Surgery Godfather
Chapter 881 - 779 Human Sentiments

Chapter 881: Chapter 779 Human Sentiments

These pigs needed to be observed for many days after surgery in order to obtain experimental data. Every day they had to undergo a variety of tests such as heart surface ultrasound, brain MRI, lung CT, and even angiography to see if any debris had formed that could lead to embolism in important organs.

To monitor the condition of the heart, they also had to perform a 24-hour dynamic electrocardiogram to dynamically observe cardiac electrical activity and understand if the surgery might interfere with the electrocardiogram.

Blood was drawn for various tests, such as coagulation functions, to see if blood clots formed after myocardial resection, as blood clots also have the potential to embolize.

Professor Xin decided to stay a few more days to observe the postoperative condition of these pigs and follow up on Teng Xinmei’s surgery.

He was eager to learn this surgery and then promote it. After so many years in the field and having eaten his fair share of pineapples, it was astonishing to him that cutting out the core of a pineapple could be related to thickened myocardium surgery. Using the principle of coring a pineapple, he could design such a rotary cutter.

Yang Ping was very satisfied with this rotary cutter; he truly experienced the value of innovation. After becoming very skilled in surgery, following the traditional procedures was no longer meaningful; innovation was the only way forward.

Just wait a bit longer; if these pigs don’t show any problems, Yang Ping was ready to operate on Teng Xinmei. A few days after surgery, she could be discharged and return home.

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Boss Li did not go back on his word and indeed showed up at Sanbo Hospital in the evening to invite Teng Shaokui to dinner.

Upon arriving at Sanbo Hospital, he thought Teng Shaokui would be working at the hospital or a construction site nearby. It was only when they met that he learned of Teng Shaokui’s daughter’s illness and her need for surgery.

Boss Li bought over two hundred yuan worth of fruit near the hospital and insisted on visiting Teng Shaokui’s daughter in the hospital.

Then Boss Li treated him to dinner, and the two of them ordered a few dishes and several bottles of beer at a food stall near the hospital to catch up on old times.

After all, Teng Shaokui had helped Boss Li before, and Boss Li had never forgotten that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rushed to Sanbo Hospital for the meeting today.

"Da Kui, how come your girl is so seriously ill? She needs surgery, but this hospital is very impressive. People from the provincial city all know that there’s a young professor inside who is extremely skilled at performing surgeries," Boss Li expressed in surprise.

Teng Shaokui sighed and said, "Yes, we didn’t go to the hospital earlier and wasted a lot of time, but the specialist said it’s not too late for surgery now. Any later might have been too late, risking sudden death or leaving the condition untreatable."

Boss Li filled Teng Shaokui’s glass to the brim with alcohol, "It’s serious then, you’ve got to treat her. She’s your child; you have a responsibility. You can’t delay her treatment."

After clinking glasses with Boss Li, Teng Shaokui said, "That’s what I think too, so I’ve been stressed out recently. The surgery costs one hundred thousand yuan. Where can I find that much money? Without money, we can’t schedule the surgery. I’ve asked all the relatives I could, and I could only secure twenty thousand. Selling all the chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep at home isn’t worth much, at most another ten thousand yuan, but it’s not possible to sell them so quickly. I wonder if we can mortgage the house and get some money from the credit union, but my wife is so upset she disagrees with signing, and without her agreement, the loan can’t be processed, ah."

Hearing Teng Shaokui speak like this, Boss Li fell silent for a moment before saying, "Let’s drink first; it’s been years since we’ve met."

"How have you been? You must be wealthy by now, right?" Teng Shaokui asked tentatively.

Boss Li shook his head, "As you know, a few years back, I was working on the highway in Guizhou when a worker suffered heatstroke. We couldn’t save him at the hospital, and I had to pay two hundred thousand yuan. The family was relentless, and I couldn’t continue working there. I had to come to the provincial city to look for work anew."

"Look at these clothes I’m wearing; you can tell what my situation is. Don’t even think about getting rich for the time being. I work in moving services now. I’ve gathered a dozen guys to help people move. Business isn’t easy these days; money is hard to make," Boss Li said.

In reality, although he referred to himself as a boss, he was just a small contractor leading a dozen men on construction sites. When luck was good, he could make some money, but if he worked on slow-paying or long-delayed payment projects, it was hard for him to earn anything.

Looking at Boss Li’s haggard face, his blue coarse work clothes, and his hands thick with calluses, Teng Shaokui knew Boss Li was having a tough time too.

He had always wanted to ask Boss Li for money, but now he didn’t know how to broach the subject.

