Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 433 Women Have It Hard

Lin Ge was kicked out by Jiang Yan'er.

In the dead of night, a cat stood alone outside the door, exposed to the cold wind.

He couldn't find anyone to help him, nor could he find anyone to punish this tyrannical woman. So what if Yang Xiaotong mocked her for being useless over the phone? Did she really have to drag innocent bystanders into this, even a cat?
Now look what happened! I thought I could get a free dinner, but instead I had to wander around the central hospital on an empty stomach.

"Hey! You came all this way unscathed. What, Jiang Yan didn't skin you alive?"

Yang Xiaotong, who was relaxing in the green space outside the hospital, saw Lin Ge and his face instantly turned dark with his first words.

This woman definitely did it on purpose!
She must have heard Nie Zhuangzhuang's voice on her side and guessed that she was at Jiang Yan's house, which is why she deliberately provoked her with a loud voice, causing Jiang Yan to kick her out in a fit of rage.

I have to be so quick-witted. Why did I have to call Jiang Yan's house? If I wanted to ask about Wei Yixiao, I could have asked Yang Xiaotong tomorrow! I couldn't wait to see Nie Zhuangzhuang's enthusiasm and kindness today, and now I've been tricked by both of them.

“I’ve already heard the details from Jiang Yan. You’re asking about a burn patient named Wei Yixiao, right? I just asked the ICU, and his condition isn’t good. You need to be prepared.”

After laughing, Yang Xiaotong didn't really intend to completely enrage the cat. She knew how petty the cat was, and if things went too far and it went after her husband, it wouldn't be worth it. Besides, her relationship with Jiang Yan wasn't actually that bad. They might not get along, but in some ways, they were friends.

Take this incident for example. If Jiang Yan hadn't said anything, who would have known what this cat was up to?

In addition, before Mimi arrived, she also called her own daughter. She learned more from her daughter and remained supportive of her daughter's ideas.

Anyway, the principal and all that stuff are pretty idle all day long! My daughter's intentions weren't bad, so what can they possibly do to her?
Seeing Mimi's eyes become serious, Yang Xiaotong couldn't help but smile.

Honestly, every time I see it, I feel that this world is quite incredible. Even though I had heard rumors about all sorts of magical creatures when I was in school, I still felt a sense of awe when it actually appeared before my eyes.

Sometimes I get this urge to dissect a cat and see how its anatomy differs from that of a regular cat.
"It's so cold!"

Lin Ge suddenly felt a chill, but looked around and found nothing amiss. Yang Xiaotong's half-finished sentence also made him anxious; he glared at her, telling her to stop rambling.

"Simply put, the probability of Wei Yixiao being discharged from the hospital unharmed is not high."

Yang Xiaotong returned to the main point, summarizing Wei Yixiao's future in a single sentence. Seeing Lin Ge narrow his eyes, she said softly, "Even if he can be cured, the subsequent medical expenses will be astronomical. And the bus company has clearly stated that they cannot and will not be able to afford it. Do you understand what I mean? Whether it's treatment costs, follow-up care costs, or skin grafting and plastic surgery costs, the bulk of the burden will fall on Wei Yixiao himself. And burns are different from other illnesses; much of their treatment falls under the category of cosmetic medicine and is not currently covered by national medical insurance. This means that even if medical insurance and his company can pay to save his life, he will still suffer from severe long-term sequelae..."

"..."

Lin Ge fell silent.

Although he had expected this to happen, Lin Ge still felt a heavy weight in his heart after hearing Yang Xiaotong's explanation.

But what could be done? Wei Yixiao's accident happened at home; the company has already done a great job by fulfilling its humanitarian responsibilities. It wasn't a work-related injury, nor did it occur during her commute; who could expect the company to do more?

Although the bus company paid the full amount of the five social insurances for Wei Yixiao, personal accident insurance was unfortunately not included. According to Yang Xiaotong, Wei Yixiao's basic medical insurance also had a low coverage and a low reimbursement rate.

