Chapter 71 - 56: Revisiting Old Matters

Cai Rongjuan was obviously dissatisfied with the result and planned to appeal. However, her lawyer advised that she could appeal, but the lawsuit should target Changxing Hospital since she was still an employee there when the incident occurred, and the hospital should bear the primary responsibility.The couple discussed it and decided that suing Changxing Hospital was not a wise course of action. They ultimately decided to let Tan Guoliang first visit the new dean, Zhao Feiyang, to gauge his attitude on the matter.

These days, Zhao Feiyang was meeting with the key leaders and academic leaders of various departments, and as the deputy director of the urology department, Tan Guoliang was among them.

Tan Guoliang had been anticipating this meeting for a long time. If Zhao Feiyang didn’t seek him out soon, he planned to reach out to this new dean through connections. Since the couple’s plan backfired, leading to Cai Rongjuan’s resignation becoming a reality, life for Tan Guoliang at home felt like years in a day. Every time he returned home, he would be blamed by Cai Rongjuan, who believed it was his bad idea that had put her in such an awkward position.

The wide-ranging contact by Zhao Feiyang with the department heads aimed to sift out suitable candidates. These meetings made him realize that Gu Houyi had grievously practiced cronyism; many department heads were his hometown friends.

Of course, some of them had legitimately earned their positions, but there were those like Yan Huaiyi and Zhou Wenbin who were entirely unworthy of their roles.

In fact, this is typical of any organization; the principle of hiring by leadership is never about selecting the most outstanding, but the most suitable. Most leaders prefer obedient subordinates.

Before the meeting, Tan Guoliang had gotten to know the new dean through various channels, aware that upon taking office, Zhao Feiyang marginalized the first vice dean, Yan Huaiyi, and dismissed Zhou Wenbin, both of whom had been close confidants of Gu Houyi. More importantly, he reinstated Geng Wenxiu, who was someone Gu Houyi had recently relegated, signaling a disapproval of his predecessor’s way of handling matters.

This behavior indicated Zhao Feiyang had no intention of following his predecessor’s policies, and this private meeting was a prime opportunity.

Zhao Feiyang first listened to Tan Guoliang report on the current operations of the urology department and inquired about several issues he was concerned with. Although in matters of business, Tan Guoliang was solid, and his report left Zhao Feiyang very satisfied.

"Director Tan, do you have any expectations or requests concerning the department’s development?" asked Zhao Feiyang.

"Dean Zhao, there is something I’d like to bring to your attention," replied Tan Guoliang.

With Zhao Feiyang’s approval, Tan Guoliang recounted the entire story about his wife, Cai Rongjuan.

Zhao Feiyang listened attentively, nodding occasionally. When Tan finished, he asked, "Do you believe that Dean Gu was unfair to Director Cai Rongjuan in handling this matter?"

Though Gu Houyi had left, Tan Guoliang still didn’t dare openly criticize him: "Dean Zhao, we are not the leaders, and we can only view the issue from our perspective. One thing we can guarantee is that Tong Meili’s bracelet wasn’t shattered by Cai Rongjuan, and the dispute occurred during work hours. Now we are being held accountable, and we feel very wronged."

Nodding, Zhao Feiyang said, "From what you say, since the incident occurred in the hospital and during working hours, the hospital indeed should shoulder part of the responsibility."

Hearing this, Tan Guoliang was secretly pleased; it seemed he’d found the right person, a reasonable new dean.

But Zhao Feiyang changed his tone: "As far as I know, Cai Rongjuan has resigned from Changxing, and Tong Meili didn’t file a lawsuit due to the cosmetic procedure." Clearly distinguishing between suing an individual and suing the hospital was a simple concept for Zhao Feiyang.

"Dean Zhao, that Tong Meili is completely reversing right from wrong. Initially, she aimed to claim compensation from the hospital. After the appraisal showed there was no issue with her surgery, she switched targets to extort us. If we are to be held responsible, might I ask if the medical department should be held accountable? Should the security department be held accountable? Should Changxing bear responsibility?"

With a smile, Zhao Feiyang said, "Director Tan, if I said no, would you and your wife plan to sue me too?"

