Physician's Odyssey Chapter 39

Chapter 39 - Small Episode of Snatching a Patient
A lady walked out from the Paediatrics Department and was heading towards the second floor with her brows knitted. She was just been informed that her patient had been 'snatched' away, which was a taboo in the hospital.
When she arrived by the entrance of TCM Department's consultation room, Zhang Chao smiled while standing in her way. "Department Head Lu, I apologise about this, but I'm afraid I will have to ask you to wait outside while Department Head Su is treating the patient."
Lu Shimiao's brows knitted unhappily. "She is my patient, I have always been the one handling her case. You guys can't interfere, it will be dangerous if her illness worsens!"
Zhang Chao shrugged and pointed to the woman that was sitting by the side and sighed, "The mother of the child was kneeling outside the registration counter when her daughter collapsed. Department Head Su courageously stood out to rescue her, so you can't call it a snatching."
Lu Shimiao was stunned, since she, more or less, figured out what had happened, but she was still unhappy. "But you guys should have informed me first. What are you guys trying to do by interfering so abruptly?"
She had no favourable opinion of Su Tao, to begin with, so this matter was just adding oil to the fire, misunderstanding that Su Tao did this on purpose.
Zhang Chao awkwardly smiled. "How about this, I will personally let Department Head Su know about this when he's out."
"I'll go look for him myself!" Lu Shimiao knitted her brows.
"I don't think this is proper, right?" Zhang Chao had also furrowed his brows.
Coldly, Lu Shimiao replied, "You guys snatched a patient of mine, do you think that it's proper for your TCM Department to do this?"
Her anger wasn't affected by her emotions; it was purely out of concern for the patient.
When the woman saw Lu Shimiao, she pulled Zhang Chao and explained with complicated feelings, "Doctor Lu is the attending doctor of my daughter, Jiao Jiao. She was the one that applied for us when the hospital stopped our treatment several times. She even took care of my daughter's bills from her own pocket. We're really apologetic to her that we left without saying anything."
Lu Shimiao sighed, "I was planning to apply a waiver for your daughter so that it will void the treatment fees for her. But you guys abruptly left the hospital, which caused the matter to be shelved."
"Free treatment?" The woman was stunned at Lu Shimiao's words.
Seeing that Lu Shimiao was also worried for the patient, Zhang Chao said, "Calm down, for now. When Department Head Su comes out and knows about this matter, he will definitely not snatch your patient. Why don't we just consider this as him performing a checkup for the patient?"
With her brows frowned, Lu Shimiao folded her arms. Her stunning figure had attracted many gazes from physicians of the TCM Department. Lu Shimiao was known as the hospital madonna. Even if she was married, she still became the ideal lover for every male doctor and physician with her outstanding appearance and cold bearing.
Roughly half an hour later, Su Tao looked a little haggard as he walked out of the consultation room. Immediately, the woman of the girl anxiously went towards him. "Doctor, how is my daughter?"
"She's asleep for now, and she will be fine when she wakes up." Su Tao smiled as he comforted.
Lu Shimiao stood up and walked towards Su Tao, then said in a cold voice, "That's pretty high confidence you have there! Your TCM Department can easily treat something that not even our Paediatrics Department could do?"
Zhao Chao immediately explained, "Department Head Lu is Jiao Jiao's attending doctor. She was just going to apply a waiver for Jiao Jiao's medical bills."
Su Tao frowned, he knew things had gotten messy now. He immediately smiled. "I had just used acupuncture to temporarily stabilise her condition. Medicine is needed if you want to treat her dysautonomia."
Hearing Su Tao's words, Lu Shimiao walked into the room and left with Jiao Jiao in her arms.
Zhang Chao sighed and smiled after that. "Department Head Su, you reacted pretty quickly. That is Secretary Qiao's Daughter-in-Law, so it will be troublesome if you offend her."
Seeing the smile on Zhang Chao's face, Su Tao knew that the former had misunderstood him. Zhang Chao probably thought that he was this courteous because he didn't want the matter to blow up.
The truth was, he had already treated that girl with the Heavenseizing Hand.
But if he said that he had already cured Jiao Jiao when Lu Shimiao was applying for the waiver, who would pay for the previous treatment bills?
So he wasn't trying to admit his faults; he was just thinking about the girl's family.
An hour later, Lu Shimiao looked at the Jiao Jiao's examination with a grave expression. The illness on her hypothalamus disappeared, all indicating that she was perfectly healthy…
"What is going on?" A solemn expression flashed on her face. It wouldn't suddenly disappear, and the only explanation would be that Su Tao had treated her illness.
As a specialist on paediatrics, dysautonomia belonged to a common disorder for children ranged between three to nine years old. With the current development of western medicine, the best treatment could only contain the disorder.
Although there were cases of successful treatment in the TCM realm, most of them were treated by highly experienced physicians. They treated based on their experience and medicine to restore the inner organs and vascular functions.
So she concluded that both western and chinese medicine could only target at regulating the nervous system, it's not something that could be treated in a short amount of time.
However, Su Tao only spent an hour to treat Jiao Jiao's illness, which made her feel unbelievable and toppled her thoughts on her medical concept.
At this moment, her phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number, "A white lie shows the kindness of a doctor."
Lu Shimiao gently breathed out as she struggled in her heart. This message was definitely from Su Tao. He wished her to help Jiao Jiao's family.
