Chapter 1571: Chapter 638: A Dying Man’s Words Are Kind—Deputy Director of Quality Control, Part 2
Assistant Qin was working diligently as usual. With the imminent restructuring of the hospital’s leadership team, the pressure on his role as the assistant to the dean was immense.
"Director Zhou is here! The dean is waiting for you inside."
Assistant Qin, unusually, stood up and greeted Zhou Can with a smile.
As a hospital-level leader and the actual head of the quality control office, he was Zhou Can’s superior. Typically, he would at most pause his work and exchange a few pleasantries with Zhou Can.
And it was always Zhou Can who initiated the greetings with a smile.
The situation today was quite peculiar.
Zhou Can murmured to himself, worrying that something significant was happening at the hospital again.
Recently, there had been a pervasive sense of impending change.
The middle and senior management of the hospital were all secretly active, preparing for the arrival of the new hospital director.
A new leader brings new followers.
After the new director takes office, there will surely be significant personnel changes in the leadership team.
Those who seize the opportunity can advance further.
Failing to seize the opportunity might lead to regression or being sidelined.
Zhou Can exchanged a few brief words with Assistant Qin before quickly entering the dean’s office.
After knocking on the door and entering, he found Dean Zhu practicing calligraphy.
Scattered on the floor and the table, the sheets of Xuan paper bore large, capital "Nine" characters.
The "Nine" is the capital form of the numeral 9.
Why was Dean Zhu writing so many "Nine" characters?
Could it be that he was reluctant to leave his position?
Power and status are indeed difficult to part with, but one must step down when the time comes.
This wasn’t something Dean Zhu could decide by himself to stay on.
"I never knew your calligraphy was of such high caliber! The characters are neat and rounded, yet exude a bold spirit of ’who else but me in this world?’ There’s a taste of being soft outside and firm inside."
Zhou Can picked up the scattered sheets of Xuan paper from the ground.
"Haha, did you really see through it? One must be smooth in life but stern in doing things. This is a life motto given to me by my old leader when I became the dean. He said that as an ordinary leader, one could be smooth and easygoing, but the top leader must be soft on the outside, firm on the inside, with the necessary wit and never compromising. I will be stepping down after finishing the last week, so now I’m passing this saying to you."
Dean Zhu’s words carried a deep meaning.
What did it mean to pass this saying to Zhou Can?
Could it be that he wanted Zhou Can to become the dean in the future?
"Thank you for the guidance, dean. I will keep it in mind."
Zhou Can didn’t dare to say more.
The dean’s teachings must be accepted.
And they must be accepted with sincerity.
"You’re holding your wedding the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Yes! Please don’t forget about officiating my wedding with Su Qianqian!"
Zhou Can had already sent an invitation to Dean Zhu, inviting him to officiate the wedding.
"The day after tomorrow is Sunday, a very well-chosen day. I will definitely be there on time to officiate for you, offering my sincerest blessings."
Dean Zhu agreed with a smile.
Zhou Can inviting him to officiate made him very happy.
It showed that this young man respected him greatly.
Otherwise, why invite a soon-to-retire dean to officiate the wedding?
"Sit down!"
Dean Zhu put down his pen, still a bit reluctant as he looked at the last "Nine" character he wrote.
"Writing is just like doing things and being a person. Every time I finish, I feel I could do better the next time. Yet after writing, there’s always some small flaw I can find. The most taboo thing in life is to be overly satisfied."
He shared some deeply philosophical words with Zhou Can.
"You excel in every aspect, whether in medical skills or management abilities, you’re truly outstanding. Such talent is rare to see. But because you excel so much, you must always remember the saying ’Heaven is jealous of outstanding talent’; sometimes leaving a bit of imperfection can be a good thing. You don’t need to pursue perfection in everything."
When a person is about to leave, their words are kind.
When a bird is about to die, its cry is mournful.
This was probably the last time Dean Zhu would speak with Zhou Can before stepping down.
