Chapter 2477: with translation of chapter title

After finishing the meal, each went home.

Today we encountered some things; at first everyone was cheerful, but later the topic turned heavy and the chat felt somewhat oppressive.

Zheng Ren was fine; he knew clearly in his heart what he could and could not do.

Diagnosis, treatment, Shou Bing— in the end they are only part of it; useful for some, but of limited use for others.

Doing only what one can, Zheng Ren understood this principle as hard as a stone. It also maximally avoids idle speculation, especially for a profession like doctors who face life and death directly.

After the gathering, Lin Yuan drove his little Polo home, thinking along the way about a patient Zheng Lao Ban had once performed Shou Bing on, deemed "cured" in oncology, yet who had contracted another strange illness; his mood felt slightly off.

Returning home, going upstairs, opening the door.

"Little one, you're back." Lin Yuanzhang's lover rose from the sofa, face full of kindness, and asked.

"Mom, I'm back." Lin Yuan changed his shoes, a bit listless.

"What's wrong with you? Who bullied you?" Lin Yuanzhang's lover asked anxiously.

Actually she did not want Lin Yuan to study medicine or engage in medical work.

Doctors face great pressure; from the start they work 996, yet they don't even earn the money that 996 would bring— not to mention that. The old couple have some savings for their lifetime; even if Lin Yuan were to be a rice worm, living muddled through life would be completely fine, and doing so seems not bad at all.

What Lin Yuanzhang's lover worried about was Lin Yuan encountering something else at the hospital.

In recent years there have been too many cases of doctors being harmed in the hospital; each time she thinks of this, Lin Yuanzhang's lover feels a bit panicked.

"Mom, who would dare bully me." Lin Yuan hugged Lin Yuanzhang's lover's arm and meowed twice.

But today's meowing was clearly off; upon hearing it, Lin Yuanzhang's lover could tell his mind was elsewhere.

Surely something was up; seeing Lin Yuan not speak, she had no choice but to look toward her old Lin.

Lin Yuanzhang gently asked: "Little one, are you guys having a dinner gathering with the Medical Team this evening, not going out to play?"

"I encountered a patient whom Zheng Lao Ban had previously performed Shou Bing on, showing symptoms of split personality; we chatted a while and then dispersed." Lin Yuan sat on the sofa, his ponytail swaying, listless.

"Split personality?" Lin Yuanzhang exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, it was the pancreaticoduodenectomy performed last year. An Oriental professor was invited to do the Shou Bing but couldn't finish it; later Zheng Lao Ban stepped up and removed the tumor." Lin Yuan said, "Post-op follow-up was fine, but a few months ago he split into two persons."

"Split into two persons?" Lin Yuanzhang and his lover both stared for a moment.

In Lin Yuanzhang's lover's mind, it was like a horror film: a person split down the middle, then another half of the body grew out.

Lin Yuanzhang knew what his old companion was thinking, and immediately explained to her roughly what it meant.

"Such a situation doesn't happen often, but it does occur." Lin Yuanzhang then told Lin Yuan: "A few years ago there was a patient who, after hepatobiliary Shou Bing, insisted that a gauze had fallen into his abdomen."

"Then what happened?"

"How could that be? All kinds of examinations were done, and nothing was found." Lin Yuanzhang said, "It was just……"

"Old Lin, if there's cloth in the stomach, can you still see it? Clothes don't show up on imaging, right? Nobody doing an examination ever has to take off all their clothes." Lin Yuanzhang's lover asked.

"Medical gauze isn't just gauze; it also has a radiopaque strip, called radiopaque gauze. One X-ray tells whether there's anything in the stomach, unlike when I was young."

"Back when you were young, so-and-so, it seemed like they dropped hemostatic forceps into the patient's belly." Lin Yuanzhang's lover muttered.

"If not, nowadays we have Triple Check Seven Verification; for a minor Shou Bing, just checking the instruments wastes 20 minutes." Lin Yuanzhang said.

"It's not wasted time; these are all necessary procedures."

Lin Yuanzhang deliberately said a few idle remarks, but seeing his little one's listless expression, he didn't know whether it was from work fatigue or from being frightened by encountering a split‑personality patient.

The situation she described is indeed serious; Lin Yuanzhang has never seen in all these years someone splitting themselves into two persons, each living a different life.

"Little one, what did Zheng Lao Ban say?" Lin Yuanzhang probed, asking.

"He said, Shou Bing can only treat physical ailments. For mental‑type illnesses he still refuses to diagnose, merely saying the patient might be under too much pressure, which produces constant avoidance‑type psychology." Lin Yuan said, "He advised the patient to get some psychological counseling."

"Wanting to do clinical work, seeing many life‑and‑death partings, many people become indifferent." Lin Yuanzhang said: "If you want to become a good doctor, you must first settle yourself."

"Got it." Lin Yuan rubbed his head against Lin Yuanzhang's arm, smiling: "I can handle it myself; I don't need you to give me psychological counseling. Besides, I don't even know that patient, so rest easy."

After saying that, Lin Yuan said: "I'll go practice Shou Bing on the mannequin again, then wash up and sleep."

Watching Lin Yuan sway his ponytail back to the room, Lin Yuanzhang's lover whispered: "Old Lin, is the little one alright?"

"Do you remember when I was young and got drunk once?" Lin Yuanzhang asked.

"A hooligan went to extort money, beat up the male head of the household, and was then killed by the family's child?" Lin Yuanzhang's lover remembered this incident vividly.

Lin Yuanzhang nodded.

That was something from long ago; two bullying‑type youths from the village went to cause trouble at an honest, law‑abiding household. The male head was knocked to the ground; they were running amok when the family's twelve‑ or thirteen‑year‑old half‑grown child grabbed a stick and rushed forward.

One hooligan fled, while the other was beaten black and blue all over. There was no serious injury like a fracture, but he developed acute renal failure; the patient arrived at the hospital and died not long after.

At death's door his whole body was swollen; sitting on the bed, he softly told the young Lin Yuanzhang, "Save me."

If it were today, he would be sent straight for dialysis; acute renal failure with ten days to half a month of dialysis plus other treatment would soon improve.

But back then, even across Di Du there were hardly any dialysis machines, all booked solid. And the hospital where Lin Yuanzhang worked had none at all; they could only watch helplessly as the patient died.

Regardless of good or evil, doctors aren't police and can't manage everything. The patient, looking pitifully at Lin Yuanzhang before death, pleaded for him to save his life; those words still seem to echo in his ears after all these years.

After that incident, Lin Yuanzhang remained spiritually listless for a long time.

"Being a doctor is like this— repeatedly tempered; if you get through, you're a qualified doctor; if not, you'd better switch to something else early."

……

……

Note: Tonight is Christmas Eve; wishing all readers peace and fulfillment.