Healing Doctor

Chapter 184 Gresham's Law: Bad Money Drives Out Good Money

When it was his turn, Ji Xiang truly understood what it felt like to be completely overwhelmed.

Facing imminent death, with the Grim Reaper's scythe already at his neck, the slightest movement would be the end.

Holding the film, Ji Xiang stared at it for a very long time. He seemed to be reflecting on his actions, deep in thought.

Ji Xiang ignored the comfort offered by his lover and the local hospital doctors.

He could tell for himself that those round, lumpy lesions were metastatic tumors, as obvious as could be.

This time, however, the empathy lasted a very long time and never seemed to end.

Ji Xiang wasn't in a hurry. He cherished this opportunity—knowing that he had a chance to live again and being able to personally experience everything that cancer patients go through.

Even though it was just "a dream," Ji Xiang still felt the threat of death, and his emotions gradually became abnormal.

Time flew by, and Ji Xiang remained silent day after day, unwilling to say even a single word to anyone.

It might be related to liver qi stagnation, but Ji Xiang didn't want to think about it too much. He quietly waited for that day to come.

Countless times, Ji Xiang recalled the fifteen-minute interventional surgery. His heart felt as if it were being repeatedly rubbed with sandpaper, beginning to bleed, the blood flowing faster and faster, dripping down drop by drop.

There seemed to be a bloody smell surrounding Ji Xiang.

He suppressed his rage, but he had already made up his mind—he absolutely could not stay in this hospital.

As for the consequences, well, Ji Xiang really hopes they'll do something about it.

The disease progressed very quickly. Liver cancer is indeed the king of cancers, and perhaps only pancreatic cancer can compare.

Two months later, Ji Xiang was terminally ill and lay in a private room specially arranged by the doctor, waiting for that day to arrive.

He mentioned wanting euthanasia to the doctor twice, but the doctor firmly refused, even refusing to sign a consent form, because there are no relevant regulations in China.

Ji Xiang understood the doctor's approach; anything the patient had said would vanish with death.

Doctors have to deal with patients' families, and it would be terrible if one of them denied responsibility.

Moreover, there are no national regulations, and there are other issues as well, which Ji Xiang can only tolerate.

Another half month passed, and Ji Xiang had entered a state of cachexia.

He lay helplessly on the hospital bed, occasionally talking to his "lover" and forcing a smile.

Even in a virtual space, Ji Xiang didn't want to hurt the people around him. He tried his best to put on a cheerful expression to comfort the world in the last moments of his life.

Even if the world is full of malice towards him.

Even though that surgery still haunted Ji Xiang and left him feeling uneasy.

Five days later, in the quiet of the early morning, Ji Xiang experienced the sensation of respiratory and circulatory arrest.

It wasn't as painful as I had imagined; rather, it felt like a relief.

Back in the operating room, Ji Xiang felt as if he had been transported to another world.

Having experienced so many moments of empathy, Ji Xiang had never felt this deeply. He silently gazed at the system NPC, a thousand words swirling in his heart, yet he didn't know where to begin.

"Are you alright?" the system NPC asked kindly.

"Teacher, I'm alright," Ji Xiang said in a hoarse voice.

In his final moments, he was unable to eat, felt weak all over, and had to exert all his strength to speak or make a move.

Unbeknownst to him, Ji Xiang had already gotten used to this pattern.

Even after returning to the operating room, he couldn't change his ways immediately.

"Take a break." The system NPC walked over and patted Ji Xiang on the shoulder. "Do you smoke?"

"No, but I'd like to smoke one."

Upon arriving at the locker room, Ji Xiang sat down under the "No Smoking" sign and lit a white lingzhi mushroom.

The severe respiratory irritation caused Ji Xiang to cough violently.

The system NPC took the cigarette, smiled, and said, "If you don't know, don't pretend. Tell me, what are your questions?"

"Teacher, tell me, this doesn't happen!" Ji Xiang's voice became even hoarse after coughing, but he tried his best to speak loudly.

"Unfortunately, this is a real event." The system NPC gave Ji Xiang a "cruel" answer.

Ji Xiang remained silent.

"It's mainly a matter of technical skill level, and also because there are too few doctors in the relevant departments," the system NPC explained.

He glanced at Ji Xiang, and seeing that Ji Xiang didn't speak, he didn't comfort him, but continued explaining.

"Your interventional surgery skill level is 9, which is extremely rare in China, so you think that embolizing a level 4 blood vessel is a piece of cake. For similar surgeries, there are very few people in the country who can guarantee a success rate of over 95%."

"Even if it were possible, a surgery takes 4-6 hours, and not many people could accept just the thought of having to eat sutures."

"But..." Ji Xiang wanted to say something, but didn't know how.

The system NPC smiled, reluctant to smoke the last cigarette Ji Xiang had left, spending most of his time smelling it, which looked rather cute.

"That's the significance of systematic teaching." The system NPC took a puff and said to Ji Xiang with a happy expression, "I won't go into more detail now, I have a question for you."

"Teacher, please tell me."

How competent is the head of the interventional radiology department at the Second Affiliated Hospital?

Ji Xiang had thought about this, after all, he was the one who had "brought" Zhao Xiangming up.

He immediately replied, "Teacher, Director Zhao's level is only around level 6. Although there is no digital representation, I have a clear feeling about it."

"Look, the head of the interventional radiology department at the Second Affiliated Hospital has performed at least several thousand similar surgeries, and his skill level is only level 6," the system NPC said. "Is that enough?"

"not enough."

"So in that era, for patients who had no other options, they would try anything, even a single infusion of chemotherapy, as a last resort."

Is it just trying one's best? Although Ji Xiang knew that human strength had its limits, he was not convinced.

During those final days, I was very sad. I forced a smile and kept all those feelings inside.

Perhaps this is a volcano, and we don't know when it will erupt.

"But these are all explanations, and explanations are just cover-ups," the system NPC said, changing the subject.

"What do you mean, teacher?"

"Even if the technical level is not up to par, you can't do it like this," the system NPC said. "This hospital has a very bad reputation. Although the number of surgeries is extremely high, basically no one in the industry is willing to pay attention to them. Their academic status is disproportionate to the number of surgeries they perform."

"Justice resides in the hearts of the people." The system NPC sighed. "I don't agree with performance evaluations for doctors. Why was the relationship between doctors and patients harmonious in the past? Because doctors didn't earn money from these evaluations."

"If your family wasn't so well-off, you should be able to keenly perceive the difference. A basic monthly salary plus a performance bonus of 1000 yuan and a performance bonus of 8000 yuan are two different things."

"Most doctors will find a balance among them, and it depends on the individual."

"But!" The system NPC's voice was somewhat stern.

"This hospital was fundamentally flawed, and then the bad money drove out the good, leading to what it is today."

"Teacher, what should I do?" Ji Xiang asked.

"You can choose what to do yourself." The system NPC's tone softened.

The system NPC chatted with Ji Xiang for a long time again. This time, he was particularly talkative and said almost everything.

Ji Xiang knew that the old man was worried that he would be left with psychological trauma.

Ji Xiang chatted with the system NPC for a long time before leaving.

"Dr. Ji, is this a new treatment plan? We don't understand it," Zhao Zhe asked Ji Xiang.

(End of this chapter)