Chapter 301: Return of the king

The top level of W Mall had many restaurants. The doctors didn't go anywhere expensive like a seafood buffet. Although Wang Hong was treating them, the others would feel too awkward about going to a restaurant that expensive. So, they chose a popular hot pot restaurant instead. The others had begun ordering food already by the time that Zhang Fan arrived.

"You've finally come after trying to summon you for tens of thousands of times! Hurry, Director Zhang, you're the only one who hasn't ordered any food yet. What would you like? I'll help call a server over for you." Wang Hong greeted Zhang Fan passionately.

"Thank you, thank you. There was a traffic jam on the way. I'll be fine with just a tomato hot pot," Zhang Fan responded politely. He then greeted the others.

"Brother Zhang, sit here." Wang Zipeng hurriedly got up and pulled a chair over for Zhang Fan.

"You should sit down. No need to be so polite with me. I can get a chair for myself. How come all of you are here today?" Zhang Fan hurriedly stopped Wang ZIpeng.

"We finally get a chance to rest, so we decided to come here and see the world. Teacher Zhang, which department were you assigned to?" Tong Lili directly addressed Zhang Fan as Teacher Zhang.

"Hey! W Mall's prices are truly expensive. It really is only possible to look at things here. I really don't know what department I've been assigned to yet. The hospital leadership hasn't notified me of anything other than telling me to go to the hospital administration department on Monday," Zhang Fan explained to Tong Lili as he sat down. Tong Lili was greatly relieved now that she had been assigned to the nephrology department rather than the infectious diseases department. All of her previous depression had disappeared without a trace. She was quite energetic now that she was happy. It even seemed like the freckles on her face had decreased in number!

"Teacher Zhang, would you like spicy peppers and garlic? My guess is that the hospital leadership wants to ask you where you want to go," commented the male doctor who had been assigned to the neurosurgery department. His family was rather poor, but he was the steady and reliable type, as well as an introvert.

"Hey, I can't handle you calling me teacher. We're all the same. You can just call me by name. I don't know what the hospital leadership is planning for me. As for you, I hear that you're going to be in neurosurgery? You'll have lots of hard work ahead of you."

"Yeah! Haha."

"Zhang Fan, you don't eat spicy peppers?" Wang Hong inquired.

"I do, but I can't handle too much spiciness."

"Haha, how can a man say that he's incapable? You men should drink some white wine. Lili and I will just drink some red wine. We've finally all finished with being rotation doctors. We should celebrate!" Wang Hong had truly matured.

These young doctors who had just begun working a year ago had already begun automatically maintaining their own social circles. They were learning how to engage in verbal spars and wear masks while saying things they didn't believe. They were learning how to exchange various resources and benefits with each other.

Maybe this was how maturity was in Chinese society. The older one was, the lonelier they would become. Older adults would have fewer friends! Over the course of the hot pot meal, everyone said countless useless things.

Shao Hua also knew that Zhang Fan was no longer a rotation doctor. She especially purchased a David Attenborough handbag for him to celebrate his graduating from being a rotation doctor. After the two of them ate dinner together, they then took a walk down Binhe Road.

"Little Rock, my Little Rock is becoming a formal doctor. Let me see if you're proud of yourself!" Shao Hua whispered sweetly into Zhang Fan's ear.

She was intentionally blowing her breath into Zhang Fan's ear, which made him feel numb and soft all over as if a weak electric current was running through his body. Zhang Fan couldn't help but move his hand towards a certain spot on Shao Hua's body.

"No! There's so many people around! Stinky Rock."

Zhang Fan squeezed his erection through his jeans.

Shao Hua embarrassedly slapped away Zhang Fan's hand. The two of them continued to walk slowly down by the riverside. Zhang Fan took a deep breath as he watched the pouring river, and exclaimed, "It's been seven long years since I started going to medical school. Now, I can finally be properly addressed as Doctor Zhang!"

"Yes, you've worked really hard! Here's your reward." Shao Hua stood up on her tiptoes and gently kissed Zhang Fan.

On Monday morning, Zhang Fan reported to the hospital administration department.

