Chapter 467: [467] Trust your colleagues Chapter 467: [467] Trust your colleagues Doctor Zhang’s performance at work convinced Xie Wanying that the envelope she saw probably wasn’t a red envelope.
The surgery for Yazhi ended at three in the afternoon. Xie Wanying escorted the child back to the ward, exchanged a few more reassuring words with his father, and then returned to the doctors’ office.
“Come on, time to eat.” Luo Yanfen placed the reheated lunchbox in front of her and handed her a pair of chopsticks.
Xie Wanying repeatedly said, “Xie Xie.”
“What are you being polite for? We have our departmental written exam today, and I’m really leaving. Don’t forget about me after I leave,” Luo Yanfen said, winking at her playfully.
It turned out that Teacher Xiao Sun was too busy in the ward today and didn’t go to the operating room because she was proctoring exams in the ward.
“I won’t forget you, Doctor Luo,” Xie Wanying said with certainty. How could she possibly forget a colleague with whom she had shared both joys and sorrows?
“Let’s stay in touch. I’ll go to other departments for rotations first and see if I can scope things out for you,” thought Luo Yanfen.
Senior Cao would give her a heads up about other departments, but it wasn’t the same as experiencing it herself. For instance, after joining General Surgery Department Two, she didn’t find the teachers hard to get along with, although they might’ve seemed a bit aloof.
“I have something to tell you.” Luo Yanfen leaned in and whispered mysteriously into her ear.
“What is it?” Xie Wanying asked.
“Remember this morning when the teachers were late to the operating room? You weren’t at the meeting, so you don’t know what happened.”
Feeling a bit curious, Xie Wanying asked, “What happened in the department?”
“It seems like there’s been a major issue in the hospital. The leadership sent people to investigate each department, checking if anyone had taken bribes. Surgical departments in other hospitals are often the hardest hit by red envelope bribery. So this morning, people from the hospital administration started their investigations with General Surgery Departments One and Two.”
Unexpected news caught her off guard. Xie Wanying had assumed the teachers were delayed coming down to the operating room because of an emergency resuscitation in the ward. She was so surprised that she inadvertently bit down on her chopsticks and remembered the envelope from this morning: No, no, no, Doctor Zhang’s envelope couldn’t have been a red envelope.
“Did I scare you?” Luo Yanfen observed her expression, sharing the same sense of shock, “During this morning’s meeting, when the hospital affairs staff stood before the director, everyone was stunned.”
“Who took a red envelope?” Xie Wanying said, “It’s impossible for teachers like Teacher Tan to accept one.”
“Apparently, someone sent an anonymous report to the dean’s email, accusing someone in our hospital of taking red envelopes. The letter didn’t specify who, but it did provide a detailed table of individuals who had allegedly accepted red envelopes. The dean had no choice but to investigate. You know, the state has explicitly banned medical personnel from accepting red envelopes, and the Ministry of Health has repeatedly ordered it,” Luo Yanfen said with furrowed brows, concerned. “I think the teachers at Guoxie wouldn’t be that foolish. A red envelope could ruin their reputation, and if one is dismissed from the hospital due to disciplinary action, how would one continue to practice medicine? Getting to Guoxie is quite a challenge.”
Xie Wanying agreed with her. Teachers at Guoxie were all smart; they knew that making such a pittance through dishonest means wasn’t worth it.
Yet, with this news now out, needless to say, anxiety prevailed throughout the hospital.
Both the neurosurgery and cardiac surgery departments finished late. Zhou Junpeng went down to the cafeteria to order a bowl of noodles and, seeing his fellow townsman Huang Zhilei coming down to eat as well, walked over to chat.
Sitting on a chair, Huang Zhilei was eating and thinking, unaware of his approach.
Touching his fellow townsman’s shoulder, Zhou Junpeng looked around to see no one else nearby and asked, “I heard your little junior sister saw someone drop an envelope?”
Looking up abruptly, Huang Zhilei’s gaze shot directly at his face: “Who said that?”
“Ah, that expression says it’s true. They say you and your Senior Cao know about it,” Zhou Junpeng observed, pointing it out.