Chapter 220: 219: The Naughty Square Pigeon
Chapter 220: Chapter 219: The Naughty Square Pigeon
It was past four in the afternoon in the director’s office at Huashan Hospital.
Hospital Director Li Yao looked at Qi Yue, his face etched with concern as he asked, “Is Dr. Yu alright?”
Qi Yue nodded. “He’s fine.”
“He’s just young and has never been through anything like this before, so he was inevitably a bit shaken at the time.”
“But it didn’t interfere with his duties. He’s still at the outpatient and emergency department, seeing his registered patients.”
Li Yao nodded in satisfaction, then turned a reproachful gaze to Director Yang Mai from the medical affairs department.
“Didn’t we give instructions about that family? Weren’t the security guards supposed to be on high alert and take precautions?”
“How could you let that guy get past them unimpeded and barge straight into Dr. Yu’s consultation room?”
Although he felt wronged, the chastised Yang Mai replied earnestly, “Director, I’ve already investigated.”
“At the time, the security guards at the outpatient and emergency entrance saw him with a fruit knife sticking out of his shoulder, and he was bleeding…”
“They assumed he was an injured person seeking treatment, so they didn’t check him carefully and let him through the emergency access into the outpatient hall.”
“No one suspected it was a self-inflicted injury ploy.”
“The guy didn’t even register. He ran straight to the second floor to scare Dr. Yu.”
After a pause, Yang Mai continued, “We’ve already checked the man’s medical records.”
“He was diagnosed with schizophrenia twelve years ago, has relapsed three times in the past few years, and has been on regular medication for the last year.”
Li Yao snorted coldly. “He’s cunning, bold, and even knows when to stop…”
“That doesn’t sound like something a confused psychiatric patient would be capable of doing.”
Li Yao tapped his fingers lightly on his desk, asking thoughtfully, “What should we do next? Do you have any suggestions?”
Qi Yue and Yang Mai glanced at each other and remained silent.
In the end, it was Yang Mai who spoke first.
“The year before last, while I was handling a medical dispute at City Third Hospital, someone followed me home.”
He slowly recounted, “My wife and my daughter were home at the time.”
“That person was similar to the guy today. He just vaguely hinted at a threat and then left.”
“In the end, the way that medical dispute was handled…”
Yang Mai met Li Yao’s gaze and gave a bitter smile. “I admit I couldn’t remain impartial.”
“I wasn’t really afraid of what he might do to me, and I knew he was most likely just trying to scare me, but I didn’t dare take the risk.”
“I was afraid of the ’what if’—what if he really did something desperate and hurt my family.”
“Even if he was punished by the law afterward, the harm done to my family would be irreversible.”
“Director…”
Yang Mai said in a heavy tone, “I’m not a coward who shies away from trouble, but as the saying goes, you can’t guard against a thief for a thousand days.”
“With so many people in our hospital, plus all their families, there are bound to be lapses in security.”
“Besides, that guy has the ’get-out-of-jail-free card’ of a mental illness. If he really decided to throw caution to the wind…”
Yang Mai didn’t finish his sentence, instead saying softly, “Director, Director Qi, a problem that can be solved with money isn’t really a problem.”
After a pause, Yang Mai added a reminder, “Let’s compromise for now. Appease the family temporarily so our hospital is no longer their target. This will prevent panic from spreading among our staff.”
“As for later… with our connections and relationships, once this is over, there will be plenty of ways to deal with that family behind the scenes.”
Li Yao gave Yang Mai a deep look.
After a moment of silence, he asked, “How much do they want?”
“One million! I think there’s significant room for negotiation.”
Li Yao was quiet for another moment before saying, “Director Yang, I’m giving you full authority to handle this matter.”
Between fifty registered patients and another fifty volunteers for the ultra-early-stage cancer project, the shaken Yu Zhiming was delayed and his efficiency was impacted. He didn’t finish his work for the day until after seven in the evening.
Fortunately, it was only his efficiency that suffered; the quality of Yu Zhiming’s work was not affected.
He had identified one patient with suspected stomach cancer and another with suspected liver cancer today.
Having completed his work for the day, Yu Zhiming returned to the main office to find his Fourth Sister and Gu Qingning waiting for him.
“You both know?”
Yu Xiangwan hummed in affirmation, stepping forward to pat Yu Zhiming’s head while murmuring an old folk charm.
“A pat on the head to calm the scare…”
Yu Zhiming dodged his Fourth Sister’s hand, saying morosely, “Sis, I’m not a kid anymore.”
“That stuff doesn’t work on me.”
Yu Xiangwan huffed. “Whether it works or not, it’s not like it hurts to try.”
“Qiao Lei said you were so scared your face went pale and your legs went weak. You could barely stand.”
As she spoke, her hand shot out and she nimbly tugged on Yu Zhiming’s earlobe, completing the ritual.
Yu Zhiming shot a glare at Qiao Lei before turning back to Yu Xiangwan and Gu Qingning. “I’m fine now. It’s over.”
“The hospital is negotiating with the family. They said it’s very likely they’ll reach a settlement.”
Gu Qingning’s eyes widened in confusion. “Why are they negotiating?”
“Shouldn’t you call the police for something like this? Get them involved, have the whole family arrested?”
