Now, they could say anything they wanted with no issue.
Since abdominal infections were very common, this surgery had great reference value, especially in abscess removal, B-scan ultrasound positioning for catheter insertion and pus drainage, and rinsing the area with antibiotics.
The surgeon only had one goal—to treat and improve the patient's sepsis as much as possible.
With the source of the problem dealt with, the rest depended on the microbiological culture and antibiotics administration.
The surgery had been near-perfect. Many doctors were still hung up about it an hour later, staying behind to chat and share their thoughts.
By sharing their experiences, they could also improve their skill sets.
If only they could record some audiovisual material, many doctors thought greedily.
Those remained distant dreams, however. They were already incredibly lucky that someone had been confident enough to broadcast their surgery live.
There were few who dared to do such a thing. Who could guarantee that their surgery would not go wrong?
Only someone truly gifted would dare broadcast their surgery live.
The doctors in the live surgery broadcasting room did not disperse for a long time, expressing their admiration of the surgeon, who was not aware of them.
The patient had already woken up by the time Zheng Ren finished his last suture.
Both Chu Yanran and Chu Yanzhi were greatly skilled at anesthesia, living up to their status as researchers in Intensive Care Medicine.
Zheng Ren left the operating table and took off his sterile surgical gown, stretching his neck.
"Are you feeling discomfort?" Xie Yiren asked nervously.
Zheng Ren laughed. "No, I'm just relaxing."
"Oh."
She began cleaning the surgical tools, washing them and sending them for sterilization.
"Zheng Ren, you're not on shift tonight, right? Let me treat you to dinner," she said with her back to him.
A sudden gush of warm blood rushed from his heart, almost erupting from his closed fontanelle.
"You don't have to pay tonight, there's a dinner invitation." Zheng Ren was a little disappointed. Although it would be more lively with all of them present, how nice it would be if he could have dinner alone with Xie Yiren.
It seemed ages since they had gone out for crayfish and met the Chu sisters.
"Oh, okay," Xie Yiren answered.
Chapter 314 - There’s Only So Much I Can Do (Part 2 of 4)
It felt rather nice not having to work through the night in the hospital.
Ding dong! The bell of mission completion went off.
[Emergency Mission: Sump Cleaner completed.
[Mission content: Complete surgical treatment of a sump syndrome patient.
[Mission Time: 4 hours. 1 hour and 14 minutes spent, remaining 2 hours and 46 minutes.]
Not too bad. Zheng Ren smiled.
He turned around, saw Chief Xia and asked, "Chief Xia, do we send the patient back to ICU or gastroenterology?"
Such patients could be transferred to the gastroenterology department right after surgery as this emergency operation had been an interdepartmental consultation.
Of course, if gastroenterology was not confident at handling postoperative care, they could also transfer the patient to ICU and take her back when she had stabilized.
Without hesitation, Chief Xia responded, "Why the need for ICU?"
Such a strong comeback. Zheng Ren laughed and did not push the matter.
"Little Zheng, your surgical skills are better than Old Sun's." Although Chief Xia was slight, her words were so powerful that they stunned Zheng Ren.
She was able to pass judgment on another department chief without much consideration.
He had no clue how to respond.
"Little Zheng, if the patient recovers well after the TIPS surgery, can you make some room in your schedule for the other patient with refractory ascites?" Chief Xia asked.
Her classmate was healing so fast, his progress was almost visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye.
He was very clearly vomiting less blood after surgery.
It was why Chief Xia acknowledged Zheng Ren's skill and was continuing to invite him to treat other patients suitable for TIPS surgery.
"If I don't have any emergency cases, I can do it at any time," Zheng Ren chuckled.
"Okay, we'll wait until you remove the stent. If the effects are promising, we can do it immediately. If we keep on delaying the matter, the patient might not survive past a few days." Her straightforwardness was admirable.
At least they could save time on guessing games.
There was nothing to guess, anyway, since she was not Xie Yiren.
