The thought of spending more money shattered her heart and contorted her face.
"Fortunately, you sent him here in a timely manner, so the fee isn't high. When he is transferred to the emergency ward, I'll try my best to minimize the cost as much as possible," said Zheng Ren.
"Thank you so much." The middle-aged woman nodded vigorously. "The medical expenses can be covered by insurance, right?"
"Impossible." Zheng Ren shook his head. "Medical insurance doesn't cover traffic collisions or knife injuries. Besides, even though this was a lovers' quarrel, you can still be sued for assault and face imprisonment."
The woman's expression sank immediately.
"However, your lover won't prosecute if he doesn't hold a grudge. After all, if there are no complaints from civilians, there won't be any response from officials as well," Zheng Ren said grimly, "When he is transferred out of the ICU tomorrow, don't act tough and just apologize nicely. If he is in a good mood during his recovery period, he can be discharged earlier and you'll spend less as well. If his condition worsens due to rage, subsequent medical charges will be astronomical."
Zheng Ren kept up the white lies until the middle-aged woman finally nodded in embarrassment and swore never to repeat the same mistake again.
That was the objective of his constant persuasion. Even though he was not as talented as Chang Yue, he had achieved the Master rank in understanding family members' mindsets after working in the medical field for years.
It was better not to end the conversation hastily when speaking with scared family members who had impulsively and rashly harmed their loved ones.
"Doctor Zheng, how is my father?" asked Tang Xiu anxiously after noticing that Zheng Ren and the middle-aged woman's conversation had ended. She had been waiting quietly the whole time.
"The old man is fine. He has regained consciousness and hears me perfectly, but he can't speak at the moment due to the ventilator needed to assist his breathing. Don't worry, he'll be fine after being extubated tomorrow."
Both patients' smooth recoveries put a smile on both Zheng Ren and the family members' faces.
"Thank you, thank you." Tang Xiu was at a loss for words. All her thoughts coalesced into a flurry of gratitude and nothing else.
Zheng Ren waved his hand, left the fire escape and returned to his office via the elevator.
Xie Yiren had already left the hospital. Zheng Ren read through the WeChat group and saw that all of them had returned to their respective homes as they had lost interest in continuing to play mahjong after the emergency surgery.
Icy winds howled outside the building, but it was warm and cozy inside the hospital.
The first half of the night had been hectic in contrast to this peace and quiet.
Chapter 144 - The Hard-Hearted and The Soft-Hearted
The next morning, Old Chief Physician Pan brought along for his ward round Zheng Ren, Su Yun and Yang Lei to check the two patients who had undergone surgery yesterday in the ICU.
The blood pressure of Old Man Tang, whose diastolic pressure had been undetectable upon admission yesterday, had normalized and was currently stable. The blood tests conducted this morning showed that the hemoglobin had increased to a low normal level and coagulation remained unchanged, but there was a mild derangement noted in both liver and kidney functions.
However, these subtle changes were insignificant to the doctors.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man with a ruptured spleen was eager to leave the ICU.
The unceasing monotonous sounds of ventilators and various monitors could easily drive a person insane.
Content and proud, Old Chief Physician Pan chatted with ICU Chief Qian for a while and made arrangements for the patients' transfers before leading his 'soldiers' out of the ICU.
In the hospital, only the skillful could earn others' reverence.
The emergency wards gradually became established following Zheng Ren's arrival, which greatly satisfied Old Chief Physician Pan.
Even so, that did not stop him from demanding more manpower, greater budget allocation and policy implementations from hospital management.
After the ward round in the emergency observation unit, Old Chief Physician Pan quickly took his leave to torture all related personnel to realize his goal.
No one would allocate more staff and budget to a new department without constant pressure. Even if they did, the most they would provide a senior consultant were meaningless policies.
A powerful senior consultant could naturally make use of policy to promote the growth of the department, but if the senior consultant was a coward… none of it would matter.
Upon returning to the emergency ward, Zheng Ren began to doc.u.ment the transferral of both postoperative patients from the ICU.
Chang Yue would handle subsequent paperwork later. Despite the tediousness, she quickly completed the task without complaint.
The patients were transferred from the ICU to the emergency ward an hour later.
There was a flaw in the initial design of the emergency ward—there were no single rooms.
Chang Yue meticulously arranged a relatively quiet room for both patients so that they could have speedier recoveries in an undisturbed environment.
In the same room lay a few patients who had undergone surgery three to five days ago. They would usually return home once infusion was complete, glad to no longer have to put up with the smell of disinfectant.
Treatment plans were modified according to patients' conditions, and tedious tasks such as patient-doctor communication and medical case doc.u.mentation were Chang Yue and Yang Lei's responsibility.
Zheng Ren sat in his office and quietly read his book.
The symptoms he had experienced yesterday had subsided after a quiet night.
A series of footsteps approached in the corridor after a while.
'They are probably friends and relatives visiting patients,' Zheng Ren thought, detecting a floral scent even from his office.
"Chang Yue, inform them that flowers are prohibited in the ward," he instructed.
