Chapter 788: Pity the Hearts of Parents Everywhere

"There is definitely a problem with the surgery!" Dr. Merz said without hesitation.

"I didn't understand it either; it was just the simplest connective tissue cleaning and a small amount of local suturing. This... is not what I imagined," the head of the Wembanyama medical team said with a bitter frown.

"I told you not to come!" Dr. Merz roared, waving his arms vigorously. "Look, just look! They are frauds! And you actually believed them!!"

"There was no other way. After all, this is a contract year; neither the agent team nor Wembanyama would be willing to give up without trying. Most importantly, that young man playing in the Bundesliga is about to sign a contract with Manchester City!"

"Zhao Dali is transferring to Manchester City!" Dr. Merz said in surprise, then immediately asked, "When did this happen, and for how much?"

"It's being negotiated and will be signed soon. It is said the transfer fee is 80 million euros."

"My god!" Dr. Merz was stunned.

Last year, the highest transfer fee in European football, which was also a record-breaking historical high, only reached 150 million euros, and that was a cliff-like gap; the second-place transfer fee was far lower than that figure.

80 million euros—although it is far from the highest sky-high transfer fee, a fledgling kid can get such a huge contract!

He has established his market value, and it is a sky-high one at that.

Dr. Merz did not expect that a green young man would be worth so much investment from the owner of Manchester City!

"An outrageous signing bonus of 3 million euros was actually given," the medical director told Dr. Merz another shocking figure.

"!!!"

"Messi's signing bonus was only 2 million euros."

Dr. Merz stared at Wembanyama's medical director with wide, round eyes.

"After learning the news of Zhao Dali's transfer, the medical team's opinion was no longer important," the director sighed. "Although I don't really believe it either, the facts are there. If the young man who transferred to Manchester City can be explained by his youth, Neymar is an old man."

"The main thing is that Victor has been paying attention to the young man named Zhao Dali. Victor believes that Zhao Dali can fully recover after surgery, so he can do it too."

Dr. Merz had nothing to say to this.

Originally, he had already lost his nerve, but after watching the surgery of that young Great Demon King today, Dr. Merz developed a different train of thought.

Perhaps, everything was just a coincidence!

Yes, everything is a coincidence, whether it is Neymar or Zhao Dali, or even the female weightlifter with the world-record-breaking Suture Impingement Syndrome that Lin Jiuze showed him—all are coincidences.

Dr. Merz even thought that calling it a coincidence was giving that so-called Great Demon King too much credit.

He just had better luck; there is no such thing as surgery that transcends the era!

As for Wembanyama, he deserves it for insisting on coming here for surgery; wouldn't it have been fine to just recuperate and do rehabilitation exercises in Boston!

He had to travel thousands of miles to get cut open; the final outcome will likely be a longer recovery time and a greater impact on athletic function.

Zhao Dali's big contract did not move Dr. Merz; instead, he thought it was just a coincidence.

Dr. Merz looked at the director with disdain.

"That young man named Zhao Dali is really lucky," the director lamented. "If only Wembanyama could reach that level of recovery."

"Stop dreaming," Dr. Merz said coldly. "We watched the surgery together. Besides adding an angiography, do you think there was any difference from other surgeries? Absolutely no difference!"

The director shook his head in misery.

Precisely because he understood, and because he had watched the entire surgery, his inner expectations gradually shattered.

Everything was just an unrealistic fantasy; everything was impossible.

Let alone Zhao Dali and Neymar; after watching the surgery, the director only wished he hadn't come for the operation.

His thoughts were the same as Dr. Merz's.

After all, the surgical process was so dull and tedious, without a single novel point.

Although one thing was undeniable—the surgical skill of that doctor named Ji Xiang was indeed good; at least his technique for the lysis of adhesions was very proficient, which was the director's only consolation.

However, that alone was completely insufficient.

Wembanyama wanting to return to his previous state and achieve greater results in the Playoffs is, looking at it now, just a dream.

Dr. Merz did not mock the other party too much.

Everything is the fault of that arrogant yet ignorant young man.

As for instigating the medical director to argue with that young man? Dr. Merz felt there was no need at all.

Finally, he could let out a long breath; this hellish guy Lin Jiuze was just posturing.

