Healing Doctor

Chapter 288 We Can't Go Back

The surgery was successfully completed. After repeatedly observing the patient using a billiard ball, Dr. Liu was pleased to confirm that there was no leakage.

Even if he approached the procedure with the utmost caution, and even if Director Liu had left room for a tiny bit of methylene blue to seep out, which would still be considered a successful surgery, Ji Xiang's surgery completely won him over.

No, it's a conquest once again.

Director Liu looked up and saw Ji Xiang busy at work, feeling a little regretful.

If only, say something like this, it would be so much better if Ji Xiang had a medical license.

This is a young man who has staked all the experience he has accumulated over his more than 20 years as a doctor; he deserves our support and guidance.

Moreover, Ji Xiang is very generous.

When I retire, every time I go to Jixiang's academic conferences, I can tell the people around me that I watched Jixiang grow step by step. Just thinking about that feeling is so satisfying.

When I retire, I can contact Ji Xiang for anything, from getting medical treatment at a top hospital in the country to arranging a visit from a relative in the provincial capital—it's all just a matter of making a phone call.

When I retire...

Director Liu was thinking about his future after retirement.

pity.

How can someone not even have a practicing certificate?

A deep sense of regret welled up within him, leaving Director Liu lost in thought.

"Director, you can leave now. I'll take the patient home." Ji Xiang squinted his eyes.

Director Liu knew that Ji Xiang must be wearing a gentle smile under his mask.

"Thank you for your hard work," Director Liu said, then turned and stepped off the stage, tearing off his sterile gown and throwing it aside.

"Old Liu!" the circulating nurse said, annoyed. "You're such a handful! You can't wear the disposable sterile gown, saying it's uncomfortable, like a diaper. I find you a sterile one, and you tear it off right after the surgery, so I have to stitch it up every time!"

Director Liu was in a great mood and ignored the nagging of the circulating nurse. He left the operating room with a smile and his hands behind his back.

The surgery was a success. The surgery that he had tried so hard to perform last time was easily accomplished. Director Liu almost hummed a little tune.

The noise outside the operating room came through the large iron gate, pulling Director Liu back to reality from his reverie.

He cautiously approached and overheard Director Bai "communicating" with the patient's family.

"Old Bai insists on going to the medical office; he's shortening his lifespan," Director Liu thought to himself.

Upon opening the operating room door, Director Liu wanted to stand behind Director Bai to bolster his morale and prevent Director Bai from being assaulted.

But as soon as the operating room door opened, the throng of people outside and the tense atmosphere completely extinguished all of Director Liu's thoughts.

"Director Liu, go back and wait for me. We'll have dinner together tonight. I need to talk to you." Director Bai said calmly to Director Liu as he turned around, facing the hall full of patients' families.

"Oh." Director Liu didn't press the issue head-on, but instead stepped back, closed the door, and acted as if nothing had happened.

The noise outside continued, a deafening cacophony that seeped in through the crack in the door.

Director Liu tried to ignore the sounds, but they stimulated his body to release a large amount of adrenaline, causing his heart to race.

Director Liu sighed deeply, somewhat regretfully.

When will we be able to return to the era of publicly funded healthcare? Perhaps only that era was a paradise for doctors.

Now?

Even Director Liu, the head of the First Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital, didn't think it was good.

After changing his clothes and returning home, Director Liu still felt regretful. He really wanted to keep Ji Xiang there, but in the end, all of that turned into a sigh.

After get off work, Director Liu didn't leave; he sat in his office waiting for Director Bai's call.

Director Bai's call didn't come in until 6:30.

The two agreed to meet at Yang Barbecue across from the hospital, a tradition they'd maintained for over twenty years.

After changing his clothes and going downstairs, Director Liu saw Director Bai come out looking energetic and waved to him.

"Old Bai, are you done?"

"basically."

"How much did you lose?"

I won't tell you.

In situations like this, compensation is always due, even if there's no fault on their part. Director Liu was just asking casually; knowing about similar incidents wouldn't have made any difference to him.

"That's good," Director Liu said. "Old Bai, what did you want to see me about?"

"Dazhi, while I was watching the surgery today, I suddenly remembered something. I was busy dealing with the patient's family members, and that's when I finally had some free time," Director Bai said.

He didn't keep Liu in suspense and wait for her to ask him; instead, he said directly, "I'm planning to bring Zhao Zhe over."

"!!!"

Director Liu was taken aback.

"Old Bai, are you so busy you've lost your mind? I remember more than 20 years ago when we played World of Warcraft together, I asked you how to get from Ironforge to Stormwind, and you told me to run there."

"Hahaha."

Director Bai laughed heartily as he recounted the past.

"There's a subway, you told me to run there! I dragged this corpse for a whole day, a whole day!!"

Why bring this up?

"Are you going to screw me over again?!" Director Liu clenched his fist, as if he had returned to that day twenty years ago, when he took the subway from Ironforge to Stormwind and was about to settle accounts with Director Bai.

"You..." Director Bai, unusually relaxed, glanced at Director Liu with a hint of emotion. "Still so stubborn. Shouldn't you get an MRI to check for a stroke?"

"Tch, Zhao Zhe is just a grassroots doctor. Why would I transfer him here? Not to mention how much trouble and work it would take, this is something I simply can't handle." Director Liu spat. "And to top it all off, what good could he possibly do here!"

"Ji Xiang, aren't you going to take it?" Director Bai looked at his old friend of many years with the same look he was giving an idiot.

"Ugh."

Speaking of Ji Xiang, Director Liu felt a surge of frustration and let out a deep sigh.

"I want to, and I've even been thinking about whether to apply for a provincial natural sciences degree for Ji Xiang recently."

"Oh? The difficulty of the Provincial Science and Technology Department is not much lower than that of transferring Zhao Zhe." Director Bai said with a smile.

"Is that so?"

"So what do you think?" Director Bai asked.

"Xiao Ji hasn't even gotten his doctor's license yet; the exam isn't until two months later. Even if I apply for the provincial science exam, the leader is Zhao Zhe. Did I go through all that trouble just for Zhao Zhe?"

At this point, Director Liu paused, taken aback.

How did I end up mentioning Zhao Zhe myself? It's just like what Director Bai said.

"You're just not smart enough," Director Bai said disdainfully. "No wonder you believed back then that a level 10 or so alt could run from Ironforge to Stormwind."

Director Liu ignored that question and frowned, asking, "Old Bai, what are you thinking?"

The two had already reached the entrance of Qiyang Barbecue. When Director Bai saw the "GG" sign at the entrance of Qiyang, he laughed heartily.

"They're getting better and better at lying. It's clearly a price increase, albeit a small one, but they manage to make it seem like the owner is an idiot trying to get a bargain. Impressive!"

"You're quick-witted. It took me a while to figure it out after reading it," Director Liu said with a smile.

Director Bai raised his hand and called out, "The usual."

The skinny, dark-skinned owner of the barbecue restaurant replied, and the two went into the inner room.

"Old Bai, tell me what happened right now!"

(End of this chapter)