"Thank you, Chief Kong." Zheng Ren gave the man a brilliant smile. His sunny disposition was easily misinterpreted as condescension.
Su Yun saw the discomfort on Department Chief Kong's face and connected the dots.
Su Yun was a different breed from Zheng Ren. He had spent a few years mingling with the scientific community in Imperial Capital and was thus accustomed to their ways of thinking.
He cleared his throat audibly, disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e evident from his mannerisms despite his not saying a word.
Wholly focused on the task at hand, Zheng Ren was oblivious to the choppy undercurrents of the room.
He first went over the patients' histories, then their scans. Once those were done, he brought Su Yun along to visit the patients in person.
The first one was a short-tempered man of sixty-odd years. From his heavy accent, it was clear that he was from another province.
Communication was hindered by their language barrier. Zheng Ren spent 30 minutes extracting the information he needed through a mixture of verbal and improvised sign language.
They learned the patient had been suffering from Hepatitis B for the past 30 years, showing signs of an enlarged spleen, hepatic cirrhosis, portal hypertension and gastric varices.
He had been admitted to a local hospital after vomiting blood a month ago. The doctors suspected malignancy from CT scans of the liver and performed a contrast-enhanced MRI scan, which found that a large portion of his liver had turned cancerous. There was little hope for treatment.
Local doctors had then advised the patient to go to Imperial Capital as a last resort.
After he got his answers, Zheng Ren returned to the office to type up the details before proceeding to the next patient.
Su Yun followed him silently. Unlike Chang Yue, he did not carry a pen and paper to make notes as Zheng Ren questioned the patients. He only stood there with folded arms as if the whole situation had nothing to do with him.
Zheng Ren ignored the man.
On his third patient, Zheng Ren recognized a familiar lilt that reminded him of his hometown.
He looked at the charts: the patient was from Provincial Capital, which was fairly close to Zheng Ren's hometown.
Qin Liren was happy to meet someone from the same province.
"Little doctor, why aren't you wearing your name tag?" Qin Liren wanted to learn who this successful young man was.
He was not having a good time in the hospital.
The noise in the room made sleep elusive. With his emotions as turbulent as they were, it added insult to injury.
Yet, there was nothing he could do. He simply had to grin and bear it.
Zheng Ren's appearance was the highlight of his day.
"Oh, I'm not with the hospital. My name is Zheng Ren. You can call me Dr. Zheng or Little Zheng." Zheng Ren smiled, then looked down at his notepad, writing down the patient's details.
The smile on Qin Liren's face froze.
Was this guy a trainee doctor?
Although he was not familiar with the hospital's hierarchy, Qin Liren knew the difference between trainee and in-house doctors.
The young man from his province was honing his skills in this hospital.
Qin Liren was somewhat disappointed. He had hoped to ingratiate himself with the doctor to milk favor but he knew that a trainee doctor had little clout.
His plan had been to stuff a few thousand yuan into Zheng Ren's pocket and ask for a single room; not that that would work now.
"Little Zheng, how long have you been training here?" Qin Liren asked with a warm smile. The thoughts in his mind did not affect his genteel demeanor.
"I'm not training. I came here to observe and will be leaving in a few days," Zheng Ren replied and followed up with a question, "Have you experienced any discomfort lately?"
Qin Liren was baffled. Was this man not even a practicing doctor?
He was only here to observe and Qin Liren was still supposed to entertain his questions?
Qin Liren felt the doctor was wasting his time.
"Li—Little Zheng, how about you do some of the chores?" He ignored Zheng Ren's questions.
"I'm here to get your medical history. Once Chief Kong is ready with the CT scan, we'll do it first thing in the morning. I'll perform the scan reconstruction and if everything goes according to plan, I'll operate the day after tomorrow," Zheng Ren clarified.
The muscles on Su Yun's face twitched.
Zheng Ren was likely the only person who could be this oblivious in such a situation.