Dr. Merz refocused his attention on Lin Jiuze.

This annoying guy had better never appear at Massachusetts General Hospital for the rest of his life.

The fact that Wembanyama's post-operative recovery is poor is the best weapon.

Dr. Merz did not return to his country directly but stayed behind to "witness" the results of Wembanyama's post-operative recovery.

Every day's data is very important; they are all stumbling blocks on the rise of this annoying guy, Lin Jiuze.

He must be made to fall until he is bruised and battered; this was Dr. Merz's thought.

Anyway, Lin Jiuze performed the surgery; when the time comes, just say it was his surgery—would the expert reviewers from Massachusetts really come here to verify it?

As the days passed, Dr. Merz gradually began to feel confused.

Although there was a plaster cast for fixation, some details from the physical examination gave Dr. Merz a very bad suspicion—Wembanyama's recovery was far better than he had imagined.

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!!

The word that appeared most often in Dr. Merz's mind was "impossible."

Dr. Merz had seen the surgery clearly from beginning to end; it could only be described as standard, and it was absolutely impossible for the results to be that good.

But Wembanyama's feedback was the exact opposite of Dr. Merz's judgment.

Originally scheduled to return to his country in 3-5 days, Wembanyama's recovery exceeded expectations, which caused the team to stay at the Second Affiliated Hospital for longer and longer.

……

After completing the surgery, Ji Xiang straightened his chest, and his thoracic vertebrae behind the Lead Clothing made a creaking sound.

"Ji Xiang, you're not that old, why are your vertebrae in such bad shape?" Tang Yan asked while preparing warm Saline.

"It's alright, I'm still growing," Ji Xiang replied, "Haven't you noticed I've grown 0.5cm in the past six months?"

"Really?" Tang Yan was a bit surprised.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

"Not learning." Tang Yan refused directly, "I'm 172, that's tall enough. Any taller wouldn't be good."

"True, models prefer to be 165-170." Ji Xiang didn't insist.

"Xiao Ji, is it true or false that you can grow taller?" Zhao Zhe also asked curiously, "When I was young, I bought height-increasing shoes. Not the kind with pads inside, but the kind they said on live TV would make you grow 5cm in 3 months if you wore them."

"Those guys on live TV lie without blinking, damn it. Wearing that stuff is useless, a waste of effort."

Hearing Zhao Zhe open the floodgates and chatter on, Ji Xiang began to rinse, "I was fooled when I was young too."

"You're not old now either," Zhao Zhe muttered in a low voice.

"Back then, everyone was talking about college student special forces and such, so I was egged on by my roommate to go out and travel."

"Staying up for a day and a night to check off all the tourist spots? Isn't that just looking for trouble?" Tang Yan asked curiously.

"Yes, and also no," Ji Xiang said, "Our challenge was to live in a strange city for a month with 100 yuan."

"Uh!"

Lin Jiuze tilted his head to look at Ji Xiang, as if looking at the foolish son of a landlord.

100 yuan, two young men would finish that in one meal at KFC, how could they possibly live for a month.

Did they have to sleep on the streets every day?

That was too miserable.

"Ji Xiang, don't brag... Hahaha, you guys must have failed the challenge, right."

"Didn't fail. After 20 days, we both felt more and more used to it. Later, my mom needed me for something, so I went back."

"20 days, how did you guys actually survive?" Tang Yan asked curiously.

"Airport departure halls usually have free places to stay overnight, and they provide hot water, Wi-Fi, and chargers.

Bring two packs of instant noodles, and you can solve the problem of food and clothing.

Just find a place to sleep, and after waking up in the morning, go to the airport McDonald's. When you see someone finish their coffee and get ready to leave, you decisively take it to get a refill; you can ask for a new cup."

"That's not right, if you don't go through security, can you wait for a flight?" Tang Yan asked.

Ji Xiang didn't answer Tang Yan's question, but continued, "Then go find a budget hotel nearby. Because the morning is the peak time for checking out, many room doors are left open.

We would just go into the rooms others had checked out of to take a shower, then walk out openly."

"After getting clean, you can take the subway to a temple; they usually provide free vegetarian meals at noon."

