Chapter 54 High Score

Zhang Fan already held a transcendent position in the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, and none of the other attending physicians ever bossed him around. After Zhang Fan successfully performed a gallbladder surgery himself, even fewer people dared to underestimate him. Everyone knew Zhang Fan was exceptionally skilled.

"Teacher Zhang, where are you going? There is a gallbladder surgery this afternoon. Why don't you take a few rotating doctors and do it? I am simply too overwhelmed," said a senior attending physician who was swamped with work. Zhang Fan led the young doctor who had been chased away by Old Zhao that day to scrub in for the surgery.

To secure a permanent spot in a department, the director's nod was essential. On that day, Zhang Fan took the blame for the young doctor, who ended up going the whole day without eating. If a note on the rotation evaluation report read, "This comrade's performance during the department rotation was mediocre and failed to complete various target tasks on time," how could he ever get by in the hospital in the future? In the end, his mentor felt bad and offered a few words of comfort: "Don't worry, the boss will never make things difficult for you. Your performance that day was normal; what's abnormal is Zhang Fan. He can perform a gallbladder surgery in less than a month. Why do we even bother doing these surgeries? Let alone you, even some general surgery directors at county-level hospitals can't perform them smoothly. On Zhang Fan's very first day in the Department of Orthopedics, he performed a hip replacement surgery. You know Xue Fei, the veteran doctor—he was so scared he almost pissed his pants on the spot."

The young doctor was a college graduate who had just graduated this year, named Wang Zipeng. His family had spent a fortune to get him into the municipal hospital, and he had been truly terrified that day. In the operating theater, Zhang Fan was the chief surgeon. Old Zhao had just finished a surgery and came over as well. After all, they were both novices, and he still felt uneasy. Seeing the director enter, Wang Zipeng's hands started trembling so much that Zhang Fan noticed the laparoscopic camera was unsteady. Zhang Fan quietly whispered, "It's fine, just hold the camera steady. Everything is under control, don't be nervous." Zhao Jun also saw that Wang Zipeng was a bit tense and said, "Xiao Wang is actually doing quite well. This past month, he's been the first to arrive at the department and the last to leave, and he often hangs around the department. Good job, keep it up."

Hearing these words, Wang Zipeng almost burst into tears. For a whole month, wanting to stay in the Department of Surgery, he practically lived and ate in the department. Ever since he was chased away from the table that day, he had felt like dying. But hearing Old Zhao say this today made him feel utterly relieved and refreshed. "Thank you, Director, I will work hard." Seeing that Zhang Fan had everything completely under control with the surgery, Zhao Jun said a few casual words and left.

"Teacher Zhang, I was sweating all over from fear. My hard work is still not enough. In just a month, you've already left us far behind."

Zhang Fan smiled and said, "It's fine, don't rush. I graduated a year earlier than you guys, and I spent half a year on advanced studies in Qingniao. You're already doing very well. Old Zhao is right; he sees everything you do."

Once the surgery was over, there was nothing left for Zhang Fan to do. Writing medical records and issuing doctor's orders were handled by the rotating doctors in the group. Just as Zhang Fan was looking for a book to read, Zhou Chengfu from the First Department of Orthopedics stood at the doorway of the department and beckoned to him, "Zhang Fan, come over here for a second."

After stepping outside, Zhang Fan was dragged by Old Zhou to a secluded spot. "Fan, have you been busy lately? I heard from the folks in Hepatobiliary that you put on quite a show yesterday and completely KO'd their big boss, didn't you?"

"My brother, stop messing around. Yesterday's surgery was simple with no adhesions at all. If Old Zhao hears about this, he'll probably deduct points from my rotation evaluation report."

Old Zhou chuckled and said, "Anyway, everyone in Hepatobiliary admires you immensely."

"Alright, Big Brother, just tell me what you need me for. What you're saying is giving me goosebumps."

"Haha, you're still so modest. Here's the thing: I heard from the Hepatobiliary department that you don't even have to work night shifts. I have to attend a gathering today and drink a little wine, but I'm on duty today. That brat Xue Fei was unwilling to cover my shift, so I came looking for you. You're one of our department's people after all. Even though you're rotating, you still need to support the department's work."

"I give up on you. You managed to beat around the bush for so long. I'll go cover your shift after I eat dinner this evening."

"How righteous! I've already ordered food for you, just go straight to the department to eat. If that brat Xue Fei ever asks me for a favor, see if I don't slap him across the face." Actually, Old Zhou had picked up a small gig at a private hospital and wanted Xue Fei to cover his shift. Xue Fei demanded a favor in return, but Old Zhou was too stingy and reluctant to pay up, so he came to find Zhang Fan instead.

