CHAPTER 370: 370 FERMENTATION

The incident of Liu Banxia standing firm against the patient’s family members had spread throughout the Second Hospital after brewing overnight. Not only were medical staff discussing this incident, but patients and their families in the Emergency Center and the Inpatient Department were also talking about it.

There aren’t many secrets in this world, and the commotion yesterday was so significant that it had even alerted the police. The family involved wasn’t the only one in the surgical waiting area; other patients’ relatives were there too.

The debate on this matter was also intense, and opinions were clearly divided into two camps.

One camp felt that it should be this way. No matter what, hitting someone is wrong, let alone hitting the doctor who saved your son.

The other camp thought that Liu Banxia was being a bit unrelenting. Hitting someone was wrong, but they had already apologized. Besides, their son was still lying in the operating room. As a doctor, shouldn’t he have a benevolent heart?

"What’s wrong? Why do you all look so angry after returning from your ward rounds?" Liu Banxia asked the interns curiously.

"What else could it be? They overheard what others were saying. Then they were indignant on your behalf and almost quarreled with the patient’s family," Liang Xiaolin said with a bitter smile.

"I’ve certainly witnessed the fighting spirit of this little group of theirs. I wonder if you’re the one who influenced them," Wang Chao chimed in.

"Teacher Wang, that’s because you don’t know what happened yesterday. Teacher Liu can’t use his arm today; he can’t even perform surgery," Xu Yino said unhappily.

"How’s your arm? Do you need a thorough check-up?" Shi Lei asked.

Liu Banxia shook his head. "It’s fine. Just rub some safflower oil on it later. Actually, it’s also because I don’t exercise much, and I overexerted myself yesterday. If I lifted weights every day, I might have carried them all up by myself. I just went to the ICU to check on the female patient. Her condition is good; she’s already awake. Do me a favor and put her in a VIP ward when she’s transferred back?"

"Alright. Since you’re the chief resident, you call the shots," Shi Lei said nonchalantly.

"People like her should be encouraged. They were just strangers carpooling together. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t have reacted that way; I’d likely just have been screaming," Liu Banxia said.

"Her parents will arrive today. Doctor Liang, you’ll be in charge of receiving them. We need to console them properly. I heard her mother fainted on the spot when she received the call last night."

"She was also quite fortunate; within her abdominal cavity, only a kidney was damaged. Is this what they call good deeds being rewarded?" Liu Yiqing asked.

"So, we should all do more good deeds. Who can help me rub on some safflower oil? It works much better than painkillers, though it does have a strong smell," Liu Banxia asked.

"I will!" Qing Kewa raised her hand joyfully.

She was also a playful girl. In fact, she had rubbed safflower oil for Liu Banxia the previous night. She’d never experienced this kind of treatment before.

Moreover, while most people hated the pungent smell of safflower oil, she actually quite liked it. There’s no accounting for taste, truly.

"How exactly is your arm? Can you do the surgeries scheduled for tomorrow?" Shi Lei also followed him into the break room.

"I can. It’s already much better today, but it still trembles a little when I pick things up," Liu Banxia said.

"I was too anxious at the time, so I just gritted my teeth and went for it. Boss, do you think I did the right thing yesterday? Should I not have taken the risk?"

"Nonsense. Where’s the absolute right or wrong in this matter?" Shi Lei glared at him.

"There was no equipment at the scene to determine the rebar’s position inside the body at that moment. You made a judgment based on the on-site situation, and that was the right call."

"We risk losing patients on the operating table too, even after thorough pre-operative preparations. But no matter how well you prepare, unexpected situations can always arise, can’t they?"

Liu Banxia nodded. "I feel a bit more at ease now. Thinking back, I’m not even sure what exactly went through my mind then. But one thing is certain: I absolutely wasn’t trying to show off or be a hero, like some people said."

"The Medical Affairs Department didn’t intervene last night. They probably expect me to handle it myself. That’s fine too. Anyway, I plan to establish some clear rules around here."

"You can’t achieve anything without standards, and this incident itself is a kind of miracle. If everyone knows in the future that the Second Hospital’s Emergency Center isn’t a place where they can act recklessly, they’ll have to think twice before coming here for treatment."

"Then aren’t you afraid it will be misconstrued, with people saying the doctors at the Second Hospital are arrogant and bully patients?" Shi Lei asked, massaging his arm.

"Sigh... how good can our reputation as doctors be nowadays? The only ones who speak well of us are the patients we’ve successfully treated," Liu Banxia sighed.

"We’re worse off than online shopping. At least with online shopping, you have to buy something to leave a bad review, right? We can get bad reviews even from mere onlookers. That’s just how it is. How much worse can it get?"

"Our profession is already constrained by so many rules. We became doctors to make a living too, right? But it’s full of pitfalls. We have to be extremely careful during consultations; otherwise, a single complaint could cost us our jobs, get our licenses suspended, and ruin our entire lives."