Chang Yue acknowledged the instruction and went out to communicate with the visitors.
Some patients were allergic to pollen and would develop hypersensitivity reactions of varying degrees.
Since they seldom had contact with various beautiful flowers, they would usually place the flowers gifted by family or friends on windowsills in the ward, unwilling to throw them away. However, immune systems were affected to a certain extent after surgery, leading to exacerbation of allergic reactions.
That was why Zheng Ren asked Chang Yue to stop them.
However, the effectiveness of such warnings was actually limited. After all, Zheng Ren could only educate visitors, but whether they would heed his advice or not… There was nothing he could do about it.
Even if they insisted on disregarding his advice, Sea City General Hospital would still lack the courage to f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y discharge the patient.
If this had happened twenty years ago, large hospitals in Imperial Capital and Sorcery Capital would likely resort to this method, but following the advancement of social networks, such an event had become a rarity in the current world.
If a patient was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y discharged from a hospital due to failure to comply with regulations, news about doctors acting with utter disregard for human life would shortly after be published on the internet.
It was best to avoid controversy. Everyone had to bear the consequences of their own actions. There was no other way.
Soon, Chang Yue returned to the office with a peculiar look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asked Zheng Ren.
"They're from Sea City Metropolis Daily, and the leader of the group is the chief editor," answered Chang Yue softly.
Er… The newspaper office reminded Zheng Ren about the night when professional troublemakers had invited a reporter to the scene.
Even though it had been successfully resolved in the end, the mission Dist
ortion of Human Nature or Loss of Moral Values still haunted him from time to time.
Spokespeople, the right to freedom of speech, uncrowned kings… these terms made Zheng Ren feel helpless.
He was reluctant to entertain them. The chief editor of a newspaper office; so what? He was not going to use their newspaper to improve his reputation, so he ignored the group and quietly remained in the office to continue his book.
After a while, a group of men appeared at the doorstep, led by an elegant, dignified and white-haired man in his fifties.
When he noticed that every doctor was occupied with work, he knocked on the door.
"You are…" Zheng Ren raised his head and asked despite knowing the answer.
"Hello, Doctor Zheng. I'm Li Weiren, chief editor of Sea City Metropolis Daily."
"Hello, Chief Editor Li. What can I do for you?" Zheng Ren had a bad impression of them. His expression made it clear that he would have never invited them into his office if conditions permitted.
Chief Editor Li was taken aback.
"Metropolis Daily? Isn't that the workplace of the reporter who had threatened to defame our doctors for performing surgery without the familys' consent half a month ago?" A lazy voice drawled from behind Zheng Ren.
Chief Editor Li looked embarrassed.
How long had it been since the m.a.t.u.r.e and dignified chief editor was humiliated?
Unless one's father was murdered or wife abducted, who would willingly offend the voice of the people?
He had not expected to encounter both hard-hearted and soft-hearted men in the Sea City General Hospital emergency ward.
"So you're a big shot in the newspaper office. Please, come in quickly. Would you like a cup of tea? Oh, my apologies, we only have plain water, it might not be up to your standards." Su Yun continued to goad them. "Please, don't just stand there and come in quickly. We don't want to get exposed by news claiming that the doctors in Sea City General Hospital torture family members and conceal patient's conditions on purpose. We could get fired from the hospital if that happened."
Su Yun had no intention to stand up and welcome them. Instead, his head remained low throughout the conversation, allowing his bangs to dance freely.
This was the first time Zheng Ren appreciated Su Yun, a sharp-tongued nancy boy, whose biting words felt relieving in this instant.
Closing the door and unleashing Su Yun seemed like a good choice.
"Doctor, I think there has been some misunderstanding between us." Chief Editor Li brushed his embarrassment aside and put on a warm smile.
"Haha." Su Yun merely chuckled in response.
Gossip dies at a wise man's ears, and conversations die when someone chuckles. That was a rule of life.
The cold atmosphere stifled every breath as awkward silence dominated the room.
Chief Editor Li had failed to anticipate the sheer hostility of the emergency ward, leaving him to stand outside the office.
'What was that young reporter's name again? Wei Feng! F*cking idiot, you're doomed!' he grumbled internally.
Truth was debatable and open to interpretation. Although the matter at hand and the management remained the same, the newspaper office's attitude today was completely different.
If the newspaper insisted on clarifying the case, all they would get was humiliation.
This time…
"Doctor Zheng, are you there?" a deep voice traveled from behind the crowd.
Chapter 145 - A Brown-Noser Only In The Operating Theater
Zheng Ren was puzzled when he heard the voice, but Chang Yue immediately stood up and asked, "Brother Sui?"
"Yes." The speaker seemed to be afraid of the well-dressed group and merely stood outside, not daring to enter.
"Please, come in," Chang Yue greeted the newcomer enthusiastically; weaving through the crowd without even so much as sparing them a glance, she pulled an honest-looking man into the room.
The man was carrying a basket with a confused look on his face.
Zheng Ren felt a sense of familiarity, but was unable to recall his identity.
