58 I Will Build a Living Shrine for Him

"Director Qiubo, this is a good thing, truly a good thing," Lin Yuming explained with a sheepish smile.

"A good thing? You expect Lin Yuming to take on the responsibility of off-the-books funds? If it goes through the official public accounts, the mining district coordinates directly with the municipal government—do you really think any of that money will ever end up in our hands?"

"The municipal finance bureau still owes our hospital 200 million for reagents, and it's been how many years!" The more Director Li talked, the more frustrated he became, lowering his voice as he cursed profanely.

"We can let that reagent debt slide, but the proportion of actual budget allocations keeps shrinking. Wealthy provinces and cities receive their full amounts, and sometimes even surpluses, but what about us? It has dropped more than ten times, and now it's about to hit 20 percent."

Lin Yuming sighed inwardly.

Regulations are regulations, but the city simply has no money left, and the allocation for the medical sector is about to be slashed to just 20%.

Yet if they don't route it through the city, who could possibly explain it if an audit happens?

It would inevitably lead to disaster.

The medical sector is still relatively fortunate; some teachers' salaries have already been in arrears for months.

"Don't think I don't know what's going on in your head. You know the money can't be retrieved, so you damn well came over to egg me into going to the city to demand it. Let me tell you, if you have the ability, go demand it yourself. If you can't get it back, I'm deducting this sum from your Medical Affairs Department's payroll!"

"Lin Yuming, what on earth is growing inside your head? A tumor?!"

"Director Qiubo..." Lin Yuming wore a mournful expression, trying to explain.

They were both seasoned veterans of the political game; Li Qiubo saw right through whatever little tricks Lin Yuming tried to play, leaving Lin somewhat distressed.

"Don't you damn well call me Director Qiubo, you're Director Yuming!"

The smile on Lin Yuming's face grew increasingly stiff, looking more and more like a cry.

"Whose idea was this anyway? Everyone says those doctors in clinical departments don't understand a damn thing—they don't run the household, so they don't know the cost of fuel and rice, only knowing how to treat illnesses! Well, you need money to treat illnesses! If there's no money, why don't you go ask the medical insurance bureau for it?"

"Whenever you ask them, they just talk about saving lives and healing the wounded, sticking their necks out as stiff as frozen turds in the dead of winter—so hard that if you threw one, it would knock a dog head over heels. But they have the nerve to survive on northwest wind day after day, relying purely on the noble belief of saving lives, instead of coming to cry to me every time funding runs low!"

"Don't I know a hyperbaric oxygen chamber is good? But you also have to be able to afford the upkeep! Lin Yuming, have you lost your mind? You take a few words of instigation from others and actually treat them as gospel. If you can handle being the director of the Medical Affairs Department, then do it; if you can't, get lost—there are plenty of people willing to take the job!"

Lin Yuming's words acted like a fuse, completely detonating Director Qiubo's emotions.

He cursed furiously, terrifying the people waiting outside the office to report on their work so that they trembled in fear.

Ever since the Wen Youren incident, the relationship between Li Qiubo and Lin Yuming had warmed up rapidly; otherwise, Director Li Qiubo would never have scolded him quite like this.

A few minutes later, Li Qiubo's emotions stabilized slightly. He glared at Lin Yuming and demanded, "Tell me, whose idea was this!"

The subtext of this sentence was—since he didn't want to let me have an easy time of it, I won't let him off easily either!

"Director Qiubo, please calm your anger. If you get too mad, it'll hurt your health."

"Whose idea was it?!"

Li Qiubo asked, grinding his back teeth.

Lin Yuming lowered his head and remained silent.

Li Qiubo froze for a moment. His anger subsided slightly as he began to parse clues from Lin Yuming's words and body language.

"Was it Dr. Luo Hao?" Li Qiubo asked hesitatingly.

But upon second thought, this was precisely the sort of thing Luo Hao was capable of pulling off, and he actually had the means to pull it off.

