Chapter 31
Before leaving get off work in the afternoon, Zhou Wangchuan knocked on Xu Yong's clinic door again.
Xu Yong raised his head, pushed his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, and frowned. "If you're still here for this morning's matter, I advise you not to waste your time."
Zhou Wangchuan said, "Hospital regulations stipulate that if a patient's attending physician disagrees with the head of the department, they can ask the dean to act as a mediator and both sides can present their opinions."
He paused and said, "Director Xu, I've already reported this to the dean, and he asked me to go to the conference room with you."
While hospital regulations do include this provision, the director serves more as a mediator, mediating the conflict between the two parties. He cannot force one party to accept the other's opinion. In other words, the signature authority for the surgical approval remains with Xu Yong, and no one can force him to sign.
Hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed across Xu Yong's face. Then he stood up with a sneer and said, "Do you think that calling the dean and using your family background and connections can put pressure on me?"
Zhou Wangchuan remained neither humble nor arrogant: "That's not the case. I just have something to say clearly. Without the dean present, you probably won't be willing to listen to me."
Xu Yong walked out of the clinic: "Let's go. But I want to tell you, this is useless."
As they passed each other, a cold wind blew across their faces, and both of them had cold expressions.
Ten minutes later, the dean hurried into the conference room of the hospital's main building.
The dean was a vigorous man in his sixties, who always looked cheerful. He sat down next to the two of them and began to speak in his usual kind tone.
"Doctor Xu, Doctor Zhou told me this afternoon that there's a conflict between you two that needs to be resolved. Right, everyone sit down and have a good talk, problems can always be solved! You can start talking." After the dean finished speaking, he unscrewed the thermos cup, took a sip of tea, and leaned back in his chair.
Zhou Wangchuan nodded to Xu Yong and said, "The dean must be aware that the conflict between me and Director Xu centered around a single operation. The patient's family had signed a consent form, and I conducted a preoperative assessment, giving a 60% success rate. However, Director Xu refused approval, citing the risks."
He paused, looked at Xu Yong, and said, "Furthermore, Director Xu admitted that he was prejudiced against me, thinking that I was overly ambitious, seeking fame and reputation, and relying on connections to get to this position."
Xu Yong said, "One more thing. You're also keen on using gambling on the operating table to verify God's favor towards you."
The dean sensed the tension between the two and hurried to smooth things over: "Oh, Xiao Zhou, you're being harsh! Old Xu definitely didn't mean that. Misunderstandings are normal. Let's listen to what the other person has to say first."
On one side is the son of a wealthy man who has donated huge sums of money to the hospital and is a leading doctor of the younger generation; on the other side is an experienced and senior physician with a gold medal. The dean does not want to offend either side.
"I would like to refute Director Xu's definition of me one by one," said Zhou Wangchuan.
He handed over two documents that he had prepared long ago, one for the dean and one for Xu Yong.
"These are all the teacher comments, superior evaluations, and awards I've received since I started college. They also include the evaluations from leaders at the school hospital, dozens of clinics, and upon completion of my internship at this hospital. Also included are the professional journal papers I've published over the years. Also included are some honorary certificates and scholarship certificates."
The document is very thick, covering both theoretical study and social practice. In the entire medical field, this is also a pretty perfect resume.
Zhou Wangchuan said: "Every evaluation in the document is true and reliable. I want to use this to refute Director Xu's comment that I am 'overly ambitious and unrealistic.'"
Xu Yong didn't seem to want to look through the document, but the dean had already started looking at it, so he had no choice but to open the title page of the document and start to glance through it.
"Dedicated to research, diligent and hardworking." Professor Qu, who's so demanding, surprisingly also praises his students." The dean flipped through the pages of teacher comments and said with a smile, "Xiao Zhou went back to school a while ago. Did he see Professor Qu? Is he in good health?"
Zhou Wangchuan said, "Professor Qu is in good health and is currently mainly engaged in theoretical research."
The two exchanged a few more words, and Xu Yong finished looking through the document, closed it, and put it aside, saying, "It's just flattery, but it doesn't mean anything."
Zhou Wangchuan smiled and said, "Director Xu probably means that with a family background like mine, there's no teacher evaluation I can't get, no honors I can't receive, right?"
