CHAPTER 170: 170 PATIENTS BECAME FANS

Liu Banxia had slept quite well, something he hadn’t experienced in a long time. If it weren’t for the blaring alarm clock, he would have continued to snooze.

When he stepped out, he found the girls were already up. Qiaoqiao and Wang Xiaoyan were yawning constantly.

"You’re up pretty early. Is there anything to eat? Let’s grab a quick bite, and then we’ll head out," Liu Banxia said.

"We only managed to get some frozen dumplings, and we can fry some popcorn chicken. How does that sound?" Qiaoqiao asked.

"Alright, that’ll do," Liu Banxia nodded.

It couldn’t be helped. This was someone else’s place, and judging by Qiaoqiao and Wang Xiaoyan’s living situation, they didn’t seem like people who cooked at home often.

Now he understood how their popcorn chicken from yesterday was made. There was an appliance called an air fryer; the popcorn chicken was just tossed in, and no oil was needed for frying.

This was certainly an eye-opener for Liu Banxia. The taste was also quite good.

Liu Banxia polished off one and a half bags of dumplings and also finished all the popcorn chicken.

"Dr. Liu, President Qiu arranged for me to take you there today." Just as he stepped out of Qiaoqiao’s house, the driver who had driven them back yesterday was waiting outside.

"Oh, my apologies, Master Zhang. I didn’t expect you to be here so early," Liu Banxia said hurriedly.

"It’s nothing, I just arrived myself," Master Zhang said with a smile.

Qiaoqiao didn’t accompany them to Jinshui District this time; she wasn’t as idle as they were and still had to go to work.

He had to admit that a good car was indeed comfortable to ride in. Despite the journey being nearly an hour long, Liu Banxia didn’t feel tired at all.

"Dr. Liu, you’ve brought quite the entourage today!" Seeing his group, Xu Chengjun, who was waiting at the hospital, was taken aback.

"We’re a bit short on time. A friend’s child needs a consultation at the Second Hospital this afternoon. I brought them along to try that teppanyaki restaurant you took us to before; we didn’t get enough last time," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Haha, then let’s hurry. I thought you might decline since it was just one surgery," Xu Chengjun said.

"Of course not. As long as I have time, I’ll come over whenever you call. You gave me a chance back then; that’s a debt of gratitude I won’t forget," Liu Banxia replied.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Today’s patient is a friend’s daughter. She was initially scheduled for a laparoscopic appendectomy, but I thought it would be better if you performed the operation," Xu Chengjun said.

"Aren’t you praising me too highly? But enough with the pleasantries," Liu Banxia said.

"This is no flattery. Your small-incision appendectomy has a good reputation. The patients who’ve had your surgery here are doing very well," Xu Chengjun said.

"It’s just that it’s too far, and many patients mostly have acute appendicitis. Otherwise, I could always gather several more cases for you each time."

Listening to Liu Banxia and Xu Chengjun’s conversation, Wang Xiaoyan and Qiaoqiao could only understand half of it. For the other half, they had to guess based on Xu Chengjun’s expressions.

They thought they already understood Liu Banxia quite well—he was very skilled at treating patients. Today, however, they realized their understanding was still somewhat lacking. Xu Chengjun’s status as a Chief Director was right there for them to see; this was no laughing matter.

Moreover, doctors passing by all addressed Liu Banxia as "Teacher Liu," some clearly older than him. This was no small feat either.

"Rest for a bit. The surgery is scheduled for 10 o’clock, so we still have half an hour," Xu Chengjun said after they arrived in the small conference room.

Liu Banxia nodded. "You don’t need to entertain us. We’ll see you in the operating room later. This is Qing Kewa, an intern from Binhai Medical College, currently under my supervision. Today, I’ll let her observe as well."

"Alright, you call the shots on this," Xu Chengjun readily agreed.

Initially, when he saw Liu Banxia arrive with three young women besides Liang Xiaolin, he had felt a bit uncomfortable. He assumed Liu Banxia was just showing off and trying to look cool. Otherwise, why take an Alphard this time when he always took the high-speed train before?

Only after Liu Banxia explained that he had something else in the afternoon did Xu Chengjun understand. Now he also realized that this foreign young woman was also a doctor he was mentoring. That made sense. After all, wasn’t Liu Banxia also brought along by Shi Lei back then? Opportunities to observe surgeries are never too many.

"Well, well, you seem to have quite some standing here!" Qiaoqiao remarked after Xu Chengjun left.

"What standing? I just have one specialty that I rely on. Right now, it’s this appendectomy that I’ve properly figured out. If any of you ever need one, you can come directly to me. I’ll personally remove it for you," Liu Banxia said.

"Who would be thinking about getting sick when they’re perfectly fine?" Qiaoqiao glared at him.

"That’s true. But if you feel pain in your lower right abdomen, and there’s rebound tenderness when you press it—right about here," Liu Banxia touched his own McBurney’s point, "you need to be careful. There’s a high chance it’s appendicitis."

"If you have such symptoms, don’t delay. If the appendix perforates, it becomes very dangerous. I’m not trying to scare you, just remember this."

"Yes, when I was very young, I had a lot of pain, and then it was removed," Qing Kewa said.

"Sigh... I really can’t have a normal conversation with you doctors. It’s always cutting this or removing that. If we keep talking, what will be left of me?" Qiaoqiao said helplessly.

