The hospital officially issued the reform notice on a gloomy morning.
Shen Nanxing had just dropped Xiaobao off at kindergarten when her phone vibrated. In the emergency department nurses' group chat, the head nurse posted a screenshot of a document, followed by a message: “Each team leader is to organize a study session before ten. Everyone must acknowledge receipt online by four this afternoon.”
She stood at the kindergarten entrance, surrounded by parents dropping off their children. Some carried breakfast bags, some crouched to straighten their children's collars, and others hurried toward the subway station while making phone calls. Shen Nanxing opened the image and saw the line at the very top: “Notice on Further Optimizing the position Structure and Improving Operational Efficiency.”
Optimize.
Those two words blew out of the screen like a cold wind.
She enlarged the image and quickly scanned it. The document was written in highly formal language: “personnel efficiency assessment,” “dynamic position adjustment,” “exploration of outsourcing for non-core positions,” and “classified management of contract-based employment personnel.” Every term seemed to be wearing a suit—dignified and restrained, yet carrying a faintly visible blade.
Xiao Zhou posted a cautious emoticon in the group chat: “head nurse, does this have anything to do with the Emergency Department?”
The head nurse took several minutes to reply: “The entire hospital must implement this, and the Emergency Department is no exception. Everyone, do not overinterpret it for now. Work diligently.”
Do not overinterpret it.
Shen Nanxing stared at those words, and her heart sank even further.
When she arrived at the hospital, the atmosphere at the nurses' station was distinctly unusual. Normally, before the morning shift handover, everyone would chat about their children, the weather, or the new dishes in the cafeteria. Today, however, they all had their heads lowered, staring at their phones. The sound of the printer spitting out medical instructions was more grating than usual.
“Teacher Shen.” Xiao Zhou came over, her voice very low. “Did you see the notice?”
“I did.”
“What does classified management of contract workers mean?”
Shen Nanxing put her bag in the locker, pausing for a moment.
“It means they’ll assess the situation.”
“What situation?”
Shen Nanxing did not answer immediately.
Of course, she could guess. Age, education, contract type, performance assessment, night shift ability, complaint records, the number of times one had taken leave—even whether one had family obligations—could all become factors for evaluation. A person’s hard work over more than a decade might ultimately be broken down into a few indicators on a spreadsheet.
“Get to work first,” she said. “Don’t make any mistakes.”
Those words were both a reminder to Xiao Zhou and a reminder to herself.
At half past nine that morning, a traffic accident victim was brought into the resuscitation room. The Emergency Department lobby instantly descended into chaos. Shen Nanxing had no time to think about the reform notice and quickly assisted the doctor in establishing intravenous access, performing a blood draw, and preparing medication. The patient’s family was crying so hard they could barely stand. Xiao Zhou was facing such an urgent situation for the first time, and her hands trembled slightly.
Shen Nanxing said softly, “Watch my hands. Don’t look at the family.”
Her voice was not loud, but it was steady. Xiao Zhou took a deep breath and followed her through the verification process. The resuscitation continued for more than an hour before the patient was finally sent to surgery.
By the time they returned to the nurses' station, the morning meeting had been changed to a small meeting. The head nurse held the document and emphasized, point by point, service quality, complaint control, attendance records discipline, and position competency.
“All records must be standardized during this period,” the head nurse said. “Especially nursing documentation. There must be no omissions. The hospital will conduct spot checks.”
Someone could not help asking, “head nurse, are they going to lay people off?”
The nurses' station fell silent in an instant.
The head nurse looked at everyone. “I have not received any notice of layoffs. It’s only optimization. Don’t frighten yourselves.”
Shen Nanxing lowered her eyes.
Not having received one did not mean there would not be one.
During lunch, everyone sat in small groups in the break room to eat. The food had not even cooled completely before the conversation became impossible to steer away from the reform. The younger nurses worried about being transferred to another department, the veteran nurses worried about pay cuts, and the contract workers worried about being dismissed. Everyone was calculating how many bargaining chips they had.
Xiao Zhou said, “Teacher Shen, you’ll definitely be fine, right? You have so much experience.”
Shen Nanxing snapped apart her disposable chopsticks and smiled. “Experience is valuable sometimes, but sometimes it’s expensive too.”
Xiao Zhou did not understand.
Sister Li, sitting beside them, raised her head and glanced at Shen Nanxing. Neither of them continued speaking.
At four in the afternoon, Shen Nanxing opened the online acknowledgment form. A prompt appeared on the screen: “I acknowledge the relevant management requirements and promise to comply with the hospital’s position adjustment arrangements.”
She stared at the words “comply with” for a long time.
The instant her finger pressed down, she suddenly felt as though she were standing in a very long line. She could not see an exit ahead, and there was no a way out behind her either.
When she returned home that evening, her mother-in-law was checking Dabao’s homework. Gu Cheng'an was still at the hospital attending a meeting. As Shen Nanxing changed her shoes, her mother-in-law said without looking up, “You’re a little late today. Yichen is already sleepy.”
“There was a meeting at the hospital.”
“Another meeting?” Her mother-in-law sighed. “Why do you nurses have so many things to deal with?”
Shen Nanxing did not explain.
Because she knew that even if she explained, her mother-in-law might not understand. To her, hospital reform might simply be another reason her daughter-in-law had come home late. But to Shen Nanxing, it was like a storm drawing near. The sky had already darkened, and the wind had grown cold.
The people at home still thought it was merely an ordinary overcast day.