"Stop bragging, temples provide free vegetarian meals?" Tang Yan curled her lip.

Lin Jiuze and Zhao Zhe didn't believe it either.

"Before I went, I shaved my head into a buzz cut. If you go to the abbot, they won't see you. But it doesn't matter, I didn't want to discuss Buddhism with the abbot; I just told the little novice monk I wanted a vegetarian meal. Of course he wouldn't agree, so I made up some random excuse, and then just reciting a passage of the Diamond Sutra was enough."

"If I really met a serious little novice monk, I could recite the entire Diamond Sutra; I bet he couldn't even recite it. Asking for a vegetarian meal isn't too much."

What Ji Xiang said was very bizarre; no one in the operating room understood, but no one believed it either.

They just took it as Ji Xiang spouting nonsense.

"Xiao Ji, that foreign Doctor hasn't left yet. I saw Zhao Yuanzhang come to find them yesterday," Zhao Zhe suddenly mentioned something.

"Oh, they are waiting for Wembanyama to recover to collect data and do an assessment immediately," Ji Xiang said, "What did Zhao Yuanzhang come for?"

"Is he trying to pave the way for his son?" Zhao Zhe said, "If he can go to Massachusetts General Hospital to get some prestige, after Deputy Director Sui retires, Zhao Tianjiao will at least be a Deputy Director."

"But a while ago, Zhao Tianjiao was played by someone and was scared out of his wits. I heard his mental state hasn't been very good lately. I used to often see him return to the Orthopedics Department to find General Manager Xu and Professor Deng for surgeries, but now I don't see him."

"It's really not easy being a parent, repairing bridges and paving roads for the children, preparing everything, and there are risks anytime, anywhere. If they are worry-free and the child isn't rebellious, it's fine, but if you hit the rebellious phase, they go home and lock the door, not saying a word to their parents—it's truly frustrating."

"I'm not good at communicating with children. My hair has turned white from worry lately; it's very vexing. My son hasn't reached the rebellious phase yet, but every time I think about the future, I suffer from insomnia all night long."

"Xiao Ji, does what you said about going out with classmates count as rebellion? If my son went out and lived in temples every day, I would definitely..."

Zhao Zhe kept chattering on.

"My dad didn't care, because when he was young, he didn't spend a penny and traveled through 7 provinces."

"!!!"

"My mom was more worried and kept calling me to go back. The last time she called, she said directly—Ji Xiang, are you coming home or not!"

"Being called by name by your mom is quite scary, especially when my mom calls me Ji Xiang; it's simply the scariest thing in the world."

"How did your dad travel through 7 provinces without spending money?" Tang Yan wasn't interested in Ji Xiang's great terror; she thought Ji Xiang's father was more impressive.

"Squeezing into the crowd to enter the station; ticket checks weren't that strict back then. After getting on the train, I wouldn't wait to hide in the restroom, I'd just find a seat and lie down underneath it. If they saw me during the ticket check, they saw me; if they didn't, I'd ride a few more stops."

"Anyway, since I had no money, the railway police would basically just kick you off if they caught you hitching a ride; they wouldn't do anything else."

While talking, the rinsing was finished, and the Suturing began.

The Circulating Nurse walked in from outside, and after the Airtight Lead Door closed, she said mysteriously, "Zhao Yuanzhang is here."

"What is he here for?"

Tang Yan asked casually while threading the needle.

"It seems that foreigner is following him, the Doctor who was scolded by Xiao Ji."

"Oh?" Ji Xiang smiled and took the Needle Holder from Tang Yan's hand to begin Suturing.

"There seems to be a car accident Patient next door, a car accident injury from the day before yesterday, a tibia and fibula fracture."

"That's great." Zhao Zhe immediately understood what Zhao Yuanzhang meant and said enviously, "If I had this ability, I'd have my son study medicine in the future too. When I was doing advanced studies in the Imperial Capital, I heard old doctors say their children basically all went to high school abroad."

"They went out so early."

"I thought so at first too, but later I heard people say that if children study at an Ivy League school in the United States, they can keep studying there if their grades are good. If their grades aren't good, they are guaranteed to get into Qingbei after returning to the country."

"!!!" The Circulating Nurse was so envious her saliva was almost flowing out.

