Chapter 486: Chapter 485: You Are a Good Comrade

At 10:58 AM, Mrs. Meng, the Party Secretary of the Affiliated Hospital, walked slowly into the small conference room. Seeing that the hospital’s other leaders were already seated, she went to her own seat and sat down.

"Everyone," she began, "I imagine you’ve all guessed the reason I’ve called this impromptu work meeting."

Mrs. Meng’s voice grew louder and her tone turned serious. "It’s about the incident with Mr. Yan Feifan’s exorbitant salary, which is currently causing a huge uproar online."

"This has had a significant and very negative impact on our hospital’s reputation..."

"Mrs. Meng..."

Liu Jin cut in bluntly, questioning, "A negative impact on the hospital’s reputation?"

"I’m not sure where you’re getting that from."

"Did the hospital make a mistake with Mr. Yan’s salary? Or did he receive money he wasn’t entitled to?"

With a stern face, Mrs. Meng said, "I’m not saying he shouldn’t have been paid that much."

"The problem is that he shouldn’t have so brazenly admitted to it. What’s more, his response was rather provocative!"

"Mr. Liu, surely you’re aware that many patients these days complain they can’t afford to see a doctor or pay for surgery."

"Now that Mr. Yan’s high income has been exposed, our hospital has become the target of public condemnation from countless netizens."

"How is that impact not negative?"

Liu Jin chuckled. "We all know the story behind Mr. Yan’s high income."

"Ninety-nine percent of it comes from the Plastic Surgery Center and the joint project with Johns Hopkins Hospital."

"The bulk of the remaining one percent comes from his surgical stipends in departments like Neurosurgery and Trauma Surgery."

"These stipends are paid at the rate of an associate chief physician."

"Given Mr. Yan’s abilities, that rate isn’t high at all, is it?"

Liu Jin said slowly, "All we have to do is explain the details of Mr. Yan’s salary to the public, and this storm of public opinion will instantly vanish."

"I don’t believe this warrants taking up everyone’s time for a special meeting."

Mrs. Meng’s gaze swept over the two vice presidents, Hou Jianfeng and Chen Changrui, as well as the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee, Han Xianghong. She spoke again, "We understand the breakdown of Mr. Yan’s income, but the public doesn’t."

"Given their tendency to question everything, Mr. Liu, do you really think they’ll simply believe our explanation?"

After a pause, Mrs. Meng added in a grave voice, "In any case, Mr. Yan’s income is still too high."

"This revelation will undoubtedly stir up resentment among doctors in other departments."

"Therefore, I propose we revoke the Plastic Surgery Center’s autonomous pricing authority and adjust their revenue distribution model."

The moment she said this, Liu Jin’s expression changed drastically.

"Mrs. Meng, it took the Plastic Surgery Center nearly twenty years of development to become one of the top three in the country. It’s also a vital source of revenue for our hospital."

"Your proposal would destroy years of the center’s hard work."

Mrs. Meng’s expression grew stern. "Mr. Liu, you need to understand the nature of our institution. We are a comprehensive teaching and research hospital, not a for-profit private one."

"As an affiliated hospital, our primary focus is teaching and research."

"The Plastic Surgery Center’s main duty should be providing reconstructive surgery for patients with injuries and deformities."

"But now, it has become a cosmetic clinic focused on profits, providing aesthetic services to celebrities and entertainers."

Mrs. Meng tapped the conference table. "Mr. Liu, we must remember our core mission and not deviate from it."

"The Plastic Surgery Center has severely deviated from the hospital’s path. It’s time for a course correction."

Liu Jin retorted, "Mrs. Meng, the center hasn’t abandoned its primary duties. The majority of their surgeries each month are still various types of reconstructive procedures for injuries and deformities."

"Purely cosmetic procedures only account for about a third of their total surgeries."

Mrs. Meng scoffed. "In my opinion, even that one-third is too much."

