Chen Yuting's eyes welled up with tears, yet she had to stand up and apologetically bow to everyone, busying herself with apologies and greetings.
The crowd couldn't maintain their stern expressions any longer and offered polite words of comfort.
Afterward, Chief of Staff Xu continued, "Given your significant error during treatment, I have communicated with the Military Region Hospital. You will receive a major demerit and your medical practice license will be temporarily suspended. You can resume your duties after passing the quarterly assessment!"
Chen Yuting was shocked. A major demerit would go into her file, becoming a stain on her record. While she didn't care about its impact on her rating or awards, it would greatly affect her personal image within the Military Region, an image and reputation she had always been proud of...
"This, this is unfair! Chief of Staff Xu! I was busy all night yesterday and was exhausted! You have no idea how many patients I saw! I forgot to do the skin test because I was too tired! It wasn't intentional!"
"As a doctor! Even a small mistake can lead to irreversible consequences! Last night, a life was almost lost. Can't this make you realize your mistake?! Although you are not directly managed by the Regiment Headquarters, I have discussed your situation with your Hospital Director, and Commander Chen also agreed to this matter. This is a unanimous decision by everyone!"
"Impossible! My father, he..."
Chen Yuting was halfway through her sentence when someone suddenly shouted from outside the crowd, "Chief of Staff Xu, may I interrupt!"
A doctor walked in and said, "Company Commander Lu just woke up! He asked me to relay a message: he's willing to use his military merit to compensate and hopes you can plead with the organization for leniency for Military Doctor Chen! Uh, that's all... I've delivered the message! I'll be going now!"
After speaking, the doctor turned and left.
Chen Yuting, whether from emotion or something else, covered her face and began to cry.
Song Ning watched from the side...
Tsk! Quite a lot of information!
So she's the Regiment Commander's daughter!
This Lu fellow isn't stupid; even while on the brink of life and death, he hasn't forgotten to play the hero and save the damsel!
I've heard of making up for mistakes with merit, but never using one's own merit to offset another's fault...
If it were like this, then those who make mistakes wouldn't need to be punished; they could just find someone with merit to compensate!
Tsk! This clearly won't work!
This behavior from the Lu fellow is clearly an attempt to curry favor with Chen Yuting...
It's just a few words, he's sold a favor and won't lose anything himself!
Just as she was thinking this, she saw Chen Yuting, who had been wiping her tears, suddenly look towards her...
"Chief of Staff! I want to report! It was her—"
Chen Yuting pointed directly at Song Ning and said, "She was the one who first removed Brother Changqing's stitches, which led to Brother Changqing's re-infection and even life-threatening danger! She was also the one who incited everyone to strike! If it weren't for the overwhelming workload, I wouldn't have forgotten to do the skin test! She is the culprit behind all of this!"
Chen Yuting's demeanor became righteous, as if she had been injected with a stimulant, and she said sternly:
"My mistake was also because she erred first! I demand that this matter be handled fairly! Brother Changqing was so severely injured while rescuing equipment! He deserves commendation! We cannot let Brother Changqing suffer in vain because of her unprofessionalism!"
Song Ning, who had been peacefully observing as a spectator, was inexplicably pulled into the center of the crossfire.
She turned to Zheng Changan beside her and said, "Doctor Zheng, could you please get my bag from that small room where we put our luggage!"
Zheng Changan's eyes lit up instantly, "Sure thing! Right away!"
He had been waiting for ages!
He knew Sister Ning always had a backup plan!
"Chen Yuting! This is an internal decision by the Military Region, it has nothing to do with the masses!" Chief of Staff Xu said sternly.
Chen Yuting, however, was relentless, "Even if I accept the punishment, I hope the entire situation can be investigated first! I demand fairness and justice! This is reasonable, isn't it!"
She turned to Director Sun and said, "Director Sun, I hope you, as leaders of the masses, can also make a fair judgment!"
Director Sun, being called upon, became hesitant. He glanced at Doctor Feng.
Doctor Feng was even more troubled. These team members were volunteers for disaster relief, coming from various townships, most without a formal unit. He hadn't even figured out which village Comrade Xiao Song was from...
Setting aside whether she was wrong or not, even if she was, how could she be punished?
Suspended? Without a unit or a position...
Deduct pay? She's a volunteer! A volunteer! She doesn't have a penny!
..
Song Ning found it amusing. She had wanted to remind Chen Yuting yesterday. Chen Yuting always threatened her with reports and complaints, but they were truly useless against her!
Chen Yuting's intentions were obvious: she wanted to lessen her punishment, not hinder Lu Changqing's merit, and also drag Song Ning down with her.
She really had a good plan!
She was clearly relying on her Regiment Commander father; otherwise, who would dare to act so brazenly in front of the Chief of Staff!
Seeing everyone looking at her, she stepped forward and began to speak:
"Since Military Doctor Chen mentioned me, I will explain. The origin of this matter is that Military Doctor Chen repeatedly questioned whether I had properly cleaned Lu Company Commander's wound, leading to his fever, is that correct?"
Everyone had been present yesterday, and as Song Ning spoke, they all nodded.
"Doctor Feng, please tell everyone, what was Lu Company Commander's temperature when he had a fever yesterday?"
"38.2."
"Lu Company Commander had a low-grade fever all day yesterday, which is a normal immune response after a traumatic injury. Military Doctor Chen, however, fixated on the fever. I had no choice but to let Chen Military Doctor examine the wound. The wound was neither red nor swollen, nor inflamed! Chen Military Doctor still insisted I hadn't cleaned it properly... I had no choice but to remove the stitches... Otherwise, what did you want me to do?"
Song Ning looked at Chen Yuting, her tone laced with helplessness.
"Don't you know how to apologize?! I just wanted you to apologize! You're a barefoot doctor, what are you so proud of! Is it that difficult to admit a mistake?" Chen Yuting blurted out.
Song Ning smiled; she truly was a spoiled young lady with no brains.
She calmly retorted, "Where exactly did I go wrong? Military Doctor Chen! Why should I apologize? Is it because my status is inferior to yours? Is it because most of us here are barefoot doctors, so we are naturally subject to your questioning and disdain?"
Chen Yuting was instantly speechless.
Chief of Staff Xu's gaze towards her was like ice.
"Chen Yuting! Do you know what you are doing? This Doctor Song just saved Lu Changqing's life! And Lu Changqing developed a high fever after your treatment! Despite being slandered by you, she still put aside her grievances and, when you and everyone else were helpless, rectified your mistake! She pulled Lu Changqing out of danger! This doctor you look down upon, in both medical skill and character, is far superior to you!"
Chen Yuting could not accept these words at all. Her eyes red, she shouted loudly:
"But she, didn't she consider the family members' feelings? I was just worried about Brother Changqing and a bit anxious, so I said a few harsh words! She shouldn't have removed his stitches! Is that normal behavior for a doctor? According to her logic, if a patient's family says a few angry words to a doctor, should the doctor take it out on the patient? Wouldn't that be chaos?"
Chen Yuting dared not look at Chief of Staff Xu. She seemed to have suddenly found a reason to defend herself, her voice growing louder and louder, and she felt more and more justified. She pointed at Song Ning again and said:
"It was you! Not only did you remove the patient's stitches, but you also led the strike! Everyone can testify that you were the first to suggest temporarily stopping work! I worked all night, while you rested all night..."
Before Chen Yuting could finish speaking, someone outside the crowd shouted loudly:
"Is Comrade Song Ning inside?"
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