Chapter 70 - 55: Verdict Announcement

The two of them arrived at Huichun Hall and saw that the shop next door had set up barriers for renovation. An advertisement on the barrier read: "Tingmei Breast Enhancement – Giving You a Fuller Life," with the opening set for ten days later.It was already after work hours, but the workers were still working overtime on the renovations, creating a lot of noise. The shopfront looked significantly larger than Huichun Hall, with a business area at least three times its size.

Xu Changshan, who always liked peace and quiet, was somewhat annoyed by the noise from the renovations. According to relevant regulations, work should stop at 5:30 p.m. in residential areas, but since these were commercial premises, as long as no one reported it, no one would intervene.

Generally speaking, before starting renovations, businesses should inform their neighbors out of courtesy, after all, distant relatives aren’t as helpful as close neighbors; everyone often runs into each other, so mutual convenience is normal. But the owner of this Tingmei Breast Enhancement hadn’t said a word yet, which seemed a bit impolite.

Zheng Peian rushed into the kitchen with the groceries he had bought, and Xu Chunliang noticed that his grandpa wasn’t too pleased, and came up behind him to massage his shoulders: "Grandpa, is it the noise next door that’s bothering you? I can go talk to them!"

Xu Changshan sighed and said, "Noise is inevitable during renovations, more understanding among neighbors is needed."

Xu Chunliang chuckled, "So, you feel that having a breast enhancement clinic next to Huichun Hall lowers our status."

His grandson had hit the nail on the head, and Xu Changshan smiled bitterly, "Actually, it’s none of my business what kind of business others do." Though he said this, these so-called medical aesthetic breast enhancement clinics were basically all scams. His beloved grandson was right, being neighbors with such a place lowers one’s own status, which was more troubling than having a funeral home next door.

Zheng Peian called Xu Chunliang to help serve the dishes, and Xu Chunliang went over to arrange the cold dishes he had prepared.

Upon hearing about the old man’s troubles, Zheng Peian couldn’t help but laugh, "Uncle, it’s not all bad. If they can do breast enhancement, Huichun Hall can do it too. I’ve done similar projects in Xiangnan before, using some ointment, and after a period of massage, it works."

Xu Changshan gave him a glare, "I’m too old for such nonsense, stop talking nonsense."

Both Zheng Peian and Xu Chunliang laughed, and Zheng Peian said, "Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to do it yourself. You can hire a few young female assistants to give breast massages. If you’re interested, I can handle these matters."

Xu Changshan said, "Forget it, I’m not interested."

With much experience, Zheng Peian explained that these popular medical aesthetic breast enhancements in recent years were essentially a form of physical therapy, with some exaggerating the effects for profit.

The basic principle was using the negative pressure of a breast enhancement device for physical suction to help the breasts expand, along with applying some so-called herbal ointments and having professionals give massages, resulting in some short-term effects.

But people are strange — even though the scam is obvious, some are willing to be fooled. Zheng Peian informed them that these kinds of establishments had sprung up all over the south, primarily aiming for quick profits.

The shop next to them was quite large, and if managed well, could make a few million yuan a year. These establishments share a common trait: they’re very short-lived, unable to sustain long-term operations, usually switching locations after scamming a city. In plain terms, they swindle one city, then move on to the next.

Xu Changshan listened, indignant. He couldn’t understand why such unscrupulous businesses were allowed to scam so openly. Why weren’t regulatory authorities shutting them down?

Zheng Peian further commented that such matters couldn’t be generalized. Some did achieve breast enhancement effects. These establishments performed thorough market research, precisely targeting their clientele, and were good at maintaining various relationships.

While they were eagerly discussing this, Xu Chunliang’s phone suddenly rang. To his surprise, it was a call from Pei Lin, the medicine vendor. They had only met twice, and he wondered what she wanted.

Pei Lin asked where he was, and Xu Chunliang told her he was at Huichun Hall. She laughed and said she was just outside Huichun Hall and wanted to come by for a visit.

With guests at the door, it was impolite to ignore them, so Xu Chunliang went out to welcome them. He saw Pei Lin and another woman with a refined demeanor approaching with gifts.

