Lin Yao felt somewhat uncomfortable. Although the other party's tone was the same as before, his mindset was different now. Hearing this tone, which sounded like a superior expecting a reward, he couldn't help but feel disgusted. He looked up and stared into Ling Ruonan's eyes for five seconds before speaking calmly, "Don't worry, I've already instructed Long Yihun. They know how to handle it."
Ling Ruonan's eyes narrowed, a sense of defeat welling up inside her. The somewhat shy and timid boy opposite her dared to look her directly in the eye, and his tone no longer held any humility or flattery. The content of his words directly excluded her, clearly saying, "You're an outsider, you don't need to worry about these things." A slight annoyance and embarrassment swirled in Ling Ruonan's mind, and her eyebrows twitched slightly.
Ling Ruonan's favorable background and outstanding mental fortitude allowed her to quickly regain her composure and readjust her mindset. Lin Yao was right; she didn't need to worry so much. Such confidential matters were best kept to herself. Ling Ruonan's task was to create opportunities for Xiaolian to go out and have her blood sample drawn, refrigerate it, and send it to Chengdu, then bring back suitable medication for Xiaolian. Beyond that, she could only offer suggestions regarding Xiaolian's choice between family and love. As for whether Xiaolian could be cured and how to treat her, these were matters of medical secrecy, and it was normal for Lin Yao not to let her know.
Although Ling Ruonan had figured things out, she still felt uncomfortable. The boy from an ordinary family, who had once piqued her curiosity, had changed so much that she felt a sense of being looked down upon that she had never experienced before. Thinking of what her older brother had said to her before she left, she felt even more agitated.
Lin Yao's phone rang. Judging from the ringtone, it was the temporary phone number he was using. Since it wasn't convenient to answer in front of Ling Ruonan, he lowered his head to comfort Xiao Guli and went outside to answer the phone.
"Teacher Angel, this is Situ Hao. I'm sorry to bother you." Situ Hao's voice came from the phone.
"Brother Situ, you can call me Xiao Yao, you know my name." Lin Yao was very polite. He certainly wouldn't deliberately distance himself from someone as worthy of friendship as Situ Hao, and the change in address was a signal he was sending.
"Ah! Angel Teacher, oh no, Brother Lin, I'm honored to be addressed like this." Situ Hao accepted the title with delight, but still slightly modified it to suit his own taste.
"Brother Situ, is there something you need?" Although Lin Yao didn't know Situ Hao well, he knew that this kind of person wouldn't call without a reason, and he couldn't think of anything that would require contacting him at night.
"Brother Lin, I saw you posted a new thread in 'The Physician' and raised your prices. Also, I saw a notice about increased costs on Minhong Pharmaceutical's official website. Are you facing a tight cash flow situation right now? Do you think I can help you?" Situ Hao hesitated before speaking, as he had only guessed about Lin Yao's relationship with Minhong Pharmaceutical; the other party had never confirmed it.
Lin Yao smiled after hearing Situ Hao's tone. It's so convenient to deal with smart people. They will think of everything for you and even say the words for you, so you don't have to say anything yourself.
After a slight hesitation, Lin Yao thanked him directly, "Brother Situ, thank you. Your kindness is enough. I don't need your help this time; I can raise the money myself. Besides, you've already helped enough."
"Well then, Brother Lin, I won't beat around the bush. Actually, I have another reason for calling today. I'd like to ask you to help treat someone. What do you think?" Situ Hao seemed a little embarrassed. "It's like this, one of my best friends since childhood is now an officer in the army. His most respected senior commander is in serious condition. Experts from all over the country have seen him, but none of them can do anything. He mentioned it to me before, but I didn't reveal anything about you, Brother Lin. It wasn't until I saw your post today that I wanted to ask for your opinion."
Situ Hao really knows how to handle people! People like him, who know how to act with discretion, are worth befriending. Lin Yao's goodwill towards him grew even stronger, and he smiled, "Don't be so cautious, Brother Situ. I'm not going to eat you alive. Just tell me what you need; it doesn't matter if it works out or not. What's the patient's problem? Do you have detailed medical records?"