"Have a seat for a moment. Let me call Vice Superintendent Zhao. He'll take you to your department in a bit," the hospital administration director greeted, smiling at Zhang Fan. Vice Superintendent Zhao was Chasu City Hospital's surgeon vice superintendent who was in charge of the surgical departments.

Zhang Fan smiled and nodded without saying anything. He sat down on a chair in the hospital administration department. Right when he sat down, an employee of the hospital administration department poured a cup of water for Zhang Fan.

"Doctor Zhang, have some water."

"Thank you!"

Zhang Fan was truly being treated well at the hospital administration department.

Although Zhang Fan was curious which department he would be assigned to, he managed to withstand his curiosity and refrained from asking.

Vice Superintendent Zhao arrived quite quickly. Zhang Fan had only taken two sips of water.

Zhang Fan and everyone else hurriedly stood up in response to the vice superintendent's arrival.

"Haha, Doctor Zhang is here. You look quite energetic. I was told by Superintendent Ouyang to personally take you over to orthopedic department #1. We'll be relying on you in the future. We expect much out of you!" Vice Superintendent Zhao smiled while patting Zhang Fan on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Leader! I'll definitely work hard and live up to your expectations!" Zhang Fan directly addressed Vice Superintendent Zhao as Leader rather than by official title.

"Okay, good, I have a high opinion of you!" Vice Superintendent Zhao then told the hospital administration director, "Let's go, then. We should leave right now. Orthopedic department #1 is probably waiting for us."

"Okay!" The hospital administration director brought a notebook and pen with him.

Zhang Fan was accompanied by Vice Superintendent Zhao, the hospital administration director, and an employee of the hospital administration department. This was such a grand escort. Normal rotation doctors would simply go report to their new permanent department by themselves with their stamped paperwork. A doctor viewed as slightly more important might be accompanied by an employee of the hospital administration department. However, a grand escort like Zhang Fan's had never appeared before in the history of Chasu City Hospital. It was likely that such a thing would never occur again. Zhang Fan was someone who was too incredible!

"Let's not get started on our work yet. Wait a little while!" Gao Shijun said to a doctor in orthopedic department #1 who was preparing to get started with his work. Director Gao didn't have to wait for long before he and the other members of orthopedic department #1 saw Zhang Fan arrive together with his escort. Wang Yanan was so happy to see Zhang Fan that she almost started jumping up and down.

It was about time to start the department's work for the day, yet Zhang Fan still hadn't arrived here. Wang Yanan had felt that he must have been assigned to one of the other orthopedic departments instead, so she was truly happy to see him joining orthopedic department #1 after all.

Wang Yanan had been in orthopedic department #1 for quite a while already. She was slowly losing her special treatment as the only female surgeon in the department. Others were beginning to give her a hard time about the more difficult surgeries. Although they wouldn't openly bully her, they would say things like "A girl working in orthopedic surgery? Hah!"

Wang Yanan knew that she had worked incredibly hard and withstood so much hardship over the past year. However, she still wasn't as skilled as the more veteran doctors in the department. What was she supposed to do about that? It wasn't like she could start an argument because of it. Any surgery that she wasn't capable of doing would always be stolen away by others.

This was just how people were. At first, everyone else went easy on her because she was the only women working in a group of men. However, they would no longer go easy on her as time went on. The other doctors all needed to support themselves, which meant they all needed money.

Wang Yanan could only do her best to tolerate how things were for her now. There was no helping it. This was the adult world. This was the medical society.

Attending physician Xue Fei smiled happily when he saw Zhang Fan. Xue Fei got along really well with Zhang Fan, so of course he was happy that Zhang Fan was coming to orthopedic department #1. Xue Fei even secretly made funny faces at Zhang Fan when nobody else was watching!

Zhou Chengfu was another attending physician who had joined Chasu City Hospital in the same year as Xue Fei. Zhou Chengfu was the most skilled attending physician in orthopedic department #1 now! He didn't have any previous conflicts with Zhang Fan, and their relationship was alright, but he really didn't want Zhang Fan to come to orthopedic department #1. He felt that Zhang Fan's skills were far too scarily good! Not only that, the vice superintendent in charge of the surgical departments and the hospital administration director had both personally accompanied Zhang Fan!

