Chapter Forty-One: The Date!

Seeing that Lin Qingyuan still wore a look of utter confusion, gazing at Qin Luo with the eager expectation of a studious schoolboy awaiting his teacher’s continued explanation, Qin Luo could only sigh softly.

Perhaps Lin Qingyuan’s medical skills were indeed extraordinary. But when it came to intrigue and power struggles, he was hopelessly naïve. No wonder Ma Youcai, with nothing more than a vice president’s title, was able to stir up so much trouble in the hospital and wield more authority than him.

Qin Luo pulled Lin Qingyuan into the house, then held out a disposable packaging bag in front of him and asked, “See this? What is it?”

“A Kang’ao Si instrument packaging bag. How could I not recognize it?” Lin Qingyuan replied with a smile.

“And what about these?” Qin Luo handed him several medical devices and asked.

“Aren’t these Kang’ao Si instruments as well?”

Qin Luo shook his head with a smile. “If they were genuine Kang’ao Si instruments, they would have arrived from abroad sealed. Why would they need to be repackaged within the country?”

“So you’re saying… someone is faking them?” Lin Qingyuan finally understood what Qin Luo was trying to tell him.

“Yes. But there’s another word for it: counterfeiting,” Qin Luo said with a smile.

Incidents of counterfeiting were rampant in China. Some copied DIOR’s fashion designs and sold them with fake labels; others imitated Converse sneakers and sold them at discounts. There were fakes in appliances, phones, and countless other products.

Even more outrageous, even people could be “counterfeited”—didn’t the news recently report a government official’s daughter impersonating another girl to get into university?

Qin Luo stuffed an IV tube into the Kang’ao Si packaging and said, “They didn’t get authorization from Kang’ao Si, but bought packaging bags themselves and then repackaged the knockoff instruments. They pass them off as genuine and sell them to hospitals and clinics everywhere.”

Holding the large pile of instruments, Lin Qingyuan asked, “Where did you get these?”

“Wang Hao’s factory,” Qin Luo replied.

“Who is Wang Hao?” Lin Qingyuan had never met Wang Hao and naturally didn’t know his identity.

“A distributor for medical devices.”

“These kinds of things happen everywhere. I’m already used to it. But what does this have to do with who becomes the head of the hospital?” Lin Qingyuan asked.

Qin Luo smiled and added, “Of course, he has another role—he’s Ma Youcai’s friend. Or perhaps, his business partner.”

“He’s connected to Ma Youcai?” Lin Qingyuan was astonished.

“Yes. I once saw them leaving a hotel together, looking very close,” Qin Luo nodded with a smile. “If I’m not mistaken, the hospital’s procurement of medical equipment is controlled by Ma Youcai, isn’t it?”

Lin Qingyuan nodded and said, “Yes, each department head chooses medications based on doctors’ feedback, then submits everything to Ma Youcai for his signature.”

Qin Luo nodded. The fate of pharmaceutical companies rested in the hands of doctors and department heads, which was why sales reps were willing to offer such high kickbacks to these key decision-makers.

“I believe the so-called Kang’ao Si medical equipment used in the hospital is exactly this sort of thing,” Qin Luo said bluntly.

“What? How dare they?”

“With such enormous profits, what wouldn’t they dare to do?” Qin Luo retorted with a smile.

“Then… the infections among those children?” Lin Qingyuan’s face changed dramatically, his voice trembling.

“Exactly. Newborns are extremely vulnerable. If they were using these fake devices on infants, infection would be inevitable. These products are filthy, the sterilization is nowhere near standard, and some are even made by buying discarded foreign medical waste and ‘reprocessing’ it.”

Crack!

Lin Qingyuan glared angrily, squeezing the IV tube in his hand until it made a brittle snapping sound. He roared, “Have they no ethics, no humanity? Lives are at stake—how can they do this? How dare they? They almost destroyed the hospital!”

Qin Luo’s heart was heavy as well. Someone who had nearly ruined the hospital for the sake of personal greed was now poised to be named its director. It was an irony too bitter for words.

“I’m going to report them,” Lin Qingyuan declared, trembling with righteous indignation. “I can’t let them keep hurting people.”

Qin Luo stopped the enraged Lin Qingyuan and said, “If you rush to report them, it’ll only tip them off. By the time the authorities actually investigate, Wang Hao will have covered his tracks. They’ll find nothing.”

“Then what should we do? Just let them keep endangering patients? Who knows if there’ll be another outbreak of infections?” Lin Qingyuan fumed.

“Of course not,” Qin Luo said. “But first, we need to understand exactly how Wang Hao and Ma Youcai are working together. If we find proof of their collusion, even if Ma Youcai is removed, what’s to stop him from partnering with another supplier and carrying on as before?”

“Then what should we do?” Lin Qingyuan asked, persuaded by Qin Luo’s logic.

