Chapter 398: with translation of chapter title

The banquet ended, and Zheng Ren was exhausted.

This is a deep, soul‑felt tiredness. Only after he agreed to Director Zhang's request to teach a Eryuan doctor how to perform TIPS surgery did Director Zhang finally let him go.

Zheng Ren realized that, as a social creature, he could not avoid such events no matter how much he disliked them.

But he simply didn't like it.

Feng Xu Hui abstained from alcohol, acting as the server—running back and forth, pouring drinks, occasionally cracking risqué jokes and sucking up to the leaders to keep the mood light.

After several trials, Feng Xu Hui had matured rapidly, leaving behind the rookie label and appearing as a seasoned professional manager.

He was exhausted yet unusually excited, his body buzzing with adrenaline.

Each hospital is a fortress; once we break through, our products pour in and sales spike. Performance then soars, and the year‑end bonuses are so generous they can't be exhausted.

Just thinking about it, everything feels wonderful.

Feng Xu Hui grew to trust the Di Du boss who had given him timely advice—Chief Zheng was a sturdy thigh he had to hold onto.

Feng Xu Hui didn't know what TIPS surgery entailed, but he could read the attitude of everyone at Eryuan toward Chief Zheng.

When the drinking session ended, Feng Xu Hui led Zheng Ren and Professor Rudolf Wagner out of Eryuan.

"Chief Zheng, do I take you or the professor first?" Feng Xu Hui asked.

The professor, having drunk a lot, was already snoring in the back seat.

"First, let's send the professor to Shangri‑La," Zheng Ren said, rolling down his window, lighting half a Purple Cloud cigarette, inhaling deeply, feeling the tobacco's bite and the fresh northeast wind, which eased him a little. "You take him up; I'll wait downstairs for some peace."

"Hmm." Feng Xu Hui, who knew Zheng Ren well, saw he was irritated and skipped small talk, driving straight to Shangri‑La.

Having seen Professor Rudolf Wagner to his hotel room, Feng Xu Hui asked Zheng Ren where he was going.

When Zheng Ren mentioned the name of the housing estate, Feng Xu Hui's face twitched.

No wonder Chief Zheng couldn't care less about money; he's obsessed with surgery. Just look—he lives in the city's most luxurious villa area.

Only those with money can rise above lowbrow pursuits and fully devote themselves to what they love.

To Chief Zheng, surgery is just a pastime.

In a flash, Zheng Ren's image in Feng Xu Hui's mind kept changing, veering further into an impractical, wrong direction—like a rigid stray dog.

Zheng Ren played with his phone while chatting with Xie Yiren.

He wanted to visit Xie Yiren, knock on her door, greet her in person with a good night, then hug and part.

If that could happen, it would be a perfect night—like performing a TIPS surgery on himself.

But Chu Yan zhi was living at Xie Yiren's home, and today she was on a flexible shift.

Knowing Xie Yiren's nature, Zheng Ren grew anxious about someone possibly being there, and finally decided to let it go.

It was getting late, and tomorrow held plenty of work.

Zheng Yunxia required a 64‑slice CT scan for 3D reconstruction to assess the treatment outcome after two rounds of interventional embolization.

Post‑op patients required rounds, and the ward also housed a feeble old man pretending to be sick.

Forget it—just go home, soak in a tub to rinse off the fatigue, then get some early rest. Su Yun had also been on shift for two days; it was time to relieve him.

According to Zheng Ren's instructions, Feng Xu Hui drove to the villa's entrance.

Watching Zheng Ren unlock the gate and walk into the villa, Feng Xu Hui was still filled with emotion.

What kind of dog bites without barking? Chief Zheng is that dog. He never shows off, dresses plainly, and isn't fussy about food, yet he lives in a villa.

People, the disparity can be truly vast.

Feng Xu Hui gave a sigh and then hurried away.

Back at work, he still had plenty to do: assessing today's surgery and projecting the future consumption of TIPS‑surgery supplies at Eryuan.

Though this ought to be the data analysts' task, Feng Xu Hui remained convinced they were detached from reality, and their figures differed greatly from his own accurate calculations.

Keep pushing—I hope to someday live in a villa like Chief Zheng's.

Feng Xu Hui gave himself a pep talk, pressed on, and disappeared into the dark night.

…… (ellipsis) No named.

The next day, Xie Yiren called Zheng Ren to join her for breakfast.