“This was definitely planned by the whole family.”
Yu Zhiming explained softly, “And what good would arresting them do? At most, they’d be detained for a few days, maybe a few months.”
“If that happened, we’d have made a true enemy of them.”
“The guy with the mental illness is a ticking time bomb. If he really goes off one day, the consequences would be something the hospital doesn’t want to see.”
“Consider it spending money to buy some peace.”
Gu Qingning opened her mouth, but finally said with a hint of resignation, “That’s true. If you can’t take them out in one blow, it’s really not worth getting into a contest of viciousness with people like that.”
“I guess backing down is the only option.”
Yu Xiangwan cursed, “With the way that family operates, sooner or later they’ll run into someone more ruthless, or they’ll get themselves into some serious trouble.”
Gu Qingning chimed in, “Exactly! How dare they threaten my Zhiming! They’ll definitely get what’s coming to them.”
Yu Zhiming smiled. “Alright, enough with the wishful thinking. We should get going…”
Qiao Lei quickly stepped forward, eager to be helpful. “Dr. Yu, let me drive you home.”
“No need!”
Yu Zhiming took a light breath and continued, “The most dangerous part is over.”
“That family is in negotiations now. They won’t cause any more trouble…”
Just as Yu Zhiming had predicted, he, his Fourth Sister, and Gu Qingning made it home without any incident.
After nine at night, Yu Zhiming received a call from Director Yang Mai, who informed him that both parties had reached an agreement. The hospital would pay the other party a one-time “moral compensation” of 560,000.
Hearing this result, although Yu Zhiming felt a bit suffocated with frustration, he ultimately breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s like they say: the vicious fear the desperate, and the desperate won’t mess with those who have nothing left to lose.
For someone with a bright future and a wonderful life ahead of him, going head-to-head with a family like that would be truly foolish.
Yu Zhiming took a moment to compose himself, then left his bedroom to tell his Fourth Sister and Gu Qingning the news.
“As long as it’s resolved.”
A happy expression appeared on Yu Xiangwan’s face, and she said with relief, “I really didn’t want to see a violent hospital-related conflict at Huashan Hospital making the headlines.”
“Hey, Fifth Brother, with this whole thing happening, why don’t you take a good rest during the National Day holiday? Take the full seven days off?”
Yu Zhiming smiled. “Three or four days is enough. I’m not that fragile. Doctors are all supposed to have strong hearts, you know.”
He added expectantly, “I hope that Lake and Mountain Lodge is really as quiet as they say. Otherwise, I might have to run back after just one night.”
Gu Qingning chuckled. “Zhiming, it’s definitely quiet there. There’s a valley, a lake, and just that one clubhouse complex. No residents or industry around.”
“I even specially booked one of their most secluded villas.”
“Zhiming, you can sleep well back in our hometown, so you’ll definitely have no problem falling asleep there.”
“I hope so,” Yu Zhiming said wistfully.
Just then, Yu Zhiming’s phone rang.
It was a call from Fu Xiaoxue.
As soon as Yu Zhiming answered, Fu Xiaoxue’s voice burst out, “Uncle! Uncle! A pigeon ate a gemstone, can you check for it?”
“A pigeon? A gemstone?” Yu Zhiming was confused.
The moment he spoke, an unfamiliar, crisp female voice came through the phone.
“Uncle, I’m Xiaoxue’s roommate, Liu Yiyi.”
“It’s like this: yesterday, my mom and I were at People’s Square, and on a whim, we started feeding the pigeons.”
“One mischievous pigeon pecked the gemstone from my mother’s ring and swallowed it.”
“The gem itself isn’t incredibly valuable, but it was passed down to my mother from her grandmother, so it has immense sentimental value.”
“But there are so many pigeons in the square, and we can’t tell which one ate the gem.”
“We negotiated with the pigeon handlers at the square and caught a few cages of pigeons to X-ray.”
“The problem is, all the pigeons have small stones in their gizzards, so it’s hard to tell from the X-rays if one of them is the gemstone.”
“Uncle, do you have a way to find it?”
Yu Zhiming thought for a moment, then politely declined. “Probably… I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference either.”
“A gemstone is essentially a type of stone, after all.”
Beside him, Yu Xiangwan suggested enthusiastically, “Just wait a day or two, won’t the pigeon just poop the gem out?”
Liu Yiyi’s voice came through again. “We asked an expert. They said the gem is a bit too large, and since it can’t be digested or worn down, it will stay in the pigeon’s gizzard forever. It won’t come out.”
Gu Qingning said with mock ferocity, “Then just buy that whole flock of pigeons and kill them all!”
“Sister Qingning…”
Fu Xiaoxue’s voice piped up. “There are several hundred pigeons. That would be too cruel.”
Liu Yiyi’s voice came through again. “Uncle, is there really no way?”
“The staff at the square said pigeons often get lost or fly away. In a day or two, the one that ate the gem might be gone.”
“My mom has been so, so sad these past two days.”
’Examine pigeons one by one? Several hundred of them?’
Yu Zhiming pictured the scene and shook his head.
“Miss Liu Yiyi, I’m afraid I can’t help with this. You should consult someone else and see if there are other, more convenient methods…”