CHAPTER 319: 319 ’OLD PATIENTS

The morning seemed busy, but there weren’t many serious matters. In fact, Liu Banxia was just sorting out relationships; some of the people he was meeting for the first time.

In the midst of all this, Wang Ying brought over a box of new infusion tubes.

"Is this the new shipment?" Liu Banxia asked.

Wang Ying nodded. "I’ve checked it. The packaging has indeed been changed to a stronger plastic bag. But the infusion tubes inside are still pretty much the same as before."

"What about the leftovers from our last batch?" Liu Banxia asked, taking a look.

"They will replace all of them, including the ones that were accidentally opened," Wang Ying replied.

"Actually, I’m already satisfied. Our costs are calculated separately now; otherwise, they would all be counted as our losses. Over time, that amounts to a lot of money."

Liu Banxia nodded. "Please take more care of this aspect. I really don’t quite get it. Anyway, you’re meticulous, much better than I am."

"Teacher Liu, there’s someone here looking for you," Liu Yiqing, who was on triage duty today, called out.

Liu Banxia looked over. He didn’t recognize the young man standing by the triage desk.

"Hello, I’m Liu Banxia," he said after walking over.

"Dr. Liu, nice to meet you. I’m Wu Hao, a sales representative from Huanglong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.," Wu Hao quickly introduced himself and handed over his business card.

"Nice to meet you, but drug procurement isn’t handled by our department. If you want to promote a drug, you should contact our supervising leader," Liu Banxia said.

"You’ve misunderstood. Some of our company’s medicines are already being used in the Second Hospital. I’m just here to collect some information regarding their usage," Wu Hao explained.

"I see. Well then, write down the names of those drugs later. We will verify this with the hospital before discussing it further," Liu Banxia said with a smile and a nod.

"Alright, thank you for your trouble." Wu Hao then took out a sheet of A4 paper with printed material from his bag and handed it to Liu Banxia.

Once Wu Hao left, Liu Banxia tossed the paper directly into the trash bin.

"Teacher Liu, didn’t you agree to help him? Why did you throw it away?" Liu Yiqing asked curiously.

"Do you really think he cares about the feedback on these drugs? He just wants to make contact with us so that when the hospital conducts its evaluations, we’ll speak highly of their products or use them extensively," Liu Banxia explained with a smile.

"Realistically, how could we decide such important matters? It’s up to the higher-ups. At most, we can offer some favorable words to help things along, and that’s it."

Liu Yiqing stuck out her tongue. So that was the situation.

Liu Banxia didn’t take this to heart, as it really didn’t concern him much.

He had been working in the hospital for a while and had seen many things, but he refrained from getting involved in such matters.

"How are the patients today? Still mostly colds?" Liu Banxia asked.

Liu Yiqing nodded. "The temperature difference between morning and evening is significant these days, so there are more cold patients. Although they can take medicine at home, many people still believe that an IV drip works faster."

"I’ve even heard Teacher Xu telling them that an IV drip isn’t necessary, that they can just rest at home for a day and take some medicine. But they always have various excuses, most claiming they’re too busy with work and can’t afford the time off."

"Keep your spirits up. The new university students have finished their registration, and now they’re in the prime of their social networking. Once the alcohol starts flowing, things will get lively," Liu Banxia said.

"Teacher Liu, how did you become so skilled? Is it because you practice a lot?" Liu Yiqing asked after nodding.

"You could say that. As surgeons, anatomical knowledge is essential. And you can never have enough of it. Whenever you have time, put more effort into that area," Liu Banxia replied with a smile.

"While it’s not too busy now, I’ll go process those case files. Call me if anything comes up. Anyway, there are plenty of doctors around now, from all sorts of departments."

Liu Yiqing nodded with a smile. Interacting with Teacher Liu was usually quite relaxed, except during teaching sessions.

Liu Banxia had just returned to his office when a registration notification flashed on his computer screen. The name on it looked somewhat familiar.

In truth, not many people registered directly under him. Most of the time, emergency patients were triaged first and then assigned to his care.

Stepping outside, Liu Banxia couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the patient lying on the examination bed. The name was only vaguely familiar, but he recognized the face instantly.

"Alright, spill it. What is it today?" Liu Banxia said, putting on his gloves.

The patient looked at him nervously, then glanced from side to side at Liang Xiaolin, Qing Kewa, and Xu Yino, who were accompanying Liu Banxia, but said nothing.

"Sigh... I’m really at a loss with you. You three, please step out for a moment. I need to speak with this patient privately," Liu Banxia sighed.

Liang Xiaolin gave the patient a helpless look, then led the two younger women out.

"Doctor Liang, what’s going on? Is he one of Teacher Liu’s long-term patients?" Xu Yino asked curiously.

"This is the second time I’m seeing him, but this patient is rather... special. Last time, it was a pen. I’m quite curious what he inserted this time. It hasn’t even been that long since his last surgery," Liang Xiaolin said.

