Zhao Guangtian nodded, "I asked you to come here today to talk about this matter. The child is young and ignorant. Please bear with him, Dr. Lin. I will definitely make him attend classes on time in the future. As for the previous absenteeism records, I'll have to trouble you to take care of them."
"So you can still go to college even if you're ignorant," Lin Zhilan shook her head and sneered. "If I don't delete the absenteeism records, how does Director Zhao plan to deal with me?"
Zhao Guangtian's face darkened, "Dr. Lin, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."
"I don't like drinking, whether it's a toast or a forfeit." Lin Zhilan stood up gracefully and gathered her things. "On my first day of class, Zhao Weidong told me that there is no future in traditional Chinese medicine. He said his family has connections, and after this semester, he will be transferred to the clinical class."
Lin Zhilan paused and looked into Zhao Guangtian's eyes, "I presume the connection he mentioned is you, right?"
The flesh on Zhao Guangtian's face trembled.
He pulled back the hand resting on the table, leaned back against his chair, and stared at Lin Zhilan with knitted brows.
Lin Zhilan was not short of a job, and she had Cheng Qingshan as her backer.
With this tiger skin draped over her, if she were afraid of Zhao Guangtian, she would have cowered in the hospital and never gone out for the rest of her life.
Lin Zhilan sneered, "It seems Director Zhao's connections aren't that solid either, otherwise why is your son still a student? Couldn't you just casually make him a school leader and be done with it?"
"Dr. Lin!" Zhao Guangtian showed anger. "You are being far too arrogant!"
Lin Zhilan scoffed, "Director Zhao, am I arrogant? I don't have a son who frequently skips classes, nor do I casually call a subject teacher to the office to demand they delete absenteeism records. Am I arrogant? Am I as arrogant as you?"
To get to where he was today, what kind of people hadn't Zhao Guangtian seen?
Soft, hard, slick, blunt, all kinds.
But this was the first time he had encountered someone who spoke as uncompromisingly as Lin Zhilan.
"Dr. Lin, you are young and promising, with a boundless future. It's better to be a bit more tactful, don't you think?"
Lin Zhilan shrugged, "I can't help it. I've lived with this personality for so many years and can't change it. I can only let others accommodate me."
Zhao Guangtian's face had already turned the color of pig liver from anger.
"If you have nothing else, I'll take my leave."
Lin Zhilan tapped her knuckles twice on the solid wood desk, turned, and left.
Before the afternoon classes were even over, the news of Lin Zhilan and Director Zhao arguing in the office had already spread throughout the campus.
The teachers who used to greet Lin Zhilan frequently now avoided her when they saw her.
Lin Zhilan didn't mind and understood their position.
However, when school ended, the students all swarmed over.
"Dr. Lin, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Lin Zhilan packed her things and smiled at the students.
Most of these students were here for their studies. After graduation, they would be assigned back to their hometowns to work in hospitals or clinics, so most of them took their classes very seriously.
Lin Zhilan taught well, and they didn't want her to leave.
"Dr. Lin, will you still come to teach next week?" Wang Min asked from the crowd.
The others also quieted down, waiting for Lin Zhilan's answer.
Lin Zhilan smiled, "If I don't come, are you going to give me a holiday?"
Everyone laughed.
Lin Zhilan glanced at her watch. "It's getting late, and I still have to catch the boat back. You all should go back and rest early too."
"Goodbye, Dr. Lin."
"Goodbye."
The following Saturday, Lin Zhilan ate a bowl of noodles at the state-run restaurant and went to the school.
As soon as she walked into the classroom, an older teacher was already standing at the podium.
The teacher looked a bit embarrassed. "Dr. Lin, the Academic Affairs Office informed me that I will be teaching the Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescriptions class from now on."
"Alright." Lin Zhilan nodded simply, surprising everyone.
"Class, study hard."
After leaving this single instruction, she walked right out.
From the second floor, Zhao Guangtian watched her walk out of the school gates, took a sip of tea, and sneered, "Ignorant of what's good for her."
He had already investigated Lin Zhilan.
She was a military doctor at the military region hospital, had some connections with the pharmaceutical factory, and was said to be registered under Commander Gu.
Unfortunately, a distant official is not as good as a present authority.
No matter how powerful Commander Gu was, he had no jurisdiction over his Revolutionary Committee.
Besides, he hadn't dismissed Lin Zhilan; he was just leaving her out in the cold, which wasn't considered excessive.
Zhao Guangtian drank his tea comfortably, fantasizing about the day Lin Zhilan would come to him and bow her head.
Meanwhile, after leaving the school, Lin Zhilan headed straight to the post and telecommunications office, as it was the only place to make long-distance calls.
It wasn't as convenient as the military region here; she had to fill out forms, wait in line, and wait for the operator to connect.
Lin Zhilan dialed Cheng Qingshan's number. As soon as a voice came through, Lin Zhilan said, "Chief Cheng, I'm not teaching at the medical college anymore."
Hearing it was Lin Zhilan on the phone, Cheng Qingshan was delighted, but then worried something urgent had happened and hurried over to take the call.
As a result, as soon as it connected, Lin Zhilan hit him with that sentence.
"What's wrong? Is it too tiring?" Cheng Qingshan asked.
"The fatigue is fine, but this school doesn't need me either. You insisting on shoving me in here makes me look shameless."
Cheng Qingshan put on a stern face, "Nonsense, who said the school doesn't need you?"
Lin Zhilan made this call precisely to complain.
She rapidly rattled off the whole situation with Zhao Guangtian and Zhao Weidong. "Anyway, I won't bow down for five pecks of rice. They already have a teacher, so I'm not going."
Cheng Qingshan knew nothing about any Zhao Guangtian or Zhao Weidong, and upon hearing this, he became furious.
"You did the right thing. How about this: you go back first. I'll send someone to look into this Zhao Guangtian, and once things are settled, I'll notify you."
Hearing his words, the anger in Lin Zhilan's heart finally dissipated a bit. "Uncle Cheng, I listened to you and honestly went to teach without causing any trouble. And I didn't want to bother you, but others bullied me first."
"Good, good, good, I understand," Cheng Qingshan smiled and nodded on the other end of the line. "Don't be afraid of bothering me. I'm the one who asked you to do this, so if you have any difficulties, just tell me."
"Thank you, Uncle Cheng."
Cheng Qingshan teased her, "When you're angry, you call me Chief Cheng, but now that I'm backing you up, it's Uncle?"
Lin Zhilan made a face at the phone. "You're not backing me up; you're upholding fairness and justice. The two can't be confused."
Cheng Qingshan shook his head helplessly. "Those jars of sauce you sent me before were delicious, especially the crab roe paste. Why was there only one jar?"
"You have no idea how hard crab roe paste is to make. Picking the shells and extracting the meat takes half the day."
"Then send me more of the other sauces. You don't need to send dried seafood; no one else can replicate your flavors anyway."
"Got it." Lin Zhilan was also helpless against this old man. "This doesn't count as me bribing you, right?"
Cheng Qingshan scoffed, "You'd bribe me with just a few jars of sauce?"
Lin Zhilan laughed. "Su Lang went out to sea this time, so I gave him all the crab roe paste. I'll make more for you next time."
"If it's too much trouble, just make a little less." Cheng Qingshan couldn't bear to make her work too hard.
Hanging up the phone, someone came over and asked Cheng Qingshan, "Chief Cheng, who were you just calling?"
