Healing Doctor

Chapter 585 I think you two have something in common.

Director Fan was quite helpless, but he was very satisfied with Lin Jiuze. Even though Dr. Lin Jiuze was a bit eccentric, he was still a genius just like any other person.

Lin Jiu and Ji Xiang are somewhat similar. Director Fan thought for a long time before realizing that the two of them were both very good at talking nonsense.

At the very least, we should have told Ji Xiang about this; Director Fan knows what's important. Now it's a bit too late, and the dramatic, earth-shattering encounter we imagined didn't happen.

So Director Fan didn't delay and called Ji Xiang that very night.

"Dr. Ji Xiang, do you have a moment? There's a problem with the next episode of the show, and I'd like to talk to you about it."

"I have the time, but I'm not the director, the producer, or the investor. You don't need to tell me that," Ji Xiang answered clearly.

These words were so harsh that Director Fan was taken aback.

Participating in variety shows and becoming a celebrity—isn't that what young people like these days? Why does it seem like Ji Xiang has an instinctive aversion to it?

After calming down a bit, Director Fan composed himself.

"You've made a huge contribution to the show's success, and it's only right that I say hello to you," Director Fan said.

Since things had been said to this extent, Ji Xiang didn't refuse outright.

Director Fan rushed around all night to find Ji Xiang again.

"Dr. Ji Xiang, the production team has invited a young doctor from Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States for the next episode."

Director Fan gave a brief introduction to Lin Jiuze.

"Oh, I heard it from Director Lu." Ji Xiang smiled nonchalantly. "It's good to have fresh blood."

"He diagnosed a patient during his audition today, and I heard..." Director Fan didn't know how to describe it, so he said vaguely.

"I've heard about a patient with intestinal obstruction caused by an embolism of the superior mesenteric artery," Ji Xiang said.

"right!"

Director Fan was surprised by Ji Xiang's access to information, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he recounted his conversation with Lin Jiuze.

"Well, I think you two are quite similar in some ways," Director Fan said hesitantly.

"How is it similar?"

"His diagnostic skills are very strong. He diagnoses some difficult and complicated diseases very accurately. To me, a layman, he's practically a miracle doctor. And... you guys always manage to change the subject," Director Fan said.

As he spoke, he took out a cigarette.

"Dr. Ji Xiang, would you like one?" Director Fan asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't smoke."

"You don't smoke?" Director Fan was taken aback, recalling the scene when he encountered the female patient who wanted to jump off the building that day.

Ji Xiang always carried cigarettes with him, yet he told himself he didn't smoke.

Is it because he looks down on himself, or is there some other reason? Director Fan looked into Ji Xiang's eyes with suspicion.

Ji Xiang's eyes were clear and bright, not like he was lying.

"Hehe." Ji Xiang seemed to know what Director Fan was thinking. He smiled and said, "I carry cigarettes because it's more convenient when I talk to some patients who are feeling down. You know, for smokers, a cigarette can shorten the distance between each other."

"..." Director Fan was taken aback. He hadn't expected that Ji Xiang's reason for saying he didn't smoke but actually being able to was something like this.

"But you should still smoke less often." Ji Xiang took Director Fan's cigarette, put it in the cigarette pack, and smiled. "Smoking is bad for your health."

Director Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

He had a feeling that Ji Xiang was about to steer the conversation off-topic again.

From Ji Xiang's words, Director Fan can conclude that Ji Xiang wants to get closer to the patients and their families, but not to himself.

Although Ji Xiang kept smiling, it was a mask; he didn't really want to smile.

"Director Fan, please smoke less; it's for your own good."

Hearing Ji Xiang say this, Director Fan felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

If possible, Director Fan really didn't want to say even a single word to Ji Xiang.

But by this point in the show, Ji Xiang had become a pillar of the production team, and Director Fan knew that without Ji Xiang, the show would be half ruined.

Director Fan didn't believe this conclusion at all before the show started. Who could have imagined that such a bizarre idea would emerge after a few episodes?

But chatting with Ji Xiang was just too painful. Sometimes he wouldn't say a word, and other times he was a chatterbox like Zhao Zhe, the old attending physician, and would often steer the conversation off-topic.

Even with Director Fan's experience, it would be difficult to say whether Ji Xiang intentionally steered the conversation away from him or did so unintentionally.

"It's not that I want to get involved, and many doctors smoke..." Ji Xiang sighed.

"Dr. Ji Xiang, do you doctors and nurses try to control these bad habits so they don't become a habit?" Director Fan asked with a smile.

"No, that's not it. Doctors and nurses may have personality issues, but that's not the problem."

"A problem?" Director Fan's eyes lit up.

"Don't call the camera crew, let's have a chat alone for a while." Ji Xiang immediately stopped Director Fan's idea.

Director Fan was also helpless and nodded.

"I heard my teachers talk about this when I was in school, and I've felt it more and more deeply after being in clinical practice for a while."

"For example?" Director Fan asked.

"Those working on the front lines of clinical care are divided into doctors and nurses. Doctors are generally doing well; although it's hard work, there are many opportunities for advancement and higher income. Nursing staff, on the other hand, are a completely different story."

"Most nurses gain weight rapidly after starting clinical work; this is called stress-related weight gain or overwork-related weight gain. They spend their days either at work or catching up on sleep, with almost no personal space."

"Dr. Ji Xiang, aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Director Fan said doubtfully.

"It's not an exaggeration at all," Ji Xiang said. "Let's not talk about obesity. I'll tell you what a nurse's daily work entails, and you'll understand."

"We start work at 8 a.m., but in stricter departments we have to arrive 30-50 minutes early. After changing clothes, we start checking all the items. There's a handover at 8 a.m., which you saw. After the handover, the nursing team has its own meeting, and then there are exams 2-3 days a week. Next comes injections, which is what everyone considers the nurse's job."

"Nurses need to run around, almost constantly. And the nursing department basically deducts their pay every day..."

"Find money? Is this how your medical system works?" Director Fan asked in surprise.

"Pretty much, that's how it is at all the hospitals I've been to," Ji Xiang said.

"This status is so low."

"It started a year ago when nurses were allowed to wash the feet and trim the nails of non-paralyzed patients. Or rather, it wasn't that it started then, but by then it was no longer something to hide," Ji Xiang said. "Nurses are like this, and doctors in China aren't much better."

"Doctors have a very high status."

"That's a first-rate doctor." Ji Xiang smiled slightly. "Dr. Zhao Zhe in Yuanliao City was oppressed to the extreme by his superiors. He had no status whatsoever when facing patients."

Director Fan scratched his head. Isn't this all normal?

"You're talking too much. Experts at Massachusetts General Hospital who can lead a team shouldn't be like this," Ji Xiang said. "Director Fan, you guessed it yourself that he was writing on an A4 sheet of paper, then glancing up at the patient, and continuing to make corrections, right?"

"That's my guess," Director Fan said frankly.

(End of this chapter)