Surgery Godfather
Chapter 895 - 787: That’s Underestimating Too Much

Chapter 895: Chapter 787: That’s Underestimating Too Much

About an hour or so later, the sedan arrived at a guesthouse.

The driver parked the car, and Director Zhou carefully woke up Yang Ping, who wasn’t fully asleep but just resting with his eyes closed.

Yang Ping had been performing surgeries all day long and then, without any rest, took a night flight to Beijing. Although he managed to get some sleep on the plane, it wasn’t enough, so he took the opportunity to close his eyes for a while.

"Professor Yang, why don’t you eat something to warm up your stomach, and then we can rest?" Director Zhou suggested kindly.

Yang Ping nodded and glanced out of the window.

The driver opened the car door, and Director Zhou accompanied Yang Ping into the guesthouse.

This guesthouse wasn’t a regular hotel; there was a paramilitary sentry post at the entrance, and Yang Ping understood this must be an internal guesthouse for the military, not accommodating outsiders.

It was obvious that the front desk clerk had been waiting for Director Zhou; upon seeing him, she immediately greeted him, "Director Zhou, please, this way---"

The clerk led Director Zhou and Yang Ping to a small dining room in the back courtyard and served them tea.

The guesthouse had a small dining room, likely used for private meals, as there was no main hall, only private rooms.

The chefs timed their preparation perfectly, just as Director Zhou and Yang Ping sat down and sipped their tea to warm up their stomachs, the server began to bring out dishes.

Hot tea, hot meals, hot dishes, and hot soup—it was indeed very comfortable to eat and substantially more filling than the snacks on the airplane.

Director Zhou and driver Xiao Wu were also hungry, so they joined Yang Ping for a late-night snack to satisfy their hunger. As Director Zhou served soup to Yang Ping, he said, "Please make do with the accommodations tonight, and get some rest here. It’s not as luxurious as a five-star hotel, but it’s relatively quiet and free of the miscellaneous crowd."

Yang Ping surveyed the surroundings; they were not luxurious, but there was a sense of simple neatness, and the food prepared by the chef tasted very good as well.

"The chefs at this guesthouse are not ordinary at all, their skills are well-known and have been passed down for generations," praised Director Zhou.

Yang Ping could tell, the chef’s skills were indeed extraordinary, evidencing a high level of culinary skill typical for internal dining facilities.

Dean Liu and Commissioner Qiao had repeatedly instructed to pay extra attention to Yang Ping, telling Director Zhou to accompany him with Xiao Wu throughout his stay to make him feel the warmth of 301.

Just for him, 301 was planning to acquire Sanbo Hospital; even if the acquisition involved many aspects, Dean Liu was prepared to overcome any difficulty. Not to mention acquisition, if they had to build a hospital just for him now, the higher-ups would definitely agree.

With 13 CNS papers, Yang Ping, who was already regarded as a genius, was now considered a genius among geniuses.

The higher-ups’ intent was very clear: they wanted Yang Ping to join 301 in a manner that he liked and could accept, and this intention became even more apparent after he published 13 CNS papers.

Really hungry, Yang Ping couldn’t be bothered with manners and downed eight or nine bowls of rice before he felt satiated.

Youths really do have a good appetite, Director Zhou couldn’t help but remark.

After eating, Yang Ping rested on the third floor of the guesthouse, while Director Zhou stayed in the next room. The guesthouse was indeed quiet, seemingly having put a lot of effort into soundproofing, which allowed Yang Ping to sleep soundly for several hours.

The next morning, after breakfast, Director Zhou took Yang Ping to 301. They briefly toured the hospital and then went to meet Dean Liu and Commissioner Qiao.

When Director Zhou brought Yang Ping to Dean Liu’s office, Commissioner Qiao had already arrived early and was waiting with Dean Liu for Yang Ping.

"Indeed, a young hero is outstanding in both talent and appearance!" Both Dean Liu and Commissioner Qiao were very excited, shaking hands with Yang Ping in turn.

Commissioner Qiao checked his wristwatch, "The meeting will start in a while, no rush. Let’s sit for a bit. Has Director Zhou discussed the situation with you?"

