Chapter 20 - 11: In Deep Water and Scorched by Fire

Zhou Meng thought the idea of summoning was absolutely impossible. He took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the dead banded krait. Regardless of the actual situation, someone had hunted wild animals, and this was a matter he must report.After collecting the evidence, a few people discussed and decided to bury the snake’s corpse on the spot, as there was no need to carry a tens of pounds heavy snake corpse over such a long mountainous path.

On the way back, Lu Qi asked Zhou Meng about the shift schedule for that day and whom they usually saw around this area. Zhou Meng truthfully replied that since the forest here was quite dense, rarely anyone came by, even they, as forest rangers, seldom visited a few times a year. If they hadn’t come on this special trip, that snake corpse might never have been discovered.

Lu Qi actually already had a plan, now that he had clothing fibers in hand, he could infer that the python likely bit the suspect. The suspect would surely treat the wound, so investigating nearby clinics and pharmacies might yield some clues.

Everyone involved in the release that day was suspicious and needed to be investigated one by one, even Zhou Meng was within the range of suspects.

Xu Chunliang thought differently from them. He never imagined there could be such a skilled snake handler in this world; he would love to witness their ability firsthand. In his previous impression, the only sects proficient in snake handling were their own Five Poison Sect and the renowned first gang in the world, the Beggar Gang.

On Monday, just as work began, Xu Chunliang received a notice from the personnel department. The medical service office had borrowed him for three months. This transfer was a bit sudden; he hadn’t even warmed the electrician’s chair yet. It was probably related to Gao Xinhua.

Zhou Wenbin, though interested in Xu Chunliang, couldn’t conclude that Xu Chunliang was right for the job based on one performance, so he brought Xu Chunliang over under the pretext of a temporary transfer. The three-month temporary period was also a trial period for him. If he was satisfactory, he would stay; if not, they would ask him to leave.

The first meeting between Xu Chunliang and Zhou Wenbin couldn’t be considered pleasant. Zhou Wenbin had been publicly berated by this rookie, but Zhou Wenbin’s best trait was that he didn’t hold grudges, especially against young people.

When Xu Chunliang came to report, Zhou Wenbin was very enthusiastic, as if nothing had happened. Being in the position of medical service office director, he had that kind of broad-mindedness.

Considering the special situation of the medical service office, the hospital agreed to increase its staffing. However, approval was one thing, and implementation was uncertain, so Zhou Wenbin had no choice but to take the initiative.

Entering the 21st century, Changxing Hospital not only fell behind in comprehensive development but also suffered from a declining reputation. Many patients came with preconceived notions that Changxing Hospital’s overall medical level was lacking.

Moreover, with the public’s rights awareness fully awakened, it was no longer the time to blindly endure. Complaints and lawsuits would arise at the slightest provocation, compounded by the media fueling the fire, leading to increasing tensions between doctors and patients, worsening the medical environment.

Currently, the two busiest departments in the hospital are the Discipline Office and the Medical Service Office, both handling doctor-patient disputes almost daily.

The Discipline Office usually handled trivial matters, while major ones were handed over to the Medical Service Office, which had no choice but to become the department with the most concentrated internal hospital conflicts.

Chen Guangming was officially transferred today; his next stop is the Infection Department. To celebrate his successful transfer, he had been partying since the weekend, and he still hadn’t sobered up. His stomach was uncomfortable, but his heart was happy.

At Zhou Wenbin’s request, he specifically waited for Xu Chunliang to arrive and complete the handover before leaving.

Zhou Wenbin briefly chatted with Xu Chunliang, then picked up his briefcase to attend a meeting at the Health Bureau. The specific tasks were to be handed over to Chen Guangming. It wasn’t that Zhou Wenbin was fond of attending endless meetings, but he knew that staying in the Medical Service Office inevitably meant trouble.

After Zhou Wenbin left, the atmosphere in the office relaxed significantly. Chen Guangming’s mind was no longer on the Medical Service Office. He emptied his formerly occupied desk and file cabinet for Xu Chunliang.

