The rest of the surgery carried on without incident. Within 20 minutes, it was done.
The excised gallbladder was oddly-shaped and had an unnatural hue.
Zheng Ren chuckled. “Department Chief Sun, could you take this and show it to the family?”
“Excuse me, then.” Department Chief Sun was glad to have not once offended Zheng Ren.
The fool Liu Tianxing was still at home, faking illness. He had wanted to press Zheng Ren down but had made the wrong choice. Zheng Ren’s potential could not be smothered.
Liu Tianxing had to have been blind to not notice someone as talented as Zheng Ren in his own department. It was unthinkable that Zheng Ren had remained a junior doctor for a few years in general surgery.
Department Chief Sun regretted not having Zheng Ren in his own department.
He would have been able to leave all the surgeries to his subordinate while he managed clinical consultations. Old Chief Physician Pan was probably having an easy time.
What a bummer.
As such, he chose his words to Zheng Ren with care—humility, even.
“Su Yun and I will close the abdomen up, but we won’t be writing up the report,” Zheng Ren said with a smile.
The patient was under the care of the second general surgery department and Zheng Ren did not intend to take full credit for it. Although Department Chief Sun seemed like an understanding person, Zheng Ren preferred to clarify the issue.
He was, after all, doing the department chief a favor.
“Of course,” Department Chief Sun reassured them with a smile before taking the specimen tray, which contained a dark grey gallbladder with a twisted and tangled base, and walking out of the operating room.
Chu Yanran followed him.
Professor Rudolph Wagner had the whole surgery recorded. Although he was not a general surgeon, his years as a medical professional gave him some insight into the difficulty of the procedure.
A floating gallbladder… He had never seen a case this severe before, but that young doctor, whose interventional surgery skill surpassed his, had performed the general surgery with ease.
A darkness clouded the professor’s heart.
He had initially planned to persuade the young doctor to be his assistant. They could work on the prostate surgery together in Germany.
Convincing a small town doctor to do so would be easy, he had thought. It would be an honor for many.
However…
Since arriving, Professor Rudolph Wagner had already witnessed 1.5 surgeries and it was not even lunchtime.
The interventional surgery was perfect, but Professor Rudolph Wagner had expected as much.
He had not expected the junior doctor to successfully resolve a floating gallbladder.
Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Professor Rudolph Wagner thought long and hard. In the end, he decided to send the video to someone with pertinent expertise.
As soon as he delivered it, he walked out of the room to make a call to its recipient, currently doing research on floating gallbladders, to make sure the doctor watched the recording.
Stitching up the abdomen was child’s play for Zheng Ren and Su Yun.
Zheng Ren sewed while Su Yun knotted and trimmed. The scissors in Su Yun’s hand danced across the patient’s body. He was making no effort to look good, but his natural elegance was undeniable.
Su Yun was like a swordsman in white, standing atop a hill with his handsome silhouette… slightly marred by Zheng Ren’s presence beside him.
The routine rinsing and checks were performed before they closed up the abdomen, layer by layer.
When the surgery was complete, Zheng Ren took off his surgical gown and said, “Old Chief Physician Pan, I think I’ll need a few days off.”
“No problem. You have to entertain Department Chief Kong and Professor Rudolph.” Old Chief Physician Pan was elated after seeing Zheng Ren perform one successful surgery after another.
Department Chief Kong waved his hand and said, “I’m leaving on an early flight tomorrow. I just dropped by to visit Boss Zheng. Oh, I’ve gathered around a dozen or so patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Come over to Imperial Capital when you’re free and you can perform the surgeries.”
It was the minimum sample size they needed for their study. There were still other elements—like interviews, methodology and consent—that Department Chief Kong did not mention, but he was likely the one shouldering those burdens.
The most important part of developing a new method was its application. If Zheng Ren had to deal with such extraneous things, Department Chief Kong would be embarrassed to claim any contribution to the research work.
Zheng Ren gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Chief Kong.”
“No, I should thank you. All I’m doing is the paperwork.” Department Chief Kong then pulled Zheng Ren aside and whispered, “Also, I’ve put in an application for a research grant worth three million yuan solely for this project. I’m prepared to give you one million to spend on anything you want; let me deal with the accounts.”
Zheng Ren was stunned by this offer.
He had little experience with research, but from his past observations, underhanded practices were widespread. Supervisors treated grants like their personal bank accounts. Why would Department Chief Kong be sharing one with him?
Moreover, the amount offered was very generous—one million yuan to be spent freely. Was this the beat of money playing?
Department Chief Kong was glad that his offer had made Zheng Ren pause. The young were unacquainted with money and one million was enough to shock them into silence. Given another year, this sum would mean little to Zheng Ren.
The chief’s danger sense was tingling, which was why he had rushed to reveal the offer even before they had stepped out of the operating room. He was not worried about Sea City General Hospital but the arrival of the German professor; if he did not make a bid for Zheng Ren now, the young doctor could slip from his grasp.
“I have also recently applied for a national-level grant for natural sciences. All the particulars are complete; we just need around 20 cases of surgeries as proof and we’ll be given the money. We can split it equally between us.” Department Chief Kong made sure to emphasize the last point, making no effort to lower his voice.
The muscles on Su Yun’s face twitched.
The National Natural Science Grant was not given to just any group with quality research. It was mostly about networking and reputation.
Department Chief Kong had offered to split the money with Zheng Ren. How much was the chief willing to invest in him?
There were many who would pay for the prestige of being a recipient of the grant.
Zheng Ren tried to refuse politely. “Uh… I don’t think I can spend that much money.”
“As a man of science, you should be able to live comfortably. Otherwise, how would we elevate the scientific community in this country? Movie stars and singers have hundreds and thousands of fans, but none of them are saving lives like you,” Department Chief Kong said with a gentle smile. “Alright? Give me your account number and I’ll transfer you the money once I get it.”
“Oh.” Zheng Ren had heard of district-level research grants when he had been in medical school. In order to be promoted to deputy chief physician, the hospital he had interned at required the applicant to have received at least a district-level Natural Science Grant before.
The money was not much, but the recognition that came with it was prestigious.
It was, however, nothing compared to a national-level grant.
He nodded at Department Chief Kong.
Old Chief Physician Pan asked jokingly, “Chief Kong, how much did you ask for?”
“I applied for 50 million, but I will be happy if they offer 20,” Department Chief Kong replied, sounding dissatisfied.
When Director Xiao heard the figure, his pupils shrank to needlepoints.
The annual net profit of Sea City General Hospital did not even reach 20 million yuan…
