Chapter 2167: 2092 An Old Man Reeking of Alcohol

Unfortunately, in the afternoon I had to go see Cui Lao, Zheng Renye only briefly answered one of Zhao Wenhua's questions, then explained the matter and hurried away.

Lin Yuan went back to write medical records and see patients.

Although Chang Yue was somewhat better, Zheng Ren wanted to free her from the sea of books, waving a small leather whip and watching the resident doctors work diligently would be enough.

Su Yun left a message saying he had already arrived at the Emergency Department.

Zheng Ren changed his clothes and rushed over.

"Boss, why so late?" Su Yun asked as soon as they met.

"Today Lin Yuan performed two surgeries; afterward I explained the basics to her." Zheng Ren said.

"Tomorrow there is an anatomy lecture; have Lin Yuan come with me to attend. Surgery, you and Fugui'er will handle it." Su Yun said.

"That works." Zheng Ren didn't mind; before Fugui'er left, he added two more surgeries for him, "By the way, what about Manager Zhou?"

"He's busy." Su Yun said, "You know what a mess the Emergency Department is."

So, Zheng Ren sat down and waited patiently.

After a few minutes, an old man walked out of the examination room, huffing and puffing, and said: 'Doctor, I just have a sore back; why are you ordering so many tests? Is this how you treat illness?'

His speech was a bit slurred, his face flushed, and from four or five meters away Zheng Ren could smell the alcohol on him.

In the Emergency Department, the patients we fear most are those who come in after drinking too much.

They can't even say where they feel unwell, have a short temper, and lash out at the slightest disagreement. As the saying goes, alcohol breeds courage — and it's true.

But after taking a close look at the System Panel, Zheng Ren furrowed his brow.

"Sir, please wait a moment." Zhou Litao rushed out, speaking urgently.

Around noon there was a major emergency rescue in the Emergency Department, delaying mealtime. The doctors of the Emergency Surgery went to eat, and Zhou Litao covered for them; after eating he could leave.

But he encountered an uncooperative patient who had been drinking at noon, and Zhou Litao also found it a headache.

The ward was full of patients, none of them serious; if possible, Zhou Litao didn't want to waste more words on him.

Zhou Litao didn't dare to pull the patient.

First, the patient is old; pulling and tugging could cause a bump, making things unclear.

Second, because he had been drinking, his gait was already unsteady, increasing the chance of an accident.

He quickly stepped up to the patient, bent slightly, kept a smile, and hid his impatience inside.

"Sir, please wait a moment." Zhou Litao said gently.

"All you know is to run tests! I strained my back working a few days ago and just wanted some ointment to invigorate blood and relieve stasis; why are you checking all this?" the patient said angrily.

His old wife followed behind, looking accustomed to his post‑drinking antics, her face full of resignation.

"Your urine output has been low these past two days; we still need to check it." Zhou Litao continued to persuade.

"A sprain — you know what a sprain is, don't you!"

"I know, I know, but we can't rule out other illnesses; it's best to check." Zhou Litao made a final effort.

"Boss, his ankle is a bit swollen." Su Yun observed the elderly patient closely, seeing from the pant leg that the sock was digging deep into the skin around his ankle, and whispered to Zheng Ren.

"Hmm, there is indeed a problem." Zheng Ren said.

"The chief complaint is trauma; where does the swelling come from? Could it be a deep‑vein thrombosis?" Su Yun speculated.

"Not necessarily."

Zheng Ren pondered; according to the diagnosis given by the System Panel, the patient had acute interstitial nephritis, yet there was no lumbar disc herniation, lumbar muscle strain, or other such diagnoses.

It should be that the pain from acute interstitial nephritis led the patient to make a mistaken judgment.

Not wearing a white coat, approaching like this seemed improper; Zheng Ren thought and had Su Yun get the key from Zhou Litao.

People came and went in the Emergency Department; if Zhou Litao's duty room wasn't locked, things might get stolen.

Zhou Litao thought Zheng Lao Ban and Yun Ge'er were going to the duty room to sit and wait for him; after taking the key he paid no attention, but in an instant he saw the two walking out in white coats.

"Sir, how much did you drink at noon?" Su Yun approached with a smile and began chatting with the elderly patient about alcohol.

There was no formal inquiry; it was just small talk.

When the topic turned to drinking, the patient became lively, spitting and gesturing as he spoke, as if he were sitting at a night‑market stall, skewering meat, drinking, and looking down on the world with heroic bravado.

Su Yun intentionally played along; whenever he hit the right note, the old man's mood eased.

Zheng Ren also felt helpless, but thinking about it, that's indeed the case. Someone who argues fiercely yet never gets into trouble like Su Yun would be a ghost if he had low emotional intelligence and couldn't speak.

"Manager Zhou, go attend to your duties; I see the room is full of people." Zheng Ren stood three steps from the patient, reeking of alcohol, and dared not get closer, lest he become drunk just from the smell.

After sending Zhou Litao away, Zheng Ren observed the patient.

Both lower legs showed mild edema; Zhou Litao had mentioned low urine output, and together with the diagnosis from the System, Zheng Ren sought the possibility of interstitial nephritis.

Su Yun usually acts like a carefree playboy, but when he actually needs to communicate, his ability is not bad either.

Although he still can't match Chang Yue, his basic skills are quite solid.

As a doctor, not being able to communicate is a major shortcoming. Su Yun truly has no flaw in this regard; Zheng Ren listened to Su Yun's conversation with the patient and his thoughts ran wild.

After ten minutes of small talk, Su Yun had figured out the patient's medical history completely.

The old man had bought some rice — about twenty kilograms — three days earlier and carried it upstairs himself. In his seventies, even a bit of physical labor makes his whole body ache.

After one day he felt a little better, but his waist still hurt.

He went to the small clinic near his home for a check‑up; they diagnosed a lumbar strain and gave him some medicine, but after two days there was no improvement.

He planned to buy some trauma‑relief plaster to apply himself; it was nothing serious, and the old man didn't think much of it.

Now hospital medicines have no markup; buying them is far cheaper than at outside pharmacies. So he registered for an Emergency Department appointment and came to room 912 to buy plaster.

But Zhou Litao happened to catch him, took his history, and found that over the past few days he had low urine output plus frequency and urgency.

Zhou Litao ordered a bilateral kidney ultrasound and asked for a kidney‑function test.

And then the old man flew into a rage!

No wonder the hospital sells medicine cheap — in the end the wool comes from the sheep itself!

These words chattered on and on, slipped into casual chat; Su Yun talked about alcohol, speaking point by point, while Zheng Ren expressed that he knew almost nothing about it.

The old man had a very good impression of Su Yun, and by the end even invited Su Yun to his home for a meal and drinks, seeming to want to take him as his grandson-in-law.

"Old man, the alcohol smell on you is really strong." Su Yun said, smiling with narrowed eyes.

"If your waist hurts, just rub it with alcohol; I usually drink alcohol without having such a strong smell." The old man absolutely refused to accept it.