Mei Ru Xue said, "What's bothering you? Special Assistant to the Dean, Deputy Dean of the Changxing Branch, you think your position's not high enough?"

Xu Chunliang replied, "I'm not very interested in officialdom, I'm clear about who I am. How could I stoop to serve the powerful and lose my own happiness!"

Mei Ru Xue turned her pretty face to the side. Could it be that this guy was hinting something at her?

"I didn't mean you. Everyone has their own goals. For example, you want to serve the people and be a public servant, so it's inevitable to endure some grievances. I'm used to being free and easy, and I'm not very good-tempered, I easily offend people. That's why even if I barely make it into officialdom, I wouldn't get far."

"At least you have some self-awareness."

Xu Chunliang said, "I haven't been here long, and I've already stirred up quite a bit of controversy. Now, rumors about me are flying everywhere. I suppose you've heard them too?"

"Sorry, I've been busy with work these past couple of days, haven't really been keeping up with the hospital affairs."

Mei Ru Xue actually had heard them but couldn't admit it, and the rumors about Xu Chunliang had affected her mood.

Xu Chunliang said, "Seems like you don't consider me a friend. If I heard someone slandering you, I'd be at their door in no time to beat them beyond recognition."

Mei Ru Xue felt much better hearing that, and said softly, "Xunzi said rumors stop with the wise. If you mind what others say about you all the time, you'll live a tiring life."

Xu Chunliang said, "Xunzi also said, those who flatter me are my enemies!"

Mei Ru Xue said, "I once read a book called 'The Dialogues of Hanshan and Shide', where Hanshan asked Shide: In this world, if people slander me, deceive me, insult me, laugh at me, slight me, belittle me, loathe me, or deceive me, how should I handle it? Shide replied: Just endure it, let them be, ignore them, avoid them, tolerate them, respect them, and don't pay them any mind. After a few years, just wait and see."

Xu Chunliang thought to himself, it's nothing but patience, waiting for karma to come around. But some things can't wait, and some people keep pushing their luck. The more you tolerate them, the more excessive they become. People like that need to be dealt with harshly.

But he said aloud, "Listening to you talk is more enlightening than reading books for ten years."

Mei Ru Xue knew he didn't agree inwardly, and with a faint smile said, "In short, there's no need to stoop to the level of petty people. Some small matters aren't worth getting upset over."

Xu Chunliang said, "In short, anything concerning you is not a small matter. If someone slanders, deceives, insults, laughs at, belittles, or loathes me, I can endure it. But if anyone dares to cause you the slightest grievance, I can't bear it for even a second."

Mei Ru Xue was moved but suddenly wary. Although his words were touching, she didn't know how genuine they were coming from Xu Chunliang. Did he think she was a naïve girl easily charmed? Mei Ru Xue said, "Because of what you just said, I think we can be friends."

Xu Chunliang said with a cheerful smile, "With a friend like me, you won't suffer a loss."

Mei Ru Xue said, "I believe I still have some ability to distinguish right from wrong."

She cast him a significant glance and said, "Is your approach to me for the sake of Changxing's property rights?"

Xu Chunliang said, "To be honest, whether Changxing takes that piece of land or not doesn't really matter to me. I've worked for a short time and I'm nobody important in Changxing. The main reason I chose to work there was to please my grandpa. Honestly, with my skills, Changxing is too small of a pond for me."

Mei Ru Xue couldn't help but laugh, it was her first time encountering someone so boastful and self-inflated. Yet after laughing, she had to admit that Xu Chunliang was indeed quite capable.

"You're not laughing very kindly."

Mei Ru Xue said, "I'm not mocking you, it's your way of speaking that's too straightforward."

"Isn't simplicity good? Should I understate my abilities and claim I'm useless? Would anyone believe that? You're clearly good-looking, if you go around calling yourself ugly, wouldn't that make people dislike you?"

Mei Ru Xue said, "Good-looking?"

She hesitated a bit about Xu Chunliang's evaluation, wondering if it was too conservative to describe herself.

Suddenly, Xu Chunliang remembered something, "Help me shine a light!"

"What for?"

"To let the old man know we're safe!" Xu Chunliang opened a video call.

Mei Ru Xue urgently signaled not to show her face today, but soon realized that whether she appeared was not up to her, as Xu Chunliang had already brought her into the frame.

Xu Changshan smiled brightly and greeted Mei Ru Xue, "Hello, Town Mayor Mei!"

Mei Ru Xue felt a bit embarrassed and quickly said, "Hello, Mr. Xu, you can just call me Xiaomei."

Xu Changshan said, "It's late and you both are still discussing work, truly diligent."

Mei Ru Xue's face turned red, the old man seemed to imply something: "Grandpa Xu, today Xu Chunliang got a promotion, so some of us are celebrating a bit." There were only the two of them in the video, no other people in sight.

Xu Changshan repeatedly agreed, wishing them a good time, and said he wouldn't keep them, then hung up the phone.