Guaranteed Qingbei—the lethality of these four words had infinite temptation for someone of her age whose child was in middle or high school.

"If we're talking about domestic, back when I was doing advanced studies, the child of a relative of the hospital Dean had grades that were only good enough for a 211 university, not a 985. It seemed like they said anything outside of Qingbei was fine. Later on, the child went to Renmin University of China."

"That works too!" the Circulating Nurse said in surprise.

"I suppose, but that's a matter from another world. I'll never be able to grasp it in this lifetime; I can only 'chicken-baby' 【push my child】. But 'chicken-baby' isn't something I can just do whenever I want. Looking at it now, 'chicken-baby' is not as good as 'chicken-self' 【pushing oneself】," Zhao Zhe said, troubled.

"You don't have to 'chicken-baby' too much," Ji Xiang said while suturing. "It seems Gu Lao's students take on graduate students; Zhou Jiaoshou Tianbo can do it. If your son is rebellious during puberty in the future and doesn't do well on the college entrance exam, as long as he studies medicine and passes the graduate entrance exam cutoff, he can go study under Zhou Jiaoshou."

"!!!"

Zhao Zhe was stunned for a moment.

He never expected Ji Xiang to say something like that.

"I'm also familiar with several directors at Hang Yi Da Yi Fu Yuan, though the grades still have to meet the standard," Ji Xiang said with a smile.

Zhao Zhe never dreamed he would have such a connection, and what Ji Xiang said wasn't bragging, but something real and within reach.

The only difficulty was passing the grade cutoff.

"Xiao Ji, really!" Zhao Zhe's hands were shaking a little.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Ji Xiang smiled. "And by the time your son takes the graduate entrance exam, Brother Zhao, you'll already be able to take on graduate students yourself. If you can't because of your age, if you go and say a word to the various professors at our Second Affiliated Hospital, it should be useful too."

Zhao Zhe usually didn't think that much, but countless thoughts came flooding in.

He had long been accustomed to his status as an old Attending Physician in a third or fourth-tier city and had never thought he could be this impressive.

Not to mention the Imperial Capital or Hangzhou Medical College; whether it was Liu Zhuren or Deng Chaohong, it seemed that if he went to lower his head and ask for help now, they would have to give him some face.

"If it's an Ivy League school, I can help you apply," Lin Jiuze suddenly spoke, giving Zhao Zhe a start.

"Ivy League?"

"I'm familiar with the application process; the only drawback is that it costs quite a bit of money," Lin Jiuze smiled. "I don't really recommend it. But..."

As he spoke, Lin Jiuze looked up at Ji Xiang.

"If there can be a steady stream of surgeries, money isn't a problem either."

"!!!!"

Once Zhao Zhe's thinking was opened up, he suddenly saw the light.

The people in the Operating Room began to discuss whether it was better to attend an Ivy League school or a key high school.

Going abroad certainly has its benefits, but there are also quite a few problems.

"Lao Liu! Go take a look!"

The Airtight Lead Door opened, and a Nurse poked her head in. Seeing that the surgery here was already finished, she said hurriedly.

"What's wrong?" the Anesthesia Doctor asked.

"The Patient in the next Operating Room had their blood pressure drop all of a sudden after anesthesia."

After the Nurse finished speaking, she left in a hurry.

"It's done here. Xiao Zhang, you go along to send the Patient; I'm going next door." The Anesthesia Doctor said to his assistant. After giving instructions, he squinted at Ji Xiang, then hurried to the next room.

Ji Xiang turned around, tore off his Lead Clothing, and followed the Anesthesia Doctor to "watch the excitement."

For Ji Xiang, this kind of unexpected situation counted as Clinical experience. Although there was the annoying Dr. Merz next door, the gossipy urge to "watch the excitement" still took the upper hand.

"Zhao Yisheng, you go along to send the Patient." After Lin Jiuze finished arranging this, he left with Ji Xiang.

"Why is everyone so eager to watch the excitement? If something goes wrong, why not stay far away?" the Circulating Nurse said while busy. "If the blood pressure doesn't go up after anesthesia, I get a headache every time I encounter such a Patient. It's fine if you run into a decent Anesthesia Doctor, but if they're a bit worse, they can worry people to death."

