Chapter 29

To rinse, disinfect, clean the wound, fix the bone fractures, perform vascular and nerve anastomosis, complete the tendon anastomosis, and then suture the skin.

For a single finger amputation, the entire process took less than half an hour.

Su Yixuan passed over the bandages that had been laid out in advance, then bowed her head to tidy up the tools.

Yang Ping took them and began dressing the wound. At the same time, Song Zimo raised his hand for Little Five to remove the towel clamp.

“Your dressing is so beautifully done, flawless,” commented Song Zimo. He began to wonder what Yang Ping’s other surgeries looked like, beyond just finger reattachment. The more he thought about it, the more curious he became. Could they all be equally breath-takingly perfect?

In fact, Yang Ping had also trained on bandage application technique in the system.

“Doctor, thank you so much. Is my finger going to be okay? It won’t affect my game of King of Glory, will it?” the guy with dyed hair asked anxiously.

“It shouldn’t!” Yang Ping replied.

Hearing that, the guy heaved a sigh of relief, his gratitude deep and genuine. “Thank you, Doctor. You guys are my saviors–”

He suddenly caught onto something. These doctors looked too young. “Actually, you guys are my brothers in arms! They wanted to send me to Yunjian Orthopaedics. Fat chance. I insisted on coming here.”

“How did you know our surgical team was impressive?” Song Zimo asked with a smile.

The guy responded: “The TV, the newspapers, they all said the hero’s hand was severed into five pieces, and you guys reattached it. What happened to me is simply minor surgery for you guys.”

The man was a good talker, his words eliciting hearty laughter from everyone in the operating room.

“Remember, you’ll need to stay in bed for ten days. If you want to play King of Glory, use your other hand. You cannot use this finger right now. If you get off the bed before then, your rank in King of Glory will drop, I’m not joking!” Song Zimo admonished him.

“Don’t worry, we will do as you say,” the man said determinedly.

“From your voices, none of you seem to be over 30. So young, yet so accomplished.” He really loved to chat.

Yang Ping fixed his hand to his chest with a sling, gave him a pat: “Alright, it’s time to return to the ward and get some rest.”

The loquacious patient wanted to say more, but decided to keep quiet.

“Hey, Doctor Yang, how about treating us to a meal for having Nurse Su around to assist you day and night in the past few days?” the patrolling nurse teased.

“Of course, why don’t we do it right after we finish work? You guys can choose the place.” Yang Ping suggested with a smile.

“Great!” the patrolling nurse agreed. “Why not one of the places near the hospital? Whichever one that is available?”

“Sure thing!” Little Five chimed in.

“Alright, then let’s meet up after work?” Yang Ping proposed.

Song Zimo declined: “You guys go ahead. I’ll have to pass this time.”

“You probably think the places around the hospital aren’t up to your standards, right?” the patrolling nurse surmised.

Song Zimo replied sheepishly, “No, it’s not that. I really do have plans for today.”

“The rest of you, no one else can bail. Xiao Su, you’re the star, so you’re expected to be there. Today’s meal is on you,” the patrolling nurse declared.

As Su Yixuan tidied the tools, she simply hummed in acknowledgment, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

In the changing room, she glanced at her phone to find it was already past eight o’ clock.

After Su Yixuan went to clean the tools, Yang Ping changed his clothes and sat down on a chair in the changing room to rest. With eyes closed, he seized the opportunity to enter the system.

An alert on the screen reported that the completion of the system task was at 1%, the progress bar had only moved a tiny fraction.

The road is long and winding. Keep working, comrade.

A message appeared in the WeChat group for the surgery team: “Meet at the West Gate of the hospital.”

Yang Ping immediately headed to the West Gate, standing near the entrance to wait. His eyes constantly scanned for his colleagues. One after another, people exited but none of them were his colleagues.

Several interns that he knew walked out in pairs, waving at Yang Ping as they passed, which made him feel rather awkward.

Soon after, Su Yixuan emerged with her hair in a bun, wearing a knee-length skirt, white sandals, and a cross-body bag. Seeing Yang Ping, she pouted. “Where are the others?”

“I didn’t see anyone. Should we just head over and secure a spot?” It didn’t make sense for the two to continue waiting there.

“Where to?” Yang Ping scratched the back of his head.

Su Yixuan grinned: “You haven’t decided yet, eh? How about we try our luck at Uncle Er’s Grilled Fish? It’s the weekend, which means they have fresh bass. The only downside is the large crowd. I didn’t manage to get a meal there last weekend.”

“Alright, let’s give it a try.” Su Yixuan and Yang Ping then crossed the road to the restaurant.

Upon arriving at Uncle Er’s Grilled Fish, they found it was full, with a long line waiting for a table. Wondering how long it would take, Su Yixuan asked a waitress for an estimated waiting time.

Without lifting her head, the busy waitress replied: “Best to come tomorrow. We stopped giving out queue numbers for today.”

“This is harder to get than a consultation with a specialist,” thought Yang Ping.

A disappointed Su Yixuan said: “The last time I came with the nurses from my department, it was too late, so I didn’t get any. We missed out again today. Let’s just go eat something else. Eh, how come the others aren’t here yet?”

“I don’t know, they might not know we are here. I’ll give them a call.” Yang Ping said, reaching for his phone.

“What’s happening? No one is picking up. You give it a try.” Yang Ping was baffled.

Su Yixuan also tried calling a few numbers, but no one answered. “Gosh, nobody is answering,” she said.

Then, several messages appeared in the group chat:

My kid has a fever. I won’t make it.

I’m at a car dealership for a checkup. Won’t be coming.

I sprained my ankle, currently icing it.

—

This was awkward. Hadn’t they all agreed to have a meal together? Now, it was just the two of them. With a thick skin, Yang Ping said, “Then, we two should just find a place to have dinner.”

