Chapter 10 - 4: Swarm of Mad Wasps

Through mutual consultation, besides arranging a job for Xu Chunliang, Changxing Hospital also agreed to a one-time compensation of six million yuan for the relocation, resolving the matter to everyone’s satisfaction.The old man spent over four million yuan to buy a commercial property across the river, signing it under his grandson’s name to save on hefty transfer fees in the future. Despite having numerous children and grandchildren, Xu Changshan favored this one the most, not only because he raised him himself but also because he felt the child was unfortunate, unloved by both parents.

Of course, he sought the opinion of his two daughters beforehand, who both agreed. As for his son Xu Jiaxuan, he naturally had no objections and even offered to pay half the cost. Elder Xu told him to save the money for Xu Chunliang’s future marriage.

The layout of the shop was similar to before, with two floors—the first for business and the second for living. There was even a small backyard over twenty square meters for planting flowers and grass. The remaining money was also set aside for his grandson.

Xu Changshan was not wanting for money; a lifetime of practicing medicine had amassed him considerable wealth. He was well taken care of in his old age, and the field of traditional Chinese medicine only became more esteemed with time. His three children were doing well financially, sending him over two hundred thousand annually for living expenses, so he didn’t have to worry at all about buying a house for Xu Chunliang.

Xu Jiaxuan had mentioned that if his son wished to live abroad, he would make the arrangements. If he decided to stay in China, he could afford to buy a house in any city.

After a simple renovation of the new storefront, they started the moving process. Changxing Hospital was waiting to start operations, and Xu Changshan was a man of his word.

The old man valued the Huichun Hall sign most of all, personally taking it with him.

Xu Chunliang told his grandfather he needn’t worry about the moving logistics as he had it handled. He would wait at the new place to receive and inventory everything, dividing the tasks clearly between them.

They had already moved the valuable medicinal materials beforehand. The main task of today’s move was furniture and books. Books were manageable, but the furniture, being made of solid wood, was very heavy. It took four strong adults just to move a single medicine cabinet.

Xu Chunliang’s job was to supervise and remind the workers to avoid damaging the furniture. As things were bustling with activity, Lu Qi arrived. He was off work today and specifically came to buy some plasters for his mother, coincidentally catching Huichun Hall in the midst of their move.

Knowing his purpose, Xu Chunliang advised him to purchase from the new address another day, as they were too busy to attend to him today.

Lu Qi didn’t leave, instead, he volunteered to help. Huichun Hall had numerous fragile items that all required careful packing and transport. Lu Qi noticed Xu Chunliang didn’t have many friends—normally, people would call a few friends for help with such a move.

Lu Qi’s profession made him more safety-conscious than most. He reminded the movers to be careful, thinking that it’s okay if things break, but it wouldn’t be good if someone got hurt.

Despite repeated reminders, an accident occurred near the end of the move. While a few workers were moving a bookshelf downstairs, one slipped, and someone tumbled down the stairs. Luckily, several colleagues held onto the bookshelf tightly, avoiding a worse outcome.

By the time Xu Chunliang heard the screams and rushed over, the moving company workers were already lifting the bookshelf back up.

The worker who had fallen was lying on the ground screaming in pain. During his tumble, his right arm hit the ground first, resulting in a dislocated elbow. His arm was already deformed, with the elbow joint protruding inward—a typical lateral dislocation.

Upon seeing the scene, the foreman shouted, "Hurry, take him to the hospital, quick!" Then he turned to Xu Chunliang, "Give me five thousand yuan first."

Xu Chunliang was taken aback for a moment.

"Don’t just stand there, he got injured at your place—you’re responsible for his medical care."

That seemed to be the logic, but the aggressive attitude was off-putting.

"I don’t have money!" Xu Chunliang replied frankly.

The moving company crew stared wide-eyed, surrounding Xu Chunliang aggressively, "What’s the meaning of this? You planning to shirk responsibility?"

Having been through various situations in society, Lu Qi quickly stepped in to separate them, "What are you doing? No one wanted him to get hurt. Let’s get him to the hospital first, and we’ll talk about whose responsibility it is later. Not a cent owed will be missed."

In such situations, a contract usually gets signed in advance to clarify liability, as bumps and scrapes are unavoidable in moving, and injuries are common.

Prudent customers usually specify ahead of time that any injuries to moving company workers during the move are the responsibility of the moving company itself. For them to demand money from Xu Chunliang upfront was over the line.

Unrelenting, the foreman insisted, "Cut the crap, get the money for medical bills first. If you don’t have money, call Old Xu."

"Watch your mouth." The seemingly mild-mannered Xu Chunliang didn’t back down.

The foreman pointed his finger at Xu Chunliang’s nose, "You hurt my guy and have the nerve to..."

Worried that Xu Chunliang might suffer, Lu Qi was about to reveal his identity as a police officer to deter the agitated workers when the foreman suddenly let out a scream.

It turned out Xu Chunliang had grabbed the foreman’s pointing finger, twisted it counterclockwise, and brought the foreman to his knees with a thud. Standing over him, Xu Chunliang coldly said, "State your business properly, and if you dare speak to me filthily again, I’ll smack you."

"Damn you..."

Smack!

Xu Chunliang actually followed through, delivering a slap that was loud and crisp, inflicting little harm but considerable humiliation. His restraint was evident; in the past, this man would’ve been maimed if not killed.

"Let go... let... go..."

