Chapter 3043: with translation of chapter title

Lin Ge is in the car, heading to the Medical University Affiliated Hospital.

His sitting posture was just a bit awkward, as if dozens of needles lay under the cushion; his buttocks were almost hovering, his leg muscles were extremely taut, his upper body straight, his gaze forward.

Old Lin refers to Lin Ge; it's not a separate name—the driver calls him Old Lin.

The driver looked only in his thirties, extremely well‑groomed, his hair immaculately styled, and he had applied matte hair wax.

Between his brows there was a hint of heroic spirit; although time had polished him for over forty years, that hint of spirit had not been worn away, and instead it had gained a sense of maturity.

Porsche is a brand, but as a real-world brand it should be excluded.

In the girl's mouth, this was the typical uncle image—mature, steady, handsome, wealthy, wealthy, wealthy…

"Chengzi, if I can help, I definitely will help; we've known each other for many years." Lin Ge said softly, each sentence he thought about then cut in half, then only said two or three sentences, like speaking to the most troublesome dispute family members.

"Lao Lin, I'm swamped here." The middle-aged man sighed, "Lao Lin, saying I came all the way from Jinhai just to see you would be a joke. This time Chengzi I've run into trouble, Lao Lin, help me out if you can—would that work? Don't put me on the spot, can you do what you can?"

"How much doesn't matter, whether you help or not doesn't matter; if you can help, just lend me a hand, I'm not asking you to get me out."

Lin Ge felt bitter inside; having said that much, what else could he do?

The person beside him was Zhao Chengyin, his high school classmate.

They had shared a desk for three years back then, but that youthful relationship doesn't count. Over the years theirs has been neither close nor distant; aside from class reunions, whenever Zhao Chengyin came to Di Du on business, he would every now and then look for Lin Ge to grab a bite and catch up.

Zhao Chengyin serves as the business dean at a private top‑grade hospital in Jinhai, and it's precisely because he has many professional matters to consult Lin Ge, this old hand, that their relationship has grown closer.

But Lin Ge, either out of pride or worried about what's happening today, has never wanted to get too close with Zhao Chengyin. As for private hospitals, they basically just have public hospitals clean up their mess—what they order, Lin Ge looks down on private hospitals from the bottom of his heart.

I've heard that in Modu, Americans have opened several private hospitals mainly for Americans there, hiring many top‑level figures; that sort of private hospital doesn't count.

"Chengzi, to be frank, my relationship with Zheng Lao Ban and Professor Su is indeed close. I'd say I've made a comeback, relying on clinging to Zheng Lao Ban's thigh." Lin Ge said in a low voice.

Lin Ge didn't inflate his own importance; this time he was really backed into a corner, and he didn't boast about how well he's doing now.

Zhao Chengyin knew the person next to him was Bone, and he didn't speak either, gripping the steering wheel with both hands as he weaved through the streets of Di Du, heading straight for the Medical University Affiliated Hospital according to the navigation.

"You know what my situation used to be—I can't even sleep peacefully every night. My biggest hope is to retire peacefully. In Di Du, a deputy section chief is nothing, but I have no ability, so I can only do this."

"It's not that I met Zheng Lao Ban this year and saw an opportunity, so I seized the chance to cling to his thigh. To be frank, things are going smoothly now; after three years of good performance, there's a chance to be promoted to vice director."

Lin Ge spoke softly, and Zhao Chengyin listened in silence.

"To be honest, I'm nothing—even if I become vice director, I'd just be a lackey at Zheng Lao Ban's door."

……

Zhao Chengyin's hand slipped, and the car jerked. Honks sounded from left and right, and the surrounding drivers expressed their dissatisfaction.

"Don't disbelieve me—this is really my honest opinion. Being Zheng Lao Ban's lackey is great: no hassle, just promotions and wealth every day. I don't even need to strive for advancement; it just drops down from heaven."

"How did I, a ten‑year deputy section chief, become a section chief… Never mind that—I've only been a section chief for a few days. Yesterday, Director Yan talked to me about promoting me to hospital assistant director."

"Lao Lin, congratulations……" Zhao Chengyin said in a low voice.

"Why? Because Zheng Lao Ban is heading to Sweden in a few days, and I'm the direct point of contact—I've been attending to him hand and foot since he first arrived at 912. A section chief enjoying deputy bureau‑level treatment—who would have dared imagine that a few years ago? Section Chief Ye, after all these years, is an old subordinate of Director Yan, yet he's still just a section chief."

"Lao Lin, could it really be as the rumors say—that Zheng Lao Ban is arrogant and overbearing, beating and scolding you?" Zhao Chengyin asked incredulously.

"No way, Zheng Lao Ban has a very good temper." Lin Ge said when mentioning Zheng Lao Ban, he smiled slightly, but the hint of sincerity in his smile vanished instantly, and he said carefully, "They say Zheng Lao Ban once hit someone abroad, but we won't gossip about that; in Di Du, in various rescues, his good intentions have stirred idle talk, and some rumors we can't believe."

"But…… let me give you an example."

"A few days ago, there was a food poisoning incident at the nearby Er Zhong; Zheng Lao Ban, as an expert of the Medical Team, was called in for a consultation. You know, normally in a consultation you just give your opinion and suggestions and that's it, but Zheng Lao Ban doesn't."

"The Er Zhong side wanted to hush it up, make a big thing small and a small thing nothing. 'If it were someone else, what would you do if it were you?' Lin Ge asked. His words had hidden meaning, but he was also fairly clear; as long as Zhao Chengyin gave it a bit of thought, he'd know what Lin Ge was getting at."

"Uh…… normally you'd voice your opinion, then in private explain the situation to the people at Er Zhong. When doing things, there's always a way to speak within limits, pleasing both sides." Zhao Chengyin hid nothing; he also knew Lin Ge had been battered for ten years in the Dispute Office—the type that isn't beaten down but instead has become sharper, so deceiving him is hard, thus it's better to speak frankly.

"Right, if I were to do that. But Zheng Lao Ban doesn't think so; Professor Su on the spot grabbed the printed report and slapped the Er Zhong school doctor's face—a real slap, not a metaphor, with a slap‑slap sound, right in front of the Er Zhong school principal."

……

Zhao Chengyin couldn't really understand this way of doing things.

Society is a big dye vat; if you can't go along with the flow, you'll probably end up dying miserably later.

Youthful vigor? Possibly. If that's really the case, then this matter is likely to become troublesome.

"Zheng Lao Ban didn't intervene either, he just said lightly—Su Yun is right!" Lin Ge recalled the situation and still sighed.

Zhao Chengyin was also speechless.

"Zheng Lao Ban then directly took the security guards to Er Zhong and started a thorough inspection. Guess what the final result was?"

"If it's food poisoning, it must be something moldy that got into the cafeteria."

"No, it's that the copper tubing of the drink machine was exposed, the drink contained copper, causing copper poisoning."

……