Chapter 319: A Triumphant Return and the Seeds of Reform

Zhou Can was still wondering how to politely refuse. After all, taking a red envelope so openly did feel a bit awkward.

But then he noticed that Deputy Director Shi and Nurse Chen Qingling, among others, all accepted the red envelopes with easy smiles, managing a quick thank you before slipping them into their pockets.

Seeing how calmly and naturally they took them, Zhou Can let go of his hesitation.

He didn’t need the money, but if there was something to take, he wasn’t going to hold back.

Everyone else accepted theirs. If he stood there fussing over it, people would just call him pretentious.

It would only make him seem out of step with everyone else.

This time, everyone came out to Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital to work hard. For these seven days—surgeries, consultations, prescribing medicines—there probably wasn’t any commission. Most likely, the salary was being handed out in the form of these red envelopes.

Still, when they got back, Tuyu Hospital would issue everyone their basic pay as usual.

“Dr. Zhou, this is for you!”

Section Chief Tang placed the red envelope in Zhou Can’s hand. It was heavy.

He figured there was quite a tidy sum inside.

And compared to the regular doctors and nurses, he received two red envelopes.

He noticed all ten consulting doctors were given two red envelopes each.

No one was foolish enough to tear theirs open right there and count the stacks of hundreds inside.

Most faces broke into smiles the moment they’d accepted theirs.

Clearly, people were pleased with the earnings.

After thanking them, Zhou Can followed suit and tucked the envelopes into his pocket.

Clinic visits, out-of-hospital surgeries, lectures… All this extra work outside regular duties came with legal compensation.

Doctors and nurses used their own free time to earn this extra income.

This stint at Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital was business travel—an off-site assignment. Director Zhang and the others took the red envelopes without a hint of worry. That meant this income was all above board.

Once the red envelopes had been handed out, Section Chief Tang, Director Tian, and the others watched as their bus slowly rolled away from the hotel.

They were headed back to Tuyu Hospital to return to their regular posts and normal work.

……

At Tuyu Hospital, Director Zhu personally led a group to greet the twenty-seven returning doctors and nurses.

The whole scene was surprisingly grand.

“Haha! Welcome back, our white-coated heroes of Tuyu Hospital! I saw how outstanding you all were at Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital on television! Director Tian even called me personally to sing your praises—said you were exceptional! Director Zhang, leading this team, really earned Tuyu Hospital some serious respect!”

Under normal circumstances, Director Zhu was at best approachable and friendly.

Smiles as broad as the one he wore now were a rare sight.

After all, as the hospital’s chief, just being easygoing wasn’t enough to command thousands of Tuyu employees.

Managing a hospital was far harder than anyone could imagine.

On top of ensuring quality healthcare, you also had to guard against corruption from all sides. Sometimes, kickbacks and illicit deals even happened right under the noses of the hospital’s leaders.

Some bold doctors and nurses, hungry for more money, would even cross legal lines.

Take the example of nurses from the Obstetrics Department’s operating room. Some secretly smuggled placental tissue out to sell it to pharmacies and acquaintances.

Regulations stated that placenta after childbirth should be treated as medical waste.

But because placenta has long appeared in traditional medicine, and people believed it could help women recover or even turn back the years,

many new mothers would ask doctors to save it for them.

Most just took it home to cook and eat.

But if a nurse smuggled out what was supposed to be medical waste for personal profit, that was definitely illegal.

Yet what they did was rarely discovered.

Or take the old stereotype of doctors accepting perks from pharmaceutical reps—people imagining reps, dressed up provocatively, visiting doctors’ offices, and after a little chat, trading favors and money for the promise to sell their drugs.

These days, that kind of thing is already outdated.

Now, the transactions are even more well-hidden.

There were just too many of these gray areas to count. The director couldn’t possibly keep tabs on them all. Try to, and you’d offend half the staff, putting your own position in jeopardy.

That’s why the best strategy was to maintain an air of authority, keeping everyone in line and making sure no one dared cross the line.

Today, Director Zhu was smiling hard because the specialist team had truly shined. They’d brought glory to Tuyu Hospital.

The reputation they won, the influence they gained, even the TV news coverage—they all left Director Zhu very satisfied.

Ever since that news segment aired, Tuyu Hospital’s patient numbers had noticeably increased over the last two days.

Plus, some tough cases had been tracked down and cured, earning huge reactions in their field.

For example, Zhou Can cured the boy who fell ill after eating live fish—a patient even the top experts at Provincial Children’s Hospital couldn’t help, but Tuyu’s experts did.

