Chapter 59

“Of course I know her!”

She was the first one to kick up a fuss at the last press conference.

To be honest, Yang Ping didn’t have much affection for journalists, keeping them at arm’s length.

Director Han didn’t recognize her. There were so many journalists at the time, how would he remember?

“What a coincidence!” Director Zhuang said.

Seeing the look of discomfort swiftly pass over Yang Ping’s face, Director Han quickly changed the subject, “The swelling in your hand is severe. We need to loosen the splint a little.”

It was a splint tied around her left forearm. Yang Ping initially mistook it for a cast when she came in.

“This is Professor Han from the Orthopedics Department,” Director Zhuang introduced.

With a constant turnover of patients in the hospital and an abundance of VIPs, she had seen all sorts of rich and powerful figures, and was now numb to it all.

Yang Ping glanced at the little electronic screen on the wall above the bed. It displayed the patient’s name: Li Jingshu.

Upon hearing that the splint needed to be loosened, Li Jingshu’s first reaction was to shrink back, turn her head to look at Yang Ping, and then weakly ask, “Does adjusting the splint hurt?”

What a joke, who do you think I am to you? How would I know? Yang Ping looked up at the ceiling, ignoring the question.

“It hurts just a bit,” Director Han said.

“How much is ‘just a bit’?” asked Li Jingshu.

“Like a mosquito bite!” Yang Ping replied. She thought back to the press conference where Li Jingshu was even more aggressive than some men. And now she was cowering, just like a little girl.

After Yang Ping’s comment, Li Jingshu was reassured and shifted her previously withdrawn left limb carefully back into place.

The medical cart that the attending doctor had pushed in was now placed at the bedside, loaded with bandages, gloves, and a tray for medication change.

Yang Ping and Song Zimo both put on gloves. One held the hand, while the other began to undo the binding. The injury was immobilized with four splints and three bands, a standard technique for small forearm fractures. The splints were even made of fir bark, a traditional material only found in Chinese medicine hospitals.

“I’ve been to the Chinese medicine hospital and undergone anesthesia for repositioning three times, but with no success. So I decided to come here and see what you guys can do,” Li Jingshu said, gritting her teeth, prepared to endure the pain.

“Should we give her a shot of painkiller?” Director Zhuang asked, seeking Director Han’s opinion.

Before Director Han could respond, Li Jingshu shook her head, “I can tolerate a mosquito bite.”

Yang Ping began to unfasten the bind, well acquainted with the small splint technique from training in the system. Her movements were gentle and deft, careful not to cause any vibration to the forearm while adjusting the bandage.

However, Li Jingshu was so nervous she shivered. Any slight movement is painful with a comminuted fracture.

“—” Li Jingshu bit her lip.

Song Zimo stabilized the forearm, and Yang Ping swiftly and gently adjusted each of the three bands in turn. After making the adjustments, she helped Li Jingshu to bed.

“You say it’s like a mosquito bite, but this mosquito must be bigger than a pig,” Li Jingshu said, a bit angry, but her anger felt childlike.

She took a few deep breaths: “I’m feeling much better now. The swelling was causing severe pain earlier.”

Yang Ping thought to herself, this girl would be quite pretty if she weren’t so bothersome, with clear eyes and brows, exuding a sense of intelligence yet hardly masking an impetuous and willful spirit.

“Surgery is necessary for this,” Director Han explained, multiple explanations seemed futile as many had tried explaining it to her before.

Li Jingshu looked distraught. “I don’t want surgery. Can’t you just reposition it manually? Professor Zhang Zongshun from your hospital is really good at manual repositioning, isn’t he? Didn’t he even write a book about it? The book is right here!”

She bent down to pull a book out of the bedside table with her right hand– “Traditional Bone Setting Research”. Director Han took the book, and sure enough, it was written by Professor Zhang Zongshun. The book must have been published decades ago and yet this girl had somehow managed to get her hands on it. He had never seen a patient bring in a book for reference before.

“Have you read this book?” Director Han asked, returning the book to her bedside table.

“I briefly flipped through it,” said Li Jingshu. “There are a lot of cases similar to mine in it, so that’s why I came to your hospital.”

Such a stubborn person is impossible to convince at once. Deciding to step back for a moment, Director Han said, “Your condition right now is too severe for a manual repositioning. We need to wait for the swelling to subside. This is a temporary treatment. Let the duty doctor know if you’re in pain tonight.”

“Alright!”, as long as she wouldn’t have to have surgery, she seemed to be okay with anything.