All he could think of was the surgery.
'This man…' Su Yun was speechless.
After hearing Zheng Ren's explanation, Qin Liren's face darkened. He refused to answer Zheng Ren's questions and laid back down on his bed. He covered his face with the hospital blanket that he had previously complained about.
The reaction shocked Zheng Ren. He shook his head and left the hospital room.
"Did you really not know what that man was thinking?" Su Yun asked from behind him.
"I did."
"And yet you told him the truth."
"That was his choice. I have no right to refuse if he wants Chief Kong to perform the surgery." Zheng Ren returned to the office and reported the incident to Department Chief Kong.
Department Chief Kong remembered the phone call from two days ago. Qin Liren was a patient whom he had personally handled.
He went to speak with the patient but did not manage to persuade him. Qin Liren was adamant and refused to let Zheng Ren operate on him.
Department Chief Kong was frustrated but respected the patient's wishes.
Patients with liver cancer had mean tempers, so Department Chief Kong did not bother prolonging the argument. A brief conversation later, he placed Qin Liren under his research graduate, Shen Liang's care.
He would let Shen Liang—also the department's chief resident—handle the surgery. Perhaps he would go in and observe if someone asked him to. It was sufficient for him to inform Chief Resident Shen of the diagnosis and course of action based on pre-surgical tests and examinations.
Department Chief Kong was confident in the quality of the research graduates here. They were on par with the department chiefs of prefecture-level Grade A hospitals.
Just like that, Zheng Ren's number of patients went from five to four.
Chapter 218 - Illegitimate Child? (Part 5 of 5)
Department Chief Kong was in a rush. He had not agreed to Zheng Ren's plan to perform the CT scan the next morning.
Instead, he immediately arranged for the patients to start fasting, then called up the CT room and arranged for a slot in the afternoon.
That was fine with Zheng Ren. He did not bother to decipher what Department Chief Kong was thinking.
As long as the CT scan was performed, the surgery could begin any time. He would not even mind a midnight slot.
Zheng Ren had a series of those back in Sea City General Hospital. There were rarely days without surgery and sleep was for the weak.
All four patients were sent to the CT room for their scans.
Department Chief Kong followed Zheng Ren closely. Meanwhile, Su Yun did not seem like his usual nonchalant self.
Su Yun had his phone in his hand, making notes at 400 actions per minute1.
It was truly a shame that he had not become a professional competitive gamer.
Su Yun recorded every step Zheng Ren took the moment physical examinations began. He made a note for further commentary and went on to record the CT and MRI scan settings.
Department Chief Kong was well-known in the radiology department, so they had gotten in without much fuss.
Once the scans were obtained, Zheng Ren started working on the reconstruction. He was given a control room where he could perform the reconstruction alone.
It was a big deal as today was a working day. The last time Zheng Ren had had the room to himself, it was a weekend.
Of course, the significance of that was lost
on the man.
His mind was too preoccupied with the CT and MRI scans, trying to piece the puzzle together.
He was recollecting the first trial surgery. Were there areas that needed improvement?
There were many, but he would need more clinical experience to address those issues.
Zheng Ren began reconstruction.
Su Yun had witnessed the process multiple times, the first being in Sea City General Hospital for Zheng Yunxia's case.
It was Department Chief Kong's first time, though.
Zheng Ren had instructed Su Yun to bring the portable radiographic film viewer so that he could refer back to the MRI scan more easily.
3D reconstruction for four patients would take at least eight hours. Zheng Ren did not want to waste time walking back and forth rooms.
Unfamiliar with the procedure, Department Chief Kong watched Zheng Ren like a hawk. He only lasted 30 minutes before beginning to blank out.
Su Yun occasionally glanced at the department chief. The old man looked as if he was going senile.
Manual operation of the 64-slice CT scan had been a thing of the past. When the technology had first entered the country, the software was very buggy. While waiting for vendor tech support from overseas, staff learned how to operate the machine manually.