Director Zhou immediately said, "Professor Yang has come a long way, and I didn’t want to disturb him, so we haven’t discussed it yet."

In the office were only four people, and as it was Dean Liu’s office, regular access was restricted and any emergencies would be signaled by knocking and announcing before entering.

Dean Liu handed a case file to Yang Ping, then went to pour him some tea.

With a serious tone, Commissioner Qiao said, "Our meritorious Old Academician, Academician Meng Jinzhong, who has made immense contributions to national defense, has fallen ill due to overwork, and his heart is in trouble - myocardial infarction. He has already undergone several interventional scaffold installations. This time a scaffold was installed again, but it’s not enough. Experts from Anzhen Fuwai have discussed it several times and unanimously agree that he needs a coronary bypass, and furthermore, nine bypass grafts, a procedure of high complexity. Professor Xu Yongzhong has performed such surgeries with nine grafts before, but recently suffered a thumb avulsion fracture, which could affect the operation. After much deliberation, we must form a reserve team, and Professor Xin Weicong recommended you. It is only now that we knew you also specialize in heart surgeries."

Commissioner Qiao briefly introduced the situation, and Dean Liu in his military uniform contrasted Commissioner Qiao’s genteel appearance with his own more imposing and upright figure.

"You’ve had a tough journey, Professor Yang. Professor Xin highly recommended you at the meeting. Do you have the confidence to complete the task?"

Yang Ping thought he was coming to be the chief surgeon, but it turned out he was on the reserve team. If there were no problems with him being the chief surgeon, then being on the reserve team would certainly be no issue. He affirmed confidently, "No problem."

"Good, just waiting for those words. With you participating in the surgery, I can rest easy. I’ve been worrying these past few days—Xu Yongzhong breaking a bone at this time. How could I not worry about this situation? This isn’t just an ordinary surgery, even a slight hiccup could lead to a big event."

"Professor Yang, you’ve recently become the hottest figure in our medical circle. All of us old academicians want to meet you—13 CNS papers, you’ve truly brought honor to us. I don’t think anyone in the world has published papers like that before."

"After the meeting, Professor Yang, do allow us old academicians to meet you. They’ve been pestering me every day, asking when they can see you. Now when I see them, I take a detour."

Dean Liu passed a cup of tea to Yang Ping, who accepted it with just a smile, as it wasn’t appropriate to say anything at this time.

This kid just knows how to smile, Dean Liu thought happily, while also sighing inwardly. If he had been successful in recruiting Yang Ping to 301 at the time, those 13 papers would belong to 301. Then Dean Liu would not be in his current position, standing even prouder.

Commissioner Qiao glanced at the time and, noting it was almost time, drank his tea and said, "Old Liu, it’s about time to start the meeting. Shall we have a good chat afterward?"

Everyone headed to the meeting room together. The other experts had already arrived. When they saw Yang Ping enter, they couldn’t help but curiously crane their necks to look because, apart from Director Xin recognizing Yang Ping, the other experts had never met him. It was only during this period that they became familiar with Yang Ping’s name.

After all, Yang Ping’s previous achievements were concentrated in orthopedics, so the experts in the cardiac surgery field definitely weren’t familiar with Yang Ping.

"Professor Yang, please take a seat," Commissioner Qiao personally guided Yang Ping to his seat.

Such a young man, capable of performing coronary bypass, and nine at that? Professor Xu couldn’t help but wonder. If performing nine bypasses were so easy, he wouldn’t have needed to invest so much effort into studying and training for surgery.

Over the past twenty years, Professor Xu had studied coronary bypass daily, dreaming about it. As the chief surgeon, he had conducted 20,000 heart surgeries, constantly innovating the procedure and creating more than thirty invention patents, achieving today’s surgical level with a success rate of over 98%. He once performed 9 coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries in one day, with a record of 9 grafts in a single surgery, and the fastest graft taking only 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Director Xu had created many records in coronary bypass that to this date, no one has broken.

How could such a young man, just a few years out of school, master such cutting-edge surgery? Surely he was oversimplifying the complexity of coronary bypass. Perhaps Director Xin had other reasons, seizing this opportunity for promotion. But promotion shouldn’t come at such a time, with such surgery—it’s truly baffling.

