Chapter 242: 241: I Won’t Be Joining You
Chapter 242: Chapter 241: I Won’t Be Joining You
A little after three in the afternoon, Yu Zhiming led Gu Qingning and Zeng Yan to Huashan Hospital, heading straight for the main office of the Qi Yue Medical Research Center.
Having been away for a few days, Yu Zhiming noticed a thin layer of dust had already settled on his desk.
His potted jade plant, however, still looked lush and vibrant, showing no signs of wilting.
Zeng Yan looked around the office with great interest.
“Uncle, is this where you work?”
“I thought that since you’re so famous now, the hospital would have given you a big, private office!”
Gu Qingning answered for Yu Zhiming, “Your uncle’s dedicated office, examination room, and operating room are being renovated. It’ll probably be a few more months before they’re ready to use.”
Zeng Yan said, “Oh,” then asked expectantly, “Uncle, which doctor will I be shadowing to experience a doctor’s life?”
“Is it in this building?”
Seeing the kid’s excited face, Yu Zhiming immediately dismissed the idea of placing her in the center.
The center didn’t have many patients, so the work for interns and residents was relatively light.
The hardest part was just pulling all-nighters on duty.
’That kind of hardship probably won’t be enough to scare her off.’
The best option would be to find a resident who hadn’t been on the job for long, didn’t have a strong background, and was still in their training period.
A resident like that would be working grueling hours, doing all the dirty and exhausting jobs, and constantly getting chewed out by attending physicians.
The question now was, who could Yu Zhiming entrust Zeng Yan to?
He knew several Chief Physicians he was on good terms with, but a rank-and-file resident…
As he thought about it, someone actually came to mind.
Bao Wan, the one who had come to ask him to give her parents a check-up before the National Day holiday.
Thinking of her, Yu Zhiming immediately found her number and gave her a call.
The call connected quickly. The background noise coming through the phone made Yu Zhiming realize at once that she was at the hospital.
“Dr. Bao, this is Yu Zhiming! Aren’t you with your parents, showing them around Binhai?”
“Dr. Yu, hello!”
On the other end of the line, Bao Wan said with a wry smile, “Dr. Yu, now is the time for us to prove ourselves.”
“Forget about the department not giving us time off; even if they did, we wouldn’t dare actually take a break.”
“Besides, my parents don’t need me to accompany them. They’re more comfortable exploring on their own.”
Yu Zhiming said, “Oh,” and asked, “Dr. Bao, I’m at the Qi Yue Medical Research Center right now. If it’s convenient, could you come over for a moment?”
“I need your help with something.”
“Dr. Yu, please wait a moment. I’ll be right there…”
A little over ten minutes later, a breathless Bao Wan arrived, her face flushed and beaded with sweat.
“Dr. Bao, it was just a small thing. You didn’t have to rush. By the way, which department are you rotating in now?”
“Dr. Yu, I’m in the ENT department right now!”
Bao Wan replied, quickly trying to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.
She secretly decided that no matter what Yu Zhiming asked her to do, she would do it to the best of her ability.
’This might be my only chance in this lifetime to get closer to a doctor with such a promising future as Dr. Yu.’
Yu Zhiming pointed to Zeng Yan beside him and introduced her. “This is my niece, Zeng Yan. She’s suddenly developed a strong interest in medicine and says she wants to experience a doctor’s life.”
“It’s the National Day holiday, so she has time off. I was hoping she could follow you for the next couple of days and experience just how hard being a doctor is.”
“Would that be convenient for you?”
Bao Wan beamed. “Of course, Dr. Yu. Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure Zeng Yan gets the most authentic experience of a doctor’s life.”
A thought suddenly occurred to Yu Zhiming, and he asked, “Dr. Bao, is there space for someone to stay at your place?”
Bao Wan understood what Yu Zhiming meant. “Yes, there’s room. My bed can fit two, or she can sleep on the floor.”
“It’s just that my living conditions are a bit basic…”
Yu Zhiming said dismissively, “Basic conditions are fine. If you can live there, so can she. It’s only for a couple of days.”
He then turned to Zeng Yan and instructed her, “For the next two days, you’ll stick with this Sister Bao. You’ll eat and live together.”
“When Dr. Bao is working, you just watch from the side. Remember, do not interfere with Dr. Bao’s work.”
Zeng Yan nodded her little head.
Yu Zhiming added another instruction, “Zeng Yan, just think of yourself as an objective observer. Follow and truthfully record what Sister Bao’s work is like for these two days.”
“Do you understand?”
Zeng Yan hummed in agreement. “Uncle, I understand. I’ll do my best not to disturb Sister Bao’s normal work.”
Yu Zhiming looked at Bao Wan and said, “Dr. Bao, your work comes first. If she gets in your way, just send her back.”
“This ’life experience’ can happen anytime. There’s no rush.”
Bao Wan smiled and replied, “Dr. Yu, I’ll coordinate and arrange everything. I’ll just think of it as having a little shadow.”
Yu Zhiming smiled with satisfaction. “Alright, let this work experience begin now.”
“If anything comes up, call me anytime…”
The next moment, Bao Wan led Zeng Yan, who was shouldering a large backpack, out of the main office…
Through the hallway window, Yu Zhiming saw Zeng Yan happily trotting after Bao Wan, quickening her pace as they headed toward the ENT department.
“Qingning, do you think this will scare her off?”
