He had used all of his connections and resources to finally get a hold of Zheng Ren's "team".
Initially, he had been skeptical of Su Yun's words. A young doctor at Zheng Ren's age, even with exemplary skill, could not possibly overcome the rigid hierarchy of older department chiefs.
Skill came from natural aptitude and hard work.
Actually climbing the ladder required years of networking and string-pulling.
Trying to defy his higher-ups at his level would end in him having to leave Sea City to start over.
Team? What department chief would allow their chief resident to operate with an entire team? It needed a clout that rivalled that of a chief's own.
However, after investigating, he had been surprised to find out that Mr. Zheng indeed had a whole team. He already met and shared a meal with his assistant, Su Yun, earlier in Imperial Capital and his first impression was that the man's looks were gorgeous, akin to a beautiful woman, plus… Su Yun could really hold his liquor, effortlessly finishing a pint of Maotai.
Besides Su Yun, there was also a scrub nurse and two anesthesiologists.
With such a combination… Li Xiaochen was left speechless.
The American professors working in Straits Hospital did not even have personal scrub nurses. How had a chief resident in Sea City managed to get one?
After some further digging, all he learned was that the scrub nurse was from a rather wealthy family. The two anesthesiologists were still house officers; despite being postgraduates, they had yet to complete their residency training to become fully trained physicians.
In the end, Li Xiaochen decided to target Xie Yiren.
He found a classmate of hers from the south to visit and persuade her to join him.
Were he trying to recruit a normal chief resident, he would have needed to pay such a hefty price.
However, Li Xiaochen had heard about Professor Rudolf Wagner rushing back to Imperial Capital after the award ceremony and being unable to find Zheng Ren. The German was negotiating with Department Chief Kong right now and Zheng Ren was most likely returning to the city. It was just a matter of time.
The clock was ticking, and he had to strike while the iron was hot.
Chapter 271 - Money is No Object (Part 5 of 5)
At noon, the sun was at its zenith.
There were few people on the street, least of all younger folk.
It was a common sight recently due to migration to the south. Sea City could eventually end up resembling the abandoned towns in the remote Siberian tundras of the former Soviet Union.
Li Xiaochen sighed internally as he looked at Xie Yiren sitting opposite him, youthful and radiant.
Mr. Zheng was indeed lucky to find a scrub nurse like her in this desolate place. Her actual skill notwithstanding, she could definitely make a living off her looks alone.
She was also rich, which made her more difficult to poach.
However, he knew Sea City was a third- or even fourth-tier city in a remote area. How rich could one be? To him, there was no one in this world that he could not recruit. All that mattered was how much money he was willing to spend.
He had to get his hands on Zheng Ren before the man was called to Imperial Capital by Professor Rudolf Wagner. If that happened, Zheng Ren's price would become astronomical.
The figure alone would stump the ric.h.e.s.t of the rich from third- and fourth-tier cities.
"Ahem, Ms. Xie, did you enjoy the lunch?" Li Xiaochen looked at the clock. He had to get down to business as it was almost time for Xie Yiren to leave.
"I'm full," Xie Yiren said with a smile as pretty as a blossom. Every simple gesture or phrase from her was cute and full of vigor.
"Beautiful Ms. Xie, can you allow me five minutes to express my admiration for you?" Li Xiaochen said, his pronunciation shoddy.
He was fluent in American English, but had had to pick up Mandarin after returning to the country. Ultimately, he had combined them and evolved his own style.
When talking to a department chief, he would try his best at proper Mandarin. However, Li Xiaochen let his guard down as Xie Yiren was just a young lady.
"Admiration?" Xie Yiren was fl.u.s.tered.
"He's trying to convince you to join his hospital," Xie Yiren's classmate explained with a chuckle.
"Oh, thanks, but I'm not planning to leave," Xie Yiren said with an innocent expression, looking as pure as plain water.
"Sea City is just a small part of this great nation, just cold, deserted, and lifeless," Li Xiaochen persisted, "A beautiful girl like you should spend your youth in a first-tier city."
