Chapter 33: Traps, Everywhere

When family members cause a scene at a hospital, the outcome depends heavily on the hospital's status. The county hospital was completely helpless against such disturbances; if a family had influence and numbers, they would simply seal off the entrance. The brothers of this particular patient numbered seven or eight, and their extended relatives were even more numerous. Since the wheat harvest was over and they had time to spare, they followed the patient to the county hospital to stir up trouble.

Zou Pingshan had been left looking haggard over the past few days. When he tried to reason with them using the law, they responded with hooliganism. Having just become the hospital president, he lacked authority, and the security department followed orders only when they felt like it. The women from the patient's family were so aggressive they practically shoved their fingers into his mouth.

What could he do? Pay up and transfer the patient. A few village women had brought him to the verge of a breakdown. He couldn't afford to provoke them, so he chose to retreat. He paid out lost wages, nutritional allowances, and hospitalization fees, but even that wasn't enough to satisfy them. Just as he finally managed to get rid of them, the county government called. Someone had reported the incident, claiming the county hospital had committed malpractice resulting in a death, and the family had joined forces with fellow villagers to petition the municipal government. People always love a spectacle.

Stability is paramount. A public petition is no small matter, so they immediately summoned Zou Pingshan for questioning. Dong Hua had been in office for just over a year; while the previous incident involving Batu hadn't affected her much, she was in a foul mood. She was even more enraged by the hospital incident. The informant had also mentioned that Zou Pingshan was bullying a new college graduate by sending Zhang Fan to a rural clinic, which made her furious.

"What is going on?" Dong Hua asked, her tone icy.

"The surgery department didn't handle it well. An infection set in, so the patient was transferred," Zou Pingshan stammered, feeling wronged. He realized he had no way to shift the blame. The vice president had been sent away for training, Nur had submitted his retirement papers, and Tursun had gone to the city hospital to deal with hemorrhoids. As a senior physician in internal medicine, he was at his wit's end. He couldn't possibly call in doctors from superior hospitals every time a patient arrived. Where would he hide his face if he did that?

Nur had been terrified by the Batu incident. He decided he was done and, since he was approaching retirement age anyway, he filed his papers. Tursun, hearing about the surgery department's trouble, conveniently checked himself into the city hospital.

"Why didn't you ask for leave?"

"I did!"

"From whom?"

"Our department head, Nur."

"Then why does he deny it?"

"He was probably drunk again. Ask him when he's sober!" This conversation between Zou Pingshan and Tursun had ended with Zou smashing his phone. What kind of people were these?

Dong Hua already had a low opinion of him. Using connections to become president was one thing, but if he couldn't manage the hospital and bullied Zhang Fan, she would make sure he learned his lesson. She had subconsciously come to regard Zhang Fan as one of her people. "This is a county-level hospital. You call for superior doctors for a simple fracture and end up causing a disaster—what is the point of this hospital? What is the point of you as president? Can you do the job or not? If not, get out. There are plenty of capable people in this world; do you really think you're indispensable?" The office door was open, and it seemed Dong Hua wanted to put on a show for others to see. When a woman in power loses her temper, it is truly terrifying.

Zou Pingshan stumbled out of the county government building, trembling. He hammered his chest in regret, wishing he had stayed a simple head of internal medicine instead of coming here to be humiliated. Back at the city hospital, he was someone of status; even the president wouldn't speak to him this way. He had been so angry he nearly choked, especially at the final comment: "You had better bring Zhang Fan back immediately. Superior leaders are waiting for him to attend to their medical needs."

After Shi Lei finished reporting the incident, he went into the city to drink with friends. He was determined to cause trouble for Zou Pingshan and strip him of his authority. The county hospital could not return to the days of Batu, where the president ruled unilaterally; otherwise, what was the point of his position as vice president?

At the Sumutai Township Health Center, Zhang Fan and his team finally opened for business. For over a month, aside from the day Li Liang and the others visited, they hadn't seen a soul. Sumutai was a Mongol settlement, and the people followed Lamaism. A "Living Buddha," reportedly a graduate of the Xihai Buddhist Academy, had long been stationed there. For some reason that day, the Living Buddha was in agony, writhing on the ground.

Fortunately, some herdsmen fulfilling a vow discovered him and rushed him to the health center. "Intestinal obstruction—closed-loop obstruction. He needs surgery," Zhang Fan said after his examination.

"Send him to the county?" asked Minke, the head of the health center, who doubled as the anesthesiologist and surgeon. The other staff included one internal medicine doctor and two nurses who primarily acted as midwives.

"We'll do it here. Sending him to the county is too much trouble. Can you handle the anesthesia? Where are his relatives?" The Living Buddha was a distant relative of Minke. "I can handle the anesthesia. He doesn't have any close relatives here; I can make the call."

"Don't do this. You shouldn't risk your future just to make a point. We are orthopedic surgeons," Old Chen said, worried. Any obstruction of intestinal contents is called an intestinal obstruction. It is a common surgical emergency. Sometimes, acute obstruction is difficult to diagnose, progresses rapidly, and can lead to death. Imbalances in water, electrolytes, and acid-base levels, combined with the patient's age and potential cardiopulmonary issues, are frequent causes of mortality.

"You're an orthopedic surgeon, but I never said I was only an orthopedic surgeon. This surgery is simple. You just handle the retractors. Don't worry, I haven't lost my mind." The surgery went smoothly: resection, separation, side-to-side anastomosis of the bowel, and closure. Although Old Chen hadn't practiced general surgery in years, he was more than capable as a first assistant.

"You can actually do general surgery!" He was stunned.

The day after the surgery, the Living Buddha regained consciousness. He didn't speak much Chinese, but through Minke's translation, he expressed his deep gratitude to Zhang Fan, saying that Zhang Fan possessed great wisdom, and gifted him a string of beeswax beads. It was said to have been blessed by a high-ranking monk from Tibet. Minke looked at the beads, drooling with envy.

"The county hospital called for you two to return," Minke informed Zhang Fan and Chen Qifa. Sumutai had no mobile signal, so they relied on a landline. When the wind was strong, the lines would break, and they had to shout. "We came here like losers, we can't just crawl back," Old Chen said, still fuming.

"Enough, let's go. The exam is in a week. You told me not to be stubborn, yet here you are," Zhang Fan said.

"This is different. This is a matter of pride." Despite his grumbling, Old Chen didn't delay.

"Don't come back next year. I'll have sheep to shear," Minke joked as they said their goodbyes. The two caught a ride back to the county.

After being reprimanded by Dong Hua, Zou Pingshan’s arrogance was extinguished. He realized that asking an outsider like Tursun about hospital affairs was a waste of time. He began holding individual meetings, starting with internal medicine—his own specialty. Only after learning the details did he understand why Batu had valued Zhang Fan so much. Zhang Fan was, in effect, the unofficial head of the surgery department. He prepared to welcome them back and soothe their grievances; he couldn't keep calling in outside doctors for every surgery. He was terrified that if Dong Hua lost her temper again, he would be dismissed, and he knew he wouldn't get his old job back at the city hospital.