The other attending physicians in the department were also surprised, but they didn't pay Zhang Fan much attention. They were more concerned with their own affairs. The doctors with second-highest level certification all had calm expressions as they glanced over at Director Gao. They could only remain calm. Director Gao was highly skilled to begin with. He'd already suppressed the doctors with second-highest level certification. Now, someone even younger and more amazing had come here. These older doctors' waves of ambition were slowly extinguished. They no longer felt any more hope!

Meanwhile, there were also two graduate students who had recently joined orthopedic department #1. They felt all sorts of feelings inside. Back when they had been assigned to orthopedic department #1, only a hospital administration employee had accompanied them, and that employee had only been going through the motions. Yet, this undergraduate student was receiving such amazing treatment. Not only did the hospital administration director come with him, even a vice superintendent had come with him as well. Moreover, Director Gao had even delayed the Monday morning's major checkup on the patients for this undergraduate student's sake.

No matter how unwilling the graduate students were to accept this, they couldn't do anything about it at all. They had already signed contracts with the hospital, so they were stuck on this pirate ship. One of the graduate students had a really powerful sounding name. His name was Xu Xian, which meant "wishing to become immortal"! His parents were truly strange, giving him such a name. Still, Xu Xian was quite good at studying. Since he was slightly older for a medical student, he wanted to start going to work and get married first before going back and studying for a doctorate degree.

Xu Xian was slightly unhappy with Zhang Fan's preferential treatment, but he wasn't overly unhappy. 'No matter what this fellow's skills are, they'll soon be revealed!'

Director Gao stood up and greeted the Vice Superintendent while also nodding to the hospital administration director. Director Gao then told everyone, "Before we start our work today, let us invite Vice Superintendent Zhao to speak a few words to us. Everyone, welcome Vice Superintendent Zhao!" Director Gao was then the first to start clapping.

"Haha, alright, I'll just say a few words. Orthopedic department #1! You all are a shining example for Chasu City Hospital. You've obtained so much countless unforgettable glory for our hospital before. I'm quite happy to see this since I'm the vice superintendent in charge of the surgical departments. I've seen Director Gao's responsibility and everyone's hard work for myself. Today, I brought along an excellent coworker for everyone. He's Zhang Fan, Doctor Zhang. I probably don't need to introduce him, haha!

"Director Gao, I'm representing the hospital in leaving Doctor Zhang to you. Train him as you like! Doctor Zhang, this is where you'll be fighting from now on."

"Thank you for your trouble, Vice Superintendent Zhao. Thank you for recognizing our department's work. We'll definitely keep improving in the future." Director Gao then turned to say to the hospital administration director. "Director Chen, please say a few words."

Hospital administration Director Chen hurriedly waved his hand. He was only here today to give Zhang Fan face. There was no need for him to speak.

Director Gao saw this, and thus told Zhang Fan, "You should say something." Zhang Fan hurriedly waved his hand as well. He felt that things were already quite grand for today. If he went up there and said something, then he would be considered really arrogant!

"Alright, since that's the case, we won't disturb your work any longer. Feel free to have your meeting!" said Vice Superintendent Zhao. He then patted Zhang Fan on the shoulders again before leaving with the hospital administration director and the hospital administration employee. They were simply here to show off their attitude, the hospital leadership's attitude.

This was to show how much they valued Zhang Fan; his accomplishments as a rotation doctor were worthy of their attention! This was also to make a show to the higher-ranking doctors in the department. The meaning was quite obvious. 'Don't you dare to bully Zhang Fan. He's got our support!'

Superintendent Ouyang was overprotective like that. She was being incredibly obvious with her favoritism, without even trying to conceal it!

Director Gao waited for the vice superintendent and the others to leave. He then smiled, and told everyone, "Sit down, everyone have a seat. Zhang Fan, you should sit at your old position. You know everyone already, so there's no need for introductions. Oh, there are two new doctors who joined our department. They joined Chasu City Hospital half a year later than you, but were permanently assigned here earlier than you were. You can get acquainted with each other after this. Now, we're going to begin our work for the day."

