Chapter 322 - An Exorbitant Price
Chapter 322 An Exorbitant Price
Qin Haodong was too busy to greet Ma Sanbao. He immediately was fully occupied.
Although he diagnosed people fast enough, the line still became longer and longer as patients came for him upon hearing the news.
Soon, even the patients of the Hall of Medical Fame heard that the Medical Sage was diagnosing in the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association. Few people stayed at the Hall of Medical Fame, while the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association’s site was overcrowded.
Upon seeing the empty ground in front of them and the huge crowd of people in front of the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association, Che Xiaoxiao told Wang Dacheng, “Dacheng, looks like we’re not as influential as they are.”
Wang Dacheng looked calm as he said, “Don’t worry. Fame won’t support him forever. He has to have the real stuff to sustain it.”
Che Xiaoxiao didn’t exactly understand him, but she didn’t care. This was the patients’ decision to make; they couldn’t possibly force them to come.
Time went by fast. Although it was almost noontime, the patients of the Hall of Medical Fame were getting fewer and fewer. Meanwhile, the patients of the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association were increasing. The doctors there were lost in the process of diagnosing.
Suddenly, the crowd in the distance became tumultuous. Someone yelled, “Gosh! Somebody just died! The doctor of the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association just killed a patient!”
Other people immediately scattered upon hearing the screaming voice, leaving an empty space in the middle.
Gao Fengwen and the others, who were close to the site, rushed over as soon as they heard the screaming, only to see a middle-aged man in his 50s lying motionlessly on the ground pretty much like a dead body.
Beside the middle-aged man, a middle-aged woman with yellow hair pointed to the nose of an old doctor and scolded him, “You charlatan! You killed my husband. I can’t live without him! I’ll kill you for him!”
The doctor was Zhou Zhengping. Upon seeing the woman acting unreasonably, he hurriedly explained, “That’s not my fault. He died while I felt his pulse. He must have suffered from some other hidden disease.”
“It’s all because of you! How dare you try to get away with it! Keep denying it and I’ll rip your jaw off!”
The woman then reached out toward Zhou Zhengping’s face. Zhou Zhengping stepped back hastily. His face remained intact, but his robes had been torn apart.
At the same time, other members of the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association went over and pulled the woman away.
Gao Fengwen checked the man lying on the ground and asked Zhou Zhengping, “What is going on?”
Zhou Zhengping gasped and neatened his torn robe before he answered, “Vice President Gao, I’m not sure either. The man was here to see a doctor, but he died after ten minutes of sitting here. I barely touched his wrist to feel his pulse. I had nothing to do with his death.”
The woman screamed, “You bastard quack! You can’t get away with this! You murdered my man! This isn’t over yet! I’ll put you in jail and pay for his life with yours!”
The screaming woman agitated the other doctors, too. She was the kind of patient that doctors feared the most. If a patient accidentally died, their reputation would be harmed and a large number of relevant government departments would flow in for an inspection. They might even end up in prison.
Gao Fengwen said, “Don’t worry, lady. This is a volunteer clinic. We’re from the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association. We would never pass the buck if this was our responsibility. First of all, we need to figure out what exactly has happened.”
The woman immediately screamed and protested. “He’s dead! Isn’t that clear enough for you? That quack killed my man. You have to give me an explanation today, or I’ll put all of you in jail!”
Qin Haodong walked over and looked at the man lying on the ground. His life was hanging by a thread, but he had yet to perish. Qin Haodong asked, “Who told you he was dead? He’s still alive. I’ll check.”
He then went over to diagnose the man. However, the woman spread her arms and blocked him while yelling, “I don’t trust you anymore! You’ve already killed him, yet you’re denying it!”
Qin Haodong said, “I have to run a check to see what’s wrong with him. I told you, he isn’t dead yet. If you keep holding me up, he’ll be dead for sure.”
The woman shouted, “You liar! I’ve checked him, and there’s no heartbeat or breathing. You’re saying this because you want to get away with murder!”
Qin Haodong said, “Trust me, if the responsibility is ours, we’ll do everything we need to. Otherwise, you can’t just fabricate a charge against us.”
The woman glanced at him and asked, “Who are you to speak? Are you in charge?”
Gao Fengwen introduced him. “He’s the president of the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association. He can make decisions on behalf of the association.”
Qin Haodong said, “Can I take a look at the patient now?”
The woman refused. “No, you’re with them. I’ve already called an ambulance and the police. They’ll put you quacks in jail.”
Then, a siren was heard. An ambulance and a patrol wagon drove over. Nalan Wuxia walked to the crowd in her uniform along with several doctors.
