Chapter 818: Police Response at the Hospital

"What's wrong? You're not in high spirits?"

That night, apart from Xia Jie, Wang Yan and the other three were off duty. When Wang Yan returned as usual around eleven, he saw Li Dawei, Zhao Jiwei, and Yang Shu eating hotpot and drinking at the table—the pot was full of foam, and the spinach was almost dissolved.

"You're back, Brother Yan," Zhao Jiwei greeted his elder brother, "plenty of meat left—have some more."

Li Dawei sighed in reply: "Da Shu's being transferred back to the municipal bureau. They're launching some major special investigation and pulling people from all the police stations. Da Shu was originally on their roster anyway—so it's perfect timing to send him back."

"I thought it was something huge." Wang Yan washed his hands, walked over, and sat down at the table. He opened a beer and drank it down in gulps, then mixed his dipping sauce while speaking: "He's going to the municipal bureau—it's not far from Bali River. Subway's only forty minutes. If you don't mind the commute, he could live with us just fine—just longer travel time. It's not like you won't see him anymore. Why so down?"

"But we won't be together all day anymore. Just thinking I might not see Da Shu again… my heart feels cold, cold…"

Yang Shu looked utterly speechless: "Come on, you're acting like I'm dead."

He'd been speechless for a long time ever since hearing he was being transferred. Li Dawei and Zhao Jiwei had been moping about it, making him feel helpless.

Li Dawei waved his hand dismissively: "Brother Yan's right. If you live there, you'll just have a longer commute—that's all. Not so bad."

"Little Shu, believe me—living near Gu Zheng's place is best," Gu Zhengqing said. "There you pay a thousand a month for a tiny room—how uncomfortable can that be? But if you live in Ping'an District, rent's only about two thousand, and the conditions are decent. More importantly, you've heard the municipal bureau has some idle posts—he'll probably be busy elsewhere, not like our frontline work, where we're running around like dogs all day. A longer commute isn't a big deal."

Xia Jie turned to the couple, knowing she was in the wrong, and asked: "What's wrong with you?"

For Xia Jie, the latter was far more important. The former mattered too, but such people needed certain wisdom to guarantee their upper limit. Yet such people were one in ten thousand—rare to encounter. Because if you steadily train such a person, in ancient times they'd become generals or prime ministers. In modern reality, however, it's uncertain. Due to background, environment, and other factors, they've taken different paths, and their innate potential has nowhere to manifest.

"He's the head of the respiratory department, right? Let me see the imaging first," Xia Jie nodded toward the silent, glasses-wearing male doctor in his seventies.

Relatively speaking, Gu Zheng actually disliked such people—because obedience and execution were crucial qualities. Obedient execution often outperformed wild, imaginative execution: the former reliably completed set goals; the latter might make unexpected moves—sometimes improving outcomes, sometimes making things worse.

The next day, after exercising, Xia Jie drove Cao Army Supervisor and Li Dawei to eat a hearty breakfast before heading to the station. Yang Shu had already been transferred—he was reporting to the municipal bureau today for his new job.

The Xue Director incident hadn't happened yet, but the task still existed—and this time, it conveniently got Yang Shu out of the way. After all, Yang Shu had only been there a year. Now he was being recalled for some investigation; once the task was done, there was no need for him to return.

"What's the problem?" the man replied.

Gu Zheng nodded: "Then check the surveillance."

Xia Jie looked at the couple: "I'm being very clear—you two are looking at at least seventeen days' detention. Whether you face criminal charges depends on the injuries to the nurse and doctor. If you can gain their forgiveness, it'll be seventeen days' detention as a warning. If not, we'll decide based on the earlier assessment."

The old man spoke beautifully, but inside he was cursing his son for being useless. Comparison was terrifying: my son still begs me for money to chase girls. Xia Jie is much older than my son, yet has already achieved so many accomplishments—published numerous papers and articles, and is a fearless, intimidating person. Even I, a vice director, have to tread carefully around him—it's infuriating…

"Zhao Jiwei, arrange for us to check this man's heart."

"Sure, let's see what kind of skills the doctors at the Eighth Hospital have," Xia Jie readily agreed. "After we eat, I'll walk around the hospital, check the wards—any problems?"

The head of the respiratory department took the man's CT film, held it up to the light for two minutes, then handed it back: "The CT shows nothing abnormal. Did you get blood tests done?"

