142: Chapter 142 Why is He Zhongfeng here?
The Red Zone was relatively calm in the morning.
Lu Chen handled the follow-up exams for two observation patients and then admitted an elderly gentleman suffering from chest tightness and shortness of breath.
With a scan from the Eye of Truth, he identified acute left heart failure with progressing pulmonary edema.
He had Sun Ji assist in administering nitroglycerin and adjusted the ventilator settings, bringing the old man's blood oxygen levels back up to 95% within twenty minutes.
For Lu Chen, such routine emergency procedures no longer posed any challenge at all.
The system didn't grant much experience, just a few dozen points.
But what needed to be done still had to be done.
Around ten o'clock, a Middle-aged man was wheeled into the Red Zone.
He had multiple soft tissue injuries from a car accident, a five-centimeter gash on his forehead, and several abrasions on both arms.
A scan with the Eye of Truth revealed no serious internal organ damage, though two ribs were fractured but not displaced.
The biggest issue was the wound on his forehead; the skin flap had peeled back and required delicate Suturing.
Lu Chen handled it quickly.
Disinfection, anesthesia, Debridement, and then he got to work.
Once the God-level Suturing Technique was activated, his fingers entered that state of extreme precision.
As Shen Xiaoning passed him instruments, her gaze couldn't help but drift to his hands.
Even after watching him so many times, she was still shocked by the steadiness of those hands every single time.
There was absolutely no trace of trembling. With each stitch, the skin edges aligned perfectly, and even the stitch spacing was identical.
After finishing the last stitch, Lu Chen cut the thread.
"All right. When changing the dressing later, make sure not to get it wet. Come find me when it's time to remove the stitches."
...
11:40 AM.
Taking advantage of the lull in patients during the noon hour, Shen Xiaoning ran off to the small break room next to the Nurse Station to get busy.
Lu Chen sat at the workbench in the Red Zone, flipping through the reference materials he had brought back from the provincial assessment yesterday.
The Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine reinforcement card still had over five days of validity left, so he had to seize the time to push forward his progress in the Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine.
After reading for about twenty minutes, the system popped up a notification.
[Basic Theory of Emergency Medicine Experience + 12 (includes 30% bonus from Theoretical Knowledge Reinforcement Card)]
Hmm, reading books grants experience too. Although it's little, every bit counts.
At twelve o'clock sharp, Shen Xiaoning appeared at the entrance of the Red Zone carrying an insulated lunch box.
She was wearing an apron today, printed with a cartoon bear, looking quite childish.
"Dr. Lu! Time to eat!"
She opened the lunch box and laid everything out on the workbench one by one.
Braised pork ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shrimp with garlic, and seaweed egg drop soup.
Four dishes and one soup, packed full.
Lu Chen looked at the spread on the table.
"Didn't you say three dishes and one soup?"
"Hehe, I added one on the fly. Try it and see."
Shen Xiaoning pulled a small plate from the very bottom of the lunch box.
The plate held a few pieces of golden-yellow items.
"What is this?"
"Fried lotus root boxes! I learned it from a tutorial last night. Taste it and tell me how it is."
Lu Chen picked up a piece and took a bite.
It was crispy on the outside, and the meat filling inside was quite fragrant.
"Not bad. Much better than the braised pork you made the first time."
Shen Xiaoning's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really? Then I'll make it often from now on!"
"Don't do it too often. If you get up at 5:30 every day to prep, you'll run yourself ragged sooner or later."
"I don't get up at 5:30 every day! Today was just a special occasion."
Lu Chen didn't say anything more and started eating.
The braised pork ribs were indeed delicious, a significant improvement over the previous times; the seasoning was spot on, and the meat was stewed until tender.
The scrambled eggs with tomatoes were standard, but the shrimp with garlic was quite well-made—the shrimp were springy, and the amount of garlic was just right.
Lu Chen ate two bowls of rice.
Shen Xiaoning sat opposite him, having only eaten half a small bowl herself, spending the rest of the time secretly watching him eat.
"Don't just watch me eat; you should eat more yourself."
"I'm full."
"How could you be full after only a few bites?"
"The girl eats less, you know."
"You ate a whole bowl of rice and two pieces of ribs last night, and you're telling me 'The girl eats less'?"
Shen Xiaoning's face turned bright red instantly.
"That's because yesterday's ribs were especially delicious! I'm just not hungry today!"
Lu Chen shook his head and continued eating.
Meng Yan, passing by, poked her head in to take a look.
"Are you two showing off again?"