Lu Shimiao looked at the application that she had prepared. The hospital had approved it, and she had also obtained the support of a company that developed dysautonomia resistance medication, which they were willing to pay for the treatment fees. It's just that Jiao Jiao was suddenly taken away by her mother, which resulted in this event.
When she walked out of her office and saw a man sitting beside Jiao Jiao's mother, he immediately stood up when he saw Lu Shimiao. "You must be Department Head Lu, right? I am a reporter from Hanzhou City News. I just heard that the hospital is applying a waiver for Jiao Jiao's treatment, am I correct?"
Lu Shimiao was stunned from the surprise before she answered, "It's only an application; it hasn't been approved yet."
The reporter continued, "The hospital is truly passionate to be thinking from the angle of the patient. May I ask the chances of Jiao Jiao being cured after obtaining the waiver?"
It was a tough question for Lu Shimiao as Jiao Jiao had already been cured. "There isn't any illness that can be 100% treated, and I can only say that I will do my best!"
The reporter smiled. "Doctors are kind indeed. I intend to use the influence of the news to appeal to charity organisations to collect funds for Jiao Jiao. Even if she has hope to obtain the waiver, her family is also in debt from her previous treatment. We can't allow Jiao Jiao's family to be destroyed just because of her illness."
Lu Shimiao nodded her head. "You are a reporter with a sense of responsibility."
"Likewise." The reporter smiled.
Lu Shimiao no longer talked to the reporter after this. The medicine had noticeable effects without any side effect that could help the patients greatly. There was only ten-odd quotas in the country, and she had relied on her connections to obtain one slot.
Although Jiao Jiao had been treated, and she would no longer require the medication, Lu Shimiao still decided to give her the quota.
It was due to the message from Su Tao. It might go against her occupation ethics, but it fits the bill of a doctor's kindness.
There was an article on Hanzhou City News' Wednesday papers, with regards to the Lu Shimiao of the Paediatrics Department going a further step for the unfortunate patient. There was also a small column that talked about the friction between Lu Shimiao and Su Tao.
"Master, you're in the paper!" Wang Peng yelled with the newspaper in his hand.
"A 'snatching' incident occurred during Department Head Lu's actions to help. So it turns out that the Head of TCM Department, Su Tao skipped the registration process and immediately carried the girl to the TCM Department for treatment after witnessing the girl's faint appearance. Snatching is considered a taboo between departments, but Su Tao and Lu Shimiao showed understanding for each other. Both of them were merely fulfilling their duties as doctors, and through Department Head Su's immediate assistance, Jiao Jiao's illness has stabilised for the time being…
A doctor of the Jianghuai Hospital that witnessed the misfortune of the patient's family. Even if they couldn't afford the costly treatment fees, Jianghuai Hospital still stretched out a helping hand to fulfil their duties as healers. Thus, as a reporter, I would also like to appeal to the charitable public to contribute your love for Jiao Jiao…"
Xiao Jingjing smiled. "If the reporter mentions the Three Flavour Hall, it would be better. It can be an efficient advertisement."
Zhao Jian replied, "The protagonist of this article is Doctor Lu Shimiao, Master is merely a supporting character."
Looking at Lu Shimiao's photo on the article, Zhao Jian praised, "What a beauty, so is her heart!"
Seeing his disciples bickering around, Su Tao smiled. Lu Shimiao was a reasonable person, since she told a white lie. Thus, he could tell that she was not as cold as she was on the surface.
With a brief ponder, Su Tao sent a message over. "I never thought that you'd be so photogenic. Your photo on the papers is much better than you in real life."
"Go and die!" Lu Shimiao replied shortly.
Su Tao coughed, "Okay, we will start special training starting from today in preparation for Jiangnan TCM University's tournament. We must obtain a good result!"
Seeing Su Tao's suddenly stern expression, Wang Peng bitterly smiled. "Master, I'm afraid only Senior Sister has a chance in this."
Su Tao waved his hand. "Keep in mind that an outstanding physician must have the courage and confidence to challenge. Starting today, all of you are required to stay in. Each of you will be given four hours of rest, and all of your energy will be focused on the tournament."
The three of them received it calmly, since Su Tao had already given them the news a few days prior.
When Zhao Jian heard that he could finally stay in the Three Flavour Hall, he peeked at Xiao Jingjing with excitement in his heart. He could finally stay under the same roof as her.
However, her gaze was all on Su Tao, ignoring his existence, which made him feel disappointed.
Wang Peng raised his hand up. "Master, I have a request!"
Su Tao was briefly stunned before asking, "What is it?"
"Can I have a portion of the Beautifying Cream as well to test?" Wang Peng said.
Zhao Jian immediately smiled. "Pengpeng, you want to be beautiful as well?"
Wang Peng's face immediately turned red. "Everyone yearns for beauty. If there is less acne on my face, I will definitely look more charming than you!"
What Wang Peng said was also a business opportunity since the Beautifying Cream did have an effect of treating acne. All he had to do was to alter it a little, and he could introduce it as an Acne-version of Beautifying Cream.
Su Tao replied, "I have no problems giving it to you, but you must promise me that you have to work hard in studying the herbs. I hope that not long in the future, you can concoct your own cream."
Seeing that Su Tao had agreed to his request, Wang Peng's eyes lit up. "Master, I am confident about it!"