Seeing Lin Yuming's silence, Li Qiubo knew this was the answer.

"You tell Dr. Luo to go get it from the city himself. As long as he can get the money back, I guarantee not a single penny will go anywhere else—every last cent will go toward the hyperbaric oxygen chamber," Li Qiubo said, holding back his anger.

Luo Hao really has managed to build up quite a reputation, Lin Yuming thought to himself; even Director Qiubo has to show him some level of respect.

Yet this matter simply wouldn't work. Setting Luo Hao aside, Director Li Qiubo himself hadn't been able to recover even the prepaid reagent funds after all these years.

The city government was desperately poor, their eyes glowing with a hungry blue light. It wasn't even a matter of geese shedding feathers as they flew past; it was more like if a flock of geese flew past and a single feather went missing, it was considered a miracle they didn't manage to pluck the whole bird.

"Director Qiubo, he's just an officer in the Medical Affairs Department; his administrative rank isn't high enough," Lin Yuming bit the bullet and spoke up for Luo Hao.

"Heh," Li Qiubo sneered. "You still know his rank isn't high enough? Since Luo Hao is so good at tossing things about, let him toss and turn until the money is completely recovered, and I'll stay right here!"

As he spoke, Li Qiubo heavily tapped the spot on the front right of his desk where the sunlight fell.

"I'll place a portrait of Luo Hao right here, burn incense for him every day, and build a living shrine in his honor on behalf of the patients receiving treatment in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber!"

"..."

Lin Yuming almost burst into tears.

Director Li Qiubo was genuinely furious; he was even uttering phrases like building a living shrine.

With no other choice, Lin Yuming could only offer sheepish, continuous apologies before slinking away in disgrace.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became; the more frustrated he felt, the more oppressed his chest grew. Lin Yuming felt that his blood pressure had risen to the point where it was about to shoot right out of the top of his skull.

Upon returning to his office, Lin Yuming picked up the phone and gave Luo Hao a thorough tongue-lashing, telling him to handle the mess himself.

After being severely chewed out, Luo Hao wandered over to the fire exit, pulled out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, and zoned out in a daze.

The system never handed out free lunches.

The reward was indeed generous, and the Wish-Granting Stone (Large) was something Luo Hao had been yearning for, but the difficulty was truly immense.

Luo Hao sat by himself for twenty minutes, eventually putting the cigarette away and returning to change his clothes.

Even though Luo Hao had no idea where the government gates even faced, he still harbored a solitary, reckless courage and prepared to give it a try.

Driving his Peugeot 307, Luo Hao arrived in the city center.

Finding a parking spot, Luo Hao felt a slight trace of worry.

As he slowly walked toward the main entrance, he pondered whether he should first give Zhou Tianci a call to ask whom he ought to approach initially.

Or perhaps, should he try reaching out to Lu Zhankai?

As for doctors, the higher their rank, the more people they knew and the wider their network, though many doctors preferred not to use those connections unless absolutely necessary.

Luo Hao didn't have that particular reservation.

Yet after hesitating for a long time, right up until he reached the entrance at a turtle's pace, Luo Hao decided to try it on his own first and leave everything else for later.

If it truly failed, he might just have to consult Lu Zhankai.

Though he hadn't been in contact with Lu Zhankai since returning from the imperial capital, Luo Hao figured Lu Zhankai could still help him out to some extent.

Even if he couldn't get the full amount, getting even half would still be a win.

"Dr... Dr. Luo?"

An unfamiliar voice called out from behind him.

Luo Hao paused slightly, turned around, and saw a dark-complexioned, solidly built man looking at him with tentative greeting.

It seemed he had seen him somewhere before; Luo Hao's mind quickly searched for relevant information regarding this person.

However, the man standing before him was far too unfamiliar, and that memory was simply not deep enough, so Luo Hao couldn't recall him immediately.

Luo Hao possessed the ability of photographic memory, but carrying too much redundant information in his brain was never a good thing, so he made a habit of periodically clearing his memory cache.