"You’ve got it made now with Qiaoqiao; you don’t have to worry about money anymore," Shi Lei said, patting his arm.

"Haha, I’ve saved myself many years of struggle," Liu Banxia said with a smile. "Now, I can be a bit more willful and simply immerse myself in the feeling of treating patients and saving lives. I guess I’m nearing Qing Kewa’s level now? I used to think her attitude was because she’s from abroad, but it’s not really about that; it’s a difference in perspective."

"Dr. Liu, you could also go to Russia to be a doctor; your medical skills are superb," Qing Kewa said.

"I think I’ll pass on that. But maybe Qiaoqiao and I can visit your country during our honeymoon," Liu Banxia responded.

"Great! Oh, great!" Qing Kewa was very happy now.

She had less than a year left in the country. Her time as an exchange student would end once her internship was over. She actually quite liked her life here and was somewhat reluctant to leave.

The safflower oil had to be applied vigorously to penetrate the skin. Liu Banxia quite enjoyed it, but it was exhausting for Shi Lei and Qing Kewa.

But what could they do? Liu Banxia was the "casualty" now. Even though Liu Banxia said he’d be fine tomorrow, Shi Lei knew there would still be some minor issues.

Shi Lei had wanted to add two appendectomies to the schedule, but Liu Banxia hadn’t agreed. For Liu Banxia, these two surgeries wouldn’t take much actual operating time, yet he still refused.

Stepping out of the break room, Liu Banxia was like a walking bottle of safflower oil; the scent was so strong it wafted far out even through his clothes.

"Don’t these people have anything better to do? Can we have security clear them out?" Liu Banxia glanced at several people holding microphones in the waiting hall and then walked back into the break room.

"That would be difficult. Clearing them out now would only escalate the conflict, and who knows what they’d start saying. Anyway, once they get involved, they can spin anything into a story," Wang Chao, who had walked over, said.

"I suggest you rest today. You can recuperate. Come in tomorrow morning for the surgery. Haven’t we discussed the plans already? They’re all routine procedures."

Shi Lei nodded. "Wang Chao’s suggestion is good. We’re not short-handed; let him rest more. The director is in surgery. I’ll tell him when he’s out."

"Alright then, I guess I’ll slack off for another day," Liu Banxia nodded.

Qing Kewa was responsible for contacting Qiaoqiao. He felt that even using his phone would be exhausting right now. Fortunately, his body had been significantly strengthened; otherwise, he couldn’t expect to recover by tomorrow.

A muscle strain is no small matter, especially since his work allowed no margin for error.

He glanced outside. Those people were quite persistent, waiting resolutely. Liu Banxia could only sigh. He didn’t know if they had followed the scent of the safflower oil or if the male patient’s family had invited them.

Just then, Liu Banxia’s phone rang. It was a video call from Qiaoqiao.

"Hehe, happy now? I get to stay home another day," Liu Banxia hurriedly said after answering the call.

On the screen, only Qiaoqiao’s profile was visible. She was driving, her phone on a dashboard mount. Then, Tang Dou’s big head suddenly popped into view, startling Liu Banxia.

"Why are you taking another day off? I asked Qing Kewa, and she wouldn’t say," Qiaoqiao’s voice came through.

"WOOF, WOOF!"

Tang Dou also barked a couple of times, equally concerned about this matter.

"I had a dispute with a patient’s family, so I’m taking another day off. No, wait, just half a day," Liu Banxia hurriedly explained.

"Oh, I thought it was something serious. There’s not much traffic now. You chat with Tang Dou first; I’m driving," Qiaoqiao said casually.

Xu Yino, eavesdropping nearby, couldn’t help but laugh. Qiaoqiao was her Teacher Liu’s wife, after all. It seemed Teacher Liu’s wife was even more formidable than Teacher Liu himself.

"Tang Dou, do you miss me?" Liu Banxia asked Tang Dou enthusiastically.

However, Tang Dou quickly lost interest. Hearing his voice was enough for the puppy, who then moved back to the car window to look at the scenery.

"Tang Dou is ignoring me. You focus on driving. I’ll wait for you," Liu Banxia said before hanging up.

"Teacher Liu, why didn’t you tell Teacher Liu’s wife you were beaten?" Xu Yino asked curiously.

"Tell her?" Liu Banxia said with a bitter smile. "She’d tear the hospital apart. I didn’t even dare to mention my arm injury first, in case she got anxious while driving and had an accident. And don’t you guys mention the marks on my face for now. I’ll gradually reveal it to her when I get home."

"Oh, Teacher Liu’s wife is so lucky," Xu Yino sighed.

Liu Banxia rolled his eyes. He really didn’t understand what young people these days were thinking. His concern was Qiaoqiao’s explosive temper; what did that have to do with being lucky?