Seeing Yang Shu looking at him, Xia Jie smiled and nodded: "Don't be so formal. Renting in Ping'an is cheap—you earn seven thousand a month, spending two thousand on rent is a bargain. If you can afford more, fine. But you don't have the means—save where you can. Is it worth eating less meat for that money?"

Yang Shu wasn't empty-handed either—he received a personal commendation for the counterfeit bill case. When Xue Director lay in wait to catch Bao Xiaoquan, Yang Shu joined the operation. That case was originally assigned jointly to Yang Shu and Xue Director; they conducted interviews together. So after the case closed, he received another personal commendation. With these two commendations plus his master's degree, Yang Shu had already launched into a super-fast track.

Xia Jie wasn't surprised the vice director knew him—in fact, at this level, in Siwaihe, it'd be strange if he didn't know Wang Mou.

Ping'an City doesn't allow anyone more powerful than Gu Zheng. If there were, and if that person were powerful enough to challenge Wang Yan, Li Dawei suspected that person wouldn't last more than a week…

But he couldn't arrest the man directly—it was a hospital, and the man was here to seek treatment. He couldn't just say the man was healthy. Humanitarian care still had to be observed. Letting him get checked wouldn't take long.

A crowd had gathered here: the hospital security chief and guards, the medical affairs chief and staff, patients and their families, even a vice director and department heads.

"Oh my, it's Officer Wang on duty!" The seventy-year-old vice director stepped forward to shake hands with Xia Jie, who was even younger than his own son. "I'm Xue Chuanming, vice director of this hospital."

The man finally spoke, voice like a mosquito: "I feel short of breath. Came to get checked. I just wanted the doctor to look at the film—it shouldn't take long. If I hadn't held myself back, I'd have said something and lost control—I didn't mean to."

The medical affairs chief led Xia Jie to a computer, played the surveillance video—sound off. The footage matched the chief's account: the head nurse never said anything offensive, only maintained order. Hospitals operate by queue number; this man insisted on cutting ahead. He said, "I'll be quick, just a moment."

It was the instructor who called—said a patient at the Eighth Hospital had assaulted a nurse, a doctor tried to protect her, a fight broke out, and they lost. The hospital itself called the police, asking Xia Jie to respond immediately.

"Thanks," Yang Shu nodded. "I'll see how things are at the municipal bureau. If it's not too busy, I'll still live here. If it's hectic, forget it—saving an hour round-trip is worth it. A little extra sleep isn't bad."

Gu Zheng noticed Li Dawei's expression. Honestly, this kid was the purest of the three—purely clinging to a leg.

Government offices differ from frontline units—there are too few chaotic incidents, but office politics still exist. Unlike us frontline cops, who are brothers-in-arms, bound by solid revolutionary camaraderie. Yang Shu isn't local, he's new, and somewhat upright—his situation in the office won't be easy. Without Wang Yan's support, he'd be in terrible shape.

But if you align with Wang Yan and stay closely connected, things change. You don't need Wang Yan to storm the municipal bureau and yell—just having Yang Shu casually call and chat about Wang Yan's exploits, leveraging Wang Yan's formidable reputation, would guarantee him safety—no one would dare hassle him.

He didn't even notice when it started, but he hadn't received a ticket in a while. Of course, he wasn't seeking privilege—except for illegal parking, he strictly followed traffic rules. It's just that traffic cops gave him special consideration—what could he do?

Undoubtedly, this was a no-parking zone—but more obviously, Xia Jie didn't care about the seven-hundred-yuan fine. In the past, his car might still get tickets in Siwaihe, but today, even the people of Siwaihe driving past knew his car. Along the road, they either honked or rolled down their windows to greet him. How could the dark traffic squad not know Wang Mou's vehicle?

Xia Jie, driving with the Liu auxiliary officer, arrived at the hospital in under eight minutes. He parked the car by the roadside near the entrance, not blocking traffic. The two turned on their body cameras and walked into the hospital.

Whether he lived there or not didn't matter to Xia Jie—he was just making a statement. Besides, those people living at home disrupted daily life, especially his and Brother Yan's. The space was small, the soundproofing poor, laundry and drying couldn't be separated, and awkward situations arose. Moreover, our job meant we rarely stayed home long anyway.

