National Curses Rise Again

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Medical Center.

At the entrance.

"Reasonable working hours, reasonable wages!"

"Reasonable working hours, reasonable wages!"

"Reasonable working hours, reasonable wages!"

Nurses at the hospital went on strike, standing on both sides of the entrance, holding up protest signs, and chanting rhythmically under the guidance of the nurses' union organizers.

The protest signs included various slogans, such as "reasonable working hours, reasonable wages," "support nurses," "nurses are essential," and "don't cross the picket line."

These picket lines were red lines drawn by the striking nurses, much like the 38th parallel that Adam drew with his female classmate when they were children—a means of distinguishing friend from foe.

However, the 38th parallel is only one line.

However, there are numerous patrol lines, covering almost all entrances and exits of the hospital, making it impossible for you to avoid them.

If you support nurses, don't cross the line of disciplinary action.

This is tantamount to joining the strike in disguise.

On the contrary, opposing nurses means being an enemy.

This is a long-standing tradition of various protests and demonstrations in the United States.

Who supports it?

Who objects?

Are you just a bystander, neither supporting nor opposing?

How dare you!

To not support is to oppose!

Opposition is the enemy!

There is no middle option.

That's how domineering I am!

Guards stood by, ready to control any violent clashes.

"Damn it!"

"What Adam said is true."

Cristina and Liz brushed the things that had hit them off and went into the hospital.

"I already told you."

Adam walked over and laughed, "You don't take it seriously."

"We support them!"

Liz exclaimed angrily, "How could they treat us like this?!"

"They don't think that way."

Adam laughed and said, "Although doctors and nurses are partners, their interests are in conflict. The hospital's annual revenue allocation is relatively fixed; if doctors get more, nurses get less."

The key ratios are still so disparate.

You say you support nurses.

But no action was taken.

If you were a nurse, what would you think?

"..."

Liz was speechless and muttered, "This is a decision made by the hospital, not by us doctors."

"Human nature is selfish."

Adam shook his head. "How many people can be rational when faced with interests? You're saying doctors can't make decisions? Really?"

If the doctors truly support the nurses and join the strike, the hospital will be paralyzed, greatly increasing and accelerating the chances of the strike succeeding.

Alternatively, all doctors could take a pay cut, and the savings could be used to hire more nurses to reduce their working hours, or to increase overtime pay for existing nurses.

"On what grounds?"

Liz blurted it out.

"Right?"

Adam laughed and said, "Why should you sacrifice your own interests to support others? So it's understandable that they don't accept your verbal support."

Taking a pay cut is not an option.

After going through so much hardship and exhaustion to become a doctor, most people are doing it for the high income and status that doctors enjoy.

As for joining the strike?

Other renowned doctors are fine.

If interns like Liz, who are essentially dispensable, actually did this, they would anger the leadership and be kicked out of the hospital in no time, with a serious stain added to their medical records.

You can forget about working in the medical field from now on.

With so many student loans on his back, if he can't repay them, his credit will go bankrupt.

In a credit-based society like the United States, without a credit score, it's almost impossible to find a job.

The more they can't find a job, the poorer they become, and the less they can repay their previous debts. This vicious cycle often ends up turning them into homeless people who simply lie down and become lazy.

There are so many homeless people in the United States, and not every homeless person wants to live off social welfare like this.

Many people fall into a vicious cycle after an economic crisis or bankruptcy, and are unable to break free.

There's no chance to start over.

They were among the most miserable people.

"Then why don't you go and support them?"

Liz complained.

"Like you, I only offer my verbal support."

Adam laughed and said, "But I don't expect them to agree with my way of supporting me. You see, I'm staying in the hospital and I'm not going to leave until the strike is over. As long as I don't show up in front of them, I won't have so many troubles."

"I'm not going back either."

Cristina nodded and said, "It's just staying in the hospital, what's the big deal? Besides, I don't want to go back anyway..."

"Living with Dr. Burke wasn't ideal?"

Adam joked.

Cristina rolled her eyes, too lazy to respond.

Dr. Burke was incredibly fast.

Before anything had even happened, he immediately proposed living together.

Yet, he still puts on a sad and heartbroken expression, as if to say, "You're unwilling, and it breaks my heart."

Cristina took Dr. Burke directly to her doghouse, trying to dissuade Dr. Burke from living with her.

That's right!

It's a real doghouse!

She never washes her clothes; when they get dirty, she just throws them in her apartment and then buys new ones to wear.

As for why she has money to buy new clothes instead of hiring a housekeeper to help her take care of them...

That's because she had hired a housekeeper several times, but the housekeeper had driven her away in tears each time.

Cristina, single-mindedly focused on her career, was cold-hearted, had a terrible temper, and spoke harshly. She was always looking for replacements, which annoyed people, so she eventually stopped hiring her altogether.

The apartment was filled with all kinds of garbage; it looked like a garbage dump at a glance.

Anyone who didn't know better would think she did this on purpose to get revenge on her landlord.

She's laid it all out.

But who would have thought that Dr. Burke, who lived a life as low-key, luxurious, and clean as the male lead in an idol drama, would eventually accept her after being stunned at first?

After they started living together, he took care of all her needs, from food and clothing to housing and transportation, making sure she had everything she needed.

The "domineering CEO" trope has reached this level.

That's it.

Cristina also complains frequently and doesn't want to go home.

Emmm.

If it weren't for the fact that Cristina doesn't have any of the looks of the female lead...

Adam really had to wonder if she was the real female lead.

Compared to Cristina's Dr. Shepherd. Dr. Burke, Meredith's Mr. Dreamy. Shept is completely outclassed.

Why bother with them?

Cristina glanced around. "We are doctors. What we need most is to perform surgery. Everything else is none of our business. Anyway, the hospital has hired temporary nurses, and someone can empty bedpans."

"You've already forgotten the pain once the wound has healed."

Adam warned, "If this gets out, you're in trouble once the nurses get back to work. And even though we have temporary nurses to cover for us, our workload will be even heavier these next few days."

"Why?"

Cristina was puzzled.

"Because the temporary nurses were not familiar with the hospital."

Adam sighed, "Newbies are bound to make mistakes. More importantly, many of the nurses there are still in nursing school and haven't graduated yet. They basically don't know anything. Do you dare to give any medical orders and just wash your hands of the job?"

Cristina paused for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately quoted a classic United States saying.

"Son of the bitch!"