Perhaps it’s the matter of the 13 papers that made Director Xin take notice. Yes, someone who could publish papers like that must be a genius, but publishing papers and performing surgery are separate matters. Treating surgery too simply might be a mistake.

Yang Ping bowed slightly to everyone and then sat down, for they were all his seniors, and it was proper to show respect.

The case discussions had already been conducted intensively several times, and there were no doubts about the diagnosis and treatment plan. Now it was just about perfecting the surgical plan. If Director Xu’s hand hadn’t fractured, the surgery plan would’ve been directly handed over to him. Now, due to this small accident, there was a hiccup that could interfere with the entire operation.

Commissioner Qiao checked the time again, and the meeting started punctually.

"Experts, we have already discussed this multiple times together. Now that the diagnosis and treatment plan has been confirmed, the only option is surgery. Professor Xu Yongzhong will be the chief surgeon, with Professor Chu Shilin as the assistant. However, there’s a slight mishap with Professor Xu—his right thumb has a distal phalanx avulsion fracture, and it’s still badly swollen and hard to bend," Commissioner Qiao began his speech.

Professor Xu raised his right hand to show everyone his thumb—indeed, the swelling was severe and bending was difficult.

All being surgeons, they understood the impact such an injury could have on surgical capabilities—it would noticeably affect the right hand’s grip, potentially hindering powerful maneuvers or precise operations.

"To ensure the surgery goes off without a hitch, we’ve decided to establish a backup team. That is, if Professor Xu’s surgery is significantly impacted by his thumb fracture, then the backup chief surgeon will take over. Coronary bypass isn’t just any surgery, no room for negligence. We have several candidates for backup chief surgeon, including Professor Chu Shilin, Professor Zhong Zuochen, and Professor Yang Ping. We must determine beforehand who will step in first, and I’d like to hear the opinions of all the experts here, as well as Professor Xu’s opinion," announced Commissioner Qiao.

After listening, Professor Xu pondered. Logically, it should be his student—Professor Chu Shilin—serving as the backup chief surgeon. Professor Xu had personally trained him and knew his capabilities intimately. Although his number of surgeries couldn’t compare to Xu’s, and he hadn’t performed a nine-bypass procedure, he was still better than Zhong Zuochen, not to mention incomparable to Yang Ping.

If coronary bypass were so simple that one could master it so easily and excel, it would negate his twenty years of hard work.

However, Professor Xu couldn’t just decide that directly; he wanted to use a fairer method to determine the choice.

"How about this? I have several coronary bypass surgeries scheduled for tomorrow. Let Professor Zhong, Professor Yang, and Professor Chu each do one or two, so we all have a clear idea. We can see the quality of the operations, which will be quite evident," proposed Professor Xu.

Although the surgery was urgent, it wasn’t so critical that it couldn’t wait another day or two—the biochemical indicators were slightly off and needed adjustment. This method sounded good.

After all, anyone sitting at this table was a national-level expert, capable of stepping up to the operating table and performing several surgeries without any issue. Professors Zhong and Chu had at least thousands of surgeries worth of experience. As for Professor Yang, that was uncertain. Since Director Xin had so confidently recommended him, and no one from 301—Dean Liu, Commissioner Qiao, Director Zhou, and Professor Dai Yuansheng of the Cardiac Surgery Department—had objected, they might as well see the true skill on the operating table. Whoever was capable should take the lead.

There’s no argument about that, right?

"What do you think about this method?" Commissioner Qiao asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement, believing it to be the best approach. All experts could tell at a glance whether someone was competent or not. Professor Xu’s expertise was the highest—this was universally acknowledged. But between Professors Chu and Zhong, it wasn’t clear who was better. Professor Zhong had more surgical experience, but Professor Chu, being Professor Xu’s senior disciple, was naturally not lacking in skills. As for Professor Yang, not much was known. Thirteen papers were one thing, but coronary artery bypass grafting was another, and everyone was acutely aware of this, particularly at such a critical juncture.

Yang Ping leafed through the case files in his hands and then looked at the image picture on the projector.