As software caught up with the hardware, manual operation faded from existence.
No one had operated the system manually until today.
'Could Zheng Ren be more precise and accurate than the software?'
He was definitely going against the grain.
"Old Kong, you're giving me a headache today," a loud voice boomed. It was the chief of the CT room, Research Graduate Liang, who was a step behind the man. At the sight of Zheng Ren and Su Yun, his eyes sparkled.
"Ah…" Department Chief Kong's eyes had been fixed on Zheng Ren's unhesitating manipulation of the system.
The loud voice startled Department Chief Kong from his daze.
"This is what Dr. Zheng needs for tomorrow's surgeries. I know it's on short notice but I hope you don't mind."
"Dr. Zheng? Who is that?" the CT room chief asked in a curious tone.
"A doctor recommended by Sorcery Capital's Professor Pei to contribute to the research program. This is him." Department Chief Kong gestured to the man at the controls.
The two new occupants did not stir Zheng Ren from his work.
Su Yun quickly stood and greeted the man. "Chief, nice to meet you. I'm Boss Zheng's assistant, Su Yun." He held out his hand.
"Su… Yun…" The CT room chief shook Su Yun's proffered hand; this assistant was young but exuded a confidence that eradicated any sense of seniority the chief had.
The confidence had to be backed by some solid talent. 'Who is this man?' the CT room chief wondered.
"Dr. Su was the one who successfully performed the 3D-printed heart transplant. The animal study was published in The Lancet," Research Graduate Liang helpfully supplied.
A research graduate performing a heart transplant was something unheard of to begin with, but a publication in The Lancet was beyond impressive.
"Oh. Nice to meet you. I heard you pulled out of research?" The CT room chief's tone warmed.
"No, I completed my graduate research. Now I'm working for Boss Zheng in Sea City," Su Yun stated matter-of-factly. "Under Chief Kong's request, my boss will be performing four surgical demonstrations."
The CT room chief was speechless. 'Chief Kong's request? Boss Zheng? The young man at the controls? What is going on?
'Old Kong, isn't your team well-staffed to handle any surgery? Why have you gotten a youngster for the demonstration?'
Department Chief Kong had a low 3% failure rate in the most difficult procedure in the field of interventional surgery: transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement. Did he really need this young man for a surgical demonstration?
It had to be a joke.
Or… could this man be Department Chief Kong's long-lost illegitimate child?
Conspiracy theories continued to bubble in the CT room chief's head.
It was inconceivable that a respected interventional surgeon from the top hospital in the nation needed a junior doctor to perform a demonstration.
Nonsense!
The CT room chief shot Department Chief Kong a perplexed look. 'Old Kong, what is this?'
Department Chief Kong shifted uneasily under the gaze. Su Yun was throwing him under the bus.
He thought for a moment and replied, "Dr. Zheng has some unique insights on liver cancer treatment, so I requested he perform a few surgeries."
Department Chief Kong's answer implied that he was being intellectually curious, a characteristic he could not be faulted for having.
"Oh? Youth these days are flying so fast," the CT room chief said with a laugh before recalling something important.
"Right, Su Yun, I heard a bunch of cardiothoracic professors wanted to keep you in Union Medical College Hospital, but you turned them all down?"
It was a small detail that would have slipped his mind otherwise.
However, Su Yun's time with them had been nothing if not impressive. A young fellow had successfully conducted a transplant using a 3D-printed, lab-grown heart.
The bright young doctor had then decided to leave Imperial Capital.
It was truly a loss for the hospital.
Although the CT room chief had not known Su Yun personally, he had heard the stories surrounding him.
"Yes, that's correct." Su Yun nodded.
The CT room chief could not understand his logic. "Then why have you found a mentor in Sea City? Does Sea City even have someone better than you?"
A heart transplant was easy, but being able to keep the subject alive post-surgery was a whole other ballgame. The CT room chief did not believe an economic backwater like L Province1 could house someone of such caliber.
