MTCM Ch2

Chapter 2: Lost in the 90s
Four male interns in white lab coats squatted neatly in the corridor outside the gynecology department. This was the only posture that could effectively hide their embarrassment and prevent their lower bodies from betraying their excitement.

Zhang Yang walked out with a dejected expression and joined them in squatting. He was still feeling aroused.

Next to him, a classmate named Chen Guowei smirked maliciously and whispered, “You’re quite bold, huh? You don’t seem to mind this kind of situation at all.” Zhang Yang chuckled awkwardly, not used to this kind of banter.

Soon, they heard the sound of high heels clicking. Lin Xiaoli, with a flushed face, stormed out with an angry look. When she passed by Zhang Yang, she stopped abruptly, bit her lip, and glared at him furiously. “Pervert!” she spat out.

Zhang Yang looked at Lin Xiaoli’s back innocently and said in astonishment, “How can she accuse me of such things? I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Hong Ling also came out from inside, giving Zhang Yang a contemptuous look. “Zhang Yang, you better write a report later. As an intern doctor, you should be careful with your words and actions. Miss Lin was very upset just now, and Director Zhou had to comfort her for a long time. She still feels wronged and said she will report you to the medical affairs office!”

“Report me for what?” Zhang Yang was baffled.

Several classmates said in unison, “Report you for being a pervert!”

Zhang Yang snorted coldly, “She took off her clothes by herself, and Director Zhou asked me to insert my finger…” As he said these words, he suddenly noticed that Director Zhou was standing sternly at the entrance of the gynecology department. Zhang Yang realized he had made another blunder and felt somewhat embarrassed as he stood up.

Director Zhou nodded and said, “Tomorrow, I will report your situation to the school truthfully!” After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the elevator without looking back.

The interns’ dormitory was just across the street from the county people’s hospital, separated by a road. In a short time, Zhang Yang figured out two things.

First, his current identity, and second, his place of residence. The latter was crucial for him. What he needed most now was to lie down in bed and get some sleep, and then sort out the whole story. Luckily, he shared the same dormitory with Chen Guowei.

From various signs, it seemed that Chen Guowei didn’t like him as a fellow medical student. But Zhang Yang was quite adaptable. He shamelessly followed Chen Guowei, who was his lucky guide, determined to find out where the dormitory was first.

Just as they walked out of the hospital gate, they heard an angry voice say, “Hey, you, stop right there, damn it!”

Zhang Yang and Chen Guowei turned around, and behind them came the roar of a motorcycle. A tall, bald man rode a Yamaha 400 racing bike, with Lin Xiaoli sitting behind him in a tight red outfit.

They quickly approached Zhang Yang and Chen Guowei amid the engine’s noise. The man looked to be around thirty years old, with a strong and muscular build, dressed in a flashy racing suit. He adjusted his sunglasses with his left hand and tilted his head slightly, exuding a somewhat dashing air.

“Which one?” he asked.

Only then did Zhang Yang recognize the woman sitting behind him as Lin Xiaoli. Although he had just arrived in this era, he was quite savvy when it came to social interactions. He had already vaguely guessed that the fierce-looking man had come for him.

Lin Xiaoli pointed her finger at Zhang Yang.

“It’s him!”

The bald man was her boyfriend, Zhou Dafang, a social idler who had previously spent three years in a labor camp for fighting. He had some reputation in Beiguan district. When he learned that Lin Xiaoli was sexually harassed by a young punk at the county people’s hospital, he flew into a rage and rushed over with Lin Xiaoli in a hurry. Coincidentally, they ran into Zhang Yang.

Zhou Dafang turned off the motorcycle engine and walked up to Zhang Yang. He took off his sunglasses, kicked Zhang Yang fiercely, and jabbed his right hand at him. Zhang Yang thought he was aiming for an acupoint, so he quietly adjusted his breathing and shifted the vital point in his chest. However, to his surprise, Zhou Dafang’s fingers had no internal strength. Zhang Yang realized that he had overestimated his opponent.

“You little brat, you dare to harass my girlfriend even though you haven’t even grown a beard? Are you looking for trouble?” Zhou Dafang poked Zhang Yang’s chest forcefully.

“Let’s talk it out. We’re both interns at the county hospital…” Chen Guowei tried to explain.

Zhou Dafang kicked Chen Guowei aggressively and said, “Being an intern doctor is something to be proud of? Does that give you the right to touch my woman?”

Chen Guowei stepped back in fear. This matter had nothing to do with him, and he regretted saying that extra sentence earlier.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang quickly took over the conversation. “Brother, I think you’ve misunderstood. I was just following the orders of the hospital director to examine her. I have absolutely no inappropriate intentions towards this young lady!”

Zhou Dafang was originally a ruffian, and his relationship with Lin Xiaoli was just a casual fling. It hadn’t reached the point of “marrying no one but her.” He initially intended to use this incident as an opportunity to extort money.