"Yes, when the hospital awards prizes every year, the judges might give me special consideration for various reasons. I'm not sure if this is the case or not. Director Xu feels that for me to be promoted to my current position at my age, there must be something fishy going on—"
He spoke clearly, "Perhaps someone will, because of my background, make an exception for me and artificially accelerate my advancement. Perhaps, perhaps not, I don't know. But I can honestly say that I am worthy of my current position. As for those subtle aspects of human nature, I won't actively exploit them, because that goes against sincerity. But I won't deliberately avoid them to prove my own integrity, because that's too pedantic."
At this point, Zhou Wangchuan tapped the title page of the document with his fingertips. "As for the comments from teachers, superiors, units, and patients, you can call them flattery, or useless, empty rhetoric. It doesn't matter. But I still say that I am worthy of my conscience, and I accept them with equanimity."
Xu Yong's expression remained unchanged, and he simply said, "These have nothing to do with the surgery."
Zhou Wangchuan smiled and said, "Yes, I am just trying to dispel your preconceived prejudices." He was no longer humble as before, and his tone became sharp.
The dean hurried to smooth things over: "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. There's no such thing as prejudice. Just talk it out!"
Zhou Wangchuan said, "Secondly, Director Xu believes I have no respect for life. I've reduced the patient's life and death to a cold, mechanical number—the success rate of the operation."
"This story begins many years ago," Zhou Wangchuan said. "When I was in middle school, my mother fell seriously ill. My father took her to seek medical treatment everywhere, but almost all the well-known doctors at home and abroad gave her a death sentence. Then, an old doctor who had long since retired came forward and gave a number - 40 percent."
Zhou Wangchuan's tone softened. "He told us the surgery has a 40% success rate. That cold, hard number will determine my mother's life or death. It's not just a number; it's a devastating hammer."
"Having experienced it myself, I understand the significance of the 'surgery success rate' better than anyone. It can be a family's last straw, their only hope, the fading glimmer of hope in a patient's fading life. It may seem light, but it weighs heavier than Mount Tai. Because of this number, I applied to study medicine, hoping to bring that hope back then to more families."
"Therefore, I refuse to accept your evaluation of me," Zhou Wangchuan said word by word. "This evaluation is too absurd, too presumptuous, and too disrespectful to me. It's not the respect of a colleague or a leader, but the respect of both parties as equals."
Xu Yong's expression changed slightly.
The atmosphere was tense, and the dean tried to ease it: "Hey, everyone, talk it over..."
After a while, Xu Yong said, "Even if what you said is true, I still stick to my judgment. The operation is too risky, so I won't sign the approval. Once on the operating table, the most important thing is the surgeon's risk control methods and rational judgment, not emotional appeals."
Zhou Wangchuan said, "I've proven to you that 60% is a very high success rate for me."
Xu Yong said gravely, "Have you ever considered that if such an open-source, specimen-like operation fails, it will inevitably cause a huge uproar within the industry. The department and the hospital will then be impacted by public opinion. How will you expect your colleagues to cope? I care about the dignity of the department and our hospital."
"Enough!" Zhou Wangchuan stood up suddenly, staring angrily at the man before him. He hadn't been angry during the previous exchange of words, but now, anger was burning in his heart. He took a few deep breaths before he could calm down.
"What I care about is the dignity of life." He spoke each word with great emphasis.
The conference room suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Zhou Wangchuan calmed down. He loosened his tie and smiled. "Don't be so anxious to express your opinion. I'm not asking for your opinion on the surgery. You've refused twice, and I never ask for the same thing a third time."
When he said this, he was distracted. He thought, this is indeed his bottom line and principle, except for his lover.
Zhou Wangchuan's expression softened, and he continued, "As long as the patient agrees, I will perform this operation no matter what."
Xu Yong also stood up and said, "For the honor of the hospital and the department, I will not approve it."
Zhou Wangchuan said: "Coincidentally, I own a private medical facility with complete medical conditions, and I am a fully qualified doctor. I will perform this operation in my own name, and it will not have any connection with your hospital or department, and it will not affect your reputation." He stopped saying "you".
Hearing this, the dean's expression changed and he stood up: "Xiao Zhou, it's not that bad..."
But Zhou Wangchuan smiled and said the last words: "I will hand in my resignation as soon as I get to work tomorrow."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
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