“Hmm!” Su Yixuan lightly bit her lower lip.

Just as they were about to leave to find a place, someone behind them shouted: “Wait a minute!”

“Hello, you are Doctor Yang from the Orthopedics department, aren’t you? I am the owner here.” A stocky uncle with a big belly, dressed in a white coat and shorts, ran out.

“You know me?” Yang Ping was a bit surprised, but it wasn’t strange as all the nearby shops were near the hospital.

The uncle said: “They all call me Uncle Er. Someone has already reserved a table for you, come, come, it’s quite a good spot.”

Uncle Er led them to the second floor. The restaurant had two floors.

Indeed, on the second floor, there was a table by the window.

“You both sit down and wait a bit, your fish is also reserved, just wait a little, and I will have someone bring it over.” Uncle Er was very enthusiastic.

Yang Ping was a bit hesitant to sit, Su Yixuan also looked at him: “Could they be playing a prank on us?”

“That’s not right. We only decided to have grilled fish by the hospital’s West Gate just now, didn’t we?” Yang Ping wondered.

“No, Uncle Er, who did you say reserved for me, even the fish is pre-ordered?”

Uncle Er just laughed, ‘This person said they were your friend, but they said they can’t tell you who they are. Don’t worry, your friend is very polite and decent, not a bad person.’

“What do they look like? Man or woman?” Asked Yang Ping.

“This, I can’t say.” Uncle Er replied.

“Uncle Er, if you don’t tell me, I won’t dare to sit down.” said Yang Ping.

Uncle Er said, “Your friend said that if you don’t sit, you’ll have to wait till next weekend. We only have bass in stock on weekends, and your friend also said that they only reserved this spot for you, you’ll have to pay for it yourself, so don’t worry, you can just enjoy your meal.”

How interesting, he’s got such a friend who only reserves the seat, if he’s paying for it anyway, why beat around the bush.

The two sat down.

Su Yixuan was very happy: “Brother Ping, you’re really awesome, your friend already reserved a spot for you in advance.”

“It’s not like that–ah yes, you like this, don’t you?” Yang Ping would’ve been embarrassed if he continued speaking.

But he couldn’t think of who else it could be besides Xiao Five? It must have been Xiao Five, always giving him advice on how to court Su Yixuan.

It was definitely him. Feeling assured, he decided to send a WeChat message to tell him and stop being so mysterious about it.

A live bass was brought in, heated with ingredients sprinkled on top. The aroma gradually permeated the air as the flames flickered.

“Come on, eat more. You’ve had a hard time lately, it’s time to grow.” Yang Ping said, borrowing a phrase often said by Old Han.

“Can I still grow taller? This is the first time I’ve heard you say this.” Su Yixuan, a little foodie, pinched a piece of fish and tasted it.

“Hmm, it’s delicious. Here, you eat.” Su Yixuan handed him the fork. To his surprise, she gently placed it in his palm, much like passing surgical instruments.

Realizing the peculiarity, the two looked at each other and laughed, Su Yixuan burst into giggles.

“Hey, are you dissecting or eating fish?” Su Yixuan saw Yang Ping using a small knife and chopsticks to cut the fish meat off the bones, his movements as practiced and skilled as if he was performing a surgery. As the knife passed through, the meat separated from the bone easily without leaving any residue. He moved the knife expertly in the crevices of the bones, carving the fish meat piece by piece.

“Here!” Yang Ping passed it to Su Yixuan. “Surgeons have their own way of eating. Watch carefully, what we’ll have left is an intact skeleton, to be posted by the boss on his moment.”

“You’re really interesting.” Su Yixuan giggled.

“They’re giving away free ice cream here. I’m going to get it.” She hopped off like a child and returned with two ice creams. “They’re both plain flavor. Here.”

“Go ahead and eat, it’s free. I’m going to get a few more on the way out, and you help me to fetch a few.”

The two chatted and laughed, and Yang Ping felt a relaxed atmosphere he had never experienced before.

After finishing the fish, a shiny, complete skeleton remained. Su Yixuan took a picture of it and then looked closer. She clapped her hands and admitted, “Brother Ping, you are amazing. You are a surgery maniac. You even take pride in your work when eating fish.”

Su Yixuan lived in dorms. After escorting her back to her dorm, Yang Ping went home.

Yang Ping picked up his phone and dialed Xiao Five: “Hey, Xiao Five, thank you for today.”

Xiao Five said proudly, “We’re brothers, no need for thanks. Had a good time today, right? You’ve taken a big step forward in the revolution, haven’t you?”

“How did you know we were going to eat at Uncle Er’s Grilled Fish and reserve a spot in advance?” Asked Yang Ping.

Xiao Five was dumbfounded: “Wait a minute, I didn’t reserve a spot for you.”

“Stop acting mysterious. I know all about the tricks in your book.” Said Yang Ping.

“Me? Was it me? How come I don’t know about it.”

“So it’s really not you.”

“Bro, I, Lu Xiaowu, am an upright and straightforward person, I’ve never done anything underhanded. If it was me, I’d say it was. I have no idea where you guys were eating.”

“Really, it’s not you?” Now Yang Ping was confused.

Xiao Five was also helpless: “It’s really not me. After the surgery, I just ate a few buns, went to the 4S shop to look at cars, and just got back home.”

Alright, Yang Ping hung up the phone.

This is strange, who else would go to the trouble of reserving a spot for him?

And how did they know we were going to Uncle Er’s Grilled Fish?

Is it someone in the operating room? The head nurse? Song Zimo? That circulating nurse? No, no, no. Why would they do such a thing? They have no motive.

Strange things happen every year, and this year seems to be particularly full of them.

Who cares, anyway. It’s my own money.

With that thought, he felt relieved.