Chapter 75: Let the Facts Speak

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Let the Facts Speak

Yu Zhiming wasn’t particularly keen on having lunch with Zhou Mo.

But her grip on his hand was just too firm, and surprisingly strong.

Yu Zhiming tried to pull his hand away discreetly, but he couldn’t.

It made him wonder for a moment.

’Is she trying to take advantage of me? Why did she grab my hand and refuse to let go?’

Whatever her intentions were, Yu Zhiming let Zhou Mo lead him all the way back to the main central office.

Then, Zhou Mo took two lunch sets out of a thermal container. Each consisted of two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup, all served in small, exquisite bowls.

The meat dishes were braised pork belly and braised abalone, the latter almost as large as the small bowl itself, the kind that runs about three or four to a pound.

The vegetable dishes were stir-fried bamboo shoots and dry-fried purple cabbage.

The soup appeared to be sea cucumber and chicken soup.

Yu Zhiming spotted a plump sea cucumber in his soup bowl and caught the rich aroma of chicken broth.

Adding in a large and a small bowl of rice, their lunch took up a total of twelve bowls.

They took up nearly all the empty space on Zhou Mo’s desk.

Judging by the quality of the meal, Yu Zhiming could tell that Zhou Mo had put a lot of thought into preparing it...

"Dr. Yu, our housekeeper made all this. The braised pork belly is her specialty. You have to try it."

"Mm, it looks appetizing, and it smells even better."

Yu Zhiming offered the pleasantry, pulled his chair over, took the chopsticks Zhou Mo handed him, and sat down to eat.

As a piece of braised pork belly, a perfect mix of fat and lean, entered his mouth, Yu Zhiming found it to be tender, savory, and rich without being greasy. It was truly delicious.

Seeing Yu Zhiming taking large bites and clearly enjoying the food, Zhou Mo smiled faintly and picked up her chopsticks as well...

"Dr. Yu, the guy who came to challenge you is named Cai Haowen. He’s a graduate of Binhai Medical College with a Ph.D. in clinical medicine."

Zhou Mo had clearly done her homework, reciting the details to Yu Zhiming without much hesitation.

"He’s thirty-one this year, also an attending physician, and has been working in the gastroenterology department for five years."

"His performance reviews are said to be outstanding, and he has a good chance of breaking through and being promoted to associate chief physician before he turns thirty-five."

Yu Zhiming swallowed the food in his mouth, took a sip of soup, and asked, "What exactly did this guy say?"

Zhou Mo chuckled. "He made it sound all high-and-mighty. He said you’re at the center of a storm of gossip right now and need to stand up like a man and prove yourself with absolute skill."

"He, Cai Haowen, humbly offered to be your stepping stone."

"He also said that the time, content, and other details of the competition were all up to you, and he would agree to anything."

Hearing this, Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but snort softly.

Zhou Mo added, her voice tinged with indignation, "He’s just an opportunist, trying to ride the wave of controversy around you to make a name for himself."

"Dr. Yu, do you have a plan to deal with his shameless challenge?"

Yu Zhiming pondered for a moment, then said, "Medical skill, high or low, is ultimately demonstrated by treating patients and saving lives..."

He paused, then looked up and asked, "Zhou Mo, could you pass a message to this guy for me?"

Zhou Mo nodded her small head, her voice eager. "No problem. I can definitely spare the time to run an errand."

"Dr. Yu, what do you want me to tell him?"

Yu Zhiming said slowly, "Tell him that his proposed medical skill competition is completely unnecessary. I don’t have the time for it."

"I’m seeing patients in the outpatient and emergency department. Barring any surprises, I’ll be doing so every Monday."

"My diagnostic skills are out in the open for everyone to see."

"The hospital’s senior staff can review my diagnostic reports, and the patients I’ve diagnosed, one after another, are living proof."

"If he thinks his skills are better than mine, then he can go work in the outpatient and emergency department for a few days, too. Let the facts decide who’s stronger."

"That’s far more convincing than a simple competition of medical skills."

Yu Zhiming added with a cold smile, "Anyone else who’s unconvinced or doubts me can use the same method to compete."

Zhou Mo giggled. "Exactly! Like the old saying goes, you have to trot them out to see if they’re a mule or a horse."

