Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
âCan you guys take some scans for us to look at?â Zhu Tongyi massaged his waist and straightened his body again as he raised the request.
Naturally, Huo Congjun agreed immediately.
Meanwhile, Yuan Wei and He Jinxiu looked extremely anxious. They asked, âIs there a problem?â
âThereâs no problem. Your fingers are recovering very well, much better than those of ordinary people. Iâd like to see what exactly is going onâ¦â Zhu Yongyi told the patient what was going on with a smile. He then deliberately explained, âWe are the ones who want to take a look at the results of those scans, so thereâs no need for you to pay for them. You just need to corporate with us as we take those scans, and weâll give you a consultation later.â
The gap between anxiety and happiness was only the size of a free checkup.
After staying in the hospital for quite a while, Yuan Wei and He Jinxiu knew that none of the checkups were cheap. As a nurse pushed Yuan Wei for his check-up on a wheelchair, he felt less annoyed about Xue Haochu removing his dressing earlier.
X-rayâ¦
MRI scanâ¦
Doppler ultrasonographyâ¦
CT scanâ¦
Since Zhu Tongyi was tired of walking, he sat down inside the Emergency Departmentâs office and waited for someone to serve him a cup of tea. He sipped the tea slowly as he chatted, and he looked like one of those old men who stood by the roadside to watch other people play chess.
After chatting for a while, Zhu Tongyi reckoned that it was almost time for those scans to be completed. He curiously asked, âWhereâs the doctor who operated on this patient? Why isnât he here?â
âLing Ranâs performing a surgery,â someone who knew Ling Ranâs whereabouts answered.
Zhu Tongyi hummed in acknowledgement. There seemed to be a slight hint of regret in his tone.
Zhao Leyi felt happy for some unknown reason. Even though the huge price he paid in exchange for a chance to show his face did not seem to be paying off, the situation was far worse for doctors who did not pay any sort of price and were stuck in the operating theater. Ling Ran could have had the opportunity to show his face, but that did not happen because he did not exchange shifts with another doctor. This was a rare opportunity, and Ling Ran missed it just because he did not pay a huge priceâ¦
âGo and get Ling Ran. See howâs the progress of the surgery heâs performing.â Huo Congjun glanced at his watch before he explained to Zhu Tongyi, âLing Ran has always been quick when he performs his surgeries. I reckon that heâs almost done.â
âI can only stay a bit longer.â The academician did not have a fixed schedule. He was an orthopedist himself, and knew that finger replantation surgeries always took a long time. It would take an even longer time if an accident happened during the surgery. He definitely could not wait indefinitely for Ling Ran.
Huo Congjun did not expect that Zhu Tongyi would want to meet Ling Ran. Deep down, he was rather reluctant for them to meet. Hence, he was not proactive when it came to the matter, and just went with the flow. âThe patient Ling Ranâs operating on today has two severed fingers. I have a feeling heâs probably coming out soon,â he said.
Lu Wenbin coughed a few times.
Huo Congjun arched an eyebrow and looked at Lu Wenbin. âIf you have something to say, then say it. Donât just cough.â
âLing Ranâs already done with the patient with two severed fingers. But then a patient with three severed fingers arrived, andâ¦â Lu Wenbin gave Huo Congjun a look, knowing that Huo Congjun would understand what he meant.
Huo Congjun immediately got it.
Initially, Ling Ran was only supposed to operate on a patient with two severed fingers and be free for the rest of the day. If anymore patients with one or two severed fingers were to arrive after that, they would be transferred straight to the Hand Surgery Department⦠But in the end, the new patient who showed up had three severed fingers.
Huo Congjun did not even have to think with his brain to know that Ling Ran definitely could not hold back his excitement and went into the operating theater again.
Huo Congjun could only chuckle as he looked at the academician. He felt a little regretful but rather relieved at the same time.
Zhu Tongyi smiled calmly. He never insisted on meeting Ling Ran, anyway. âNo matter how good an egg tastes, it doesnât mean one must take a look at the hen that laid the egg.â
The test reports were sent over the moment they were out.
Huo Congjun took them and gave them a once-over. He hesitated for a few seconds before he passed them to Zhu Tongyi. Then, he looked at Lu Wenbin and coughed a few times.
Lu Wenbinâs heart brimmed with joy. He arched his eyebrow and was about to say, âIf you have something to say, then say it. Donât just cough.â
However, he swallowed his words and bent his waist, which could carry a one-hundred-and-eighty pound weight in a deadlift [1]. Following that, he moved next to Huo Congjun in an obedient and submissive manner.
âDid you carry out Yuan Weiâs surgery together with Ling Ran?â Huo Congjun asked.
âYes,â Lu Wenbin answered obediently like an intelligent Golden Retriever. He even rubbed his heels on the ground.
