Chapter 2914: 2714 People from the Hometown Arrive

Boss, you were too direct in your refusal today, but I like this way.

Walking out of Di Du Liver and Gallbladder, Su Yun asked with a chuckle.

"I don't really like Director Zhu." Zheng Ren gazed at the endless night sky and said softly, "The patient shouldn't have been this serious, although I know my relationship with him isn't that close."

"I don't like him either, but not for the reason you said." Su Yun laughed, "Zhu Liangchen seemed okay at first, but compared to Zhou Chun Yong he's light-years behind."

Not the same.

"You can't be too demanding; I've seen patients like this before. Their families are poor, so they didn't get the second-stage surgery, and whenever the disease flares up, it's just a matter of fate." Su Yun said.

"Yeah, I know that's how it is; I just feel a bit uneasy inside."

"Boss, do you feel your mindset has changed after winning the Nobel Prize?" Su Yun asked.

No.

"I have a feeling." Su Yun said, "Before, you wouldn't easily express your dissatisfaction; you'd look at things from others' perspectives and just do your own part well. Is this the idea that greater ability brings greater responsibility? Or are you showing signs of being a top student?"

Su Yun's words were vague, not directly addressing the core issue, but he clearly pointed out an emotional and psychological change that Zheng Ren himself hadn't noticed.

Zheng Ren froze for a moment, then stopped walking.

"Just be an ostrich, do your own job well. Weren't you always calling me an ostrich before? Don't you want to change?" Su Yun curled the corner of her mouth into a nice arc.

Zheng Ren tilted his head slightly, gazing into Su Yun's eyes.

"What are you looking at me for?" Su Yun frowned, gently blew a breath, her forehead hair fluttering.

Nothing, got a cigarette?

I called a car.

Cancel it, I'll have a smoke and then leave." Zheng Ren said.

Su Yun nodded, took out her phone to cancel the booked car, then pulled out a cigarette; a flick of her wrist sent one flying out.

Zheng Ren picked up that cigarette and lightly held it with his lips.

The flame lit up, light and shadow dancing on Zheng Ren's face like a sprite.

Smoke slowly rose; even the bustling late-night Di Du fell into a hush.

Neither spoke; they just silently smoked.

Focused on smoking, focused on extinguishing the butt, tossing it into the trash, focused on walking out.

Su Yun hailed a car, and the two returned home in silence.

The lights were left on at home; Heizi waited, eyes half-closed, for Zheng Ren and Su Yun to return. Only then did Zheng Ren feel that no matter where, home is best.

……

……

Xiao Shitou's condition remained relatively stable; according to reports from Bota these past days, the circulating tumor cells in his blood further decreased. However, his cough didn't improve—the sputum didn't lessen, in fact it slightly increased.

The sputum was clear like water; Zheng Ren felt puzzled—based on Xiao Shitou's pre-op condition, this shouldn't have happened.

Zheng Ren even had Bota film a video of examining the sputum Xiao Shitou coughed up.

Bacterial cultures were negative, all tests negative—just like clear water, though the amount wasn't small. In response to Xiao Shitou's situation, after communicating with Zheng Ren, Bota performed an invasive procedure, taking a pathological tissue biopsy to seek cancer cells and research new drugs.

Zheng Ren himself couldn't say what this was; Xiao Shitou, who had planned to come back these days, was kept by Zheng Ren at Bota.

Zheng Ren still worried that his body couldn't endure a long flight, and since he couldn't sit still, he even wanted to fly to Germany again.

If it weren't for Gao Shaojie returning these days to Sheng Cheng to handle resignation procedures, Zheng Ren would have already left on a whim.

Gao Shaojie wasn't there, Professor Rudolf Wagner wasn't there, but Zheng Ren still carefully brought Lin Yuan and Gu Xiao Ran to perform surgery.

Even though both of their skills are now commendable, sufficient to lead a team at a prefecture-level or even provincial hospital, Zheng Ren still wasn't entirely at ease.

The morning surgery didn't take long; everything in the department had already gotten on track, each doing their duty.

In the afternoon, Zheng Ren sat at his desk with a pile of red thread beside him, looking at the Fifth Edition of External Medicine on his lap while seemingly weaving the red string without doubt.

"Zheng Lao Ban, could you take a look at this image?" Zhao Wenhua entered, holding a film.

"Hmm?" Zheng Ren replied, his fingers moving quickly as he wove the red string, "What patient?"

"An old classmate from my hometown, who's been farming at home, has coughed for years." Zhao Wenhua said respectfully, "The chest X-ray shows inflammation, but he won't afford pricier tests. Anti-inflammatory meds helped a bit at first, but over the years the effect has waned."

Zhao Wenhua said this while sighing, glancing sideways behind him; the expression and gesture meant… the patient has a tumor.

There's no way to say it outright; can only convey it with a look.

Zheng Ren understood, glanced over, and saw a young man standing at the doorway, somewhat hesitant about whether to enter or not.

His system panel was clean, slightly red, probably from fatigue due to the long journey to Di Du.

This person isn't the patient himself, but a family member; Zheng Ren made that judgment.

Setting the finished red string aside, Zheng Ren stood up, took the film from Zhao Wenhua's hand, and placed it on the viewer.

The image showed widespread inflammation in the right lung; diagnosing pneumonia is certainly no problem. But it's just a frontal chest X-ray, no CT.

"Professor Zhao, is this the only image?" Zheng Ren asked.

"Yeah, just this one; the kid urged his dad to get it taken. Conditions back home can't compare to ours here." Zhao Wenhua said, shaking his head slightly.

Just a drip of antibiotics, then what?

"A few days ago he coughed up blood, said it wasn't right—I estimate a few milliliters." Zhao Wenhua said, "He only coughed blood twice; his family panicked and brought my classmate to the hospital for a checkup."

"Before, was the cough just treated with an antibiotic drip?" Zheng Ren asked the somewhat timid young man at the doorway.

The young man tiptoed in, nodded, and said, "Yeah, at home a few days of anti-inflammatory meds usually help. The past two days it got colder, my dad seems to have caught a cold, and his cough worsened."

Zheng Ren held his arms while viewing the film, not interrupting his statement.

"I thought it was just the old problem, maybe bronchitis flaring up, so I had a doctor come give my dad fluids at home. But the next day he coughed blood, which scared me, so I went to the countryside to get this test done."

Only a plain X-ray, the patient hasn't arrived yet; Zheng Ren let out a faint sigh.

There's indeed something off on the film; Zheng Ren took a pen from his coat pocket and marked it.

"Professor Zhao, I think something's wrong here." Zheng Ren said in a low voice.