushing against Jiang Wanqiu's sensitive neck, his voice hoarse and unnatural: "Is this all the reward you've got?"
Jiang Wanqiu's cheeks flushed and her body went limp from his posture, but she still stubbornly pushed against his firm chest: "Then... then what else do you want?"
The man didn't speak, but answered her with his actions.
The dim yellow light in the room had been turned off at some point, leaving only the cool moonlight streaming in from the window and the gradually warming, enchanting atmosphere of the room.
In the stillness of the night, the two lay embracing each other on the warm earthen bed.
Jiang Wanqiu curled up in Zhao Wenchang's arms like a cat, her fingers unconsciously drawing circles on his muscular chest.
She tilted her small, palm-sized face up, and in the dim light, her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness: "By the way, it's almost Chinese New Year, where are we going to spend it?"
Zhao Wenchang pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed shoulders: "Let's go home."
"Back to the village?"
“Hmm,” he responded, covering her mischievous little hand with his large hand and enveloping it in his palm. “And bring Ping An over here as well. He got into a fight at school last year and was ordered to take a semester off. It’s time for him to come back to school.”
The next day, Lin Mengyao learned from others that Minister Cui's family was going to treat Zhao Wenchang and Jiang Wanqiu to a meal to express their gratitude, but they didn't mention her at all. She was so angry that she threw down the medical record book in her hand on the spot.
Why should I?!
She thought indignantly, "That Cui Hua also stayed by my side to treat her. I didn't go home to rest for two nights because of her. Even if I didn't get any credit, I still deserve some credit, right? That Jiang Wanqiu just talked, so how come all the credit is hers?"
Enraged, Lin Mengyao stormed into Chief Le's office.
Chief Le was reviewing documents when she burst in, and his brows furrowed.
He put down his pen, his face darkening. "Comrade Lin Mengyao, you've come at the right time. I was just about to look for you."
"Chief!" Lin Mengyao pouted, her voice filled with deep grievance, "I was also involved in Cui Hua's treatment, so why wasn't I among the people the Cui family thanked?"
Chief Le snorted coldly, took out the sealed medical record from the drawer, and slammed it on the table: "You still have the nerve to ask why? Look at yourself, what huge mistakes you made during the treatment! Misusing thrombolytic drugs and sedatives almost killed someone!"
If he hadn't deliberately suppressed it, and the Cui family hadn't found out, this woman would have been court-martialed.
He grew angrier as he spoke, pointing at Lin Mengyao and saying, "After deliberation by the Party Committee of the Military Region, it has been decided that your work attitude is not rigorous and your professional ability is questionable. Effective immediately, your surgical physician qualification certificate is revoked, and you will be reassigned to another position!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Mengyao froze.
"Commander, I didn't mean it!" she hurriedly explained. "I felt sorry for those trafficked women, and seeing Comrade Cui Hua's critical situation, I just wanted to contribute to the military region..."
She then brought up all the commendations she had received in the military region and the successful surgeries she had performed: "I have sweated and made contributions to the military region! Just because of one unintentional mistake, are you going to abandon a highly skilled talent like me? How many surgeons in the entire military region can actually operate? Don't you know?"
Just then, the office door was pushed open again, and Dean Lin of the main hospital, who is also Lin Mengyao's father, rushed over upon hearing the news.
When Chief Le summoned Lin Mengyao, the quick-witted subordinates immediately notified the dean, hoping to curry favor with him.
"Old Le!" Dean Lin pleaded anxiously for his daughter, "I know about Mengyao's situation, but she's still young. You can't just punish her like this because she meant well! Who hasn't made mistakes when they were young? I beg you to consider this matter carefully!"
The father and daughter kept arguing back and forth, and Chief Le's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
He slammed his hand on the table: "Enough! A mistake is a mistake, there's no excuse for whether you meant well or not! Even if you two try to explain yourselves to me today, considering the actual situation, this matter can't just be left like this."
