Chapter 946: 926 Dark Currents Surge

Early morning, Xie Yiren drove, rushing to the hospital.

Today they need to go to Di Du for liver and gallbladder surgery; Zheng Ren needs to come early to make a round of patients.

Checking on patients has become a deep-rooted habit, just like eating and sleeping. Every day, if he doesn't glance at pre‑ and post‑op patients, Zheng Ren always feels something is missing.

Although Shen Boshi has already returned, and there's Chang Yue, a meticulous attending physician, Zheng Ren still can't relax.

Perhaps this is a kind of obsessive‑compulsive tendency.

Intervention, hepatobiliary, and digestive—three wards, eleven post‑op patients, conditions stable. When Zheng Ren arrived, three patients were still asleep. The ward's patients were discharged today, replaced by a batch of pre‑booked patients, preparing for surgery the day after tomorrow.

The surgical scheduling in Di Du is calculated down to the bone. The bed turnover rate is something unimaginable back in Hai Cheng.

After rounds, Chang Yue stayed in the Intervention Department to continue working.

The surgery is over, but Chang Yue's work is endless. Every day, for each patient's condition, what urgent tests are needed, any changes in status—all require a good attending physician to give careful care.

Zheng Ren felt at ease with Chang Yue; after arranging his family affairs, Xie Yiren drove, rushing all the way to Di Du's liver and gallbladder hospital.

……

……

At Di Du's liver and gallbladder hospital, Zhu Liangchen arrived early; he first checked all patients scheduled for surgery today, ensuring everything was foolproof.

Inviting Zheng Ren to perform the surgery put Zhu Liangchen under great pressure.

Especially the need for live‑broadcast surgery, which is clearly written in the agreement. Yet the issue that doctors who solicit fees care most about—the surgery fee, or external expert fee—is not marked.

Whenever Zhu Liangchen thought of it, he felt a twinge of emotion, even secretly envying this batch of young people.

Doing surgery without profit, free of constraints, devoting oneself entirely to research—this is the life many doctors aspire to.

Young people, full of vigor, may seem unreliable at first, but after getting to know them, Zhu Liangchen sincerely admired the sharp vision of his dormitory's boss.

Zheng Lao Ban not only performs surgery well; his lectures are also clear and thorough, linking anatomy, imaging, and surgery tightly.

I had pondered it for a long time, finally unable to grasp it, but after listening to one lesson everything became clear. The remaining questions, after I asked them, Zheng Ren answered each one in turn.

At this level, if he were twenty years younger, Zhu Liangchen would surely drop everything and follow Zheng Lao Ban no matter what.

Too bad, I already have my own establishment. To give up being director of a top‑tier hospital in Di Du just to be someone's assistant?

Zhu Liangchen has lost the courage to start over from scratch.

Moreover, he couldn't bring himself to lose face. In Di Du he's someone of stature; if Zheng Ren bowed to him, he'd become the elder brother, shielding him with all his might—the best outcome Zhu Liangchen could imagine.

But if the positions were reversed, Zhu Liangchen couldn't accept it.

Still, inviting Zheng Lao Ban to perform the surgery is necessary. Zhu Liangchen knows he only understands it in theory; actual operation is another matter.

Di Du's liver and gallbladder hospital's Intervention Department has one hundred beds and two sections; Zhu Liangchen is merely the head of one section.

On business matters I have the final say, but administratively it's the chief of the Intervention Section and the administrative director of the Intervention Department, Zhou Chun Yong, who decides.

It's just that his administrative rank is half a level lower; normally we don't interfere with each other, so there's no problem.

But the rivalry between them has a long history; regarding this live‑broadcast surgery, Zhu Liangchen knows Zhou Chun Yong has been watching him closely.

He actually had reservations—just coming to do a teaching surgery would have been enough; why insist on broadcasting it?

But after seeing Zheng Lao Ban perform more than ten TIPS surgeries, all his doubts had to be swallowed.

Their surgery is truly flawless; even TIPS surgery, the crown jewel of the Interventional Medicine Discipline, has been simplified, and—well, I won't say success rate, but Zhu Liangchen has never seen Zheng Ren fail.

Although Zheng Lao Ban's TIPS surgery is excellent, he remains very careful, avoiding any mishap.

Zhou Chun Yong's side has always been watching, waiting for him to make a mistake.

Especially the live‑broadcast surgery—just thinking about it gives Zhu Liangchen a headache.

The agreement doesn't require every teaching surgery to be broadcast, but since there isn't even one, Zhu Liangchen fears Zheng Lao Ban will think he's not conscientious.

So today they prepared ten patients for teaching surgeries; two from financially struggling families were persuaded to undergo live‑broadcast surgery.

After all, if it's broadcast, the cost of all surgical consumables can be saved.

Speaking of fees, that's another tangled account.

Zheng Ren insisted on using Longwind Micro‑creation's consumables and equipment, but Zhu Liangchen refused without hesitation.

As for consumables, this is essentially the core issue; moreover, the Longwind Micro‑creation person handling business isn't very proactive—said the manager in charge of this area is hospitalized and won't be back for a few days.

How could Zheng Lao Ban pick such an unreliable company? Zhu Liangchen couldn't understand. They haven't even set up the connections; they just want to get into the hospital—daydreaming.

But he didn't bother to think about it; as long as he learns the TIPS surgery, that's enough.

The agreement only requires that surgeries within three years be recorded in Nobel Prize format; nothing else is involved.

All these matters are myriad and couldn't be settled in just a week; Zhu Liangchen feels that achieving this level in a short time is already impressive.

Still, I have to say Kong Lao Da is impressive.

If it weren't for his repeated urgings, I wouldn't have so quickly lowered my pride, almost shamelessly going to learn a new technique from a doctor under thirty.

Accompanied by his subordinate doctors, after finishing the ward rounds and contacting Zheng Ren, knowing he was almost there, Zhu Liangchen didn't wait inside but went personally to the inpatient department entrance to greet Zheng Ren.

I'm always the one going out to solicit fees, while others welcome me; now it's my turn. Zhu Liangchen wasn't unhappy about it, wearing a white coat, he walked down the stairs at a leisurely pace.

Just stepping out of the ward area, he ran straight into Director Zhou Chun Yong.

Although they don't get along, that's only in private; outwardly they're still mild.

"Director Zhou, how come you're here?" Zhu Liangchen asked with a chuckle.

"Isn't today your live‑broadcast surgery? I'm here to have a look." Zhou Chun Yong said with a smile: "Xiao Zhu, I'm also curious—I've watched all of Zheng Lao Ban's live‑broadcast surgeries at Xinglin Yuan; this time you've really invited a deity."

It sounded ordinary, but to Zhu Liangchen's ears, every word was a barb.

But he didn't retort; he just smiled, continually praying that Zheng Lao Ban's live‑broadcast surgery today would go off without a hitch.

He regretted it a little—one live‑broadcast case would have been enough, just for show, so everyone could save face; two cases, however, still carry considerable risk.

After greeting Zhou Chun Yong, Zhu Liangchen went downstairs, not expecting Zhou Chun Yong to keep following him.

"Director Zhou, what's this…?" Zhu Liangchen felt somewhat displeased.

"Go pick up Zheng Lao Ban—anyone who can come to our specialty hospital to solicit fees, I've never seen before; I really ought to check them out."