Chapter 634: A Storm Brews in the Pharmaceutical Division

When it came to wits and strategy, Zhou Can had never feared anyone.

He’d never taken the initiative to harm others; most of the time, his cleverness served as a form of defense.

He’d already dealt with plenty of big shots—more than one or two. Even Hu Haikun, the arrogant, untouchable giant of finance, wound up in prison because of him. That guy was still eating prison food right now.

“President Zhou, President Zhou, I’m sorry! I’ve made mistakes, I know I have! For the sake of all my years in the Pharmaceutical Division—maybe I haven’t accomplished much, but I’ve certainly put in the effort—please, give me a chance to start over!”

Dr. Huang’s defeat was written all over his face. With all the evidence stacked against him, arguing was pointless.

He instantly changed his tune, groveling as he begged Zhou Can for forgiveness.

“Some mistakes can be forgiven—maybe when you mess up at work or make an honest blunder. But what you’ve done is rotten to the core. If even scum like you get let off easy, where’s the justice? What about those employees you bullied? It would be a joke if people like you weren’t punished. The way I see it, you belong in prison, thinking about what you’ve done and making amends.”

Zhou Can’s expression was icy. He never showed mercy to people like this.

If he could crush them with one blow, he wouldn’t hesitate.

The whole room fell silent. Everyone stared at Zhou Can, watching as Dr. Huang put on a pitiful, undignified display.

It was obvious some employees wanted to applaud, but fear kept them quiet.

So everyone just kept watching in silence.

“If Dr. Huang has bullied you and you have proof, you can come to me privately, or talk to these two police officers. Let me make this clear—regardless of who it is, if you’ve committed a crime, the Pharmaceutical Division will not cover for anyone. I’ll deal with whoever’s guilty. As long as I’m in charge here, I’ll make sure you have a safe workplace where everyone has the rights and protections they deserve—so you can focus on your jobs.”

Taking down Dr. Huang was just the beginning for Zhou Can.

His real goal was to send a message to every rotten apple in the Pharmaceutical Division.

“Soon, I’ll set up a President’s Mailbox on every floor. If you have problems, just drop me a letter. That way you don’t have to worry about retaliation for speaking up.”

Many leaders in the Pharmaceutical Division had been entrenched for years. They’d built a hidden, stubborn power network.

As the new boss, if Zhou Can wanted to truly take charge, he’d have to cut through the mess with decisive action.

He’d have to pull out the ringleaders behind those entrenched forces with lightning speed.

“Also, every employee—minister or entry-level—deserves care and support. If you, like Ms. Cheng, face family troubles, make a request and once I confirm the situation, I’ll help however I can. I’m also setting up a charitable support fund to protect the health and safety of every employee and their immediate family. If misfortune or major illness strikes, the company will be there with special funds to get you through it.”

Zhou Can was going all out to win people over.

Setting up a charitable fund meant putting real money on the line.

But seeing how Xiaolu’s mother was gravely ill and struggling financially, he knew there must be more employees like her.

After all, disaster didn’t care who was weak or strong.

Zhou Can wanted everyone to feel the company’s compassion.

Only a company that truly cared would retain talent and build loyalty.

That’s how you create real unity and a sense of belonging.

“If possible, I’ll find a way to set up a fast track for employees or their families needing urgent medical care. You’ll be able to get help at Tuyu Hospital quickly. Just don’t tie up those precious resources for minor illnesses—Tuyu Hospital is best for critical or complex cases. For small issues, you can go to local clinics and leave the high-level resources for those who truly need them. They can really save lives when it counts.”

Another major benefit aimed at all the staff.

The excitement on employees’ faces was obvious—hope was in the air.

It felt like the Pharmaceutical Division had truly been reborn since the takeover, and everyone could see a brighter future.

“Thank you, President Zhou! If only you’d taken over sooner! Last month my father got seriously ill, but we couldn’t get a bed at Tuyu Hospital. We had to settle for a lesser hospital, and he didn’t last a week.”

A man in his late thirties, wearing glasses, choked up as he shared his story.

Once someone broke the ice,

the atmosphere suddenly shifted, with more employees speaking up.

Everyone began voicing support for their new boss.

Which was exactly what Zhou Can wanted.

“Don’t worry. What that employee just described—things like that won’t happen again. I’ll do my best to secure emergency beds for you or your family members, so you can get help when you need it.”

These days, with Tuyu Hospital’s reputation soaring, getting a bed was nearly impossible. The hospital was working on a solution.

Selling the Pharmaceutical Division had raised funds to build new buildings and dramatically increase capacity.

But increasing a hospital’s beds isn’t as simple as buying new equipment—doctors, nurses, and support staff all have to scale up too.

“Alright, let’s have Dr. Huang removed and handed over to the police! He needs to face justice for hurting staff, so those harmed can see justice done.”

Seeing the timing was right, Zhou Can signaled the security guards to escort Dr. Huang away.

By the time they dragged Dr. Huang offstage, he was so weak he needed two people, one on each side, to hold him up.

That’s when the embarrassing part happened.

Everybody saw it—a huge wet patch quickly spread down his grayish pants, starting from the crotch.

No one had expected this scoundrel to break down so completely.

He’d actually peed himself from fright.

Zhou Can’s disgust only deepened.

People like that only bullied the honest ones, abusing a little power to hurt those beneath them.

They looked tough on the outside, but were cowards at heart.

Clap, clap, clap!

Suddenly, the room erupted in applause.

Even Zhou Can was surprised.

Watching Dr. Huang being taken away, Zhou Can knew this wouldn’t end with just a short detention.

As long as someone came forward with enough evidence and dared to testify, Dr. Huang would face real prison time.

That’s when it finally clicked for him.

