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Chapter 289: Chapter 289: Laughing as if a Cotton Shoe Just Exploded
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As the couple held hands walking home, they arrived at the entrance of the residential quarters. Coincidentally, several doctors and family members with their children were in the courtyard; children playing and laughing, while adults were chatting. Conveniently enough, they were discussing the matter of Si Chen accepting red envelopes.
The residential building had only one street lamp that cast a faded, yellow glow after being in place for decades. The spots on each other’s faces were barely visible. With everyone engaged deeply in conversation and the bevvy of kids making a racket, they initially didn’t notice Si Chen and Tong Yao’s arrival and continued enthusiastically discussing the topic.
"Some doctors simply lack professional ethics and moral boundaries, even accepting money from patients’ relatives. How’s that different from adding insult to injury? People are already spending a lot on medical treatment, and yet he has the audacity to accept a hundred yuan from them. He ought to be fearful of getting burnt. Luckily, it’s being investigated. Such individuals can only be a menace if they stay at the hospital," said Guo Zhi, Liu Qing’s husband.
Being a hot topic of Liu Qing’s gossips at home, Guo Zhi felt strongly about Si Chen, a doctor of rural origin who was only fit to work at a small local hospital. He resented Si Chen for aspiring to flaunt himself in a big city without assessing whether it suited him.
What’s the big deal about marrying a city-bred, pretty daughter-in-law?
If he’s capable, why doesn’t he just let her establish a hospital?
At that time, nobody would object to him becoming the dean.
True to saying ’Birds of a feather flock together’, Liu Qing agreed, "Who amongst us hasn’t been a doctor for over a decade? Yet, none of us has discreetly accepted a red envelope from patients’ families. How few years has he been a doctor to be pulling stunts like this? In my opinion, he’s just a small fry who hasn’t seen the world."
At this time, intentionally omitting the fact that Tong Yao owned a tea shop. This was the result of Liu Qing initially announcing around the hospital that Tong Yao worked as a cashier. Now, claiming that Tong Yao is the owner would be like slapping her own face.
She guessed that Tong Yao had claimed to be a cashier intentionally, just waiting to see Liu Qing make a fool of herself.
Fortunately, Si Chen’s self-destructive behaviour meant he likely won’t be able to continue to work at the hospital regardless of the success of the surgery.
"Si Chen has really messed up. Even if his surgery today is successful, this red envelope incident will still not pass."
"Isn’t it a shame? Professor Qu’s painstaking efforts were all for nothing."
Except for the couple Liu Qing and Guo Zhi, everyone else spoke rather subtly, neutral in their criticism. After all, the dean has yet to make a decision on the red envelope issue. With Professor Qu backing him up, maybe this problem will fade away soon.
Although Si Chen is young and hasn’t worked for long, his abilities are solid. It is rumored that he’s even preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination. They don’t have the energy for that anymore.
If Si Chen overcomes this challenge and the surgery is very successful, when they are his age, his achievements would undoubtedly outshine theirs. Less is best when matters are still pending, it saves one from much trouble.
"There are so many capable doctors in our hospital, it’s baffling what Professor Qu sees in him. Just by looking at the red envelope incident, one can tell someone’s medical ethics..." Guo Zhi was criticising Si Chen standing on the high ground of moral authority, so much so he didn’t notice Si Chen approaching him from behind.
Other doctors tried to warn him, but due to poor lighting, he didn’t pay any attention. Even when Liu Qing pulled at his clothes, he didn’t get the hint and asked, "I’m still talking, why are you yanking my clothes so persistently?"
Witnessing him being completely oblivious, Liu Qing was so nervous that she was about to blow up. She hurriedly exclaimed loudly, "Oh! You two have just arrived home, right?"
Guo Zhi stiffens and as he turns to see Si Chen and Tong Yao approaching, his face changes faster than a flipping book. His laughter was awkward, as if cotton shoes exploded with cotton flying everywhere, crow’s feet showing through his smile, "Oh! Dr. Si, you’re back? Was the surgery successful?"
He cursed on the inside, speaking of the devil and he appears. They hadn’t seen a trace of the couple when they weren’t discussing Si Chen. As soon as they started, they popped up like ghosts.
"It was successful. You guys chat, we are going up." Si Chen looked emotionless as he glanced at Guo Zhi and Liu Qing, then walked towards the stairwell with Tong Yao.
They had just walked a few steps when Tong Yao stopped, looked back at Guo Zhi, and ironically complimented him, "Dr. Guo, you have an impressive flow of eloquence and lung capacity. You just spoke so much about Ah Chen without any interruption, not even gasping for air."
Being caught gossiping and now directly called out, Guo Zhi felt as though he had been slapped in the face in public. It was not particularly damaging, but the humiliation was extreme. Even after Tong Yao and Si Chen had gone upstairs, his face remained flushed red.
The situation was awkward for everyone else too. They touched their noses, unsure of what to say. Everyone was thankful that they hadn’t said anything too outrageous. From the look on Tong Yao and Si Chen’s faces, they guessed that Si Chen’s red envelope incident is probably resolved.
Despite their displeasure at Si Chen’s success with the surgery, they can’t deny Si Chen’s skills. Honestly, they don’t even have the confidence to perform such a high-level operation.
If Si Chen’s surgery is successful, it proves that he is ready for the main operation, officially promoting him to the main surgeon. If he also passes the postgraduate entrance examination, his future prospects...
"I feel that Dr. Si accepting a red envelope must be a misunderstanding." The world is never short of flip-floppers. Guessing that Si Chen would soon rise, some people started to speak up for Si Chen.
Once someone took the lead, others chimed in immediately, "Actually, I don’t think Dr. Si seems like that kind of person. If he works hard as Professor Qu values him, there’s no need to covet such petty cash."
Liu Qing was feeling flustered and hearing everyone flip-flopping, she lost any attempt at compromise and blurted out Tong Yao’s shop story.
"Yes, you’re right. There’s really no need for him to covet petty cash; he wouldn’t even glance at it. They’ve opened a tea shop at the entrance of Kyoto University and make a casual income of over a thousand a month, far more than Professor Qu’s salary. Nobody at our hospital can beat their wealth."
Once the words slipped out, Liu Qing immediately regretted it. She and Tong Yao already had a strained relationship, now it was completely ruined. She couldn’t resist revealing Tong Yao’s store, and it had slipped out.
Her crowning glory, serving as an example to others, backfired spectacularly, and now she held the lowest status in her own house.
She blamed her careless tongue.
"Didn’t you say that Tong Yao was a cashier there? How did she become the owner now?" Everyone was completely shocked, doubting whether they had misheard.
The boss and cashier were worlds apart.
But speaking of which, if Tong Yao really owns a shop, there’s no way Si Chen would have accepted that hundred yuan red envelope. No wonder they say Tong Yao is a big spender, she knows how to earn money as well!
"How do I know? Go ask her."
Liu Qing was so frustrated she wanted to hit someone. She responded with a bad mood, not caring about her children anymore, and returned angrily to her apartment.
What bad luck she had, encountering all kinds of problems at once.
She didn’t know who first spread the rumor about Si Chen accepting the red envelope. The person who spread the rumor was fine, but she had gotten the short end of the stick.
Not only did she get into trouble, but she also offended people.
