Chapter 143: The Petty Man in His Glory

Fifty meters away from the white sedan where Elder Qi and the others were seated, a black Audi was parked on the opposite side of the road. Its windows were tinted with film, making the occupants inside invisible.

Lu Ming, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look at Di Xiu in the back left: "Compared to him, what are your odds of winning?"

Di Xiu’s expression was grave. After a long silence, he replied, "Less than thirty percent."

Lu Ming sneered bluntly, "Thirty percent? You overestimate yourself. Even your martial uncles might not be able to defeat him. I am basically certain that he is a master of both medicine and martial arts; otherwise, no matter how skilled his medicine, he couldn't have healed someone on the spot and left them vibrant and full of life."

Di Xiu did not retort; he knew Lu Ming spoke the truth.

Lu Ming then glanced at Wang Er on his right and asked, "What do you say?"

A fierce glint flashed in Wang Er’s eyes as he made a throat-slitting gesture. Lu Ming narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and nodded indifferently, "This matter should be handled by your Wang family. You can also enlist the Liu family. If today is too rushed, then next Monday afternoon will be his final chance, as he has twenty patients scheduled. In any case, I do not wish to see the Divine Doctor Hong appear in the final round of the preliminary competition."

...

At the entrance of the Baojiantang clinic, after Director Gao and the others had left, Elder Lu initially intended to order an immediate withdrawal. However, after Qi Gang stepped forward and spoke with him, Elder Lu changed his mind, letting his disciples and grand-disciples continue treating the patients. Elder Lu himself followed Qi Gang into the consulting room.

"Divine Doctor Hong, there is still much to attend to outside, so I will go handle that. Please, chat with Elder Lu at your leisure." After Qi Gang left, Elder Lu did not sit immediately. Instead, he bowed to Hong Chen and said frankly, "Thank you, Divine Doctor Hong, for sparing this old man’s reputation."

Hong Chen did not engage in false humility. He invited Elder Lu to sit and went straight to the point: "Elder Lu, your student, Dr. Wang, spoke inappropriately at the Medical Saint Competition. Afterward, the Luo family held him accountable, and the Zhongbaotang clinic paid ten million in compensation to the Luo family, but they billed that amount to Dr. Wang. Zhongbaotang has obtained some incriminating materials on Dr. Wang, and if he cannot come up with the money, they will sue him, which will also implicate others. I heard that you accepted Zhongbaotang’s demand to come here and challenge me. Is this version of events true?"

Elder Lu was stunned for a full half-minute before he finally sighed and nodded slowly.

Hong Chen countered, "But I don't believe it. Zhongbaotang would never sue Dr. Wang, as that would harm both parties. Zhongbaotang is a business, not an individual; they don't act on impulse."

Elder Lu’s expression shifted subtly. Hong Chen suddenly changed the subject: "The truth of the matter doesn't matter anymore, as that is a conflict of interest between you and Zhongbaotang. All I care about is the interest of Baojiantang."

"I did not accept your challenge, and choosing this gentle way to make you retreat was, in fact, a test to see how deep your ties with Zhongbaotang go and whether you were purely here to cause trouble. It seems now that you have a limited partnership, which makes things easier to manage."

"You have already publicly declared that you would hold clinics at the Baojiantang No. 1 branch for half a month. If you break your word, not only will you lose face, but your disciples and grand-disciples will also lose face, which could even affect their futures. I propose a compromise: for the next half month, you and your disciples will settle in to provide consultations at Baojiantang—not just at this branch, but at others as well. Baojiantang will not take a single cent of the consultation fees. However, this will not be done at the entrance, but inside the clinic. Baojiantang will announce this as a collaborative exchange."

"Furthermore, you personally owe me a favor, which you will repay in the future."

Hong Chen pulled back his mask, lit a cigarette, and waited silently for Elder Lu’s answer.

It was killing three birds with one stone: polishing the reputation of Baojiantang, making Zhongbaotang suffer the consequences of their own scheme, and gaining a favor from Elder Lu.

The first point was already achieved. Given Elder Lu’s status, he would naturally honor the third point. As for the second, it depended on how Elder Lu weighed his own and his disciples' reputation against his relationship with Zhongbaotang.

Elder Lu did not ponder for long. By the time Hong Chen had finished half his cigarette, he gave a faint smile and said, "Divine Doctor Hong, you are putting this old man on the spot. Very well, I am in the wrong here to begin with, so I accept your compromise."

Hong Chen extinguished his cigarette and extended his hand, "Elder Lu, happy to cooperate."