It felt a bit like final words of advice before departure.
Zhou Can listened intently, nodding continuously, indicating he remembered.
"Selling the pharmaceutical department to you was the last lingering concern I dealt with before leaving. Although I knew about the major issues in the pharmaceutical department, I didn’t dare touch it, nor could I. It was a delicate balance. Tuya Hospital has developed diligently over the years, and it wasn’t easy to reach this state. If the reputation of Tuya were to be damaged because of a mere pharmaceutical department, or if it sparked a massive upheaval, it would be a great loss."
"After you took over, making it private means you have fewer concerns in handling many matters. Initially, I thought it would take you five to ten years to truly acquire the pharmaceutical department. But unexpectedly, you managed it in just a few days, truly making both me and the higher-ups view you in a new light."
Dean Zhu earnestly brought up the pharmaceutical department issue.
As a dean, it was impossible to be unaware of the serious issues in the pharmaceutical department.
Just like the security department years ago, where problems were too entrenched, even Dean Zhu couldn’t do anything about it.
Or, one could say, people are inherently selfish.
At that time, Dean Zhu aimed for stability and hoped to advance to a higher department with impressive achievements.
As for some lingering issues, naturally, they would be left for the next successor to worry about.
Unfortunately, plans failed to keep up with changes, and eventually, because Zhou Can stood up and voiced his concerns, it sparked a significant protest.
That very event severed his path of promotion.
Whether he ever resented Zhou Can is unknown.
So far, at least, their interactions have been rather harmonious.
"I only got lucky," Zhou Can said humbly.
Yet in his heart, there was some grievance—knowing that the pharmaceutical department had such significant issues, why sell it to me?
Even if you did, at least give me a heads-up!
After taking over, if Zhou Can hadn’t had some capability and timely discovered the issues, he’d still be at the mercy of those leeches.
"From your expression, I can see your dissatisfaction with me. Are you blaming me for selling you a problematic pharmaceutical department?"
Dean Zhu looked at him with a smile.
"I wouldn’t dare!"
Zhou Can said he wouldn’t dare, but his heart was honest.
He hadn’t expected Dean Zhu to be so observant, capturing even the slightest expression.
When dealing with important figures, one must always maintain a composed exterior.
It’s easy to say but hard to achieve.
"Haha, you’re clearly being insincere. When you stirred up trouble with the Emergency Department, disrupting my promotion path, I didn’t blame you. Now, with such a small thing, don’t take it to heart."
Dean Zhu was soon retiring, and his tone with Zhou Can lacked the usual high-and-mighty authority.
Instead, there was a more easygoing and friendly demeanor.
"Selling the pharmaceutical department to you, while problematic, was a bargain. As the saying goes, ’you get what you pay for.’ You should have anticipated it when you purchased it. Besides, although I couldn’t directly say it, I did clearly inform you that the pharmaceutical department had been losing money for years, almost like a black hole. So it wasn’t deception."
With this explanation from Dean Zhu, Zhou Can lost his temper.
The older the ginger, the spicier it is.
At the time, it truly was mentioned that the pharmaceutical department had been losing significantly over the years.
"In fact, there was another plan. If you really didn’t want to buy it, I would find a way to raise funds to buy it myself and then clean up the parasites. However, with my role, funding was insufficient, and my special status could easily spark a huge controversy. You, on the other hand, are truly the chosen one, with all the right attributes to handle it."
This was indeed the case.
Zhou Can not only had the resources and capability but was also highly loyal to the hospital and patriotic.
"Alright, consider this matter settled. Now that you’ve successfully reorganized the pharmaceutical department, I’m confident it will soon achieve impressive results. Let me congratulate you in advance on your success."
After finishing, Dean Zhu continued, "Today I called you here to discuss the hospital’s plan to exceptionally promote you to the deputy director of the quality control office. It’s a heavy responsibility and urgent—if you agree, you might have to assume the role as soon as tomorrow."
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