"Whether Wei Yixiao can afford it or not, the hospital will at least do its best to save his life. But what happens next... to be honest, there's nothing we can do!"

As Yang Xiaotong led Lin Ge toward the office, she stated her conclusion.

Lin Ge nodded, offering no comment. Hospitals aren't charities, and they certainly don't offer free medical care. With so many people hospitalized every day across the country, blind compassion would only destroy hospitals—he understood this perfectly well.

The hospital has done everything it could to save Wei Yixiao's life, even knowing they had no money.

So, Wei Li's situation is really terrible.

Lin Ge sighed.

I followed Yang Xiaotong to her office and heard many greetings from various hospital staff. It seems she has a very strong reputation at this hospital; it's quite remarkable for her age.

"Do you want some bread? I didn't prepare any cat food for you here."

Yang Xiaotong took out two bags of small bread from the drawer, handed one to Lin Ge, and slowly chewed on the other.

"Does the hospital not provide meals for those on night shift?"

Lin Ge shook his head in refusal, then looked at Yang Xiaotong with some difficulty as she swallowed the bread. Logically speaking, given her status, there was no way she should be eating such a thing.

"It's not time yet. If I eat dinner now, I'll get hungry again very quickly in the middle of the night. So whenever I'm on the night shift, I usually eat dinner around midnight or 1 a.m. If you'd like to stay with me until then, I'll get you something nice to eat."

After finishing her own bread, Yang Xiaotong tore off and ate the pieces that Lin Ge didn't want. She then patted the bread crumbs off her hands, scrubbed them with alcohol gel, and beckoned to Lin Ge, saying, "Come on, let me see your collar! I noticed it when I came over. How did it get so dirty? Seriously, you stinky cat, you should at least take better care of the things I gave you, right? And that bell on it really doesn't match. Was it Jiang Yan who gave it to you? That's all the taste she has."

Lin Ge pretended not to hear Yang Xiaotong's complaints, but still obediently went over to let her remove the collar. He had wanted Yang Xiaotong to help him clean it a while ago, and today he could get it done on the way.

"How disgusting! Did you crawl into the outhouse?"

Holding a tiny corner of the collar between two fingers, Yang Xiaotong once again made a sarcastic remark. Seeing Lin Ge's displeasure, she beckoned with her finger in a provocative gesture before taking the collar into the inner room.

Lin Ge followed curiously inside, then suddenly shuddered.

Holy crap! So many models!

Shit!

Lin Ge was furious, staring speechlessly at the scene in the room. While other people's models and figurines were incredibly beautiful, Yang Xiaotong's were just lifelike replicas of people, halves, and limbs. Each model looked as if it had been skinned and chopped into cross-sections, exposing either internal organs, muscles, bones, or blood vessels!
There was even a ghastly white, suspended skeleton in the corner, its empty eye sockets and exaggerated pelvis utterly unsettling. Seemingly stirred by the wind from opening and closing the door, the skeleton trembled slightly, as if all the terrifying things in the room might suddenly come to life at any moment.

Lin Ge stared wide-eyed, took two steps back, and returned to the doorway, feeling unwell all over.

He even noticed that the room was a bit colder than outside, or perhaps he himself was feeling the chill. The skull models and the blood vessels in the eyes sent a chill down Lin Ge's spine, and he dared not move.

"coward!"

Yang Xiaotong snorted coldly, already completely used to this scene. Or perhaps, in her view, so what if these things came to life? They would only give her new research projects and entertainment options.

Seeing that Mimi absolutely refused to come in, Yang Xiaotong lost patience with her. She placed the collar on the table inside the room, then carefully pulled back the outer cotton cloth and took out the electronic devices one by one. The devices ranged in size from as small as a button or even a melon seed. Several parts were connected by very thin wires, which Yang Xiaotong, with her steady hand holding a scalpel, patiently and meticulously disassembled.

Although she is a surgeon in the medical field, Yang Xiaotong is equally adept at handling electronic devices. Even parts that require tweezers to process ultimately cannot escape her grasp.

