Chapter 280: 279 Quickly cutting the knot
After sending off Wang Shuqiu in the morning, Du Heng skipped breakfast and directly called Gong Daoyang.
Du Bing claimed his Wife had eaten the bitter almonds herself. However, it was a poisoning incident, and their family situation was quite complicated. Who could guarantee Du Bing was telling the truth?
Suppose Du Heng hadn't gone to return the items last night. Or what if he had gone earlier, or a bit later? In any of those scenarios, if he had missed the window of Du Bing's Wife's poisoning, would her family still have cooperated with his emergency treatment as they did?
Furthermore, was their cooperation last night merely an act for his benefit?
If Du Bing's Wife had indeed missed the treatment window last night, then Du Bing's account would be purely one-sided.
When Gong Daoyang received Du Heng's call, he had just arrived at his office. Hearing that someone had been poisoned and nearly died, he knew he had to investigate thoroughly, regardless of the circumstances. No carelessness could be tolerated.
Three minutes later, Gong Daoyang arrived at Du Heng's office with two police officers. "President Du, how is the person now?"
"She's out of danger now, but still unconscious."
"Is it confirmed to be poisoning?"
"It's confirmed. We did a blood test and urinalysis last night and also questioned the Patient's husband. After the Patient regained consciousness later that night, we learned it was indeed poisoning caused by ingesting too many bitter almonds."
"Why did she eat so many bitter almonds?"
"We didn't ask. Besides, as you know, the Patient's husband is my cousin, so there are some questions I'm not in a position to ask."
Gong Daoyang nodded in understanding.
Moreover, Du Heng and the others were Doctors, and their duty was to treat Patients, not to interrogate suspects. "Zhang, you two go and ask," Director Gong instructed. "Be sure to ask in detail. Poisoning incidents can be serious or minor. We can't wrong a good person, but we absolutely mustn't let a bad one escape."
After Zhang and the other officer left, Du Heng recounted the couple's incident from beginning to end, plainly and without embellishment. His aim was to give Director Gong and his team a clearer understanding of the situation.
About half an hour later, the two officers who had gone to conduct the questioning returned. Soon after, Director Gong and the two officers left President Du's office without saying anything.
Du Heng didn't press further; he wasn't particularly concerned about the rights or wrongs of the matter. He had new staff to welcome today.
Not long after Director Gong's group departed, Wang Zhenzhen entered with a woman in her thirties. "President Du, this is Director Gao's wife, Huang Xiaofeng. She's here to report for duty today."
Huang Xiaofeng carried herself with an easygoing grace, showing no signs of restraint as she stood before President Du's desk. "Hello President Du, my name is Huang Xiaofeng."
Du Heng smiled and came forward to greet her. Regardless of other factors, this was his first meeting with the wife of Director Gao from the police station; he couldn't be too casual. Even if he didn't consider Wang Zhenzhen, who made the introduction, he had to show respect to Director Gao.
"Welcome to our team."
"Please look after me in the future, President Du."
"We're all here to serve the people of Central Lake; there's no need for special treatment." He then turned to Wang Zhenzhen. "Sister Zhenzhen, could I trouble you again to help Huang complete the onboarding procedures?"
Wang Zhenzhen chuckled. "As long as you, the President, agree, I can handle the procedures quickly on my end."
"Alright then. You two go handle the paperwork, and then I'll have Li Nating come find you."
"Then we'll be off."
The exchange was brief, just a few sentences. It was unclear whether it was an interview or something else; it was handled so casually.
Of course, Du Heng had undoubtedly reviewed Huang Xiaofeng's resume and contacted her previous workplace beforehand. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to her joining so readily. The meeting just now was merely a formality.
Du Heng first went to the nurses' rest room on the second floor. After finding Li Nating and explaining Huang Xiaofeng's situation, he asked her to go find Wang Zhenzhen.
Then, Du Heng turned and headed to the backyard, because today, Fan's Wife was officially starting work. However, she hadn't come to see him yet, which puzzled Du Heng slightly.
When he reached the kitchen window, Du Heng saw an unfamiliar woman inside; he guessed she must be Fan's Wife.
"Fan, come out for a moment."
At Du Heng's call, Fan, wearing an apron, hurried out. "President Du, you were looking for me?"
"Didn't you say your Wife would come to work at our Health Clinic today? Why haven't I seen you bring her to me yet?"
Fan chuckled. "President Du, she's already here." He pointed through the window at the woman busy inside. "That's my Wife. She's already helping me prepare vegetables and cook. We went to your office earlier, but Director Gong was there, so we left. We planned to see you at noon when you weren't busy."
"Tell your Wife to take a break for now. Wang Zhenzhen is processing onboarding procedures at the moment. Hurry and take your Wife over so it can all be done at once."
"Thank you, President Du."
"Don't mention it. Just hurry along."
After speaking, Du Heng immediately turned and went to Dr. Yu Haiting's office.
They still needed two more nurses. However, after listening to his old classmate, he decided against making that exchange with Wang. Otherwise, he would definitely be the one to regret it.
This matter needed to be resolved decisively, without giving others a chance to approach him.