Gu Qingning said thoughtfully, “I don’t think the chances are high. Although I haven’t spent much time with Zeng Yan, I get the feeling she’s a kid who has her own mind.”
“I can also see that she really does seem to like the idea of being a doctor.”
Yu Zhiming sighed softly. “I heard her mom owns several properties in Guangshen.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to just be a rich kid? Why go looking for hardship?”
Gu Qingning chuckled. “Kids from wealthy families are the ones who *should* study medicine. Without the pressure to make a living, driven by interest and a sense of duty, it’s easier for them to achieve great things in the medical field.”
After a pause, she added, a hint of schadenfreude in her voice, “Zhiming, I think you can start working on Zeng Yan’s school transfer now.”
“From Aquatic University to Binhai Jiaotong University… that’s no small leap, and it’s a change in major, too.”
“Who knows how many favors you’ll have to call in!”
Yu Zhiming rubbed his temples. “Calling in favors isn’t the problem. I’m just afraid it won’t be possible.”
“This isn’t like transferring high schools. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. It seems fraught with difficulties.”
Gu Qingning chuckled. “Zhiming, something like this might seem next to impossible for us, but for people at a higher level, it’s just a matter of a single phone call.”
Her eyes darted around. “Now that word of your skills has spread abroad, the higher-ups are definitely worried about you being poached.”
“Zhiming, if you ask the leadership for a favor now, you might get twice the result with half the effort.”
Gu Qingning then added as a reminder, “And if you can get it done sooner, Zeng Yan can start her studies earlier and not fall too far behind in her coursework.”
Yu Zhiming understood immediately. The hint was all he needed.
He took out his phone and chuckled. “Then I’ll go straight to the top. Let’s see if the Dean has the right connections.”
And as it happened, Yu Zhiming did have Dean Li Yao’s contact information.
He dialed Dean Li’s number, and the call connected quickly.
Li Yao’s voice came slowly through the phone.
“Dr. Yu, it’s rare for you to call me. Whatever it is, just say it directly. No need to be hesitant.”
Yu Zhiming organized his thoughts for a moment and said, “Dean, sorry to disturb your National Day holiday. I have a personal matter I’d like to ask you about, to see if it’s even possible.”
“A personal matter?”
Li Yao chuckled over the phone. “Dr. Yu, why don’t you tell me what it is first? I’ll see if there’s any way I can help.”
Yu Zhiming spoke quickly, “Dean, I have a niece who just got into Binhai Aquatic University this year, majoring in aquaculture.”
“She’s suddenly developed a very strong interest in medicine and wants to transfer schools to study medicine.”
“Dean, is something like that possible?”
“Aquatic University? Transferring to medicine? And a university transfer on top of that?”
Li Yao repeated the key points over the phone, then said slowly, “Dr. Yu, that’s quite difficult.”
“Transferring majors within the same university is easy to handle.”
“But when it involves transferring universities, the difficulty increases exponentially…”
After a moment of silence, Li Yao’s voice came through again.
“I’ve never heard of anyone pulling something like this off.”
“How about this, Dr. Yu: I’ll ask a few friends for you first and see if it’s even a possibility.”
Yu Zhiming quickly expressed his gratitude. “Dean, thank you so much. I have absolutely no connections for this sort of thing, so you were the first person I thought of.”
“My niece was originally thinking of dropping out and retaking the entrance exams, but I don’t want her to waste a year.”
“Dean, I’ll have to trouble you to look into this. If there’s any chance it can be done, I’ll handle the legwork.”
Li Yao chuckled. “Dr. Yu, rest assured, I will definitely ask around for you.”
After a brief pause, he asked, “Dr. Yu, what about those doctors from Johns Hopkins Hospital?”
Yu Zhiming quickly replied, “Dean, I’ve already arranged it through Secretary He. We’re meeting this afternoon at the administration building.”
“Dean, I’m still in a phase of learning and gaining experience, and the hospital has been so good to me.”
“Besides, the ultra-early-stage cancer project has only just begun. Dean, I can’t make promises for the distant future, but I won’t be irresponsible and leave within the next ten years…”
After ending the call with Dean Li, Yu Zhiming took Gu Qingning and hurried to the main administration building.
First, they met up with He Yingjun, who had rushed over, along with a few mid-level hospital managers who had come specifically to help host.
They made small talk while waiting for another ten-odd minutes before the doctors from the United States finally arrived.
There were three of them again. One was the Chinese-American internist they had met last time, Claude Su.
Another was a Black man, and he appeared to be the leader of the trio.
After introductions were made, the Black doctor said with a hint of dissatisfaction, “Dr. Yu, I had to cancel several patient appointments to wait for you.”
“To save time, Dr. Yu, as you Chinese often say, ’seeing is believing.’ Let’s start by seeing your skill in detecting early-stage cancer.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhiming stood up, clearly displeased.
“You previously said this was a medical exchange. That, plus the fact that you are guests who have traveled a long way, is why I cut my vacation short and rushed back.”
“’Seeing is believing’?”
“’See my skill’?”
“Do my skills require your validation and approval?”
“I made a special trip here, not to perform some kind of show for you. I’m afraid I won’t be participating.”
“Goodbye…”
With that, Yu Zhiming turned and left the meeting room without a backward glance.
Gu Qingning quickly trotted after him.
The three American doctors who remained were left looking at each other in bewilderment.
He Yingjun and the few hospital managers who were there to host struggled to keep a straight face and stop themselves from laughing…