"You are?" A signature smile appeared on Luo Hao's face. Regardless of whether he recognized the person or not, he extended his hand first.

He figured this must be a patient's family member—perhaps a distant one who had visited a patient once, whom he had happened to cross paths with.

"My surname is Lou, I mine coal," the solidly built man said with a hearty laugh, reaching out to shake Luo Hao's hand.

"Dr. Luo, I've heard your name for a long time; it's like thunder piercing the ear."

Luo Hao was completely baffled.

Since the other party was being polite and claimed to be a coal miner, it meant he must be a coal baron.

Not far away, the driver of a Mercedes-Benz customized van slowly pulled the door shut, which presumably was this coal baron's vehicle.

"Boss Lou, you're too polite, I really don't deserve such praise. My memory isn't very good—where have we met before?" Luo Hao didn't overly indulge Boss Lou, asking the question directly.

"I've seen you, but you haven't seen me," Boss Lou laughed. "Not long ago, you escorted Section Chief Duan to the provincial capital in your custom ride—I saw your car from afar."

Ah, so it was that time. Luo Hao understood.

"Dr. Luo, would it be all right if I took a close look at that car of yours?" Boss Lou looked like an absolute car enthusiast. He spoke without pause, feeling rather anxious and failing to maintain his usual subtlety and politeness.

Yet as he spoke, Luo Hao caught a flash of light in his eyes.

It was the exact same look his own boss, Chai, had when he went fishing.

"When I got back, I pondered it: no matter how small the body of a Peugeot 307 is, there's no way it can fit a Lamborghini engine. Later, I consulted several top-tier car modification gurus, and someone told me the latest design utilizes visual illusion, just like a magic trick.

"The shell is much bigger than a normal Peugeot 307, but an ordinary person can't tell from the exterior at all. It belongs to the absolute top tier of modifications."

Luo Hao smiled; someone had finally figured it out.

"It looks like a Peugeot 307, but the visual illusion creates massive differences, and every dimension is larger than a legitimate Peugeot 307. Dr. Luo, am I right or am I right?"

Boss Lou's eyes sparkled with little stars, and Luo Hao nodded.

"Most modifications don't go this far. I've seen the super version 1.6T: used in the Peugeot 308 GTI and Citroën Elysée, a mass-producible 1.6 THP, 380-horsepower racing and civilian dual-use engine.

"It led the WTCC World Touring Car Championship by a wide margin for three consecutive years in 2014, 2015, and 2016." (Note)

When Boss Lou started talking about cars, his entire temperament transformed. It was as if flames were burning within him, or like a meteor shower from the constellation Leo flashing across his eyes.

At that moment, he was no longer a coal baron; he felt like a professional race car driver.

"Boss Lou, I don't really know much about cars," Luo Hao smiled. "I just modified it randomly for fun, and I regretted it long ago after the modifications were done. Normally, I drive at 60 miles per hour, and on the highway, I keep it right at the 120 speed limit. I've never street-raced, so modifying it was completely pointless."

"Ah!"

Boss Lou wore an expression of profound regret, lamenting a pearl cast into the mud.

He thought for a moment and said, "Dr. Luo, a few of us brothers just bought a building in moducity [Shanghai]. How about you name your price, and we do a swap? Don't worry, whatever price you name, I won't haggle; if worst comes to worst, we can just consider it making a friend."

Having said that, Boss Lou added, "Tomson Riviera."

Oh?

Luo Hao re-evaluated Boss Lou.

Noticing the change in Luo Hao's gaze, Boss Lou laughed heartily. "It's just pocket change, not worth mentioning. Shall we take a look at your car?"

"Nah, better not, better not. Tomson Riviera goes for 320,000 per square meter; my car isn't even worth a single square meter." Luo Hao declined with a smile.

Recently, in Manager Yin's investment report, Luo Hao had caught wind of news related to Joy City Holdings.

