Chapter 212: 211: Petty
Chapter 212: Chapter 211: Petty
At nearly 8:00 PM, Yu Zhiming took Qiao Lei to the Binhai Grand Hotel to attend the launch ceremony for the artificial eye charity initiative.
Yu Zhiming’s attendance was purely to show support, as well as to broaden his horizons and gain some new experiences.
As reporters and photographers snapped pictures, Yu Zhiming joined nearly a dozen people—including the general manager of the Artificial Eye Company, the head of the sponsoring organization, the Binhai director for the Red Cross Charity Fund, and several ophthalmologists—to pull away the red silk cloth unveiling the event plaque.
At the buffet reception that followed, Yu Zhiming ended up meeting quite a few people.
These included the head of the charity foundation, the director of ophthalmology from Huashan Hospital—a partner in the project—the ophthalmology director from the City First People’s Hospital, and the president of the Bright Eyes Specialized Hospital.
There were also several fairly well-known ophthalmology specialists who had come with the directors and president from the three hospitals.
To Yu Zhiming’s great surprise, the main benefactor of the charity event, the head of Molan Optical Lenses, was someone he had met once before.
She was the elegant, still-charming woman with whom he had exchanged a glance in the departure hall of Capital Airport, on his way back to Binhai from a freelance surgery in Capital City with Qi Yue.
The woman, whose name was Lin Mo, held a glass of wine and chatted with Yu Zhiming for a good while.
She also brought up their chance meeting at the airport.
Lin Mo smiled, explaining that when she had happened to see Yu Zhiming, she’d felt a strong sense of familiarity, a feeling of déjà vu, which was why she had looked at him for a bit longer.
Yu Zhiming, who had felt the same way, didn’t act overly enthusiastic in the face of today’s radiant and somewhat unfamiliar Lin Mo.
He politely but distantly suggested that he had once been something of an internet celebrity.
Perhaps Ms. Lin had inadvertently seen his photo while browsing the internet at some point…
Yu Zhiming wasn’t fond of crowds or socializing, so after enduring the reception for a little over half an hour, he made his excuses and left…
After 10:00 PM, Yu Zhiming returned to his apartment in the Zijin Garden District to find his third and fourth sisters and Gu Qingning laughing and chatting while watching a variety show on TV.
“Fifth Brother is back. Are you hungry?”
Yu Xinyue got up as she asked, grabbing the remote to turn the TV volume down by half.
“I had some snacks at the charity reception. I’m not hungry.”
As Yu Zhiming replied, he noticed that his third sister’s face was indeed glowing.
Clearly, his fourth sister had taken her to the Furong Club for a beauty treatment.
“Third Sister, did it go smoothly this time? Was it still seventy patients?”
Yu Xinyue nodded. “Yes, the full seventy patients. Not only did the trip go smoothly, but the patient handovers at the two hospitals went very smoothly as well.”
“We have experience with the handovers now, after all.”
She added, “Fifth Brother, they weren’t all from the county hospital this time. Twenty-three of them were from the city.”
Yu Zhiming just said, “Oh,” not particularly concerned whether the patients were from the county or the city.
Yu Xinyue also told Yu Zhiming, “The eight doctors from the county hospital who are here for advanced training came with us, too.”
Yu Zhiming accepted a glass of warm water from Gu Qingning just as Yu Xiangwan’s voice piped up.
“Fifth Brother, I was the one who helped the visiting doctors rent their apartments. I found three places for them in total.”
“I just charged them a token one thousand yuan fee for my trouble for each apartment, way less than a real estate agent.”
Yu Zhiming took a sip of water and said, “Fourth Sister, find some time next week to take them all out for a meal.”
Yu Xiangwan nodded in agreement.
Yu Xinyue chuckled. “Fifth Brother, they were saying they want to treat you to a big meal.”
“They said it’s all thanks to you that they got the opportunity to come to Binhai Grand Hospital for advanced training.”
Yu Zhiming just smiled. “As long as they cherish this opportunity, work hard, and try not to make too many mistakes, that’ll be enough.”
Just then, Yu Zhiming’s phone rang. He took out his phone and saw it was a call from Dr. Cui Zhitan.
Yu Zhiming answered, asking with a smile, “Doctor Cui, don’t tell me that patient changed her mind again?”
Doctor Cui chuckled over the phone. “Doctor Wang already finished her surgery. It’s too late for her to change her mind now.”
After a brief pause, he asked, “Dr. Yu, I’ve found another patient whose case is extremely similar to hers.”
“Are you interested?”
Yu Zhiming was taken aback for a moment. Doctor Cui’s voice continued from the phone, “As the medical hub for the surrounding provinces, we here in Binhai are never short on patients.”
“I just asked a few friends, and I’ve already found three or five colon cancer patients with cases similar to hers.”
“I picked out the one that’s the absolute closest match.”
Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but chuckle. “Doctor Cui, please don’t read too much into it. I really didn’t take it to heart.”
“I completely understand why the patient made that choice out of caution. I’m not the least bit angry.”
Doctor Cui said in a low voice, “Dr. Yu, I know you aren’t angry. If you were, it would show on your face.”
“I’m the one who’s bothered by it.”
