Chapter 552: Late

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhang Anmin stood at the stairway with a cigarette between his lips. He stared blankly into the air, and he was so tired that he did not feel like saying anything.

Even though things were indeed easier for first assistants compared to chief surgeons, Zhang Anmin had been working all day. Besides, the two cholecystectomies he just participated in took forever. He was no longer young, and the day’s work was really putting a strain on his knees and back.

When he thought about how he would be participating in another surgery later, how the following day would be just as tiring as today, and how he might have to take a three-hour trip to Bazhaixing hospital branch the day after tomorrow, Zhang Anmin felt that he might be in despair.

*Creak.*

Someone opened the door to the stairway.

Zhang Anmin did not even bother to turn his head around. He quietly exhaled another puff of smoke.

He would need to clean his oral cavity with mouthwash before returning to the operating theater, or else, he might embarrass himself in front of the nurses.

He did not usually smoke much. However, he was just way too tired lately, and he had been finding it difficult to focus.

“Young Zhang, are you taking a rest?” He Yuanzheng’s voice rang out from behind him.

“Huh?” Zhang Anmin was so shocked that he dropped his cigarette.

“Try mine.” He Yuanzheng whipped out a cigar instead of a cigarette and passed it to Zhang Anmin. He then passed Zhang Anmin a lighter and a pair of scissors.

Zhang Anmin only realized then that there was a short cigar as thick as an index finger between He Yuanzheng’s lips.

“It’s a short Corona cigar. You’ll finish smoking it in no time.” He Yuanzheng swayed the cigar in his hand a few times, and Zhang Anmin immediately took it.

Under He Yuanzheng’s guidance, Zhang Anmin carefully cut off one of the corners of the tip of the cigar. He then spun the lighter around the cigar to light it. He inhaled lightly and exhaled a small puff of smoke.

“You can light it up again. The middle part isn’t really burning.” He Yuanzheng continued. “You didn’t use to smoke, did you?”

“I didn’t use to smoke much, but I did smoke.”

“So, you’ve been smoking more lately?”

“Yeah.”

“Stress, staying up late, and smoking. These are three of the main reasons why people get cancer.” He Yuanzheng raised his gaze to look at Zhang Anmin and said, “Can you take the stress of being Ling Ran’s assistant?”

Zhang Anmin took another puff of the cigar and exhaled. The smoke clouded his field of vision.

“I don’t have a choice.” As Zhang Anmin gazed at He Yuanzheng, he suddenly felt like being honest. “My progress is the slowest among the three attending physicians who are around my age. I have to do something about it.”

A person would always get caught off guard whenever someone else poured his heart to him all of a sudden.

Even though He Yuanzheng was already over forty years old, he, too, sighed.

Even though what Zhang Anmin just said would not be much of a concern for people who were not in the field of medicine, for doctors, it was something cruel and inevitable. If there were more than one doctor of around the same age in a department, it was highly likely that they would be fighting for the position of department director in the future.

As there could only be one department director, the one who succeeded would get to enjoy all the fame and money. Meanwhile, if those who failed did not have it in them to submit to humiliation, they would have no choice but to leave the hospital and start all over again.

He Yuanzheng himself did not need to go through this process to become a department director, but he had witnessed and even participated in this kind of competition more than once in his career.

He Yuanzheng glanced at Zhang Anmin again. ‘It’s true that he wouldn’t be able to win. Unless…

‘Unless he’s under the guidance of a doctor like Ling Ran.’

“If you’re aiming to become the department director one day, I would have to remind you about something.” He Yuanzheng looked at Zhang Anmin and said, “Ling Ran is younger than you.”

Zhang Anmin did not say anything. He took another puff of the cigar.

“There’s a reason why seniority matters in the hospital.” When He Yuanzheng noticed that Zhang Anmin was looking at him, he could not help but chuckle. “Why? Do you think that I’m not in a position to talk about seniority?”

Zhang Anmin forced a smile.

“At the end of the day, I have to admit that my youth is the reason why the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery is so weak.” He Yuanzheng had obviously been thinking about this for a long time. When he talked about it at this moment, he could articulate his thoughts very smoothly. “Yun Hua Hospital is considered pretty renowned, and even if our department were to raise our entry requirement and hire only those with a PhD, we would still receive plenty of applications. But no matter what we offer those associate chief physicians who are actually capable, they wouldn’t agree to work with us. Do you know why?”

Zhang Anmin said nothing. He did not need to, as the doctors of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery had talked about it privately before. “All associate chief physicians who don’t aspire to become department directors are trash, and Yun Hua Hospital never hires trash.”

“I’m way too young, and all the associate chief physicians who are willing to leave their hospitals to work in Yun Hua Hospital are older than me. Why would they come here? To save up for their retirement?” He Yuanzheng smiled. He then looked at Zhang Anmin and continued. “Ling Ran is only a little over twenty years old, isn’t he? If he were to take over Old Huo’s position in the future, the Emergency Medical Center would have to go through a lot of changes in the future.”

“Unless Ling Ran rises through the ranks so fast that he doesn’t even bother becoming department director.” Zhang Anmin no longer bothered holding his tongue. The smoke entered his lungs, and he started coughing.

He Yuanzheng could also not help but to pick up his cigar.