Chu Yan zhi was curious about his trip to Eryuan for the Flying Knife procedure, peppering him with questions. Xie Yiren just ate her breakfast quietly, occasionally stealing a glance at Zheng Ren before looking away.

Upon reaching the emergency ward, Zheng Ren asked about the patients' status from the last two nights.

Unexpectedly, Su Yun has been especially relaxed these past two days—no emergency cases have bothered him, and he feels completely at ease.

"The night‑shift god's blessing—you must have missed it." Su Yun laughed, teasing Zheng Ren.

What incredible luck this person has—Zheng Ren couldn't help but marvel.

At 7:55 a. m., Professor Rudolf Wagner arrived punctually; upon seeing Zheng Ren, he pulled him aside to share his thoughts on yesterday's TIPS procedure.

Zheng Ren outright rejected his idea.

With shift changes, rounds, and patients to attend to, who has time to keep him company for research?

This place isn't Heidelberg University—there simply aren't that many medical staff on duty.

Medical workers have long been smoothed out by life; put simply, life has ground them down. Whether they show up for work or not, the result is the same—they've lost their edge.

With insufficient staff, they push themselves to the limit treating every patient. Scientific research? That's a far‑off luxury—they can't even take care of their own families, let alone find the energy to study.

After ward rounds, Director Pan remained in the office to oversee things, while Professor Wagner was called away by Chang Yue to assist with something. Zheng Ren had no idea what it was—and didn't care to ask.

Zheng Ren took Su Yun with him to begin a department‑by‑department round, checking on post‑operative patients. For those who had undergone TIPS, they needed to monitor blood ammonia levels and decide when to withdraw the retrievable stent. They also had to assess the condition of the ICU's critically ill patients—there was a lot to handle.

As soon as they left the emergency department, Zheng Ren was startled to see a crowd gathered.

A group of kids, roughly eight or nine years old, were being escorted by two adults who looked mild‑mannered and trustworthy—definitely not troublemakers.

Which teacher fell ill? These days teachers hold great prestige, so when they have a personal matter, parents hurry to the school to lend a hand.

Zheng Ren recalled a coworker grumbling that his biggest life regret was joining his child's class QQ group. Once in, his daily routine boiled down to two things: getting reprimanded by the teacher and kissing up to the teacher.

Zheng Ren thought carefully, there were no sick teachers in the ward, ah.

Looking at the children's ages, they're not old either, could it be……

Zheng Ren was still dazed, a slightly older child raised the newspaper he was holding, carefully comparing it to Zheng Ren.

"Uncle, are you Doctor Zheng?" the child said, not old, speaking in a childish voice, very cute.

"Hmm, I am." Zheng Ren glanced; the child held the Hai Cheng Urban News, couldn't see the date, but the front page prominently displayed his photo.

"Hello uncle, we are Jiu Xiao students, our homeroom teacher is Yang Lili Teacher." The leading child said seriously: "We are here to visit Teacher Yang, and also to thank you."

Zheng Ren chuckled and patted the child's head, saying: "No need, this is all what should be done."

At this moment, the adult who came with the children walked up to Zheng Ren, bowed, and politely said: "Doctor Zheng, the children strongly requested this; we had no choice but to come disturb you. For any impropriety, please forgive us."

"You're welcome, you're welcome." Zheng Ren was a bit flustered.

Faced with this situation, Zheng Ren didn't know how to respond, already at a loss.

Su Yun stood behind Zheng Ren, chuckling at the joke.

"Class 2-1 students, Teacher Yang's condition has gradually improved; we'll come visit her again in a few days. This is Doctor Zheng, who gave Teacher Yang a second life; what should you do?"

The leading child who looked a bit older should be the class monitor; she had a solemn expression, facing the classmates, said: "Class 2-1, attention!"

The children, like doing exercises between classes, quickly formed a small formation.

The class monitor turned around, although she tried to act like an adult, she still spoke in a childish voice.

"Doctor Zheng, all students of Class 2-1 at Hai Cheng No. 9 Elementary School express our deepest gratitude." As she spoke, she raised her right arm and performed a Young Pioneer salute.

Behind her, over thirty children almost simultaneously raised their arms.

It wasn't perfectly neat, but that sincere feeling overflowed.

Hot and yet restrained, Zheng Ren's heart boiled with hot blood.