Even Provincial Capital would find themselves lacking in this regard, let alone Sea City.
It was all truly befuddling to him.
"Yes. Boss Zheng is proficient in both interventional procedures and general surgery. He helped out the general surgery department the day before yesterday," Su Yun said.
At that, the CT room chief and Department Chief Kong were silent.
The general surgery department? The leading Class Three Grade A hospital in Imperial Capital needed a Sea City chief resident's help?
Bullsh*t! A term used in video games which refers to the total number of actions that a player can perform in a minute.I think the author typo'd and meant Sea City. It could also mean Sea City is in L Province.
Chapter 219 - Greener Pastures (Part 1 of 5)
The lips of the CT room chief twitched. "Oh? What surgery?"
"PJS." Su Yun smirked—an expression that invited a slap to the face.
He name-dropped the rare genetic disorder with no further explanation.
Although Dr. Kong was a department chief in one of the top Class Three Grade A hospitals, he had never heard of Peutz–Jeghers syndrome, and the CT room chief could only vaguely remember seeing a scan of a patient with the disorder.
Seeing both of their stunned expressions, Su Yun turned around and continued observing Zheng Ren's work, occasionally taking down notes.
Research Graduate Liang's eyes twinkled.
Brother Yun and Boss Zheng were impressive. They had both managed to leave his own boss speechless multiple times.
What an impressive feat!
Ten minutes later, the CT room chief finally hit the nail on the head and asked, "Su Yun, are you referring to Peutz-Jeghers syndrome?"
"Yes." Su Yun's fingers were a flurry as he recorded the key points of Zheng Ren's operation. His attention was split between tasks as he continued, "Old Chief Wang performed the bowel resection and passed the baton on to Dr. Zheng to remove the polyps."
"How many were there?" the CT room chief asked curiously.
"78." Su Yun remembered the exact number.
&nb
sp; "That many?" the CT room chief exclaimed.
"They were more than 10 cm long. Dr. Zheng will remove the others after the patient recovers from the first surgery. Those can be done laparoscopically to minimize damage."
"Amazing! Youth these days really do make me feel like I'm past my prime," the CT room chief lamented.
"It's just this one guy," Su Yun muttered softly.
The chief shook his head, thought for a moment and nodded.
Their arrival had not even garnered a reaction from Zheng Ren. It could have been interpreted as a sign of disrespect, but the CT room chief was not so petty.
Moreover, Su Yun had mentioned that the man was going to assist the general surgeon. This piqued the CT room chief's interest.
"What is Dr. Zheng doing?"
Department Chief Kong shook his head and maintained a stoic expression.
"Comparing the periodic 64-slice CT and MRI scans of hepatic cirrhosis-cancer patients to identify suspected cancer tissues, followed by a retrograde reconstruction for tomorrow's surgery."
The CT room chief's response to the technical jargon was a muted sound of acknowledgment. He said nothing else as he stared at Zheng Ren's manipulation of the system.
This differential diagnostic technique had never been taught in any radiology course.
This man had managed to discover a new method.
No wonder he had tamed the wild horse known as Su Yun.
Greener pastures were essential.
A few minutes later, Dr. Liang brought several stools over for the two chiefs out of consideration.
Su Yun refused the offer, remaining behind Zheng Ren and recording each step as if it was an experiment to him.
Professional and focused, meticulous to a fault.
From his seating position, the CT room chief found his view partially obscured. He dragged his stool forward to the controls.
The movement caught Zheng Ren's attention.
He glanced to his side and saw an unfamiliar man.
The CT room chief did not start with an introduction but a question. "Dr. Zheng, how will you differentiate this area?" He pointed at the area highlighted on the screen.
"For that, I'll need to compare it with the contrast-enhanced MRI arterial imaging." Zheng Ren shifted the viewer's position so the other man could have a better look.
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