Chapter 185 - 0176: The Worst Thing

When Director Han returned, the group gathered at the General Orthopedics doctor’s office had yet not dispersed.

Both parties detained for five days – when the news reached, this outcome surprised everyone. No one thought it would be resolved this way, with Zhang Lin being so firm and uncompromising.

No conciliation, being detained – this meant the next step could be a severe punishment from the hospital for Zhang Lin. If public opinion turned against the hospital, he might even be fired.

“Everyone should go back home. I believe the hospital will handle this situation well.” Director Han reassured everyone. Gathering here wouldn’t help, and everyone had to work the next day.

The colleagues from other departments reluctantly left, their unexpected departure stirring restlessness instead of comfort. While they admired Zhang Lin’s perseverance, they couldn’t help but worry for him.

Some colleagues had just applauded Zhang Lin: “Well-fought! Never compromise!”

Now they felt cold inside. Reality was cruel. Some began sighing: “That guy should have agreed to compromise. Stepping back might have resolved things, or at least decreased the severity. Ah –”

“I’ll cover for you all at work. You should go visit him. He’s been taken to the district detention center. I’ll make a call to arrange a visit. He seems stable, preparing for the worst. I also have to visit Dr. Li. Zhang Lin sent her a message to stop worrying.” Director Han spoke, exhaustion seeping into his words. This ordeal, starting from noon and lasting until evening, was draining.

Everyone had surgeries the next day. Zhang Lin’s hardest evening was tonight. Witnessing such an incident, he seemed strong on the surface, but he must feel lonely inside. Director Han suggested they go and see him tonight, to share a few words with him.

Everyone shared the same sentiment. When Zhang Lin was at the police station, everyone wanted to visit, but Director Han stopped them, fearing they would cause more trouble.

Little Five prepared a mobile phone charger, daily necessities, and some clothes. Liang Fatty brought a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and a lighter.

Song Zimo drove everyone to the detention center, which was located in an outlying area, surrounded by scattered factories.

It was a cold, starless night. The tall walls and barbed wire of the center were dimly lit. Their colleague Zhang Lin, who had been teaching interns that morning, was now locked inside. The thought filled everyone’s hearts with a bitter taste.

Director Han had called in advance. Yang Ping explained their purpose to the duty soldier at the gate. After verifying their identities, he made a call inside.

A policeman came out, quite polite, “From Sanbo Hospital, right?”

Yang Ping handed his ID for inspection. The policeman glanced at it, “I see. Follow me.”

Noticing the things they brought, he said, “You can send in the clothes but no food. You can buy food from the kiosk though, we’ll help you send it in. We just worry about food safety issues.” The policeman explained.

“Give me the clothes, I’ll deliver them to him. If you want to buy food, buy it now.” The policeman pointed to a small kiosk near the gate.

Everyone selected a few items, filled out a form with their names, and the policeman helped by adding the cell number. Fatty bought a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes. It seemed all sorts of tastes were catered for in there.

After making the purchase and signing the register, the policeman called a duty soldier at the gate. Yang Ping wasn’t sure how many people could enter, so he asked, “Can all of us go in?”

The policeman glanced at the group and said, “Sure, follow me. But don’t take too long, I can only give you fifteen minutes, alright?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Yang Ping agreed. Director Han had arranged the visit, but he didn’t want to inconvenience them too much.

The policeman led them to a room, presumably for visitors. A call was made to bring out Zhang Lin from his cell.

About fifteen minutes later, another policeman brought out Zhang Lin. He was wearing his own clothes, with no shaved head, unlike what everyone had imagined.

“Chat away. I’ll come to get you after fifteen minutes!” The assisting policeman said.

The other policeman seemed a little worried, but the assisting policeman reassured him, “It’s alright, don’t worry!”

This was only a detention, not a criminal case involving a prison sentence, so they can estimate the severity.

Zhang Lin was quite calm, happy to see everyone, and even cracked jokes.

“Why isn’t your hair different?” Fatty pointed at Zhang Lin’s head.

Zhang Lin retorted, “Stop eating all the time and learn some law. This is a detention center, not a prison. I’m under administrative detention, not for any crime—it’s an administrative penalty!”

Fatty touched his chin, “Isn’t that complicated?”

“We bought some snacks. Fatty got you Zhonghua cigarettes. The kiosk will send them over later,” Little Five said.

“Why did you bring stuff while visiting?” Zhang Lin teased.

“You, I admire you. The cigarette is Zhonghua, enough for five days, right?” Fatty gave him a thumbs-up.

