Chapter 778: Reprimand

Chapter 778: Chapter 778: Reprimand

"I understand, Director Zeng. I will definitely be more careful in the future."

In front of Zeng Yunjun, Ren Hongbo didn’t dare utter a single syllable of dissent. Zeng Yunjun was the absolute head honcho of the Emergency Department and one of the most senior directors in the entire hospital, infamous for his fiery temper. Ren Hongbo was merely a deputy director of Orthopedic Trauma, not even the head of his own department. If he pissed Zeng Yunjun off, he would be in serious trouble.

"Dean Li, what is the patient’s current condition?" Zeng Yunjun asked, ignoring Ren Hongbo as he turned to Li Xu.

Li Xu concisely summarized the situation: the patient’s ten-year history of diabetes, lower limb vascular occlusion, and severe mixed gangrene of the left foot. He also explained Ren Hongbo’s earlier recommendation for amputation, juxtaposed with his own proposed approach of using warm sunlight combined with holistic Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome differentiation to nurse the patient back to health.

"Dean Li, I can see you are quite invested in this case. Could you personally take over and handle the patient’s follow-up treatment?" After seeking Li Xu’s opinion, Zeng Yunjun didn’t even wait for Ren Hongbo to react before issuing a direct order to him. "Director Ren, since you are so busy with surgeries every day that you barely have time for ward rounds, let’s reassign this patient. Hand him over to Dean Li. This will lighten your load and allow you to focus on your other surgical cases."

Ren Hongbo was left speechless. He jerked his head up, eyes wide. He wondered how his patient could suddenly be forcefully snatched away like this. In a public hospital, this was a blatant act of stealing food right out of someone’s mouth.

On one hand, a doctor’s personal income was directly tied to the number of inpatients under their care and the severity of those cases. Even among doctors of the same rank, the difference in base salary was negligible. The real gap in income came down to bonuses. And what dictated those bonuses? It was calculated based on the volume of patients admitted, the complexity of the surgeries performed, and the bed turnover rate. The more patients a doctor saw, the harder the surgeries, and the better the prognosis, the fatter their bonus checks would be.

On the other hand, the blow to his reputation was even harder for Ren Hongbo to swallow. Just this morning, he had applied a newly introduced, exorbitantly expensive tissue-regenerating ointment to the patient. A pharmaceutical rep had highly recommended it, boasting of its miraculous effects. Ren Hongbo was confident in the product and believed the patient actually had a chance of recovery.

If this severe diabetic foot patient, whom other hospitals had essentially handed a death sentence, miraculously kept his leg and recovered under Ren Hongbo’s care, it would be a dazzling medical marvel. It wouldn’t just bring in substantial financial rewards; it would skyrocket his fame and prestige. Successfully treating a case that everyone else deemed hopeless would earn him massive respect within the orthopedic circle. He might even secure a promotion to a full senior professional title off the back of it.

But now, with just a single sentence, Zeng Yunjun was forcibly handing this patient—who was right on the verge of bearing fruit—over to Li Xu. This meant that from now on, the patient’s life or death would be entirely Li Xu’s responsibility. Ren Hongbo wouldn’t need to intervene; in fact, he would be strictly barred from getting involved.

If the patient recovered, the glory and gratitude would have absolutely nothing to do with him. Even worse, people might whisper that Ren Hongbo was incapable of curing the man, only for Dean Li to step in and succeed, indirectly highlighting his incompetence.

"Director Zeng, Dean Li currently handles special expert consultations and doesn’t normally hold regular shifts in the Emergency Department. Assigning an inpatient who requires constant dressing changes and observation under his name would make system adjustments difficult. It also goes against the hospital’s standard admission procedures, doesn’t it?" Ren Hongbo attempted a final struggle, using a seemingly reasonable excuse.

"What’s so difficult about adjusting the system? Rules are made by people." Zeng Yunjun wasn’t buying it for a second. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he turned to Gao Jingyun. "Xiaogao, go process the department and team transfer procedures immediately. Change the attending physician of record directly to my name. Since Dean Li is usually busy, he will act as the specially appointed chief expert for this patient and oversee the treatment plan from start to finish. You will be responsible for executing all medical orders."

"Understood, Director Zeng!" Gao Jingyun hurriedly stood at attention and replied, his heart blooming with joy. At the same time, he cast a highly envious and worshipful glance at Li Xu.

This was the sheer privilege and disparity that true skill brought.

If Gao Jingyun had been the one getting scolded today, even if Zeng Yunjun saw it, he absolutely wouldn’t have bothered to ask a single question. A deputy director chewing out a chief resident, or even a lower-level attending physician, in the hallway was perfectly normal and expected in a hospital.

The title "chief resident" sounded impressive, but in reality, it was just a grueling transitional phase before a doctor could be promoted to an attending physician. In some hospitals, it was a hellish training period for young doctors who had just earned their attending titles. Regardless of the specifics, their status was at the absolute bottom of the department’s hierarchy. It was impossible, and unthinkable, for them to ever stand up to a big shot at the deputy director level.

But because the person involved was Li Xu, Director Zeng not only mercilessly reprimanded Director Ren in public, but he also pulled the rug entirely out from under him, forcibly taking away the very patient Director Ren viewed as a Money Tree and a vanity project.

The gap between people truly was unfathomably wide. Zeng Yunjun was basically treating Li Xu like royalty.

"Director Ren, do you have any objections or issues regarding the transfer of this patient to Dean Li and my medical team?" Zeng Yunjun looked down at Ren Hongbo, a hint of warning lacing his tone.

"No, no problems at all... I’ll leave the patient in Dean Li’s and Director Zeng’s capable hands from now on." Ren Hongbo gritted his back teeth, his face looking as ugly as if he had just swallowed a dead fly raw. But what else could he say? He had no choice but to yield.

"Alright, we’ll leave it at that." Zeng Yunjun nodded in satisfaction. Dismissing Ren Hongbo entirely, he turned to Li Xu. "Dean Li, in the future, regardless of what kind of patient you encounter in our Emergency Department or which ward they are in, if you feel there is a flaw in the Western medical treatment plan, or if you think Traditional Chinese Medicine could yield better results, you can come and speak to me anytime. I will give you my absolute support."

GASP!

Hearing Zeng Yunjun’s promise, which was tantamount to handing him an imperial decree of absolute authority, Ren Hongbo felt a sharp chill run down his spine. He wanted to give himself two resounding slaps across the face.

He realized he had been far too reckless. If he had known Li Xu held such a sacred, untouchable status in Director Zeng’s eyes, and if he had known Director Zeng was so blatantly protective of him, he never would have thrown his weight around over some trivial rules. He realized he was practically asking for a death wish.

"Not a problem. Thank you for your support, Director Zeng," Li Xu said, nodding with a smile.

"Alright, don’t just stand around crowding the place. Disperse, go about your own business," Zeng Yunjun said, waving his hand. He then turned on his heel and strode off with sweeping efficiency. He still had a mess of situations waiting for him to handle back in the emergency room.