She took a look at Qin Haodong and asked, “What’s going on?”
The woman answered hastily, “Ma’am, you have to stand up for me. Those quacks killed my man. You should put them in jail.”
Qin Haodong said, “That’s not true. The patient has been hit by a sudden disease, but he’s not dead yet.”
Nalan Wuxia said, “Madam, please quit screaming. Let the doctors take a look at him. Don’t hold them up.”
At the same time, the doctors got out of the ambulance and walked to the middle-aged man. A female doctor wearing glasses checked the heartbeat and his pupils. Then, she shook her head and said, “His pupils are dilating. His heartbeat and pulse have stopped. There’s no need to try rescuing him. You should just call the crematorium.”
Her conclusion made the doctors of the Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association look sullen. It looked like they were in big trouble now.
The woman scolded them aloud. “Did you hear that? He doesn’t even have a heartbeat or a pulse. You said he wasn’t dead yet. You quack!”
Knowing the man was really dead, Zhou Zhengping said with a grim expression, “He’s dead, but I had nothing to do with it. He died all of a sudden. How could I kill him by feeling his pulse? I need an autopsy to find out the cause of his death.”
The woman swore. “That’s nonsense! He was a very healthy man. He was here today just because you said it’s a free clinic! Why would he die out of the blue? You killed him!”
The woman cried aloud. Her sad face made the onlookers feel pity.
Che Xiaoxiao and Wang Dacheng were also one of those onlookers. Che Xiaoxiao whispered, “What’s going on? Did he really kill the man by feeling his pulse?”
Wang Dacheng sneered, “Who knows? As the old saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. The Chinese Medicine Practitioner Association is in big trouble now.”
Qin Haodong glanced at the woman. Everyone else had been deceived by her, but he could see clearly that the woman was crying without feeling any sadness. She was acting.
The woman looked even sadder. “Honey, how could you leave me and our kid? What about your old mom? Why is my life so full of misery…”
Qin Haodong said, “You have to figure this out. Just tell me what you want. Or maybe you can just give me a number. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”
Gao Fengwen said, “President, that’s not appropriate. The man’s dead, but we had nothing to do with it. I’ve worked as a doctor for many years, and I’ve never heard of anyone killing someone by feeling their pulse.”
Qin Haodong said, “He’s still dead. Let’s listen to his family’s opinion.”
The woman became spirited again upon hearing that. She wiped her tears and said, “I know you can’t bring the dead back to life. He died and left his kids and parents for me to take care of. You’re working hard on the free clinic here, and I appreciate that. Let’s settle instead.”
The woman was maintaining a high moral.
Qin Haodong asked, “So? What’s the price?”
The woman said, “Life matters more than anything. He died for nothing, and I’ve got a kid and his mom to feed. I won’t ask for much. How about this?”
She showed her index finger.
Zhou Zhengping said hastily, “President, you can’t accept that. I had nothing to do with his death. Why should we pay one million?”
“Get out of my way, you quack!” The woman yelled at Qin Haodong, “I’m not asking for one million. I’m asking for 10 million!”
Qin Haodong looked at her and sneered, “10 million? Isn’t that too much for you?”
The crowd was shocked too. Usually, one million would be high enough for traffic or mine accidents. However, the woman had asked for 10 million. That was exorbitant.
The woman yelled at the top of her lungs, “Too much? Can you bring my husband back to life with that much money? 10 million, and we’ll settle. Not a penny less, or I’ll put all of you in jail.”
“Are you serious? If anyone has to take responsibility, that would be me. This had nothing to do with anybody else.” Then, Zhou Zhengping told Nalan Wuxia, “Ma’am, I need you to seal the body and keep it. Let the court doctor run a check to figure out the cause of death. If it’s my fault, I’ll take care of it; if not, we won’t pay her a cent.”
The woman screamed, “You bastard! That’s your attitude when it comes to settling? You killed the man, yet you don’t seem regretful at all…”
Qin Haodong shook his head and stopped Zhou Zhengping from arguing. Then, he said, “Well, how about you let me do the check? If he’s dead, I’ll pay you 10 million. What do you think?”
The doctor who had just performed a check had yet to leave. Upon seeing Qin Haodong question her diagnosis, she said, “He’s already dead. How could that be wrong?”
Qin Haodong said, “I’m a stubborn guy, so I need to check by myself.”
The woman hesitated for a moment before she asked, “You’ll pay after checking?”
“Of course!” Qin Haodong said, “Only if he’s really dead.”
The woman gritted her teeth as though she was making a difficult choice. Then, she stepped out of the way and said, “You can have a look.”