Xu Chunliang laughed: "That old man didn't even say a word to me."

Mei Ruxue said, "Did he misunderstand?"

Xu Chunliang said: "I dare say he probably thinks you're my girlfriend."

Mei Ruxue said: "You should explain it to him clearly."

"What's there to explain? Didn't you say the innocent will remain innocent? Let him think whatever he wants."

"Xu Chunliang, you..." Mei Ruxue felt she had fallen into his trap and really wanted to kick him into the Nanxi River.

Xu Chunliang said: "By the way, He Tiantian invited me to the boat the day after tomorrow, are you coming?"

Mei Ruxue said: "Not going! I'm busy with work, not everyone is as free as you, and besides, I wasn't invited."

Before they knew it, they were almost at the town government. She planned to part ways with Xu Chunliang early to avoid gossip.

Xu Chunliang waved at her, watching her cross the street.

As Mei Ruxue walked into the town government building, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw it was a message from Xu Chunliang.

"Go ahead."

Mei Ruxue wrinkled her nose in slight embarrassment, but soon burst into laughter, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, which was partially obscured by a floating cloud.

After Xu Chunliang collected the rent and handed it over to the hospital's finance department, Changxing Hospital quickly issued the overdue salaries to its employees, finally resolving the months-long issue of unpaid wages.

For ordinary employees, as long as their wages and bonuses are paid on time and their social insurance and housing fund contributions are made, they don't have many demands.

Zhang Haibin resigned from his position as deputy director of Weishan Lake Hospital due to illness, which had a significant impact on the surrounding tenants, and no one dared to withhold rent from the hospital.

Under Xu Chunliang's directive, Zhang Haitao issued the latest notice to the surrounding merchants to dismantle the illegal structures they had built.

The commercial spaces rented by these merchants were already illegal constructions, and many merchants had further encroached and extended on their own, occupying a considerable amount of Weishan Lake Hospital's land.

Zhang Haitao, in his new position, acted decisively and efficiently, showing his loyalty to Xu Chunliang, who was local and now given a significant responsibility.

Another very important matter was the standardization of rent. Previously, rent was set without a unified standard and was based on personal relationships, making management very chaotic. However, since Changxing took over, no one dared to withhold rent and this didn't cause any disputes. Now that everyone was paying back rent, the different standards made people feel unbalanced.

After standardization, the rent became reasonable, all old contracts were voided, and the new contract stipulated that all tenants must prepay six months of rent. Those unwilling to pay were advised to leave, followed by water and electricity cuts, and other coercive measures.

Yan Huaiyi decided to stand firm on his last revolutionary post, initiating a large-scale quality control inspection.

Although Xu Chunliang was a member of the quality control team, he didn't participate in the specific work, neither understanding quality control work, having something more important to attend to, which was the hospital's property transfer issue.

The second delegation from Da Heng Group also arrived at Weishan Island, this time led by a deputy general manager of Da Heng Group, accompanied by the main leaders of Weishan County, fully demonstrating the local government's emphasis on Da Heng Group.

Xu Chunliang also promptly informed Zhao Feiyang of the situation, feeling that Zhao Feiyang's actions were a bit slow. Reasonably, Zhao Feiyang should come to the branch himself to meet with the leaders of Hu Shan Town Government to at least show his sincerity.

Zhao Feiyang directly left this matter to him, which on the surface shows trust, but in terms of position, he's still lacking influence and persuasiveness.

Xu Chunliang believes he's done all he can, and at least won over Mei Ruxue from Hu Shan Town's side, believing she would support him.

Zhao Feiyang didn't seem too worried about Da Heng Group's second visit. First, he affirmed Xu Chunliang's work results during this time, telling him not to worry, that the branch's planning had been handed over to a professional team and that once everything's ready, he would visit Weishan Island Branch for inspection.

Xu Chunliang could clearly see that Zhao Feiyang's attitude towards this matter had suddenly turned calm, guessing that Zhao Feiyang had already received support from higher-ups. Xu Chunliang informed Zhao Feiyang about the cooperation intention with Xianhong Farm, to which Zhao Feiyang didn't show much enthusiasm, merely saying he knew and would look into it later.

Xu Chunliang felt the current situation was like the eunuch worrying more than the emperor. Since Zhao Feiyang wasn't in a hurry, he was also too lazy to make a fuss. Anyway, his position as the deputy director of the branch is just nominal, and at the end of the month, he would return with Yan Huaiyi, although he will definitely have to make trips here occasionally in the future.

Weishan Island Hospital has returned to peace, with the staff receiving their wages, stabilizing people's hearts, and the hospital resuming its previous order, seemingly harmonious.

Yan Huaiyi took some time to walk around the hospital with Xu Chunliang and Jin Yonghao. Weishan Island Hospital's location was good, built according to the terrain of Shiliang Mountain, with Shiliang Mountain to the north and Crescent Bay to the south, occupying the best piece of feng shui on the entire Weishan Island, which is why Da Heng Group took a liking to it.

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