Chapter 13

After things settled inside, the male employee knocked on the door before entering. The two of them were sitting on the sofa chairs. His boss’s delicate face was flushed with a tempting redness, and a fine layer of sweat covered her forehead. A few strands of hair had fallen onto her forehead, making her look slightly disheveled.

With his many years of “film-watching” experience, he could tell that this place had just witnessed an intense battle.

Seeing the employee enter, Li Linglong spoke in a calm tone, “What is it?”

The male employee suddenly remembered why he had come and quickly said, “President Li… there’s trouble downstairs! A customer took our medicine and is now experiencing severe stomach pain. The patient and their family are making a scene.”

“What?!”

Li Linglong immediately stood up from her seat. “What happened? Take me there now!”

She couldn’t sit still and hurried toward the door. Though the pain in her foot had eased a bit, it still affected her movements, making her walking posture somewhat awkward.

Wang Tiezhu also stood up and followed her, thoughtfully offering support. “Ling-jie, take it slow, your foot is still swollen.”

The male employee watched them leave and was even more shocked. His boss was struggling to walk properly… Damn, was it that intense?

And she’s still swollen?

When they reached the first floor, the lobby was in chaos. A group of people had gathered, with employees trying to pacify the patient’s family.

Li Linglong and Wang Tiezhu entered the crowd and approached a store employee. “What’s going on?”

“President Li, you’re here!”

The employee let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “It’s like this: about an hour ago, this gentleman took some traditional medicine he bought from us. Not long after taking it—he was still on an IV drip—he started complaining of severe stomach pain. Just look at his face, it’s so pale. I…”

Before the employee could finish, a family member of the patient interrupted aggressively, “So, you’re the boss? What kind of pharmacy are you running? We came here for treatment, spent our money, and not only did the illness not get better, but it got even worse!”

“If you don’t give us an explanation today, we won’t let this go!”

“Compensation! Pay up!”

Other family members started shouting as well.

Li Linglong frowned as she observed the patient—his face was indeed pale, and he was slumped in a wheelchair, groaning in pain. He did look quite serious.

She immediately said, “Dear family members, I am the owner of this store. How about this: let’s send the patient to the hospital for treatment first. After the examination, if our store is responsible, we will not evade our responsibilities. Does that sound fair?”

“What’s there to check?!”

The male family member immediately shouted, “My family member became like this after taking your medicine! Are you trying to shift the blame?”

“Compensate us first! We don’t trust you. Give us the money, and we’ll take care of the hospital visit ourselves.”

Seeing how they were escalating things, Li Linglong realized that if this dragged on and something serious happened, it wouldn’t be a joke. She gritted her teeth and compromised, “Fine. How much do you want?”

“One hundred thousand!”

The leading male family member didn’t hesitate at all, opening his mouth wide like a lion demanding ransom. “Not a penny less!”

“One hundred thousand?!”

Li Linglong’s patience ran out. “Are you robbing me?!”

“One human life, and you think one hundred thousand is too much? Hmph!”

The man sneered and started making a scene. He turned toward passersby outside and shouted,

“Come and see, everyone! This Linglong Pharmacy is bullying customers! My family came here for treatment, but instead, their condition got worse, and now the store refuses to take responsibility!”

“In broad daylight, under the clear sky, this is a black-hearted pharmacy! A scam! They can’t just treat ordinary people like this! Everyone, come and judge for yourselves!”

The street outside was bustling with people, and his exaggerated performance—combined with the fact that people love to watch drama—quickly drew a crowd.

The weaker party always garners sympathy and support from the public.

Soon, murmurs spread through the crowd. Some pointed at the pharmacy and started criticizing it, cursing and demanding justice for the “victim.”

They didn’t care who was right or wrong—just scolding first and asking questions later.

Seeing more and more people gathering and realizing the patient’s condition couldn’t be left unattended, Li Linglong clenched her teeth and decided to give in.

“Fine! One hundred thousand it is. I’ll give you the money, but stop making a scene.”

The leading male family member immediately responded, “Good! As long as we get the money, we’ll leave right away.”

Li Linglong didn’t waste time and turned to an employee. “Go to the finance office and bring one hundred thousand—”

“Wait!”

At this moment, Wang Tiezhu spoke up. “I’m a doctor. Why don’t I take a look at him first?”

He was addressing the patient’s family.

The leading man looked annoyed. “Look at what? We don’t trust doctors from your Linglong Pharmacy! Stop with the nonsense and just pay up!”

“Heh…”

Wang Tiezhu chuckled, looking at the man with amusement. Then he said calmly,

“I’m just curious—your family member is in such severe pain, groaning as if he’s dying, but instead of worrying about his condition, all you care about is money.

Now I’m offering to check on him, yet you refuse? Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”

“Also, I checked the medication list. The medicine he took was a nutritional supplement, not a treatment drug. It’s meant to strengthen the body.

Even if someone had a mild reaction, it wouldn’t be severe enough to cause this much pain.

Everyone, don’t you think this is strange?”

The onlookers—who were previously condemning the pharmacy—hesitated. Some began to reconsider. Unlike before, when the crowd was completely on the patient’s side, doubts started to emerge.

The lead family member twitched and snapped, “We have so many relatives here! How could this be fake? Stop talking nonsense! We… We don’t trust the doctors here! Just pay—”

“I’m not a doctor from this pharmacy.”

Wang Tiezhu interrupted. “I just want to check. Yet you’re still making excuses… Could it be that you’re hiding something? Heh!”

The man’s expression stiffened, looking somewhat guilty. “W-what do I have to hide?!”

“Then let the doctor check!” someone in the crowd shouted. “Look at the patient—he’s in so much pain! Just let him get examined!”

“Yeah, check first! Save the patient!”

With the crowd now pressuring them, the man had no choice but to relent. He glared coldly and said, “Fine! Check him! There’s nothing to hide!”

Wang Tiezhu chuckled and stepped forward, squatting beside the patient. “Where exactly does it hurt?”

The patient, face pale and weak, pointed to his lower right abdomen. “H-here… It hurts…”

“Alright, let me check.”

Wang Tiezhu placed his left hand on the patient’s lower right abdomen, but his attention wasn’t actually on the examination. Instead, he subtly observed the patient, noticing that the man was secretly peeking at him through half-closed eyes.

Very suspicious.

Now more certain that the patient was faking it, Wang Tiezhu concealed a silver needle between his fingers and reached toward the man’s lower abdomen. Pretending to press down, he asked, “Does it hurt here?”

“Y-yes! Right there! It’s killing me—”

“AARRGH!!”