"When will you give me double eyelids? It should be quite easy for you, right? I really like double eyelids, but I’m afraid of the pain, so I’ve never dared to do it."

"You? Just relax, that’s better than anything. You have beautiful eyes, why the insistence on getting double eyelids? If there was a flaw that needed correcting, it would make sense, but don’t go looking for trouble," Liu Banxia said.

"Mm-hmm, I think Qiaoqiao is very pretty too, and very curvaceous," Qing Kewa chimed in again.

Liang Xiaolin was highly amused. Qing Kewa rarely spoke, but when she did, it was quite entertaining. Moreover, Qing Kewa wouldn’t chat with just anyone; she only talked more with people she felt were good.

"Alright, you two stay here. I need to take these two to scrub in and prepare in advance," Liu Banxia stood up.

"Didn’t you say there’s still half an hour? You can’t go into surgery now, can you?" Wang Xiaoyan asked.

"He always has a habit of going in early to do a simple communication and re-examination with the patient," Liang Xiaolin explained.

"Ah, I really want to see you guys in action on the operating table; it must be so cool. But I won’t cause any trouble for you. We have to go eat at that teppanyaki place when you’re done!" Qiaoqiao said.

Liu Banxia smiled and nodded. Qiaoqiao wasn’t always fooling around.

It was acceptable for him to bring non-medical personnel to the hospital. However, if he were to bring them into the operating room, that would be outrageous. That would be a disrespect to his own profession.

The medical staff at Jinshui District Hospital were also very curious about Qing Kewa. She was simply too eye-catching; you’d find it hard to ignore her even if you wanted to. When they learned she was a doctor brought by Liu Banxia, they felt a little envious.

Imagine how many opportunities she would have to observe Liu Banxia’s small-incision appendectomy! She would definitely be able to master this surgery in a very short time.

Liu Banxia first looked at the case file. The patient was a 24-year-old young woman with a history of chronic appendicitis. The pain had become more frequent these past two days, so she had resolved to get her appendix removed.

Liu Banxia also reviewed the CT and ultrasound scans; it was a routine surgery. It would be completed in half an hour, then they would have a meal, and he could reach the Second Hospital before 1 p.m.

"Doctor, Uncle Xu said there wouldn’t be a scar, right?" the patient asked, looking at him as he approached the operating table.

Liu Banxia nodded. "But you’ll also need to pay attention to your diet after the surgery, and it won’t disappear completely all at once. You have to give it a chance to fade away discreetly."

"These two are my assistants; they will both be assisting me in this surgery. Don’t be nervous. For us, this is a very simple, minor operation. Otherwise, Chief Director Xu wouldn’t have recommended me."

"Huh? Why do you all look somewhat familiar?" The patient frowned.

"Have you been to the Second Hospital? It’s possible I look familiar to you, but it’s unlikely for these two. One hasn’t been working for long, and the other is from Russia," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Oh, I remember now! You’re Liu Banxia, right? The one who can also ’call people out’ like in that video? Haha, that cracked me up! Ouch, I stretched it, a bit painful," the patient exclaimed, overjoyed.

Her words completely baffled everyone in the operating room. What was all this? Does she really know Dr. Liu? And what does ’calling people out’ mean?

"You didn’t happen to see that streamer’s live broadcast yesterday, did you?" Liang Xiaolin asked curiously.

"I didn’t see the live stream, but I saw videos others posted online. Some even had subtitles," the patient said.

"I was wondering before the surgery if it could be such a coincidence—also from the Second Hospital, also surnamed Liu. I didn’t expect it to be such a coincidence! Are you really that amazing? Can you tell what illness a person has just by looking?"

Their conversation thoroughly confused the staff from Jinshui District Hospital; they didn’t understand it at all.

"Where would I get such miraculous skills? If I really were like that, I’d just sit at the hospital entrance every day, and patients wouldn’t even need to register," Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

He found it rather amusing. The internet these days is truly powerful; something that happened last night at a barbecue stall in Binhai City was already known by a patient here in Jinshui District.

"How are you not miraculous?" The patient was still a bit excited.

"Didn’t you say that man had a bad liver and kidneys? Someone already posted an exposé online. They went for a check-up last night, and it’s really true: liver cirrhosis and kidney dysfunction. You should go online and take a look later; many people are talking about you."

"Alright, I’ll take a look later. The anesthesia should be taking effect now, right?" Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

"Oh, right, I still have to have surgery," the patient finally snapped out of her excitement.

"Dr. Liu, after the... um, surgery is done, can we take a picture together? It’s a good thing I listened to Uncle Xu’s advice; otherwise, I would have missed this chance."

This rather unusual request from the patient left Liu Banxia unsure what to say.

"Dr. Liu, there are no outsiders here. Why not take one now?" Xu Chengjun suggested with a smile.

"Dr. Liu, please take one. Otherwise, I’ll keep thinking about it during the surgery," the patient added.

"So, I’ve run into a fan, huh? Alright then, let’s take one. Sorry to trouble you, Chief Director Xu," Liu Banxia agreed.

They took two photos in quick succession. One was of him and the patient, and the second included him, Liang Xiaolin, and Qing Kewa with the patient.

It was quite a novel experience, something he really hadn’t expected to encounter.