“I absolutely refuse to have surgery!” Li Jingshu emphasized.

“Then you should rest properly, don’t worry, let the swelling go down first,” Director Zhuang comforted her.

Back in the VIP’s doctor’s office, Dean Xia had already arrived and was waiting in the office.

Seeing Director Han, he immediately called everyone to Director Zhuang’s office and said, “This patient is Mayor Li’s daughter. Secretary Luo just called to say that she is throwing a tantrum with Mayor Li and refusing to have surgery. Other hospitals like the First and Second attached hospitals to Nandu Medical University have all consulted and agreed she needs surgery, but she doesn’t want to. So left with no choice, Secretary Luo arranged for her to be transferred to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. Director Kang from the Orthopedics department there tried to set her bones three times without success. She then drove herself to our hospital, and Secretary Luo arranged for her to stay in the Overseas Chinese Building.”

“She heard that Professor Zhang Zongshun is very good at bone setting, so she came here herself,” said Director Han.

“Professor Zhang is currently hospitalized himself!” Dean Xia said with a troubled expression.

“Distal radius, supracondylar humerus – these simple repositions were things I did many years ago. For these comminuted fractures of the ulna and radius, closed reduction, I tell you, I don’t know how to do it,” said Director Han.

“This girl is very hard to handle. Secretary Luo is also struggling now. You can count on one hand the number of people in the country who can perform manual reduction. Director Kang from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, who inherited his family skills and has a well-known reputation, couldn’t fix it. So, how are we supposed to?” said Dean Xia.

“What if we ask Professor Zhang Zongshun to help?” Director Zhuang suggested.

“We might have to. I’ll talk to Old Zhang tomorrow morning,” said Director Han.

The patients in the Overseas Chinese Building are the most difficult, not because of the complexity of the cases, but because of their special status.

Everyone discussed but did not reach a conclusion. Dean Xia said, “Do your best. If all else fails, we may have to operate. Secretary Luo has agreed to have the surgery in our hospital. Let Mrs. Li persuade her again tomorrow. After all, young girls can be a bit willful.”

“Let’s go take a look, I haven’t checked yet.” Dean Xia said. This time, Yang Ping and Song Zimo did not go with him.

There was an automatic shoe-polishing machine in the office. Yang Ping tried to polish his leather shoes. According to Zhang Lin, coming to the Overseas Chinese Building without polishing your shoes is a wasted trip.

“If it were someone else, I might try, but for the daughter of the Li family, forget it.” Song Zimo said.

Yang Ping huffed, “Can you do it?”

“I learned by sitting in on outpatient clinics with Professor Zhang. He really is brilliant at manual reduction. In the research of Western medicine, he should be the only one. I’ve seen him fix even worse fractures than this. You can’t?”

Yang Ping didn’t respond.

“Finally, I’ve found something I can beat you at,” Song Zimo said triumphantly.

This little guy, he can actually do manual reduction?

After checking on Li Jingshu, Dean Xia came out and said, “Should I talk to Old Zhang tomorrow?”

Director Han said, “No need, I can speak with him.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Han. I still need to go upstairs and visit Director Cao from the Department of Construction who is also hospitalized here,” Dean Xia said, pointing to the ceiling.

“You go ahead, leave this matter to me,” Director Han said.

“The principle of necessary surgery must still be adhered to,” Dean Xia reminded.

Sitting in the Overseas Chinese Building for a while, several nurses came in and out. Song Zimo still attracted attention with his cool demeanor.

Director Han instructed the on-duty doctor to watch for pain and changes in finger sensation, and to be alert for compartment syndrome. Everyone then withdrew.

It was already evening, and it was not appropriate to bother Professor Zhang, Director Han decided to go the next morning.

Song Zimo said that since he had eaten the surgical meal, he was not hungry. He decided to practice arthroscopy in the department.

He trained for one or two hours in the laboratory almost every day. Microscopes, arthroscopes, foramen scopes, and many other equipment were worn down by his use.

Those with high talent who are also diligent are the closest to success.

On the way home, Yang Ping thought about the traditional bone-setting technique. This is the business of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, but only a few people still maintain this skill.

Truth be told, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and Western hospitals are not much different these days, the difference lies only in the signs they carry.

In the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, there are few doctors who can truly use Chinese medicine and understand Chinese medical theory.

It’s not a matter of which is superior and which is inferior; it’s like the competition between a horse-drawn carriage and a Benz.