Chapter 58: A Congress of Unity

After an interval of a single day, the owner and staff of Mingde Hall, totaling five people, once again gathered around the meeting table in the office.

This time, Ma Hui dispensed with lengthy opening remarks and went straight to the point.

"Everyone should know that this is the first medical dispute our clinic has experienced since its opening..."

"A medical dispute? When did this happen, why didn't I know about it?" Wang Sen immediately interrupted, asking in astonishment.

Ma Hui frowned slightly and gestured with a wave of her hand: "Wang Sen, don't speak for a moment, let me finish."

"Oh, oh, oh." Wang Sen nodded hastily.

"Now, let's ask the person involved, Lao Huang, to tell everyone the whole story."

Although the tone sounded a bit like an acceptance speech for an outstanding achievement award, everyone knew very well that this was certainly not a glorious matter.

Therefore, welcoming applause was completely out of the question; instead, they should display a shared sense of sorrow, as this would better encourage Huang Biao.

"Ahem..." Huang Biao cleared his throat, stood up for the first time at the start of a meeting, and bowed before speaking.

Then, with a solemn expression, he said: "First of all, I want to say I'm sorry to Boss Ma and all my colleagues."

Upon seeing this, Ma Hui immediately stood up as well: "Lao Huang, what are you doing? I asked you to recount the process of the incident, not to give a self-criticism! Sit down quickly, sit down and speak."

Zhang Jing also stood up and said: "That's right, Director Huang, if you stand while speaking, the rest of us can only stand and listen."

Wang Sen and Gui Cui originally had no intention of standing, but prompted by Zhang Jing's remark, they felt compelled to get up as well.

At this sight, Huang Biao's eyes suddenly turned red, and he said with a trembling voice: "Th-thank you... Thank you everyone! Pl-please, all sit down."

With these words, he took his seat first, and the others followed suit, sitting down one after another.

"Ahem..." Huang Biao cleared his throat once more, and then slowly began: "The course of events was as follows..."

At the conclusion, he emphasized repeatedly: "The fact that this medical dispute could be successfully resolved is entirely thanks to Dr. Zhang. If Dr. Zhang hadn't taken the initiative to step in and help, the patient's family members would most likely have taken the matter up to the higher regulatory authorities."

"By that time, it wouldn't matter much if I personally lost my job as a doctor. What I fear is that it would ruin our clinic's reputation and implicate everyone here. Especially Mingde Hall, which Boss Ma has painstakingly built, would probably face the danger of closure. I... I..."

By the end, Huang Biao's voice was choking with emotion.

Infected by his emotion, Ma Hui's eyes also grew slightly red.

Wang Sen was extremely curious. Just yesterday, this very same Huang Biao had mocked him, saying he had been brainwashed by Zhang Jing, yet now he shamelessly changed his address from "Little Zhang" to "Dr. Zhang."

How could it be that after only a single day, he himself was now using the exact same title?

Wang Sen desperately wanted to ask on the spot, but glancing at the boss, Ma Hui, he didn't dare to speak out casually.

Seeing this, Ma Hui tried hard to compose her emotions, and then said solemnly: "Although this matter did indeed originate with Lao Huang, I believe everyone has seen that facing his own mistake, he did not choose to evade it, but instead stood up bravely. For a veteran colleague who has worked for nearly forty years, this trait alone is extremely precious."

"I propose, my dear family members, that we give a round of applause for Lao Huang's attitude!" Having said this, she was the first to start clapping.

Zhang Jing followed closely behind; from the bottom of his heart, he felt Huang Biao deserved praise.

Gui Cui shared a similar sentiment, since she had witnessed almost the entire process with her own eyes, and Huang Biao's performance this time was truly commendable.

Only Wang Sen, thinking that "seeing is believing" and lacking any real understanding, simply clapped along with the crowd.

At this, Huang Biao grew excited once more, expressing his gratitude repeatedly: "Thank you all for your tolerance, thank you, thank you!"

Suddenly, as if recalling something, he immediately changed the subject: "By the way, Boss Ma, when calculating this month's performance bonuses later, remember to deduct that thousand-plus yuan compensation."