Besides, why shouldn't such favors be kept for people within his own Health Clinic? It's only right to look after your own.
"Dr. Yu, are you busy?"
"Not busy. Is there something, President Du?"
"Where is Xiao Li?" Du Heng asked.
"He went to the ward to see Patients."
"I need to ask you something. Do you know any reliable nurses? We still need two more."
Yu Haiting looked at Du Heng in surprise. He had assumed Du Heng and the others had already found everyone they needed, especially since Wang Zhenzhen had just processed Huang Xiaofeng's onboarding, which had further solidified this belief. He hadn't expected them to still be short two people; it was quite a surprise.
Outsiders could see the Health Clinic's current situation clearly, so as an employee, he was naturally even more aware. But he also knew the complexities involved; such 'good fortune' wasn't likely to fall into his lap.
"You don't know anyone? Then I'll ask someone else." Du Heng, seeing Yu Haiting hesitate, thought he didn't have any suitable candidates and was about to call Wang Lili to ask if she knew anyone.
Seeing Du Heng about to leave, Yu Haiting quickly reached out to stop him, saying urgently, "President Du, don't go! I haven't spoken yet."
"Well, hurry up then. Do you know anyone or not?"
"My sister-in-law. She's twenty-six and graduated from a nursing vocational school with a specialization in nursing."
"What is she doing now?"
"She's working as a nurse at Nanhu District Hospital."
Du Heng was a bit confused. "Nanhu District Hospital? She already has a job. Why would you suggest she come to our Health Clinic? We can't compete with Nanhu District Hospital in terms of salary and benefits."
Yu Haiting smiled sheepishly. "She's on a contract there too and is planning to get married. If she has a Child later, President Du, as you know, it'll be difficult for her to find another job. Since there's an opportunity at our Health Clinic now, I was thinking of bringing her over."
Hearing this, Du Heng got straight to the point. "How skilled is your sister-in-law?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Last year, she surpassed the permanent staff in her department to win the Hospital's Excellent Nurse award."
"That's impressive. Didn't Nanhu District Hospital consider giving her an authorized job?"
"Sigh, you know how it is. There are no open positions. If there were authorized positions, such honors would be useful. But as it is, no matter how well she performs, once she's married and has a Child, these honors are useless. She'll still struggle to find work."
Du Heng nodded, acknowledging how messed up the Hospital employment system could be.
Just the other day, Jin Zan mentioned a senior colleague from his university days. This person, who worked in their department and had undeniable skill, was forced to leave. His academic qualifications weren't sufficient for his professional title to be promoted.
The underlying reason is that the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is also a teaching institution. Every Doctor there has certain teaching duties, and that's something unavoidable. Li Jianwei's application for Du Heng for a lecturer position had also been rejected for this very reason.
Simply working as a Doctor is no problem. To get a higher professional title, you need enough experience and to publish enough papers; it's a natural progression. However, once teaching responsibilities are involved, it becomes genuinely difficult. Unless one possesses irreplaceable abilities or produces papers and research achievements of truly significant merit.
But in the current medical environment, for a struggling frontline Doctor to achieve these things is incredibly difficult.
"Alright, then contact your sister-in-law quickly. It would be best if we could meet this afternoon."
"No problem, she'll definitely be here this afternoon," Yu Haiting replied, overjoyed.
Having secured one candidate, Du Heng left the office, planning to contact Wang Lili to fill the final spot.
But as he took out his phone, Du Heng suddenly remembered a favor he needed to return.
It had to be Wei Kaida!
Wei Kaida's sister was currently working at their family's clinic. It wasn't because the pay was high, but because she had nowhere else to go. Her situation was a classic example of someone unable to find suitable work after having a Child. Low-workload positions weren't hiring. As for high-workload Hospitals, the demands were too much for her current situation, unless she was willing to give up on actively raising her Child.
The situation at his Health Clinic, however, was just right for her.
Once the Health Clinic was successfully upgraded, he was confident he could help Wei Kaida's sister secure an authorized job, regardless of how others might maneuver.
He dialed Wei Kaida's number as he walked back to the office.
However, just as the call connected, Wei Kaida's words made him choke. "Old Du, are you calling to pay me back?"
It turned out Du Heng hadn't yet found time to return the card Wei Kaida had given him the previous week; he had only transferred Dong Yuezhang's money back.
"Yes, I'll pay you back. Come see me this afternoon, and I'll pay you back immediately."
"Whoa, since when do debtors act so high and mighty? Making the creditor come to your door?"
"That's right. I want you to come, and you'd better bring your sister this afternoon."
"Bring my sister for what? Let me tell you, my sister's married. But if you're serious, I can talk it over with my brother-in-law."
Du Heng's face darkened. "You're incorrigible! A dog's mouth can't spew ivory."
"Then why are you asking for my sister?"
"I have a job opening here. There's a chance of it becoming permanent with an authorized position later. Interested or not?"
Wei Kaida's voice grew urgent. "Yes! Absolutely! No, no, we'll come right now! If this works out, you're my real brother, my dearest brother!"