Finally, after being persistently pestered by the hospital director, Chief Le temporarily relented: "From today onwards, for the next year, Comrade Lin Mengyao is not allowed to see or manage any patients. The military region will arrange time to send you out for a second round of training, so that you can get your internal medicine qualification certificate back!"
"What?" Lin Mengyao screamed.
She was a hundred times unwilling.
Her father went through so much trouble to get her surgical license; how difficult would it be to get an internal medicine license as well?
She simply won't take the exam!
Chief Le snorted coldly: "We did this precisely to prevent Comrade Lin Mengyao from making the same mistake again, misusing medication because of 'being too enthusiastic'!"
"I..." Lin Mengyao was speechless after being rebuked.
As soon as she stepped out of the office, Lin Mengyao grabbed her father's arm and said unwillingly, "Dad, please think of another way! I don't want to take any internal medicine certification exam!"
Dean Lin flung her hand away, his face ashen as he hissed, "What else do you want? Old Le took the initiative to suppress the matter and didn't report it, which is protecting you! Otherwise, you'd be facing a military court! I told you long ago to be careful in everything, but you wouldn't listen! Why did you use random medication when you didn't know how to treat it?! What are your mouths for? If you don't know how to treat it, why don't you ask someone?"
Lin Mengyao was speechless again, her face turning bright red.
After a few days, the weather got colder and colder.
On the day Jiang Wanqiu went to the banquet, she specially wore the new cotton-padded coat that Zhao Wenchang had bought for her, and also wore a thick military overcoat over it. She was covered up tightly with a scarf, hat and gloves, only revealing her pair of watery eyes.
Looking at her round and plump figure, Zhao Wenchang couldn't help but chuckle, "You're dressed like a roly-poly toy."
Jiang Wanqiu glared at him, then punched him with her gloved fist.
But the man was also wearing a thick military overcoat, so the punch felt weak and ineffective, like a tickle, and didn't hurt at all.
Zhao Wenchang laughed even harder, grabbed her small hand, put it in his large pocket, and wrapped it in his warm palm.
The two were laughing and joking when a gentle voice came from behind them.
"You two young couple have such a good relationship."
She is Cui Hua's mother, Madam Cui.
She was standing at the restaurant entrance, looking at them with a big smile.
The restaurant remains the only state-owned restaurant in the county.
After all the dishes were served, Minister Cui personally poured wine for Zhao Wenchang and Jiang Wanqiu.
The liquor was clear, and as soon as the bottle was opened, it emitted a rich aroma of soy sauce, completely different from the strong liquor commonly drunk in Northeast China.
Jiang Wanqiu took only a small sip and immediately detected the difference. She looked up in surprise: "This wine... is it Moutai?"
These days, you can't just buy this kind of wine if you have money and a ticket.
Minister Cui's face lit up with surprise upon hearing this: "Oh my! I didn't expect Comrade Jiang to be such an expert! I specially asked someone to bring this wine back from Beijing a few days ago, just to properly thank you both."
His gaze towards Jiang Wanqiu instantly held a hint of admiration, as if he had found a worthy opponent. He asked curiously, "Young Comrade Jiang, how come you are so knowledgeable about wine at such a young age?"
Jiang Wanqiu's heart skipped a beat.
This wasn't something she researched; it was clearly something she was forced into by the Wang family in her past life.
In order to curry favor with her superiors, she was dragged to drink with them countless times.
Those shrewd leaders always like to bring rare items to show off. If she can tell you the origin of the wine and add a few well-placed compliments, the leader's face will beam with more pride than if he had drunk two jin of wine.
Minister Cui clearly has a taste for this kind of thing too.
In a flash, a faint smile appeared on Jiang Wanqiu's small face, and her watery eyes curved into crescents: "Minister Cui, you flatter me. I just guessed. My family used to run a small business, and I had a lot of social engagements. I tried it a few times with my elders, so I only have a vague impression of it."
In this day and age, bringing up past business dealings is somewhat of a sensitive topic.
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