He knew what Zhang Anmin meant. Ling Ran might not be contented with merely being a department director.

Truth be told, He Yuanzheng probably believed in this more than Zhang Anmin.

Even though skills were not an all-powerful tool when it came to the system of the hospital, they were much more useful compared to money.

When a doctor was at He Yuanzheng’s level, he would be able to scout for a suitable hospital, ask for the other party to assign an entire department for him and ask for funds of up to ten million RMB a year. So, where would that leave Ling Ran, who was far more skilled in hepatectomy compared to Huo Yuanzheng?

No matter how bad Ling Ran was at cholecystectomy, it would not affect his value in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery. It was impossible for a doctor to be a master of every single surgical method a department offered. Even if Ling Ran was not well-equipped enough to be the department director of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the hospital would have no problem making a new Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery. With Ling Ran’s skills, he might even be able to turn the department into a Hepatobiliary Surgery Center in the future.

“I’m glad that you’re an opinionated person.” He Yuanzheng was no longer in the mood to smoke. He turned and left the stairway.

Zhang Anmin slowly leaned against the wall. He stared ahead as he slowly smoked the cigar in his hand.

He reckoned that this would be the last time He Yuanzheng gave him a cigar.

After resting for a bit more, Zhang Anmin extinguished the cigar and headed to the operating theater.

He stepped open the airtight access door. The moment he entered the operating theater, he saw that Ling Ran was still in scrubs.

“Thank God. I thought that I was late.” Zhang Anmin smiled self-deprecatingly.

“The other people are not here yet,” Ling Ran said.

“Huh? Shouldn’t we make prior preparations?” Zhang Anmin was surprised.

“I don’t see anyone,” Ling Ran answered.

Zhang Anmin hummed in acknowledgment and said, “Is the second assistant today from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery? You didn’t bring your own subordinate?”

“Zuo Cidian and the rest went home to rest.”

“You should bring your own subordinate along. It’s more convenient.” Zhang Anmin sort of realized what was going on. He Yuanzheng was showing Ling Ran where he stood.

Without hesitation, Ling Ran glanced at Zhang Anmin and said, “Didn’t I bring you along?”

Zhang Anmin froze because he was caught off guard.

“Have you washed your hands? Let’s get ready for the surgery.” Ling Ran raised his head and gestured for a nurse to put on a surgical gown for him.

Zhang Anmin subconsciously walked forward and put on a surgical gown. The emotions in his eyes changed constantly.

After a moment, Zhang Anmin came to a decision. He walked over to Ling Ran and said in a hushed tone, “Doctor Ling, Department Director He talked to me just now. I reckon that he wanted to stop me too, but I didn’t buy it.”

“Stop you from?” Ling Ran speedily laid out the drape and disinfected the operating table with the help of a nurse.

An ordinary-looking anesthetist who Zhang Anmin was not really familiar with fixed his gaze on Zhang Anmin and Ling Ran as he worked. He looked like he was ready for gossip.

Zhang Anmin gritted his teeth and said, “Department Director He probably isn’t happy that you’re carrying out both hepatectomy and cholecystectomy.”

“But he mentioned to me today that the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery is having a hard time.”

Zhang Anmin flashed a wan smile. “This wasn’t what he meant. Department Director He, too, wants to operate on more patients.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say now.” Ling Ran knew very well how doctors who wanted to operate on more patients felt. He thought about it for a moment and said, “Then, I’ll just take on more freelance surgeries when it comes to hepatectomy.”

“Freelance surgery. Yeah, it’s a pretty good idea.” Zhang Anmin was attracted once more.

For each freelance surgery Ling Ran performed, his assistants would get a few hundred RMB. He would be able to make more money in a day performing freelance surgery with Ling Ran compared to making a trip to the Bazhaixiang hospital branch.

Ling Ran nodded and said, “You can discuss with Zuo Cidian about suitable hospitals for this later. When it comes to hepatectomy, we need to go to hospitals that can offer good postsurgical care.”

“Alright, don’t worry about it.” Zhang Anmin agreed to Ling Ran’s request. He then thought of something. Only several dozen hospitals in the periphery of Changxi Province were well-equipped enough for hepatectomy and could provide adequate post-surgical care. If Ling Ran were to carry out freelance surgery in all of them, what would people say about Yun Hua Hospital’s Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery?

Zhang Anmin had no doubt that with Ling Ran’s skills, as long as he worked on patients in hospitals that were not too ill-equipped, he would be able to put on a good show. He would get to showcase his abilities that far exceeded those of He Yuanzheng’s. Would this make He Yuanzheng think that Ling Ran was trying to show his superiority?

As Zhang Anmin thought about this, he looked at Ling Ran again. He saw that the latter was staring single-mindedly at the monitor.

For some reason, this calmed Zhang Anmin down. Not only because Ling Ran was handsome, but also because Ling Ran was able to show He Yuanzheng his superiority even without doing anything.

“Things are really different when a person is skilled.” When Zhang Anmin saw that the anesthetist was looking at him, he suddenly felt like flattering Ling Ran. He winked at the anesthetist as he spoke.

The gaunt and ordinary-looking anesthetist froze for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

He then winked back at Zhang Anmin.

Zhang Anmin: O_O

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