Chapter 635: Midnight Visit to the Accuser

“Then forget it. I know a little about medicine, but the entertainment industry is even more cutthroat. If I ran Golden Entertainment, it wouldn’t even last two months before I ruined it.”

Zhou Can shrank his neck in shock when Mr. Li suggested he take over Jin Yu Interactive.

Being the boss of an entertainment company sounds great—endless money, surrounded by beautiful pop stars and actresses all day. If he was running a company the size of Jin Yu Interactive, he could probably sleep with a different gorgeous woman every day if he wanted.

But the entertainment business is dangerous. Zhou Can was afraid he’d get swallowed up.

He much preferred his current role—delegating everything, collecting dividends each month, and counting money until his hands cramped. That was the good life.

“HR already recruited a team for you. Some of them are quite talented, so you can use them to quickly get a firm grasp on the Pharmaceutical Division. The water there looks deep, but really there are only one or two major players ruining things. Dig them out and the problems will be solved. My advice: take out the ringleaders but don’t try to clean house all at once. If you wipe out most of the management, the whole division will basically collapse.”

Mr. Li didn’t intend to let his good friend face these challenges alone.

He helped Zhou Can strategize, pointed him in the right direction, and even lined up a squad of capable people for him.

“With all these people ready for me, that’s great. My biggest worry is that if I mess with the wrong person, everything falls apart. These people are so interconnected that if you don’t root out the whole lot, the Pharmaceutical Division will stay the same as before.”

The thought gave Zhou Can a headache.

He was relieved, though, to hear HR had finished recruiting.

With enough talent to replace the old-timers like Dr. Huang, he wasn’t worried about controlling the Pharmaceutical Division.

It was just a matter of time.

As Mr. Li said, gutting the entire division would be self-destructive.

A lot of essential know-how rests with senior management. Take action against them, and they might sell it or just refuse to hand it over, leaving Zhou Can with nothing but an empty shell after the acquisition.

“You’ve heard the story about boiling a frog in warm water, right? Why not take your time and handle them gradually? You’re great in every way, you even have the makings of a real leader now—steady and reliable. It’s just that you can’t tolerate anything shady. As soon as you spot the bad guys, you want to wipe them out completely. That’s fine in medicine—when you find disease, you get rid of it all.”

“But that mindset doesn’t work in management. You’re a middle manager now, right? Whether it’s a department or the whole hospital, you’ll find every sort of person. Some are selfish but capable; others are honest but mediocre. You need them to balance and complement each other, you get it?”

There was no question—Mr. Li had fifteen, maybe twenty years on Zhou Can and had been a vice president at Tianyu Interactive. His understanding of management and his worldview were in a different class.

Think about it. He started with Su Qianqian, an ordinary C-list singer, and turned Jin Yu Interactive into the top entertainment company in the south-central region in just a few years.

Their influence was growing so much that even the government began to support Jin Yu Interactive, hoping they’d raise the bar even higher.

He was turning it into the southern version of Hengdian.

Soon a whole new industry chain would form, bringing more economic and cultural value.

Naturally this would create a lot of jobs.

If Mr. Li didn’t have real skills, there’s no way he could’ve swept through the industry without ever suffering a major setback.

The only real crisis was when financial giant Hu Haikun tried to snatch everything away.

But Zhou Can used his own formula—the No. 0 Nerve Agent—to catch a mole, then maneuvered things until Hu Haikun got toppled.

From then on, Jin Yu Interactive had nothing in its way—it thrived and eventually dominated entertainment in the whole province.

People even started whispering that Mr. Li was a commercial genius.

Where Zhou Can was unpredictable, Mr. Li preferred clever but open tactics, making bold moves in broad daylight.

“I get what you’re saying. It’s like how ancient emperors ruled their courts: keep both honest and devious ministers around so they keep each other in check and maintain balance.”

Zhou Can was a quick study—he liked to read and could grasp deep lessons in a snap.

