The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 396: Becoming famous in one fell swoop known all over the world
(Thanks to book friends 20200818151820324, Helpless Clouds, Thousand Hardships, Heart Dancing Moon for their encouraging votes)
Their relationship became more harmonious with the shift in roles. The next morning, Qiao Xuezhi personally prepared breakfast for Liu Banxia and his beloved daughter.
Qiaoqiao, who had slept well, was in high spirits and enjoyed her breakfast. She was also very happy inside; it wasn’t as if she didn’t care at all about Old Qiao’s opinion.
In fact, Old Qiao’s cooking skills were just average, and Qiaoqiao probably inherited that. But breakfast was harmonious, not due to the taste, but because of the relaxed atmosphere.
After finishing her meal, Qiaoqiao lazily sprawled on the sofa and glanced out the window. It was a little cloudy, and the weather forecast predicted snow; it was likely reliable.
"Let me change your dressing in a bit. I want to play doctor too," Qiaoqiao said with a grin.
"Sure, let’s do it now. After that, we can decide what to do today. It’s such a rare break; we can’t waste it," Liu Banxia said.
Qiaoqiao nodded in delight. Although she had been a little worried yesterday that she might hurt Liu Banxia while changing his dressing, she was full of energy today.
She removed the gauze from the wound and furrowed her brows. The wound looked quite scary, and her earlier excitement quickly turned to distress.
"Tsk tsk, it looks like Teacher Zhou sutured this for me," Liu Banxia said.
"You can tell?" Qiaoqiao asked curiously.
"Of course. I’ve assisted Teacher Zhou in many surgeries. You start to recognize the style after seeing it so many times," Liu Banxia replied.
"Just wipe it with an iodine cotton ball, then apply some ointment. Cover it with gauze, secure it with adhesive tape, and Dr. Qiao will have won her first battle. Come on, don’t be afraid to get started."
Qiaoqiao wrinkled her nose, picked up an iodine cotton ball with tweezers, and gave herself a little pep talk.
She was a complete novice. At first, she wiped very gently, but it wasn’t enough to clean the wound properly. So, Liu Banxia encouraged her again, and Qiaoqiao finally put more pressure into it.
It was a good thing Liu Banxia had mentally prepared himself; otherwise, he would have definitely yelped. Even so, he could only barely maintain his smile as sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Qiaoqiao was quite satisfied with her handiwork. After applying the ointment, she stuck several strips of adhesive tape onto the gauze. She was worried the tape might fall off, so she made sure to reinforce it.
"Is it that hot in here? I can turn the heat down a bit later," Qiaoqiao said with concern, noticing the beads of sweat on Liu Banxia’s forehead.
"It’s just sweat from the hot porridge I had. It’s nothing," Liu Banxia said with a smile.
Comrade Old Qiao, watching from the side, felt gratified. Perhaps Liu Banxia didn’t have much time to spend with his daughter, but at least when it came to doting on Qiaoqiao, he was doing a fine job.
He had just seen the muscles on Liu Banxia’s face twitching repeatedly. Most people probably wouldn’t have been able to endure Qiaoqiao changing their dressing.
"What should we do next?" Qiaoqiao asked after taking a photo of her handiwork with her phone as a keepsake.
"How about we go over to the Qiu Family to freeload a meal again? Otherwise, lunch will be a hassle. I’m not ashamed to ask, how about you?" Liu Banxia asked.
"Me? If you’re not ashamed, I’m even less so. But it’s not right to make Sister Jingxian go buy groceries again. Let’s go to the supermarket and pick up a few things," Qiaoqiao said.
"Then you two go buy them. I’ll head straight to Old Qiu’s place," Qiao Xuezhi said.
He didn’t feel the slightest bit of psychological burden about freeloading. He and Qiu Huaili were old friends, and Liu Banxia’s relationship with Qiu Huaili was also very solid, so he didn’t care about such things.
Once they arrived at the supermarket, Liu Banxia felt a bit puzzled. It seemed that the supermarket employees and the customers shopping there kept glancing his way.
Could the impact of saving someone making the news be that significant? That shouldn’t be it. They didn’t even get a clear shot of my face in the report; people shouldn’t be able to recognize me.
"What are you staring at? Look, how about this turbot? You can eat it, right?" Qiaoqiao asked.
"I can. Actually, I can eat anything. The wound is on my waist, so it’s not a problem. Haven’t you noticed everyone keeps glancing our way?" Liu Banxia said.
Qiaoqiao looked up; it seemed he was right. She, too, was a bit confused, not understanding what was going on.
"Young man, why is everyone staring at us?" Liu Banxia asked curiously while checking out.
"You must be Dr. Liu Banxia. Everyone’s quite curious about you. For the past two days, there have been news reports and programs about you on TV. You’re amazing," the young man said with a smile.
"Was I on the news again?" Liu Banxia asked in surprise.
"The day before yesterday, it was the news report. Yesterday, they aired a special interview feature about you. Didn’t you know?" the young man asked curiously.
Liu Banxia nodded honestly. "That program was recorded a while ago. I’ll look it up later."
The program, originally scheduled to air tonight, was moved up a day. It was probably due to the buzz from my recent news appearance.
Qiaoqiao, on the other hand, was delighted. As long as Liu Banxia shone, she was happy; there was no need for complicated reasons.