"Oh, you mean tourism? I really enjoyed it when I was younger. Back when I was ten and my dad was still working, I'd already toured the entire country with my mum," Xie Yiren continued obliviously, "I think it's still a bit too soon to travel around the world; I could get sick of it if I do it too often. Maybe in a few years, I'll take your advice."
"No, no." Li Xiaochen was baffled but kept trying with an unwavering smile on his face, "A flourishing city means tons of opportunities. I'm sure you're still in need of a career enhancement for your future."
"My future? There's no need for that." Xie Yiren laughed. "My dad has told me that he simply wants me to be happy and healthy when I grow up. Nothing else is of importance."
Li Xiaochen was stunned…
The Chinese parents' adage was to raise sons in frugality and daughters in abundance.
He felt helpless.
"You still chose to be an OR scrub nurse. It is a tough job that requires late shifts and pays little. I'm sure you've thought about it." Refusing to give up, Li Xiaochen desperately tried to find Xie Yiren's bottom line.
"It's my passion," Xie Yiren answered happily, "I'm not a fan of blood and organs, with the exception being when it's in hot pot, of course. I like being a scrub nurse because I enjoy the satisfaction that comes with every successful surgery."
In the face of Xie Yiren's enthusiasm, Li Xiaochen felt dejected.
This girl probably was a spoiled brat and had no idea about the hardsh.i.p.s of life.
"When working with regular doctors, I had been frustrated and also thought of moving to Imperial Capital or Sorcery Capital then."
Xie Yiren's words gave him a glimmer of hope.
"However, after seeing Zheng… after Zheng Ren's surgery, I gave up on that thought." Xie Yiren hesitated as she addressed Chief Zheng informally, her smile bright as blossoming flowers.
"No wonder you became Mr. Zheng's scrub nurse." Li Xiaochen smiled. "I came to Sea City as the authorized representative of Straits Hospital to extend an employment opportunity to both you and Mr. Zheng."
"Oh, I don't really care for it as long as Zheng Ren's happy," Xie Yiren said.
Her nonchalance was unassailable, leaving Li Xiaochen in the dust.
However, he still refused to surrender. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "We can offer you a great medical environment and a salary worthy of your skill."
"Money is no object to me." Xie Yiren unconcerned with material wealth. "My family owns a lot of properties. For example, we own the building we're currently having lunch in."
Li Xiaochen's jaw almost dropped in shock.
Even in a small third- or fourth-tier city, a central business district (CBD) building still cost a fortune. Were they to sell it, Xie Yiren's fortune and prosperity would be all but guaranteed.
This woman was really rich, Li Xiaochen mused, but he remained adamant.
"That won't always be the case." Li Xiaochen kept smiling. "There'll be an international financial crisis soon and our country's economy will also be affected. The property market in first-tier cities might survive it, but I'm sure prices in third- or fourth-tier cities would plunge. How far they fall would depend on the population decline."
"Oh, it still doesn't matter." Xie Yiren and Li Xiaochen were on completely different wavelengths.
"In my opinion, whether or not you're doing this out of passio
n or as a preparation for the financial crisis, you should find a…"
"There's no need for that, my family also owns properties in Imperial Capital." Xie Yiren thought for a while before continuing, "Since property value in Imperial Capital does not depreciate, it should be fine."
"Imperial Capital…" Li Xiaochen was dumbfounded. Her family even owned property in Imperial Capital, where prices rivaled that of New York?
"Let me think." Xie Yiren rested her chin on her hand, her head tilted, and fell into deep thought, "Right, I believe the Sunshine 100 International Apartment on the Third Ring Road belongs to my family."
Upon hearing that, Li Xiaochen nearly coughed up blood.
His own workplace in Imperial Capital was in f*cking Sunshine 100 International Apartment.
Third Ring Road was just around the corner of Chaoyang Park.
The annual rent of a house of even a few dozen square meters cost a bomb.
Also, did she just mention that her family owned the entire CBD building?