"This outpatient department showdown you’re proposing, Dr. Yu, couldn’t be more fair, objective, and reasonable..."

As soon as Zhou Mo said this, she saw Yu Zhiming pick up his soup bowl and drink it all in one go.

Only then did she notice that the food in the small bowls, as well as the large bowl of rice, had all been completely devoured by Yu Zhiming.

Zhou Mo had asked the housekeeper to prepare Yu Zhiming’s meal with two to three times her own portion size.

But she had still underestimated the appetite—and the eating speed—of someone from the north.

Zhou Mo looked embarrassed. "Dr. Yu, I didn’t prepare enough. You can’t be full, can you?"

"If you don’t mind, you can have mine..."

"I’m full!"

Yu Zhiming cut her off, then quickly explained, "I just eat fast."

"You know how it is. Doctors all have a habit of eating quickly."

This time, Yu Zhiming had deliberately sped up, wolfing down his lunch.

Besides not wanting too much contact with Zhou Mo—to avoid giving a certain someone the wrong idea—there was another important reason.

"Zhou Mo, it’s my first day in the outpatient clinic, and my diagnostic speed is a bit slow. There are still a lot of patients waiting in the hall."

"I was thinking I should get back there early..."

Meanwhile, in the chief’s office of the outpatient and emergency department, a certain someone was eating a luxurious takeout meal with Zhao Shan while flipping through a stack of printed diagnostic reports.

"Old Qi, you’ve really struck gold."

Zhao Shan sighed with admiration. "When it comes to diagnosing organic lesions of the internal organs, to be honest, this kid is better than you and me."

"I re-examined a few of the patients. Not only were there no mistakes, but the lesions on the scans weren’t even as accurately depicted as what this kid drew."

Qi Yue took a sip of tea and said smugly, "Let me tell you, his nickname back at the county hospital was the ’Human CT Scanner.’"

"There are wrongly given names, but never wrongly given nicknames."

Zhao Shan picked up a printed hand-drawn diagram and sighed again. "It’s a shame these hand-drawn diagrams can’t be used as a basis for treatment. The patients still have to get imaging tests done."

"Makes the patients spend a lot of extra money."

Qi Yue chuckled. "With Zhiming’s drawings, they can perform targeted and specific scans, which already saves the patients a lot."

"If we really archived these hand-drawn diagrams as the basis for treatment, even Dean Li would have to make up his mind to kick the kid out."

Zhao Shan, holding the diagram as if it were a treasure, laughed. "How much money could the imaging department possibly lose because of one kid?"

"Once his reputation grows, who knows how many patients will come seeking him out by name. Dean Li can do that math."

After a moment’s pause, Zhao Shan changed the subject. "Any new developments with that exposé post?"

Qi Yue smiled sardonically. "As far as I know, Director Li went to the municipal Ministry of Health first thing this morning to give a report."

Qi Yue lowered his voice. "I think Dean Li wants to stir things up, too. It’s highly likely that a joint investigation team from above will be dispatched to the hospital."

"Regardless of the investigation’s outcome, those guys are definitely going to see their positions shaken up."

Zhao Shan rolled his eyes. "You have your eye on something?"

Qi Yue scoffed, a look of disdain on his face. "What kind of political awareness do you have?"

"I’m retiring in a few years. Why would I bother with all that nonsense?"

"My greatest wish right now is to train this kid and fulfill my long-held desire to have a worthy successor."

Zhao Shan said bluntly, "If this kid becomes a great doctor in the future, it won’t be because you trained him."

"Great doctors always develop on their own; they can’t be molded by others."

Qi Yue wasn’t the least bit annoyed. "But at least I was the one with the keen eye who discovered him, right?"

"Who can deny that?"

Zhao Shan was at a loss for words. He took out two more diagnostic reports and handed them to Qi Yue.

"The kid made special notes on these two, urging the receiving department to examine them with caution."

"Looking at the symptoms alone, neither of these two patients seems to be in serious condition."

Qi Yue took the reports and quickly scanned through them.

"I know this kid’s temperament. If he said so, then it’s basically a sure thing: one has lung cancer, and the other has kidney cancer."

"I’ll inform them later. Have them do a biopsy and pathology analysis directly on the patients to avoid any misdiagnosis..."