"Chief Zheng, he is the family member of the patient that had tetanus." Chang Yue remembered Zheng Ren's late-stage face blindness cancer and reminded him.
"Oh, please take a seat," Zheng Ren stood and said warmly, "How is the madam doing at home right now?"
"She is recovering well." The group of well-dressed men outside the room made the visitor feel uneasy.
"That's good." Zheng Ren smiled.
"This… This is…" The patient's son started stammering and said honestly, "This basket of eggs are laid by homebred chickens. My mother asked me to give these to Doctor Chang and Doctor Zheng."
He placed the basket down and removed the decolored blue floral cloth, revealing the eggs within.
Eggs from homebred chickens were smaller than commercially sold eggs, but contained higher nutritional value.
Zheng Ren did not understand the properties of homebred eggs, nor was he willing to look into them.
However, since this was heartfelt gratitude from the patient's family member after his mother had been discharged from the hospital, Zheng Ren accepted the gift with a sincere smile.
"You came all the way from home for this. That's too kind of you," said Zheng Ren.
"It's not far at all," the patient's son quickly waved his hands and said, "I woke up only at half-past three in the morning. Besides, there's nothing much to do on the farm anyway. These are fresh eggs I've collected over the past few days, while those on the top are newly harvested and still warm from the henhouse this morning."
Although it was only a small gift, it meant a lot to Zheng Ren.
Before he could manage a response, Su Yun's eccentric voice rang out behind him.
"Are you not afraid of making headlines for receiving a gift from a patient's family in front of reporters? 'Family Member Forced To Gift Red Packet After Repeated Hints From Doctors In Sea City General Hospital'.
"That doesn't sound striking enough. How about Family Members Fear Doctors? Short but powerful. Reporter Wei, which one sounds better, in your opinion?"
The patient's son merely stood in place, uneasy and confused.
Chapter 146 - Paralytic Nerve Plexus Regression Syndrome
Since it was approaching noon soon, Chang Yue insisted on inviting the patient's son to a nearby noodle restaurant for lunch.
The patient's son quickly rejected the kind offer, but Chang Yue was firm in her decision.
Yang Lei went along with Chang Yue. Zheng Ren, who was unable to leave the hospital, spoke to the patient for a while and saw them out before heading to the cafeteria.
If subsequent issues would take more than ten minutes to complete, every experienced clinician would have to perform a very important task before taking their leave—a ward round.
Only when all patients were stable could one remain undisturbed. Otherwise, they would be in constant anxiety over any potential emergency and unable to enjoy any meal in peace.
Zheng Ren went for the second ward round of this brand new day.
Every patient, including the two that had been transferred from the ICU to the emergency ward, was in a stable condition.
The war of words in the office just now had embarrassed Tang Xiu, but Zheng Ren pretended as if nothing had happened.
He treated her father the same as he did all other patients in the ward.
The patient's vital signs were stable. Apart from slight abdominal distention, he experienced only mild postoperative pain, which was one of the benefits of interventional radiology.
Zheng Ren speculated that the pain was a result of peritoneal inflammation secondary to acc.u.mulated blood in the peritoneal cavity. He then took a while to convince him not to return home tonight.
What a joke. His condition had pushed him to the brink of death yesterday afternoon, and he wanted to return home now?
Even though there was no place like home, doctors were at least always availa
ble in the emergency ward and could immediately wheel the patient into the operating theater for an exploratory laparotomy, which was far safer than wasting time waiting for an ambulance at home.
Thus, he firmly denied the patient's request to return home.
Tang Xiu's father was merely trying his luck, but after being informed that ambulation would be possible in one day, the old man finally managed a warm smile.
The patient with splenic rupture, who was kept nil by mouth until he passed gas due to laparotomy, was currently lying on his bed and chatting happily with his wife. Judging by their hearty laugh from time to time, it seemed like their relationship was stable and harmonious.
Who could have thought that the wife had stabbed her husband, leading to hemorrhagic shock only yesterday?
Anger was one's worst enemy. A quarrel was perfectly normal, but the consequences were disastrous once one party started using brute force.
Zheng Ren entered the room and talked to the patient's wife for a while. Seeing that the patient was recovering well after the surgical repair of his ruptured spleen, he informed them that he would be able to ambulate after passing gas and eating today.
Every patient in the ward was in a stable condition, but his work was far from complete. As chief resident, Zheng Ren still had to go for a ward round in the emergency department as well.
Su Yun had not followed Chang Yue to lunch; it was presumably due to the emotional trauma of eleven boxes of Snow or simple unwillingness to communicate with the family member that she had brought along.
They both went for a ward round in the emergency department along with the doctors on duty. As usual, there were no misdiagnosed cases or patients in critical conditions, and the cases admitted consisted of minor illnesses and mild injuries that could be settled with topical administration of anti-inflammatory drugs or injection of osmotic diuretics.
That was good news. The stable conditions soothed Zheng Ren's mind and maintained his heart rate at 80 beats per minute.
'Eat, sleep and wait for emergency cases to arrive.' He drew up the day's work schedule.
The Surgeon's Studio c1-799 Page 76