After shaking hands to acknowledge each other, Xia Jie turned to the patient and his family: "Tell me what happened."

"I'll make a call," Zhao Jiwei said, satisfied with Xia Jie's handling—though he dared not voice his approval. He immediately dialed, summoned a doctor, and took the couple for examination.

Watching the couple leave, Zhao Jiwei said: "Officer Wang, results might take until one in the afternoon. Have you eaten? Want to grab a bite at our cafeteria?"

Xia Jie had no patience to waste words with this couple—he'd already diagnosed: the man had no serious illness, just some obesity causing myocardial hypertrophy, leading to chest tightness and shortness of breath—nothing major.

They came for treatment—you can't delay their condition. Isn't that urgent? Perfect—Zhao Jiwei, give them a priority channel, special handling, get them checked fast. If they're truly ill, we'll follow the hospital's advice. If they're not, we'll handle the issue. Don't waste my time. You've seen the surveillance yourselves—don't be arrogant when causing trouble, then whine when being dealt with. Go—let Zhao Jiwei arrange it."

After chatting casually with Brother Yan during his regular shift, Gu Zheng, equipped just as messily as the Liu auxiliary officer, went out on patrol again—another duty day.

"Of course there's a problem. When we go with Officer Wang, we'll treat it like a walk after dinner. Didn't expect Officer Wang, so devoted to the people, would come to the hospital and still find time to check on our patients—truly devoted to the public. Admirable, admirable."

Although government agencies had relatively fewer connections, Yang Shu still had opportunities within them…

No one needed to say it—we all knew Gu Zheng, and we all knew Xia Jie's reputation: fair and impartial in handling matters.

This was Li Dawei's opinion—he didn't say it outright, but even if Yang Shu made it to the municipal bureau, he should still cling to Gu Zheng. Even within the same city, they hadn't spent much time together—only half a year at most. Once separated, that bond would fade quickly. But what kind of person was Gu Zheng? He was a fearsome figure who had made his name in Ping'an City.

Yang Shu's transfer was part of the original plot. But in the original story, this happened after Xue Director was sentenced to months in prison for drunk driving. With the mission assigned, Wang Shouyi naturally sent Yang Shu away—otherwise, seeing Yang Shu would remind him of Xue Director, the disappointing son, and it'd be annoying.

"No lung issues? Lung function tests weren't done. Check the heart—see if it's a cardiac problem," the respiratory department head professionally advised, then turned his attention to Xia Jie.

As the four laughed and ate, they didn't disperse until past five.

Seeing Xia Jie frown, the medical affairs chief spoke up: "Officer Wang, I'm Zhou Zongliang, medical affairs chief of this hospital. Let me explain. It's simple—they wanted to cut the line. The on-duty nurse said a few words, and this man slapped her."

He pointed to the eighty-year-old man, head held high, and continued: "After hitting her, one of our respiratory doctors came out to reason with him. The man's husband spoke extremely harshly and struck our doctor first. Our doctor was forced to defend himself, and they wrestled. Our security staff intervened and controlled the scene, then called the police. All of this is on surveillance—we've already pulled the footage."

Since Xia Jie became a regular officer, Siwaihe Police Station's experience has been: whenever any government or public institution has trouble, if Xia Jie is on duty, just send him. If he's off-duty, call him first, then report to station leadership. Xia Jie never disappoints—if the station isn't at fault, the other side suffers.

A silence fell.

Near noon, the incident occurred.

Li Dawei looked furious, as if disappointed by a failure—but he said nothing. If it were me, I'd cling to my big brother and refuse to leave. Having a leg to cling to is one thing; it also saves money. For a thousand a month, you get such a nice place—where else could you dream of that? Saving an hour a day on commuting? What's that?

Although the instructor, when clarifying the situation, said that words like "the patient is causing trouble" were quite apt, Xia Jie didn't say anything either. Conflicts outside the hospital really are too few — it might be the doctor's problem, it might be the nurse's problem, it might be the patient's problem, in short, anyone might not be at fault.

The hospital security guards had long been waiting inside. Seeing Xia Jie and the others arrive, they hurried to greet them, then led us to the medical affairs department.

Thanks to big brother (Infinite Elder) for the 500-coin tip in support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who cast monthly tickets in support,

Thanks to all the brothers who cast recommendations in support,

Thanks to the big brothers who read silently in support.