Ma Hui was stunned upon hearing this, and asked with a puzzled frown: "Lao Huang, are you really going through with this? Weren't you just worried the patients wouldn't accept the compensation and deliberately provoked them with those words at the time?"

Huang Biao shook his head with a serious expression: "Of course it wasn't a provocation tactic, I'm entirely serious! This matter started because of me, and I ought to bear full responsibility for it."

"Really, there's no need, Lao Huang. If you walk by the river often, how can you keep your shoes from getting wet? Paying this little amount of money is nothing. As far as I'm concerned, it's a great fortune that no major disaster occurred," Ma Hui comforted him.

To her surprise, Huang Biao showed no intention of backing down.

Instead, his tone grew even firmer: "Boss Ma, just think of it as giving me a punishment so I can deeply learn my lesson. If you don't agree, I really will resign."

After a brief pause, he continued: "If you insist on paying out this sum, I actually have a suggestion: why not award this money as a bonus to Dr. Zhang? We owe the successful resolution entirely to him; Dr. Zhang deserves the highest credit!"

"Lao Huang, since you insist so strongly, I won't force the matter further. Ah, your proposal is excellent! I completely agree." Ma Hui nodded slightly.

"That's a great idea!"

"I think it's wonderful too!"

Gui Cui and Wang Sen both chimed in to express their approval.

However, Zhang Jing waved his hands repeatedly: "I cannot accept this. Didn't Big Sister say just yesterday that we are all a family? When trouble arises at home, isn't it only natural to step up and contribute a little effort?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was somewhat dumbfounded.

Unless someone had something wrong with their brain, which employee would turn away a bonus?

Yet what he said was so logical and reasonable that it was simply impossible to refute!

Time seemed to stand still at that moment. After a few seconds, nobody knew who started it, but all four people began to applaud one after another.

Especially Huang Biao; he clapped until his hands were practically swollen!

With much difficulty, the applause subsided.

Ma Hui's face regained its usual relaxed expression as she smiled and said: "Alright! Let's turn the page on this incident once and for all, and from now on, no one is to bring it up again. Otherwise, if I catch anyone doing so, wages will be deducted, you know."

Hearing this, the others chuckled amusedly.

At that moment, Gui Cui suddenly remembered something and asked: "By the way, Big Sister, are the two departmental signs you brought back today going to be put up immediately?"

Ma Hui patted her forehead gently: "Look at my memory, I almost forgot. That's right, didn't Xiao Jing want to tidy up an internal medicine consulting room? This morning when I woke up, I realized we were still short of a department sign, so I planned to buy one from our usual place."

And the boss said they didn't have any in stock and had to get them from the factory, so I drove to the east side of the city to pick them up. On the way back, I happened to run into a traffic jam; otherwise, I would have been back long before Xiao Cui called."

"Well, I'll trouble Wang Sen to go install them later. Since we now have two internal medicine consulting rooms, Lao Huang's should be changed to Internal Medicine Consulting Room (1), and Xiao Jing's newly established one should be fitted with Internal Medicine Consulting Room (2)."

This arrangement was extremely sensible and reasonable, and normally no one should have raised any objections.

Unexpectedly, Huang Biao immediately jumped out to object: "That won't do at all. Dr. Zhang's must be number one; I should be number two."

"Wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate? To begin with, not only are you our clinic's only associate chief physician, but you are also a veteran who has been here since the clinic first opened. Besides, your consulting room is right next to the front door, so in sequential order it should naturally be Internal Medicine Consulting Room (1), which makes it easier for patients to find."

"Then let me swap rooms directly with Dr. Zhang, I'll go to the newly opened small consulting room," Huang Biao replied instantly.

Zhang Jing stepped forward at this point and said solemnly: "Director Huang, that is definitely not acceptable. You've been in that consulting room for over two years; how could I possibly make you move away? Besides, I don't particularly like sitting next to the large glass window facing the street."

Huang Biao originally wanted to persist, but since Zhang Jing stated he didn't like it, forcing an exchange would become awkward instead.