When Wei Chinan stepped into the ward, Wang Zhuo and Qin Jingzhong, grandfather and grandson, were engaged in lively conversation. (To read the fastest text updates and exciting novels!)

"Ah, if only I had met you a few years sooner!" Qin Jingzhong shook his head with emotion. "For the last few years, I felt sick every time I drank, so I had to quit. I never realized it was a liver issue because I was constantly taking other medication and it went unnoticed."

Qin Siqing interjected from the side, "My grandfather loved drinking; he craves alcohol just by the smell of it."

"Doctor Wei is here," Qin Jingzhong nodded to Wei Chinan and smiled. "Once I'm discharged, can I drink again?"

Wei Chinan smiled and replied, "Only after you have fully recovered. At the start, you can only have a little bit at a time."

Qin Jingzhong burst into laughter. Wang Zhuo thought to himself, if you had met me a few years earlier, I wouldn't have had my X-ray vision yet, so I wouldn't have spotted this illness and couldn't have helped you.

"Little Wei, let me introduce you. This is the Wang Zhuo I mentioned!" Qin Jingzhong introduced. "Wang Zhuo, this is my attending physician, Doctor Wei, Little Wei. He will be performing my surgery tomorrow afternoon."

The two shook hands. Wei Chinan noticed that Wang Zhuo's hands were solid and powerful, with long, slender palms—a professional instinct told him these were hands perfectly suited for surgery.

"I heard you were Wang Taiping's student?" Wei Chinan asked.

Wang Zhuo nodded. "He is my department head."

"You must be an exceptional student to get into the Clinical Medicine department," Wei Chinan chuckled. "Your hands are very suited for surgery. Old Master Qin mentioned you come from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners?"

Wang Zhuo smiled and nodded. "There was an imperial physician in my ancestry."

He dared to lie to the man's face; after all, these were events from hundreds of years ago—who could possibly verify them? As for his grandfather and father's generations, they at least ran traditional Chinese pharmacies, so no one could accuse him of speaking nonsense.

"An imperial physician! That is truly remarkable," Wei Chinan followed Wang Zhuo's lead. In truth, integrated treatments combining Chinese and Western medicine had become widely used over the years. Traditional Chinese Medicine wasn't as useless as the media portrayed; many folk secret formulas still held immense value.

He even wondered if, should Wang Zhuo truly possess some potent ancestral formula, he might suddenly strike it rich one day. He had fallen into a cognitive trap; Wang Zhuo’s performance treating Old Master Qin had been so impressive that he had been completely convinced, taking the story of the imperial physician as fact.

Qin Siqing asked, "Uncle Wei, is my grandfather's surgery dangerous?"

Actually, Wei Chinan was two years older than Qin Xue, but because he maintained his health so well, he appeared younger, looking like he was in his early forties.

"I wouldn't speak too definitively, but given Old Master Qin's current physical condition, this relatively uncomplicated surgery should pose no issues." Wei Chinan became more serious when discussing professional matters, but his expression remained gentle, instilling a sense of calm.

Hearing Wei Chinan’s words, Qin Siqing felt much relieved. As the casual chat wound down, Wei Chinan was just about to ask Wang Zhuo a few things when someone knocked on the door.

The first to enter was a middle-aged man in his forties, his face bearing about a fifty percent resemblance to Qin Jingzhong. He was slightly shorter than Wang Zhuo, with mid-length hair meticulously combed and perfectly neat. His complexion was slightly sallow, and his build was moderate—neither fat nor thin.

Following behind him were two men and one woman. One of the men was Xiao Wanjun, whom Wang Zhuo had met before. Without needing an introduction, the man leading the group must be Jiangzhou’s second-in-command, Mayor Qin Xue.

"Dad, I'm here," Qin Xue greeted the old man first, then shook hands with Wei Chinan, smiled at his daughter, and finally fixed his gaze on Wang Zhuo. He said with a slight smile, "You must be Wang Zhuo. I am Qin Siqing’s father, Qin Xue."

"Uncle Qin," Wang Zhuo replied with a smile, extending his hand.

Generally, the person of higher rank initiates a handshake, and the subordinate or civilian conforms. However, Wang Zhuo addressing him as "Uncle" did not come across as presumptuous.

Xiao Wanjun and Wei Chinan inwardly praised the young man Wang Zhuo for his cleverness; upon meeting, he immediately positioned his relationship with Mayor Qin in a familiar direction. If it had been some other young man who simply said, "Mayor Qin," and waited for the Mayor to initiate the handshake, he would have ceded the advantage.