“We need to do two things. First, expose Wang Hao’s factory. Second, obtain evidence of his collaboration with Ma Youcai. But the second must be done before the first. Leave the evidence gathering to me.”

“Very well. I’ll leave it to you,” Lin Qingyuan said heavily. “At my age, I find myself understanding less and less of this world.”

“Evil will be punished in the end. It’s just a matter of time,” Qin Luo consoled him.

Qin Luo had thought that finding proof of Ma Youcai’s crimes would lift Lin Qingyuan’s spirits. After all, it meant they could finally topple him from the director’s chair. Yet Lin Qingyuan’s mood only grew heavier, worrying about how many patients would suffer before the criminals were brought to justice. He even lost his appetite at lunch, barely touching half a bowl of rice before heading upstairs to rest.

“What an old man, so stubborn in his thinking,” Qin Luo thought as he watched Lin Qingyuan’s retreating figure.

But this only deepened Qin Luo’s admiration for his character.

Men like him embodied the true spirit of China—not those bloated, corrupt officials, nor the businessmen who saw nothing but profit, nor the unscrupulous vendors who would sell gutter oil and stinking tofu for a buck.

Though he had promised the old man to expose this matter as soon as possible, Qin Luo now faced a dilemma.

Where could he find concrete evidence of Wang Hao and Ma Youcai’s collaboration? Perhaps he could trace it through their finances.

But as an ordinary man, who barely knew how to turn on a computer, how could he investigate their accounts?

He would have to ask for help, Qin Luo thought.

But whom could he turn to?

The Wenren family would be a good choice. Honestly, if Qin Luo asked, with their power and influence, solving such a problem would be child’s play.

But on what grounds could he ask for their help? He had just rejected their daughter, and now to run back and ask for favors was something Qin Luo couldn’t bring himself to do.

“Wait. Wang Jiujui!” Qin Luo thought. With her formidable background, if she were willing to help, the problem could be solved easily.

True to his resolve, Qin Luo dialed Wang Jiujui’s number.

“Teacher Qin?” came Wang Jiujui’s uncertain voice on the other end.

“Yes, it’s me,” Qin Luo replied. Only after connecting the call did he realize he didn’t know how to broach the subject. She was just a student—was it really appropriate to ask her for such a favor?

“Teacher Qin, is there something you need?” Wang Jiujui’s voice clearly brightened, rising in pitch.

“Ah, um… do you have some free time?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then could we meet this afternoon?”

“Sure! Where shall we meet?” Wang Jiujui stifled a laugh.

“I’ll let you decide,” said Qin Luo.

“Then let’s meet at the Starbucks on Yanfu Road,” Wang Jiujui suggested.

Qin Luo was surprised. He had expected her to pick a spot on campus, but she had chosen a place outside the school grounds.

Since he’d already left the choice to her, he couldn’t object now. “All right then. See you at three.”

After hanging up, Wang Jiujui tossed her phone onto the sofa and let out a shriek of pure joy.

“Ahhh—!”

Zhang Yiyi, seated nearby with cucumber slices on her face for a beauty treatment, was startled by her daughter’s scream. Her hand jerked and a cucumber slice slipped down the front of her open dressing gown.

Fumbling to fish the slice from between her breasts, Zhang Yiyi snapped, “You little rascal, what are you screaming for? No one’s assaulting you!”

“Zhang Yiyi, he asked me out! He asked me out!” Wang Jiujui giggled, covering her face.

“Wang Jiujui, this is my final warning. If you call me Zhang Yiyi again, you can forget about calling me Mom… Who asked you out?”

“Teacher Qin! He just called. Asked me to meet at Starbucks this afternoon,” Wang Jiujui replied cheerfully.

“So soon? That’s almost too easy,” Zhang Yiyi remarked.

“What do you know? We’re going to talk about our feelings. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Who says I don’t understand? Why wouldn’t I?” Zhang Yiyi snatched a sofa cushion and playfully tossed it at her daughter’s head.

“You just don’t get it. You’re practically menopausal—what could you know about love?” Wang Jiujui retorted, grabbing a cushion in return.

“How could I not? If I didn’t understand love, how could I have had you?”

“That’s your mystery, not mine. Maybe you’re not even my real mom,” Wang Jiujui teased.

“You brat, still mouthing off? If you dare hit my face—”

“Then why are you grabbing my chest?”

“—”

After their playful scuffle, mother and daughter lay gasping side by side on the sofa.

“Tell me, do you really like him?” Zhang Yiyi asked.

“Of course I do,” Wang Jiujui replied.

“Good. Then let your mother help you win him over.”

“No need. I’ll handle it myself.”

“Don’t you think you’d have a better chance with me there? If he tries to take advantage of you, I can protect you. And if you want to take advantage of him, I can stand guard at the door!”