After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Two days later, in the same conference room.

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze.

Yan Hua carefully took a paper box out of her bag and gently placed it on the long table covered with tea stains.

"Clatter".

It was a small cardboard box with the words "praziquantel" printed on it in red. The corners were worn, marks left by Yan Hua as he had been tightly protecting it in his arms the whole way.

"Fifty boxes."

Yan Hua's voice was hoarse, as if she had a handful of grit in her mouth. She lowered her head and said, "I spent two days pleading with the Provincial Health Department, and this is all the province could provide. And that's after all the supplies were transferred from various cities."

Fifty boxes.

According to the current treatment plan, at least two boxes are needed for one course of treatment.

In other words, this amount of medicine can only save twenty-five people at most.

Ye Zhen stared at the lonely cardboard box, her fingertips unconsciously twirling the pen in her hand. The cold touch of the pen cap kept her calm to the very end, but a sense of powerlessness welled up inside her like a tide.

This is the pain of our times.

In the early 1980s, a time of scarcity and limited information, some things couldn't be solved simply by having money or technology. It was like an insurmountable chasm, standing between life and death.

"Oh."

A soft laugh broke the silence.

Deputy County Head Sun leaned back in his chair, the old wooden chair creaking under his breath. He picked up his teacup, blew on the foam, and wore an expression that said, "I knew it," an expression that made one want to throw the scalding tea in his face.

"Director Yan, Dr. Ye, I knew you were too young and didn't understand the situation in our country."

Deputy County Head Sun slowly pulled a document from his briefcase, tapped the red title with his knuckles, and said, "Look, it's a document from the provincial department. Praziquantel is a national strategic reserve drug, prioritized for supply to the severely affected areas in the south. As for the north? That's a 'non-epidemic area,' so the quota is already pitifully small."

He glanced at the cardboard box, his eyes filled with disdain as if it were a pile of garbage: "These fifty boxes, I guess they were given out of respect for Director Yan, right? What? Are you planning to hold a lottery? To see which twenty-five unlucky souls will survive?"

Yan Hua suddenly raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed and veins bulging on his neck: "Sun Dezhi! What kind of time is this to be saying such sarcastic things!"

"I'm just stating the facts!" Deputy County Head Sun said sternly, exuding official authority. "Since we don't have enough medicine, we can't conduct this screening! What good is it if we find people who can't be treated, except to cause panic? I suggest we suppress the news and fence off that area of ​​Lanniwan..."

"Are you going to lock us up and let us die?" Ye Zhen interrupted him coldly.

Deputy County Head Sun was momentarily speechless, then slammed his fist on the table in anger: "Ye Zhen! Mind your place! This is the County Party Committee, not a place for a doctor like you to boss people around! You've made such a huge mess, and now you can't clean it up. Who's going to take responsibility?"

"squeak!"

The wooden door to the conference room was pushed open.

Everyone instinctively looked towards the doorway.

A man was standing at the door.

He was backlit, his tall figure like a mountain, completely blocking out all the light from outside the door.

A crisp, military-green woolen overcoat was draped over his shoulders, the collar open to reveal his combat uniform underneath. His sharply defined face was expressionless, but his deep, piercing eyes held a chilling aura that could freeze a person to death.

Gu Zheng.

He stood there, not needing to say a word, but the murderous aura he exuded, as if crawling out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, and the oppressive feeling of having long held a high position, caused the temperature in the conference room to plummet to freezing point.

Deputy County Head Sun was already furious and had nowhere to vent his anger. When he saw someone daring to barge into the county committee meeting room, he immediately wanted to slam his fist on the table and start cursing.

"Which organization are you from? Don't you know the rules...?"

Before he finished speaking, Gu Zheng's cold eyes swept over him lightly.

Just that one glance.

Deputy County Head Sun was like a rooster with its neck choked, all his voice stuck in his throat. He saw the epaulettes inside the man's overcoat—the star pattern gleamed coldly in the dim light.

Deputy County Head Sun broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

Gu Zheng completely ignored the room full of insignificant people. His gaze quickly swept around the conference room, locking onto Ye Zhen in the corner with the precision of a radar.

His originally cold and hard gaze softened for a moment when it met that slender figure, but then he frowned again.

He strode in.

The military boots clattered rhythmically on the wooden floor, each step sounding like a tap on everyone's heartbeat.

He stopped in front of Ye Zhen, his tall figure completely enveloping her in shadow.

"You've lost weight."

Gu Zheng's tone carried obvious dissatisfaction and a hint of barely perceptible heartache, "You've only been out for a few days? And you've already made yourself look like this? Your eyes are as dark as a panda's."

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The cadres in the room kept their eyes down, not daring to utter a sound. Yan Hua stared wide-eyed at the usually aloof and arrogant Dr. Ye, then at the terrifying young military officer; his mind was reeling.

Are they... a couple?

Deputy County Head Sun trembled and shrank further into his chair, wishing he could disappear on the spot.

Ye Zhen's voice sounded tired: "Why are you here?" Gu Zheng's unique scent, carrying a faint smell of tobacco and sunshine, inexplicably relaxed her tense nerves. She then chuckled to herself, realizing that it had been a week since she last came, and it was time to go home.

"I've come to pick up my wife and take her home." Gu Zheng said matter-of-factly, then turned around. His gentleness vanished instantly, and his gaze swept over Deputy County Chief Sun in the main seat like a knife, finally landing on the pitiful little cardboard box on the table.

"I've been here for a while, and I didn't really want to come in." Gu Zheng's lips curled into a mocking smile. "But you're bullying a female comrade. Is this the style of your county committee? It seems the land and water of Qingyun County aren't very nurturing."