"I heard it's a sudden, unexplained high fever with no pattern to its onset or recovery. Various tests haven't found the cause, and even the diagnoses from traditional Chinese medicine experts have differing opinions. I don't know the specifics. If you agree to help with the treatment, I'll have his medical records sent over immediately." Situ Hao's voice was noticeably lighter.
"Alright then, send the medical records to my email, I'll take a look when I get back tonight. But let me make this clear first, the starting price is two million, the more complicated the illness, the higher the price. This time I'll be raising the price a bit more, what can I do, I'm short of money, haha." Lin Yao laughed at himself after saying that. Right now, he could only rely on the big spenders and the rich to raise money, there was no other way.
“That’s no problem,” Situ Hao laughed heartily. “Brother Lin, go ahead and add as much as you want. I heard the patient’s family is rich, much fatter than my little body. Rake them in however you like. It’s like robbing the rich to help the poor. It’s a good thing for the country, the people, and the patient.”
"Oh, right," Lin Yao suddenly remembered Xiao Cao's condition and hurriedly added, "My family's medicinal herbs are almost all used up. You need to have them prepare more: wild ginseng, wild white lingzhi from Changbai Mountain, cordyceps, and Tai Sui, etc. They need to prepare some of all the precious herbs, as my medicine requires them. Any extra herbs will be returned to them, or I can buy them at the right price. I remember we need two catties of top-grade wild cordyceps, and Tai Sui, the kind that's buried deep underground."
"Okay, I've written it all down. I'll contact them right away." Situ Hao didn't waste any words; his clean and efficient style was something Lin Yao appreciated. "I happen to have some medicinal herbs here that I don't need. I'll give them to you too. They're just going to go to waste here anyway, and they're not worth much. Should I have my brother contact you directly?"
Lin Yao understood that the medicinal herbs Situ Hao mentioned as worthless were definitely very valuable, and that Situ Hao even had to go out of his way to buy them. Such a friend was truly kind-hearted.
"Thank you very much, Brother Situ. Let me know when you've made the arrangements, and I'll give you another number. This one will be canceled." Without exposing Situ Hao's well-intentioned lie, Lin Yao decided to accept the gift. He currently had neither the funds nor the time to collect precious medicinal herbs, so he would first accept Situ Hao's favor and repay him later.
After the incident where Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory was intercepted midway, Lin Yao's sense of secrecy reached a new level. Regardless of the outcome, cautious methods were absolutely necessary, and the policy of having multiple escape routes must be strictly implemented. This number should also be canceled. If that patient in Xi'an doesn't come soon, then so be it. It seems the other party is hesitant about the million-yuan consultation fee, and is probably a patient like Zhang Liyu.
"Brother Situ, you're a model agent! Not only do you not charge any money, you even pay out of your own pocket. I'll send you a plaque to commend you next time," Lin Yao joked, subtly indicating his gratitude. The old fox on the other end of the phone chuckled, both understanding each other perfectly.
After chatting for a few more minutes, the two hung up the phone. Lin Yao turned and walked into the restaurant, still thinking about how to raise money using his identity as an angel. Lin Yao himself didn't believe that his identity could be kept completely secret. The doctors and experts were relatively more credible, but wealthy or powerful patients, once they knew his identity, might use him as a bargaining chip to curry favor with higher-ups.
Should I spend a hundred yuan to get an ID card? Lin Yao was pondering this when he suddenly heard a gasp…
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Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Gaze in the Mirror
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Lin Yao was startled awake, and at the same time felt a burning sensation on his right leg near his knee, the pants clinging to his thigh and scalding his skin.
He'd been splashed with boiling water! Lin Yao made a quick assessment and immediately activated his medical internal energy to treat the burn.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" A panicked voice rang out from the ground to Lin Yao's right, anxious and fearful, which suppressed the anger that had just risen within him. This was an unexpected incident.
A girl dressed as a waitress was sitting on the ground a meter to the right, apologizing incessantly. Her terrified eyes were filled with tears. When Lin Yao saw those eyes, his anger was completely extinguished. Just as he was about to say it was okay, a figure rushed over and interrupted him.
"Sorry, you skewer vendor! You little brat, how dare you throw soup at me! You scalded me to death!" A burly man rushed towards the girl with an angry voice and kicked her on the ground.