Startled, Tan Guoliang quickly shook his head: "We never intended to sue you." In truth, he had considered suing Changxing Hospital but dared not, since his wife had resigned while he remained employed at Changxing Hospital, and he needed to think of his future.

"The legal representative of Changxing is me. Suing Changxing is suing me. Old Tan, I understand what you’re thinking. Although I’m not well-acquainted with Director Cai, I’ve long heard of her renowned medical skills. Such talent shouldn’t be lost from Changxing. Here’s the deal: go back and ask Director Cai her opinion on returning. If she is willing, Changxing is always open to her."

Excited by Zhao’s words, Tan thought, why wouldn’t she be willing? Ever since her resignation, Cai had shed tears countless times in secrecy. The resignation was intended as a temporary measure, but Gu Houyi had decisively removed the ladder. Now, the new dean was rebuilding that ladder. If they refused, they would be truly unwise.

Tan Guoliang didn’t hesitate: "Dean Zhao, my wife has an emotional attachment to Changxing, and I’m confident she will want to return."

Nodding, Zhao Feiyang said, "It’s good that she’s willing to return. Whatever happened in the past is just that, the past. I can only assure you that as long as I’m at Changxing, I’ll ensure the employees’ rights are protected, and no one will be wronged."

Following through with his word, although the court ordered Cai to pay 440,000 in compensation, Zhao decided the hospital would resolve the issue. Changxing, being a non-private hospital, required comprehensive procedures for such a compensation amount.

Assigning the task to Yan Huaiyi, he instructed the medical and security departments to provide detailed records of the day’s conflict and also issued a notification to Zeng Hongwen, the former contractor of the cosmetic center, demanding she cover half of the compensation.

Under this plan, the contractor and hospital each bore 220,000. Even if all was charged to Cai, it would only amount to 44,000.

From 440,000 down to 44,000, the difference was vast for Cai, as her monthly income often exceeded this. Moreover, with the new dean’s proactive invitation and promise of reinstating her as the cosmetic center’s director, how could she ask for more? The couple felt deeply grateful to the new dean.

Security Section Chief Yu Xiangdong came to the medical department to specifically discuss this matter. The new person in charge there was Xu Chunliang since Zhou Wenbin had been on sick leave since the incident and hadn’t returned to the hospital. Even if he did, it was unlikely he’d be back in the medical department as his duties were rearranged to the medical archives room.

Given their work nature, the security department and medical department had many connections. Having seen firsthand the handling of several disputes, Yu’s attitude towards Xu had shifted from initial disdain to admiration, transitioning from calling him "Xiaoxu" to "Director Xu."

Though there was no official statement from the hospital, this was now the general address.

"Director Xu, have you received notice from the hospital?"

Xu no longer bothered to correct such a level of address: "Section Chief Yu, what matter are you referring to?"

Yu Xiangdong replied, "It’s about the dispute between Tong Meili and Cai Rongjuan."

Nodding, Xu mentioned that they had indeed received hospital instructions to report back on the day’s events to restore all details. He also heard about Cai’s return to Changxing and her reinstatement as the head of the cosmetic center. He held disdain for her actions internally, "A good horse doesn’t return to grazed grass. Weren’t you so confident? If you resigned, don’t come back!"

Many others shared Xu’s sentiments, including Yu.

Xu stated, "We’ll write according to the hospital’s requests."

Yu countered, "It seems you haven’t grasped the hospital’s sentiment. They now believe we all share responsibility."

Being relatively new and with limited experience, Xu hadn’t fully interpreted the implications.

Yu furiously remarked, "Once it’s established we share the blame, our performance will be impacted." As administrative departments, they were low-income within the hospital, without any under-the-table revenue, relying solely on average bonuses.


"You’re saying this responsibility will fall on us too?"

"Certainly, our security department will be held accountable for not promptly curbing the patient’s extreme behavior, and for failing to protect our staff’s personnel safety. Your medical department is even more at fault, definitely scrutinized for ineffective management and failure to coordinate physician-patient relationships, leading to uncontrollable situations. Mark my words, both departments will be penalized, and as heads, we’ll lose at least three months of performance bonuses."

This disheartened Xu: "Why should I care?"

Yu couldn’t help laughing at his profanity: "I think so too, you’re even more unjustly treated as it was Zhou Wenbin in charge back then, but the hospital won’t heed such reasoning."