A Fateful Encounter Two "Geniuses" in the Hospital

Northwest China.

“Old Li, do you think Madam might be a little…” A group of “ginseng fruits” sat around the campfire, grilling skewers. Several of them glanced in Du Wanyi’s direction. Seeing Madam playing two roles all by herself and talking to herself, they pointed at their heads and whispered among themselves.

“Shh, shut up. Madam isn’t someone ordinary mortals like us can see through. Eat your food!”

The moment Old Li heard Madam’s name, he shuddered, and his eyes instantly became much clearer. The red handprint on his slightly shiny scalp throbbed faintly.

It felt as though an enormous, supreme palm seal might descend on him the next second.

Over the past two days, Old Li and the others had gained a crystal-clear understanding of Madam’s terrifying nature. Even when they whispered about her from more than ten meters away, they still felt anxious and terrified.

If she heard them, they would probably be planted headfirst in the ground again.

Hearing what Old Li said, the others shuddered as well and hurriedly fell silent, quietly grilling their skewers.

“Woof.”

Da Huang barked from the side, then extended a paw and pointed at the bear paw and crispy noodles one of the men was grilling.

“Hey, hey, Big Yellow, these need a little more time. They’ll be ready soon.”

The man holding the skewers nodded with an ingratiating smile. He turned over the bear paw and crispy noodles in his hands, sprinkled on some seasoning, and continued grilling them…

Da Huang sniffed them, nodded as well, and then went back to eating the grilled beef in front of him.

Everyone: “…”

What on earth was the deal with this man-and-dog combination? It was way too strange!

They already knew that Da Huang wasn’t an ordinary dog. After all, what ordinary dog could understand human speech and communicate with people without any barriers?

But after witnessing Da Huang outrun an entire pack of wolves just moments ago, they had suddenly become enlightened…

Compared to that, Da Huang understanding human speech didn’t seem like anything special anymore.

Everyone: “…”

Their tolerance threshold had been raised so high that they could accept anything.

For instance, not far away, Madam was on the phone, playing two different roles all by herself as though she had split personalities.

“Hahaha, you idiot, DouDou! Hahaha…”

Du Wanyi covered her stomach and laughed. The person on the other end of the phone, Shen Ming, was silent.

“Okay, okay, I won’t tease you anymore. I called this time to have you keep an eye on Little Hanhan. Don’t come over for now. Once I’ve found the person, we’ll talk.”

Shen Ming: “…”

Um… was there any chance that Wanyi was finished speaking?

“Er, Wanyi, I have something to tell you. Don’t get upset, okay?”

“You damn DouDou! Just you wait! When I get back, I’m going to beat you into a gummy candy!”

Du Wanyi’s furious voice came through the phone, as if she might burst out of it the next second.

Shen Ming: “???”

“Wanyi, you… you know?”

Shen Ming’s voice was filled with disbelief.

“Huh? No, I don’t. But didn’t you just tell me not to get upset? So now I’m upset. I’ll stop being upset in a moment. Is there a problem?”

Du Wanyi asked.

Shen Ming: “…”

That made so much sense that he was momentarily unable to refute it.

Fortunately, DouDou’s resistance was also exceptionally high. After smoothing out the wrinkles in his brain, he instantly adapted to yet another outrageous thing Madam had done.

Yes, it was perfectly reasonable.

“By the way, what is it? Hurry up and tell me. Don’t keep me in suspense. You know I hate people who keep others in suspense more than anything. Munch, munch, munch…”

As she spoke, Du Wanyi pulled a packet of spicy strips from her pocket and munched away.

“Er, well, it’s actually not that big a deal, haha… It’s just that Hanhan may—probably—already know about Xiao Cheng’s situation in the Northwest.”

After Shen Ming finished speaking, the constant munching of spicy strips on the other end of the phone abruptly stopped.

Oh no!

After a long while, the munching started again, and Madam’s voice came through, calm as ever.

“It’s fine. If Little Hanhan knows, then let him know. As long as nobody else finds out. Especially those few little green teas. DouDou, you absolutely have to keep a close eye on them.”

Shen Ming: “…”

On the other end of the phone, the hand Shen Ming was using to hold the phone trembled slightly, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

“Mm, okay, I understand. Don’t worry, Wanyi. I’ll make sure this matter is handled without a single leak!”

“Good. You’re teachable after all. Since your attitude is so good, I’ll only punch you a few times less when you come back. I’m hanging up. I’m going to look for the person.”

“Beep, beep, beep…”

Madam’s call had come quickly and ended just as quickly. Her purpose in calling this time seemed to have been nothing more than casual conversation.

After all, the Northwest was far too desolate, and Madam’s personality was rather lively. The longer she stayed in a place like that, the more intensely her desire to find some entertainment would grow.

In the end, Shen Ming became the victim…

Shen Ming: “…”

Only a few punches less?

Hmm… That sounded pretty good.

Shen Ming hung up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and let out a breath.

“It should… probably be fine, right?”

Yes, without a single leak…

But was there any chance the ceiling had simply been smashed open with a huge hole?

Shen Ming: “…”

“Ah…”

Shen Ming sighed, returned to the car, and set off toward the airport.

Little did he know that Madam’s phone call about “Ye Cheng” that day would lay the groundwork for what happened later…

Northwest China.

Military district. Convalescent hospital. Director’s meeting room.

“Doctor Da, congratulations on joining our hospital!”

The director extended his hand, looking extremely excited. He had never expected their hospital to recruit a specialist with such an impressive résumé!

Normally, someone like Da Congming, who had been working at a top-tier, Grade-A hospital in Hai City and was about to become an associate chief physician, should not have been willing to change jobs.

After all, the salary and benefits available in the Northwest were worlds apart from those in Hai City.

