Lin Jie entered the operating room of Huiming Eye Hospital, beginning the surgery at 3:38 PM on Sunday afternoon.

By the time he finished connecting all the optic nerves and looked up at the clock, it showed seventeen hours and nineteen minutes had passed, with the time nearing 9 o'clock the next morning.

Lin Jie let out a long breath; this was the longest surgery he had ever conducted, breaking a personal record.

Wang Feizhang, noticing Lin Jie's visible fatigue, suggested, "Expert Lin, let me take over from here."

He and Chen Shi had alternated supporting Lin Jie, and though they also endured the same long hours, their mental state was relatively okay.

The next part of the surgery was much simpler.

There are some anatomical structural differences between the left and right eyes; before placing the right eyeball back into the left eye socket, some fine surgical adjustments were necessary on the right eyeball.

Such surgical tasks posed no difficulty for an ophthalmic expert like Wang Feizhang.

Lin Jie nodded and stepped aside from the operating position.

He sat by resting for a while to regain some energy and, seeing the surgery was nearing completion, left the operating room.

As soon as he stepped out of the operating room, Lin Jie was instantly surrounded by over a dozen people.

"Doctor, how is my aunt?"

"Was the operation successful?"

"Did the eye make it?"

Various urgent inquiries filled Lin Jie's ears all at once.

"Quiet down, this is a hospital."

Though the voice wasn't loud, it seemed to carry a certain authority. Immediately, the other voices dissipated into silence.

The crowd parted, making way for a wide path, as the man who accompanied the injured person yesterday afternoon approached, accompanied by a timid-looking young man.

"Expert Lin, how's my aunt's condition?"

Lin Jie replied candidly, "The surgery went well. However, we will know the effectiveness of the surgery only after seven days. On the seventh day, we will conduct a light-stimulation response test on the patient's eyes."

He further explained, "If that day shows a response to light stimulation, it will indicate that the eye transplant was successful. However, this does not mean that the patient's vision will immediately recover."

"The recovery of the patient's vision will take a relatively long time. The nervous system takes the longest to recover."

The man asked with concern, "Expert Lin, how long will the recovery take?"

"It will take five to six months. The patient's vision will recover to its best state by then."

Lin Jie stretched his sore body and continued, "My part is done; post-operative care will be taken over by Dean Wang."

"I will come back on the day of the eye test, seven days later."

The man nodded and said, "Thank you very much, Expert Lin, for handling the surgery despite the fatigue."

He added apologetically, "Because the incident happened suddenly, I came here in a hurry. After a few days, I will definitely visit you to express my gratitude for your help."

Lin Jie politely responded, "No need to be so formal. I'm a surgeon, saving lives is my duty."

The man smiled faintly and said, "I understand that experts like you, Expert Lin, aren't easily available to just anyone."

"Especially in such sudden incidents, your kindness is greatly appreciated."

He took out a business card from his pocket and handed it over, "My name is Ye Peihua, and my phone number is on it. Whenever you're in the Capital City, please contact me and give me a chance to host you."

It was a dark gold, watermark-patterned, high-class-looking business card.

On the front, the card simply read "Ye Peihua," while the back had a handwritten phone number.

Lin Jie understood that people of some standing usually have two or more contact numbers, a work number and a private number known only to close friends and family.

The number given by Ye Peihua was likely his private number.

Lin Jie accepted the card, thanked Ye Peihua, and entered the adjacent prep room to change clothes...

At home resting, Lin Jie felt as if he had just fallen asleep when he was called awake.

He fought off the crankiness of waking up and asked, "Xiaoxiao, is there something urgent?"

"A-Jie, there are guests here to see you. They came once last night and again this afternoon."

Lin Jie asked displeased, "What kind of guests?"

"The siblings Fu Xiuyuan and Fu Wenzhu from the Fu Family, and a father and son with the surname Jiang."

Zhang Xiaoxiao explained, "Seeing that they're from the Fu Family and have come looking for you two days in a row, I was worried it might be something serious, so I had to wake you up."

Lin Jie glanced at the time; it was almost 3:30 PM.

This meant he had slept for nearly five hours, though it felt only like a blink of an eye.

Lin Jie got out of bed, feeling even more sore and uncomfortable, knowing his body hadn't fully recovered yet, he dejectedly said, "Have them wait a moment, I'll wash up and meet them."

After a quick hot shower, Lin Jie arrived in the living room.

He recognized the young Jiang son among them; they had met once before at a wellness soup restaurant, and he held some opinions about Lin Jie.

Through small talk, Lin Jie learned that the father was named Jiang Lin, the uncle of Fu Xiuyuan and Fu Wenzhu, and the chairman of a pharmaceutical company.

The purpose of this father and son's visit to Lin Jie was to establish a pharmaceutical partnership with Anlin Hospital.

Lin Jie frowned slightly and said, "Chairman Jiang, I have an agreement with the An Family that I will not intervene in Anlin Hospital's specific affairs. So, in this regard, you need to discuss with the An Family and Dean Gong of Anlin Hospital."

Jiang Lin laughed heartily and flattered, "Expert Lin, with your current status and reputation, isn't it all just a matter of a word from you when it comes to many affairs of Anlin Hospital?"

Lin Jie replied calmly, "As the saying goes, every profession has its specialization. My medical skills are decent, but that doesn't mean I'm also skilled in other aspects. When it comes to hospital management, I can say that I know nothing."

"For the healthy and sustainable development of Anlin Hospital, it's best for me not to interfere."