Qin Siqing didn't perceive the subtle maneuvering. She felt Wang Zhuo’s conduct was perfectly appropriate. Qin Jingzhong was at an age where he was content with whatever came his way and didn't dwell on such things. It was Qin Xue, with his meticulous mind, who regarded Wang Zhuo with even greater esteem.

"It’s a blessing we have you," Qin Xue praised after the handshake. "If you hadn't persuaded the old man, he wouldn't have agreed to come to the hospital at all. He hasn't had a physical check-up in years."

"Check up for what?" Qin Jingzhong snorted. "Do you think I don't know what hospitals are? They can diagnose an illness where there is none, turn a minor ailment into a major one, and make the living dead!"

After speaking, the old man added somewhat embarrassedly, "Little Wei, I wasn't referring to you."

Wei Chinan offered an awkward smile. Although the old man’s statement was a prejudice, such incidents genuinely happened daily. Every profession has its black sheep.

Qin Xue was torn between laughter and tears. "Dad, listen to what you're saying! While misdiagnoses and scams do happen, they wouldn't dare treat you like that, would they?"

"You can't be sure," Qin Jingzhong dismissed with a disdainful curl of his lip.

"If you don't trust hospitals, why trust Wang Zhuo?" Qin Xue, being a conscientious man, insisted on arguing his point with his father.

Qin Jingzhong sneered. "Because Wang Zhuo has no reason to lie to me!"

This statement hit the nail on the head. Everyone else who met Qin Jingzhong would offer flattery—saying he looked robust, had good color, and would live to a hundred. They would fear saying enough praises, let alone dare to say, "Sir, you have an illness; go to the hospital for a check-up and treatment immediately!"

Wei Chinan felt completely wronged. Even if the hospital wanted to profit, they wouldn't dare use a figure like Qin Jingzhong for revenue generation. In fact, not just him, but even ordinary retired cadres were untouchable. If any trouble arose, would the relevant leaders still want to keep their jobs?

Exploiting seniors with medical insurance for profit indeed happened, but targeting the father of a leading official, the father of a founding hero—that never happened!

"I know I can't win this argument with you," Qin Xue said with a wry smile and a shake of his head. "But if we hadn't luckily run into Wang Zhuo this time, you would be in serious trouble, do you know that? I’ve been urging you to get regular check-ups, but you refuse. If you had listened to me earlier, wouldn't this whole mess be avoided?"

"It's not too late to find out now," Qin Jingzhong, knowing he was in the wrong on this point, changed the subject. "Doctor Wei, wouldn't you agree?"

What could Wei Chinan say? If he agreed, he'd offend the old man; if he disagreed, he'd offend Mayor Qin. After some thought, he decided to tread a fine line: "Old Master Qin, we caught it timely this time, so there shouldn't be any major issues, but you absolutely must undergo regular check-ups from now on; this cannot be taken lightly."

Qin Jingzhong nodded, thinking this young doctor was rather slick.

Qin Xue echoed his agreement. Since what was past was past, he was satisfied as long as his father was safe this time and would agree to regular check-ups going forward.

Seeing his son glance at his watch, the old man waved his hand dismissively. "If you're busy, hurry up and go. Old Master and I are going to play a game of chess."

Qin Xue chuckled. "Alright, I'll take my leave then. I’ll come see you tomorrow!"

Wei Chinan looked slightly troubled. "Old Master Qin, you need to rest right now. As for chess, I think..."

Wang Zhuo understood the situation and smiled. "Grandpa Qin, let's postpone this game until another day. After your surgery is successful, I'll come back to play with you."

"Then all of you can go," Qin Jingzhong waved his hand with a smile. "Go handle your work, and go with your military training! My granddaughter looks utterly out of place in a uniform; she really needs some proper exercise!"

"Xiao Yue, stay and sit with Grandpa for a few minutes. Wang Zhuo and I need to talk for a moment outside," Qin Xue signaled to his father and nodded to Wang Zhuo before stepping out of the ward.

"After your military training ends, have Xiao Yue bring you home for dinner," the Mayor extended the invitation in the hallway. "I really don't know how to thank you for this. You're new to Jiangzhou, alone and unfamiliar with the place. Come visit my home often when you have time."

"Uncle Qin, you are too kind," Wang Zhuo smiled and nodded. Through their brief interaction, he had developed a favorable impression of this family.

"I have a meeting to attend, so I won't chat with you any longer," Qin Xue clapped Wang Zhuo on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Xiao Yue is still young; if you have time, help me look after her. If you need anything, call Wanjun."

Xiao Wanjun, standing nearby, smiled and waved. Wang Zhuo nodded to both of them.

The Mayor and his entourage departed swiftly under the salutes of the security detail. Wang Zhuo thought to himself, What 'looking after' business? Just say outright that you want me to monitor your daughter and report back to you!