Chapter 441 - 414: Compromise
Xu Chunliang took a sip of tea and said, "Let’s talk business. I helped you secure the model center project. Once the formal contract is signed, you can get the advance payment. Friendship is one thing, but you need to do the job beautifully for me."
Ding Si stood up, opened the safe, took out a cloth bag with two hundred thousand in cash, and placed it at Xu Chunliang’s feet: "Bring some tea for your old man to try."
Xu Chunliang laughed, and Ding Si laughed along with him.
Suddenly, Xu Chunliang’s smile vanished: "Who do you think you’re looking down on?"
Ding Si was stunned, thinking that maybe Xu found the money too little: "When the project is over..."
Xu Chunliang stopped him from saying more: "Brother Si, if you respect me, don’t pull this on me again. I’m not lacking your small change. I handed the project to you because I think you’re a righteous person. If you really want to thank me, treat me to a few meals in the future. Don’t do this kind of thing!"
Ding Si pursed his lips, feeling a bit moved. He and Xu Chunliang got to know each other through adversity, and of course, he was the one who got beaten. Xu may be young, but his scope is genuinely large, something Ding could never match.
Xu Chunliang wasn’t short of money; Ding Si knew this. He had witnessed Xu’s social connections firsthand. Not to mention the Hidden Lake Villa, which he acquired at half price with renovations.
Ding Si also knew he couldn’t really help Xu Chunliang with anything significant. Perhaps Xu gave him some inconvenient dirty work to handle. He was willing to associate with someone like Xu Chunliang but didn’t hope to become his friend. He understood a simple truth: someone much stronger than you can’t be your friend, just as you wouldn’t want to be friends with someone much weaker. Xu Chunliang was his benefactor.
The Oral Center had seen a rise in disputes over the past two days. There were questions about their technical skills, accusations of high fees, complaints of over-medicalization, and even accusations of fear-mongering and medical fraud. It was a mess and had severely disrupted the order of treatment.
This wasn’t the first time something like this happened in Changxing. It was the second time for outsourced departments. The last concentrated dispute occurred in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department.
The normal medical order in the Oral Center was severely affected. He Yanjun couldn’t understand why the trouble hadn’t ended even after he had apologized to Gao Xinhua. Such concentrated disputes couldn’t be a coincidence; there must be someone orchestrating it from behind the scenes.
Upon hearing about the chaos at the Oral Center, Gao Xinhua first thought of Xu Chunliang. This kid must have acted on his own. In Gao’s opinion, it’s important to take a step back. After all, Pei Lin is the real boss behind the Oral Center. There’s no need to break ties completely.
He called Xu Chunliang, telling him that the Oral Center had backed down and was willing to cover all medical expenses for Lu Ming’s mother-in-law.
Xu Chunliang only said, "Too late!"
This time, Xu Chunliang wanted to settle scores not just with the Oral Center but also with the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Medical Aesthetic Centers. It was time to settle past accounts.
Zhao Feiyang still learned about the happenings at Changxing. The night before he returned home, he proactively spoke to Pei Lin: "Have you considered my advice to pull out?" In marriage, the most destructive issue is a lack of communication. He’s been divorced once and doesn’t want a second time.
Pei Lin silently turned her back to him, expressing her protest.
Zhao Feiyang said, "I know you’ve always been independent and lack a sense of security. You also lack trust in me, but that’s no reason to be willful."
Pei Lin still said nothing.
Zhao Feiyang said, "Which center, be it the Beauty Center, Traditional Chinese Medicine Center, or Oral Center, doesn’t have your involvement? Do you think others can’t see it?"
"So what if they see? We won the contracts through open bidding. There’s nothing illegal about it."
Zhao Feiyang sighed: "You can only say such self-deceptive words to me. Without my connections, who would give you this face? Pei Lin isn’t clueless; she just doesn’t want to admit it."
Zhao Feiyang said, "Tang Jinglun knows everything about you clearly. He wants you to enter Huanyan Health to manage several major centers. Ultimately, it’s to tie me to his bandwagon through you."
Pei Lin fell silent again.
"You think because Tang Jinglun became CEO of Huayuan, he’ll run Huayuan Group. To secure my position in Changxing, the only way is to maintain good relations with him. You’re too short-sighted. You don’t understand Tang Jinglun nor Huayuan Group."
With his hands crossed over his stomach, Zhao Feiyang continued talking to himself: "Everything Tang Jinglun has done since becoming CEO is very risky. He wants to resolve Huayuan Group’s crisis through capital operations, which is impossible." He shook his head: "The current crisis of Huayuan Group can only be solved by government intervention. Tang Jinglun doesn’t have that ability. I dare say he won’t sit in the CEO’s position for long."
Pei Lin slowly turned around, tears streaming down her face, and suddenly hugged Zhao Feiyang: "Feiyang, I’m not greedy. I’m... I’m scared... I’m scared..."
