Zwilling

Kapitel 26

Zoe noticed that among the doctors, Zhang Tiejing had the best relationship with Dr. Zhou. Dr. Zhou often gave Zhang Tiejing small favors, such as a bottle of perfume or a few free gift certificates. Zhang Tiejing reciprocated; whenever a new patient came, she would always give Dr. Zhou the meatiest bone, leaving the less meaty ones for the other doctors. This little trick worked immediately; several doctors vied to curry favor with her, one giving her CDs of perfume, another Chanel lipstick, creating an odd atmosphere in the clinic.

"You're the front desk supervisor; you can't show favoritism, you need to have team spirit."

Zoe criticized Zhang Tiejing, who outwardly agreed but inwardly disagreed.

Xiao Fei, the receptionist, has long, flowing hair. Everyone says that hair that's so beautiful should be used in a shampoo commercial. Xiao Fei, feeling quite pleased with herself, often forgets to put her hair up. Zoe asked Zhang Tiejing to tell Xiao Fei this, and Zhang Tiejing said:

"Xiaofei, quickly put your hair up! Someone's jealous of your long hair!"

The receptionist's appearance was problematic, which was the fault of the front desk supervisor. Zoe did not blame her, only offering a mild reminder. However, Zhang Tiejing uttered such words that "disrupt stability and unity." Perhaps it was because that "iron" (referring to Zhang Tiejing) was making her feel suffocated.

Xiao Hui talked a lot in one breath, almost forgetting that she had to go to work in the afternoon. If Du Yaofeng hadn't reminded her, she would have continued talking.

"How did you find me? Did Xiao Yu tell you?"

Before leaving, Xiao Hui asked Nuonuo a question, and after receiving an affirmative answer, Xiao Hui said a few more words.

"Actually, Xiao Yu also badmouthed Zoe behind her back. Xiao Yu works in marketing, responsible for advertising. The magazines she chose were all high-end magazines like ELLE, Vogue, and BIBA. Advertising in such magazines is naturally much more expensive than free magazines in Starbucks. As a result, the annual advertising budget was exhausted in just one quarter, and Zoe gave her a severe scolding. Xiao Yu cried and cursed Zoe in front of us, saying how loyal she was, only to be scolded by her master like a dog, almost to the point of being kicked."

Ah Hu found it a bit strange, as he had some understanding of company personnel structure.

Zoe is the medical affairs supervisor. Xiao Yu should report the advertising to Zhu Chuan. Even if she gets scolded, it should be Zhu Chuan who scolds Xiao Yu, or Wu Laogan, the administrative and financial supervisor. Zoe has no right to scold her.

Xiao Hui glanced at A Hu, sighed, and said, "It seems you know nothing. As the medical director, Zoe certainly wouldn't interfere with things like advertising. The incident I'm talking about happened after Zoe became the clinic's general manager."

All three of them seemed very surprised. Ah Hu eagerly pressed for details, "Zoe as general manager? What about Zhu Chuan?"

"He's dead," Xiao Hui replied.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, Du Yaofeng's phone rang. It was Xiao Yu calling. She first asked, "Have you gone to see Ye Xiaohui?" Then she said:

"You guys wanted to know about Zoe's situation, right? How about this, the clinic closes at seven o'clock, I'll call Mao Lifang and Zhang Tiejing over, and we can find a place to eat and chat."

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 62: The person is already dead, how can responsibility be borne?

They were lucky today; they found seats in the lobby without a reservation. The tables were set up in a corner, so they just ordered a few dishes and a bucket of spicy blood curd.

Before Nuonuo could even ask about Zhu Chuan, Xiao Yu, Mao Lifang, and Zhang Tiejing, as if they had planned it all along, started talking about Zhu Chuan one after another.