The workers from the moving company saw their foreman being restrained by Xu Chunliang, who even slapped him in public. They couldn’t hold back their anger any longer, each of them glaring and charging forward, gritting their teeth as if they wanted to tear him apart.

Lu Qi shouted, "Don’t move, I’m a police officer!"

Xu Chunliang sneered, "Try moving even one step, and I’ll make sure you all end up in the hospital." With a slight exertion of force, the foreman screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

Lu Qi was taken aback when he looked at this young man. He originally thought Xu Chunliang was a meek and timid little lamb, but ever since the day Xu Chunliang caught the python, his impression had begun to change. Now, seeing him in action, precise and ruthless, even someone as well-trained as himself might not easily subdue the robust foreman. Recalling the incident at Peace Bridge when he couldn’t catch him, it turned out this seemingly gentle guy was actually skilled in martial arts.

Faced with a group of sturdy men, Xu Chunliang showed no fear, acting decisively by first controlling the leader, fully revealing his strong psychological qualities. How could someone like him seek to end their own life?

Lu Qi’s top priority right now was to prevent further escalation, so he advised Xu Chunliang, "Don’t act rashly, let the person go first."

During this time, Xu Chunliang had learned about the world’s rules and realized it wasn’t a lawless era where one could kill at will, so he released the foreman’s fingers.

The foreman, once free, remembered being slapped in front of everyone and became furious and ashamed. He turned around, grabbed a stool, and charged at Xu Chunliang in a fit of rage.

Lu Qi promptly stopped him, sternly reprimanding, "What are you doing? Want to go to jail? Put it down immediately!"

The foreman was intimidated by Lu Qi’s presence, slowly lowering the chair, but he still stood his ground verbally, "You just wait for it."

Xu Chunliang didn’t take this bunch seriously at all. He walked over to the injured worker, grabbing his right arm, causing the worker to scream like a pig being slaughtered. The group of workers thought Xu Chunliang meant harm, and they rushed over in a flurry to surround him again.

Lu Qi had no idea what Xu Chunliang intended to do, and could only watch as the tension that had just eased ramped up again, silently lamenting how troublesome this young man was.

Xu Chunliang grabbed the person’s upper arm with one hand and their wrist with the other, executing a quick motion, and with a crack sound, he successfully reset the dislocated elbow joint of the injured person.

Although the crowd had no medical expertise, they saw the deformed arm of the injured person return to normal. Everyone now understood that Xu Chunliang was not harming the injured person but was helping to treat him.

Xu Chunliang said to the injured worker, "Try moving it a bit, see if it’s okay now."

After the joint was reset, the pain instantly stopped. The worker cautiously moved his elbow, confirming it was back in place and felt just like before, exclaiming in surprise, "It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt anymore."

Lu Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The renowned Huichun Hall indeed lived up to its reputation. It seems Xu Chunliang inherited a lot of his family’s medical knowledge, which didn’t surprise him. After all, who in Dongzhou didn’t know about Huichun Hall’s famous orthopedic treatments? Dislocation reduction was the simplest method, and it was normal for Xu Chunliang, as the young master of Huichun Hall, to have some medical skills.


Lu Qi said, "Good that it’s okay."

The foreman was insistent on going to the hospital for a check-up, claiming that only the hospital’s word counted, and demanded Huichun Hall cover the examination fees.

Xu Changshan, upon hearing the news, hurried over, adopting a conciliatory attitude. He paid for the workers to have an examination at Changxing Hospital. The results showed that the injured person’s right elbow joint was successfully reset, and apart from a few skin abrasions, there were no further issues.

By normal procedures, a contract should be signed between the client and the moving company. If an injury was caused by the weight or volume of the client’s items, the moving company should be responsible. If the injury was due to the quality of the client’s items, both parties should negotiate and share the medical costs.

This mishap had nothing to do with Huichun Hall, but due to the oversight of the Elder, no formal contract was signed. This allowed the moving company to exploit the situation. Preferring peace over conflict, apart from the examination fees, Xu Changshan gave an additional one thousand yuan for nutritional expenses. Encountering such a troublesome matter left the Elder displeased, and although the other party expressed willingness to continue the move, the Elder adamantly refused to use them again.

The moving fee was paid in full, along with an extra thousand handed to the foreman, urging them to leave promptly.

The moving company’s crew left satisfied, with Xu Chunliang following them outside. Lu Qi, worried about Xu Chunliang feeling indignant and causing more trouble, hurried after them, patting Xu Chunliang on the shoulder, "Where are you going?"

Xu Chunliang smiled, "Just seeing them off."

The foreman, hearing his words, turned back and glared at him fiercely, still holding a grudge over the slap he received.

Xu Chunliang said, "Safe journey. How do you plan to spend the money?"

The foreman retorted, "I’ll spend it however I want, none of your business!"

"Seems like you haven’t thought it through. Let me give you a suggestion, save it to buy some medicine."

Lu Qi realized this guy had a sharp tongue and quickly tried to smooth things over, "Enough, enough, you’ve got the money, now go on your way."

A buzzing sound filled the air, and as Lu Qi looked around, he saw a hornet flying by. Initially thinking it was a coincidence, the buzzing didn’t stop. Everyone heard it, looking up.

Under the eaves of Huichun Hall was a hornet nest, with hornets buzzing and flying. In the sunlight, they shimmered like gold.

The foreman suddenly felt uneasy seeing the hornets flying in their direction, "Quick! Get in the car..." The group hurried to the vehicle, but before they could get there, hundreds of hornets swarmed them, launching an unrelenting attack.