Just like that, Tuyu Hospital’s reputation in pediatrics and internal medicine surged overnight.

The welcome party included Director Zhu, Deputy Director Ye, other leaders, and the heads of each relevant department.

“Director Tang, your Pediatrics team really came out on top this time! When work’s over, you’ve got to treat everyone to a good meal,” joked Director Tan of General Internal Medicine.

“As long as the directors and department heads will let me, I’ll happily spend half a month’s paycheck on dinner.” Director Tang Fei, youthful and striking at around thirty, was quite popular among the hospital’s senior staff.

The surprise success for Pediatrics left her thrilled.

When people are happy, men look more dashing, women more radiant.

This time, Pediatrics only sent out Director Dai, two pediatric nurses, and two pediatric doctors—five in all.

[By the way—the best app for listening to novels right now is Wild Fruit Reading. Download the latest version.]

“Old Tan, I heard your Internal Medicine team had quite the performance too!” Director Xie of General Surgery said with a playful tone.

“Oh, come on. Our team sent neurology and gastroenterology specialists, plus several doctors and nurses. They did all right—nothing spectacular. The real stars were Obstetrics and Pediatrics.”

Director Tan played it humble, but he was grinning from ear to ear.

Truthfully, Internal Medicine did gain quite a bit of acclaim this round.

Word was, they’d contributed significantly to several key cases.

Director Tan frequently glanced at Zhou Can. He’d heard Zhou Can had a huge hand in those wins.

Zhou Can, repping Gastroenterology, brought most of the honors back to his department.

“No matter which department scored the credit or brought home the accolades, it all belongs to Tuyu Hospital, doesn’t it? So, Director Tan and Director Xie, there’s no need to get hung up on who got the most attention—every achievement here is shared by all of us at Tuyu Hospital.”

With one line, Zhang Bihua neatly ended the debate.

The other directors nodded, happy and content to let it go.

“Director Zhang, you’ve got a real knack for handling things! Please, everyone, let’s move to the conference room,” Director Zhu said, leading the way.

Tuyu Hospital’s campus was huge, with many conference rooms scattered about.

They used different rooms depending on the meeting size and purpose.

This time, Director Zhu led them into Conference Room 1 in the administrative wing. The room fit maybe seventy or eighty people, but any big hospital decision happened in there.

It was almost a rule—small room for big matters, big room for smaller ones.

With the director personally presiding, Deputy Director Ye alongside, and many department heads present, this was no ordinary meeting.

Zhou Can and the others, now treated like heroes, felt genuinely proud.

Everyone wants to be recognized.

“Dr. Zhou, thanks for bringing so much honor to Pediatrics! They say heroes begin young—and you’ve certainly proved them right!” Director Tang Fei, who usually never spared Zhou Can a glance,

now seized the chance to chat him up.

She looked about thirty, but was actually over forty.

She struck Zhou Can as highly capable, especially at navigating social circles.

Male chief physicians in both internal and surgical departments all treated her warmly.

That was her skill, after all.

It seemed Zhou Can’s stellar performance at Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital had already reached every department head’s ears.

And she knew the big Pediatrics win owed a lot to Zhou Can.

“You flatter me. I just did what anyone would,” Zhou Can said modestly, though inside he marveled at fate. He was still considered a general physician, yet after the news of him treating a child, he was fast becoming a pediatric specialist.

Strangely enough, he was being pegged for pediatric orthopedics.

The group filed into the conference room one after another.

“Please, everyone, have a seat—don’t be shy! You all brought glory to Tuyu Hospital. You should be honored!”

Director Zhu motioned with both hands for everyone to settle down.

“You’ve all had a long trip, so I’ll keep this brief. Sending our specialist team to Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital was part of our strategy. Tuyu Hospital has reached a bottleneck; we’re facing many challenges. This consultation trip boosted our reputation and influence, honed our young doctors and nurses, and gave us real insight into other hospitals’ strengths and weaknesses. It’s all incredibly significant.”

As the one steering Tuyu Hospital, he had to see further than most.

Behind Tuyu Hospital’s apparent success lurked countless hidden dangers.

To truly grow stronger, the hospital needed to break old chains and boldly embrace reform, fighting hard to win its share of the market.

Tuyu’s department structure was outdated and stiff, doctors covered too broad a scope without enough depth, the Emergency Department remained alarmingly weak, and the hospital lacked a truly powerhouse department. New doctors were growing far slower than hoped—any of these could lead to rapid decline in the next round of competition.

