Chapter 3 — People Who Live in the Middle of the Process

Being looked straight at by me, he clearly felt uncomfortable.
“But… salary is like a mother, sometimes… we should handle it flexibly…”
“Three months ago, I handled it flexibly.”
I smiled, extremely polite.
“And then he told me — ‘The procedure is to protect you, next time don't make any decisions on your own.'”
“I did.”
“Not a single word wrong.”
Tien Duy Minh's face at this moment was as if he had just swallowed a lump of mustard. Flushed. Turns purple. His lips trembled a few times, unable to speak. Because he actually said that statement. Say it right in front of three people from the Medical Department. Have proper notes. Luu Duc Thang moved his eyes from me to Tien Duy Minh, then back again. Switch back and forth two rounds. Finally, he took a deep breath and used the tone of "today's story stops here" to say:
"Okay, meeting's over. Trinh Lam stay a little longer."
The others came out one after another. When I left, no one dared to look at me. But I know what they are thinking. The door closed, leaving only three people in the meeting room. Liu Duc Thang, Tien Duy Minh, and me. Luu Duc Thang leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping on the table.
“Trinh Lam, what do you want?”
The tone of his voice was no longer angry like before, but instead was tired. I stood still without moving.
“Dear Director, I don't want any of that.”
“I just work according to the rules.”
“Do you call this working according to regulations?” He pointed to the complaint form on the table, "The family said it was eighteen minutes late. What if the person dies?"
“If someone dies, that's a process problem, not my problem.”
As soon as these words came out, Luu Duc Thang's eyelids twitched. Tien Duy Minh stood next to insert a sentence: "Trinh Lam, this attitude of yours -"
“Head of Money Department.” I turned my head to look at him, "Do you want to bring back my punishment document from three months ago, so we can compare it directly to see what I did wrong?"
His mouth opened, then closed again. Cannot be taken out. Or you could say, if I took it out, it would only prove it — what I do now, is exactly what they taught me to do three months ago. Luu Duc Thang rubbed his temples vigorously.
"This complaint... I will handle it. You go back to work first."
“Yes, Director.”
I turned around and walked towards the door.
“Trinh Lam.”
He called me again. I turned my head. He stared at me for three seconds, his eyes as complicated as a pot of overcooked porridge.
“You have changed.”
I smiled faintly.
“Not at all, just be more obedient.”
This story spread throughout the department. The spreading speed is extremely fast. At dinner, there were several tables in the restaurant discussing "Trinh Lam of the Emergency Department". Furthermore, there is more than just one version. Version 1: Trinh Lam was suspended for three months due to mental problems, the patient was about to die but she still sat there staring blankly. Version 2: Trinh Lam intentionally took revenge on the hospital, seeing that the patient could not be saved, used the patient as a bargaining chip. Version 3: Trinh Lam is truly a brave person, using rules to counter the rules, amazing. I sat in the corner of the restaurant eating braised meat, listening to the whispers around me. No excuses. No explanation. Explanation is useless most useful in this world. Three months ago I explained, “I did it to save people” — no one listened. Now I won't explain anymore. Just do it and you're done. After eating, on the way back to the department, Ton Le chased after me.
“Trinh Lam.”
"Yes."
“Are you really going to keep doing this forever?”
I glanced at her: "What does that mean? I just go to work normally."
“You know I'm not talking about this.” She lowered her voice and looked around, "Yesterday's patient, did you really... think you could still make it?"
"Of course."
“What if we don't make it in time?”
I stopped walking. Seriously look at her.
"Ms. Le, my eight years of working in emergency medicine were not done for fun. How much golden time does my blood pressure drop, how much golden time is left, and what is the rate of bleeding from a ruptured spleen, I know it clearly in my heart."
“I don't use the patient's life to sulk.”
“I just — don't want to take on the risk of this system anymore.”
She was silent for a long time. Finally let out a sigh.
“You should be careful.”
"Yes."
Be careful of what? Be careful, someone is playing tricks on me? Or be careful, someone will falsely accuse me? It's okay. Three months ago, I risked my life to save people, but in return I was suspended from work and had my pay cut. Now that I strictly follow the regulations, what reason can they use to punish me? Violations of the new regulations may result in penalties. I'm not in violation. What can you do to me? Day three. Things are starting to get interesting. This morning, my clinic received a case of acute appendicitis, an elderly woman in her seventies, in so much pain that she was shaking. Her family member, her daughter, in her forties, was always by her side following the process closely. I followed the usual procedure — Clinical examination, blood draw, CT scan, signed the informed consent form, and contacted the Department of Surgery.