Women generally dislike two types of men: lecherous and stingy. In their eyes, Zhu Chuan was a bit stingy. In the early days of the clinic's opening, to boost morale, Zhu Chuan announced that as long as the costs were recouped in the month, any excess would be distributed as bonuses. As a result, the first month's revenue was 150,000, and Zhu Chuan declared it "break-even"; the second month's revenue was 210,000, and Zhu Chuan declared it "break-even"; the third month's revenue was 280,000, and Zhu Chuan still declared it "break-even." Everyone was getting impatient and complaining privately. Later, Zoe suggested to Zhu Chuan that doctors received a base salary plus commission, while nurses received only a salary. She argued that nurses should be given some bonus, the amount of which was one thing, but whether they received it at all was another, to show the clinic's care for them. Zhu Chuan accepted her suggestion, and from then on, the nurses received monthly bonuses.

Zhu Chuan would try to save money or skip the monthly happy hour if possible, sometimes even combining two happy hours into one. Other companies' happy hours might be at more upscale places like the Taiwanese-owned KTV, or cheaper places like Holiday KTV or Lao Feng Ge for a meal. But Zhu Chuan, trying to save money, would have it at McDonald's, giving everyone a meal and a free toy, treating the doctors and nurses like children.

Once, an emergency patient came to the clinic, clutching his cheek, complaining of severe toothache. Unfortunately, all the doctors were busy. Zhang Tiejing asked Dr. Teng to temporarily put aside his patients to attend to this emergency patient. Dr. Teng was reluctant and told Zhang Tiejing to talk to the patient herself and see if he would agree. Zhang Tiejing, of course, couldn't bring herself to do it; who wants their doctor to run off to see another patient halfway through their shift? Frustrated, Zhang Tiejing complained to Zhu Chuan that the doctors weren't considerate of the front desk staff. Dr. Teng retorted that the front desk had handled the situation poorly—what kind of doctor sees two patients at the same time? It was utter nonsense.

Faced with their conflict, Zhu Chuan said something very insightful:

"Please communicate among yourselves."

This phrase later became almost Zhu Chuan's catchphrase. To be honest, Zhu Chuan didn't know how to mediate this conflict. In order to maintain his image, he simply pretended to be indifferent, saying, "Why bother me with such a small matter? Please communicate with each other yourselves."

If we can all communicate on our own, what's the point of having you as the boss?

In private, Zhang Tiejing said this to people.

When laymen lead experts, we can only rely on "self-communication."

This is what Dr. Teng said to Dr. Han.

Zhu Chuan died in a car accident. One evening, after having Japanese food with some friends at Hongqiao Airport, Zhu Chuan drove alone back to his apartment in Pudong. The accident occurred in the Yan'an East Road Tunnel, which crosses the Huangpu River. At the time, Zhu Chuan was driving a white Volkswagen Bora. In front of him was a container truck, and behind him was a large truck carrying construction waste. Because the truck in front was stopped, Zhu Chuan braked, but the truck's brakes failed, causing it to crash into the Bora and shove it forward until it collided with the container truck. The two trucks sandwiched the Bora between them, like two slices of bread sandwiching a piece of meat, completely crushing the car. It is said that when rescuers arrived at the scene, the Bora was severely deformed, and Zhu Chuan was trapped in the driver's seat, unable to move. Paramedics administered blood transfusions, while firefighters carefully cut the car with a welding machine. It took nearly an hour to free him. By the time he was taken to the hospital, it was too late; Zhu Chuan died from a ruptured aorta and excessive blood loss.

Afterwards, the traffic police brigade's accident investigation department determined that the truck transporting construction waste behind the vehicle had failed its brakes due to lack of maintenance, which directly caused the accident, and the truck must bear full responsibility.

However, the person is already dead, so how can this responsibility be borne?

The dump truck driver was reportedly sentenced to three years in prison.

Zhu Chuan's memorial service was a grand affair, attended by many distinguished guests from Beijing. Because of Zhu Chuan's father's connections, the Shanghai Municipal Government, including the Health Bureau, sent wreaths. General Manager Li also sent a wreath on behalf of the company's board of directors. Tu Bonian also attended; of all the men, he wept the most bitterly, repeatedly saying that he shouldn't have left the clinic and should have stayed by Zhu Chuan's side… giving the impression of Zhuge Liang mourning Zhou Yu.

After the memorial service, Mr. Li immediately convened an emergency meeting and announced that Zoe, the medical director, would serve as the acting general manager of the clinic and be fully responsible for the business in Shanghai.

