There was nothing unusual about making house calls, but the condescending attitude of Huang Jiamu, the man standing before him, irked Li Se. "Is there a problem?" he asked.
"Just go, and stop wasting my time!" Huang Jiamu said impatiently. With his status, whom could he not summon as a doctor? Moreover, imperial physicians had treated the mayor for years. He couldn't understand why the mayor had sent him to find a minor traditional Chinese medicine practitioner from a small clinic. He didn't believe this young doctor possessed any significant skill.
Li Se frowned. "Then I apologize, I still have patients to see!"
"Heh!" Huang Jiamu scoffed dismissively. "Look at your clinic, are there any patients? And do you even know who wants you to go? Just take your medical bag and come with me obediently. Are you really going to refuse?"
"Yes, I refuse!" Li Se said crisply.
"You!" Huang Jiamu truly hadn't expected Li Se to dare refuse, especially after he had stated his identity. He took a deep breath and said, "Are you sure you won't come with me?"
"If the mayor is ill, he can come here," Li Se stated calmly.
"How audacious!" Huang Jiamu reprimanded. "Do you believe I can shut down your clinic with just a word?"
"I believe you, but this is my clinic's rule!" Li Se had his limits. If Huang Jiamu had adopted a better attitude from the start, he would have gladly made the house call. However, the other man's demeanor was too poor, making him feel like he was less than nothing in Huang Jiamu's eyes. How could he tolerate that?
"Fine, fine, fine. You've got guts!" Huang Jiamu, no longer wanting to waste words, turned and left directly.
"He's the mayor's secretary. Aren't you worried about offending the mayor by acting like that?" Huang Shanshan asked with some concern.
Li Se shrugged. "In my eyes, patients are all the same, regardless of their status!"
After returning, Huang Jiamu relayed the situation at the clinic to Han Minglang. Finally, he said with some annoyance, "Mayor Han, when I stated my identity, he still refused to come!"
Han Minglang was surprised that Li Se would refuse, which caused his brow to furrow. However, recalling Sun Bai's words, he hesitated before saying, "Prepare the car. I happen to have some free time now, so I'll go to the clinic."
"Mayor Han, you're going personally?" Huang Jiamu exclaimed in surprise.
"His medical skills are very impressive. There's no harm in going to see him in person," Han Minglang said with a smile.
Huang Jiamu shook his head. "Mayor Han, he's too young, only in his early twenties. At that age, can his medical skills truly be good?"
"Only in his early twenties?" Han Minglang was also taken aback. He clearly hadn't expected the doctor recommended by Sun Bai to be so young, which made him hesitate.
"Mayor Han, how about this: I'll send someone else over. If he still doesn't know his place, I'll call the Administration for Industry and Commerce tomorrow and have his clinic shut down. After all, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner this young probably doesn't have great skills!" Huang Jiamu, having been rebuffed, was still holding a grudge.
"No need, I'll go personally. Just prepare the car," Han Minglang said. He disliked this kind of coercion.
"Alright!" Huang Jiamu had nothing more to say and went to prepare the car, though he still felt somewhat displeased.
At the clinic, shortly after Huang Jiamu had left, a group of people in uniform entered. Li Se and Huang Shanshan instinctively assumed they were the ones Huang Jiamu had called.
"I am Jia Lie, a section chief from the Administration for Industry and Commerce. This is a routine inspection. Hand over all your documents," the man at the head said calmly.
"Section Chief Jia, my documents were just approved a couple of days ago, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" Li Se knew these people were likely here to cause trouble.
"Just hand them over when you're told to. Stop wasting time!" Jia Lie said impatiently. He had some impression of this clinic. The Ministry of Health had called him earlier, asking him to withhold this clinic's documents, and then called again, instructing him to approve them quickly. However, he wasn't here today because of the Ministry of Health's matters.
Li Se frowned, but facing these officials, he could only produce his documents.
*Riiiip!*
Jia Lie, without even looking at them, tore up the approved documents. "They're all fake. You people are so audacious, daring to forge documents!"
Li Se became somewhat angry. "You're calling them fake without even looking at them?"
"Heh, I know your kind. I specifically held back your documents a few days ago. How could I not know? I haven't even approved them yet, and you already have documents? Aren't they fake?" Jia Lie sneered.
Li Se now remembered that the section chief from the Ministry of Health had indeed made a call earlier, but then another call came, which led to the rapid approval. Now they were back, clearly here to cause trouble. He said with a cold face, "Section Chief Jia, stop pretending. Just tell me, who sent you?"
"Heh heh, it seems you're self-aware," Jia Lie chuckled.
As expected, they were deliberately causing trouble. However, Li Se couldn't quite figure out if it was sent by the mayor's office or the Ye family. Both parties had the capability. Still, he leaned more towards the Ye family, mainly because Jia Lie arrived so quickly after Huang Jiamu had just left. The efficiency was too remarkable.
"Just tell me directly, who sent you," Li Se said calmly.
Jia Lie chuckled, "What, don't you know who you've offended? You've got some nerve daring to hit Young Master Ye. What's more, after hitting Young Master Ye, you didn't run away, but instead opened a clinic in the capital. Are you acting like Young Master Ye doesn't exist?"
It's the Ye family!
As Jia Lie spoke, some patients who had intended to seek treatment had their expressions change.
"What?! He hit Young Master Ye?"
"Damn, he's got guts! And more importantly, he didn't run after hitting Young Master Ye, and he actually has the nerve to open a clinic here? Is he crazy?"
"It looks like we'll have to find another place to see a doctor. If even the relevant documents are fake, his medical skills are probably not great either."
"Alas, even if his skills were real, after hitting Young Master Ye, they'd be considered fake. What influence does Young Master Ye have? He can make black seem white. Can a mere doctor stand against Young Master Ye?"
"They've just opened, and they're probably going to go bankrupt!"
"..."
Many patients knew this clinic had only opened a few days ago. They had minor ailments, so they came to take a look. Of course, no one would come for serious illnesses. Upon learning that Li Se had hit Young Master Ye, they knew this clinic wouldn't last and would likely close down soon.