It was no exaggeration to say that even the hospital director earned less than a specialist physician in Hai City.

There were tears in that story…

It was a collision between prosperity and desolation.

“However, Doctor Da, may I ask you something?” the director began hesitantly. “Why did you leave Hai City to come work here?”

Although this was undeniably a lucky break, he still needed to find out whether it was a break worth taking. He suspected that Da Congming had offended someone in the healthcare system in Hai City and could no longer make a living there, leaving him no choice but to move elsewhere.

But even that explanation seemed somewhat far-fetched.

Even if he couldn’t stay in Hai City, there was still the capital, Da Jing City. They could offer him equally excellent treatment.

After all, doctors were different from other professions. No matter the circumstances, they were always scarce resources and high-level members of society. Someone like that would never find themselves unable to get a job…

So why had he chosen their hospital of all places?

Da Congming shook his head and sighed. He raised his head toward the desolate Gobi Desert outside the window. With both hands clasped behind his back, his eyes seemed to carry memories of the past.

“My ancestors were from the northwest. Later, they fled a famine and ended up in Dahai City, where they settled down. My grandfather’s dying wish was that one day, when one of his descendants made something of himself, he would return here and help build up our hometown. My father and the others did make something of themselves, but they didn’t want to come back…”

“It’s just too hard here…”

“A person can’t spend their whole life chasing money. They need to live for something else, too…”

Just a few words, and the director was moved to tears. At his age, he nearly started crying right there.

Who would have thought that someone so pure still existed in this day and age? He had been too shallow. He was practically a terrible person!

Silently, at that very moment, the director decided to groom the Da Congming standing before him as his successor. Only if he handed the hospital over to someone like Da Congming could he truly rest easy!

“Good, good!”

“Doctor Da, to be honest, I was born and raised right here in the northwest. I’ve had plenty of chances to get promoted or transfer somewhere else, but I never left. A lot of the people around me don’t understand me. They think I’m an idiot…”

The director’s voice grew choked with emotion. As he looked at Da Congming, it was as though he had finally found a kindred spirit after years of searching.

“It’s truly too poor here. We can’t retain people, and we can’t offer them decent conditions. I never expected someone like you, Doctor Da, to stay and hold the line. I’m not alone in this after all!”

The director’s voice grew increasingly excited.

Da Congming seemed to be infected by the director’s speech and became emotional as well. Tears appeared in his eyes. Seeing this, the director was even more gratified. He had made up his mind: the next hospital director would be Da Congming!

As for the truth…

Yes, he really was crying—but not because he had been moved by the director’s noble ideals. It was because his high-paying job in Dahai City was gone. Not only had he lost the job, but his chances of becoming an associate chief physician or even a chief physician were gone too.

Fuck… Waaaah… You bastard! Don’t let me see you again! Waaaah…

Give me back my high salary! Give me back my wonderful life! Waaaah…

And as for that story about his grandfather…

What grandfather? His ass!

His grandfather had died on the road while fleeing the famine. Da Congming had never even met him, let alone heard him say anything about coming back to develop their hometown.

He didn’t even know where his ancestral home was, for crying out loud!

Besides, if he really had been from the northwest, he would have been the first one to run away!

The reason he had fled Dahai City was entirely because he was afraid of being inexplicably arrested and beaten up again… and it all stemmed from that patient he had seen several months ago.

Da Congming: “…”

You’d better not let me catch you. Otherwise… otherwise, I’ll just hide somewhere else.

Seriously, how dare he threaten Ye Cheng?

He must not have taken enough elbow strikes. Before he could even do anything to Ye Cheng, several young ladies had taken turns hanging him up and beating him. If anything really happened, he probably wouldn’t live to see the next day.

What a goddamn world!

After chatting for a little longer, Da Congming’s peripheral vision was drawn toward the people outside the window.

“Director, what are all those people outside doing?”

“Oh, that? We’re recruiting orderlies. The hospital’s been a little short-staffed lately. Fortunately, we have a dedicated man like you, Doctor Da, to serve as one of the hospital’s pillars…”

The director glanced at the people outside, who were hunched over their desks solving test questions, and explained.

Da Congming nodded.

Oh… so that was what was going on. But were even orderly positions this competitive these days? They had to take an exam?

Just as Da Congming was about to look away, he suddenly saw someone in the examination area below stand up and hand in his paper.

The first person to finish!

“Huh? That person… Why does he look a little familiar?” Da Congming narrowed his eyes as he stared at the person who had handed in his test several hundred meters away. An inexplicable sense of familiarity came over him.

The distance was too great, and Da Congming was nearsighted, so he couldn’t make out the person’s face. He could only tell that the man’s build looked familiar, as though he had seen him somewhere before.

But where?

“Doctor Da, your office will be over here. I’ll take you to have a look…”

“Huh? Oh, all right…”

Da Congming pulled his gaze back and followed the director toward the other end of the hospital.

It was probably… just his imagination, right?

How could that person possibly be here?

He hadn’t even run into him in Dahai City. How could they have met all the way out here in the northwest?

Yeah… their builds probably just happened to be similar. He really was scaring himself for no reason…

Da Congming put his mind at ease, immediately ruled out the correct answer, and happily went to inspect his new office.

Well… a beautiful day was just beginning!

Several hundred meters away.

At the open-air examination site, Ye Cheng had been the first to hand in his paper. He ran over to the interview area.

There was only one interviewer—the uncle of Emperor Bro, who, according to Emperor Bro, could help him get in through the back door.

Ye Cheng nodded and began his “self-introduction.”

“Greetings, esteemed interviewers. My name is Da Congming. I’ve been preparing for two and a half years. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to demonstrate myself. During my time at the hospital, I will do my very best to fulfill the duties of an orderly…”

That day, two “Da Congmings” arrived at the hospital.

…