This was somewhat unexpected, because after Zhu Chuan's death, the most likely successor should have been Wu Laogan, the clinic's number two person—the administrative director and financial director.

Mr. Li's meaning was very clear: he needed someone with both management skills and business acumen to take on this responsibility. The board of directors has high hopes for the Shanghai market; the second clinic in Shanghai will open next year, or at the latest the year after. We cannot train management personnel to become doctors, but we can train doctors to become management personnel.

After Zhu Chuan's death, a rumor spread in the clinic that Zhu Chuan was cursed to death by Zoe.

Some people have analyzed the birth dates and times of the two individuals. In terms of the Five Elements, Zoe belongs to Water, while Zhu Chuan belongs to Fire. Water and Fire are incompatible, and Water will be extinguished when it encounters Fire.

This is utter nonsense. There's an idiom called "a flat plain," where "plain" refers to land. Zhu Chuan's destiny contains a lot of earth, and in the Five Elements, earth controls water. As the saying goes, "when soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will hold it back." It should be Zhu Chuan controlling Zoe.

"The person spreading this rumor is right among us," Mao Lifang, who had been eating silently, suddenly blurted out.

Mao Lifang was implying that Zhang Tiejing was the one spreading the rumors. Zhang Tiejing understood, sneered, and retorted:

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Chapter 63: Wishful Thinking Fails

Xiao Yu obviously didn't want to show any disunity within her group in front of Du Yaofeng and the others, so she tried to smooth things over by saying, "Actually, I know that this matter has nothing to do with either of you. The one who spread the rumors is Wu Laogan."

Xiao Yu's move had an immediate effect; Wu Laogan quickly became the subject of conversation between Mao Lifang and Zhang Tiejing.

Even as the boss, Zoe remembered her position as "Acting," so she respected Wu Laogan greatly and consulted him on everything. Wu Laogan, however, often came up with some outrageous ideas. For example, he wanted the nurses to wear miniskirts, making them look like beer girls in a restaurant. It's said that at the Pacific Dental Hospital, which was invested in by the Japanese, female doctors and nurses were required to wear short skirts. Everyone found Wu Laogan's deliberate imitation laughable. Zoe advised him to abandon this absurd idea; patients came to the clinic to see a dentist and relieve their pain. If they wanted to have fun, they should go to a nightclub. White's positioning was high-end; if the nurses all wore miniskirts, even if it attracted some male patients, the clinic's image would become vulgar, which would be counterproductive.

Wu Laogan plays golf once a month, and he deliberately displays his golf club bag in his office as a way of showing off. His golf club membership is said to be quite valuable, enough to buy an Audi A6. At work, he browses websites on his computer, focusing on two main types: golf-related websites and real estate websites.

Wu Laogan bought four houses. He lives in one with his wife and children, his parents live in one, and he rents out the other two. He often calls his tenants from his office to remind them of some things, such as that the bathtub is a TOTO cast iron bathtub with a rubber pad at the bottom, and that the tenants should not find it troublesome. He also tells them that if they use a basin, they must put it on the rubber pad to avoid scratching the bathtub. He will come to check regularly.

Everyone says that Wu Laogan is far more competent as a landlord than the finance director and administrative director.

When Zhu Chuan had his car accident, SARS was raging. Restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, and even pedestrians on the streets were down by half. Like many industries, White Dental Clinic was facing its most difficult period. Business travelers to and from Shanghai plummeted. It's worth noting that high-level white-collar workers and business people are the main clientele of such upscale clinics. Although the situation in Shanghai was relatively better, according to official statistics, there were fewer than ten confirmed cases.

The sharp decline in patients visiting the clinic is an undeniable fact. Zoe mobilized the doctors to use their spare time to call and follow up with every patient who had visited the clinic. These doctors all came from state-run hospitals, where they never worried about having patients; their only worry was having too many patients and being so exhausted they couldn't even straighten their backs. They never had the mindset of following up with patients. Zoe needed to instill a new concept in them. Zoe gave this example: a Taiwanese man who lived in Shanghai for many years, only needed his teeth cleaned every six months. Instead of having it done in Shanghai, he bought a round-trip ticket back to Taipei to see his dentist. Was this just for a teeth cleaning? No, it was a pleasant reunion with an old friend. Therefore, we need to abandon our old ways of thinking and establish a new concept—I am not only your dentist, but also your friend.

