From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Bai Lan couldn’t help rolling her eyes at him and said softly, "With all due respect, you’re using the local people to stir up ethnic antagonism and sabotage cooperation between China and Korea. That’s not a wise move."

Xu Chunliang said, "Don’t go slapping such a big label on me. You lot are always picking faults in others—how come you never reflect on your own problems? There are plenty of places the China-Korea Industrial Park could be built. Why insist on this sensitive spot? Back then those traitors did no shortage of evil here. Doing it this way is obviously challenging the bottom line of the people in the mining area."

Bai Lan said, "Some of them did do things that harmed the miners, that’s true. But they were forced into it. They were victims too."

Xu Chunliang said, "So by your logic, accomplices aren’t killers? You really know how to justify things for them. Let me put the ugly words up front: if your future novel distorts historical facts and vilifies our people, then you and I won’t even be ordinary friends."

Bai Lan said, "No matter what you think, I will write in accordance with historical facts. Based on the information I have at present, Mr. Lee Sang-pu did not do anything back then that hurt the feelings of your country’s people. He even protected many miners—there are records of this. Even if the miners’ descendants don’t feel grateful, they shouldn’t twist the facts."

Xu Chunliang said, "I don’t know whether Lee Sang-pu protected miners or not. What I do know is this: if Lexus president Li Bingxing hadn’t received help from the people in the mining area, he’d have died at the hands of the Japanese long ago. If he’d died back then, there would be no Lexus Group today, and that bunch of descendants like Li Changhe and Li Xuanbin wouldn’t even have had the chance to be born. So who exactly should be feeling grateful? I’ve noticed that your village’s whole line of thinking is off—you don’t know how to remember where your water comes from."

For a moment Bai Lan actually couldn’t find anything to refute him with.

Xu Chunliang said, "If he’s really investing in the China-Korea Industrial Park out of gratitude to the people of the mining area, to boost the local economy, we’d welcome that. But ever since they came here, everything they’ve done has been to disgust us. That inevitably makes people question their motives."

Bai Lan said, "You’ve misunderstood. Mr. Li lived on this land when he was a child, so he has a special feeling for this place. He even sees it as his second hometown. Otherwise the China-Korea Industrial Park wouldn’t have passed over so many other cities and chosen to come to Dongzhou specifically."

Xu Chunliang said, "Don’t play the emotional card. Isn’t fifty square kilometers of mining land enough for him? He just has to set his sights on our hundred mu? There’s such a thing as first come, first served, right? Just because they have money, we have to give up our land? There’s no such logic!"

Bai Lan said, "Don’t vent your anger on me. I don’t have any particular ties with Lexus Group. I came here purely to collect material for a novel. Whether your cooperation succeeds or not, I don’t care, and I’m not interested."

Just then Yang Qingyuan called to ask whether he should get lunch ready. After all, the last time Bai Lan came over, Xu Chunliang had treated her in the construction-site canteen. In Yang Qingyuan’s eyes, any pretty girl who came looking for Xu Chunliang had an unusual relationship with him. The canteen had specially reserved a private room for entertaining important leaders, and for now it wasn’t getting much use.

Xu Chunliang asked Bai Lan whether she wanted to stay for a meal. He was actually just being polite, but to his surprise Bai Lan agreed.

Xu Chunliang was a bit puzzled. Wasn’t Bai Lan here to say goodbye to him? Wasn’t she in a hurry to catch her flight? Or was it that after tasting the "little chicken with guns" last time she couldn’t forget it, and so wanted to revisit the flavor before leaving? He blamed Yang Yuanqing for that—the dishes had been too heavy last time; a girl from the Peninsula who’s used to eating kimchi wouldn’t normally be able to handle that.

In fact, Xu Chunliang had already asked Yang Qingyuan to prepare in advance, because the internet influencer Three Two Three had said he would come over at noon.

The idea of holding the eightieth-anniversary memorial for the Qingshan mining disaster was something Xu Chunliang had suggested to Yangjianguo. Because the matter involved the China-Korea Industrial Park, mainstream media wouldn’t report it easily, so Xu Chunliang contacted Three Two Three in order to amplify the impact through online channels. Otherwise, what would be the point of putting on such a big event? He intended to use grassroots public opinion to put pressure on Lexus.

From Secretary Wang’s attitude just now, it was clear he attached great importance to how the people in the mining area felt. The purpose of generating public opinion was to get more people to pay attention to this historical incident, the Qingshan mining disaster. The bigger the impact, the harder it would be for Lexus Group’s plans to go ahead.

Three Two Three didn’t come alone at noon. Apart from his inseparable assistant Xiaojie, he brought an unexpected surprise: Su Qing actually appeared on the site with him.

It wasn’t that Xu Chunliang hadn’t thought of asking Su Qing to do a special feature for provincial TV, but he’d considered how sensitive the matter was and that it might bring her negative consequences, so he’d dropped the idea. He hadn’t expected Su Qing to bring a news crew over anyway. Anything that involved Xu Chunliang, Su Qing would treat as top priority.

Seeing a beautiful woman at Xu Chunliang’s side, Su Qing felt a faint sourness in her heart. She had only just heard about Xu Chunliang breaking up with Mei Ru Xue. She’d wanted to come right away, but was worried people would say she was taking advantage of his vulnerability.

Before Xu Chunliang could introduce everyone, Xiaojie had already recognized Bai Lan. She was a fan of Bai Lan’s and was so excited she squealed and jumped.