Zheng Ren went to change his clothes. Su Yun followed him into the changing room and said while laughing, "Looks like someone's progressing."
"Hmm? This surgery was still okay. All of them had been standard procedures, and I'm just carrying them out accordingly," Zheng Ren said.
"I'm referring to Xie Yiren. She asked you out to dinner. Too bad you guys can't make it today. Otherwise, this would have been a great opportunity." Su Yun closed in on Zheng Ren, his tone becoming conspiratorial and hushed. "Let me tell you a joke; it's a true story of one of my university friends."
"Go on."
"I have this friend. We share the same dorm, and he was so dense and stuffy that he wouldn't budge even if you hit him," Su Yun said as he changed, "He was courting a girl, but he was so passive. Watching him made me so anxious."
"Yeah, and the same applies to me," Zheng Ren said nonchalantly. He knew Su Yun was about to mock him.
"Look at your temper. You're being more and more irritable, that's not good." Su Yun was in one of his rare good moods. "With my help, he finally asked the girl out on a movie date. She had been interested in him for quite some time and had just been waiting for him to make the first move.
"As expected, the girl agreed when he asked.
"I told him that it was his best opportunity to hold hands during the movie. He had to pretend unintentionally to remove the handle between the seats after entering the cinema to reduce the distance between them."
"What happened next?" The thought of holding hands sparked Zheng Ren's interest.
"If the girl isn't interested, she'll put down the handle. If not, congratulations, everything will go according to plan," Su Yun smirked.
"This isn't a joke." Zheng Ren was confused, but Su Yun's words seemed to make sense.
He had already put himself into the situation and considered taking Little Yiren to a movie.
"Listen to me," Su Yun said, "He followed my directions and entered slightly late. When the movie started, they searched for their seats in the dark and he took the chance to lift up the handle. The girl didn't say anything and they continued to watch the movie."
Zheng Ren continued imagining himself in their shoes. It seemed to be the start of something good.
"About half an hour later, the coward finally gathered enough courage to extend his arm along the back of the seats and gently put it around the girl's shoulders."
"That's nice," Zheng Ren's eyes were shining. Su Yun's plan seemed feasible.
However, would Little Yiren take his hand away? That would be awkward.
"The girl whispered into his ear, 'Stop it, my heart's beating incredibly fast, touch it if you don't believe me'," Su Yun's smirk grew larger as he watched Zheng Ren.
"One's pulse rate is similar to their heartbeat," Zheng Ren mumbled. Suddenly, he said excitedly, "Was she implying that he ought to touch her radial artery? That way, they could hold hands."
He was completely immersed in a scenario where he and Xie Yiren were on a movie date.
"Bwa ha ha ha…" Su Yun burst out into laughter, tears rolling down his face.
Zheng Ren could not for the life of him figure out what had been so funny that Su Yun was roaring with laughter.
"My friend said the exa
ct same thing and the girl got angry." Su Yun continued to laugh loudly. "Didn't you think of touching her c.h.e.s.t?"
Stunned, Zheng Ren was at a loss for words.
The clear, blue sky above his head was obscured by a huge rain cloud and it started pouring.
"If only you had one-tenth of the talent you show in surgery, Xie Yiren would have been yours long ago." A hint of mockery appeared at the corners of Su Yun's mouth, his expression knowing.
Zheng Ren kept quiet.
"Anyway, I've told you the story. Just treat it as a learning experience," Su Yun said, "There's only so much I can do."
"Thanks." Zheng Ren recalled what just happened and felt like an idiot. "What happened to them in the end?"
"They have a three-year-old now. You need to make a move. The worst Xie Yiren would do is to slap you or call you a hooligan."
Zheng Ren was stunned.
After he finished changing with a heavy heart, Zheng Ren returned to the emergency ward.
It was in order and Professor Rudolf was busy following Chang Yue around. Zheng Ren truly had no idea what the German professor was thinking.