“I get this kind of treatment? If I had known, I would have told the police to let me stay longer!” Zhang Lin laughed.

“Pah, pah, pah!” Little Five pretended to spit on the ground.

“Zhang Lin, Li Shan is being looked after by her colleagues, Tang Fei and Xiao Su are also taking turns staying with her. Don’t worry!” Song Zimo consoled him.

“Don’t worry about the matters that follow, we will all support you. Rest well and treat this like a vacation. The five days will pass quickly. If you need anything else, just let us know,” Yang Ping, too, reassured him.

“Senior, thank you and thank all of my brothers. Please don’t force anything on my behalf and let it affect you. You can rest assured, I can bear any of the consequences. Even if I’m dismissed, what else could happen? I won’t take it too hard. You all have surgeries tomorrow. You should go back early!”

“Don’t worry about anything, you have your brothers. Even if you’re dismissed, we’ll help you find a new job,” Song Zimo, usually a man of few words, spoke up quite fervently.

“Everyone, don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Zhang Lin’s smile was somewhat damp from tears, and his voice was a bit unusual: “Thank you, everyone, truly!”

The visiting time was not very long, but after the police came to remind them, they all gave some final reminders, and then started to leave. After all, it was only five days, and the sky hadn’t fallen.

By the time they returned to the hospital, it was already late, but surprisingly, Director Han had not yet gone home. The lights in his office were still on, and Yang Ping gently knocked on the door a few times.

“Come in!”

Yang Ping went in to find Director Han enjoying a cup of tea.

“Xiao Yang, sit!” Director Han leaned back in his chair to rest.

Yang Ping knew that five days later, when Zhang Lin was released, he’d have to face the hospital’s disciplinary action, which could even result in dismissal. How he would be disciplined depended on the progress of the issue, but it definitely wouldn’t be light.

Right now, only Director Han could help him. Despite only being a department director, Director Han was one of the people Dean Xia respected the most.

Originally, Director Han was going to be the dean, but he declined, believing that Dean Xia was more suitable. He nominated Dean Xia for the dean position and continued to serve as a department director.

“About Zhang Lin–” Yang Ping started to say.

Director Han cut him off, saying, “Xiao Yang, I know what you want to say. Don’t worry, Zhang Lin’s issue is a bit complicated, but I’ll do my best. He is part of our department, and I will not abandon him.”

With these words, Yang Ping felt relieved. However, the hospital cannot be controlled by Director Han alone; there were still several deputy deans and major department directors on the hospital committee.

He has made the worst-case scenario for Zhang Lin. If he really gets dismissed, perhaps Cheng Liquan’s place would be a good option. He thought that, with his current connections, that would be the only place he could arrange. Perhaps Su Nanchen would help too.

As Yang Ping exited Director Han’s office, Song Zimo was waiting for him: “How did it go?”

Song Zimo was also worried about Director Han’s attitude.

“The director said he’d try his best,” Yang Ping reassured him.

Song Zimo felt reassured: Given the integrity of Dean Xia and Director Han, they probably won’t dismiss him and will try to protect him. But there were still several deputy deans and the authorities to consider. It all depends on how the wind blows.

“There’s surgery tomorrow, so everyone should go back to rest,” Yang Ping instructed everyone.

“We’re not going back; we’ll sleep in the department,” Song Zimo said, as everyone was feeling uneasy.

“Then I won’t go back either.”

Yang Ping also decided to sleep in the department, in the on-call room. They all had a set of daily necessities there; they would just wear surgical scrubs as clothes.

Xiao Su called; she and Tang Fei were staying over at Li Shan’s rented house and would return to the department to work the next morning.

The house that Zhang Lin and Li Shan bought they hadn’t moved into yet, and were still living in a rented one.

All night long, everyone tossed and turned restlessly, and they all got up very early the next morning.

The worst thing happened as the news spread overnight on the internet.

Screenshots had been posted in the group chat, and some online media, including social media, started broadcasting the same news. The headlines were all pretty much the same: Doctor Assaults Patient’s Family.

But the articles only provided half of the story, completely omitting the first part.

Yang Ping glanced at the content – it roughly said that the patient’s child had a persistent high fever, but the doctor ignored the situation. The patient’s family complained, and the doctor flew into a rage, assaulting them.

In the article, Zhang Lin was even misidentified as a pediatrician. The story had been tweaked here and there to make it extremely exciting and dramatic.

Some articles even had the wrong pictures, and it was unclear where they’d been sourced. None of them were from Sanbo Hospital.

Early in the morning, Director Han was called to a meeting.

The meeting lasted a full two hours, after which Director Han finally returned.