Zhao Feiyang’s hand lifted, hesitated for a moment, then landed on Pei Lin’s long hair, gently stroking her head. In a soft voice, he said, "What are you afraid of? With me here, there’s nothing to fear." In fact, he understood very well what Pei Lin was afraid of.
Pei Lin nodded: "I’ll listen to you. I’ll refuse Tang Jinglun when I get back."
Zhao Feiyang said, "The matters over at Changxing."
Pei Lin said, "I withdraw, I withdraw..." As she spoke, she started crying. She was reluctant, but Zhao Feiyang’s recent attitude made her realize that if she continued being stubborn, she might lose Zhao Feiyang.
Her sobs made Zhao Feiyang aware that she was unwilling, but nonetheless, she had finally made the correct decision.
Zhao Feiyang said, "I know you value your career a lot. How about this: once you have the baby, I’ll make arrangements, okay?"
Pei Lin nodded amid her sobs. Zhao Feiyang reached out to wipe away her tears. Pei Lin disdainfully said, "Your hands are so rough."
Zhao Feiyang laughed and said, "And you’re complaining about me already."
"You’re the one complaining about me."
Zhao Feiyang hadn’t even returned to Changxing yet was already issuing orders. Given the various disorders at the cooperative centers, he decided to take back all the contracted departments and return to unified hospital management. Investors could choose to keep shares and enjoy dividends or evaluate their options and leave. In short, the determination to reclaim management of the centers was clear and firm this time.
Most people believed the trigger for this was the oral center, and Gao Xinhua reluctantly took the blame for this incident. Unanimously, everyone thought Gao Xinhua had pushed for this recovery of management.
Dong Changhao of Huanyan Health was glad to see this development. These centers were established before Huayuan Group and Changxing Hospital signed their contract. Dong Changhao had already proposed their recovery.
Tang Jinglun held a different view on this. They knew these centers were tied to Pei Lin, which was inconvenient for Zhao Feiyang. No matter how transparent the tender process seemed, problems surely existed that would surface if investigated thoroughly.
Tang Jinglun not only didn’t intend to reclaim the centers but instead wanted to give Pei Lin more power, with the clear motive of tying Zhao Feiyang to her.
Upon hearing this news, Dong Changhao immediately reported it to Tang Jinglun.
Tang Jinglun quickly understood Zhao Feiyang’s intent. Zhao Feiyang had finally persuaded Pei Lin to leave Changxing; he didn’t want any weak spots to remain in his hands. In other words, Zhao Feiyang didn’t want to be on the same boat, as he never truly supported Tang Jinglun.
The last time Zhao Feiyang came to Nanjiang, he had a long talk with Tang Jinglun and even offered him a villa, but Zhao Feiyang politely declined. Tang Jinglun knew Zhao Feiyang was watching and hesitated between him and the elder brother.
From the start, Tang Jinglun tried to win over Zhao Feiyang because dealing with Changxing’s matters hinged on him.
He thought Zhao Feiyang’s initiative to approach him was the start of a change of allegiance, but unexpectedly Zhao Feiyang sought to cut ties. A fine bird chooses a good tree to nest in, indicating Tang Jinglun wasn’t seen as an ideal leader by Zhao Feiyang.
Tang Jinglun was now staking his future on Huanyan Health. Whether Pei Lin withdrew or not, this wouldn’t change. Since Zhao Feiyang persuaded Pei Lin to make a cut, he could capitalize on this opportunity to integrate the major centers.
If Pei Lin stepped down as director, there were others to take her place. After some thought, Tang Jinglun identified an excellent candidate.
He Yanjun was overwhelmed, and Fang Jian Country fared no better as he was secretly photographed meeting a nurse, causing a scandal. The nurse’s family demanded explanations from the hospital.
Gao Xinhua, representing the hospital’s leadership, decided to temporarily suspend Fang Jian Country for investigation. Fang Jian Country was grief-stricken; he and his mistress had been involved for over ten years, which many knew about. How did it suddenly blow up?
In the end, it was because he’d offended someone. Gao Xinhua was ruthless!
Zhao Feiyang returned to the country and went straight to the hospital. Even though he hadn’t been gone long, much had happened.
Gao Xinhua was surprised to hear Zhao Feiyang had returned, thinking he’d not come back to work for a few more days, so he went to Zhao Feiyang’s office of his own accord.
Zhao Feiyang smiled when he saw him and said, "Secretary Gao, your timing is perfect; I was just about to come see you." Ever since Gao Xinhua became the secretary, Zhao Feiyang’s attitude towards him became much more courteous, yet their relationship oddly became distant.
Zhao Feiyang took out two cartons of foreign cigarettes and handed them to him; they were bought from a duty-free shop at the airport.
Gao Xinhua accepted them without ceremony, said thank you, and sat down opposite Zhao Feiyang. "Was your trip smooth?"
Zhao Feiyang nodded. "Yes, it was fruitful, and I gained some insights."
Gao Xinhua said, "While you were away, Changxing was anything but peaceful."
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