Xu Yino stuck out her tongue. "So, there really are people with such peculiar habits? I thought that kind of thing only happened in TV shows."

"Actually, he’s the only patient like this I’ve encountered. It’s just that his recurrences are a bit frequent," Liang Xiaolin responded.

The three women didn’t go far, lingering nearby, also very curious about what he had inserted this time.

After about seven or eight minutes, Liu Banxia emerged with the patient and the others. The expressions on the faces of Liu Banxia’s team told them something was definitely up.

"Come on, let me take a picture of you three. One, two, three, eggplant!" Liu Banxia said, pulling out his phone and snapping a photo.

"Teacher Liu, what are you doing? Why are you suddenly taking photos?" Xu Yino asked, caught between laughter and exasperation.

"Doctor-patient confidentiality must be maintained. Su Wenhao, go call Dr. Wei. I suspect we’ll have to operate again. We’ll see what the situation is after the X-ray, and then Dr. Wei will decide," Liu Banxia said.

Su Wenhao nodded and scampered off to find Wei Yuan.

"Dr. Liu, what is it?" Liang Xiaolin asked curiously.

"Hmm... Do you still want to take that photo?" Liu Banxia countered with a perfectly straight face.

Huang Bo and the others standing nearby struggled to suppress their laughter.

Liang Xiaolin blinked, then it dawned on her. An eggplant! This guy is really something else, daring to be so bold with his experiments.

"Miao Rui couldn’t even feel it during the digital examination. If you three are interested, you can come observe the surgery," Liu Banxia said.

He sighed inwardly. What a vast and strange world this is. If this patient had played this dangerous little game again after a long interval, it might have been somewhat understandable. But how much time had actually passed? How could he have forgotten the lesson so completely? Does he truly not value his own life?

Just as Liu Banxia predicted, the eggplant couldn’t be removed without surgery. Fortunately, the patient had sought medical attention relatively quickly this time. Hopefully, intestinal necrosis wouldn’t occur.

"Aren’t you scrubbing in?" Wei Yuan asked.

Liu Banxia shook his head. "I already did one yesterday. You take this one. The next one can go to them. We need to keep our skills sharp."

"Alright, I’ll do it. Whoever wants to observe can come along. Miao Rui, you’ll be first assistant," Wei Yuan said.

After a glance at each other, they all decided to follow. It was an opportunity to observe, after all, regardless of the specifics of the case.

Liu Banxia finally stretched, then returned to his office to handle paperwork.

With more people came more responsibilities, and various matters, both big and small, requiring his signature now needed to be addressed.

In the Chief Director’s office, Chen Zhenxing sipped his tea while watching a recording on the screen of the surgery for extensive abdominal adhesions that Liu Banxia and Shi Lei had performed together.

He nodded continuously as he watched, occasionally replaying certain segments several times.

"Chief Director, you were looking for me?" Zhou Shuwen said, walking in after knocking.

"Pour yourself some water. I’ve watched some of Liu Banxia’s surgeries today, and they give me a peculiar feeling," Chen Zhenxing said.

"It seems like his skills are constantly improving. If we were to have him perform some routine surgeries now, wouldn’t he be able to save some time?" Chen Zhenxing asked.

"Chief Director, his current skills aren’t quite solidified yet, and there are many types of surgeries he hasn’t participated in. Last time, I asked him to list the surgeries he wanted to be involved in. My goodness, he wrote a whole long list," Zhou Shuwen said.

"Rest assured, I won’t do anything to prematurely push him. I’m just curious how someone his age can improve their speed and stability so quickly without putting in extraordinary effort," Chen Zhenxing said.

"It seems he’s truly born for this profession. Our choice was correct; he’s indeed a promising talent. By the way, what’s your impression of his relationship with Linlin?"

"Teacher, are you taking an interest?" Zhou Shuwen asked with a smile.

"I don’t meddle in the young ones’ affairs; Linlin is quite opinionated. If I were to interfere, she’d likely fight me tooth and nail. I’m just curious," Chen Zhenxing said.

"That’s really hard to say. But based on my current observations, I’d say it’s still a normal collegial relationship," Zhou Shuwen said after a moment’s thought.

"If you want more specific details, I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Linlin directly. Just don’t ask me to be a scout; I’m not cut out for that kind of work. You could also try asking Sister Wang."

Chen Zhenxing chuckled. "I’m not that inept. But she is my granddaughter, after all; I can’t help but be concerned. I never expected this kid to make such a brilliant debut. I’m truly relieved about the emergency center now."

"From now on, you should praise him less. Even though he’s not that young anymore, he still needs to mature," Zhou Shuwen advised.

"Those are minor issues. The emergency center has been a real weight on my mind for a long time. And you’re telling me? The authority you’ve delegated to him isn’t small, is it? It’s just that the emergency center doesn’t have a deputy director for now; he’s practically acting as one," Chen Zhenxing countered.

Zhou Shuwen smiled but said nothing further. He is my disciple, after all; I must cultivate him well.