Chapter 2592 - Investigation (Part 19)
The gang's obsession with Provincial-Hong Kong General Hospital was easy enough to understand. It boasted the highest patient volume, the greatest drug consumption, and—most critically—the largest concentration of naturalized citizen employees. Only here could the scheme of using forged prescriptions to siphon publicly-funded medications truly flourish. The scattered civilian clinics had too few naturalized citizen patients; extracting drugs there would be cumbersome and inefficient. So the criminals had zeroed in on Provincial-Hong Kong General Hospital like moths to a flame.
By extension, Lingao General Hospital and Joint Logistics' subordinate facilities—the Army Hospital, the Navy Hospital, and Joint Logistics General Hospital—were all major consumers of publicly-funded medications. Their vulnerabilities were likely just as severe.
Obtaining prescriptions from private institutions, then extracting drugs from public hospitals—brilliant, Zheng Mingjiang mused. In the future, publicly-funded prescriptions will need to be separated from self-pay prescriptions. That alone would plug the prescription loophole.
But that was a problem for later. Right now, sealing the Provincial-Hong Kong breach took priority.
The joint investigation also uncovered other parasites feeding on the system. Outside Provincial-Hong Kong Hospital's main gate—even in its restrooms—advertisements appeared offering to buy medications. The mere existence of such ads told Zheng Mingjiang that some naturalized citizen employees were exploiting their publicly-funded benefits, extracting drugs from the hospital pharmacy and reselling them to medicine peddlers.
Though the timelines differed, the principle remained eternal: wherever arbitrage opportunities existed, people would find ways to profit.
Once Zheng Mingjiang understood the drug extraction schemes, she immediately forwarded the leads to Wu Mu. After a covert investigation, the team quickly compiled a list of those involved.
Wu Mu drew a sharp breath when he finished reading it. "If we arrest everyone on this list, Provincial-Hong Kong General Hospital will have to shut its doors."
The names of those directly involved in illegal drug extraction—naturalized citizen doctors, nurses, pharmacists, clerks—added up to a full third of Provincial-Hong Kong General Hospital's staff. And these were only those with hands directly in the cookie jar. If dereliction of duty were added as a charge, probably half the hospital couldn't escape responsibility.
Even the Ten-Person Team's informants planted inside the hospital had been "completely wiped out." Of five agents, only one had submitted a relevant report.
Factor in those who had leveraged their cadre-employee status to obtain false prescriptions, sporadically extracting publicly-funded drugs for resale—and a significant portion of naturalized citizen cadres and employees across all of Guangzhou would be implicated.
"Excessively harsh measures would be inadvisable," Wu Mu told Zheng Mingjiang. "Naturalized citizens in the health system take years to train. They're valuable assets of the Senate. My recommendation: aside from a handful of ringleaders, most should be addressed through private conversations. Have them confess and return their illegal gains rather than face formal arrest and prosecution."
Though reluctant, Zheng Mingjiang had to admit Wu Mu was right. A truly "thorough investigation" would force Provincial-Hong Kong General Hospital to close. And if that storm then swept through Lingao General Hospital, Joint Logistics' Army and Navy Hospitals...
She didn't dare imagine the aftermath—it would be catastrophic.
"My position is that the 'thorough investigation' policy remains unchanged," Zheng Mingjiang said after careful deliberation. "Where problems exist, we investigate them all. However, personnel handling will follow Political Security's guidance. Prosecute only the ringleaders; warn the rest and require them to return illegal gains. Our future operations will adhere to this principle. Please inform Director Zhao on my behalf..."
Though Political Security had yet to act, the pressure from Cheka's high-profile "audit" transmitted down through the system exactly as Zheng Mingjiang had intended.
At the investigation team's routine meeting in Boluo County, everyone was consolidating intelligence and analyzing the latest developments.
"He Jun has grown increasingly secretive lately," Zheng Xiaoyu reported. "He goes out alone more often. When he's at the shop, he sighs constantly, drinks by himself, and seems indifferent to the business. The cleanup launched in Guangzhou must be putting pressure on this network."
"He Jun isn't the only one. We've observed many implicated persons throughout Huizhou acting suspiciously—holding frequent private meetings, moving about even at midnight. And based on our surveillance of pawnshops and money houses, their finances appear strained."
"There's more. Internal conflicts have erupted among them, even triggering public security incidents. But they're keeping tight-lipped about the cause."
"Also, Lushi Powder prices seem to be climbing, though the increases aren't uniform."
...
Synthesizing everyone's intelligence, Lu Cheng concluded that Elder Zheng's actions at the source had disrupted what had been a smooth supply channel. Clear signs of shortage and financial strain had emerged.
