After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The military green jeep, smelling of burnt brake pads, came to a steady stop in front of the office building of the North City Military Region General Hospital.

Gu Zheng pulled up the handbrake.

Before the passenger door was even opened, Zhou Hai, in his leather shoes, strode down the steps to greet him. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he clutched a confidential document that he hadn't yet opened.

"Xiao Ye!" Zhou Hai didn't even bother to greet Gu Zheng, and directly opened the passenger door. "Quick! Come with me to the office. Vice Minister Li from the Ministry of Health called the hotline ten minutes ago, specifically requesting to speak with you immediately."

Ye Zhen unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

"What happened?"

"A letter arrived from Britain!" Zhou Hai suppressed the excitement in his voice, dragging himself along as he walked ahead. "It's a red-hotspot! A top-secret, top-level secure line!"

Gu Zheng pulled out the car keys, asked no questions, and followed the two upstairs with his long legs.

The dean's office is on the third floor.

The red telephone sat alone in the center of the desk.

Ye Zhen walked over and picked up the microphone.

"I am Ye Zhen."

The Vice Minister's extremely loud voice immediately came from the other end of the phone, even accompanied by obvious breathing sounds.

"Comrade Ye Zhen! A great victory! This is a great victory in the history of China's medical diplomacy!"

Ye Zhen pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Tell me the specifics."

Vice Minister Li slammed his hand on the table on the other end of the phone, causing static to come through the receiver.

"The British Embassy in China just submitted a formal note to the Foreign Office ten minutes ago. Sir Williams will lead a delegation to escort the third group of British children with congenital heart disease to China for treatment."

Ye Zhen opened the blank notebook on the table and removed the cap from her fountain pen.

"Number of people?"

"Three children! All of them have complex congenital heart disease and must undergo open-heart surgery. Williams clearly admitted in the note that the Royal Hospital's current technical level and postoperative survival rate cannot bear the treatment risks of these children."

Ye Zhen's pen swept across the paper, writing down the number "three".

"When will you arrive?"

"Next Wednesday!" Vice Minister Li's voice suddenly rose eight octaves. "The most crucial person isn't Williams, it's his entourage!"

Ye Zhen didn't respond, waiting for what was to come.

"Mrs. Thatcher will personally lead the delegation to accompany this group of sick children on their special plane to Beijing!" Vice Minister Li was so excited he was almost incoherent. "Comrade Ye Zhen, do you understand what this means? The high-level negotiations on the Hong Kong issue, originally scheduled for December, have been moved up by two whole months! The British Prime Minister has broken with diplomatic protocol in order to ask us for help!"

Zhou Hai stood by the desk, and upon hearing the voice coming from the microphone, his face flushed with excitement, and his hands clenched tightly together.

This was something that was unimaginable before.

The leaders of major Western countries were forced to travel to China ahead of schedule to seek assistance due to setbacks in their countries' medical technology.

"Vice Minister Li," Ye Zhen said in a flat tone, "I'm a doctor, and I'm only concerned with the indications and difficulty of these three open-chest surgeries. Immediately fax a copy of the preliminary medical records sent by the British side to the main hospital."

Vice Minister Li was momentarily taken aback by Ye Zhen's completely indifferent attitude, but he quickly regained his enthusiasm.

"The fax will be sent immediately! I'm calling you today to inform you of something. Next Wednesday at 2 PM, the special plane will land at the Capital Airport. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health have jointly organized a top-level welcoming ceremony. As the head of Huaxia Heart, you must attend. And you must stand in the first row of the Chinese delegation, right next to me!"

Zhou Hai nodded repeatedly; this was a golden opportunity to make a name for himself.

"I'm not going."

The office fell silent instantly.

Vice Minister Li hesitated on the other end of the line, and it took him a while to find his voice again.

"What did you say?"

"I said, I'm not going to the airport." Ye Zhen put down her pen, her voice calm. "The airport is so far from the main hospital. With the welcoming ceremony, the pleasantries, and all the red tape, it'll take me at least a whole day."

"Comrade Ye Zhen! This is diplomatic protocol! You represent the face of China's medical community!"

There was no sound at all on the other end of the microphone.

Zhou Hai was sweating profusely with anxiety, desperately trying to signal to Ye Zhen to speak more tactfully.

Gu Zheng leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, a very obvious look of admiration on his lips.

His wife has always believed in reason, not official rank.

"Vice Minister Li," Ye Zhen softened her tone slightly, offering the final solution, "Picking up the child at the airport is the responsibility of your Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You can continue with your usual pleasantries at the airport. I'll be there with all the doctors from Huaxia Heart Hospital, on high alert in the main hospital's emergency room. As soon as the ambulance carrying the child stops, we'll take over immediately. This is the best attitude to show the British."

A full half minute passed.

Vice Minister Li suddenly laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Good! What a convenient setup—the operating room! You're right, we don't do any of that fancy stuff! We'll do it your way, you stay at the hospital and oversee everything! I'll make sure the person is safely handed over to you!"

"Send the medical records via fax as soon as possible." After saying this, Ye Zhen hung up the phone.

Zhou Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Ye Zhen, only Vice Minister Li can put up with your temper."

Fifteen minutes later.

Interventional Department Demonstration Classroom.

Gao Yuan, Liu Xiaohe, Lin Yi, Li Hong, and a dozen or so newly promoted young doctors all stood ramrod straight in front of the long table.

Ye Zhen pushed open the door and went in, standing directly in front of the blackboard.

"Next Wednesday, three British children with congenital heart disease will be transferred to our department. All of them will undergo open-chest surgery."

A very soft inhalation came from the teaching room.

Three open-chest procedures.

"Scared?" Ye Zhen scanned the entire room.

Gao Yuan straightened his back and responded loudly.

"No problem! Teacher Ye, we'll do exactly what you schedule!"

Liu Xiaohe gripped the notebook tightly, her eyes shining brightly.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

The medical affairs officer, panting, ran to the door with a stack of faxed documents that had just been received.

"Director Ye! The medical records from the UK are all here!"

Ye Zhen walked over and took the stack of fax papers that still smelled of ink.

She turned to the first page as she walked.

A thick stack of medical records, the first one was not the usual ventricular septal defect or tetralogy of Fallot.

Patient's name: Arthur.

Age: five months.

Weight: 3.8 kg.

The diagnosis section, written in bold English font, clearly states: Complete transposition of the great arteries (TGA), with severe pulmonary hypertension.

Ye Zhen's fingers tightened suddenly, causing deep creases to form on the edges of the paper.

Gao Yuan sensed something was wrong, leaned closer to take a look, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Five months old...complete transposition of the great arteries?" Gao Yuan's voice trembled. "What do we do? This disease is incurable even abroad; even Williams wouldn't dare operate on it. They actually sent us this bombshell that could kill them on a plane at any moment?"