I emptied my family's possessions to join the army, and my abstinent superior doted on me.

Chapter 36 Signing up to go to the front lines

The same notice was also issued to the neurosurgery department.

"Comrades, this border defense battle has lasted for almost a month. The first batch of medical personnel who went to the front lines to provide support have successfully completed their mission. They will return to the rear next month to rest and recuperate."

Next, we need to submit the list of the second batch of personnel to the front line to the institute as soon as possible.

This time, our department needs one associate chief physician, two resident physicians, and four nurses.

So, who wants to sign up?

Everyone looked at each other, and no one spoke.

A month ago, Y country, which had been at peace with China for decades, suddenly launched a surprise attack on one of our border towns and carried out widespread burning, killing, rape and looting.

The news shocked the world. The Chinese border troops quickly organized a drive-out and counterattack.

Unexpectedly, a major disagreement arose between the two sides over the handover of prisoners, and Y country's provocative actions thoroughly angered our leader.

"There is no diplomacy for a weak nation." If a country is weaker than me but still tries to provoke me, the result will be "no more nonsense, let's fight!"
However, since the battle took place in the deep mountains and forests, the soldiers not only had to withstand the test of the high temperature of nearly 45 degrees Celsius every day, but also had to be on guard against ambushes due to the mysterious and unpredictable terrain.

The conditions for combat were extremely harsh.

In this situation, whoever goes to the front line will face an extremely dangerous challenge to their life.

Li Guofa, the director of neurosurgery, scanned the entire department and, seeing that everyone had lowered their heads, finally fixed his gaze on Qiao Muting.

"Deputy Director Qiao?" Li Guofa squinted his small eyes and walked up to Qiao Muting with a big smile. "The last team was led by our Deputy Director Chen. So, how about it, would you like to be the team leader for this batch?"

Qiao Muting was well aware of the deeper meaning behind the other person's smile.

Li Guofa was among the earliest veteran doctors in the neurosurgery department of the General Hospital of the Military Region. Although his medical skills were mediocre, he was well-versed in the rules of officialdom, being tactful and humble to his superiors, but ruthless and decisive to his subordinates.

For many years, he had hoped to take the position of department head.

However, things didn't go as planned. The neurosurgery department was still headed by Vice President Lei, with two deputy directors working concurrently. One was Li Guofa, and the other was Chen Shuangguo, who had gone to the front lines.

The two directors have been vying for power for years, using every possible competitive tactic, yet they remain evenly matched.

The arrival of Qiao Muting perfectly disrupted the balance of power between the two, posing an even greater challenge to Li Guofa.

He was a young man who became a deputy director right after arriving at the company. I heard that he had a very powerful background. Even Vice President Lei always greeted him with a smile and summoned him far more often than I did.

He had long harbored jealousy.

In order to firmly grasp the position of department director while Chen Shuangguo was away from the hospital, Li Guofa actually used the tactic of "persuasion and hard work, even if he hadn't done anything meritorious," until the hospital actually gave him the title of acting department director before he finally stopped.

These days, even a slight difference in rank can be incredibly powerful. The first thing he planned upon receiving the notification was to send Qiao Muting to the front lines.

“We are doctors, but we are also soldiers. Fighting for our country is something Mu Ting will do without hesitation. However, Director Li, as the highest-ranking leader in the department, if you were to lead the team, Mu Ting would be willing to take on only the position of a regular medical assistant and follow the leader into battle.”

Qiao Muting had long seen through Li Guofa's true nature.

Last time, he used the excuse of needing to perform surgery on his father-in-law to escape. This time, he still wanted to shift the blame onto himself, but Qiao Muting is not Chen Shuangguo; he won't let the villain succeed.

Li Guofa was about to explode in anger, but remembering Qiao Muting's status, he immediately stopped. "The affairs of this department truly cannot be separated from the leadership. If you and I both go to the front lines, who will be responsible for the department's affairs?"

"Isn't Deputy Director Chen going to be back soon?" Fang Wenjie understood Qiao Muting's intention and knew he had to speak up for him at this crucial moment.

"Yes, Director, don't worry. Even if things get really bad, we still have Vice President Lei. Just go to the front lines with peace of mind. We will definitely take good care of the rear for you."