The doctors and nurses who had been on night shift duty now switched off with those on duty for today's day shift. After that, the nurses all headed out to perform their work. Orthopedic department #1's head nurse, Liao Juan, walked at the very back. Right before she left, she turned around and smiled at Director Gao while saying, "Director, are we going to get together for a meal tonight?"

Director Gao smiled, and replied, "Alright, we'll have a meal together tonight. Please go reserve a hotel, head nurse."

"Okay!" Liao Juan then winked at Zhang Fan.

The two graduate students were rather confused to see Zhang Fan being treated like this. The hospital leadership really valued him, and even the director and head nurse were treating Zhang Fan so! Just who was this Zhang Fan? The two graduate students exchanged glances and could both tell that the other was really astonished!

"I must say that our department is filled with talented individuals now. Doctor Zhang has been out on rotation for a year, but has finally returned now. All the medical teams are full, so Doctor Zhang can be in a medical team with me. I'll give you the second shift. You and..." Director Gao stopped for a moment as his attention was caught by someone.

Wang Yanan was hurriedly waving her hand in an effort to attract Director Gao's attention. She was more mature now, and knew not to just suddenly stand up and interrupt. However, she really didn't want to let go of this opportunity to be teamed up again with Zhang Fan. Otherwise, it would be far too troublesome, and would raise too much attention if she tried to change the medical teams afterwards.

Director Gao glanced at Wang Yanan. He then smiled as he continued his previous sentence. "...Xue Fei will be in a team together."

Director Gao then intentionally paused for a moment. Wang Yanan felt like she was about to cry!

Then, Director Gao finally added, "Yeah, Wang Yanan should join this medical team as well. That's how it will be. I will make adjustments if there's any issue in the future." Director Gao then glanced at everyone, and announced, "Let's all work!"

He then prepared to go to perform outpatient services. He had spent far too much time here today, so there was no time for him to lead a major patient checkup anymore.

After Director Gao left, the original doctors from orthopedic department #1 who were slightly closer to Zhang Fan and the second-highest level certification doctors came over to pat Zhang Fan on the shoulder. The other doctors who only had a normal relationship with him simply greeted him.

Zhou Chengfu had thought things through already. He was going to transfer to orthopedic department #3. He wouldn't be able to accomplish anything in this department now that Zhang Fan was here. However, he would still act nice towards Zhang Fan for the sake of face. "Ha! Brother Zhang, I missed you so much! Come, give me a hug!" He then wrapped Zhang Fan in a bear hug.

"You probably just want him to take work shifts for you," Xue Fei commented. He really did want to hug Zhang Fan. Xue Fei felt that he was probably the closest to Zhang Fan out of everyone in this department, yet someone else stole the opportunity for a hug first. This was the difference between him and Zhou Chengfu. Xue Fei was slightly aggrieved.

"Ha, if I ever take another shift of yours so that you can fool your wife, then I'm going to be this." Zhou Chengfu made a turtle gesture 1.

"Hurry and leave already!" Xue Fei now felt too awkward to hug Zhang Fan. He simply pulled on Zhang Fan's hand while saying, "Come, let me introduce the new doctors in our department to you.

"This is Xu Xian. He's both smart and strong. He's an orthopedic surgery master's degree major from Dee University. This is Li Yuze, another orthopedic surgery master's degree major from Dee University."

Zhang Fan smiled and shook hands with the two graduate student doctors.

Right now, Wang Yanan acted just like a puppy as she followed after Zhang Fan. Although she didn't say anything, she had a really big smile. Everyone knew that she was incredibly delighted.

Of course she was delighted. Now that Zhang Fan was here and she was teamed up with him, who would still dare to steal her patients or make fun of her?

Zhang Fan turned around and saw that his female disciple was almost in tears with happiness. Although he would see her on occasion and maybe even eat a meal with her from time to time, he smiled to see Wang Yanan in her white doctor's coat with such a smile. "I'm back. We can finally fight together again!"

Wang Yanan wanted to respond with "I thought you weren't coming back!", but before she could say anything, Xue Fei first replied, "There's also me! We're all a team!"