Chapter 441 - 440: Worry

Chapter 441: Chapter 440: Worry

At 6:20 PM, in a small private room at Xinfeng Restaurant.

Yan Feifan heard Liu Jin casually order a steamed fish head with diced hot peppers and quickly reminded him, "Teacher, I can’t really handle spicy food!"

Liu Jin looked at the waiter with a hint of regret. "In that case, let’s add the stuffed pork stomach, and you can pick two non-spicy vegetable dishes to go with it."

After ordering, Liu Jin picked up the cup of tea Yan Feifan had poured for him. He took a small sip, and his expression soured.

"Let’s get two bottles of mineral water..."

Once the waiter had left the room, Liu Jin slowly began, "Feifan, we had a visit from the Central Health Bureau today. They asked quite a few questions about you."

"Teacher, does this mean I’m going to become a modern-day Imperial Physician?" Yan Feifan asked, his face full of excitement.

Liu Jin’s tone turned serious. "Their main purpose for coming wasn’t you. They were just inquiring about you on the side."

"However, it’s unlikely you’ll be selected by them in the next few years."

Yan Feifan asked, confused, "Teacher, why is that?"

Liu Jin said gravely, "I told them you’re too young and that you tend to use aggressive, high-risk methods when treating patients."

"I also told them you’re materialistic, and your ideological principles need improvement."

"Teacher, why?" Yan Feifan was even more confused.

Liu Jin was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I don’t want you to be selected."

Yan Feifan murmured a soft "Oh," and silently picked up his teacup to drink.

His quiet response, however, made Liu Jin curious.

"Feifan, why aren’t you asking why I don’t want you to be selected?"

Yan Feifan chuckled. "Teacher, I’m sure you’re doing this for my own good."

"Besides, I figured you’d explain even if I didn’t ask. Why else would you have specifically invited me to dinner?"

Liu Jin reached out and tapped Yan Feifan on the nose, smiling. "You little rascal. You’re starting to figure things out, aren’t you?"

He sighed. "Being a so-called Imperial Physician, from ancient times to the present day, has never been an easy job."

"You can save ninety-nine people and get no major credit, but if you make just one mistake, it’s a catastrophic error."

"Throughout history, the guiding principle for an Imperial Physician’s treatment has always been ’Don’t seek to perform miracles, just seek to make no mistakes.’"

"And with your ’young-bull-fears-no-tiger’ attitude, so confident it borders on arrogant, I’m very worried. I’m afraid those crafty old foxes will push you forward as a scapegoat to handle the high-risk patients."

At this, Liu Jin picked up his teacup and took another sip.

The moment the tea touched his lips, he grimaced.

Liu Jin forced himself to swallow the tea in his mouth.

"Mr. Lo, Mr. Wang, Mr. Chen, Mr. Qin, and I all agree that your aggressive, risk-taking nature will cause you to suffer a major setback one day."

"If you ever get into real trouble here at the Affiliated Hospital, we’re confident that between all of us, we have the ability to resolve it."

"But if something goes wrong while you’re treating some VIP, we’ll be completely powerless to help."

Although Yan Feifan was confident in his surgical skills and trusted his analytical abilities within his ’world of consciousness,’ he also knew very well...

Every person is a unique and complex individual. The same disease can present with different manifestations in different people.

He wasn’t a god. He would inevitably make mistakes.

Yan Feifan also knew that his own foundation wasn’t yet solid. A single mistake could be enough to send him falling off a cliff.

"Teacher, you’ve thought this through much more carefully than I have."

Yan Feifan added self-critically, "All this recent, uninterrupted success has let me get a little full of myself."

Liu Jin chuckled. "You’re not so bad. At least I haven’t seen your nose in the air or you looking down on everyone."

He chuckled to himself before continuing, "Worrying that you’ll make a mistake or be taken advantage of is only one reason."

"There’s another important reason..."

Liu Jin said with a serious expression, "On the other hand, being aggressive and taking risks is also a great strength."

"Without your willingness to think outside the box and take action, the injection-puncture technique probably would have never been applied to treating intraspinal and brain tumors."

"The same goes for the successful penile reconstruction surgery you completed today."

"If you get selected by the Central Health Bureau to treat those VIPs, I’m worried. I’m worried the patient’s prominent status would unconsciously make you conservative. It would make you hesitant and timid, afraid to take risks, and that would stifle your greatest advantage."

After a pause, Liu Jin said very seriously, "My thinking is that it’s best you aren’t selected within the next few years."

"Use these next few years to keep strengthening your foundations. Keep using your aggressive, risk-taking approach to achieve more medical breakthroughs."

"After a few years, you’ll already be accomplished and renowned."

Liu Jin’s voice was filled with hope as he said, "By then, you’ll be a medical authority in your own right. No one will dare to boss you around or tell you what to do just because they’re more senior."

"At that point, even if you do make a mistake..."

"...people will just say that the patient’s condition was too critical and that you did everything you possibly could."

Yan Feifan couldn’t help but laugh. "Teacher, a mistake is a mistake. You can’t really expect others to just lie through their teeth, can you?"

Liu Jin smiled. "And why not? There’s a saying: ’A master calligrapher’s brush writes no wrong characters.’"

"By then, any patient you can’t save would be a lost cause for them anyway..."

Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open, and the dishes began to arrive.

Yan Feifan saw that Liu Xia herself was bringing in the dishes.

He wouldn’t dare be impolite to the woman who might one day be his aunt, so he quickly stood up.

"Mrs. Xia, why are you bringing the food in yourself?"

Liu Xia gently placed the stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured pork and stir-fried peppers with pork on the table. "The other dishes you ordered will be out in a bit," she said. "I brought these two out first so you can start eating."

"Feifan, and this is?"

Yan Feifan followed her gaze and quickly made the introduction. "Mrs. Xia, this is the director of our Affiliated Hospital and also my teacher, Mr. Liu."

Mrs. Xia’s face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Oh my, the director of the Affiliated Hospital! Such an important person! It’s a true honor to have you in my little restaurant."

Liu Jin also stood and smiled. "I’m hardly an important person."

"But speaking of which, Ms. Liu, I’m actually a regular here. I come at least once a month."

Mrs. Xia said, looking a little embarrassed, "Mr. Liu, to be honest, I thought you looked very familiar the moment I saw you. I just didn’t dare to say anything, for fear of being presumptuous."

Liu Jin smiled gently, gesturing between Yan Feifan and Mrs. Xia. "You two knew each other before this?" he asked curiously.

Yan Feifan explained, "I treated one of Mrs. Xia’s employees. We kept in touch after that and became friends."

Liu Jin murmured a soft "Oh," and didn’t press for details.

Liu Xia said warmly, "Mr. Liu, you’re a regular customer and Feifan’s teacher. This meal is on me, of course."

She then turned her gaze to Yan Feifan.

"Feifan, a couple of days ago, your uncle asked me to go to an address and inquire about someone. He specifically told me not to say anything to you about it."

"I went to the place and found the person. I noticed they seemed a bit... simple-minded."

"I told your uncle about the person’s condition, and his reaction was a little strange."

Mrs. Xia’s voice was tinged with concern. "Feifan, I’m a little worried."

"Does this person have something to do with your uncle’s past?"

Yan Feifan’s heart lurched.

Ever since his uncle returned, his biggest worry had been that he would get mixed up with his old shady friends again.

"Mrs. Xia, do you have a photo of this person?"