Li Xiaochen had been in town discussing job opportunities with a general surgery professor when news of Zheng Ren reached him.
The surgery livestream had been a big deal in the interventional surgery circle, but made few ripples outside of it.
Information was crucial to someone in Li Xiaochen's position. Being even one step ahead was sometimes the difference between success and failure.
He had watched the live recording and consulted an American expert, who only had one thing to say: the masterpiece of a surgery could only have been done by the hands of God!
How could Li Xiaochen pass up such an opportunity?
The surgeon was still young, which suggested unlimited potential in the future.
After some research into Zheng Ren's background, he had rushed over to Imperial Capital General to wait for his quarry.
Without even looking at the name card, Zheng Ren took it and slid it into his pocket. He smiled at the stranger and said, "Thank you. It was nice meeting you."
Huh… The automated response clearly meant, 'I don't know you and I don't intend to contact you.'
Li Xiaochen was confused. Had he been unclear with his offer?
"Boss Zheng, we are a…" Li Xiaochen began, but Zheng Ren was already entering the building. The young doctor waved and uttered a soft goodbye.
The word barely reached Li Xiaochen's ears and the man was gone.
What… What the hell! It was truly exasperating.
This was not his first rodeo. He had successfully enticed many highly-skilled doctors, even those ostracized or neglected in both Imperial and Sorcery Capital, to his hospital.
He had even gotten old professors to come out of retirement, so proficient was he at his job. Failure was not something he was used to.
Yet… Perhaps he worded his pitch wrongly out of haste.
Still, he was not about to give up. Straightening his suit, he reasserted his charm and put on his most winsome demeanor.
His appearance was tidy, his mood under control and his course set.
To make it to the top, one had to have perseverance above all.
Being given the cold shoulder by such a young upstart stung at Li Xiaochen's ego, and if not for the fact that this man had the "hands of God", he would have left by now/
There had to have been some manner of reception. There had to be.
He checked with the receptionist and bribed his way to Zheng Ren's front door.
Li Xiaochen took a deep breath and put on a charismatic smile before knocking.
"Come in," Zheng Ren's voice came from inside.
Li Xiaochen opened the door and found Zheng Ren on a chair, fiddling with a micro-guide wire.
What a gem!
His eyes lit up.
No wonder the young man had ignored him completely. His entire being was solely focused on honing his skills. The surgery had ended, but the young doctor was still experimenting with the guide wire's flexibility instead of resting.
Like in Wuxia legends, Zheng Ren seemed to be trying to become one with the wire.
Was anyone else deserving of the hands of God?
Great minds often came with a touch of madness.
Not surprising, not surprising at all.
"Boss Zheng, sorry for interrupting." Li Xiaochen approached with his hands up, as if proclaiming his harmlessness, and stopped a few steps away from Zheng Ren before bowing. "I believe I was unclear earlier. If you could give me three minutes of your time, I would like to introduce our hospital to you."
"What's your name?" Zheng Ren had completely forgotten.
Li Xiaochen was unfamiliar with Zheng Ren's affliction and thought one elevator trip had erased his existence from the young doctor's mind.
Was he being insulted? The veins on Li Xiaochen's forehead throbbed dangerously.
It was their first meeting and he was going through all the right motions. Why would the doctor want to humiliate him?
He was probably overthinking.
It had to be…
Li Xiaochen quelled the embers in his heart and put on a brighter smile. "Boss Zheng, there must be too many things on your mind. We just met downstairs. I'm Li Xiaochen, the executive deputy director of Straits Hospital. I'm in charge of talent scouting."
"Oh, Mr. Li, nice to meet you. Please, have a seat." Zheng Ren was tired from the day's ordeals but rose from his chair to greet his guest.
"Dr. Zheng, your surgery today was very impressive. My colleague from America commented that your hands are truly blessed by a higher power."
Li Xiaochen figured the actual quote came off as too ostentatious. It would not benefit him to place Zheng Ren on too high a pedestal on the outset.
"Oh, that is a hyperbole," Zheng Ren replied. He had no interest in any of the higher powers.
"It is the truth." Li Xiaochen accepted the recently-vacated seat and glanced around, noticing his name card in the bin under the study table.
His eye twitched involuntarily but he reigned in his emotions.
"From my understanding, you are a chief resident in Sea City General Hospital's emergency department. This information was given to me by a headhunting firm. Please be assured that I mean you no harm," Li Xiaochen said with a warm smile.
"Okay. Yes, that's correct." There was an imperceptible smile on Zheng Ren's face but nothing more. He still had the micro-guide wire in his hand.
Li Xiaochen decided to get to the point and used his trump card. "Your current monthly salary is around 4000 yuan. In my opinion, your skill has far surpassed that measly number and you deserve much higher compensation."
"It's alright," Zheng Ren replied with disinterest.
"If you are willing to come over to Straits Hospital and take up a position in our interventional surgery department, I can promise an annual salary of at least 1.5 million yuan. We believe this salary package is what you deserve." Li Xiaochen smiled and scanned Zheng Ren's face for any change.