Anyway, Cheng Xiaohong was still there, so he left the specifics to Cheng Xiaohong to explain slowly. Since he wasn’t in his position, he wasn’t going to involve himself in the politics. Leaving the Medical Service Office made him feel a sense of relief. He was still young and had a long future ahead, so there was no need to stay here and suffer. Staying in such a department too long could lead to depression.

Cheng Xiaohong saw him offload the responsibilities onto herself, pouting, "Now you’ve got it good, escaping the sea of suffering, leaving your brothers and sisters to the hardship."

Chen Guangming chuckled, "Look at what you’re saying, it’s all revolutionary work. How can it be a sea of suffering? Don’t scare little Xu. I also don’t want to leave, but the hospital insisted on transferring me, and orders from above are hard to defy, so I have to comply."

Xu Chunliang, although unclear about the intricacies, could see that this guy was getting off lightly and pretended to be pitiable. He urged Chen Guangming to quickly go about his business, and he would familiarize himself with things here slowly. If there was anything he didn’t understand, he could ask Cheng Xiaohong for help, without troubling Chen Guangming further.

Chen Guangming was briefly stunned; this kid had just arrived and was already issuing eviction orders. Anyway, he didn’t plan to stay long, so he picked up his packed things and hurriedly left.

After he was gone, Cheng Xiaohong approached Xu Chunliang, "What made you think of being transferred to our department?"

"The personnel department notified me to come over, saying it was a temporary transfer."

The previous week, when he came to change the light bulb, he had already sensed the risks in the Medical Service Office, but he didn’t take them to heart. After all, he wasn’t afraid of even the combined attack from the top masters of the nine sects; why would he fear these risks?

Water flows downward, people move upwards. Setting aside the specifics of the job, the position of the Medical Service Office is certainly several ranks higher than that of the electrician class. Moreover, there is a fundamental difference between the two: the Medical Service Office belongs to the administrative cadre, whereas the electrician class consists of workers. The latter was a laid-back position, but Xu Chunliang was already tired of that idle way of working.

His transfer caused no ripples in the electrician class. It was initially a rotation period, and everyone knew he had connections. The class leader, Jia Xuegong, was polite enough to suggest having a meal someday, but he didn’t even mention hosting a farewell party, as there were no class-based feelings, and there would be little interaction in the future.

Cheng Xiaohong considered the Medical Service Office a turbulent place, constantly facing the firepower of rights defenders. Without an extraordinarily strong psychological quality, it’s impossible to survive here for long. Chen Guangming was an example, while she herself benefited somewhat from being a female; her petite and delicate appearance usually prevented troublemakers from directing their firepower at her.

Even so, Cheng Xiaohong was suffocated by the work pressure. She privately looked for connections to transfer departments, but unfortunately, her connections were not strong enough. In fact, she started before Chen Guangming, who has already been transferred, yet she hasn’t seen any progress on her end.

Xu Chunliang had only been at the hospital for less than half a month and had already transitioned from carrying ladders to sitting in the office. In this world, sitting in an office is almost synonymous with being white-collar.

Just as he settled into a chair in the medical affairs office, the first wave of complainants arrived. Considering Xu Chunliang was a complete newcomer, Cheng Xiaohong took the initiative to handle the reception.

Working in the medical affairs office requires a lot of patience. Cheng Xiaohong spent over an hour chatting with a rambling old lady. The old lady’s surname was Jiang, and although she wasn’t violent, she was sharp-tongued and occasionally spat out some foul language.

It wasn’t really a big deal. Last month, Mrs. Jiang went to the neurology department for a consultation. At that time, Director Zhao Yongsheng was seeing another patient, and there were several patients in the waiting room. Mrs. Jiang barged in and demanded Zhao Yongsheng see her. When he refused, she started cursing, kicking up a fuss, and alarmed both the discipline office and the security department.

