The Enhanced Doctor
Chapter 33 - 033 Depressed Qi Wentai

Chapter 33: 033 Depressed Qi Wentai

(Thanks to my good friend FeelingEmpty671112 for the generous donation)

"Director Jiang, sorry I’m late. I got held up by some business this morning, but I’m here to report in now," Liu Banxia called out cheerfully as he arrived at the Colorectal Department office.

"You don’t look like you’ve worked a night shift at all. Eager to pull another one, huh?" Jiang Tao quipped playfully.

"Not at all. Dr. Chen saw how exhausted I was and let me sleep for a few hours. Shall we get started now?" Liu Banxia asked.

Jiang Tao nodded with a smile. "Our Colorectal Department has suddenly become a hot spot. Even Qi Wentai from General Surgery came over wanting to try out the dressing change technique."

"Well, well, this is interesting," Liu Banxia said, a smile spreading across his face after a brief moment of surprise.

Jiang Tao didn’t comment. Even if he didn’t know the specifics of their feud, his years of experience told him there was definitely something going on between Liu Banxia and Qi Wentai.

"Banxia, hurry up! No one will get their dressings changed if you don’t show up," Guan Wei said, walking in from outside.

"Alright, let’s get this show on the road. Once we’re done, I can finally go home and get some proper sleep. It was a nerve-wracking night," Liu Banxia replied.

"See?" Guan Wei said, pointing to the crowd gathering near the dressing room door as they walked down the corridor. "As soon as they heard you were coming in this morning to change dressings, even patients who’ve already been discharged rescheduled to come in this morning."

Only then did Liu Banxia notice how many patients there were today. He felt quite gratified; this was a testament to his reputation.

"Doctor Liu, we’ve been waiting for you," said Xu Qiang, the patient at the front of the line, as soon as Liu Banxia walked into the dressing room.

"Alright everyone, listen up! I performed Old Xu’s surgery, so he’ll be first for a dressing change today," Liu Banxia announced loudly.

"No worries, Doctor Liu! We don’t mind who goes first," the most enthusiastic ’big brother’ from the Northeast replied.

"Oh, Dr. Qi is here too," Liu Banxia said, as if just noticing Qi Wentai.

Qi Wentai grunted a terse "Hmm" in response.

He was furious. He’d gotten up early and rushed over specifically to compete with Liu Banxia in dressing change techniques. When he arrived at the Colorectal Department and didn’t see Liu Banxia, he’d actually felt a bit pleased, thinking it was a perfect opportunity to showcase his skills. But then a strange thing happened. The patients would just glance at him and then go about their business. When he asked, he found out they were all waiting for Liu Banxia.

It’s no big deal, Qi Wentai tried to tell himself. Patients have their preferences; they don’t know me or how good my skills are. But as more patients gathered, all of them praising Liu Banxia, he couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste in his mouth.

Hearing Liu Banxia joking and laughing with the patients now only fanned the flames of his anger.

"Actually, you don’t have to wait for me. This is Qi Wentai, also an excellent doctor from our hospital. If you’re tired of standing, you can see him," Liu Banxia said, glancing over at Qi.

But even with Liu Banxia’s endorsement, the patients didn’t budge. They knew from experience and genuinely didn’t want to risk any unnecessary suffering.

"How about letting Dr. Qi handle those who are in a rush to get to work?" Guan Wei suggested after a moment’s thought.

This reminded the patients that some of them had indeed taken time off work. Liu Banxia had also been held up in Zhou Shuwen’s office for a while, causing a significant delay.

A patient in work overalls considered his situation. My wound is almost healed anyway, he thought. Even if it hurts, it’ll be manageable. No point wasting more time here.

Seeing a patient finally choose him, Qi Wentai felt a surge of relief. He silently vowed to use his utmost skill for this patient.

Liu Banxia didn’t have time to pay him any mind; Xu Qiang was, after all, his patient.

"You need to get some moderate exercise; don’t just lie in bed all the time," Liu Banxia said as he worked.

"Doctor Liu, when will my seton fall out? I can be discharged once it’s out, right?" Xu Qiang asked.

"Not long now. Your fistula tract is quite shallow, so it should be about four or five days. Alright, next!" Liu Banxia replied casually.

DING! Daily task completed (1/20)

Gained 10 experience points, dressing change technique proficiency +10 points

Those who had witnessed Liu Banxia’s speed before weren’t surprised. Qi Wentai, however, was stunned. We started at the same time! I’ve barely even properly looked at the wound, and he’s already done?

Slightly distracted, his stab with the povidone-iodine cotton ball was a bit too forceful.

"ARGH..."

The man in work overalls, who was effectively Qi Wentai’s practice subject, let out a bloodcurdling scream, startling the patients waiting outside.

"What’s wrong?" Guan Wei exclaimed, startled as well, and hurried to ask. _{fr\(e)ew(e)b.(n)o (v)(e)l.com}

"I... I was just performing a normal debridement," Qi Wentai stammered, sweat beading on his forehead.

Liu Banxia frowned. He hadn’t expected Qi Wentai’s technique to be so clumsy.

After all, even when Liu Banxia changed dressings, patients weren’t entirely pain-free. It was just that the pain was significantly less than usual and well within their tolerance.

He had praised Qi Wentai earlier not to trick the patients, but merely because he wanted to crush him in terms of speed.

"Sir, let me take a look," Liu Banxia said, not delaying a moment and stepping into Qi Wentai’s place.

The ’big brother’ from the Northeast, who had already gotten into position, was quite dismayed. Do I have to wait even longer?

"Bro, can we... can we take a breather for a sec?" the man in work overalls asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Alright. Let me examine the wound first. Perhaps there’s been a change," Liu Banxia said reassuringly.

Qi Wentai desperately wanted to push Liu Banxia aside, but he lacked the courage. The patients’ gazes, now flicking towards him intentionally or unintentionally, felt like tiny daggers repeatedly stabbing into him.

"Sir, have you been sitting for extended periods recently?" Liu Banxia asked after examining the wound.

"Yes, my company is rushing a project, and we’re hurrying to get the blueprints out," the man in work overalls nodded.

"Doctor Guan, could you take a look at this for me? I’m having a bit of trouble assessing it," Liu Banxia said.

Guan Wei examined the wound, his expression becoming one of resignation. "You’re in for some more discomfort, I’m afraid. It’s pseudohealing."

Upon hearing Guan Wei’s words, even the patients in line winced sympathetically. Fresh beads of sweat popped out on the forehead of the man in work overalls.

The term "pseudohealing" was enough to make any anal fistula patient’s face fall and their eyes water. It meant the outer layer of the wound had healed prematurely and would have to be cut open again. Otherwise, a new fistula tract would form, necessitating another surgery.

Everyone felt deep sympathy for the poor guy. Hadn’t Liu Banxia just warned about this? Sitting for too long had compressed the wound, allowing its outer edges to ’lovingly’ reunite—a disaster for the patient.

It wasn’t just a matter of reopening it either. The excess tissue had to be debrided to ensure the entire wound healed at the same rate. The mere thought of this process was enough to make one break out in a cold sweat and their scalp tingle.

Conversely, Qi Wentai felt a wave of relief wash over him. So it wasn’t a problem with my technique, he thought. It was an issue with the patient’s wound itself.