Word had it that several coal barons from Inner Mongolia had invested to take over Shanghai's top-tier luxury apartments.

However, Luo Hao hadn't looked into the specific details, but he hadn't expected this Boss Lou to be genuinely wealthy.

Buying top-tier river-view apartments in Shanghai by the building!

Seeing Luo Hao turn him down so decisively, Boss Lou felt deeply regretful.

Still, to each their own, and Boss Lou didn't force the issue.

"Dr. Luo, how about we exchange contact information then? We're both people who love cars, so let's make friends."

Retreating a step, Boss Lou proactively took out his phone, brought up his QR code, and handed it to Luo Hao.

He wasn't interested in probing this mysterious young man. There were plenty of wealthy people out there, many with obscure backgrounds, and the less he knew, the better.

Powerful and influential though Boss Lou might be, the more successful he was, the better he knew that there were plenty of people across the country he couldn't afford to provoke—and Luo Hao might well be one of them.

Seeing how enthusiastic Boss Lou was, Luo Hao had no choice but to scan the QR code and add him as a friend.

"Dr. Luo, what brings you here?" Boss Lou asked with a beaming smile as he passed through Luo Hao's friend request. "I'm here to acquire some equipment from you guys—it's all leftovers from the mining district from many years ago.

"Recently, I bought some equity in an open-pit coal mine up in Mongolia, and we don't have enough equipment, so I wanted to come scout around for some. But the Donglian Mining General Administration has been in a severe slump for ages, and the property rights for a lot of that equipment are tangled up with the municipal government..."

Boss Lou was quite talkative, but Luo Hao listened with one ear and let it out the other, not paying attention at all.

Who knew whether what he was saying was true or false.

Even if it were true, Luo Hao felt it had nothing to do with him anyway.

"Boss Lou, what brings you here?" After finishing his own explanation, Boss Lou asked in return.

"I secured a sponsorship for the mining district, but now that the mining administration falls under the municipal system, the funds can't be deposited directly into our accounts," Luo Hao said with a troubled expression.

Boss Lou was slightly taken aback. "How much money could it be that it requires you to make the trip in person?"

"A few million, I suppose."

"!!!"

Boss Lou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. With a casual wave of his hand, he said bluntly, "Such a small amount—I can just donate it to the mining administration. If you feel it isn't transparent enough, we can hold a donation ceremony. But if you expect to actually get money out of this place, that's going to be tough.

"A few million isn't worth all this trouble. Keep your car; let's just consider it making a friend. You name a number, and I'll wire the funds over to you later."

"..." Luo Hao scratched his head. Coal barons really were wealthy, and they handled matters with openness and grand generosity.

No wonder a project like Tomson Riviera, costing over 4 billion, sought out coal barons for funding.

"Thank you, Boss Lou."

"I'm a few years older than you, just call me Brother Lou."

"Alright, Boss Lou."

Boss Lou laughed heartily, unoffended. "Dr. Luo, getting your hands on this money is going to be extremely difficult."

"Boss Lou, this is my first time here," Luo Hao said, feeling somewhat distressed as he casually asked, "Do you happen to know what I should do?"

As they spoke, the two of them walked through the main gate and registered their identification information at the security checkpoint.

"You should head to the financial department first. If you ask me, don't bother messing with it. I know you don't care about this small amount, but public accounts... haha, they are a headache." Boss Lou said with a smile.

"Dr. Luo? Why are you here?"

Just as Luo Hao was registering his information, someone running at a light jog from the side hurried over, asking with pleasant surprise.

It was Lu Zhankai's secretary.

"Brother Liu, hello." Luo Hao shook hands with Lu Zhankai's secretary and explained the purpose of his visit.

Lu Zhankai's secretary froze for a second, then said with a warm smile, "Come along, let's go to my office first."

With that, he glanced at Boss Lou and offered him a polite, courteous smile.

Boss Lou froze.

Ever since the anti-corruption campaign began, work around these parts had become increasingly difficult. Having money alone was definitely not enough; one needed even stronger connections.

