Chapter 367: Bold Attempt

Chapter 367: Daring Experiment

Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t sure what her master had in mind, but she had no choice but to comply.

Over the next few days, she practiced her surgical skills every day.

Her dexterity hadn’t suffered—it was only natural since she performed acupuncture on patients daily.

But it had been a long time since she last held a scalpel. It dredged up old memories, and she instinctively avoided picking one up.

She wondered if anyone had grieved for her after she died.

There wasn’t much time for idle thoughts, though—there were more important things to focus on now.

Song Guangjing did arrange several surgeries for Ye Xiaoxiao.

But the patients were either lab mice or a sow.

For a second, Ye Xiaoxiao thought she’d signed up for sow postpartum care by mistake.

She could understand the lab mice—many of them were bred specifically for surgical training.

While Ye Xiaoxiao operated on the lab mice, Song Guangjing watched from the sidelines.

The organs of the lab mice were much smaller, demanding even steadier hands.

Ye Xiaoxiao’s hands were rock solid. The entire surgery took thirty minutes, and the tumor extraction went perfectly.

After the surgery, Song Guangjing instructed Ye Xiaoxiao to operate on the sow next—he wouldn’t be watching this one.

Ye Xiaoxiao: “…Understood, Master.”

The sow’s case was worse. After reviewing the scans, Ye Xiaoxiao found that the sow’s liver was littered with tumors, which had already turned malignant.

The operating room was located within Rende Pharmacy. A senior colleague who specialized in pharmaceutical research saw Ye Xiaoxiao studying the scans in the office and chimed in.

“Director Song really went all out finding these cancer-ridden animals.”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “Master’s just putting me through the wringer.”

Still, it was hard to explain why she was so skilled.

Thankfully, those two years abroad served as a convincing cover—Song Guangjing probably wouldn’t question it too much.

In a week’s time, Ye Xiaoxiao performed tumor removal surgeries on all the small animals Song Guangjing had gathered.

Animals weren’t humans, after all. Two of the lab mice, despite successful surgeries, still died during the observation period.

After handling the remains, Ye Xiaoxiao took the postoperative reports to Song Guangjing.

To her surprise, Song Guangjing barely glanced at them. Instead, he asked, “Were your surgical skills also taught by the master who introduced you to medicine?”

How could Ye Xiaoxiao explain? Truth was, she’d benefited from decades of future knowledge.

Medicine decades ahead was bound to be more advanced.

No wonder she seemed so proficient.

On top of that, she was from a medical dynasty—she’d had top-tier training and resources.

But now, when Song Guangjing asked, Ye Xiaoxiao could only nod.

Song Guangjing asked, "Have you been in contact recently?"

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head. "No, we lost contact a while ago."

Song Guangjing felt deeply regretful. He had always believed that the person who taught Ye Xiaoxiao must have had exceptional medical knowledge. If he could have a face-to-face discussion with them, he would be very satisfied.

Unfortunately, there had been no word from that person, and he wondered if he’d ever meet them again in his lifetime.

Song Guangjing decided to put this out of his mind for now. The most pressing matter was helping Ye Xiaoxiao successfully complete this surgery.

"These past few days, I've seen your capabilities. I'm glad this decision wasn't made on a whim. Although I support what you're doing, you still need to talk to the patient in advance to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Song Guangjing’s biggest concern was still Ye Xiaoxiao. If the surgery failed, even with a signed disclaimer, she’d face serious consequences.

But now that his apprentice was willing to try and wasn’t just being overconfident, he should support her.

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded earnestly and said, "Master, I’ll talk to the patient."

This meant going over all the risks with the patient clearly, as well as informing the family about the situation.

The next day, when Zhang Runxin came to Rende Pharmacy for acupuncture, Ye Xiaoxiao brought it up with him.

Zhang Runxin lowered his gaze slightly. "My family probably can’t make it, but I can cooperate with everything else. Can I just sign for myself?"

Nowadays, hospitals didn’t always require family signatures for surgery.

But Ye Xiaoxiao knew that if the family wasn’t informed beforehand and something happened to Zhang Runxin, she’d be in hot water.

"Mind if I ask why?" Ye Xiaoxiao asked.

"My father is the only one at home besides my stepmother and two younger brothers. Because of the surgery costs, he might not want me to get the surgery."

Zhang Runxin’s family situation was complicated, and bringing his family into it could make things worse.

Jiang Yi could confirm this.

"Doc, Xiao Xin’s telling the truth. His family really mustn’t find out he's sick. If they do, not only might they refuse to sign, but they might go after his money," Jiang Yi cut in, worried.

Zhang Runxin’s treatment expenses were all hard-earned money from painting.

A while back, his work was featured at an exhibition in the capital, which helped him make some money. Without that, Jiang Yi would’ve had to pay for the surgery himself.

Ye Xiaoxiao said, "Alright then, just sign the waiver ahead of time."

If Zhang Runxin’s father really caused trouble, Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t someone to mess with either.

Once this was settled, Ye Xiaoxiao went over the surgery plan.

She also told Zhang Runxin that although she'd be the lead surgeon, a few specialists would help as first and second assistants during the procedure.

Jiang Yi wanted to ask why those experts wouldn’t lead.

But he bit his tongue.

He wasn’t stupid—Ye Xiaoxiao had clearly put a lot into this, even getting a hospital bed at First Hospital. Pushing it would just upset her.

Truth be told, Ye Xiaoxiao wasn't one to get upset easily. Now she was completely focused on completing the surgery ahead of her.

"Dr. Ye, what about the surgery costs..."

"As I mentioned before, if I'm the lead surgeon, it can be free. And for the medical fees at First Hospital, they gave us their best possible discount because they wanted my surgical plan."

Ye Xiaoxiao, worried he might find it unreliable, reassured him, "Don’t worry about getting shortchanged—we absolutely don’t see you as a test subject. I just feel this surgery is very meaningful to me."

Zhang Runxin smiled gently. "I didn’t mean it that way. Thank you for helping me, Dr. Ye. I trust you."

And so, the matter was settled.

Ye Xiaoxiao would continue to help Zhang Runxin prepare physically, with the surgery scheduled for a month later.

It would also give Zhang Runxin time to get himself ready psychologically.

After leaving Rende Pharmacy, Zhang Runxin could hardly believe it himself.

He had just agreed to Ye Xiaoxiao’s proposal—letting a young traditional Chinese medicine doctor become his lead surgeon.

It sounded crazy, but Zhang Runxin truly wanted to live.

The surgery was scheduled for December. He hoped to live to see the new year.

Jiang Yi had come to terms with this and could only comfort Zhang Runxin, "At least the cost won’t be a problem..."