After removing all the parts, Yang Xiaotong took out the collar's plastic frame and placed the soiled collar into an ultrasonic cleaner in the corner. She turned it on, then turned back to Lin Ge with a disdainful smile. "Is this still a hospital? It feels more like a miniature medical research center!"

Lin Ge looked around and noticed that besides the ultrasound machine, there was another detector labeled Doppler or something similar. On the opposite table, there was something that looked like an electron microscope; it all seemed quite high-tech.

However... is it too extravagant or excessive to use a hospital's ultrasonic cleaner to clean a cat's collar?
Lin Ge felt that Yang Xiaotong was being a bit willful in doing this.

But seeing the woman's arrogant demeanor, Lin Ge didn't dare to confront her directly. After all, the first time they met, she dared to say something like, "The next time I see you, it'll be on the operating table in the lab." It was better to be a little timid with such a brash woman. Moreover, judging from the things in this room—which he didn't even know what to call—Yang Xiaotong's status at the Central Hospital was quite high. This woman's capriciousness stemmed from the fact that she had the right to be capricious.

"Jiang Yan is into traditional medicine; although she's a forensic pathologist, she's quite enthusiastic about traditional Chinese medicine and herbal remedies. Yang Xiaotong, on the other hand, is an attending physician at a hospital, but she's into technical experiments! These two, even their medical fields are completely opposite?"

Lin Ge sighed and quietly watched Yang Xiaotong lean against the table, flipping through an all-English book.

A few minutes later, the cleaning machine stopped working, and Yang Xiaotong took the basket containing the collar to something that looked like a centrifuge and spun it dry. The whole process took less than ten minutes, and all the stains on the collar were gone.

Then she carefully reassembled the electronic components, including hanging up the bell containing the life-saving medicine. After that, she didn't invite Lin Ge in, but went out and closed the door before helping Lin Ge put it back on.

"If it gets dirty again, just come to me. It's not a big deal. You're the one embarrassing me by wearing a dirty collar in front of Jiang Yan!"

Laughing and stretching, Yang Xiaotong didn't forget to give her arch-rival a disdainful look as she spoke. Seeing Lin Ge curiously tugging at the collar with his paw, she added, "I'm going to a meeting in the provincial capital next month. I heard they've discovered something really troublesome there. Remember to come over and bring the collar with you so your mentor can upgrade it. The previous setup was too rushed and a bit rough; it can't be worse than what Jiang Yan brought, right?"

"That's right! That's right! The more amazing the better! I'll brag about you to Jiang Yan."

Lin Ge nodded vigorously. How could he possibly pass up such a good deal? Although the collar's current functions were already sufficient, who would complain about having more powerful features?
But... what's the troublesome thing?
Lin Ge looked at Yang Xiaotong with some concern.

Unfortunately, Yang Xiaotong did not answer him this time.

By the time Lin Ge left the hospital, it was completely dark. He was preoccupied with what Yang Xiaotong had said, and also with the current troubles facing the Wei family. He sighed, lamenting that just when the new year was finally here, so many more headaches had arisen.

Lin Ge clearly saw the worry in Yang Xiaotong's eyes. But there was nothing he could do to help with this; he could only hope that everything would turn out alright.

According to Yang Xiaotong, the biggest problem with Wei Yixiao right now is money. The hospital can't give him unlimited medication, the company can't spend money on him indefinitely, and his own savings are probably not much, not to mention the living expenses of his family and the additional costs for his mother and daughter. These problems can all be solved with money, but of course, money doesn't fall from the sky, and this bottomless pit of unknown amounts is something Lin Ge can't afford.

But... we should at least do our part, right?
Lin Ge didn't know how much money was left in his salary card, but whatever he had was a token of his appreciation and a small act of kindness in need. As for other things, Lin Ge had originally planned to set up a donation box at the police station, but after thinking about it, he gave up on the idea.

He has no right to make decisions for others, nor does he have the right to demand that others spend money on a complete stranger. Everyone in the police station works hard to earn a living; moral blackmail is disgusting.

