The Surgeon's Studio

Chapter 182: Scalper

At 7:00 am the next day, Feng Xuhui delivered breakfast to his two guests.

Zheng Ren was not used to such hospitality, but Su Yun shamelessly wolfed down the food.

“Mr. Zheng, Professor Gu requested to meet you,” Su Yun said with his mouth full.

“Professor Gu?” Zheng Ren had no idea who the man was. Had he overlooked some names yesterday?

“Oh, he was the one that performed the biopsy on the esophageal tuberculosis patient,” Su Yun explained. “When Fang Lin returned, he saw Professor Gu performing the biopsy and told him about your diagnosis.”

Zheng Ren was glad that the professor had come to the same conclusion. The patient was a young woman and a diagnosis of late-stage esophageal cancer would be incredibly cruel.

“Professor Pei had eyes on you as well, hence the meeting,” Su Yun said as he gulped down soy milk.

Anxiety gripped Zheng Ren and killed his appetite.

He was worried Professor Pei would ask too many questions. It would be absurd to say that the System had provided him with the correct diagnosis.

Zheng Ren had to be more cautious when diagnosing patients. He did not know what to do in the current situation.

“Come on, eat your breakfast. Professor Gu has a consultation session today. If we’re late, you won’t be able to meet him,” Su Yun urged Zheng Ren as he shoveled food into his mouth.

Was this the big stage that Old Chief Physician Pan talked about?

Feng Xuhui, who was standing aside, overheard Su Yun and Zheng Ren’s conversation.

Chief Zheng’s capabilities were truly exceptional. A few days in Imperial Capital and he already had the attention of one of the professors.

The man was a golden goose and Feng Xuhui had no intention of letting him go.

A few bites of food later, Zheng Ren was dragged by Su Yun to the outpatient clinic.

It was still early, but there was already a long queue.

There were a few people milling around the area, occasionally striking up conversations with those who were in distress and in an obvious hurry.

“Those people are scalpers. They can profit 5000 yuan from a ticket to meet the specialist,” Su Yun said.

Zheng Ren bit his tongue.

“5000 yuan is the friendly price. If the patient seems desperate, they can charge up to 10000 yuan.” Su Yun laughed. “Back when I was contemplating leaving Union Medical, I considered being a scalper. But the profiteering was a bit much, I figured I would rather open a vet hospital.”

“You keep talking about that vet hospital, yet I don’t see you doing anything about it.” It was the umpteenth time Zheng Ren had heard Su Yun mention his imaginary veterinary hospital.

“My family is against my dream to open one. My grandmother threatened to off herself.” Su Yun brushed the mop of hair that covered his forehead, frustration evident on his face.

They both fell into an awkward silence. Zheng Ren continued studying the CT scan from last night, trying to come up with a solution. On the other hand, Su Yun was scrolling through his phone, his heart heavy with unspoken truths.

Half an hour later, Fang Lin walked into the corridor, a red stethoscope at his neck. A kind-faced old man accompanied him.

“Professor Gu, nice to meet you,” Su Yun greeted as he tugged at Zheng Ren’s sleeve to get his attention.

Fang Lin opened the consultation room and let them in.

The corridor they were previously in was dimly lit, and a man in sunglasses followed them into the room.

When Professor Gu saw the uninvited guest, he shouted, “Get out! Get out!” The professor shooed the man away like he would a fly.

The man in sunglasses hesitated but Professor Gu’s incessant shouts prompted Fang Lin to push him out of the room. His hateful expression was on full display.

Spitting on the ground, he left without turning back.

A confused expression crossed Zheng Ren’s face. The man was certainly shady but Professor Gu’s treatment of him seemed excessive.

“The guy is a scalper,” Su Yun whispered.

Professor Gu grumbled, “Little Fang, do not let these people enter the consultation room next time.”

Fang Lin nodded and looked out into the corridor. Once he confirmed that the man was gone, he shut the door.

The incident had broadened Zheng Ren’s horizons.

Scalpers were uncommon in Zheng Ren’s everyday life, so he had no opinions on the issue.

However, from the long queue they saw outside, Zheng Ren was put off by the scalper’s greed. The sunglasses hiding his shifty eyes also raised suspicion. Zheng Ren respected Professor Gu for having to deal with such situations.

“Have a seat.” With the door closed, Professor Gu’s expression softened.

“Nice to meet you, Professor Gu. I’m Zheng Ren from Sea City General Hospital.” Zheng Ren introduced himself and bowed in respect.

“Sit, sit.” The anger from before had faded and Professor Gu asked in a cheery tone, “Do you still remember the esophageal tuberculosis case?”

“Yes, I do.” Zheng Ren nodded.

“I heard from Little Fang that you managed to give the correct diagnosis. Tell me how you came to that conclusion.”

“Esophageal cancer does not have a high fatality rate and during its early stage, the patient will encounter ingestion issues. Very few people would delay treatment.” Zheng Ren had prepared his answer on the way to the clinic.

“Yes, carry on.” Professor Gu agreed.

“As esophageal cancer spreads, the primary targets are the liver, lungs and brain. It is rare to see metastases in the bones, but if it happens, the long bones would be the focus. There is a low probability of metastasis in the ribs. Dr. Fang showed me the PET-CT scan and I saw multiple spots at the ribcage which pointed to tuberculosis.”

Zheng Ren’s explanation was sensible. It was a bit forced but no one could refute his logic.

Professor Gu gave him a smile and started to explain the patient’s history, even bringing out the PET-CT and NMR scans.

Su Yun’s face was expressionless. He was sure the old man was slow on the uptake.

Fang Lin listened attentively to the professor’s story.

The woman was his patient. At first glance, he had agreed with the older doctors with whom he consulted that it was a case of metastatic esophageal cancer.

However, Dr. Zheng from Sea City and his own professor had disagreed with the diagnosis. The biopsy had also proven it to be tuberculosis, not cancer. It was an error in diagnosis on Fang Lin’s part and he gladly listened to the two men discuss the case.

Doctors had to learn and grow from their own mistakes.

Even the wise Qiu Fazu had botched one of his appendectomies which led to his patient’s death. The guilt had motivated him to be a better doctor.

They had to practice carefully with minimal mistakes. Every error had to be examined from all angles to prevent recurrence.

It was a doctor’s responsibility.

Half an hour passed quickly.

Within that short period, Zheng Ren gained a significant amount of knowledge.

At the start of their discussion, Zheng Ren had been able to interject and say his piece, but five minutes later, it had become a full blown lecture by Professor Gu.