“Exactly! I’ve noticed you’re not just a great doctor; you pick up anything fast. I should start training you up, so when I’m older and can’t keep up, you’ll take over and make Jin Yu Interactive even bigger and better.”

Mr. Li praised him sincerely, smiling.

“Haha, that’s nice to hear—makes me feel like I’m walking on clouds. But honestly, I think you should forget about that. Let your son inherit, or hire a professional manager, and we’ll both take it easy. When we’re old, we can fish, sip tea, and play a few games of chess together. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Zhou Can had no interest in being some bigshot entrepreneur.

Maybe it’s because he grew up wealthy and never worried about daily necessities.

With money and comfort, his personality turned easygoing and carefree—he chased the lifestyle he wanted and never worked just for the sake of working.

Even being a doctor now was simply something he enjoyed.

Still, Tuyu Hospital had invested heavily in training him and all but guaranteed his success.

He could hardly just quit being a doctor now.

Otherwise, all that investment would go to waste.

It’s tough for a hospital to produce a well-trained doctor.

But once they’re trained, they save countless lives every day—a huge contribution to society.

Zhou Can could handle at least four major level-three surgeries and two level-four surgeries every day.

That meant he saved six people daily.

In reality, he often performed even more than that.

These procedures were so complex someone else might not manage half as well—some couldn’t even diagnose what was wrong.

To be honest, doctors at Zhou Can’s level are true assets for the country.

And he still had immense potential, being young with many years left to grow. His future in medicine was limitless—and his career would stretch for decades.

Normally it would take a doctor into their late forties or fifties to reach his level.

And they’d have to be naturally gifted and hardworking.

If you’re just average, you might only hit attending physician rank by retirement.

After reaching attending, every promotion is like crossing a huge chasm.

Many never make it, no matter how long they work.

……

After hanging up with Mr. Li, Zhou Can finally let go of his plan to be a hands-off boss.

There were heavy responsibilities on his shoulders now and no way to dodge them.

Better to honestly focus on solving problems and getting a firm grip on the Pharmaceutical Division—become its true master.

If he could turn it around, he’d make a tremendous contribution to the nation’s medical field. Traditional Chinese medicine shouldn’t be a punchline.

Everyone in medicine who can make a difference has a duty to revitalize our foundation.

“Chen Xiaoying is suspected of embezzling and misappropriating Pharmaceutical Division funds on a massive scale.”

Zhou Can turned his full attention back to the anonymous tip-off letter.

Dozens of suggestion boxes hung, but only four pitiful letters ever arrived.

This letter was anonymous too.

Clearly, people were scared—too intimidated to come forward.

Helping Cheng Xiaolu and her father today gave him a foot in the door, and he’d won some goodwill with most employees. But that was all—just goodwill.

He needed to actually do something—take down a real villain—to win their trust.

Dr. Huang was just a mid-level manager. Getting rid of him wouldn’t be enough to convince people the new boss meant business.

No rush—the knife needs time to sharpen before it cuts clean.

Zhou Can decided to visit the woman who’d reported Dr. Huang. She’d been threatened and exploited for years—surely she had the inside story.

He thought about bringing a female friend along for backup, but reconsidered.

The shadowy forces at play here were dangerously strong.

Qiao Yu had already left for overseas. Jiang Wei was a single woman—if the powerful people behind this noticed her, it’d be way too risky.

As for Ma Xiaolan, Zhou Can never quite trusted her and she was pregnant besides.

If anything happened to her, Du Leng would probably come after him.

Bringing Su Qianqian was especially out of the question.

Right now, Zhou Can really felt how alone he was.

Even a hero needs backup.

He needed a solid, trustworthy team.

Using the woman’s name and the number she gave, Zhou Can called her.

“Hello, is this Lou Wei?”

“Who’s calling?”

Her voice on the other end was wary but surprisingly clear.

He guessed she was probably attractive.

Otherwise, Dr. Huang probably wouldn’t have targeted her.

“This is Zhou Can. I had to perform surgery during the day, so I wanted to visit tonight if that’s convenient?”

He introduced himself.