Su Qing came up beside Xu Chunliang and said softly, "She’s really pretty."

Xu Chunliang said, "She’s not fit to carry even one of your toes."

That plain little sentence made Su Qing’s heart bloom, and her earlier flicker of displeasure vanished in an instant. She realized how easily her emotions could be swayed by the man beside her.

Her pretty face flushed as she spat, "You talk like you’ve actually seen it."

Xu Chunliang was sure Su Qing was trying to bait him in. If no one else had been around, he might have tested it out on the spot; Su Qing’s reaction would definitely have been half-refusing, half-accepting. Xu Chunliang felt that temptations in this mortal world were just too many, and his so‑called Dao heart was being tested and tormented every moment. Luckily it was him; anyone else would’ve lost control long ago.

Just as everyone sat down and was about to start eating, Zheng Peian called. He sounded a bit anxious. Turned out Ji Jiajia had just gotten into a conflict with a patient and smashed a bottle of normal saline over the patient’s head.

Now a whole bunch of people from the other side’s family had shown up demanding an explanation and had blocked the gate of Changshan Hospital. The police had arrived as well, and because of her violent behavior, Ji Jiajia had been taken away for questioning.

From the day Ji Jiajia came to Dongzhou, Xu Chunliang had felt that this girl was bound to cause him trouble sooner or later; what had to come would come.

This meal was a write‑off for Xu Chunliang. He briefly explained the situation to the guests, told them to look after themselves—anyway, they weren’t outsiders—and hurried off to the local police station to put out the fire.

Gu Houyi was already at the station, in the middle of handling the paperwork. Xu Chunliang checked with the police about the situation. The patient’s name was Wang Wenjie, thirty‑nine years old. He’d gone to Changshan Hospital that day for hemorrhoids. Somehow he’d gotten into a conflict with Ji Jiajia. According to the police, from the surveillance footage, this Wang Wenjie hadn’t made any extreme moves, nor had he done anything provocative.

Ji Jiajia had hit him pretty hard, splitting open a big gash on Wang Wenjie’s forehead. He needed five stitches and lost a lot of blood. Zheng Peian had done the emergency debridement and suturing on the spot. Wang Wenjie demanded further checks, so he’d been sent to Changxing Hospital for a head CT. Changshan Hospital mainly dealt with anorectal issues and hadn’t bought a spiral CT machine yet, since there wasn’t really a need for it for now.

Right now more than twenty members of Wang Wenjie’s family were blocking the gate of Changshan Hospital, seriously disrupting its normal medical operations.

Xu Chunliang didn’t really care what Wang Wenjie had to say; he wanted to know why Ji Jiajia had hit him. What left everyone helpless was that after she arrived at the station, Ji Jiajia wouldn’t say a word, using silence to resist the police’s questions.

Ji Jiajia wasn’t a child anymore; she was already sixteen. According to Article 17 of the Criminal Law, anyone over sixteen who commits a crime must bear criminal responsibility. If she’d really injured Wang Wenjie badly, this could get very messy.

Gu Houyi finished the bail procedures and went back to the hospital first to deal with the dispute, suggesting that Xu Chunliang have a proper talk with Ji Jiajia and figure out what exactly had happened.

Led out by a policewoman, Ji Jiajia came out from inside still in her nurse’s uniform, her little face set in a fierce scowl.

After she got in the car, Xu Chunliang said, "Did that guy mess with you?"

Ji Jiajia said, "I don’t want to talk about it."

Xu Chunliang said, "This whole thing has already blown up, and you think a ’don’t want to talk about it’ settles it? Keeping silent is basically the same as admitting it. You have to prove your own innocence."

Ji Jiajia said, "Is that really necessary? You dragged me to Dongzhou just to lock me up in a different way. You said you wanted me to study medicine, said you’d teach me yourself, but in reality you just dumped me on Tang Mingmei to discipline. She made me follow the nurses around to learn. What can I possibly learn in this hospital? Smiling all day long, no matter how disgusting or annoying the patients are. I’m not going to live long anyway, so why should I wrong myself? I’m a patient myself—why the hell should I be serving other people?"

"Who said you’re not going to live long?" After listening to her vent, Xu Chunliang actually felt a bit guilty. Lately he’d been busy with the Infectious Disease Hospital and had ignored Ji Jiajia’s feelings; they’d hardly seen each other, and he rarely called her. It was understandable that this girl had resentment. But no matter how angry she was, she shouldn’t have taken it out on a patient.

Ji Jiajia pushed open the car door, got out, and slammed it hard, shouting, "You don’t need to pity me. I admit you and Hua Zhuyue are both doing it for my own good, but I don’t need it. I don’t need anyone’s help, and I don’t need anyone’s pity! From today on, just let me live or die on my own. It’s not like anyone in this world gives a damn about me anyway."

Fuming, Ji Jiajia strode off. Xu Chunliang drove slowly behind her. "Get in the car!"

Ji Jiajia tore off her nurse’s cap and hurled it viciously at Xu Chunliang’s car.

Xu Chunliang shook his head helplessly, pulled over by the roadside, and got ready to catch up to Ji Jiajia and drag her back into the car.

Ji Jiajia had barely walked a few steps when two punks with dyed yellow hair blocked her path. One of them grinned and said, "Hey, beauty, add me on WeChat."

Ji Jiajia said, "Go add your damn mom on WeChat!"

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