Chapter 364: Wait for the Punishment

Shen Qianhe walked over to check on the sleeping Yang Guoqiang and then turned to ask his daughter-in-law behind him about the patient’s condition after using the ointment. “Comrade Yang, how did your husband sleep last night? Did he still complain of pain like the previous nights?”

As he spoke, he turned back to lift the pant leg of Yang Guoqiang to examine the injured leg.

Yang Guoqiang’s wife, hearing him inquire about her husband’s condition, smiled with delight. “Dr. Shen, I was just about to come find you after he woke up to talk about this. Since applying the ointment you gave him last night, he’s slept soundly and hasn’t complained of pain at all. This ointment really works wonders.”

Shen Qianhe was taken aback by her response; he hadn’t expected the ointment given by Dr. Li to show such quick results.

However, there was soon another surprising development that made his eyes widen.

Just the night before, the leg had been dark and swollen, but now it had regained some color and was noticeably less swollen.

“Dr. Shen, do you think my husband’s leg can be saved? It doesn’t seem as serious as yesterday,” Yang Guoqiang’s wife asked, her face tense as she looked at her husband’s injured leg.

Shen Qianhe was about to respond when he suddenly heard a group of doctors approaching for rounds.

“Old Shen, you’re still here? Shouldn’t you be off duty by now?” Wu Jianhua, accompanied by a group of medical interns, walked into the room, not expecting to see Shen Qianhe, his colleague and rival, in the ward.

“I could have left, but I came to check on Yang Guoqiang’s condition,” Shen Qianhe replied as he lowered Yang Guoqiang’s pant leg after they entered.

Wu Jianhua, remembering the condition of the leg he had seen the day before, was certain that the leg could not be saved.

“Don’t blame yourself too much. I’ve already scheduled an operation for him today. Once I finish the rounds, I’ll perform an amputation,” Wu Jianhua said sorrowfully, patting Shen Qianhe on the shoulder.

Yang Guoqiang’s wife, hearing this, was frantic and quickly looked to Shen Qianhe. “Dr. Shen, my husband’s leg has already reduced in swelling. Are you saying he still needs to undergo an amputation?”

Shen Qianhe glanced at her and reassured her, “Comrade Yang, don’t worry. Your husband’s leg is now stable, and there’s no need for amputation.”

Upon hearing his assurance, Yang Guoqiang’s wife finally relaxed, sighing in relief. “You scared me! I thought my husband was going to lose his leg!”

Wu Jianhua, having overheard their conversation, looked disapprovingly at Shen Qianhe. “Dr. Shen, we’re all doctors here, and you’re a senior one. How could you just go along with what the patient’s family says? Don’t you know that’s a huge breach of protocol?”

Shen Qianhe sighed and replied calmly, “Dr. Wu, what I said wasn’t without basis. I have a solid understanding of the situation. If you don’t believe me, you can check the leg yourself and see if I’m wrong.”

Wu Jianhua, still skeptical, approached and lifted the blanket covering Yang Guoqiang’s leg. He rolled up the pant leg, expecting to see the dark, swollen leg from yesterday. To his surprise, the leg looked vastly different and had improved overnight.

“This is impossible. It can’t be. When I checked this leg yesterday, it wasn’t like this. How did it suddenly change?” He murmured in disbelief.

After mumbling to himself, he immediately turned to Yang Guoqiang’s wife and, with a look of astonishment, asked loudly, “Yang Guoqiang’s wife, what happened to your husband’s leg? What did you do to it?”

Seeing Wu Jianhua’s aggressive stance, Yang Guoqiang’s wife shrank back in fear and timidly replied, “Dr. Wu, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything to my husband. He just used the ointment Dr. Shen gave him, and his leg improved.”

Wu Jianhua, hearing this, turned back to Shen Qianhe, his tone sharp, “Old Shen, she said you gave Yang Guoqiang the ointment. What kind of ointment was it? Was it from the hospital? Why haven’t I heard of such an ointment?”

Shen Qianhe replied calmly, “Yes, I did give him the ointment, but it wasn’t from our hospital. I got it from a friend. But now, it seems to be quite effective.”

Wu Jianhua, growing anxious, seized on this and said, “You just admitted that it wasn’t from the hospital. That means it’s unapproved. How could you use such a thing on a patient? What if something goes wrong?”

Shen Qianhe, recognizing that Wu Jianhua was trying to undermine him, replied coolly, “It’s not random medication. It’s a traditional Chinese medicine ointment, with no harmful ingredients. And as you can see, Yang Guoqiang’s leg is improving. Isn’t this the kind of outcome we, as doctors, hope for?”

“But it’s still unapproved, a product from a small workshop. It’s fine if nothing happens, but if something goes wrong, can you take responsibility?” Wu Jianhua sneered.

At that moment, Yang Guoqiang woke up and overheard Wu Jianhua accusing Dr. Shen of improperly using medicine on him. He recalled how comfortable his leg had felt the night before and how he had slept soundly, and he felt he needed to thank Dr. Shen. He couldn’t let Dr. Shen take the blame for him.

“Dr. Wu, you’ve misunderstood Dr. Shen. The ointment wasn’t his doing. I applied it myself,” Yang Guoqiang explained, sitting up to clarify.

Wu Jianhua’s face darkened even further as he saw Yang Guoqiang speaking up for Shen Qianhe. He turned to Shen Qianhe and coldly said, “Dr. Shen, this is a serious matter, and I won’t cover for you. I’ll be reporting this to the higher-ups. You can wait for your punishment.”

With that, Wu Jianhua turned and led the group of interns out of the room.

Once they left, the room became much quieter.

Yang Guoqiang, looking worriedly at Shen Qianhe, said, “I’m sorry, Dr. Shen. This is all my fault.”