As they were walking to the Qiu Family’s home, Liu Banxia’s phone rang. It was Shi Lei.
"Boss, don’t tell me you need me back for surgery, do you?" Liu Banxia asked after answering.
"Not at the moment," Shi Lei said. "The director asked me to run something by you. There are more interview requests coming in. What are your personal thoughts on them? Currently, the hospital has received no fewer than ten from newspapers and television outlets."
"Sigh... Boss, I really don’t want to do them. But if the director says it’s a must, I guess I have to," Liu Banxia sighed.
"You know how I sometimes run my mouth. I haven’t even watched last night’s interview. I have no idea what I said, but I feel like I said quite a lot."
Shi Lei chuckled. "It’s good that you’re aware. But what you said addressed a very real issue in our line of work. You were even attacked by a patient, so it was perfectly appropriate for you to discuss doctor-patient relationships."
"The most outstanding part was the subsequent patient interviews arranged by the TV station. Grandpa Cao and Uncle Jiang from your old rented apartment complex certainly had a lot of good things to say about you."
"Moreover, the medical knowledge popularization efforts led by our hospital were also mentioned and received positive recognition. They said there will be a follow-up episode, probably edited from more of your interview footage."
"Oh, that happened too? I really should go and thank them personally," Liu Banxia said with feeling.
"By the way, Su Wenhao is my lifesaver, in a way. You need to guide him well. When I’m back at work, I’ll be assessing him. He has to show some improvement; no progress won’t do."
Shi Lei sounded troubled. "It’s only been two days; how much progress can he make? I can’t be bothered with you anymore. I’ll just pass your opinion on to the director, and that’ll be it. You stay home and rest well. Don’t go running around."
With that, Shi Lei hung up. He couldn’t keep talking to this guy; otherwise, he’d end up saddled with a load of impossible tasks.
Liu Banxia didn’t even need to elaborate; Su Wenhao had practically become a mascot in the emergency center by now.
"Banxia, you’re really something now! You’ve practically become famous overnight, known far and wide. I’m quite curious, how did you manage to cure so many people in such a short time?" Qiu Huaili asked as soon as Liu Banxia arrived at the Qiu Family home.
"You saw the program too?" Liu Banxia asked. "Is the hospital ever short on patients? I see a large number every day; it’s really nothing special."
"How could we have missed it?" Wang Jingxian said. "Your Brother Qiu even put his photo with you up on the photo wall. He’s just waiting to show you off."
"What’s the big deal? He’s my brother, after all," Qiu Huaili said gleefully.
"If I’d known, I would have watched it. Yesterday, I just read books, and watching a replay doesn’t quite have the same excitement," Liu Banxia joked.
"Then I want to watch it too! You help Sister Jingxian with the vegetables; I’ll watch TV," Qiaoqiao declared.
She then plopped down on the sofa and started searching for Liu Banxia’s program.
"Today’s Banxia is really something, huh? This news has been a huge boost for you," Qiu Huaili said.
"And Ming Yuan mentioned that the topics you discussed have sparked a lot of public debate, helping more people understand the medical profession. I think that’s a very good thing."
"Actually, if I weren’t familiar with you, I’d never have known how tough and exhausting being a doctor is. Especially with that ’flying scalpel’ issue—you really can’t just look at the cash-receiving aspect."
"I regretted mentioning that right after the interview. I really shouldn’t have brought it up," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.
"What’s wrong with that? It’s an existing conflict, after all. But it doesn’t seem easy to resolve, does it?" Qiao Xuezhi asked.
Liu Banxia nodded. "If regulations are relaxed, you’ll get a mix of good and bad elements, and things will become chaotic. Tighter regulations, while potentially creating difficulties for some patients, can ensure that medical standards are maintained."
"It’s a difficult balance to strike. There are too many unscrupulous doctors out there. Many will add unnecessary services at the last minute to charge more money, and that ruins the reputation of the entire profession."
Qiao Xuezhi nodded. One bad apple spoils the whole barrel.
While Liu Banxia helped prepare the vegetables in the kitchen, Qiaoqiao sat on the sofa, watching the program with great delight.
Her favorite parts were when the interviewed patients praised Liu Banxia. Every compliment made her beam with joy for a long time. After the program ended, she picked up her phone again, curious to see the online reactions.
"Oh my god, oh my god! This is incredible! You’re trending! And you’re number two!" After scrolling a few times, Qiaoqiao ran back into the kitchen.
Liu Banxia peeked at her phone and saw it was true. He felt a sense of resignation. Everyone likes fame, but he wasn’t particularly fond of achieving it this way.
No wonder so many media outlets want to interview me. I’ll have to see what the hospital’s stance is. This whole thing is putting a lot of pressure on me; I’ll need time to process it.
Qiaoqiao happily nestled back onto the sofa and continued to play with her phone.
Actually, the reason Liu Banxia’s story caused such a huge stir was also related to the incidents he had been involved in some time ago. Back then, public opinion about him was mixed, with both praise and criticism. This time, however, the sentiment was entirely positive.
The camera footage was very clear: he had fallen headfirst. The bloodstains on his waist were visible when he was being taken to the hospital. That couldn’t be faked; you couldn’t even stage a photo like that.