Ideally, childhood friends who knew each other's roots inside and out.

The most crucial thing was that whatever one did could not cross the line.

The equipment at the Donglian City mining district had been delayed time and time again, and seeing that it was about to cause problems, Boss Lou had no choice but to make the trip in person.

If this attempt failed as well, he would have no choice but to purchase overpriced equipment, resulting in a gap of hundreds of millions.

Even though his family had a mine, saving money where possible was still preferred.

The atmosphere was grim, everything had to follow protocol, and yet there was no one pushing things forward.

Coupled with the complex, intricately woven relationship between the mining district and the municipal government, some of these longstanding, tangled accounts were simply impossible to trace to their source.

Boss Lou knew that getting things done here was exceptionally difficult, though perhaps locals had a slight advantage.

Yet Dr. Luo's treatment here... seemed a bit *too* good. Could it be that Dr. Luo had some sort of special connections?

Full of suspicion, Boss Lou followed them upstairs.

Luo Hao didn't stop him; he couldn't very well claim at that moment that he had no relation to Boss Lou.

Along the way, Secretary Liu clarified the situation. Once they reached his office, without any unnecessary chatter, he immediately picked up the phone to make calls.

Boss Lou watched in a daze.

In less than half an hour, several staff members arrived for "doorstep service," completing all the procedural steps in one go.

"Xiao Luo, if you had just said something earlier, you wouldn't have needed to make a trip—it's just a matter of a phone call. You know I've been missing you," Secretary Liu said with a smile. "You've met the people here now; as for when the funds from the mining district will arrive, they'll be transferred to your mining administration within five days. The paperwork is a bit complicated, so don't mind the time it takes."

"..."

Boss Lou was dumbfounded.

They always said that investment stops at Shanhaiguan, and even the smallest matters are hard to resolve.

Yet Luo Hao walked in, sipped some tea, and had the whole matter successfully settled—with a speed so astonishing it was hair-raising.

Moreover, it involved the same kind of complex relationship entangling the mining district and the city government just like his own issue.

This was simply too awesome!

Boss Lou felt that he had still underestimated Dr. Luo.

"Brother Liu, thank you," Luo Hao expressed his gratitude sincerely.

"Look at you, what are you talking about? The leader mentioned long ago that he wanted to invite you to his home for a meal, but recently it's inconvenient—the leader is declining visitors behind closed doors," Secretary Liu said, lowering his voice with a smile.

It was inconvenient right before the personnel reshuffle; Luo Hao understood.

"Xiao Luo, is your friend here to help you handle some business?" Having smoothly resolved Luo Hao's issue, Secretary Liu was in a good mood and casually asked a follow-up question.

That made things a bit awkward.

Luo Hao wasn't close with Boss Lou and truly didn't know how to introduce him.

Furthermore, he had no idea whether Boss Lou's business violated regulations or laws. Yet claiming he didn't know him at all seemed a bit too far.

"I'm not very close with Dr. Luo; we're car buddies," Boss Lou chimed in with a smile. "We just happened to run into each other at the front gate and came in together."

So that was it. Secretary Liu's smile remained warm and polite, but an immediate sense of polite distance was established.

"I should be heading back then." Luo Hao stood up to take his leave.

"Wait until everything's finished, I'll come pick you up," Secretary Liu said, shaking Luo Hao's hand with both of his. "Go have a meal at the leader's home; the leader has mentioned it many times. Sister-in-law will cook up a few of her specialty dishes, and we'll share a couple of drinks."

Boss Lou was left standing in the wind, his mind a mess.

Though he didn't know Secretary Liu's exact identity, he could tell at a glance that he was a close aide to a major leader.

He handled matters methodically, by the rules, and with an acute sense of boundaries.

He had helped Luo Hao while ensuring no one could find fault with it.

That person was impressive enough, but the even more absurd part was that, according to Secretary Liu, the leader had repeatedly wanted to invite Luo Hao to his home for a meal.