He was confident the young doctor would succ.u.mb to his temptations.
Chapter 255 - What Did He Do To That Damned Prostate (Part 4 of 5)
Contrary to Li Xiaochen's expectations, Zheng Ren's expression remained stoic. The young doctor repeated, "1.5 million."
Li Xiaochen's pulse quickened. Was he too late? Had the doctor received a better offer from another company?
He ground his teeth and said, "Net pay after taxes"
Under the renewed tax system, a net annual salary of 1.5 million meant that the hospital would be shouldering a tax value in the hundreds of thousands.
"Hm." Zheng Ren's expression remained neutral as he fiddled with the micro guide wire in his hand like an old monk counting his beads.
"Our hospital has the best interventional surgery facilities, perfect for bringing your abilities to their full potential. Also, you wouldn't have to be on-call for emergency surgery. All our patients are self-paying and you will never have to deal with insurance companies," Li Xiaochen added.
He was going all in.
This made Zheng Ren actually construct a full sentence. "Oh, your hospital is quite impressive."
Was it not enough?
Li Xiaochen felt like retreating. This young lion possibly had an astronomical demand in mind.
However, that seemed unlikely given the look on Zheng Ren's face, as if money, top-notch facilities and a good working environment meant nothing to him.
These were the main factors that influenced a doctor's decision to take up employment in a hospital.
What did he really want?
Li Xiaochen thought long and hard…
"Director Li, if there's nothing more, I…" Zheng Ren began, hoping to end the encounter.
This was Li Xiaochen's first encounter with such an oddball.
To successfully poach someone, it was important to know their heart's d.e.s.i.r.e.
However, there was nothing but a calmness in Zheng Ren's eyes at odds with his age, unperturbed and impermeable to honey-tongued promises.
>
Knowing he was no longer welcome, Li Xiaochen had no choice but to stand and show himself out after a few more customary farewells.
On the way down,stubbornness flared up inside him; everyone had their price.
The only difference was how high.
According to his phone, it was 4.00 p.m. He called up the headhunting firm to get all the details they had on Zheng Ren.
…
…
Halfway across the globe, it was 8.00 am in Germany.
Professor Rudolph Wagner woke naturally from his sleep and started his morning rituals. Once done, he checked his phone and was greeted with dozens of messages.
It was a good thing his phone had been on silent mode the night before as he did not like his sleep being disturbed. Ignoring the messages and headed downstairs for breakfast.
On his way down, he was greeted by another doctor who was also attending the Harlem Gunnar Awards Ceremony. "Good morning, Rudolph."
"Morning, young August."
August shot him an odd look. "Professor, have you received the midnight news?"
"News?" The professor remembered the messages on his phone.
Had something happened overnight?
"In the wee hours of the morning, a surgeon in China had a surgery livestream. He was conducting a prostate interventional embolization; the same procedure you performed in China a few days ago."
Professor Rudolph Wagner smiled and said nothing.
"All I have to say is, those hands were blessed by God. It is not your fault for losing to someone like him."
Losing? What?
Professor Wagner's face fell and he quickly took his phone out to check his messages.
He was the best interventional embolization surgeon in the world. The hands of God? He had done everything humanly possible to treat that damned prostate.
His inbox was full of emails, the earliest being near midnight.
He opened one from the East Asian regional director of Biosensors International.
Huang Zhishan's message came with a video attached and a single question, "Can you do better?"
He could not believe his eyes. His mind struggled to process the simple question.
How had someone outperformed his prostate interventional embolization surgery? Professor Rudolph Wagner still had full confidence in his own abilities.
He decided to have a look at the video during breakfast. This minor inconvenience was not going to disturb his routine.
As the video was downloading, he scrolled along his inbox. Most of the emails featured the video and some asked about the techniques used in the surgery.
Had the Chinese doctor outdone him?
Impossible…
As he sat at the breakfast table with his mind plagued by doubts, his phone suddenly rang.
The call was from Sweden: Professor Mehar from Stockholm.
Professor Mehar was a panelist for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and someone with whom Professor Rudolph had always maintained close contact with.
"Rudolph, I just received a live surgery recording from the east. The surgery is near-perfect." Mehar was in his eighties, but his mind was still sharp. His voice was soft but firm.
Rudolph Wagner felt his body freeze.
"Have you seen the video?" Mehar asked.
"I have not, Professor," Rudolph Wagner replied.
"Have a look at it when you're free," Mehar said. "Don't get me wrong, Rudolph, your surgery was impressive. I saw a glimmer of hope in your procedure. But this one... if it weren't for my assistant holding me back, I would have boarded the next flight to China."
Rudolph Wagner could read between the lines. "Professor, I will fly to China and meet this surgeon. Please rest assured; I will find the best method out there."
"Thank you, Rudolph," Mehar said before hanging up.
Being a world-renowned expert in interventional surgery, Professor Rudolph Wagner could not imagine how any other surgeon could have outperformed him.
That damned prostate!
How was it possible?
