The Surgeon's Studio

Panda Novel

Zheng Ren figured the needles were placed when the patient was still young. He arranged for the patient to be admitted to the neurosurgery department for a consultation.

He would have to open up a new skill tree…

Zheng Ren had the resources to do that. He had three Master-level skill books which would set him above the average surgeon.

However, a Master’s rank would be insufficient.

The needles were embedded in the parts of the brain that controlled speech and motor functions. Any mistake could lead to disastrous results.

There was another concern.

The needles had been in the patient’s skull for almost 40 years.

As time had passed, the needles would have rusted.

It would not be easy to just open the skull and remove the needles with a hemostatic clamp.

Impossible!

Zheng Ren was sure the needles would have broken in the patient’s skull.

How would they remove the needles? How long would the surgery take? What was the postoperative care plan?

The surgery could not be done solo.

Although Zheng Ren had the System backing him, his rational mind believed it was best for the patient to be with the neurosurgery department.

As Zheng Ren explained the scan to the patient, tears rolled down her friend’s face.

The patient had had a rough childhood, but it was still shocking to know something like this had happened to her.

By the time the patient and her friend left, Zheng Ren was exhausted. He was glad he managed to save the patient from the MRI machine, but the truth behind her condition saddened him.

He thought of reporting the turn of events to Old Chief Physician Pan. He knew the Old Chief would be shocked.

If the patient had gone to the MRI room, she would be dead now.

After some consideration, he decided it would be too difficult to explain how he knew, so he abandoned that plan.

Zheng Ren appreciated the +8 luck points that came with the past few System missions.

If he followed a similar vein of thought, Zheng Ren believed the important reward from the ‘Main Mission: The Crown Jewel – Second Stage’ was the +2 to surgical progress instead of the radiofrequency ablation experience.

It was 3:00 p.m. Zheng Ren was reading a book while Su Yun left to check on Yang Lili.

According to Su Yun, the last leg of the recovery was the most important. He was going to make sure everything was proceeding smoothly.

A knock at the door got Zheng Ren’s attention. There was a man in a Chinese tunic suit at the office door.

The man asked, “Is there a Dr. Zheng here?”

Zheng Ren stood from his table. “That would be me. And you are?”

Based on the man’s wardrobe, he had an idea who it was.

The mayor of Zhonghe District was here.

“Dr. Zheng, nice to meet you. I’m the mayor of Zhonghe District, Pan Ziyao.” The man approached Zheng Ren and earnestly shook his hand.

“Mayor Pan, good to see you,” Zheng Ren replied in kind.

“I just came from Old Pan’s office. I’m sorry you had to go through all this trouble. All these families think of is the betrothal money; it’s embarrassing. The young lady’s life is more important than money!” Pan Ziyao exclaimed.

“I should be the one apologizing for your trouble.”

“No, no. Grassroots like me have very little power. We often only deal with trivial matters. If it was at the beginning of my term, my presence here wouldn’t even make a difference,” Pan Ziyao said.

Zheng Ren did not know what to say after that.

Pan Ziyao was an intuitive man. He took the pause in the conversation to be his cue to leave. He asked for the patient’s ward number and went on his merry way.

Zheng Ren had offered to accompany him, but Pan Ziyao declined, citing how he should not take up Zheng Ren’s time for a small matter like this.

A series of angry shouts could be heard from the ward.

“F*cking hell, do you know how much trouble you’ve given me? Do you want to die? You can go ahead, but leave your daughter out of it. You don’t own that land of yours anymore, do you?”

A string of curse words came from the mayor’s mouth.

Zheng Ren could hear them from his office.

After a few minutes, Pan Ziyao returned to the office with a smile on his face. Zheng Ren would have never guessed he was the one swearing like a sailor.

“I made Dr. Zheng laugh, I see,” Pan Ziyao said.

Zheng Ren ordered his expression.

“It’s hard-working at a grassroots level. Being nice gets you nowhere in this job. Right or wrong, you just gotta give the other party a good scolding before trying to talk sense,” Pan Ziyao said.

Zheng Ren was unsure as to how he should respond.

“The girl is sick to the point of dying and Old Wang is thinking about betrothal money. He’s out of his g*dd*mn mind,” Pan Ziyao said dramatically. Then, he shot Zheng Ren a smile before saying, “I’m sorry for the language. Please don’t hold it against me.”

Zheng Ren waved a hand. “Oh no, no. How did the conversation go?”

Pan Ziyao beamed. “Immediately prepare for surgery. Old Wang’s coming to sign the papers.”

Zheng Ren let out a relieved sigh.

The System display got redder by the hour and Zheng Ren believed it was not long before the girl’s appendix would rupture.

He was glad the family had finally given in.

Zheng Ren quickly called Chang Yue to begin presurgical preparations while he went to visit the patient. He would personally see to the appendectomy.

A few months ago, Zheng Ren would not even have the choice.

Back then, having a chance to step inside the operating room was a blessing. Occasionally, Chief Surgeon Liu would allow him to close up the surgical site and that was enough to brighten his mood.

Who knew that a few months later, appendectomies would not even be on Zheng Ren’s to-do list.

The arrival of Mayor Pan was the only reason Zheng Ren was handling this appendectomy himself. It was a favor called in by a friend of Old Chief Physician Pan and he had helped resolve the family’s reluctance to consent to surgical intervention.

Half an hour later, the informed consent documents were signed and the patient was ready for the surgery.

Su Yun pushed the patient into the operating room. Zheng Ren excused himself and went to scrub in, leaving Pan Ziyao in the emergency ward office.

Pan Ziyao exhaled and relaxed.

He had graduated 20 years ago and was now in his forties, and yet he was stuck in a mayoral position. His career progression was uninspiring.

His stunted career growth was mainly due to his upright and honest manner in handling matters.

He spent many years at the grassroots level, never really climbing the ranks. His ambition faded throughout the years of toiling for the community.

Today, he was supposed to be busy working on a project on targeted poverty alleviation via mobile registration.

However, when the call from the village chief came, he immediately abandoned his work and rushed over to Sea City.

Pan Ziyao was not surprised to hear the village folk refusing treatment.

He was aware of their reasons.

A few years ago, there was a family who adamantly rejected surgical intervention and their daughter lost her life because of their selfishness. This all happened in Sea City People’s Hospital.

It was the family’s choice, so they took the body to the funeral parlor without a fuss and did a cremation ceremony. However…

A life was frivolously snuffed out; it would have been an avoidable death if the parents consented to the surgery.

The village chief’s call reminded him of that unnecessary death. Although Pan Ziyao had been kicked around by life, he was not about to stand aside and let a girl die.

Thank God he made it to the hospital in time. Pan Ziyao went to the restroom to smoke a cigarette before heading to the operating room.

He wanted to give the patient’s father another scolding. He had a hectic day planned and the man-made it worse.

Before he could begin his harangue, the operating room door opened and a stretcher trolley was pushed out. The patient was on board with Su Yun steering them.