“Doctor Wang is a Chief Physician. And in the field of general surgery at Huashan Hospital, I may not be number one, but nobody can deny I’m in the top three.”
“With the two of us vouching for you, and with your own established reputation, Dr. Yu—you’ve proven your skills time and time again.”
“And that patient still backed out at the last minute! It makes me and Doctor Wang look like we had some kind of ulterior motive.”
“Dr. Yu, to be honest with you…”
Doctor Cui said, filled with righteous indignation, “I just can’t let this go.”
“So I worked through the night to find a similar case. I have to counter that family’s doubts and wariness with hard facts.”
These words made Yu Zhiming grimace.
’How could a renowned expert in general surgery like Doctor Cui be acting so impulsively, like a child?’
’Still, this seemingly childish behavior was exactly what he’d been hoping for.’
’How could he possibly not mind at all?’
’He had sacrificed his half-hour power nap at lunch and pushed himself to work faster all afternoon.’
’And what was the result? He had rushed over, full of enthusiasm, only to have a bucket of cold water dumped on him.’
’The patient had questioned his age, doubted his skills, and ultimately chose the more conservative surgical plan.’
’Now he had a chance for a do-over…’
Yu Zhiming decided to go with the flow. “Doctor Cui, since you’re so worked up about it, I’ll join you in this little escapade.”
“As for the time of the surgery…”
Yu Zhiming thought for a moment. “Let’s schedule it for… six o’clock tomorrow evening.”
“I’ll do my best to work faster tomorrow, finish the physicals ahead of schedule, and get there a bit early.”
As he said this, he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve from Gu Qingning.
Yu Zhiming looked over at her, and she whispered, “Zhiming, don’t forget, tomorrow evening…”
“You have to go with me to meet some of my cousins.”
Yu Zhiming nodded, signaling that he hadn’t forgotten.
“Doctor Cui, after the surgery, you’re not going to deliberately put the new patient in the same room as the first one just to provoke her, are you?”
Yu Zhiming felt he had to add a reminder, “A good mood is a major factor in post-operative recovery, especially with cancer.”
“If you go too far, people will talk.”
A sly chuckle came from Doctor Cui over the phone. “I’m the dignified deputy director of general surgery, a senior Chief Physician. How could I possibly do something so petty?”
“Of course, a nurse might just *happen* to let that family know we successfully performed the colon cancer resection together…”
After ending the call with Doctor Cui, Yu Zhiming told Gu Qingning that it was a cooperative surgery and wouldn’t take more than an hour of his time from start to finish.
He wouldn’t be late for her get-together with the other young members of the Gu Family.
Yu Xinyue couldn’t help but ask, “You’re going to meet Qingning’s family?”
Yu Zhiming quickly corrected her. “Third Sister, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just going to meet her cousins, the ones her age. I’m just going as her plus-one to help her make a good showing.”
“Qingning and I are just friends right now.”
Gu Qingning giggled. “Third Sister, with Zhiming’s height, looks, and physique, he’s definitely someone you can show off.”
Yu Xinyue said meaningfully, “Qingning, none of us siblings are bad-looking, and Fifth Brother is the most handsome of us all.”
“Bringing Fifth Brother along to make an impression will definitely not disappoint.”
Then she added a reminder, “Qingning, I know these get-togethers can get lively, but whatever you do, don’t let Fifth Brother drink.”
Gu Qingning nodded. “Third Sister, I’ll remember. I won’t let Zhiming drink.”
Yu Zhiming rolled his eyes. “Third Sister, I’m not a child, and I’m not an idiot. Do I really need someone to watch over me when it comes to drinking?”
Yu Xinyue huffed. “It’s always better to have someone looking out for you than to have no one at all.”
She turned her head to Yu Xiangwan, who was busy chatting on her phone, giggling from time to time.
“Lao Si, that Zhang Bai, does he drink?”
Yu Xiangwan replied casually, “He drinks, but not a lot, I think.”
Yu Xinyue instructed, “Lao Si, when he gets back to Binhai, find an opportunity to get him really drunk. See how he handles his liquor and what he’s like when he’s wasted.”
She then explained to Gu Qingning, “Any potential son-in-law of the Yu Family has to pass the drinking test.”
Gu Qingning asked curiously, “Third Sister, do you have to be a heavy drinker to become a Yu Family son-in-law?”
Yu Xinyue laughed. “It’s not about whether he can hold his liquor. In fact, it’s even better if he can’t drink at all.”
“The main thing is to see how he behaves when he drinks—whether he’s sneaky, a cheat, or a sloppy drunk.”
“We also have to see how he acts when he’s completely drunk—if he spouts nonsense, gets loud and rowdy, or even becomes violent.”
“Any guy who drinks will be made to get drunk at least once before he meets our parents to finalize the relationship.”
Gu Qingning said, “Oh,” and nodded. “That makes sense. You should definitely test a potential son-in-law’s character when he’s drinking.”
“Some people aren’t themselves when they’re drunk. They throw tantrums, smash things, and hit people.”
Yu Xinyue grunted in agreement, then added with a laugh, “Qingning, my husband nearly failed that test.”
“When he got drunk, he became unbearably cheerful, singing and dancing all over the place. My mom was so disgusted at the time…”