"Expert Lin, what you say is true. A person with such clarity of mind as yours is quite rare. With you at Anlin Hospital, it is bound to achieve great development, which also strengthens my resolve to collaborate with Anlin Hospital."

Jiang Lin earnestly said, "I will arrange a time with Director An to discuss the cooperation in detail."

Lin Jie didn't expect that just a couple of sentences from him would make Jiang Lin give up the idea.

Just as he was feeling quite surprised, Jiang Lin continued, "Expert Lin, we came this time, entrusted by others, with another matter to trouble you."

"Oh, please go ahead!" Lin Jie replied politely.

At this point, he keenly noticed that Fu Xiuyuan's brows furrowed slightly, and he exchanged a probing glance with Fu Wenzhu.

"It's like this, Expert Lin, my company has more or less some cooperative relationships with several major hospitals in Binhai."

"Among them, the cooperation with Kangning Hospital is quite close, with the annual cooperation amounting to over a billion yuan."

Jiang Lin said somewhat painfully, "However, for over half a year now, the revenue of Kangning Hospital has declined significantly, dropping by as much as 30%. With a 30% drop in revenue, it's safe to say that the profit is almost nonexistent."

"Moreover, even the recovery of my company's accounts has been delayed."

Jiang Lin chuckled and said, "The feud between Kangning Hospital and you, Expert Lin, I'm naturally aware of."

"Currently, the reputation of Kangning Hospital has taken a severe hit, and the number of patients they see each day is much less than in previous years. One could say, Kangning Hospital has been adequately punished."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jie felt something was off.

What's meant by adequately punished? Kangning Hospital's current status is purely self-inflicted, and as the victim, he hasn't even taken action to rectify or retaliate against them.

Lin Jie remained silent, continuing to listen to Jiang Lin, "Now, Dean Hu Yuanqing's left hand is injured, and it hasn't recovered, so he can't perform surgeries. It's said that only you, Expert Lin, can completely cure the injury in his hand."

"Expert Lin, as the saying goes, it's better to reconcile than to perpetuate enmity. Now, Dean Hu Yuanqing is willing to offer a surgical fee of ten million, set up a banquet in a hotel under many witnesses, and apologize to you on behalf of the Hu Family."

Jiang Lin looked at Lin Jie and smiled, "I see that Dean Hu is sincerely apologizing this time, and the conditions offered are quite generous. So I agreed to his request to mediate."

"Expert Lin, what do you think of this matter?"

The smile on Lin Jie's face slowly spread.

Since the last meeting, more than half a month has passed. Lin Jie thought Hu Yuanqing had given up, but he unexpectedly commissioned an intermediary closely related to the Fu Family to persuade him.

However, this guy repeatedly claimed he didn't want to be the dean, yet the conditions proposed this time didn't mention this at all.

It seems that once someone tastes the flavor of power, giving it up becomes extremely difficult.

Feeling a sense of mockery, Lin Jie didn't show it on his face and spoke softly, "Regarding this matter, I have talked to Hu Yuanqing before, setting three conditions with a time limit of one month."

"Since Chairman Jiang, you've painstakingly come here, I'll take a step back."

"He's so attached to the dean's position, I'll let him have it. Please go back and tell Hu Yuanqing that as long as he strictly implements the other two conditions, I agree to treat the injury on his left hand."

The smile on Jiang Lin's face faded bit by bit as he said seriously, "Expert Lin, Dean Hu told me that the third condition is absolutely unacceptable."

"If you agree to the banquet apology, he's willing to pay a bit more for the surgical fee."

Lin Jie insisted, "The third condition, I will absolutely not change. Please convey my words truthfully and inform him that he still has ten days to consider, and past that time, I won't be waiting."

Jiang Lin's face immediately darkened as he said, "Expert Lin, everyone has their ups and downs."

"When you're triumphant in life, don't kick someone when they're down; you should understand forgiveness and make broad friendships. That way, when you encounter downturns, you'll have a substantial number of friends to help you."

"Expert Lin, you are so young; you need to act cautiously, as life's ups and downs are unpredictable."

He further advised, "As long as you agree to Dean Hu's terms and let this matter pass, you won't only gain friendship from the Hu Family but from the Jiang Family and even the Fu Family."

Upon hearing this, before Lin Jie could react, Fu Xiuyuan got up with a stern face.

"Expert Lin is already a friend of the Fu Family. Chairman Jiang, you are in no position to decide on behalf of the Fu Family who gets to have the Fu Family's friendship."

Jiang Lin's face flushed red with embarrassment!

This time, by enticing both Fu Xiuyuan and Fu Wenzhu to come, he intended to leverage the Fu Family's influence to make this happen. He didn't expect the usually quiet Fu Xiuyuan to dismiss his honor on the spot.

"Fu Xiuyuan, I'm your uncle, your elder, and you're acting so disrespectfully?"

Fu Xiuyuan snorted coldly and said, "Right now, I represent the Fu Family, and you represent the Jiang Family. This is a family dispute and has nothing to do with seniority."

Jiang Lin angrily asked, "Can you represent the Fu Family?"

"At least I'm more qualified than you," Fu Xiuyuan softly retorted!

Jiang Lin was momentarily speechless. Fu Xiuyuan, being cultivated by the Fu family's old master, was emerging as the first among the third generation, making him indeed more qualified than himself.

Seeing that this matter couldn't proceed, the embarrassed and angry Jiang Lin said no more and directly left with his son.

Fu Xiuyuan cupped his hands towards Lin Jie and said, "Expert Lin, what can I say about this cousin-in-law of mine; he's used to acting recklessly under the power of the Jiang Family, please, pardon him."

"I will report this matter to the old master in full detail."

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