Physician's Odyssey

Outside the emergency room of Xijing Workers Hospital, a nurse came out with a list on her hand and asked, “Who’s Wu Jun’s relative?”

Two elderly immediately came up. The woman replied, “I’m his mother.”

The nurse swept a glance at the couple and asked, “Why haven't you guys paid for the bills?The hospital used a lot of medicine during the rescue earlier. If you guys don’t make any payment, we won’t be able to continue the treatment.”

The woman wiped her tears and replied, “It cost tens of thousands for the treatment. It’s too much! Save my son first. Please be reassured that we will pay the bills in the future.”

“The hospital isn’t operated by my family. There are rules around here. Our hospital only allows a debt of ¥15,000, and nothing more than that. The patient’s life is still in danger and he still requires medication. If you want to continue the treatment, then you guys will have to make the payment. Otherwise, the patient will lose his life on the operating table.”

Over the past few years, the media have been paying attention to the tense relationship between doctors and patients. In the past, money had to be paid first to receive treatment. But the new policy allowed the treatment to come first and payment later. But it caused many bad debts in the hospital. After the patients were cured, they didn’t want to pay and caused the hospital to fall into a financial crisis. So some hospitals came up with their own policies for that. In Xijing Workers Hospital, if the payment didn’t make any payment within 72 hours and the cost accumulated to ¥15,000 the treatment would be stopped.

“We only have ¥10 with us. We’re currently finding ways to borrow money. Please save my son first. We can even work for the hospital to repay our debts.” The woman sobbed.

The nurse sighed. Although she felt sympathy for them in her heart, she had seen all kinds of people during her job here. She was only at the bottom of the food chain in the hospital. So there was nothing she could do even if she wanted to help out, “I suggest you guys find ways quickly. It’s not that I’m not trying to help, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Turning to look at her husband, the woman asked, “What are we going to do now? Are we going to watch Jun’zi die like that?”

“There’s nothing we can do to help. I’m out of ideas too.” The elderly man shook his head.

“Peng Yue, what’s wrong?” A pretty nurse came over from the distance.

Peng Yue shook her head and sighed, “The patient is still under emergency treatment, but we need payments. But since they can’t pay, I’m afraid we will have to stop the treatment.”

The pretty nurse who came over was He Duo. She recognized the couple whom she met in the restaurant the other day. She asked, “How much does the hospital need right now?”

“About ¥3,800.” Peng Yue shook her head with a bitter smile. “They only have ¥10 on them, so how can that be done? Moreover, the patient is in a serious condition with severe intracranial hemorrhage. Even if he’s rescued, the rehabilitation is a costly expense. The possibility of him returning to normal isn’t high either.”

He Duo had heard of this family’s difficulties. The patient got into a dispute with someone and got heavily injured. He had been under emergency treatment for the past three days now, but his condition wasn’t stabilising. Looking at how pitiful the couple was, He Duo turned to Peng Yue, “I’ll help the couple pay for it first.”

Peng Yue was stunned when he looked at He Duo. Shaking her head, he smiled bitterly, “He Duo, you’re too kind.” The couple was obviously unable to repay the debt. So for He Duo to pay for it right now, it was equivalent to throwing the money into the ocean.

“I’m helping where I can.” He Duo smiled weakly. She couldn’t help to think of the young man she met in the restaurant back then. Even that young man could help out selflessly, it was nothing for her to help out since she could.

Peng Yue and He Duo went to settle the payment. After He Duo made the payment, Peng Yue shook her head and smiled bitterly, “You’ve spent most of your salary this year now.”

The salary for nurses wasn't high. The monthly income for formal doctors was only about ¥5,000 to ¥6,000. With a little hard work, they could easily make more than ¥10,000 a month. But for low-level nurses like He Duo, her monthly income was only about ¥2,500. Even if they worked overtime with year-end bonuses, the annual income of a nurse wouldn’t exceed ¥60,000. So it wasn’t exactly a high-paying job.

“I’ll eat with you for the next few days. Payday will be in two days.” He Duo smiled, shaking her head.

Peng Yue and He Duo had a good relationship together. Peng Yue smiled, “It’s fine for me to treat you to noodles and buns for the next few days.”

When they returned to the emergency room, Peng Yue comforted, “The money has already been paid by Nurse He. She forked it out from her own pocket, so you have to pay her back.”

It took a long time for the elderly woman to return to her senses. She knelt down to He Duo and sobbed, “Thank you! You’re our family’s savior. Please be reassured that we will definitely pay you back.”