"The girl’s illness can’t be delayed, can it?" Boss Li asked.

Teng Shaokui shook his head, "The specialist said it can’t be dragged on anymore. She could die suddenly if we delay further, sigh, otherwise I wouldn’t be so worried."

Boss Li thought for a while without speaking, just drinking and eating.

Teng Shaokui had been wanting to say something, but each time the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down. Thus, the two men just drank and ate, reminiscing about the times they worked together on construction sites.

"Brother Da Kui, you’re a loyal person. When everyone else left, only you stayed and worked with me. If you hadn’t stayed, we wouldn’t have made it until the contractor paid us. Without that money, the job would have completely fallen through," Boss Li burped, slightly tipsy.

"What loyalty? You’re the one who brought me into this, gave me a job, let me earn money. At that time, if I had just left with the others, turned against you, and pressured you, I couldn’t have done it; my conscience wouldn’t allow it," Teng Shaokui said with a heavy heart, having had a few extra drinks himself.

Boss Li said, "People like you are rare these days. In the jianghu outside, how many have a conscience? They only care about money, not people. If you don’t mind, come move with me to the Provincial City. We can’t do any other work. The only thing left is manual labor."

"Okay! That... Boss Li?"

Teng Shaokui, fearing the gathering would end without him having spoken up, wanted to ask for a loan again.

"Hmm, Da Kui!"

Again, Teng Shaokui swallowed his words.

Boss Li squinted at Teng Shaokui: "Da Kui, just say whatever it is you want to say. Even if you don’t, I know what you’re thinking. We haven’t seen each other for years, and now you’re contacting me. You know my situation. I haven’t made money these past years, and any hard-earned cash I once made has been spent. My wife has uremia, you know that. She needs dialysis every other day and is waiting for a kidney transplant. Plus, I have two kids to educate, so I’m really under pressure. I’ve thought about getting a divorce and remarrying, which might make life a bit easier. But how can I do that? She gave birth to two kids for me, and now when she’s sick, I just abandon her? I couldn’t do that. So, I have to honestly earn money. I’ve been over a year in the Provincial City, and recently, after scrapping together what I could, I bought a small four-wheeled truck. Renting other people’s trucks wasn’t worthwhile; moving is already such low profit."

"I know, big brother, it’s okay, I was just looking to see if there was any work, nothing more. Don’t overthink it," Teng Shaokui knew asking for money was hopeless; Boss Li’s roundabout way of speaking had made it clear.

Boss Li spoke slantwise, "Da Kui, don’t say it’s nothing. You’ve been hesitating, wanting to speak but then not speaking. Don’t you think I know what’s on your mind?"

Teng Shaokui let out a long sigh: "Old Li, I wanted to ask you for money, but hearing about your situation, I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not capable enough. Given my current situation, I always think about scraping together a bit so as not to delay my daughter’s treatment."

Boss Li reached for his wallet, pulled out all the money inside, and placed it on the table: "Here’s a thousand, what I had left after paying out wages today, and I haven’t deposited it yet. Take it for now. I, Li Tangsheng, may not have any great skills, but I know what loyalty is. I remember those who have been good to me. Teng Shaokui, if you weren’t desperate, you wouldn’t be going in circles looking to borrow money from someone you haven’t seen in years. I’m right, aren’t I? Where will you get a hundred thousand yuan? Mortgage your house? Your wife would chop you with a kitchen knife. I’m not saying your wife—I won’t go on."

"A hundred thousand yuan, where do you think you’ll get it from?"

"How could you possibly turn a blind eye to your daughter and leave her to fend for herself?"

"Take these two thousand for now. I’ll try to help you put together the rest. If we really can’t come up with it, I’ll sell the new four-wheeled truck I just bought. It should sell for several tens of thousands. Worse comes to worst, I’ll rent someone else’s truck again."

Teng Shaokui thought he was speaking drunk: "Old Li, you’ve had too much to drink. Let’s not talk about this."

Boss Li said, "Relax, I’m not drunk. Give me your card number. There’s no other way, I can only sell the small truck."

"How could that be okay?"

"If the small truck can save a life, what’s not okay about it? Brother Da Kui, do you know? If it hadn’t been for you helping me convince those people to delay the payment and continuing to work with me, and giving me the wages you’d earned to help me out in a pinch, I wouldn’t have been able to wait for that payment. That was also life-saving money. Maybe you don’t know, but my wife was in the hospital at that time, waiting for money to pay the medical bills. You also saved me once. Let’s not talk about it anymore; consider this as me returning the favor from back then."