"Sister Yan, we aren't showing off, we're just eating normally," Lu Chen said.
"Eating normally? The girl gets up at 5:30 to prep food for you, makes four dishes and a soup plus fried lotus root boxes, and you call this eating normally?"
Lu Chen didn't respond.
Shen Xiaoning kept her head down, shoveling rice into her mouth, her ears red enough to smoke.
Meng Yan walked away with a smile.
After the meal, Shen Xiaoning tidied up the lunch box efficiently.
"Dr. Lu, do you have any plans for the afternoon?"
"I don't know. It depends on the situation in the Red Zone. If there are no emergencies, I'll continue reading."
"Okay, then, if you need water or anything while you're reading, just call me."
"You're a Nurse, not a nanny."
"Nurses can pour water for their colleagues too."
Shen Xiaoning ran off with the lunch box, giggling.
...
1:30 PM.
There were no new emergencies being brought into the Red Zone for the time being.
Lu Chen sat at the workbench and continued to study his theoretical knowledge.
Sun Ji was writing medical records nearby, and as he wrote, he couldn't help but look up at him.
"Lu Chen, you just finished your exam yesterday and you're still studying today? Aren't you tired?"
"Not tired."
Sun Ji rolled his eyes.
"Your study method is just to study non-stop forever, huh."
"Pretty much."
"In ancient times, a person like you would be the type to tie their hair to a beam and jab themselves with an awl to stay awake. In modern times, you're the type that makes it impossible for others to survive."
Lu Chen ignored him and kept flipping through the book.
2:15 PM.
Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the entrance of the Red Zone.
But it wasn't the sound of a stretcher being wheeled in.
It was the sound of leather shoes hitting the floor tiles, very urgent, very fast.
Lu Chen looked up.
Section Chief He Zhongfeng appeared at the entrance of the Red Zone.
He was wearing a dark shirt, and his expression was very complicated.
If you said he was anxious, he definitely was—there was sweat on his forehead.
If you said he was in a difficult spot, he definitely was—his lips were pursed tightly.
But besides anxiety and being in a difficult spot, there was something else that Lu Chen rarely saw on his face.
Fear.
Section Chief He Zhongfeng stood at the entrance for about two seconds, his gaze sweeping across the Red Zone.
Then he saw Lu Chen.
The two of them locked eyes.
Section Chief He Zhongfeng's expression twitched.
He was clearly hesitating.
Lu Chen put down the book in his hand, leaned back in his chair, and didn't speak.
Others in the Red Zone also noticed Section Chief He Zhongfeng's appearance.
Sun Ji looked up, then lowered his head to continue writing medical records.
It wasn't anything new for someone from the Medical Affairs Department to run over to the Emergency Department's Red Zone.
But for Section Chief He Zhongfeng to come over in person, and with that expression, it wasn't very common.
Section Chief He Zhongfeng took a deep breath.
Then he walked in.
He walked up to Lu Chen and stopped.
"Dr. Lu."
Lu Chen looked at him.
"Section Chief He."
Section Chief He Zhongfeng hesitated again.
"Are you free right now? I have something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
Section Chief He Zhongfeng looked at Sun Ji nearby, then looked at the Nurse Station in the distance.
"Can we step aside to talk?"
Lu Chen thought for a moment, then stood up.
"Sure."
The two walked to the corridor outside the Red Zone.
Section Chief He Zhongfeng leaned against the wall, rubbing his hands together unconsciously, then lowered them, and rubbed them again.
"Dr. Lu, I know some things were done inappropriately before. You know it, and I won't pretend otherwise."
Lu Chen leaned against the opposite wall, his hands tucked into the pockets of his scrubs.
"If Section Chief He is here to apologize, there's no need to be so formal. Just say it directly."
"It's not an apology, it's a favor I want to ask of you."
Lu Chen's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Section Chief He Zhongfeng wants to ask him for a favor?
This scene was indeed quite rare.
The person who had been secretly tripping him up was now turning around to ask him for help.
"What favor?"
Section Chief He Zhongfeng's lips moved.
He was clearly organizing his words.
After several seconds, he finally spoke.
"My uncle-in-law had an accident."
"What happened?"
"He works in the arts. There was a very important performance this afternoon. During rehearsals, there was an issue with the props. A piece of prop glass shattered and slashed his face."
Lu Chen didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.
Section Chief He Zhongfeng's voice was a bit tight.
"On his right cheek, from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth, there's a gash about eight centimeters long."
"It's very deep, the flesh has peeled open, and the edges are jagged. It's very ugly."