Professor Rudolph Wagner had spent a long time researching and studying the anatomy and surgical procedures surrounding the prostate.
All of it was meant to address Professor Mehar's long-standing prostate hyperplasia. It was happenstance that Biosensors International had approached him with an invitation to lead a demonstrative prostate interventional embolization surgery.
He had been happy to go to China to conduct it.
The operation had been flawless. Of this, he was certain.
There was nothing he could think of that could have been done better.
Curiosity clawed at Professor Rudolph Wagner's mind; what had that Easterner done with that damn prostate to earn the nickname, "the hands of God"?
Once the video was ready, he eagerly began playback.
Chapter 256 - Trials and Tribulations (Part 5 of 5)
"Sir, the breakfast time is over," the waiter whispered into Professor Rudolf Wagner's ear.
Ah… the reminder finally snapped him out of his thoughts.
Looking at his cold, untouched food on the table, he shook his head helplessly and stood to leave.
What an elegant surgery. With his understanding of prostate interventional surgery, the operation he just saw could be considered a miracle!
Each step was extremely precise.
Each choice made was on point.
There were a total of six embolizations performed within the vascular network made up of different branches of the arteries supplying blood to the prostate.
Professor Rudolf Wagner was very impressed but also curious: who had performed the surgery?
Twenty years ago, he was certain he could take on this challenge. As one of the original pioneers of interventional surgery, such things were a piece of cake.
However, he did not stand a chance now.
News spread like wildfire in the current day and age thanks to the internet. Many people had been made aware of the surgery before he did.
He knew enough to recognize when he had been surpassed.
And if he could not beat them, he could only join them.
He had to get on Professor Mehar's good side, after all. A Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was still on the table as long as Professor Mehar drew breath.
António Egas Moniz had introduced a method of treating mental illness known as lobotomy, conducted via incising the prefrontal lobe of the brain, which earned him a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949.
However, throughout the next decade, side effects started to arise. The patients who had had their prefrontal lobe severed also lost their own personalities.
Even though the brain was the most important organ of the human body, little remained known about it.
The procedure was later proven to be a failure.
Since then, new surgical procedures were rarely nominated for, let alone awarded, the Nobel Prize of Physiology or Medicine.
Its recipients mostly dabbled in theoretical research.
Professor Rudolf Wagner knew that if he could cure… no, he did not even need a cure. All he needed to do was to get rid of Professor Mehar's horrid urinary tube and allow the man a normal life, one where flirting with pretty Cuban girls was not a distant dream. If he succeeded, he could expect to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, or even better, win one.
However, someone had appeared out of nowhere and outdone him by a mile in that exact surgery. The gulf between himself and the surgeon in that video was blatantly obvious from watching the recording alone.
He had to grab a hold of this young man! He had to!
Professor Rudolf Wagner decided to take the next available flight to China after the award ceremony.
…
…
"What did that deputy director offer you?" Su Yun asked Zheng Ren midway through dinner. It was a few hours after the surgery.
"I think it's 1.5 million after tax," Zheng Re
n recalled.
"What a scrooge." Su Yun selected a piece of meat with his chopsticks and devoured it, continuing through a full mouth, "Two years ago, a private hospital tried to recruit me by offering me an annual pay of 1.2 million yuan."
"Hmm? And what made them think so highly of you?" Zheng Ren was curious.
"Hey, boss, I'm the expert who successfully did a heart transplant! Don't tell me you don't know how difficult that is," Su Yun shot back, feeling insulted.
"Why didn't you accept it?"
"It was meaningless," Su Yun said, "Ever since my teacher retired to his hometown after getting ill, none of these trappings have any value to me."
"Okay." Zheng Ren didn't press the matter.
Su Yun continued to pry. "Did you really not even consider leaving?"
"Where could I go?" Zheng Ren shook his head. "Old Chief Physician Pan is like a mentor to me. Since his dream is to set up the emergency ward, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I leave now."
"Tsk tsk. I just praised you a few days ago for not being a saint, but it seems I was mistaken," Su Yun said disdainfully. "Let me ask you one thing."
"Go ahead."
"What would you say if you went over to Xie Yiren's house to ask her parents for her hand in marriage and her father asked you how much you earned a month?"
"..."
"What if Xie Yiren's mum asked if you own a car or a house? How will you answer her?"
"..." Zheng Ren's expression turned serious and worried, which was a rare sight to behold.
Su Yun smirked at him and continued smugly, "You can't just go there empty-handed and say that you have neither car nor house and only earn 4,000 yuan a month, but you love their daughter with all your heart. Oh, and please don't reveal the fact that you turned down an offer of 1.5 million yuan annually from a private hospital. If Xie Yiren's parents found out about it, you two will never work out."
"..." Zheng Ren was lost for words even though he already knew what Su Yun would say.
"They probably wouldn't mind whoever their son-in-law was as long as Xie Yiren was happy. However, nobody would want their son-in-law to be a fool." Su Yun smiled cunningly.
Zheng Ren's fears were written all over his face. How would he face Xie Yiren's parents?
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