Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

The woman clung tightly to the man's legs, crying out, "Dr. Chen meant well! He only used those devices to save my man; otherwise, he would have died!"

"You can't sue him, you can't let him go to jail! I beg you, I'm begging you, I'll kowtow to you."

The man surnamed Liu looked at the woman with disgust and forcefully shook his foot: "Get off me..."

The woman still clung tightly to the other person's leg.

"Sister-in-law, there's no need to beg him." Chen Ping bent down and helped the woman up.

Then Chen Ping looked at the man surnamed Liu with a cold gaze and slowly spoke.

"You're giving a drug that hasn't even finished Phase I clinical trials to people. The patient has liver cancer, not a cold."

You describe hope as "efficiency," while hiding the risks in the fine print. Once a patient signs the consent form, their life is no longer their own; it belongs to your data.

"You ignore adverse reactions, but when the data is lost, you demand compensation. This isn't how you profit from tragedy."

Chen Ping became more and more excited as he spoke, and his eyes even turned a little red.

The man surnamed Liu turned pale.

It wasn't fear, it was the kind of paleness that comes from being publicly exposed, a paleness that ran from the neck all the way to the forehead.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, slow and steady.

Everyone turned their heads away.

Su Wenzong walked over.

He walked slowly, but each step was steady. He stopped in front of the man surnamed Liu, glanced at him, and then glanced at Chen Ping.

"Manager Liu, I'll handle this," Su Wenzong said calmly.

The man surnamed Liu recognized Su Wenzong. His expression returned to normal, but the corners of his mouth were still turned down.

"Dean Su, about this matter..."

He pointed at Chen Ping, "Although it wasn't your hospital, they moved our equipment on your hospital's premises, affecting our experimental data. Your hospital also has to bear some responsibility for this."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenzong frowned slightly: "Take responsibility? Whether our hospital takes responsibility or not is none of your business!"

These words left the man surnamed Liu speechless with embarrassment. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

The director of a municipal people's hospital was not intimidated by this so-called manager at all.

If they displease Su Wenzong, their pharmaceutical company can forget about cooperating with Tianhai People's Hospital in the future.

"Dean Su, that's not what I meant, it's just that this guy went too far..."

The man surnamed Liu glared at Chen Ping.

Su Wenzong looked at the man surnamed Liu but didn't reply.

He took out his phone from his white coat pocket, pressed a few buttons, and the screen lit up, but no one could see what was on it.

He held the phone to his ear, waited a few seconds, and then spoke.

"Director Wang, this is Su Wenzong. There's been a problem with a clinical trial at the People's Hospital."

The patient experienced a severe adverse reaction, and the family requested to withdraw from the program. In order to save the patient, our doctors removed the monitoring equipment.

The pharmaceutical company wants to pursue legal action and is demanding 500,000 yuan in compensation.

He paused for a moment, listened to what was said on the other end of the phone, and then Su Wenzong continued, "Yes, that's the matter. Intervention is necessary. The patient is on the verge of death; we can't just stand by and watch."

If this affects the trial data, then the problem lies with the pharmaceutical company's plan, not our hospital's fault.

The person on the other end of the phone said something else, Su Wenzong hummed in response, and then hung up.

He put his phone in his pocket and looked at the man surnamed Liu.

"Manager Liu, Director Wang from the Municipal Health Commission said that the patient's life safety must be the top priority in this matter."

I've reviewed your clinical trial agreement, and several clauses are controversial. If this escalates to higher authorities, it won't be good for anyone.

He paused, lowering his voice so low that only the man surnamed Liu and Chen Ping could hear him, "The data from your drug's Phase I clinical trials wasn't sufficient to begin with, and there were additional conditions attached to its approval by the province. Are you sure you want to make a big fuss about this?"

The man surnamed Liu stood there, his lips moving several times, as if he wanted to say something, but swallowed it back; as if he wanted to say something again, but swallowed it back again.

Finally, he turned around and left.

The man and woman who had come with them followed after seeing this.

One person was holding a tablet computer, another was holding documents, and the three of them turned the corner at the end of the corridor.

The corridor fell silent.

Su Wenzong stood there, looking at Chen Ping.

He didn't speak, and neither did Chen Ping.

The two people were three steps apart.

"Don't use that needle on just any thing. If something goes wrong, no one will cover for you."

After saying that, Su Wenzong left.

Chen Ping stared at Su Wenzong's retreating figure, his expression somewhat dazed.

He couldn't understand why Su Wenzong would help him.

"Dr. Chen, is everything alright?" the woman asked Chen Ping in a low voice.

Chen Ping was jolted out of his thoughts and nodded to the woman: "Sister-in-law, it's all over now, but you don't have any money, and staying in the hospital won't help you with any medication."

"If you trust me, take your man to the Siping Township Health Center. I can ask the director to reduce some of the fees for you and also provide your man with timely medical treatment."

"Yes!" The woman nodded vigorously. "I believe you. I'll go and get discharged right away."

After saying that, the woman turned around and went back to her ward.

Chen Ping stood in the corridor, watching her figure disappear behind the door, and took out his phone to call Zhao Guosheng.

It rang four times before I answered, and it was still so noisy on the other end—the sounds of electric drills, hammers, and people shouting all mixed together, like a pot of porridge.

"Dr. Chen! What's wrong?" Zhao Guosheng asked.

"Dean Zhao, there's a liver cancer patient who needs to be transferred from the People's Hospital to our health center. She's a woman with a husband and child, and they're broke and can't stay at the People's Hospital any longer. I've asked them to come to our center; could you make the arrangements?" Chen Ping said.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then the drilling suddenly stopped; he had probably covered the receiver.

A few seconds later, the sound returned, much clearer than before.

"Okay, arrange it. We've finished the renovations, the wards are all new. Have them come over, I'll personally receive them," Zhao Guosheng said.

It was Chen Ping who made that call; if it had been someone else, Zhao Guosheng probably wouldn't have agreed.

After all, the renovation of the health center is not yet fully completed, and the patient has liver cancer and no money. Is this still treating the health center as a charity?

"When we arrive, please arrange for your hospitalization. Try to waive any fees you can," Chen Ping said.

Zhao Guosheng said "Don't worry" and then hung up.

Chen Ping put his phone in his pocket and walked into the ward.

The woman was tidying up by the bed, stuffing tissues, a water glass, and a half-eaten loaf of bread from the bedside table into a plastic bag.

The child sat at the foot of the bed, touching the man's feet with his little hands. He had stopped crying, but his face was still pale.

The man lay on the bed with his eyes closed. His breathing was more even than before. His face was still yellow, but not as sallow as yesterday, and there was a bit more color on his lips.