To weather the storm, the clinic included discount coupons in its magazine advertisements, offering a 30% discount on teeth cleaning. This tactic proved effective, with a significant increase in customers. Xiao Yu even secured several large orders, such as dental checkups for students at a Singapore international school—the children of expatriates doing business in Shanghai. Through this concerted effort and multi-pronged approach, they finally survived the SARS outbreak in May and June.

Many Japanese people work in Shanghai, bringing their wives and children with them. The wives do housework, and the children go to school, creating a large market. Because Zhu Chuan had spent many years in Japan, he tirelessly worked to expand this market for his clinic, cultivating relationships and making connections, achieving some success. Whenever Japanese patients came, Zhu Chuan would sit next to the doctor, communicating fluently in Japanese for both patients and doctors. Zhu Chuan's death caused a sharp decline in revenue from Japanese patients, and the clinic urgently needed Japanese-speaking staff. Wu Laogan and Zoe reached an agreement and recruited Ms. Yao Zhizi online. She was from Shanghai and had previously worked as a dentist at a state-owned hospital. She resigned to pursue an MBA in Japan, where she spent seven years. Her Japanese name was Yamaguchi Eiko.

It should be said that Yao Zhizi was competent in both her professional skills and Japanese language proficiency. Wu Laogan was very excited and said that from now on, all Japanese patients would be treated by Yao Zhizi. Zoe, however, expressed concern. While Yao Zhizi was more than capable in Japanese, having spent seven years in Japan, she had also been away from the medical profession for seven years, meaning her skills had essentially become rusty. In China, even the best dentist is considered worthless once they go abroad. Their academic qualifications and medical experience are not recognized; they can't even become a dental assistant and must start from scratch, entering medical school and passing the dental licensing exam. Therefore, during her seven years in Japan, Yao Zhizi had no opportunity to work in the dental field.

Wu Laogan disagreed. In his view, being a doctor was like learning to ride a bicycle or swim; once you learned it, you'd never forget it. He wanted Yao Zhizi to show off her skills, so he asked Zhang Tiejing to arrange a teeth cleaning patient for her. Unexpectedly, a simple teeth cleaning took two and a half hours. The patient was covered in sweat, and Yao Zhizi herself was also drenched in sweat. Minnie, the nurse who worked with her, kept shaking her head, saying that one look at Yao Zhizi's movements showed that she was very inexperienced.

Yao Zhizi felt embarrassed by her unsuccessful attempt. She repeatedly assured Zoe that she could handle it, that she was just a little inexperienced. However, Zoe, as the medical director, dared not entrust the patient to her. This was a high-end clinic, where every patient was treated like royalty. There was no way she would be given a "training" opportunity. What if something went wrong and they all complained?

So Yao Zhizi could only sit in the clinic like a translator and wait for Japanese patients to come. But those Japanese had already become Zhu Chuan's friends and only came because of Zhu Chuan. They were not familiar with Yao Zhizi. Yao Zhizi's arrival failed to bring back the Japanese customers that had been lost to the clinic, and Wu Laogan's good wishes were dashed.

As time went on, Yao Zhizi found herself with nothing to do at the clinic. She would sit in front of the computer and play games like Minesweeper, Solitaire, and Alphabet, becoming quite the gaming expert at the clinic. However, her greatest interest was shopping; Yao Zhizi was a huge fan of the Burberry brand.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 64: Fighting poison with poison, the best healing method

When she went out, she told Wu Laogan that she was going to visit Japanese customers in the business district of Nanjing West Road to expand the market. Wu Laogan was very happy, but he did not expect that the "market" she was talking about was in the BURBERRY boutique.

It took a lot of effort for Ah Hu to steer the conversation away from trivial matters like Wu Laogan, Yao Zhizi, and SARS back to the main topic.