Lin Yao was still confused about the situation. He looked around and saw a large ceramic pot that had been smashed not far ahead. Thick phlegm and bone fragments were scattered all over the ground, and steam was rising from it. It was obviously an accident caused by a waiter carrying a large ceramic pot of bones to serve food colliding with a customer. The diners around stopped eating and looked up at the accident scene like ducks stretching their necks.
"I'll kick you to death!" The man who had been splashed with soup was still roaring, and the girl's panicked and painful cries and the dull thud of leather shoes hitting her body interrupted Lin Yao's observation.
"I'm sorry, brother, please stop hitting me and calm down." The woman in the restaurant uniform pulled the angry customer away, her frail body being pushed so hard by the man that she could barely stand.
Lin Yao remained standing still, looking at the girl on the ground. The girl, who was lying almost completely on the ground, looked extremely disheveled. Her body was curled up, one hand protecting her stomach and the other protecting her chest. Her hair was messy, her face was covered with tears, and she was still muttering "I'm sorry."
When Lin Yao's gaze fell on the girl's eyes, he was completely stunned.
What kind of eyes were those? Panic, fear, grievance, despair, and endless tears—it made Lin Yao feel as if he were looking in a mirror. Those eyes were the very eyes that etched into his most unforgettable memory. When he was little, Luo Shijie and Luo Shizhang would often pin him down in front of the mirror in his grandfather's bathroom when the adults weren't looking, verbally abusing and beating him mercilessly. Powerless to resist, he could only beg for mercy. The most vivid memory he had of those terrified, desperate eyes in the mirror was that of his own. Seeing those identical eyes now, that distant memory returned to Lin Yao's heart, and the feelings of grievance and despair washed over him as if he were experiencing them himself.
"Brother, stop hitting me. I'm the restaurant manager. Calm down and don't make things difficult for me." The female manager was still trying her best to comfort the angry male customer, pressing her body against him to stop him from continuing his violent act.
"You little brat dared to throw boiling soup at me? Do you want to close your restaurant again? I'm from the Wenhou District Health Bureau, here in plainclothes for an inspection. Your restaurant's hygiene doesn't meet the requirements. I'll send someone to inspect it thoroughly tomorrow." The man stopped hitting the restaurant manager and arrogantly threatened him.
"I'm so sorry, boss. My sister absolutely didn't mean it. Please forgive her." Upon hearing the man's identity, the female manager immediately became very nervous, bowed her head in apology, and reached out to wipe the soup stains off the man's arm. "We were not attentive enough in receiving you, boss. Please come with me to the back to clean up. I'll have my sister apologize to you."
Lin Yao sized up the man. He was in his thirties, with a fat head and big ears. When he spoke arrogantly, the fat on his face jiggled and reflected the oil under the bright light. His suit was of good style and material, but it was stretched taut by his fat belly and looked rather unsightly. It could definitely be used as negative advertising for a manufacturer's competitor.
At this moment, one of the middle-aged man's companions walked over and said, "Section Chief Wang, this outfit is a brand new 'Paramon' brand. You definitely can't wear it now. Your restaurant has to compensate you for the loss of 8,800 yuan."
The female manager was taken aback. She couldn't afford to offend the customer who had been splashed with soup. If the district health bureau really sent someone to inspect, it would be a big problem, and the restaurant would have to be shut down for rectification under some pretext. In addition, the suit that was said to cost 8,800 yuan was far beyond her means, and it was even more impossible for the younger sister who caused the accident to pay for it. She knew very well what the younger sister's family situation was like.
"Brother, boss, please calm down and come sit in our office. It's not appropriate for you to stand here." The female manager just wanted to get the person into the office to discuss the matter as soon as possible. The employee handbook stipulates that in such situations, the impact should be minimized as soon as possible.
“I’m not going,” the middle-aged man waved his hand, causing the female manager who was wiping his arm to stumble. “Make her pay for my suit and the face I’ve lost.”
The girl on the ground was stunned. Upon hearing the enormous sum of eight thousand eight, even her tears stopped, and the fear in her eyes intensified. Her mouth gaped open, and she looked dazed. After a long while, she finally replied, with a wronged expression, "He bumped into me. I didn't have time to dodge."