Xiao Zhenyu had spent the entire day in the detention center, and his anger was boiling over. He no longer bothered to mince his words.
“Big Sis, you know Mom has nowhere to go after being discharged. No one in the city dares rent her a place, and her letters of introduction have expired, so she can’t stay at a guesthouse either.”
“You have your own home. It would be most suitable for her to recuperate there after giving birth. You could also make her some nutritious food. Buying every meal would be expensive. Besides, she’s our mother. No matter how hard your heart is, you can’t just let her sleep on the streets, can you?”
Xiao Zhenyu put on the air of a perfectly filial son, speaking with such righteous conviction that it was almost laughable.
Xiao Mandong couldn’t help sneering. “What does her having nowhere to live after discharge have to do with me? If her letter of introduction has expired, she can go home. Don’t even think about getting your hands on my house.”
“You were about to hit me the other day. From now on, you don’t need to pretend to be my good little brother. I’m not going to give you any money anyway, so you’re only exhausting yourself by putting on this act.”
“Big Sis, how did you become like this? Why are you being so heartless?”
“Doesn’t Mom want to go home? She couldn’t get a sleeper ticket. Her incision has only just begun to heal—how could she possibly endure sitting in a hard-seat carriage?”
“Mom said she only wants to stay at your place until she finishes her postpartum confinement. Once her incision heals a little, she’ll return to Beijing immediately. She absolutely won’t bother you again.”
“Xiao Zhenyu, do you think you can fool ghosts by burning newspaper at their graves?”
“Even after we publicly severed ties, you still shamelessly came crawling back. Can anyone in the Wang family be trusted to keep their word?”
“If you keep pestering me, I’ll send you back to the police station for a few more days.”
Xiao Zhenyu had intended to say more, but at Xiao Mandong’s words, he instinctively shrank back and immediately shut his mouth.
He had known Xiao Mandong wouldn’t agree. His grandmother had insisted he come and try anyway, but what else could he do? He never wanted to set foot in a police station again for the rest of his life.
“Doctor Xiao, why are you here? Someone from the military hospital has arrived. They’re transferring Deputy Commander Shen back to the army hospital. You’d better go take a look!”
“Transferring him?”
Xiao Mandong was stunned. Given Shen Linzhou’s condition, he needed the support of the spiritual spring water to recover properly. Moreover, he still had a mission to carry out. The army wouldn’t transfer him on a whim.
Worried that something had happened to her younger sister’s worker-peasant-soldier university admission recommendation, Xiao Mandong stopped paying attention to Xiao Zhenyu and hurried to Shen Linzhou’s room.
There were quite a few people inside. Director Qi and the hospital director were both there, along with two military doctors in white coats. Xiao Mandong had no idea what they were saying to Shen Linzhou, but his face was dark as he sat on the hospital bed without uttering a word.
When Zhou Qiaolian saw Xiao Mandong enter, a smile immediately spread across her face.
“The doctor in charge of Deputy Commander Shen is back. You can hand him over to her.”
Xiao Mandong shot Zhou Qiaolian a glare. She felt she hadn’t hit the woman hard enough the other day—apparently, she still hadn’t learned her lesson.
“You must be Doctor Xiao. I’m Zhang Shaohong, an internal-medicine physician at the military hospital.”
“Deputy Commander Shen is an active-duty military command cadre. According to the regulations governing the treatment and management of wounded and sick military personnel, local hospitals are responsible only for emergency rescue and temporary treatment. Once a patient’s condition has stabilized, he must be transferred back into the military medical system he belongs to for follow-up rehabilitation and the establishment of a medical file.”
“We’re here today in accordance with those regulations to complete the transfer and handover procedures for Deputy Commander Shen, so he can return to the military hospital and receive more standardized treatment and care.”
“Oh, all right!”
At Xiao Mandong’s response, Shen Linzhou instinctively glanced at her.
The two doctors exchanged a look as well. Neither of them had expected her to agree so readily.
“However, I want your political commissar to come and handle the handover. He was the one who personally entrusted Deputy Commander Shen to me, so naturally, I should return him to the same person. As long as he comes, I won’t care where Deputy Commander Shen receives treatment.”
The polite smile on Zhang Shaohong’s face instantly froze. She had never expected Xiao Mandong to respond that way. If Xiao Mandong resisted, they could use the regulations to pressure her. But with her putting it like this, how were they supposed to respond?
“Doctor Xiao, military patients don’t need to be handed over through the political commissar. We only need to follow the policy and complete the proper procedures.”
Xiao Mandong’s smile did not falter. Her tone was calm and unhurried, but every word carried a provocative edge.
“Dr. Zhang, you say you’re from the military hospital, and I’m simply supposed to believe you? What if you’re an enemy agent? If I hand Deputy Commander Shen over to you and something happens, I can’t take responsibility. I’ll say the same thing again: as soon as the political commissar arrives, you may take Deputy Commander Shen.”
Xiao Mandong had a strong feeling that the political commissar of the division knew nothing about these two coming to take Shen Linzhou away.
Zhang Shaohong was so furious that her voice cracked.
“How can you make such absurd accusations? Deputy Commander Shen knows me. We really are doctors from the military hospital.”
“Whether he knows you or not isn’t the point. The point is that I saved his life, and it was the division political commissar who entrusted him to my care. Since your military hospital has clear regulations, all you need to do is call the division political commissar. It isn’t difficult. Why are you making things difficult for me?”
“I was assigned by the political commissar to care for Deputy Commander Shen full-time. If I neglect my duty, I’ll be punished too. Aren’t you making an unreasonable demand?”
The hospital director had also noticed the holes in the doctor’s story.
“Dr. Zhang, you should call the division political commissar and ask him to come over. That would be the safest course of action. We can’t just let you take him away without verifying anything.”
Zhang Shaohong was left speechless for a long moment. Finally, she steeled herself and blurted out, “We were sent by Division Commander Pei. You can’t use the political commissar to pressure me.”
Instead of getting angry, Xiao Mandong smiled, her voice laced with mockery.
“Sent by Division Commander Pei? Dr. Zhang, I’m afraid you don’t even understand the most basic chain of command in the military.”
“The division commander is the military officer in charge at the division level. His authority only extends within the division. This is a case of overstepping the chain of command. He has no authority to direct a military hospital under the direct administration of the military region, much less assign you to come and take someone away.”
“That is a serious breach of discipline. As a military hospital doctor, don’t you even understand something this basic?”
Even Shen Linzhou turned his head slightly at that. He hadn’t expected Xiao Mandong to understand the military chain of command and its regulations so thoroughly. Most people had no idea how far a division commander’s authority extended.
Xiao Mandong had been a military wife for her entire previous life. How could she know nothing about such matters? Back then, in order to have something in common with Lu Jianguo, she had often studied military regulations and codes of discipline.
Zhang Shaohong’s cheeks flushed bright red. Forcing down the panic in her heart, she raised her voice, trying to overpower Xiao Mandong with sheer force of presence.
“You’re just a local doctor. What do you know about internal military transfers and assignments?”
“Division Commander Pei is Deputy Commander Shen’s direct military superior. He is responsible for the safety and medical arrangements of the officers under his command. Coordinating with the military hospital to bring one of his own men back—how is that overstepping the chain of command?”