As soon as Zhang Fan got off work, he went to the First Department of Orthopedics. In the hallway, he ran into the head nurse. Seeing Zhang Fan, she smiled and said, "Oh! Director Zhang, what a rare guest. Are you here to inspect our work?" Zhang Fan was well-liked in the First Department of Orthopedics and had a great relationship with the head nurse, so she was just teasing him.

"Head nurse, you're making fun of me again. I'm just wandering around." Since Old Zhou had asked him to cover his shift, he certainly didn't want others to know.

"Alright, wander around then, I'm getting off work. There's an event in a few days, and you'll have to give me some face when the time comes."

Zhang Fan was puzzled and asked, "What event?"

"You'll know when the time comes. I won't say more for now, I'm off to pick up my kid."

Inside the department, Xue Fei was writing medical records. As soon as he saw Zhang Fan walk in, he said, "I knew it, Old Zhou must have gone to look for you. That rascal went to do private work and didn't tell you the truth, did he? Covering a shift costs a pack of cigarettes, and he was too cheap to do it."

Zhang Fan chatted with Xue Fei for a bit, and then Xue Fei went home. There were no special patients in the department; he just needed to check on the few who had just had surgery to see if they had a fever or any bleeding, and otherwise, there was nothing else to do. Before going to bed at night, he prescribed painkillers for the surgical patients, chatted with the young nurse for a moment, and then went to sleep.

At two o'clock in the morning, his phone rang. Zhang Fan glanced at it groggily—it was a call from Old Chen, Chen Qifa. After answering, Zhang Fan asked, "Old Chen, what's up?"

On the other end of the line, Old Chen was beyond excited. "Master, the scores are out! I passed! Four hundred and thirty, I passed, haha!" Old Chen had gone wild. After more than ten years, he had finally passed the exam, and the days of being looked down upon were finally over.

Zhang Fan offered a few words of comfort and congratulations, then hung up. Just as he closed his eyes, the phone rang again. He checked and saw it was Li Liang. "Brother Zhang, I passed! Four hundred and twenty! I passed! I have my certificate now, I'm an official doctor!" More congratulations followed. After hanging up, Zhang Fan had no way to check his own score, so he decided to wait until dawn. Then, Li辉's call came in. "What a hotline, the call wouldn't go through directly. Were you flirting with some girl?"

Zhang Fan ignored him and asked directly, "Did you pass or not?"

"Of course! Could I possibly fail? How about you, what's your score? I got four hundred and sixty! Are I awesome or what? Just tell me if I'm awesome or not!"

"Awesome. I haven't checked mine yet, I'll find out tomorrow."

"No need, I'm right here at the internet cafe. I waited all night just to log in. Tell me your exam ID number, I'll check it for you."

After Zhang Fan told him his ID number, he waited for a very long time, but no call came. Not bothering to wait, he simply went to sleep.

Li Hui, sitting in the internet cafe, was dumbfounded. What the hell, is he even human? How embarrassing! He had been showing off to the guy, and yet Zhang Fan scored five hundred and thirty-three—a ridiculously high score! It was too damn embarrassing. He closed the computer without calling Zhang Fan back, and went straight back to the dormitory to sleep. The joy of passing the exam was instantly wiped out!

The next day, back at the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, there wasn't much going on, so Zhang Fan headed to an internet cafe. When he checked his score, he smiled: 533 points. No wonder Li Hui hadn't called back; his face was probably swollen from embarrassment, and he was too ashamed to reply. There were about a dozen doctors from the hospital who took the exam, and five failed. Those who passed were ecstatic because they could finally write prescriptions, while those who failed had ashen faces. Moreover, the hospital had a new rule: anyone who failed to pass within two years would be directly dismissed. The pressure was immense, and this was their only remaining chance.

"Did you hear? There's a freak in the hospital who scored over five hundred!"

"Really? So what? It's no different from scoring three hundred and sixty; as long as you pass, extra points are completely useless."

"You're an idiot. A high score makes it much better to be assigned to a department later. With a high score, department directors will fight over you. If your score is too low, they'll just send you straight to the Department of Infectious Diseases." Two female doctors who had passed the exam this year were chatting.

As it turned out, the "freak" they were talking about was standing right behind them. Zhang Fan's face turned dark. Damn it, having a high score makes me a freak? I despise you all! A bunch of academic slackers!