“Zh—Zhou… President Zhou! Of course, of course you can! Did you see my letter?”

When she heard who he was, her voice trembled with emotion.

“Yes, I just read it. I’m coming to confirm the situation with you. Don’t worry, I’ll keep everything strictly confidential and turn all evidence over to the police. Dr. Huang will get what he deserves.”

He reassured her.

“Thank you, thank you! We need someone like you to stand up for justice here.”

“Could you give me your address? I’ll come right away.”

She gave him the address.

She didn’t live in the employee dorms, but instead resided at Binxiang Garden, not far from Tuyu Hospital.

He wasn’t sure whether she owned or rented the place.

Binxiang Garden was an upscale complex, already over twenty years old. Back in its prime, it was top of the line in the capital city. Even the smallest unit was over seventy square meters, with a price of eight thousand per meter at the time.

You’d need at least five or six hundred thousand to buy the smallest unit.

Twenty years ago, five or six hundred thousand was like a million or more today.

To be honest, unless her family or husband was well off, there’s no way Lou Wei could afford such a place on her own salary.

She wasn’t even that old—Zhou Can checked her personnel file.

She was only thirty-one.

She would’ve been ten or so when the complex first opened.

If she bought a unit as an adult, the price would’ve been much higher.

So playing mistress to Dr. Huang probably earned her some perks, too.

That set off alarm bells for Zhou Can. She might be a victim—or just pretending.

He decided to play it safe.

From the hidden compartment in his car, he took a voice recorder and tucked it in his pocket.

He wanted to be prepared for anything.

He called Su Qianqian to let her know where he was going, just in case. If anything happened later, at least she’d know where to start if she had to call the police.

Ten minutes later, Zhou Can rolled up to Binxiang Garden in his Mercedes.

Parking was tough, since the place was packed with cars on both sides of the street.

He circled a while before finally finding an open spot.

There weren’t even painted lines.

No big deal—at night it’d be fine; during the day, though, you’d risk getting ticketed.

But for a boss like him, a hundred or two in fines was just pocket change.

He didn’t worry much about small stuff like that.

He called Lou Wei again.

“I’m at the gate.”

“I’ll come meet you right away!”

She hung up, and a few minutes later, hurried over.

She was dressed in loungewear.

Although she was a bit petite, her features were delicate, her figure was stunning, and—judging by how well she took care of herself—she didn’t look thirty-one at all. She could’ve passed for a fresh-faced college grad.

“Would you rather chat at a coffee shop or a tea house?”

Zhou Can really wasn’t keen on going to her home.

His instincts told him she wasn’t exactly the honest type.

Mostly, he didn’t want to walk into a trap.

“All the coffee shops are closed this late! Let’s just talk at my place. Don’t worry—there’s no one else here, just me. Plus I can hand over some documents directly.”

She insisted.

He nodded in agreement.

Since she personally came to meet him, the security guard didn’t ask him to sign in.

He followed her into Building 2, apartment 501 on the fifth floor.

It was one of only two units on the landing.

That meant each apartment was spacious—at least 130 square meters.

She acted like she had nothing to hide: opened the door and welcomed him right in.

The furniture inside looked top-notch—everything was high quality.

The whole home was decorated with cute, delicate, and feminine touches.

Zhou Can noticed there were men’s shoes on the rack outside.

But they were covered in dust.

Some single women do that for safety: leave a pair of men’s shoes out front to scare off lurkers.

Clearly, she was a careful and calculating person.

“Sorry, it’s a bit messy—I’m lazy and don’t have much time to clean. Please don’t mind.”

She invited him to sit on the sofa.

Then she asked,

“Would you like tea or something else to drink?”

“Just a glass of water is fine.”

He replied.

While taking in the spacious living room—at least four bedrooms and a large lounge—Zhou Can sized up everything inside.

This apartment was probably worth between 1.8 and 2 million these days.

“Here you go, enjoy your water.”

After placing the glass on the coffee table, she asked,

“Would you like some fruit? I can peel it for you!”