Director Zhu was determined to use his remaining term to drive reform and innovation.

Reform always ruffled feathers. He faced plenty of opposition. But right now, his authority let him hold the line and push forward.

Case in point: the General Surgery overhaul, which he finally succeeded in implementing.

That was a major step forward.

“Obstetrics business, especially maternity services, have always been a mainstay at Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital. Director Zhang, after seeing things firsthand, what are your impressions?”

Director Zhu turned to Zhang Bihua, who led the team.

The moves, the negotiations at this level—ordinary staff had no way of reading them.

Logically, as head expert and chief of Obstetrics at Tuyu, Zhang Bihua shouldn’t have gone herself. Tuyu Hospital still had to keep running, after all.

Losing their star player for a week would have an impact.

Zhou Can had heard stories: Director Zhang Bihua was fiercely independent, rarely took advice from other senior doctors in Obstetrics, and the department sometimes quietly disregarded hospital policy for their own interests.

Though she doted on Yang Chan and treated Zhou Can kindly, she was hardly a soft touch.

When it was time to be tough, she never held back.

Du Leng once dared to challenge her in public, but paid a heavy price.

During the rest of the consultation week, she never showed Du Leng a good face again.

Medical and nursing staff joining these consultations—especially those from Obstetrics—were clearly afraid of her. Her iron-willed, no-nonsense style ruled the department.

Standing up, Zhang Bihua met Director Zhu’s gaze calmly.

“First of all, thank you, Director Zhu and all the leadership team, for trusting me with such an important mission. As for Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital, overall, it’s a very strong hospital, though their staff management is a bit lax, creating safety issues. Departments are siloed, each fighting their own battle.”

“They also have some shortcomings. For example, while their obstetrics, gynecology, and internal medicine are fairly advanced, their Surgery Department, especially in endoscopic procedures, lags far behind.”

Zhang Bihua finished her summary.

“Very well said. Anything else?” Director Zhu pressed.

“Well… another key issue is that after sending their top experts abroad to further their studies, many departments lost their leading figures. Without them, high-difficulty medical tasks just couldn’t get done.”

That was a particularly glaring problem.

“Excellent. Your attention to detail is impressive, and the experience you brought back is invaluable. We face the same issue—when top experts are absent or unwell, many high-end services grind to a halt. This happens in your Obstetrics Department, and in Cardiothoracic Surgery when Dr. Hu Kan is ill too.”

Being a smart leader really took something extra.

Director Zhu had clearly been waiting for Zhang Bihua to bring up this topic.

“Comrades, it takes years for ice this thick to form! Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital, with seventy years of history, collapsed so quickly—it’s a wake-up call for us. Every department here must speed up its talent pipeline, building diversified teams so that we’re not helpless if one person leaves or falls sick.”

With a heavy, heartfelt tone, Director Zhu turned to Deputy Director Ye.

“Director Ye, you’ve always overseen medical operations. Please take this to heart and get moving on a solid talent training plan. Let’s discuss and roll it out soon.”

“Understood. I’ll work to have a concrete plan ready within a week and bring it to the leadership meeting for a group discussion.”

Deputy Director Ye publicly promised a timeline.

A talent development plan, especially one involving major reforms, completed in just a week?

Zhou Can’s eyes flickered. Clearly, the leadership had been making preparations in the background.

They were just waiting for the right moment.

Any major personnel or department shakeup would challenge the interests of veteran staff.

It was like the principle in ancient wars—you needed a clear pretext for battle. To win, you needed a real reason to fight.

Using Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital’s downfall as a cautionary tale provided exactly the justification they needed to drive diverse talent-building. Most naysayers would just have to accept it.

“Talent is the lifeblood of a hospital. Star physicians may be our marquee names, but they don’t define everything. Building diverse and balanced teams means every department stands stronger in adversity. It’s also the way forward in today’s world. To all department heads present, I hope you’ll proactively support and implement this strategy.”

Director Zhu swept his authoritative gaze across the big-department leaders.

None could say otherwise. Of course, each voiced their support on the spot.

“I’ve also heard this specialist program let some of our young doctors shine—like Dr. Zhou Can, who’s gained a reputation as a pediatrics expert. That’s the kind of talent growth we want to see!”

Director Zhu beamed at Zhou Can, seated towards the back.

“Young Zhou, next time, you should move up front at meetings. Young doctors like you, no matter how capable, are often stuck with slow promotions. That’s something we need to fix. From now on, we’ll be bold about promoting young talent—if you’re capable, you can leap ahead.”