Chapter 1222 - The Dispute

Hearing this, Ai Beibei laughed coldly: "Director, I have no objection to how we took care of Liu Dalin before, and I agree with training barefoot doctors now and providing public medical care for workers. But what does that have to do with what I'm talking about? Stop dancing around the issue. I'm asking you one question: will you or won't you use the antibiotics we brought from the old timeline on this child? I know your difficulties. You can mock me for being sentimental, you can mock me for being a naive 'universalist'! I came to you today simply because I'm also a woman, also a mother, with the same natural maternal instinct as any ordinary woman! Every day I see this child's mother being utterly respectful to each of us, rushing to help clean the ward, studying nursing knowledge hard, patting the child's back—all so the child can get more care and get better sooner! It breaks my heart!"

She paused, her voice rising. "Yes, you've always been someone who cares about human rights, but people can change! Before you turn into a bureaucrat who only pays attention to reports, summaries, and statistical tables, think carefully—why did we come here! Though we all fantasized about being aristocratic lords for a thousand generations, didn't we cross over to realize a possibility for the world that's better than the original timeline? I don't agree with many people's goal of forming a rigidly stratified class society in the future, ruling over the ignorant poor at the bottom with scraps, with us at the top. If that's how it's going to be, then what's the point of all our efforts! If you're indifferent to naturalized citizens today, tomorrow you'll be indifferent to transmigrators without position or power! If you only act like a lord, sooner or later you'll be opposed by the angry masses below! Overthrown!"

After these words, Ai Beibei's face was flushed with agitation. She was breathing heavily, frowning and glaring at Shi Niaoren. Shi Niaoren stood behind his desk, at a loss for words and awkwardly uncertain what to say.

Just then, the door was pushed open again. Deng Bojun, the Health Department Office Director and Chief of Medical Affairs at Bairren General Hospital, came in with a smile plastered on his face. Ignoring the awkward atmosphere, he greeted both Shi and Ai while walking in, heading straight for Director Shi's desk. He fished out a document from the pile and said to Shi Niaoren: "Director, this regulation was sent over quite a while ago—regarding healthcare for female workers during their menstrual, pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing periods, the 'Three Periods.' It's time to sign it!"

Shi Niaoren glared at Deng Bojun: "Not this again. Didn't I say when I have visitors, no one's allowed in demanding signatures!"

Deng Bojun continued with an ingratiating smile: "Director, this wasn't easy to put together! Think of how much grief we suffered caught between the Planning Commission, the Civil Affairs People's Committee, the Native Rights Protection Committee, and the Women's Federation! Du Wen just got back from Jeju Island yesterday and came to the Health Department to raise hell—she said if you don't sign this regulation 'riddled with the ruling class's hypocritical nature,' she as the lead unit will have them scrap it and start over. Let's not suffer through all that twice!"

Shi Niaoren knew this regulation well. Originally drafted by the Women's Federation, it had been through the wringer for over half a year before finally being finalized. Because "Three Periods" healthcare involved labor efficiency issues, and the original draft was a direct copy of old-timeline systems, it had faced fierce opposition from the Planning Commission, Manufacturing Directorate, and multiple other departments. If implemented as written, female workers' annual available work hours would shrink—a significant number for industries and agencies currently severely short of labor, especially skilled labor.

Moreover, the Planning Commission had other concerns: among the large numbers of female immigrants they were bringing in, women of childbearing age comprised a high proportion. They could soon ease the current situation in Lingao and elsewhere of too many men and too few women, making it difficult to form families. But this would immediately trigger an even larger baby boom. Large numbers of female workers simultaneously pregnant and nursing would have an enormous impact on productivity. Therefore, the Planning Commission hoped to minimize the negative effects as much as possible.

After months of carousel-like consultations, debates, public feuding, and backroom deals, the final version was complete. Of course, no party was entirely satisfied. The Health Department had been quite supportive of such a regulation. But on key issues like whether menstrual leave was necessary, whether maternity leave should be 42 days or 4 months, and how heavy a workload pregnant women could handle, the Health Department had been cast in the role of "technical experts"—inevitably getting drawn into the vortex of factional battles. Each faction demanded "professional certification" favorable to their side. Naturally there were also people from various factions coming to lobby and "work the relationship."

Shi Niaoren was well aware that being captured by interest groups meant having to spout nonsense and be mocked as an "expert with an agenda." So he had refused all lobbying and made only very cautious "purely academic" statements on the physiological effects of the Three Periods on women—which essentially said nothing at all.

The regulation that emerged was largely based on the opinions of the Planning Commission and Manufacturing Directorate, drawing serious displeasure from Du Wen—but displeasure aside, she understood that a small step was still a big step. The moment she returned, she'd pressured the Health Department to co-sign so it could go to the Senate for a vote.