As usual, though, he put the thought aside as he could not make sense of it.
More importantly, he was not concerned with Professor Rudolf. His mind was still reeling from Su Yun's story.
He was truly lucky that Su Yun had given him the reminder, or he would have definitely said something stupid.
It seemed rather reasonable, especially for a medical student… okay, not many medical students would have said such a thing.
He was just too dumb. Zheng Ren was self-aware enough to know that.
His heart tied itself into a thousand knots and he kept thinking, losing interest in reading for the rest of the day.
Chapter 315 - Just Stay Over (Part 3 of 4)
A patient with appendicitis arrived in the afternoon. Zheng Ren opted out of the procedure, allowing Su Yun to lead instead with Yang Lei assisting. It was a learning opportunity for them.
Yang Lei was on the straight and narrow when it came to surgery.
Most other doctors were similar. They honed their skills through practice and repetition.
A fast learner like Su Yun was an exception, not the rule.
However, Zheng Ren was not aware that his own rate of learning was beyond human in the eyes of others.
When his shift ended, Feng Xuhui was already waiting for him.
Doctors were busy people. Around 80% of them would decline meal invites, especially those meant solely for socializing.
Feng Xuhui's humility and sincerity were enough to persuade them to accept, though.
Chairman Ma was at a hotel, waiting for them all.
Zheng Ren did not have the heart to turn down Feng Xuhui's cordial request and thus rounded up a few doctors into an Iveco, which ferried them to Shangri-La Hotel.
Chairman Ma had booked a private room for the event, clearly having planned for this for some time.
He had not planned to personally thank a junior doctor from a northeastern third-tier city, trusting Feng Xuhui to take care of that on his behalf.
Still, the doctor's name had come up repeatedly when he was overseeing product deliveries in Imperial Capital General.
Whenever Zheng Ren was mentioned, Department Chief Kong would sign off on any equipment or material being requested.
The same had happened with the supervisory deputy director. Once it was known to be such, Zheng Ren's wishes were greenlit all the way.
It was then that Chairman Ma knew he had underestimated the junior doctor.
Zheng Ren's skill at the operating table and the fact that he had saved another doctor's life were testaments to the high regard he was held in.
Chairman Ma had decided to personally attend the appreciation feast in Sea City.
He had heard that northeasterners loved to drink.
There were rumors that their alcohol tolerance was comparable to the Russians' due to their cold native climate.
In his youth, Chairman Ma had experienced two bouts of upper gastrointestinal bleeding from excessive drinking. Hence, he was worried about having to entertain the northeasterners.
Eventually, he hired two professional drinkers1] from Imperial Capital to keep up with Zheng Ren.
…
The group from Sea City General Hospital entered the private room. Chairman Ma spotted Professor Rudolph Wagner among them and congratulated himself for picking the right event to attend.
He knew naught of the reason behind the professor's extended stay in China and cared even less; a chance to talk with the professor was all that mattered.
There were smiles all around as the guests took their seats. Chairman Ma and Old Chief Physician Pan struck up a conversation about business.
Zheng Ren was bored. He watched Xie Yiren sitting right across him and thought of Su Yun's words from this afternoon.
Everyone raised their glasses, but Zheng Ren simply watched with disinterest.
He could neither join in on the conversation nor the drinking. Life was especially lonely for someone like him.
Rather than attending such events, Zheng Ren longed for his scalpel and the operating table.
As he mulled over his life, he noticed Chairman Ma approach, bottle in hand, only to be obstructed by Su Yun.
It was a 1500ml bottle of Scottish whiskey. Su Yun whistled.
The whole room was noisy and rowdy.
Zheng Ren ignored it all. Channeling the focus he had while operating, he kept his eyes on Xie Yiren, studying the lines and creases that shifted on her face as she smiled and talked. He felt his heart calm down.
Chairman Ma's initial worries were manifesting in a very different way.
He had not expected the group from Sea City General Hospital to be such voracious drinkers.