The discipline office’s stance at the time was to have Director Zhao say some soothing words to get her to leave. But Director Zhao was proud and insisted on following protocol, treating all patients equally. Prioritizing those who make the most noise over others isn’t fair.

Since then, Mrs. Jiang had repeatedly come to the hospital demanding an explanation. She even made a large-character poster and plastered it prominently throughout the hospital, insisting that the hospital severely deal with Zhao Yongsheng and demanding a public apology in the newspaper from him.

Faced with Mrs. Jiang’s unreasonable demands, the hospital didn’t have a great way to deal with it. The old lady had plenty of time and started causing trouble at the discipline office, then moved to the disciplinary committee, and now it was the medical affairs office.

Despite being cursed at, Cheng Xiaohong stayed calm, smiling all the while. Mrs. Jiang, parched from all the shouting, fixed her gaze on Xu Chunliang: "Standing there stupidly? Go get me a cup of tea."

Xu Chunliang didn’t move.

"Young man, why are you so slow, with no sense of propriety? Didn’t your parents teach you to respect the elderly?"

Xu Chunliang looked at the Buddhist beads on her wrist and said, "Are you a believer in Buddhism?"

"What about it?"

"People who believe in Buddhism should speak with virtue. I’ve been watching you for a while now, and your mouth is full of foul language. Aren’t you afraid of the Buddha’s punishment? Doesn’t the elderly fear karma?"

Cheng Xiaohong thought, this is bad. Mrs. Jiang is very difficult to deal with. If you anger her, she might put up posters about you everywhere. Xu Chunliang is new and doesn’t know how tough things can get. He’ll be crying soon enough.

Mrs. Jiang confidently replied, "At worst, I’ll go home, burn incense for the Bodhisattva, and recite the scriptures a few more times to offset today’s sins."

Xu Chunliang thought, this old lady is unreasonable. She means she knows she’s doing wrong but will do it anyway, and then sincerely apologize to Buddha afterward. No wonder Chen Guangming wanted to transfer; this job indeed has its troubles.

Looking at her ears, he said, "Have you ever noticed your own ears?"

Mrs. Jiang glared at Xu Chunliang: "What’s wrong? I’m not blind or deaf!"

Cheng Xiaohong quickly got up to pour water, afraid the old lady might explode on the spot and unleash her full fury.

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "You misunderstood. The human body is a treasure trove of the essence of the universe. In the Five Elements, ears belong to water. Water represents the kidney, which belongs to oneself. Every hour correlates with something external, used naturally. Harmonious balance brings great fortune, while conflict brings misfortune. It’s now 8:30, the hour of the dragon in a day, a time when earth is at its strongest. Earth overcomes water. Have your ears been feeling warm lately?"

Mrs. Jiang, confused by what Xu Chunliang said, touched her ears and found them burning. Astonished, she said, "How did you know?"

Cheng Xiaohong, observing from the side, thought, with Mrs. Jiang’s ears so red, it’s no wonder they’re hot.


Xu Chunliang moved closer and said, "Feel mine."

Mrs. Jiang reached out and touched his ears, feeling their coolness.

Xu Chunliang said, "In essence, ears are supposed to be the coldest part of the human body. Feeling warm usually indicates an anomaly, especially if it’s during this hour."

Mrs. Jiang, half-believing, stood to touch Cheng Xiaohong’s ears. They were also cool, making her own ears feel scorching by comparison: "You... What did you mean by the Five Elements and Earth containing Water?"

"It means handling challenges as they come. Your body is overflowing with the nature of water, sensed by the natural order, hence covered by earth. All things in the world, the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, when traced back to the source, are about balance. Does this make sense?"

Mrs. Jiang shook her head, slightly understanding, yet not completely. To cover with earth, doesn’t that mean being buried? Heaven’s way, doesn’t that mean the heavens? Are the heavens going to bury me? I don’t think I’ve done anything too immoral. Is this young man messing with me?