Shi Niaoren pulled out his personal seal from his pocket and stamped it, muttering quietly: "Du Wen making trouble, Du Wen has been making trouble long before this..." He stole a glance at Ai Beibei and swallowed the rest. Then, while sneaking peeks at Ai Beibei from the corner of his eye, he said to Deng Bojun: "I've been away from the department so long—what other urgent matters are there? Tell me quickly, so as not to delay everyone's business."

"The Agricultural Committee Biological Laboratory has successfully produced trial inactivated and attenuated Type A meningitis vaccines—here's the report. Here's the funding and materials application for developing the polio vaccine for children; and the Mandatory Immunization Plan—here's that report. These reports involve quite a few technical issues, so please review them at your leisure. Regarding the scope, implementation methods, and limits of public medical care—people have been working hard on this all week. We've done considerable work with Director Wen and several key transmigrators. We've set up a major special project. Now the Executive Committee has conveyed a directive: until a conclusion is reached on how the public medical care system should operate, any diagnostic and treatment activities that assist transmigrator healthcare, as well as new drug clinical trials, can be conducted at Bairren General Hospital or other hospitals with transmigrator doctors, under transmigrator doctor guidance, with costs coming from the Government Office's special fund. Director Wen and Xiao Zishan have both signed—please sign as well."

Shi Niaoren quickly leafed through this document, thinking finally there was a loophole to exploit, and hurriedly stamped it with his personal seal.

"This morning Ma Qianzhu sent over this—regarding establishing a maternal and child health clinical center at a location separate from Bairren General Hospital, mainly to treat non-employee naturalized citizens and their families, to develop medical staff capabilities and practical experience. Construction funds and operating costs will be fully covered by the Government Office, with supplies allocated by the Planning Commission. Wu Nanhai says he's preparing to set up a mutual aid fund among commune members under his agricultural division, which can provide us interest-free loans for some working capital. He also promised to mobilize some naturalized citizens for volunteer labor during the construction phase. And those nuns Wu Shimang has been sending to Bairren General Hospital for internships—they've agreed to be on loan to us for another two years. So we've got personnel."

Shi Niaoren didn't even look—he hurriedly stamped his seal.

"Here's a memorandum from the Education Department and Political Security: regarding establishing medical class academic years. Also, Fangcaodi is preparing to admit progressive young intellectuals from the mainland for study, including medical and nursing specialties—please review when you have time. Related to this is also a project in cooperation with the Commerce Department—foreign medical services, medical tourism, and the plan for establishing the Guangzhou General Hospital. Please review when you have time."

Shi Niaoren carefully reviewed the documents related to cooperation with the Commerce Department, then looked up at Deng Bojun: "You're improving—even though you still piled the sensitive issues at the end, at least you know to mark them with pencil now. Director Li's gold notes are generous indeed, you little—"

"It's all off-budget income for the department. The sheep's milk in the hospital cafeteria every morning, the experimental animals—they all come from there—" Deng Bojun wore a knowing smirk.

Shi Niaoren often stayed overnight at the office and had gradually gotten used to eating experimental animals without waiting for someone to taste-test first. He understood the implication in Deng Bojun's words, so he rolled up the memorandum into a tube with a straight face and symbolically bonked Deng Bojun on the head with it. Among the byproducts of the Manufacturing Directorate's spring development process were formidable-sized iron clips, used in the Health Department as chart clips. Deng Bojun was the only person in the entire Health Department—and a transmigrator at that—who made Shi Niaoren feel the urge to whack him on the head with a chart clip.

"I'm not approving that last document—who knows what private agenda you've slipped in. You—how many people are on the department roster now? Last time Wudaokou came to make me look bad, saying Health Department personnel numbers were second only to the security agencies—wasn't that all your doing behind my back?" Before Deng Bojun could speak, Shi Niaoren had already issued his eviction order. Deng Bojun grinned cheekily, said "Yes, Minister" to Shi Niaoren, and walked toward the door with the approved documents. Speaking to the air in Ai Beibei's general direction, he called out: "The Government Office is implementing living allowances for transmigrators on short assignments away from Bairren—the overseas ones like Hippo already have long-term policies. If you want more benefits this month, you'd better sign."

Shi Niaoren propped both hands on the desk and stood up. As he rose, his hands clenched slightly. Walking toward the office door, he said to the silent Ai Beibei: "I still haven't done morning rounds. Let's go check on the wards first. After we see that child, I'll reconsider the medication. Although the first-tier controlled drugs are all waiting to expire, there's not much grain left in the landlord's house either—if we really use it all up, and when transmigrators and their families need it there's none left and something happens, I can't bear that responsibility either. Today's matter—don't pull this on me again within six months."

Ai Beibei apologized for her earlier outburst, and the two seemed to reconcile. On the way to the ward, walking through familiar buildings, Shi Niaoren's emotions were complex.

(End of Chapter)