The only thing Lin Ge could do was remind Wei Li to seek help on several online aid platforms, hoping for the spontaneous efforts and kindness of people in society. This was completely different from the nature of donation boxes, and Lin Ge was very clear about this.

"Mimi, do you want to see my salary?"

Li Siyu, who was on duty at the front desk, was stopped by Lin Ge, who then snatched her phone and fiddled with it for a while before she could figure out what the cat was up to.

"Ow!"

Lin Ge looked up and meowed, then continued to operate the phone with some difficulty. Using cat paws on the touchscreen was still a bit inconvenient; it took him quite a while to find his account balance.

Thirty-four thousand eight? That's a lot?

Lin Ge was stunned for a moment.

"Your two second-class merit awards alone amount to 20,000 yuan in bonuses! Add in other miscellaneous allowances and subsidies, and it's actually not that much. It's just that you consume a lot of cat food and cat litter, otherwise you could save up even more."

As Li Siyu explained, she was also secretly wondering to herself. How exactly did Director Nie manage to ensure that Mimi received the same salary and bonuses as ordinary police officers?
Of course, it's not that Mimi doesn't deserve this! After all, given her incredible contributions over such a long period of time, even the city bureau must think that paying Mimi a salary and bonuses is a very worthwhile thing.

"Hmm... then let's donate 30,000! It may be a drop in the bucket, but it's the best we can do."

Lin Ge quickly made a decision, planning to find an opportunity in the next couple of days to meet with Wei Li again and transfer the 30,000 yuan to her.

It's impossible to donate everything. Lin Ge has a bunch of underlings to support and many other expenses! Besides, donating is a gesture of goodwill, not something that makes him a super-rich person who doesn't care about money at all.

After making this decision, Lin Ge sighed with satisfaction.

He really was just an ordinary cat, and his awareness wasn't high enough to shine brightly. But that was enough. At least he could sleep peacefully tonight without feeling guilty, regretful, or any other messy emotions.

You have a new police report. Please check it!

Just as she was about to return to the cat shelter, the alarm bell in the duty room suddenly rang. Li Siyu, who was on her first night shift, was flustered and looked up at Lin Ge blankly at the alarm.

Who's the editor-in-chief today?

Lin Ge's eyes widened. What was going on? Why was there only one auxiliary police officer on duty at this time?
"Zhao Zhigang...he...he's using the toilet! He seems to have caught a cold and has diarrhea!"

Li Siyu was both amused and exasperated.

"Then let's not wait for him, let's set off immediately. According to regulations, we must arrive at the location designated by the caller within five minutes. If we're late and get a complaint, that would be a big problem!"

Knowing that the emergency couldn't wait, Lin Ge didn't have time to think about anything else and rushed towards the police car parked outside.

Compared to Li Siyu, who was on her first night shift, Lin Ge hadn't actually been on many night calls either. All the police officers in the station had to work night shifts, except for Lin Ge. But at least Lin Ge knew more about the call-taking process than the rookie auxiliary police officer Li Siyu.

He waited anxiously by the police car until Li Siyu brought the keys, then jumped from the driver's seat to the passenger seat and gestured for Li Siyu to drive quickly.

"Well... I have a driver's license, but I don't drive much. Mimi, how about we wait for Zhao Zhigang?"

Li Siyu was still terrified. Going on a mission alone was too scary! She had no idea what to do once she arrived at the scene, and she had never been in a situation where she didn't need anyone to guide her and make decisions on her own before.

"Police emergencies don't wait! Do you want to call Nie Guoqiang? If he has to make decisions on every single emergency, big or small, he'll be worked to death!"

Lin Ge glared at Li Siyu with exasperation. What else are you doing if you're not driving?

Regardless of what the destination is like, let's get there first!
"oh oh!"

Li Siyu was startled by Lin Ge's serious and even fierce expression. For a moment, she was in a daze and thought she had seen Chief Nie. She quickly turned the car key and started the police car.

(End of this chapter)