Chapter 450: The Tangle of Power and Protection

Director Fang shot a thoughtful glance at Zhou Can, who sat quietly and respectfully.

She couldn’t shake the suspicion that Zhou Can had something to do with all this.

Of course, truly clever people know when to stay silent. She had no intention of exposing anything.

“Director Tang, Director Lou, rest assured. Things have gotten serious, and the hospital will definitely take strong measures to prevent this from happening again.” Assistant Director Pang, feeling the mounting pressure, made a verbal promise right in front of everyone.

But as the saying goes, words are cheap. Whether those promises actually get carried out is a different story.

“Assistant Director Pang, if I may speak bluntly. Right now in the Emergency Department, everyone’s on edge. The doctors and nurses can’t even work properly. Every time we see a patient, we fear being assaulted.”

Before coming here, Zhou Can and Director Lou had already devised a strategy—Zhou Can would speak up first, and Director Lou would back him up, forcing the hospital to make a real commitment.

The best outcome would be getting an actionable solution with a clear date for implementation.

“You’re still young, kid. You don’t understand how tough this world is. There’s no such thing as an easy job. Remember when you chose to study medicine? You swore you’d dedicate your life to relieving human suffering, upholding the honor and purity of medicine, and striving for the nation’s health, whatever the hardship. If you’re scared of hardship, why pick medicine in the first place?”

Assistant Pang knew the medical student’s oath by heart—no wonder he worked in administration.

“If you can’t handle suffering and difficulty, why become a doctor? When patients and families aren’t satisfied, we do everything to make them satisfied. If you run from criticism or even violence, that’s just shirking your responsibility.”

Nobody could outdo these officials when it came to grand speeches.

They always had a prepared script, one after another.

“I’m not afraid of working hard or getting tired. What scares me is shedding sweat and blood, then ending up in tears. No one wants to feel that kind of heartbreak after giving their all.”

Even under Assistant Pang’s heavy presence, Zhou Can still argued his case with confidence.

“A three-foot-thick sheet of ice doesn’t form overnight. The sharp tension between doctors and patients here at Tuyu Hospital isn’t without reason.”

He was taking the initiative now.

A glint flashed in Assistant Pang’s eyes as he fixed Zhou Can with a cool stare. “So why do you think that is?”

Having a young doctor press him like this—Assistant Pang thought that was downright audacious.

Inevitably, irritation welled up in his chest.

But demanding answers was only natural.

What he didn’t realize was that this played right into Zhou Can’s hands.

If Zhou Can had directly accused the Security Department, it would have seemed aggressive and out of line.

But approaching things as a victim was different. It was a deliberate show of vulnerability—a common tactic among the best hunters.

At this moment, Zhou Can had quietly shifted roles. Now, he was the hunter.

But Assistant Pang, still fuming, hadn’t caught on yet.

After he cooled off a bit, he’d surely see he’d fallen for Zhou Can’s ploy—given his experience and insight.

But Zhou Can wasn’t going to give him that chance to backtrack.

“First off, let me make it clear—I’m addressing issues, not individuals. Number one: any time one of our Emergency Department doctors or nurses is complained about, the Medical Department automatically deducts points, fines us, even issues public reprimands or cancels our qualifications for awards, regardless of actual circumstances.”

Zhou Can’s first criticism was aimed right at the Medical Department.

He was friends with Xin Wanshan, but when it came to interests, everyone looked out for themselves.

“Second, every time there’s violence or chaos in our department, hospital security shows up late—and even when they’re there, they don’t lift a finger. I’ve watched them just stand by while staff were beaten so badly they had broken bones. Tell me, who are security guards supposed to protect? Sure, it’s right to look out for patients and families, but to stand there and watch medical staff get beaten to death—how can anyone accept that?”

That kind of language cut straight to the bone.

He was calling out both the blanket punishments by the Medical Department and the Security Department’s indifference.

In the past, everyone grit their teeth and endured. No one dared take the lid off the pot.

But Zhou Can, fearless as ever, now gave voice to frustrations that every frontline doctor and nurse had harbored for ages.