Elder Lu shook his hand: "But I must declare in advance that I represent only myself, not the Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Association."

Hong Chen nodded in understanding. Elder Lu then added, "Of course, if you are interested in joining the Association, I can provide a recommendation and strive to secure a council member title for you. That way, you could legitimately utilize the connections and resources of the Association."

Hong Chen caught the glimmer of hope in Elder Lu’s eyes, but unfortunately, he had no desire to join for the time being. Everything came with a price; if you enjoy the resources of the Association, you must be bound by its rules and contribute your efforts to it.

"I appreciate your kind intentions, Elder Lu."

Elder Lu looked slightly disappointed but did not press the issue, nodding silently.

The two chatted for another ten minutes before exiting the consulting room. The young female doctor had been waiting in the hall and hurried over. She bowed respectfully to Elder Lu, then looked at Hong Chen and whispered, "Divine Doctor Hong, I am sorry. Please forgive me."

Hong Chen looked at her, puzzled: "You haven't done anything to me, why are you apologizing?"

The young doctor thought Hong Chen was playing dumb and gritted her teeth: "I spoke improperly earlier and called you a fraud and a quack. I apologize to you."

Hong Chen laughed and shook his head: "Just for that? Haha, there's no need. Who in the world hasn't been scolded, and who hasn't scolded others?"

With that, he started to walk away. The young doctor was bewildered—did he forgive her or not? She looked at Elder Lu anxiously. Elder Lu said calmly, "It is like this: you are a student who barely passes. Before the exam, you predicted he wouldn't pass. But it turned out you got a sixty, while he got a perfect score. The facts prove your prediction was a joke. Do you think he would take it to heart?"

The young doctor processed this for a few seconds, lowered her head, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips. She felt overwhelming shame. She had been too arrogant. In terms of medical skill, in Hong Chen's eyes, she was perhaps just an elementary school student. All that mockery, slander, and defamation were nothing but childish words; why would he ever bother with an elementary school student?

...

In the afternoon, Hong Chen spent less than two hours seeing his twenty scheduled patients and then left quietly through the back door of the clinic.

At four o'clock, Hong Chen waited as promised at the Huaxing intersection. Soon, a Mercedes stopped in front of him. Seeing that Lin Yufei had occupied the passenger seat, Hong Chen opened the rear door and climbed in.

"Hong Chen, Grandma is having her birthday, and you're planning to go empty-handed?" Lin Yufei glanced at the rearview mirror without turning back, her voice filled with accusation.

Hong Chen scratched his head: "The banquet isn't until tomorrow noon. I'll find a mall in Nanshi tonight and pick up a gift."

Lin Yufei pouted, "If you really cared, you’d buy a decent gift. You don't look short on money now anyway. Spare us the embarrassment and cold treatment our family gets every year."

Lin Yuxin, who was driving, spoke up: "We are going to wish Grandma a happy birthday, not to flaunt wealth against our uncles and aunts. Hong Chen, I have a dinner appointment tonight; come with me. After dinner, we'll go shopping and pick out a modest gift."

Hong Chen didn't ask who she was dining with and just replied with an "Oh."

After more than half an hour, the car arrived at a rest area near the highway toll station. The sisters went to the restroom, and Hong Chen got out to smoke a cigarette. Before long, Lin Yufei returned. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, stared at Hong Chen for a moment, and said, "Consider yourself sensible for not telling the family about my acting."

Hong Chen exhaled a puff of smoke: "You'd better watch yourself."

Lin Yufei’s face turned icy. She gritted her teeth: "You’ve been a freeloader in our house for over two years. If my sister hadn't been supporting you, you would have starved to death long ago. Just because you've climbed a high branch now, don't think you're better than everyone else. You have no right to lecture me. You’re just a small-minded person who got lucky."

With that, a smug curve appeared on her lips, and she changed the subject: "You don't think much of me, do you? Well, I’ll tell you now: I’m only one step away from success. The crew was very satisfied with my scenes in my first movie. They’ve already applied to the company to assign me an agent, and then I’ll sign officially. The next production will heavily promote me as the female lead. When that happens, if you dare to use my name to swindle people, don't blame me for turning on you."

Hong Chen watched her smug, expectant expression, unsure whether to crush her spirit or encourage her. She was the classic example of someone getting ahead of themselves—no, she hadn't even succeeded yet, and she was already strutting!

Though they had nothing in common, Hong Chen added a word of caution: "You can do whatever you want, as long as you don't drag your sister into it. Otherwise, don't blame me for turning on you."

After saying this, he flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, stepped on it, stretched, and ducked into the car.