"Is there a problem?" Tang Yan asked.

"Most of the time it's fine, it's just that watching them give blind orders is frustrating. But once they look for outside help, it's hard to say. I reckon it should be next door... who is the Anesthesia Doctor next door?"

No one answered this question.

"I think Dr. Merz looks a bit unlucky," the Circulating Nurse said. "Just now I saw Zhao Yuanzhang and Dr. Merz go to the next Operating Room, and I had a premonition that something was going to happen."

"Sun Jie, you're being too idealistic," Tang Yan smiled.

"How can that be? Let me tell you something; a woman's intuition is usually very accurate. When I was young and still studying at the health school, I went back to my hometown and heard there was a semi-immortal. He would draw talismans, burn them into ash, and after drinking it, it could... not to mention curing a hundred diseases, but most illnesses would show improvement."

"At the time, my mother wasn't feeling well, so she went to ask for a talisman."

"You even dared to drink that," Zhao Zhe laughed. "Generally speaking, they are soaked in Veterinary Antibiotics. The dosage is huge. Young people might be able to withstand it, but I've seen elderly people have accidents after drinking Veterinary Antibiotics."

"Lao Zhao, you really are an old Attending Physician; you even know about this kind of thing!" the Circulating Nurse said with a smile.

Tang Yan knew nothing about this kind of old gossip. She looked up at the Airtight Lead Door; the figures of Ji Xiang and Lin Jiuze had already disappeared, and the Airtight Lead Door was slowly closing.

Ji Xiang arrived at the next Operating Room. He didn't overstep his bounds by coming in and directing the rescue, but stood in the corner to observe the situation.

The Patient had a bilateral tibia and fibula fracture and had already been operated on. The surgeon was Dr. Merz; Zhao Tianjiao was not on the table and was standing below watching.

The Cardiac Monitor showed a systolic pressure of only 80 mmHg, and that was the result after replenishing blood volume.

Did they hit a blood vessel? Ji Xiang guessed.

At this time, the Anesthesia Doctor was checking whether the blood pressure drop was caused by the anesthesia.

The anesthesia was changed to a light anesthesia mode. After supplementing with 1000ml of fluid, although the blood pressure rose slightly, it was still not significant.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, do you have any private hospitals trying to poach you?" Lin Jiuze chatted with Ji Xiang in a low voice while watching the rescue.

At this moment, the clues were not yet visible, and a rescue cannot be accomplished in one stroke.

"No, I'm not famous yet," Ji Xiang said. "But when I was an intern, someone tried to poach the Director of Gynecology."

"How much did they offer domestically?"

"They said they offered an annual salary of 6 million, but the Director of Gynecology refused. The reason for the refusal at the time was—I make over 1 million a year here, but there are plenty of people begging me for favors. If I went over there, it would become me begging others for favors."

"Doctor Lin, what about you all?"

"Smash them with money, or rely on personal favors. For favors, it depends on who it is; for money, it depends on how much. For a similar rescue, if you asked me to participate, at least..."

Lin Jiuze smiled slightly, and the rest of his words remained unspoken.

So that's how it was, and Ji Xiang smiled too.

A voice echoed in his ears—you have to pay more!

"However, private hospitals are more troublesome. At that time, I heard the teachers speculate that the reason the director wouldn't go was that although private hospitals pay more, they have a ton of KPIs and find all sorts of reasons and excuses to deduct money."

"Once you actually get it in your hands, it might not be that much. Doctor Lin, when you were in Massachusetts, how much did it cost to request a consultation for Emergency Rescue? Were there any deductions?"

"It wasn't much money in Massachusetts; it was mainly private hospitals asking me to look at scans for consultations and the like," Lin Jiuze said very candidly. "The specific amount wasn't fixed; it depended on my mood. If I was in a good mood, I'd go take a look for thirty or fifty thousand dollars; if I was in a bad mood, I'd just refuse."

"That really is a good place to make money."

Ji Xiang exclaimed in admiration.

"That's why I completely don't understand why you are so interested in Emergency Rescue," Lin Jiuze said, looking at Ji Xiang's profile to probe him.

"Because I have little on-site experience."

(End of chapter)