"I think it was around the time I was born. My dad was in the property market in Imperial Capital, and it was not as expensive back in the 90s. My mum gave birth to me on the same day of the CBD ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was why my dad named it Sunshine 100. He hoped that I would always be 100% happy," Xie Yiren recalled.
After that, she chuckled and said, "My dad is great, isn't he?"
Not only did Li Xiaochen's jaw fall open—his eyes became as round as saucers.
To own a CBD building in Imperial Capital, even far from the third ring road like in the Daxing and Tongzhou districts… even the sc.u.mmiest human being could be called a great father.
Chapter 272 - The Floating Gallbladder (Part 1 of 5)
The surgery was successful. With Yang Lei beside him, Zheng Ren finished it within 20 minutes.
At the operating table, he patiently explained the key steps of the procedure to Yang Lei. Even though it was simply a laparoscopic appendectomy, the techniques he shared were useful and very much applicable to other surgeries, to Yang Lei's benefit.
After leaving the table, Zheng Ren felt bored.
He seemed to have lost his direction in life after returning from Imperial Capital.
No, that was not it. It was Xie Yiren's absence.
Zheng Ren remained oblivious to the truth, however.
His skill points in general surgery were acc.u.mulating at a painfully slow rate, still a long way away from Grandmaster.
Zheng Ren thought of practicing the Whipple procedure in the System's operating theater, estimating a gain of over a hundred skill points per surgery.
However, he dismissed the idea when he saw his remaining experience points and surgical training time.
If he spent them all, the possibility of him achieving Grandmaster rank would be next to zero. He would be in trouble in any emergency situation.
It was better to play it safe and slowly build up to the main long-term mission—all top general surgeons would have had countless years under their belt. Even though his rewards were meager, it was better than nothing.
Su Yun's familiar voice came from behind him. "Where did your mind wander off to?"
"I'm just daydreaming."
"Are you thinking about Little Yiren? You're just too timid. Have you seen 'Overbearing CEO Falls in Love With Me'? You need to be more forward," Su Yun teased.
"Chief Liu was very forward when he went to America1, but he lost so much money, it's embarrassing," Zheng Ren refuted without hesitation.
"I'm talking about you, just get the gist of it." Su Yun smiled, unbothered by Zheng Ren's retort, which if anything proved his claim.
"How's the patient?" Zheng Ren asked.
"He's stable, I just removed the tube. From his current condition, he'll survive." Su Yun was concise when speaking about patients and gave simple, brief answers.
Zheng Ren had expected this result somewhat. The completion status of the surgery had been at 100%. If everything went well in the ICU, the patient's survival was all but assured.
"Also, the paper on the hepatocellular carcinoma nodules has been received. I've just received a phone call from them asking if there were any more similar cases."
"Not at the moment," Zheng Ren said, "Can't we just publish it as a case study?"
"Yes, but it'll be slower to gain traction," Su Yun said, "That stuff doesn't concern you, anyway. You're just a wimp, forever doomed to be a chief resident in Sea City."
"It's the same everywhere. Didn't you also leave Imperial Capital?"
"Boss, are you interested in a veterinary hospital? I'm not asking you to work there, I'll just occasionally need you to save the day in case there are surgeries that require your expertise."
Saving the day in a veterinary hospital… such a thing was unfamiliar to Zheng Ren.
"They'd mostly be Goldens or Alaskan Malamutes that accidentally swallowed socks which resulted in intestinal obstruction. With your skill, I can safely say you'd finish one surgery every 20 minutes," Su Yun said, "We can negotiate your pay."
"I…"
"Don't say you don't need the money. I asked Xie Yiren yesterday; her parents will be back in one or two months for Chinese New Year," Su Yun drawled.
Zheng Ren hesitated for a moment. "Okay, but I don't have a veterinary license. Is that allowed?"
"It won't be an issue; what vet can actually perform surgery? They all just do it blindly. Simple sterilization is alright, but if you ask them to perform open or thoracic surgery, they would not be able to handle it," Su Yun said.