"That one-third of cosmetic procedures has created a severe income disparity within the hospital, causing countless doctors to become restless and unable to focus on teaching and research."

Mrs. Meng said earnestly, "Mr. Liu, as a teaching and research hospital, we should be purer in our mission."

"Our Affiliated Hospital has developed reasonably well over the past few years, but compared to Union Medical College Hospital or Tongji Hospital, our pace and level of development still fall short in many areas."

"And their nationally renowned departments aren’t in plastic surgery."

"For our Affiliated Hospital, one of the top teaching and research hospitals in the country, to be best known for its Plastic Surgery Center..."

"Don’t you find that embarrassing?"

Mrs. Meng tapped the table again, a pained expression on her face. "Frankly, when I speak with my peers from other hospitals and they praise our famous Plastic Surgery Center, I don’t feel a sense of honor."

"It feels like a slap in the face. A hard slap in the face."

Mrs. Meng lifted her teacup and took a sip, composing herself before turning her gaze back to Liu Jin.

"Mr. Liu, Mr. Yan is a promising talent. Do you really want to see him be gradually corrupted by money?"

Liu Jin met her gaze. "Yan Feifan is my student. I know him."

"He has a clear head and firm goals. He won’t lose his way over money."

After a pause, Liu Jin’s voice rang out clearly, "The hospital is known for the Plastic Surgery Center because the center is strong and well-developed."

"What’s there to be embarrassed about!"

"If we want other departments to catch up, we simply need to shift our focus and increase our support for them going forward."

"Take Neurosurgery, for example. It’s already improving rapidly."

"Are you suggesting we should sabotage the Plastic Surgery Center just so our Affiliated Hospital isn’t famous for it anymore?"

A mocking expression appeared on Liu Jin’s face. "That’s like shooting ourselves in the foot. I will never agree to it."

Mrs. Meng’s face darkened.

Her gaze swept over the others at the table once more. Expressionlessly, she said, "Since Mr. Liu is so insistent, we’ll follow the principle of democratic centralism. Let’s put it to a vote."

"Those who agree with Mr. Liu, please raise your hands!"

At these words, Hou Jianfeng, Chen Changrui, and Han Xianghong all felt a chill.

Mrs. Meng hadn’t framed it as a vote on adjusting the Plastic Surgery Center. Instead, she had simply said, "Those who agree with Mr. Liu, please raise your hands."

’Is she forcing everyone to pick a side and show their allegiance?’

The three of them knew that before this meeting, Mrs. Meng had been on lengthy phone calls with leaders from both the Health Commission and Binhai University.

’Has she already secured enough support from the higher-ups?’

The three exchanged glances, just in time to see Liu Jin resolutely raise his hand.

A few seconds later, Chen Changrui, the vice president in charge of education and research, also raised his hand.

Seeing this, Mrs. Meng’s face grew darker still.

Just then, someone knocked and entered the room.

An angry expression crossed Mrs. Meng’s face, but when she turned, she saw it was her office director, Wu Peng, who had barged in.

Wu Peng held a cell phone in one hand. He bent down close to Mrs. Meng and whispered, "Secretary, it’s a call from Mr. Wu of the Municipal Party Committee’s Organization Department."

Mrs. Meng was startled and quickly stood up to take the phone.

"Hello, this is Meng Huaxin from the Affiliated Hospital..."

Meanwhile, Yan Feifan had just finished two puncture and injection procedures for intraspinal tumors.

After getting cleaned up, he walked out of the surgical area and saw Qin Feng striding toward him.

"Mr. Yan, I have good news! The brain tumor patient woke up. He was in a coma for five and a half days."

"The post-op exams are looking incredibly promising."

After a second’s pause, Qin Feng added solemnly, "I received a call from the top commander of the Joint Logistics Department. He asked me to pass on a message to you."

"’Mr. Yan, thank you very much for your hard work and dedication.’"

"’The commander also said that you are an outstanding and trustworthy comrade, and that the military will not forget your contribution...’"

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