Having a meal with a leader was as difficult as ascending to the heavens—Boss Lou knew this clearly in his heart.

The probability of such an invitation being extended was already extremely low, and the lower the tier of the restaurant, the stronger the relationship it proved.

Yet the leader himself was inviting him, and moreover, to his private residence, with the unnamed leader's wife personally cooking the dishes.

All these factors combined left Boss Lou utterly speechless.

Unconsciously, Boss Lou's perception of Luo Hao ascended to an even higher level.

Secretary Liu escorted Luo Hao all the way to the front gate, bidding him a warm and reluctant farewell.

Boss Lou didn't rush to handle his own affairs either, accompanying them the entire time until Secretary Liu departed.

"Dr. Luo, impressive," Boss Lou said, earnestly giving him a thumbs-up.

"Ah, I had no idea how to handle this business myself; I just got lucky running into Brother Liu."

Boss Lou looked at Luo Hao with a beaming smile, saying nothing further.

His relationship with Luo Hao was merely a chance encounter, and he couldn't possibly leverage that connection. The only reason he had "wasted" so much time was because Boss Lou was utterly captivated by Luo Hao's car.

Seeing that Boss Lou kept trailing after him, Luo Hao felt quite helpless.

When they reached the Peugeot 307, Boss Lou's expression immediately turned into one of fanatical delight as he inspected the modified vehicle inside and out.

The visual illusion made the car look like an ordinary model, but in reality, it was a size larger.

Boss Lou looked as though he wanted to crawl underneath the car, paying zero attention to whether his expensive suit would get dirty.

It wasn't until Luo Hao stopped him, gave him a contact number, and introduced him to the professional modification specialist that Boss Lou finally relented.

"Dr. Luo, whenever you have time to visit the provincial capital or Shanghai for meetings, be sure to let me know in advance," Boss Lou told Luo Hao as they parted ways. "I know a few little spots, and the two of us can grab a couple of drinks!"

...

...

"Leader." Secretary Liu entered Lu Zhankai's office and gave a clear report on Luo Hao's matter.

"Xiao Luo really is full of youthful vigor," Lu Zhankai smiled. "Still, this matter counts as a proper endeavor. As the city's largest hospital, the mining general administration really does need to maintain its hyperbaric oxygen chamber."

Secretary Liu then reported the procedural details to Lu Zhankai once more, pausing just as he prepared to leave.

"Xiao Liu, what is it?" Lu Zhankai asked.

"When Dr. Luo came this time, he arrived in the company of a coal baron."

"Oh?" Lu Zhankai's expression turned serious.

"They didn't seem to know each other well. That coal baron is the one from Inner Mongolia—the Boss Lou who's been obsessing over the abandoned equipment in the mining district."

"They don't know each other?"

"It should just be a chance encounter. Boss Lou was trying to butter up Dr. Luo, but Dr. Luo exercised proper boundaries; it didn't look like he was handling business for Boss Lou."

"Oh, I see." Lu Zhankai pondered for a moment. "Just follow standard protocol."

"Understood, leader."

...

...

Luo Hao had no idea how massive a favor he had inadvertently done for Boss Lou. After driving away and shaking him off, Luo Hao let out a long sigh of relief.

Boss Lou was obsessed with mechanical equipment, and cars naturally fell into that category. It was just like his own boss's obsession with fishing—it might look a bit ridiculous to outsiders.

Still, you only live once; having a hobby of some sort was always a good thing.

A moment later, Luo Hao completely banished Boss Lou from his mind.

It was just a chance encounter, after all. Even though Boss Lou was the mastermind behind Tomson Riviera, Luo Hao didn't think much of it.

A week later.

Director Li Qiubo was stunned when he received word that the funds had successfully landed in the account.

...

...

Note: This section is taken from the "Chapter Comments" by reader 20190313234736164733612 on December 6th. I truly don't know cars (smiley face), I just listened to gossip and wrote it down.

(End of Chapter)