“At the Medical Department, we always tried to follow upper management’s command to improve healthcare quality. After seeing the Emergency and Pediatrics Departments’ doctor-patient dispute statistics, I’m honestly ashamed. We’ve neglected how our actions affect clinical staff. Once I return, I’ll call a meeting for all Medical Department staff so we can brainstorm and produce a plan for immediate improvement. I’ll submit it to the director for approval and implement it as soon as possible.”

Xin Wanshan was quick to show his awareness and responsibility.

Realizing the Medical Department had riled everyone with its handling of complaints, he stepped up to admit fault and promised immediate action.

“Thank you, Section Chief Xin, for being so understanding of what we clinical staff go through. On behalf of all of Emergency, thank you!” As Director Lou stood, Deputy Director Han stood up as well.

Seeing the department heads rise together, Zhou Can guessed they would offer Xin Wanshan a formal thanks.

He hurried to stand as well.

Sure enough, Director Lou gave Xin Wanshan a deep bow.

Deputy Director Han and Zhou Can quickly followed.

“No need! No need! This is all part of my duty as Medical Section Chief.”

Xin Wanshan waved his hands again and again.

“Chief Xin, agreeing to fix this so readily is a blessing for all of us! I was complained against sixteen times just last month, and the appeals alone nearly drove me crazy. I’m always either in surgery or racing to save a child, barely have time to defend myself. Sometimes, after just one failed appeal, I just gave up and let them deduct my pay.”

Even Dr. Tang Fei, as high up as she was, had her pay docked.

For ordinary medical staff, it was even worse.

“Those little punks even dared dock Dr. Tang’s pay! I’ll be having a word with them when I get back.” Of course, that was just something Xin Wanshan said for effect.

The Medical Department was simply following the rules.

If Xin Wanshan was a wise leader, he wouldn’t actually berate staff for sticking to the rules.

“No, please, don’t lecture them! Those folks are just doing their jobs. Besides, if you really chew them out, they might hold a grudge and target me—I’d have nowhere to complain.”

Dr. Tang Fei’s words had everyone laughing.

What was just minutes ago a tense standoff now felt much more relaxed.

It’s true what they say—women are natural diplomats.

At any banquet, you’ll find bright and beautiful women—not just for their looks, but their way of lightening the mood.

“About what Xiao Zhou said regarding security only protecting patients and families, I just can’t agree. I haven’t heard of any leader here accusing security officers of slacking off. Every year, the General Services Department reports our damages and losses to me, and everything is within reason. Day-to-day hospital operations are orderly, and whenever there’s trouble, security supports the involved departments and the Medical Department steps in right away.”

For some reason, Assistant Pang simply refused to criticize the Security Department.

He wouldn’t even make a verbal promise to review their work.

Instead, he went on about how well they were performing.

“Assistant Director Pang, as a victim, let me set the record straight. One time, in Emergency, a family member acted up violently. As department head, I stepped in to mediate. They didn’t hesitate—they just started swinging at me. There were five or six security guards right there, all watching, none of them stepped in. There’s surveillance video to prove it, and it’s with the local police.”

Deputy Director Han stood up and accused the security guards of inaction, speaking as someone who had suffered directly.

“This isn’t an isolated case—it happens all the time. Every time something goes down, it’s the doctors and nurses forcing their way out of danger, waiting for the police. Hospital security might as well be decorations.”

Director Lou backed him up without missing a beat.

The two tag-teamed to refute Assistant Director Pang’s defense of Security.

This time, though, Director Tang Fei from Pediatrics decided to keep quiet.

She was probably weighing the risks and rewards of crossing Assistant Pang directly. If the cost outweighed the benefit, she wouldn’t pick that fight.

“Is it really that bad? I’ll talk to the Deputy Director of General Services and call a meeting with the head of Security.” Assistant Pang was obviously stalling.

“Then we’ll be waiting for your good news,” Director Lou replied. “If it’s too hard to coordinate, at least give us six logistics staff under our department’s control and let Emergency hire its own security.”

