Chapter 1698: 1640 Banner

I asked Feng Xu Hui, and it turned out Liu Xiao Jie had gone to Su Yun's side.

Zheng Ren just couldn't recall what the little beauty who always followed Feng Xu Hui looked like.

He only remembered that she walked as if she had no bones, swaying gracefully.

Forget it, anyway it's none of his business; it's best if they arrange things themselves, Zheng Ren thought to himself.

【They said write quickly…】

The phone rang, and Zheng Ren picked it up instinctively.

"Zheng Lao Ban, your hand speed is increasing—you answered instantly." Lin JiaoJiao's voice came through.

"I was just holding my phone." Zheng Ren smiled. "Anything, Sister Lin?"

Lao He sighed inwardly; Zheng Lao Ban's manner made chatting awkward. Who starts off by asking if there's anything?

But as long as their surgery went well, that's enough.

"Isn't it that you're fine now? Let me host a welcome dinner tonight—are you free?"

Zheng Ren thought for a moment; it must be that Lin JiaoJiao is anxious about the weight‑loss surgery, so she's subtly urging him.

"Yes, but I just took the medical team to the Medical University Affiliated Hospital to perform a surgery…" Zheng Ren said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Come along, the more the merrier."

As soon as he heard the four words "lively crowd," Zheng Ren's head buzzed.

Fortunately, they were all familiar faces, so it didn't matter; he'd just bear it and it would pass.

After settling on a place, Zheng Ren called Feng Xu Hui and told him to come straight over. This side he'd go to 912 to pick up Chang Yue and Liu Zewei.

Time was still a bit early, and Zheng Ren pondered going back to see Director Kong.

He should request instructions and report often; after all, he couldn't let the old chief feel neglected. Zheng Ren knew Director Kong's care for him.

Entering the Intervention Department corridor, Zheng Ren saw Chang Yue chatting with a person who had a pile of fruit beside them and was holding a banner.

What a hassle—this must be another discharged patient sending a banner.

Zheng Ren wanted to pretend he hadn't seen them, but as soon as he entered, the patient's family spotted him, stopped talking to Chang Yue, and walked straight over.

"Doctor Zheng, thank you." The patient's family bowed, their head almost touching the ground.

That is, if the person had longer legs; if they were shorter‑legged, they'd probably bump their head against Zheng Ren's face while still kneeling upright.

Zheng Ren jumped in fright.

Before surgery they'd try to give a red envelope, which he refused, saying they could show gratitude afterward. But after the operation nobody brought it up, pretending it never happened. When a patient is discharged, fewer than one in ten remember to send a banner.

To come back and see him—even if they're thoughtful—still bowing like this…

But who is this person?

Zheng Ren felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if he'd seen them before, but the mosaic on the patient's family's face remained.

"You are…"

"You placed a jejunal feeding tube for my loved one a few days ago—do you still remember?" the patient's family said.

Oh, it's the family of the patient with severe pregnancy‑related vomiting.

"How is your loved one recovering?"

"They've been discharged smoothly, receiving daily nutrient drips, no more nausea or vomiting. Today I brought them for a prenatal check‑up; the baby's doing great and growing fast." The man's mouth split to his ears as he laughed happily.

"That's good." Zheng Ren said.

"Doctor Zheng, thank you, thank you." The patient's family kept saying thanks, shoving the banner into Zheng Ren's hands.

Everyone chatted happily, which was also a form of acknowledgment. But when Zheng Ren heard the patient was recovering well, he felt happy—yet receiving the banner made him a bit uneasy.

The banner felt like a hot potato in his hand, making Zheng Ren uncomfortable just holding it.

"Chief Zheng, let me take the banner. Are you looking for Director Kong?" Chang Yue, knowing Zheng Ren's nature, stepped in to defuse the situation.

Zheng Ren realized for the first time that Chang Yue had high emotional intelligence and was sensible. He hurriedly handed the banner to her, wearing his usual forced smile.

About to leave in a hurry, he was stopped by Chang Yue, and only after taking a photo with the patient's family did he let Zheng Ren go.

Arriving at Director Kong's office, Zheng Ren knocked and entered.

Director Kong was wearing his flower‑patterned glasses, reading documents; he lifted his head, his gaze passing between the glasses and his forehead wrinkles toward Zheng Ren.

"Zheng Lao Ban, you're back? It's really hard to catch you once these days." Director Kong said with a smile.

"Director, you say that." Zheng Ren, embarrassed, replied: "It's not like I'm on a mission; I just got back and ran into things. After coming out of isolation, I bumped into something at the Medical University Affiliated Hospital, finished up, and then came here."

"Tell me, what's going on." Seeing Zheng Ren speak a bit haltingly, Director Kong didn't say more, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes.

Zheng Ren gave a brief report on his trip to Nanyang, the mass hysteria he thought he'd encountered upon returning, and his visit to the Medical University Affiliated Hospital for an interventional bullet extraction.

As for the autopsy, Zheng Ren didn't mention it—that was a personal favor he owed Li Zhaosen, unrelated to work.

Director Kong listened, his smile gradually fading until he finally gave a slight shake of the head and sighed.

"Zheng Lao Ban, interventional bullet extraction—you really dare to think of that."

"There have been successful cases, so I decided to try. At the time I'd already prepared to open the chest, cut the heart to remove the bullet. Both hands were ready—I wasn't careless." Zheng Ren hurriedly explained.

Only then did Director Kong realize that the Zheng Lao Ban before him wasn't his subordinate team‑leading professor who only knew how to do interventional surgery.

He chuckled, "I heard Massachusetts General Hospital is looking to hire you as a tenured professor?"

"I don't know either," Zheng Ren said. "Later Su Yun told me that the doctor who did Wang Lao Xian's hip replacement three years ago was likely a director of Massachusetts General Hospital. Academically he also has standing—he must be a prominent figure in orthopedics."

"Tenured professor—impressive." Director Kong said with a squinting smile, "Do you mean giving lectures there every year?"

"Looks like not; I haven't promised anything specific—it's all Su Yun's talk." Zheng Ren laughed.

"You." Director Kong shook his head and asked, "What about Su Yun?"

"He's gone to lecture at Capital Medical University." Zheng Ren laughed.

Su Yun that guy still hasn't gotten back to us, and we don't know how his lectures are going.

"How's JiaoJiao's gastric fundus and left gastric artery embolization procedure coming along?" Director Kong suddenly changed the subject and asked.

Zheng Ren knew that Lin JiaoJiao could no longer sit still.

Fortunately, I had studied it… after examining it with the True Eye, I wasn't anxious.

「Director, I've figured it out—it's a very simple surgical procedure. If Sister Lin's side has a patient, we can do it right away. 」 Zheng Ren said.

「Don't be careless, Lao Wu's side had a patient; post-op recovery dragged on for over 1 month before discharge. 」 Director Kong said cautiously.

「Mm. 」 Zheng Ren nodded. 「I know the Shou Bing is even simpler than imagined; the embolization must not be too deep, and we must use the spring ring, not the embolizing agent. 」

Zheng Ren briefly explained his idea.

Director Kong saw that Zheng Ren had done his research; he also considered that he had completed the task Lin JiaoJiao entrusted, so he relaxed and began chatting with Zheng Ren.