Old Li finished speaking and once again curiously looked through the scans. He was very curious about what could have happened to make this person’s leg break yet not fall apart.

The Emergency Department Director answered a question Old Li hadn’t voiced, "You tell me first, does this situation require surgery?"

"What’s the point of surgery? The bone fragments are all in their proper places. Why bother cutting this person open?"

"Don’t we need to add a steel plate to fix all these fragments in place?"

"There’s no need for a steel plate. These bones might look shattered into several pieces, but they’re all still held tightly together. All that’s needed is an external fixation, allowing these cracks to heal naturally."

Old Li smacked his lips. "If it were a comminuted fracture, where the fragments were displaced, we would perform surgery. We’d adjust the fragments back into position and then add steel plates. This way, the Patient recovers more quickly. But since these fragments haven’t scattered, there’s no risk of them becoming misaligned. Therefore, surgery isn’t necessary, nor is adding a steel plate. However, after external fixation, the Patient will have to lie in bed for two months, and this leg must not bear any weight at all."

The Emergency Department Director nodded. "Alright, your assessment is good enough for me. Xiao He, did you hear that? Hurry up and get the Patient a cast."

Xiao He nodded and left the office.

Old Li, still looking at the scans, showed no intention of leaving. He asked curiously, "Come on, tell me. How exactly did this injury happen?"

"He was hit by a car."

"A car accident?" Old Li looked incredulous. "Are you kidding me? Is lying fun? Come on, tell me what kind of car hit him, and how it could possibly shatter the bones without scattering them—cracked but not completely broken?"

"It’s true, why would I lie to you? It really was a car accident. The perpetrator just left with the police a little while ago."

"Old Zhang, you’re being difficult. Just tell me properly."

The Emergency Department Director smiled helplessly. "I’m really not deceiving you. The leg injury is indeed a comminuted fracture, and the fibula was dislocated. However, before the injured person was brought to the hospital, a doctor performed a manual reduction on him. Actually, when I first saw the scans, I thought the same thing you did. If it weren’t for the perpetrator and the police being there, I wouldn’t believe this injury was caused by a car accident either."

Old Li’s eyes widened in disbelief. "It was done right there at the accident scene?"

"When our doctors arrived, the injured person’s leg was immobilized with two books and tied up with strips of cloth torn from his pant legs. After asking around, everyone said that a doctor had performed the reduction with his bare hands."

"Good heavens, blind manipulation! That level of skill with his hands is simply heaven-defying." Old Li pointed at the scans on the computer screen. "Look here, all the fragments are in their correct positions. Not a single one is missing or misplaced."

Old Li grew excited. "Old Zhang, where’s the Patient now? Take me to see him. I want to ask him what happened at the time."

The Emergency Department Director gave a wry smile. "You can’t ask him."

"Why not?"

"He woke up from the pain during the manual reduction and then passed out again from it. Plus, he’d had a bit to drink, so he’s still unconscious."

Old Li’s mouth fell open. "They didn’t give the Patient any Anesthetic? They just set it raw?"

The Emergency Department Director rolled his eyes. "Have you done so many surgeries your brain’s gone soft? In the operating room, you have anesthesiologists. He was on the side of the road! Where would anyone get Anesthetic out there?"

He then pulled Old Li to his feet. "There’s nothing for you here. You should go home. I’m still very busy; I have several more scans and inspection sheets to review."

「...」

After a restless night, Du Heng woke up early the next day.

Before bed, he had watched a short video recommending "Ma Dao." Since it was on his way to the hospital, he decided to stop by and try their "truly authentic" breakfast. He then left the small shop, grumbling.

Cao Binghe had offered to pick Du Heng up, but Du Heng had already arrived at Cao Binghe’s office early.

"Doctor Du, I live nearby too. I can pick you up on my way to work in the morning."

Du Heng held a bottle of mineral water and took a sip to rinse his mouth. I still have that raw bean taste in my mouth, he thought. It seemed he still couldn’t get used to that "overly authentic" soy milk.

"No need. I woke up early and enjoyed a walk by myself." Du Heng put down the mineral water, took the white gown Cao Binghe handed him, and put it on. "Did that female Patient from yesterday come back?"

Cao Binghe replied quietly while putting on his own work clothes, "She came back yesterday afternoon, a little after four. I didn’t notify you since it was late."

Du Heng nodded. "Let’s go see her then. We’ll prescribe her medication today and begin the Treatment."

"Let’s go."

When they arrived at the hospital room, Du Heng didn’t ask what the Patient and her family had been doing yesterday. That was Cao Binghe’s responsibility as the attending doctor; it had nothing to do with Du Heng.

After the Check-up, Du Heng found no significant changes from the previous day. He prescribed the medication according to the house he had already thought of and signed it off along with Cao Binghe. The Patient’s Treatment had officially begun. Whether it was effective, and how effective, would be known in ten days.

Just as Du Heng and Cao Binghe finished preparing the house, Chu Xuwei arrived with a group to start ward rounds.

Du Heng decided to join them, curious to see how ward rounds were conducted in a Big Hospital.