"Director, I've filled out the form for you. Take a look," the head nurse said, scribbling a couple of lines on the form and handing it to Li Guofa. "You're first in line. When the hospital rewards you for your contributions in the future, they'll see that our Director Li from the Department of Neurosurgery is always the first to rush to the front lines when there's a task. Right, Director?"

Qiao Muting lowered his eyes, suppressing the upward curve of his lips.

After a brief discussion, Li Guofa realized that things had come to this point and he couldn't back down in front of everyone. He could only find another reason before reporting to his superiors.

However, he still didn't want to let Qiao Muting off the hook: "So, Deputy Director Qiao will be ranked second?"

Qiao Muting was not afraid to go to the battlefield at all; it was simply a soldier's duty.

His only worry was his two children. It seemed he needed to make proper arrangements for them as soon as possible. Otherwise, with no certainty of when he would return, his children's lives absolutely could not be thrown into chaos.

"Okay. I'll sign up."

When Fang Wenjie saw that his good friend had also signed up, he immediately raised his hand as well.

"That's great. I never expected our department to be so conscientious. I will submit the list as soon as possible. All of you who have signed up, please wait for further instructions from your superiors."

Li Guofa tossed his few remaining strands of hair and strode out of the department with his short legs.

He had barely stepped out when the entire department nearly erupted in cheers.

Fang Wenjie immediately ran over to Qiao Muting and asked, "Should you tell your mother about your decision to go to the front lines? Your father has been stationed away from home for a long time, and your world revolves entirely around you. Now that you're going to the battlefield, it's not good for her to not tell her."

He had something to say, but couldn't get it out.

But Qiao Muting knew that he was afraid that if something happened to him on the battlefield, his mother would be all alone, and she would be heartbroken.

However, given Cheng Fang'an's deep affection for Qiao Muting, if she were to find out first that her only son was going to the battlefield, she would definitely use all her connections to remove him from the list.

Qiao Muting knows his mother too well.

"Old Fang, I need to find a temporary caretaker for the children as soon as possible. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease even if I go to the front lines."

Upon hearing this, Fang Wenjie grinned mischievously.

"I just saw that Wenquan is in the propaganda department, and my sister is doing a good job managing her. Why don't you consider finding a mother for the kids before they go to the battlefield?"

Qiao Muting remained silent, but gently patted his face with his large hand.

"This is a temporary difficulty for me. But if I marry someone who has children, then it will become a long-term difficulty! Please, have mercy on me."

Speaking of children, it's almost lunchtime. I wonder if Wenquan will be able to adapt to living with Fang Wenxue?

Qiao Muting strode briskly toward the publicity department.

Before even reaching the entrance, one could hear Wenquan's loud crying.

"You child, how old are you? How come you still don't know that you need to go to the toilet to pee?"

You've gotten all over my clothes! It's so dirty.

Ugh, it smells awful. Do I have to wash your pants again? I don't care.

Oh dear, and there's pee on the floor, on my seat. It's everywhere.

How am I supposed to sit like this?!

That's Fang Wenxue's voice.

“Officer Fang, that’s just how kids are. He must have given you a signal, but you just didn’t notice, right?” a woman’s gentle voice said.

"It's easy for you to say that when you're not the one suffering the consequences, isn't it? It's not like you were the one who got peed on, of course you're saying that," Fang Wenxue continued to complain.

Qiao Muting's tall figure appeared at the doorway, just in time to see Wenquan being held in the arms of a thin woman who was constantly comforting him.

As soon as the child saw his father, he stopped crying immediately, pleading, "Daddy, I didn't mean to go to the hot spring. Daddy, please don't be angry, boohoo. Auntie, I'm sorry."

Fang Wenxue then noticed Qiao Muting, and said in a displeased tone, "Brother Muting, look at this child. He needed to pee, but he didn't even say so beforehand. He peed all over me, and on my chair too!"

Qiao Muting's face was quite ugly: "I apologize to you on behalf of this child. I'll pay you back for the clothes. And if you don't like the chair, I'll go to the logistics department and get you a new one."

Then she gently said to the hot spring, "Come down, let's go."

"Hey! Deputy Director Qiao, wait a minute." The thin woman behind him, still holding the child tightly, called out to him loudly.

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　　(End of this chapter)