"We'll do it someday then." Zheng Ren had no choice but to bow down to reality.
He got butterflies in his stomach at the thought of Xie Yiren's parents returning, but did not know why or how to deal with it.
As he pondered it, his phone rang.
It was Chu Yanran. "Chief Zheng, there's a woman with me suffering pain in the upper right region of her abdomen. Come and take a look."
Her words were simple and devoid of formality. It would be strange to stand on ceremony, but she also did not mention her location.
That meant she was in the emergency department.
Zheng Ren hurried there, taking long strides while Su Yun trailed him as usual, head lowered.
The emergency department was not very busy as it was in the middle of the cold winter season. There were almost no drunken brawls, the road was covered in snow and everybody drove extra carefully. It was almost deserted.
Still, that was a good thing.
When they arrived, Chu Yanran was standing by a bed; a doctor was performing an abdominal ultrasound on the patient from a B-scan ultrasonography trolley.
Family members watched from the sidelines anxiously. Zheng Ren ignored them and glanced at the System's diagnosis—gallbladder torsion and acute gangrenous cholecystitis.
Oh? This was a rare disease.
Gallbladder torsion was uncommon. Wendel described it as a "floating gallbladder" when it was first diagnosed in 1898. It had been over a century since, but Zheng Ren's memory of medical literature only yielded slightly over a hundred recorded cases.
Accounting for those that flew under the radar, there were three to five hundred cases at most.
There was no other option but to prepare for surgery.
Torsion of any organ would inevitably lead to necrosis of its tissues. According to the System, acute gangrenous cholecystitis had already set in.
At Zheng Ren's arrival, Chu Yanran said, "Aunt Lin started having abdominal pain after breakfast this morning but didn't do anything about it. Three hours ago, the pain intensified and she took some Xiaoyan Lidan tablets, which did not help with the pain. An hour ago, the pain was so intense that she couldn't endure it anymore, and so she came to the hospital for treatment. There were no chills, fever, nausea, or vomiting. I've already done the routine blood and liver function tests; the results should be back soon."
"It's acute cholecystitis. She needs to have surgery," Zheng Ren said.
>
"You're Dr. Zheng?" a man in his thirties asked.
He had gold-framed glasses and a studious face, currently etched with worry.
"Yes, that's me," Zheng Ren answered.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Zhou Wenxiang." Despite his anxiety, the man kept his composure and shook Zheng Ren's hand.
"Dr. Zheng, you said that my mother needs to undergo surgery. Is it okay if she doesn't?"
"I think she has a gallbladder torsion, resulting in local necrosis leading to acute gangrenous cholecystitis. There are two options for surgery: either we remove the gallbladder or reposition it. My advice is to surgically remove it to prevent relapse in the future. I don't recommend conservative treatment as it won't help with the symptoms."
Zheng Ren's diagnosis was detailed.
Zhou Wenxiang hesitated for a moment before storming out.
Zheng Ren glanced at Chu Yanran, who approached him and whispered, "His father is a colleague of mine and on his way back from Provincial Capital. Chief Zheng, gallbladder torsion is a rare condition. Are you sure about the diagnosis?"
"There." Zheng Ren pointed at the B-scan ultrasonography beside the bed. "The imaging confirms it."
"When did you learn to read B-scans? From what I remember, you've never made any diagnoses based on them." No incongruence could be hidden from Chu Yanran's keen eyes.
"That's because they did not identify any problems. I'm just pointing it out now since this is a rare emergency."
Chu Yanran tipped her head and thought it through; Zheng Ren's explanation made sense and she did not pursue the matter.
Zhou Wenxiang's voice rang out. "Chief Xia, can you help us? My mum is still in great pain but doesn't want to opt for surgery." Possibly referring to gambling.
Chapter 273 - Troubled Expression (Part 2 of 5)
Zhou Wenxiang walked in with two others, phone in hand.
They were Chief Xia from gastroenterology and Chief Sun from the second general surgery department.
When Chief Sun saw Zheng Ren, he nodded his head politely without the haughtiness of a department chief.
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