"Doctor Cao, aren’t your main ward rounds on Mondays?"

"They are, but there was a hospital meeting yesterday morning that Director Chu attended. So, Director Zheng led the ward rounds instead."

"Who is Director Zheng?" Du Heng couldn’t recall anyone by that name from the introductions the previous day. I should have some impression, he thought, but I genuinely have no memory of this Director Zheng.

"Director Zheng is our department’s Chief Chinese Medicine Doctor. He took leave for some personal matters yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, I see."

The Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department was a large one. When the Department Director conducted ward rounds, a huge entourage followed. Du Heng and Cao Binghe stayed at the very back of the group, waiting for Cao Binghe’s Patients to be seen before Cao Binghe would move to the front.

However, as soon as they exited the first hospital room, Chu Xuwei spotted Du Heng at the tail end of the procession. He quickly beckoned him over to walk at the front with him and Director Zheng.

This immediately displeased several of the attending doctors and deputy chief physicians.

A mere village doctor from some remote area, just here to observe in the department, and he gets to stand in front of us? Us, the favored elites of the Capital? they fumed internally. Where does he get the audacity to stand at the very front?

But Du Heng paid them no mind. His original intention was simply to observe how a Big Hospital conducted ward rounds and see how it differed from his own small Health Clinic. After all, having come all the way to the Capital, he should learn something to take back with him, aside from just witnessing their medical skills.

Even if they glare until their eyeballs pop out, what does it have to do with me? Du Heng thought. It’s not like they can bite me. I don’t plan on working here long-term anyway, so why bother trying to curry favor with them?

So, when Chu Xuwei called him forward, Du Heng didn’t hesitate and moved to the front.

However, as the rounds continued, Du Heng grew a little disappointed. It was exactly the same as conducting ward rounds with the few staff members at his own Health Clinic. Moreover, the Patients’ illnesses weren’t the complex and rare cases he had imagined; they were all exceedingly common conditions.

Gradually, Du Heng began to lose interest.

But someone, it seemed, was determined not to let him drift off and insisted on pulling him back into the situation.

"Director Chu, this Patient is sixty years old. He was admitted to the hospital last Thursday, reporting thirty years of stomach distension and pain. I diagnosed him with spleen and stomach qi deficiency and prescribed Center-Supplementing Qi-Boosting Decoction to strengthen his spleen and nourish his qi. He has taken ten doses of the medicine, but as of this morning, the Patient still experiences stomach distension and stomachaches."

Chu Xuwei took the disease record and flipped through it. Then, he sat down beside the Patient and personally conducted an examination.

Just as he stood up and was about to speak, the same doctor who had presented the case cut in, "Director Chu, Deputy Director Du is an expert invited by Professor Lan for an academic exchange. Why don’t we ask Deputy Director Du to help diagnose this Patient and see if he can identify the problem?"

As this doctor spoke, he heavily emphasized the words "Deputy Director" and "expert," his sarcastic intent perfectly clear.

Hearing this, Chu Xuwei’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the doctor. Who invited Du Heng? Chu Xuwei thought furiously. It was Lan Changhua, my own Teacher! This doctor questioning Du Heng is questioning Professor Lan, and by extension, he’s questioning me, the Department Director! Such Gallbladder!

The doctor who had spoken flinched under Chu Xuwei’s fierce gaze. He suddenly realized that Du Heng’s presence in their Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department must have been approved by Chu Xuwei himself, in addition to Lan Changhua’s backing.

I was a fool, momentarily blinded by jealousy, he thought with regret. But things had already come to this; he could only brace himself and push forward. If he backed down now, he would have offended Chu Xuwei for nothing. It was better to be audacious, drag Du Heng into this, and let everyone see the true colors of this "township Deputy Director." If Du Heng turned out to be a fraud, there might still be a sliver of hope for him. Otherwise, he’d better prepare to be given a hard time.

"Director Chu, Deputy Director Du just arrived yesterday and has already taken on a Cancer Patient. This Patient of mine has suffered from stomach distension for thirty years; we truly need the guidance of an expert like Deputy Director Du."

Chu Xuwei clenched his back molars. This blasted idiot is too damn presumptuous! he fumed internally.

But with the challenging doctor’s words hanging in the air and everyone’s eyes fixed on him, Chu Xuwei knew he had to let Du Heng demonstrate his abilities. Otherwise, before the day was out, gossip about Du Heng, Lan Changhua, and himself would spread like wildfire throughout the hospital. For a moment, however, he was at a loss as to how to broach the subject with Du Heng.

Du Heng, noticing Chu Xuwei’s predicament, spoke up before his host could. "Director Chu, perhaps I could take a look? My very purpose in coming to the Capital is to encounter as many complex and unusual cases as possible. Now that such an opportunity has presented itself, I would be delighted."

Chu Xuwei let out a soft sigh of relief, immensely grateful for Du Heng’s perceptiveness and for saving the situation.

"In that case, we’ll have to trouble Director Du to lend his expertise and help us see where the problem lies."

With that said, he smiled and stepped aside, making way for Du Heng to examine the Patient.