âWhat was the exact situation?â
âIt wasâ¦â Lu Wenbin was rather baffled by the question. In a low voice, he said, âIt was an ordinary surgery. He called for Su Jiafu, Yu Yuan, and me. Wang Jia was the scrub nurseâ¦â
âThatâs not what I wanted to know.â Huo Congjun waved his hand dismissively. It was inappropriate for him to continue to debrief Lu Wenbin in front of so many people anyway.
Since Zhu Tongyi did not gather anything useful after he listened closely for a while, he proceeded to read the scans, one by one.
After he read the scans for some time, Zhu Tongyi rose abruptly and laid them out on a table. Xue Haochu immediately went forward and helped him with it.
Huo Congjun watched them silently. When it came to the orthopedics, Zhu Tongyiâs abilities far surpassed everyoneâs in the room. He naturally had the rights to read the scans whichever way he wanted to.
âThe surgery was done pretty well.â Zhu Tongyi suddenly raised his head and chuckled a few times as he faced Huo Congjun.
âHeâs a pretty talented young man,â Huo Congjun went along and answered Zhu Tongyi.
âThis young man⦠Ling Ran? Is he still in the operating theater? How much longer do you reckon heâll take?â Zhu Tongyi asked.
Huo Congjun looked at the person beside him.
Lu Wenbin rubbed his heels against the floor and said, âProbably a little over an hour.â
âThatâs all right. Weâll take a rest first, then.â Zhu Tongyi flashed a wide smile, his white hair swaying along with his head. He then asked Xue Haochu to keep the scans.
Zhu Tongyiâs words from before flashed in Huo Congjunâs mind. âNo matter how good an egg tastes, it doesnât mean one must take a look at the hen that laid the eggâ¦â
At that moment, Zhu Tongyi obviously wanted to take a look at the hen that laid the egg.
Huo Congjun looked out the window, feeling displeased. âPeople nowadays fart whenever they wish to, no matter how amazing they areâ¦â
All the young doctors were very happy, though. They took the opportunity to go forward and ask all kinds of questions, regardless of whether they were relevant or not.
No matter what answer Academician Zhu gave them, at least they finally got the chance to show their face.
Zhu Tongyi happened to be in a pretty good mood too, and answered a few questions earnestly, making it seem as if he was holding a forum.
Zhao Leyi was the most excited among them all. He trembled violently and said, âAcademician Zhu, Iâve been carrying out a lot of surgeries on elbow joints lately, and I encountered a few problems regarding the medial approachâ¦â
âHm, Xue Haochu, can you answer that question?â Zhu Tongyi casually called one of his students to answer the question before he picked his cup up and drank a mouthful of tea. He felt a little thirsty after speaking for quite a while, so he took the opportunity to test his own student with Zhao Leyiâs question.
After Xue Haochu was called, he pondered calmly for more than ten seconds before he answered Zhao Leyiâs question.
As Zhao Leyi gazed at Xue Haochu, who was around his age, he could not help but feel dejected.
All the PhD students under Zhu Tongyi were carefully selected by the academician. Right then, Xue Haochu demonstrated profound theoretical knowledge.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Zhao Leyi proceeded to look at the other doctors who accompanied the academician, and none of them showed any obvious change in expression. It was obvious that what Xue Haochu just demonstrated was not extraordinary to them at all.
However, the question Zhao Leyi raised was based on real problems that he had encountered. Even though it was a good thing that he got an answer, to have his problem solved so easilyâ¦
Zhao Leyi retreated silently. He then took a few more steps back, stood at the corner of the meeting room, and spoke no more.
Once he lost some interest in trying to chase after fame and benefits, Zhao Leyi finally realized that Zhu Tongyi totally did not care about what was happening in the meeting room as he listened to the conversations around him.
Zhu Tongyi leaned against the backrest of his chair and rested his chin on his hand. His gaze was empty while he looked forward. Even though he looked like he was listening to what everyone was saying, in reality, he had other things on his mind.
After a long time, Zhu Tongyi sat up and spoke again in an urging tone, âHowâs Ling Ran progressing with the surgery?â
Lu Wenbin had been paying attention to that. He glanced at Department Director Huo before he said, âHeâs started with the third finger and is almost done with the surgery.â
âThatâs pretty quick,â Zhu Tongyi commented and leaned back in his seat.
At that moment, Huo Congjun felt especially unsettled. He chuckled a few times and said, âAcademician Zhu, donât you plan on visiting other departments?â
âYour department is my last stop today.â
âItâs dinner time nowâ¦â
âIâve delayed my dinner appointment by a little. Thereâs no rush,â Zhu Tongyi said in a very reasonable manner.