He Duo glared at Peng Yue. But she knew that Peng Yue was doing this for her sake. She immediately helped the elderly woman on her feet and replied, “There’s no rush for you to return the money. The key is whether the patient can be saved.”

“Yeah.” The elderly woman was worried, “Let’s hope that’s blessed.”

Peng Yue and He Duo looked at each other, shaking their heads helplessly. As staff in this hotel, there were things that they couldn’t say. If it was five or six years ago with specialists still around, it wouldn’t be difficult to treat Wu Jun. But with no specialists in the hospital, their medical skills were only average. As for Wu Jun, he had been unconscious for a long time now. So they weren’t too optimistic about his survival.

Pulling Peng Yue to the side, He Duo asked, “What’s the patient’s condition right now?”

“If the patient can’t regain his consciousness in four hours, I’m afraid that it will be difficult for him to wake up anymore.” Peng Yue shook her head bitterly.

“Vegetative?” He Duo asked in surprise.

“Yeah.” Peng Yue sighed. “We’ve already told that to the patient’s next of kin. But they’re not willing to give up on him. Even if he becomes that state, at least he’s still alive. But the worst outcome may be…”

Peng Yue did not continue any further.

He Duo gnashed her teeth and replied, “The old couple is so pitiful. If they lost their son at their age, they will definitely not be able to accept it. What’s the patient’s condition? I heard about it being a fight. So where’s the perpetrator?”

“The assailant is resting in the high-end wards. There are five people in total, but they’re only slightly injured.” Peng Yue shook her head.

“I’ll look for them!” He Duo stomped her feet.

However, Peng Yue quickly grabbed He Duo and whispered, “Don’t! They’re a bunch of wicket people.”

“The society is ruled by law. Why should I be afraid of them?” He Duo refuted.

Peng Yue stood behind He Duo and sighed. She knew that He Duo’s sense of justice acted up again.

He Duo and Peng Yue joined the hospital at the same time. In terms of appearance, He Duo was unmatched. So there were many doctors interested in her.

Peng Yue was also jealous of He Duo for a period of time. But He Duo used her actions to change Peng Yue’s view on her.

He Duo could’ve used her appearance to get benefits in the hospital, but she was more hard working than anyone else.

Although He Duo looked charming, she had a straightforward personality. So she’d rejected many doctors. They’ve all been saying that she was arrogant, but He Duo didn’t care about their views.

For example, He Duo paid nearly ¥20,000 in medical expenses for a couple who she’d never met.

Seeing He Duo walking over to the inpatient department, Peng Yue shook her head reluctantly and decided to look for the head nurse. She was worried that an incident might occur.

There was a great difference between the high-end ward and ordinary ward. Ordinary wards could receive two to three patients, while high-end wars were private one-bedroom suites. It was at a level of four-star hotels.

When He Duo came out of the elevator, she could hear a burst of laughter. When He Duo walked over, the nurse on duty shook her head, “These people don't have any consideration at all. I’ve already warned them several times.”

“Just throw them out then.” He Duo whispered.

Winking her eye, the nurse on duty whispered, “Do you think that anyone can stay in the high-end wards? Only executives of the corporation are allowed in.”

“Is it the corporation’s leaders?” He Duo frowned.

Moving closer to He Duo’s ears, the nurse whispered, “I heard that one of them is the son of the corporation’s Vice-CEO and the other is our hospital’s Vice-President’s son. Otherwise, do you think that they’ll be able to stay here?”

He Duo’s heart immediately went cold. She now knew why they dared to be so reckless. “They beat someone up and they’re still enjoying their lives here. This is too much!”

The nurse roughly knew about He Duo’s personality and sighed, “This is reality. They’re all children of the corporation’s executives, while the other party is just an outsider. How can the arm be thicker than the thigh? But the other party is also pretty ruthless. The Vice-CEO’s son had a leg fractured, and the Vice-President’s son had a wound on his head. It was scary when they were sent over.”

“But the other party is still in danger.” He Duo said solemnly.

“Well, they’ll just be fined if the other party dies. They don’t lack money, to begin with.” The nurse replied helplessly.

“Since they’re the one who started it, shouldn’t they pay for the medical bills, at the very least?” He Duo raged.

“It’s not because they can’t afford the medical bills, but they don’t want to. He Duo, why are you poking your nose into this matter? Don’t tell me that you’re going to be nosy? I advise you against it. These people are ruthless and it’s best for you to ignore it if you still want to stay in the hospital.” The nurse persuaded.

He Duo knew that the nurse persuaded her out of goodwill. But she still bit on her lips and stomped towards the high-end wards.