For some reason, all three of them were very secretive about Zoe's death, as if they were afraid of provoking something terrible.

Xiao Yu kept asking, "What did Xiao Hui say to you?"

How strange! He won't say it himself, but he's asking around to find out what others are saying.

The more they acted this way, the more Ah Hu felt that Zoe's death was a treasure trove worth exploring.

"After Zoe died, three more people died in succession," Xiao Yu said softly.

"Which three?" Ah Hu pressed.

Before Xiao Yu could answer, Mao Lifang shoved her hard: "We agreed not to mention it, how could you forget?!"

Xiao Yu glanced at Mao Lifang and had no choice but to swallow the rest of her words.

"So much time has passed, there's no harm in telling them..."

Zhang Tiejing seemed to be defending Xiao Yu, but Mao Lifang glared at her.

"Please don't forget, we're still working at the clinic! If they're really curious, they can ask the people who left the clinic, like Xiaohui and An Ruohong..."

The three of them whispering like this in front of Ahu, Nuonuo, and Du Yaofeng looked rather comical.

Then, Mao Lifang explained her words: "We're still working at the clinic, so we're always a bit hesitant about these kinds of things. You should be able to understand our feelings. To this day, I still feel Zoe's presence everywhere in the clinic. Every time I pass by her consultation room, I can smell Lancôme perfume, Zoe's favorite..."

As soon as Mao Lifang finished speaking, Xiao Yu suddenly covered her face and burst into tears.

The meal ended amidst hesitant conversation. Du Yaofeng paid the bill; the six of them only spent a little over three hundred yuan, a really good deal. Just as they walked out of the restaurant and waited for the elevator, Zhang Tiejing suddenly pulled Nuonuo aside and whispered to her:

"Those three people are Wu Laogan, Tu Bonian, and Yao Zhizi."

The people inside the clinic were unwilling to talk, so they had to find someone outside the clinic. Nuonuo called Xiaohui, and the person from the agency said that Xiaohui had gone on vacation. She was in a bad mood and went to Nanjing with her boyfriend, saying that she wanted to visit the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall? Where can I go to such a place to "relax"?

Even if you've just won the lottery, your mood will become heavy in that kind of place, because it's a place where 300,000 wronged souls gather!

If Ah Hu were to take out his ghost energy index measuring device, it would definitely be burning hot and would burst in no time.

Ah Hu smiled and said to Nuonuo, "You don't understand. I know why Xiao Hui would go to that kind of place."

Zhu Chuan's car accident, Zoe's fall from the building, and the deaths of Tu Bonian, Wu Laogan, and Yao Zhizi—although five people died, what are they compared to the 300,000 innocent souls killed by the butcher's knife?

Sometimes, fighting poison with poison is the best way to heal a wound.

Since Xiao Hui isn't here, we have to look for An Ruohong.

Mao Lifang said that she knew An Ruohong worked as a sales clerk in a pharmacy. When Nuonuo and Ahu found the pharmacy, the people there said that An Ruohong had resigned and left half a month ago, and they didn't know where she went.

Nuonuo called An Ruohong using the phone number provided by Mao Lifang; however, the number had been changed to a new owner.

"I remember now, An Ruohong called me a while ago."

Zhang Tiejing provided Ahu with a clue.

"That day I was at work when An Ruohong suddenly called, asking about the clinic's current situation. I told her we needed skilled nurses like her, and urged her to come back, saying everyone missed her. But she said she never wanted to work in the dental field again; she was completely disheartened. She also mentioned that several times when she passed by Huaihai Road, she looked up and wondered why Zoe's clinic was always dark. I told her it was the feng shui master who said that the room needed to be left empty for a year for the resentment to dissipate. I heard An Ruohong laugh, a bitter laugh, and say, 'What's the use of that?' and then ended the call."

"What number did she dial?" Ah Hu asked Zhang Tiejing.

She dialed my cell phone.

Does your phone have caller ID functionality?

"Yes, I have."

"Is the number still available?"

Zhang Tiejing took out her phone and fiddled with it for a bit: "I think this is the number."