Huo Congjun furrowed his eyebrows, but there was nothing that he could do.
Zhu Tongyi only got to see Ling Ran in his white coat after he waited roughly another hour.
Since Ling Ran had to meet the academician, once he was outside the door, the hospitalâs administrative staff asked him to change into a new, large, white coat.
The brand-new, large, white coat even had marks on it, indicating that it had just been ironed. It fit Ling Ran perfectly and was of just the right length, making him look radiant and dashing.
Zhu Tongyiâs eyes brightened when he saw Ling Ran. He praised him, âHe has the aura of a celebrity doctor.â
Huo Congjun looked at Zhu Tongyi vigilantly. He put on the expression he had when he was about to scold someone.
âDepartment Director Huo, Academician Zhuâ¦â Ling Ran greeted them in his usual demeanor.
He received praises all the time, and people praised him in various ways every day. It was not something rare for him at all.
As a result, Zhu Tongyi had even more admiration for Ling Ran. He had praised a lot of young people before, and all of them reacted with reverence and awe. He rarely met young people who were neither obsequious nor arrogant like Ling Ran.
âWe were looking at a patient you operated on earlier. His name is Yuan Wei. Do you remember him?â Zhu Tongyi asked with a smile.
âI remember him. He should be recovering pretty well, right?â
âYes, very well!â Zhu Tongyi started laughing. âCan you tell us how you carried out the surgery?â
Ling Ran immediately realized that the patient Zhu Tongyi saw was definitely the one he operated on when trying to complete the [Perfect Suture] mission.
However, [Perfect Suture] only looked at the result after the surgery. Ling Ran actually did not use any special techniques when he sutured the patientâs fingers. If he were forced to say that he did something different, he would say that he had utilized some imported medical consumables and equipment.
However, everyone who performed surgeries knew that even though medical consumables and equipment were very important, under the hands of a skilled surgeon, their importance diminished. It was especially true for surgeries such as finger replantations. Now that the surgery was widely performed throughout the country, more and more medical consumables were needed. Hence the reason why the standards of the medical consumables produced by local manufacturers had also increased.
âI carried out the surgery as usual according to the standard method, in sequence. And⦠I spent a little more time than usual on debridement. The patient had pretty severe vascular thrombosis, which was slightly out of my expectationâ¦â Ling Ran described it in a placid manner, without mentioning the fact that he put in special effort to carry out the surgery well. Most surgeons desired to carry out surgeries to the best of their abilities when they stood before operating tables. Such subjective mental activity did not affect reality.
In truth, surgeons with good skills would carry out surgeries well, while surgeons with lackluster skills would carry out surgeries horribly. It had nothing to do with their character, personality, or whether they were a slave to money, or anything else.
Zhu Tongyi listened earnestly, as though he was not familiar with how finger replantation surgeries were carried out.
Yet, some of the steps in the surgical methods used for current finger replantation surgeries in China were actually influenced by Zhu Tongyi. It was not an overstatement to say that Zhu Tongyi had suggested improvements to those steps.
Nevertheless, Zhu Tongyi listened to Ling Ran for more than ten minutes. He only drew a long breath after Ling Ran finished speaking and came to a conclusion. âIt was just an ordinary finger replantation surgery.â
âOf course. It was just an ordinary finger replantation surgery,â Ling Ran answered.
âSo, weâve come to a conclusion here.â Zhu Tongyi flashed a motherly smile as he gazed at Ling Ran, âWith your capable hands and superb skills, you managed to carry out high-quality finger replantation surgery just by following the standard method.â
Huo Congjun was livid at the side. No one was allowed to comment on Ling Ranâs skills, not even someone as great as Zhu Tongyi. âLing Ran is a core member of Yun Hua Hospitalâs Emergency Department. Of course his skills are superb!â
âA little too superb.â
âIs that a problem?â Huo Congjun fixed his gaze on Zhu Tongyi, ignoring the look on the faces of the hospitalâs leaders.
Zhu Tongyi waved his hand in dismissal. He then rose and said with a smile, âWhy would the fact that his skills are superb be a problem? He can solve problems with his superb skills.â
The smiling Zhu Tongyi looked at Ling Ran and said, âDoctor Ling, I have a case where an athlete has suffered a sports injury. Even though we already have a relatively complete plan, we have not been able to settle on a chief surgeon because it would require someone very highly-skilled. Would you like to give it a try?â
Before Ling Ran had the time to reply, a prompt appeared in his mind.
[Mission Completed: Perfect Suture]
[Mission Details: Utilize your Perfect Level Finger Replantation Skills to suture the patient, Yuan Weiâs fingers perfectly]
[Reward: Intermediate Treasure Chest]
Note:
The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, then lowered to the ground. (Source: Wikipedia)