In other words, if you can’t fix Security, give Emergency six extra positions to hire security guards directly.

Security guards don’t earn much, and there’s no tough requirements. It’d be easy to fill those spots.

“Six more positions for Emergency? That’s never happened since the hospital was founded. I’m just an assistant—I can’t authorize that. It’s true, Emergency’s work has grown a lot lately and brought in more revenue. But don’t let it go to your head. That’s all I have to say. I’ve got work to do.”

Assistant Director Pang shot down Director Lou’s proposal in no uncertain terms.

And as he was leaving, he gave them a pointed warning.

He nodded to Director Fang, then strode straight out.

That’s the kind of power you get at the executive level.

It helped that Assistant Pang was a relative of the Deputy Director of General Services—no wonder he could throw his weight around.

That’s why, in big organizations, they try to avoid promoting relatives. But rules are dead; people are clever, so loopholes always appear.

Take a top hospital in the provincial capital. Its director’s surname is Qu, which is rare.

But in that hospital, tons of staff share that surname.

Anyone who knows how things work can see the connections.

“No need to get discouraged. When the time is right, I’ll have a chat with Director Zhu as well. Emergency has done well this past year. Don’t let a small issue derail the bigger picture.”

Director Fang tried her best to calm everyone down.

She excelled as head of administration, always acting as the hospital’s lubricant.

“Thank you! We’ll be off, then!”

Director Lou nodded, then left with Zhou Can and Deputy Director Han.

Outside, Zhou Can asked in confusion, “Why is Assistant Director Pang going out of his way to praise Security when he knows there are problems?”

“It runs deep. The security chief has serious backing. Assistant Pang and his uncle, Vice Director Ye, owe their positions to that connection. Plus, rumor has it Director Zhu might be promoted soon. Pang wants the director post, so he’d rather butter up the security chief right now than risk losing support.”

Director Lou spoke in a low voice, explaining some of the hidden reasons to Zhou Can.

Zhou Can was surprised at how tangled the hospital’s leadership politics were.

No wonder people say—the bigger the institution, the deeper the water.

Because deep water breeds dragons—and giant snapping turtles.

And that security chief was probably a real heavyweight.

“Director Lou, why are the security guards especially cold toward our Emergency staff?”

Zhou Can had always wondered about that.

He used to think it was just because Emergency was weak, but now it seemed there was more to it.

With the security chief so powerful, he might not take any department seriously.

“If you really want to know, it’s just one word: money!”

Director Lou gave a bitter smile.

“How does that work? Even if our department doesn’t generate income, it’s got nothing to do with Security, right?”

Zhou Can was even more curious now.

“Some things I can’t say outright, but here’s the gist—we wouldn’t agree to some of the security department’s demands, so things soured. Honestly, you can blame old Han and me for that. We’re both stubborn when it comes to certain issues—sometimes we can bend, sometimes we won’t, no matter the cost.”

On this point, Director Lou was unusually tight-lipped.

It was Zhou Can’s first time seeing this side of him—so resolute.

Zhou Can already knew Deputy Director Han was a bit of a scholar type.

But he’d always thought of Director Lou as a shrewd, adaptable leader.

He could only wonder what kind of outrageous demand the Security Department had made to make him this angry.

“So this whole uproar was for nothing? If we can’t touch Security, nothing changes. Next time there’s trouble, our docs and nurses will be all alone again,” Zhou Can said, feeling dejected.

“Don’t be so quick to give up. If you want to accomplish anything worthwhile, you need patience. Just wait—this issue will boil over soon enough.”

Director Lou gave a knowing, mysterious smile.

Getting shot down by Assistant Pang hadn’t surprised him at all.

Compared to these seasoned department heads, Zhou Can was still just a rookie.

……

In the blink of an eye, over a month had flown by.

Life went on as usual for Zhou Can. Ever since Vice Section Chief Yin forgave him, there were no more underhanded moves from that direction.

Security stayed the same. Whenever there was trouble in Emergency, they kept just watching from the sidelines.