At that moment, he recalled Feng Xuhui's words: Zheng Ren was a teetotaler but his assistant was the complete opposite.
One hour into the dinner, the professional drinker entertaining the men could no longer keep up with Su Yun.
Three bottles of whiskey had gone down like ordinary beers. Who could blame the man?
Their alcohol content was 58.5%, high enough that a spark could instantly ignite the bottle.
Each bottle was 1.5 litres, and they had gone through three bottles within an hour…
Just the thought of so much alcohol made Chairman Ma's head hurt.
He turned to the female professional drinker, who was with the women.
He had heard that she had a significantly higher alcohol tolerance than her male counterpart.
However, upon inspection, she was slumped over Chang Yue's shoulder, speaking as if they were best buddies.
Chang Yue's expression was neutral as she bit into a piece of meat on a toothpick. They were practically surrounded by wine bottles.
Truly insane! Chairman Ma g.r.o.a.n.e.d internally.
He had clearly misjudged the group's alcohol tolerance.
From their demeanors, Old Chief Physician Pan had identified the professional drinkers from the start.
He had planned to match them glass for glass, not backing down under any circ.u.mstances.
However, he had not accounted for Su Yun blowing through three bottles of whiskey with the male drinker, and on the other side, Chang Yue quietly outdrinking the other.
They were truly his subordinates!
Laughter filled the lines in Old Chief Physician Pan's face.
He was enjoying himself!
Feng Xuhui's forehead was drenched in sweat as he rushed around, catering to everyone.
The feast went on for over three hours before Old Chief Physician Pan signaled to the group. It was time for them to leave.
Staring at the inebriated two professional drinkers, Chairman Ma could only shake his head in disappointment.
…
…
The group exited the hotel into the cold, winter air. Those who had driven here went to their cars w
hile the others got into the Iveco rented by Changfeng Microinvasive Surgery.
Xie Yiren had not participated in the drinking but her red cheeks implied otherwise.
Zheng Ren mustered the courage to approach her. "Yiren, can I escort you home?"
"Oh? Does Chief Zheng finally have the guts today?" Chang Yue teased with a chuckle. She had a mirthful gleam in her eyes and her eyebrows waggled comically at Zheng Ren.
She was certifiably still sober. Zheng Ren still remembered the day of the drinking competition between her and Su Yun; she had returned barefoot and left a trail as if she had just come out of the showers.
The current Chang Yue was still speaking normally and had her shoes on.
Su Yun stalked over. "Oi! I've been waiting for a rematch. Let's go have a few more rounds."
"Want to lose again?" Chang Yue hummed.
"Beer is not my thing. I'm not scared of you," Su Yun sneered. Chang Yue's words were like a lit match tossed into the pool of whiskey he had just downed.
"You lost before, but sure, I'll give you another chance today." Chang Yue smirked. "Are you sure you want to do this with hard liquor?"
The confidence made Su Yun hesitate.
Chang Yue, this… Was her tolerance really...
Some people could tolerate a mixture of drinks. The more they drank, the more energized they became. The different alcohols fused into a hodgepodge in their stomach.
"Let's go. Yanran, you haven't drank anything right? Take us there." Chang Yue then turned to Su Yun. "I'll make sure you have your fill." With a rare burst of excitement, she dragged Chu Yanran and Chu Yanzhi into the vehicle, sparing nary a glance at Xie Yiren and Zheng Ren.
Just like that, the two were left by the street.
The raucous members of their party had departed for their next destination.
The wind picked up again, but Zheng Ren could vaguely hear Xie Yiren sigh.
"That… Yiren, can I escort you back?" Zheng Ren asked again.
"Sure." There was still some residual shyness in her voice, but she felt much better with the crowd gone.
Her smile blossomed like a flower in spring.
They got into her Volvo XC60. Xie Yiren started the car and put on the turn signal.
Zheng Ren's initial assumption was wrong. Xie Yiren's driving was slow, to the point where walking seemed faster.
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