If all Dr. Huang had done was hurt Cheng Xiaolu’s father, he wouldn’t have lost control like that. The way his face turned deathly pale, the terror in his eyes as he was dragged off—

there had to be bigger crimes he was hiding.

But what exactly? Zhou Can didn’t have any deep roots in the division, so there was no way for him to know.

It all depended on whether the victims had the courage to speak up.

Dr. Huang threatened Cheng Xiaolu into meeting him at night over a leave request. He used tricks that clearly showed he’d done this before, meaning there were probably other victims.

If Zhou Can hadn’t happened to discover what was going on with Cheng Xiaolu, she might have ended up a victim herself.

“Everyone, get back to work. I’ll do everything I can to create a fair, just workplace where everyone competes on merit. There will be new reward and punishment systems. Those who work hard will be rewarded, those who slack off will be replaced. The researchers and technical staff are the backbone of the division. Whether you’re in management or support, you should be serving our technical experts.”

This set the tone: in the Pharmaceutical Division, technical skills would rule.

Before, management had all the power, while the technical employees had no voice.

Xiaolu’s father was sent to get his injuries checked out.

She went along with him.

Relying on a doctor’s eye, Zhou Can figured her father only had minor injuries.

What mattered was showing everyone—even an ordinary employee would have the boss fighting for justice if wronged.

People slowly drifted back to work.

But with all Zhou Can had just announced, hearts and minds were running wild.

Many were thinking about the future, and those who’d been bullied were already planning what to put in their letters.

He arranged for ten complaint mailboxes to be bought and hung them up in key corridors.

Since a lot of people worried about retaliation, the mailboxes couldn’t go where there was always foot traffic.

Like the elevator lobby.

There were always people waiting there, so anyone dropping a complaint letter might be seen and feel hesitant.

…

That night, after work, Zhou Can skipped the cardiothoracic ward and went straight to the Pharmaceutical Division.

Only he had the keys to the complaint mailboxes.

Because he barely knew anyone in the division yet, there wasn’t anyone he fully trusted.

Not even Section Chief Ge—Zhou Can didn’t trust him either.

Dr. Huang was bad news, and his immediate superior had to have known something.

But Ge pretended not to hear a thing. That alone was a major red flag.

The search for new management was already in full swing.

Without anyone he trusted in the division, Zhou Can had to borrow HR staff from Jin Yu Interactive for hiring.

He’d actually started recruiting the moment they bought out the division.

A new team was ready—he just had to root out the bad apples and replace them with his own folks.

Like Dr. Huang’s spot, which was now vacant.

A new chief had to be appointed.

Zhou Can was leaning toward making Cheng Xiaolu the new chief.

Simple reason: she owed him a big favor, so he trusted she’d be loyal.

She’d also worked in the division for years and knew the people well.

Through her, he could get all the info on the staff, demote the troublemakers, promote the worthy, and bring in new managers. That way, he’d really get control.

After opening all ten mailboxes, Zhou Can felt a rush of cold disappointment.

There were only four complaint letters.

Three of them reported Dr. Huang’s crimes.

One came from a female employee: Dr. Huang had forced her into multiple pregnancies and miscarriages—she could no longer have children. She recounted everything he’d done to her.

Though she was a victim, she’d also been more like his mistress.

Over the years, they’d been involved for more than five years, so she had a mountain of evidence.

After reading her accusations, Zhou Can realized the Pharmaceutical Division was a deep, dark pool.

There were some seriously big fish lurking below the surface.

Earlier that day, Zhou Can noticed something odd with the herbs Cheng Xiaolu’s father brought in—they’d hardly been used, yet had been thrown away. With expensive herbs like tangshen and astragalus, that didn’t make sense.

At first, he just thought it was garden-variety waste.

But reading this victim’s letter brought up a deeper concern.

It was like how some cities’ public plants, even when healthy and beautiful, get needlessly replaced. There’s always an angle.

Anyone who’s been involved in the plant replacement business knows how it works.

Every round of replanting lines a lot of pockets.

The corruption behind those wasted herbs ran even deeper.

The three letters about Dr. Huang—once verified—would go straight to the police, with all evidence attached.

There were so many crimes, he was looking at at least ten years in prison.

No wonder the old creep lost control of his bladder in public.

The fourth letter was anonymous.

It contained only a single sentence: “Chen Xiaoying is suspected of embezzlement and misappropriating company funds—a huge amount.”

Inside the envelope was a pile of evidence for the transactions.

Zhou Can wasn’t a finance expert, but even he could tell there was something fishy about those transfers.

A series of company funds had been transferred to third-party companies, then funneled to the same person.

Getting hold of evidence like this was incredibly difficult.

How did the letter-writer manage it?

Why did they want to report Chen Xiaoying?

Every action adults take has a reason. If someone went to all this trouble to gather evidence and turn Chen Xiaoying in, there had to be something big at stake.

Either they held a longstanding grudge, or their own interests had been badly hurt.

Zhou Can doubted anyone would do this purely for the company’s sake.

Of course, there were always a few who really did care about justice.

Some employees had a strong sense of what was right and wanted to protect the company from loss.

But even then, Zhou Can felt out of his depth. He didn’t have the time or expertise for something like this.

He’d spent a fortune acquiring the division and gained the confidence of his superiors—he couldn’t just walk away.

So he decided to call Mr. Li.

“Zhou Can, I’m guessing this isn’t a drinking call.”

“Haha, we doctors can’t drink. Li, the Pharmaceutical Division is way too murky—I don’t think I can manage it. You’ve got loads of experience running companies. Why don’t you take over?”

With a laugh, Zhou Can tossed the responsibility to Mr. Li.

“Sure—I’ll handle the Pharmaceutical Division, you take care of Jin Yu Interactive,” Mr. Li replied with a mischievous grin.