Deputy County Head Sun was so frightened he could barely speak: "It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. We were discussing work, discussing that... medicine issue..."

"medicine?"

Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow, his slender fingers tapping on the box of praziquantel. "Just because you're short of this?"

Ye Zhen took a deep breath and looked into Gu Zheng's eyes. She knew this man's power and his status in the Gu family.

Perhaps this is the only way to break the deadlock.

"Gu Zheng," Ye Zhen's voice was soft but firm, "A large number of schistosomiasis cases have been discovered in Lanniwan, below Qingyun County, and we urgently need praziquantel. Director Yan has been running himself ragged, but only managed to bring back fifty boxes, saying that there might be more in the southern provinces. Do you have any ideas?"

Gu Zheng looked at her.

There was no weakness in that young woman's eyes, only her tenacity for life and her unconditional trust in him.

Damn, she looks absolutely stunning.

"I'll make a phone call."

He turned around, not even glancing at Deputy County Chief Sun, and walked directly to the red telephone in the corner of the conference room.

"Can I borrow a phone?"

Although it was a question, he had already picked up the receiver.

Deputy County Head Sun was about to say that it was an internal hotline and long-distance calls were not allowed, but seeing Gu Zheng's back, he swallowed his words.

Gu Zheng skillfully dialed a number. It wasn't an ordinary civilian line; in this day and age, anyone who could memorize this number range was someone with a powerful background.

"Beep—beep—"

The call was connected.

Gu Zheng's voice was deep, with a lazy, roguish air: "Second Uncle, it's me, Gu Zheng."

The meeting room became even quieter.

"Don't give me that nonsense. I'm in Qingyun County, and my wife was bullied. There's no medicine to cure her." Gu Zheng said, casually playing with the phone cord, but his eyes remained fixed on Ye Zhen. "I need praziquantel. As much as you can get."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed shocked, probably yelling about how difficult it was to obtain this kind of medicine.

Gu Zheng moved the receiver a little further away, picked at his ear, and waited until the other end finished shouting before slowly speaking: "Don't you have stock in the south? I don't need much, just send me a thousand boxes first."

"Bang!"

Deputy County Head Sun finally lost his grip on the teacup, and it fell to the ground and shattered.

One...one thousand boxes?!

Yan Hua felt like she could hardly breathe. She had begged and pleaded to get fifty boxes, and this guy was asking for a thousand? And the way he talked about it, it was as casual as buying a thousand pounds of cabbage at the market!

"Not enough? Then get it from the General Logistics Department's mobile depot." Gu Zheng's voice turned cold, carrying the arrogance unique to soldiers. "Second Uncle, I don't care what method you use. I need to see the medicine before eight o'clock tonight. By military transport plane, airdrop is fine too. I know where the nearest military airport is."

"Yes, consider it a favor I owe you. That's all."

"Smack."

The phone hangs up.

Gu Zheng turned around and looked at the crowd who had been completely petrified.

"Send a truck to the air force base in the neighboring city to pick up the goods tomorrow," Gu Zheng said casually, as if he had just made a phone call to have two bags of rice delivered. "A thousand boxes, enough for the first batch urgently."

After saying that, he didn't give these people any time to react. He strode up to Ye Zhen and grabbed her hand.

His large, warm palms, covered with thick calluses, completely enveloped Ye Zhen's icy hands.

"Alright." Gu Zheng glanced at the ashen-faced Deputy County Chief Sun, a mocking sneer curling his lips. "If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Your task is complete. Let them clean up the mess themselves."

"Come home with me."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, in this conference room filled with bureaucratic atmosphere and despair, Gu Zheng acted like a ruthless robber, stealing the most precious treasure from the place.

He took Ye Zhen's hand and strode out.

His military overcoat billowed slightly with each step, stirring up a gust of wind.

The meeting room remained deathly silent until the two figures disappeared through the doorway.

Yan Hua looked at the cardboard box containing fifty boxes of medicine and suddenly felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

The arrogant Deputy County Head Sun, who had been so haughty just moments before, was now trembling as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. He didn't even dare to utter a sound when the official document fell to the ground and was stepped on.

The jeep bumped along the dirt road, the warm air inside making everyone drowsy. Outside the windows lay the gray, desolate winter landscape, but inside was a warm, secluded space. Ye Zhen leaned back in the passenger seat, an enamel thermos shoved into her hand. The warmth emanating from the thermos gradually dispelled the chill that clung to her. The thermos contained brown sugar water, with a rich, sweet aroma.

Her gaze fell on the man beside her. Gu Zheng was focused on driving, his jawline taut, the contours of his profile exceptionally clear in the dim light. This was the man who, in the most brute and unreasonable way, had smashed through the impenetrable wall in front of her.

"Gu Zheng." Ye Zhen turned to look at the man who was focused on driving. His profile was strong and cold, but at this moment he looked particularly pleasing to the eye.

"What?" Gu Zheng stared straight ahead, his long, slender fingers deftly maneuvering the steering wheel. "Don't look at me with that worshipful gaze, it's easy to go off the rails."

Ye Zhen couldn't help but smile; in that instant, all the fatigue of the past few days seemed to vanish.

"I wanted to ask, can those thousand boxes of medicine really be delivered?"

Gu Zheng freed one hand and ruffled her hair, making her meticulously styled hair a mess.

Who do you take me for?

The man turned his head, his eyes gleaming with an untamed light, and the roguish smile on his lips was so flamboyant that it made one's heart race.

"In this land, whatever you want, even the stars in the sky, I'll pluck them down for you."

"Besides, it's just a few boxes of broken medicine."

Ye Zhen lowered her head and took a sip of brown sugar water.

so sweet.

It was so sweet it warmed my heart.