With the source no longer releasing drugs, Jubao Tang's supply had also hit difficulties. There had been multiple instances of peddlers arriving for pickups only to leave empty-handed or with partial orders. This had sparked numerous conflicts—including one peddler who mysteriously turned up dead in an alley.
According to intelligence from the turned Peddler Qian, Jubao Tang's original purchasing rules required cash on delivery. As drugs grew scarce, that changed to pre-ordering with deposits. Then it became full prepayment before pickup.
Previously, goods arrived within three to five days of payment—nine days at worst. Now some peddlers had waited over ten days after paying and still received nothing.
These peddlers all ran small operations, some with borrowed capital, relying on quick turnover for fast profits. With their money tied up at Jubao Tang and no drugs forthcoming, dozens found themselves in desperate straits. Some demanded explanations, but Jubao Tang refused refunds and couldn't promise delivery dates. Conflicts erupted, and police were called to maintain order.
Fortunately, the peddlers knew better than to expose themselves. Aware they were engaged in illicit trade, they claimed only economic disputes—so the police investigated no further.
But this situation didn't prompt Jubao Tang to accelerate deliveries. If anything, delays worsened. By now, the longest wait had stretched to nearly twenty days.
"...The peddlers are all discussing what to do."
"Have they reached any conclusions?"
"Everyone has their own opinion—no consensus," Peddler Qian said helplessly. "My own few dozen yuan are stuck in there. Still nothing!"
After dismissing Peddler Qian, team members reported to Lu Cheng that despite Jubao Tang's inability to deliver goods, they remained active behind the scenes. According to surveillance results and intelligence Yuan Shuzhi had managed to transmit from inside, Quan Youde's orders to Wanchun Quan hadn't decreased at all.
No Australian drug sources, yet still ordering large quantities of Lushi Powder—something didn't add up. Without pharmaceutical factory drugs, what use was the powder alone?
"Two possibilities," Lu Cheng analyzed. "First, they believe the supply disruption is temporary. They're stockpiling Lushi Powder now so they're ready when shipments resume. Second, this operation is winding down, and they're bulk-purchasing Lushi Powder to make one last score with counterfeit product."
"A pity we can't contact Yuan Shuzhi. We might learn more..."
"Actually, contacting him isn't difficult." Lu Cheng smiled. "Aren't we auditing accounts in Boluo County? Perfect. We'll have our Tax Bureau colleagues visit the medicine market with notice that we're randomly selecting ten shops for inspection—accountants must bring their ledgers. Then we close the door and have a thorough conversation with Old Yuan. Ask him whatever we want."
He Jun's strange behavior was becoming impossible to ignore.
Zheng Xiaoyu could see plainly that He Jun had lost all the swagger he'd displayed when recruiting him. He'd grown indifferent to running the shop and had even stopped bothering to "keep up appearances" around him.
Zheng Xiaoyu decided to take the initiative and invite him for drinks.
The location was, naturally, He Jun's villa. Upon meeting, after exchanging a few words, Zheng Xiaoyu sensed the man was burdened with worries. He probed deliberately: "Elder brother, you've seemed preoccupied lately, like something's weighing on you. And those prescription forms—I've already prepared several pads..."
He Jun forced a smile. "What worries would I have? Business just isn't going well, that's all." He didn't even acknowledge the prescription forms.
Zheng Xiaoyu understood well enough. He smiled. "Your business seems quite prosperous to me, elder brother. What's not going well? Even the Joint Clinic is packed with patients... I see it needs extra appointments every day..."
"Sigh!" He Jun heaved a deep breath, took another gulp of wine, and kept his head down in silence, as if wrestling with something internally.
"Elder brother, though we're business partners, we swore brotherhood before the gods—we're true brothers. What can't you tell me?"
He Jun smiled bitterly. "Some things... perhaps it's better you don't know." He sighed again. "It's not that I don't trust you. But this business has encountered enormous upheaval. Don't speak of our brotherhood or partnership anymore. Don't come here again either—you might get dragged into trouble."
"Elder brother, don't joke around. We're in the same boat now. What can't be said?" Zheng Xiaoyu pressed, working to lower his guard.
These words largely dispelled He Jun's wariness. After a moment's reflection, he said: "I won't hide it from you, brother. Do you know what I wanted those prescription forms for?"
"Of course I know." Zheng Xiaoyu smiled.
"You know?!" Alarm and suspicion flashed across He Jun's face.
"Don't forget—I'm the health sector head here. How could I not understand these tricks? It's simple: exploit publicly-funded medications, then resell them for profit."
(End of Chapter)