Feeling a bit puzzled, Xu Chunliang didn’t have a chance to ask before Pei Lin cheerfully introduced, "This is my cousin, Pei Yu, and the nearby medical aesthetic center that’s under renovation is hers."

Only then did Xu Chunliang realize that Pei Lin, indeed, had an agenda. He neither liked nor disliked Pei Lin, perceiving her as keenly intelligent and opportunistic, always managing to worm her way in. But out of politeness, since she had been friendly, he invited the two of them in.

Though Pei Lin was young, she had been in pharmaceutical marketing for many years and was very persuasive. As she entered, she called out, "Hello, Mr. Xu! I’m Pei Lin, a good friend of Xu Chunliang’s."

Xu Chunliang thought to himself that he wasn’t that familiar with her, but it was inappropriate to reveal that in this situation.

Xu Changshan was very kind and friendly toward the younger generation, smiling, "I’ve seen you before, you brought Chunliang back a couple of days ago. I was just saying I need to thank you for the tea." The old man’s memory was impressive; he had only seen Pei Lin briefly from afar that day.

Upon hearing that Pei Yu was the owner of the shop next door, Xu Changshan became instantly wary, having no fondness for the concept of medical aesthetic breast enhancements after Zheng Peian’s explanation.

Pei Yu was a bit more reserved than Pei Lin and first expressed apologies for any trouble the renovations might have caused the old man. She wasn’t empty-handed either, having brought two boxes of tea and two bottles of liquor.

Xu Changshan said since they were neighbors now, they should look out for each other, so there was no need for gifts.

The Pei sisters intended to leave the gifts and depart, but Xu Chunliang ran out with the gifts, stopping Pei Lin, "Pei Lin, the old man insists the gifts must go back."

Pei Lin remarked, "Are my gifts too insubstantial?"

Xu Chunliang laughed, "Though slight, the sentiment remains heavy — it’s appreciated, but don’t make it hard for me."

Hearing this, Pei Lin had no choice but to take them back, handing them to Pei Yu and telling her to get in the car first. Then she turned to Xu Chunliang and said, "Director Xu, I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you on your promotion yet."

"Stop mocking me," Xu Chunliang thought, realizing that her information was really up-to-date. She was aware of everything happening in Changxing right away—it dawned on him that, likely, she already knew about Zhao Feiyang becoming Changxing’s director.

Pei Lin went on, "So young and already heading the medical affairs office, the future is promising!"

Not wanting to discuss this topic with her, Xu Chunliang shifted his gaze toward the breast enhancement clinic and asked, "Did you invest in that too?"

Pei Lin chuckled, "You really can’t be fooled. I invested a little, but I don’t handle the operations. I’m just waiting for dividends."


Xu Chunliang pondered silently, wondering why she’d think of opening a shop here. Did she set her sights on this area when she brought him over? If that were true, was he inadvertently letting trouble in?

"Then I wish you a prosperous opening and endless streams of wealth," he said.

Pei Lin laughed, "You must come over on opening day; we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other then."

Xu Chunliang nodded, having no anticipation for their future encounters.

The medical aesthetic center at Changxing Hospital was still closed. The previous contractor, Zeng Hongwen, had left early, and the director, Cai Rongjuan, had resigned, leaving the center leaderless.

Cai Rongjuan hadn’t intended to resign, but she and her partner were outsmarted by Gu Houyi.

Despite Cai Rongjuan’s reputation in Dongzhou’s medical aesthetic scene, finding the right platform to leverage her skills was tricky. Small cosmetic institutes did not interest her; larger medical aesthetic organizations typically had established teams where, even with favorable conditions, she couldn’t just take charge immediately and faced competition. This made it incomparable to her long-standing authority at Changxing’s aesthetic center.

The case filed by Tong Meili against her had already been judged. Due to a lack of convincing evidence, Cai Rongjuan could not prove her non-involvement in the incident where Tong Meili’s bracelet was broken. Based on the day’s video and eyewitness statements, the judge concluded that the bracelet was broken in the dispute between Cai Rongjuan and Tong Meili.

Considering the circumstances at that time, the final verdict was that both Tong Meili and Cai Rongjuan shared equal responsibility. The court dismissed Tong Meili’s claim for one million yuan, supporting a responsibility allocation based on the original list price, where Cai Rongjuan’s share was 440,000 yuan.