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

Yan Huazhong's powerful remark completely stunned Lin Weihua.

His mind was buzzing, and he couldn't immediately process this unconventional situation. He had anticipated the farmer's cries, kneeling, or even tantrums, but he never expected that the farmer would look at him like he was an idiot and retort with, "Are you crazy?"

These four words, rude and direct, without the slightest beating around the bush, were like a resounding slap across Lin Weihua's face, a face etched with the words "speaking out for the people."

The noisy discussions in the hall ceased, and everyone stared in astonishment at the rural female cadre who had suddenly lost her temper.

Lin Weihua's face flushed red, his eyes behind his glasses filled with shame, anger, and disbelief. He was, after all, a reporter for the *Internal Reference*, where wasn't he treated with utmost respect? His pen could determine a cadre's political future!

"What...what kind of attitude is this! I'm trying to help you..."

"Help me?" Yan Hua interrupted him, as if she'd heard the biggest joke in the world. She turned around and shouted at the group of people behind her, "Old Hu! What are you all standing there for? Show us what you've got!"

"Okay!"

Hu Dazhi and Li Dazhu stepped forward, each holding one end of a redwood pole, and then let go.

"Whoosh!"

A large, gleaming red velvet banner was suddenly unfurled under the bright lights of the hospital lobby.

The velvet fabric was thick and luxurious, with golden tassels dangling from its edges. At the very center of the banner were eight large characters meticulously embroidered with gold thread, each stroke flowing powerfully and majestically. Under the incandescent light, each character reflected a dazzling brilliance.

A peerless hero, a god of high rank!

The entire room fell silent.

Time stood still at that moment.

The only sounds in the air were the gasps of the crowd and the muffled thumping of their hearts.

Lin Weihua, holding his notebook and pen high, ready to record the "evidence," froze in mid-air. His mouth gaped open unconsciously, wide enough to fit an egg. He stared intently at the eight characters, feeling as if the golden light had burned through his retina, searing his brain with pain.

Is this not a complaint, but a presentation of a banner? Or is it a phrase of such weight and importance as "unparalleled national hero"?

Zhao Tiancheng's smile, hidden behind the crowd, froze on his face instantly, making him look like a cheap wax figure, both comical and laughable.

"This is..." Lin Weihua stammered, pointing to the banner, "This is for Ye Zhen?"

"Nonsense! If it wasn't for Doctor Ye, why would it be for you?"

Li Dazhu was a farmer who didn't know anything about reporters from Beijing. He stepped forward, put a basket of red-skinned eggs on the ground, and shouted with red eyes:

"I am Li Dazhu! My father was bedridden for half a year! It was Dr. Ye who drilled a hole in his bone! Now my father is not only not paralyzed, he can also get out of bed! Dr. Ye is the savior of my whole family. I, Li Dazhu, will be the first to object to anyone who dares to speak ill of her!"

His rough voice echoed in the hall, every word filled with primal gratitude and defense.

"And me!"

An elderly woman squeezed through the crowd, holding a pair of brand-new cloth shoes with layered soles, wiping away tears: "My husband got tetanus, and the doctors in the city said he wouldn't have survived if we had come a day later. It was Dr. Ye who spotted the nail hole in his sole at a glance and snatched him back from the jaws of death! I spent three sleepless nights sewing these shoes; Dr. Ye must accept them!"

One villager after another stepped forward, each telling a story of how Ye Zhen possessed miraculous skills and saved lives.

These honest words, spoken with a local accent and even bordering on the crude, lacked flowery language but were brimming with the most sincere emotions. They were like slaps delivered with a powerful, swift motion, one after another, striking Lin Weihua's face squarely.

Lin Weihua's face turned pale, then flushed, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. Clinging to his last shred of reason, he gritted his teeth and argued, "This...this only means she was lucky! It doesn't change the fact that she risked practicing medicine without proper equipment! This is a lack of scientific rigor..."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Yan Hua was furious.

The female bureau chief, known as the "Iron Lady" of Qingyun County, solemnly pulled a document from her worn-out briefcase. The document's cover bore the bright red round seal of the Qingyun County Party Committee Office.

Yan Hua held up the document, his voice trembling slightly, yet it resonated throughout the entire hall.

"You're saying Ye Zhen isn't meticulous? You're saying she takes risks?"

"Open your dog eyes and look at what this is!"

"This is an 'Emergency Report on Schistosomiasis in Lanniwan'!"

"If it weren't for Comrade Ye Zhen working day and night in the archives, sifting through medical records, and astutely discovering the unusual cluster of deaths in Lanniwan from thirty-six death reports; if it weren't for her disregard for the filth and exhaustion, personally going down to Lanniwan to investigate; if it weren't for her help in transferring a thousand boxes of special medicine from the military region..."

At this point, Yan Hua pointed at Lin Weihua's nose and shouted:

"In Lanniwan Brigade of Qingyun County, hundreds of villagers were destined to be tormented to death by schistosomiasis sooner or later! If we waited until the spring flood season, the schistosomiasis eggs would spread along the Qingyun River and pollute the entire county's water sources, and the consequences would be unimaginable! It was Ye Zhen! It was she alone who, while all of us were kept in the dark, saved the lives of tens of thousands of people in our county with the conscience and sense of responsibility of a doctor!"

"She is our benefactor, a living saint of Qingyun County! You, a bookworm who only sits in the office, listens to slanderous words from petty people, and scribbles nonsense with a pen, what right do you have to slander her?! What qualifications do you have?!"

boom!

If the banner just now was a slap in the face, then this schistosomiasis report is a bombshell that shattered Lin Weihua's moral high ground.

All the doctors and nurses present gasped in shock.

Schistosomiasis!

That's a plague that even the country is terrified of!

Ye Zhen not only cured several patients, but she also single-handedly extinguished a disaster that could have swept the entire county.

Zhou Hai stood ramrod straight, looking coldly at Lin Weihua, who was drenched in sweat and trembling. "Reporter Lin," he said, "is this what you call a 'victim'? Is this what you call 'individual heroism'? I believe that Comrade Ye Zhen's noble spirit of going deep into the grassroots, seeking truth from facts, and rescuing the people from suffering is truly worthy of being learned and promoted nationwide! I'd like to see how you write this 'internal report'!"

Lin Weihua was now completely panicked.

He felt that the gazes around him were no longer filled with awe, but with disdain as if they were looking at a clown, and even with anger.

"I...I was just trying to verify the situation...It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding..."