Chapter 1086: 1059 Idle Chat

In the evening, in a private room of a small restaurant, Director Kong, Sun Ming, and Lin Ge sat together, discussing the community hospital's affairs.

After three rounds of drinks, the serious matters had already been discussed.

Sun Ming had watched the recent surgery livestream, especially the promotion from Xinglin Yuan, which further strengthened his confidence.

This is an opportunity, a rare opportunity.

A big shot who could go to the Mayo Clinic to do a teaching surgery—one could only encounter such a chance in a lifetime. If missed, there would be no time left for regret.

So he quickly agreed on his end, without hesitation.

Administratively, the nearby community hospital still belongs to the district, but operationally it falls under 912.

This was a document issued a couple of years ago, but few large tertiary hospitals actually make use of community hospitals in this way.

There aren't enough doctors, especially those who can work independently; that's the fundamental problem. Otherwise, community hospitals would already be up and running.

Lin Ge, representing Director Ye, has full authority to handle this matter, and he has no objection.

As for Director Kong, although he harbored resentment toward the Science and Education Department's indifference, he did not delay bringing a community hospital under Zheng Ren's control.

Zheng Ren is still considered one of my subordinates, which means my business scope has expanded and I control more resources. Even if, one day, Boss Zheng were to jump ship, having an extra community hospital on my side would still be a good thing.

So the three of them spoke freely; the matter is settled, awaiting the vice president in charge of clinical affairs, Vice President Yuan, to give the final approval, after which the hospital director signs off and it's done.

After the serious talk, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

"Old Kong, you don't know the hardships of a community hospital," Sun Ming complained with a grin. "All sorts of quirky patients show up at the community hospital, making work a real headache—unlike your 912, where patients behave properly. What's it called? Medical compliance! Yes, medical compliance is especially good."

"Everything's hard," Director Kong said, picking up a bite of food.

"A few years ago, I was still in clinical practice…"

"You call that clinical?"

Sun Ming's words were directly looked down upon by Director Kong, as if thrown to the floor.

"If it's not clinical, then anything involving patients is clinical. Old Kong, your aloof attitude really doesn't win you any favors." Sun Ming retorted.

"What happened?" Lin Ge asked from the side. This was surely the time for jokes, the most relaxed moment at the table.

"A female patient came rushing in, holding her hand with a red scarf, shouting, 'It's going to explode, it's going to explode!'" Sun Ming recalled, still a bit wistful. "Do you know what I was thinking?"

"I'm wondering if I'm going to sacrifice myself here today," Sun Ming sighed. "I just thought, how nice public security would be—why did I have to run into this?"

"And then?" Director Kong asked with a chuckle.

"Nothing much after that—I almost pissed myself at the time. Old Kong, don't laugh. If you ran into this, just being able to stand would count as skill." Seeing Director Kong burst out laughing, Sun Ming grew a little angry.

"Heh heh, what, trying to scare me? Back when I…"

"Don't keep bringing up your Nanjiang stories—every meal you mention it, I'm tired of hearing it." Sun Ming cut off Director Kong's remark.

"And then?" Lin Ge steered the conversation back to normal.

"Guess what happened? The patient had cut her hand while chopping vegetables at home and came to the hospital for a bandage. She spoke a dialect, and I misheard it as 'explosion,' as if she'd rushed in with something dangerous wrapped in a scarf." Sun Ming said: "You tell me, wasn't that scary?"

"Such things happen all the time," Director Kong said. "When I used to work night shifts, in radiology I'd see foreign objects in bodies—bottles and such—averaging one per shift. Once, oddly, four showed up in one night."

"Tsk, you must have a constitution that attracts these kinds of patients," Sun Ming mocked.

"Impossible!" Director Kong glared at him and continued: "One day, three little boys brought a little girl in for a checkup. They'd shoved several batteries down there—who knows how long they'd been in there, corroded and leaking—so she ended up needing surgery."

"You say such things can happen—do you still call that an affair?"

"Heh." Lin Ge chuckled. "Back when I was on emergency duty, I ran into something pretty strange too."

"How?"

"A man in his forties came running in, covering his mouth, the paper towels in his hand soaked through." Lin Ge said: "The bleeding was terrifying."

"Oh? And then?"

"He pulled out half his tongue and asked if I could stitch it back. I thought it was a car accident, never imagining his own dog had bitten him." Lin Ge gestured, driving the point home for everyone.

"…" Director Kong stared for a moment, then laughed: "That's really something."

"Don't get the wrong idea—he was playing dog-fighting at home, sticking out his tongue to pretend to pant, and that's what happened." Lin Ge laughed.

"Tsk."

The mood was relaxed, jokes flew. These bits of gossip sound lighthearted, but nobody mentioned how, during actual consultations, the heart rate would spike above 120 beats per minute and blood pressure would surge.

This is the kind of boastful talk over drinks where nobody would dare bring up heavy topics.

After chatting lightly for over an hour, Lin Ge casually asked, "Director Kong, did you tell Boss Zheng about the invitation?"

"You say it yourself—it's not a big deal." Director Kong remarked offhand: "Exactly, don't mention it to Boss Zheng; he won't care."

"Huh? He doesn't even care about something this big?" Lin Ge sounded doubtful.

"To you it's a big deal, but to Boss Zheng it's just routine work." Director Kong said: "Do you have Su Yun's WeChat?"

"No."

"I'll send it to you; you handle this with Su Yun."

"Isn't that the doctor who calls herself the rising star of cardiothoracic surgery in the capital?" Whenever Lin Ge thought of Su Yun, he'd recall clerk Xiao Wang's spring‑in‑his‑step vibe, that filing document, and her underhanded tactics.

He was somewhat reluctant to deal with Su Yun, but… oh well, he'd just grit his teeth and accept it.

"Yeah."

"What kind of person dares to call herself the rising star of cardiothoracic surgery in the capital?" Sun Ming exclaimed in surprise.

"She cultivates heart tissue from autologous stem cells, then does a heart transplant." Director Kong said: "In a few decades, when the technology matures and you're older, you'll probably have to get Su Yun to operate on you."

"A heart transplant!" Sun Ming gasped.

"Of course, what did you think?" Director Kong was pleased with Sun Ming's expression and mood. "Even a high‑profile procedure like a heart transplant can impress people—unlike TIPS surgery, which nobody knows about when you mention it."

Intervention Department Doctor, truly troubled.