When he heard Zhang Yang’s response, he thought that the young man had backed down. He sneered and said, “Oh, it seems like you have some sense. Fine, since you’re still a student, I won’t make things difficult for you. But my woman can’t let you touch her for free. So here’s the deal, give me 1,000 yuan as compensation for mental distress, and we’ll call it even.”

1,000 yuan was not a small amount in the early 1990s, and the salary of an ordinary doctor was only around 400-500 yuan. Zhou Dafang was clearly making an unreasonable demand.

Zhang Yang didn’t have a clear concept of money in the present, but he understood that Zhou Dafang was asking him for money. He smiled and said, “Sorry, I don’t have a single cent.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Dafang became angry. “Are you fucking disrespecting me?”

He raised his palm, the size of a fan, and swung it forcefully towards Zhang Yang’s face. He was truly furious and intended to teach this young man a lesson. Chen Guowei was scared and quickly ran to the hospital’s security department. At this moment, the security department was the only place he could seek help.

Seeing Zhou Dafang making another move, and clearly aiming to slap him, Zhang Yang couldn’t tolerate such humiliation. He wasn’t someone with a good temper to begin with. His left hand met the attack, grabbing Zhou Dafang’s wrist.

Both of them were similar in height, but Zhang Yang was relatively weaker and thinner. Zhou Dafang initially thought he had the upper hand against Zhang Yang, but he didn’t expect the young man’s fingers to be like iron clamps, firmly gripping his wrist. With a slight exertion of force, half of Zhou Dafang’s body became numb. It was at this moment that he realized something was wrong. The student in front of him wasn’t as weak as he seemed.

Zhang Yang sneered, “Brother, don’t push me too far!”

Zhou Dafang felt Zhang Yang’s fingers tightening more and more, and his wrist bones were on the verge of being crushed. Surprised by Zhang Yang’s powerful strength, he also felt a sense of fear. With a bitter expression on his face, he managed to force a smile and said, “Maybe it was just a misunderstanding…”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoli became angry. She rushed forward with a fierce momentum and exclaimed, “Zhou Dafang, are you even a man? He inserted his finger into my…!”

She was getting furious and tried to scratch Zhang Yang’s face. Zhang Yang lifted his leg and kicked her in the abdomen. Although he didn’t use full force, Lin Xiaoli was still kicked back more than two meters. She ended up sitting on the road, and Zhang Yang had no thoughts of being merciful to her.

The crowd around them grew larger and larger. Lin Xiaoli sat on the ground, wailing and causing a scene. Two girls stepped out from the crowd, one of whom was Hong Ling.
The other girl had a slender figure and long, lustrous black hair that flowed like a waterfall. She had an exceptionally elegant and charming appearance, with an oval-shaped face, slender arched eyebrows above a pair of clear and beautiful eyes resembling spring water, a petite and straight nose and softly curved and tender lips exuding a gentle fragrance.

Her tight stone-washed blue jeans added a touch of freshness and capable aura. She had a tranquil and reserved temperament, like a bud waiting to bloom. What a beauty! Zhang Yang couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times.

The two of them helped Lin Xiaoli up, and Hong Ling witnessed Zhang Yang kick Lin Xiaoli to the ground with anger, accusing him, “Zhang Yang, you’ve gone too far!”

At this moment, Chen Guowei arrived with two security guards from the Security Department. Zhang Yang released Zhou Dafang’s wrist, and Zhou Dafang suffered a setback. Naturally, he didn’t dare to continue confronting Zhang Yang, leaving behind a harsh threat, “Kid, just you wait!” Then he grabbed Lin Xiaoli and rode off on his motorcycle in a sorry state.

Chen Guowei explained everything clearly to the two security guards, and since the security guards knew what kind of person Zhou Dafang was, they leaned more towards Zhang Yang deep down. After giving them a reminder, they let them go back to the hospital.

On the contrary, Hong Ling was persistent, following behind Zhang Yang and continuing to speak, “Zhang Yang, how could you hit a woman, especially a patient in the hospital? Do you know how serious the consequences will be? You’ve tarnished the image of our entire intern group!”

Zhang Yang couldn’t stand her incessant nagging any longer and stopped in his tracks, turning around. “If you keep blabbering, believe me, I’ll hit you too!”

Terrified, Hong Ling screamed and hid behind her colleague, “Xiaoqing, he wants to hit me!” The girl was Hong Ling’s classmate and good friend, Zuo Xiaoqing, known as the campus belle of Jiangzhou Medical University and the dream lover of countless male students.

Zuo Xiaoqing’s clear eyes coldly stared at Zhang Yang, her delicate and beautiful face filled with fearless pride, as if warning Zhang Yang not to touch her or else.

Regardless of the past or the present, Zhang Yang has always been polite to beautiful women. He shook his head, saying, “I can’t be bothered to argue with a shrew like you!” He was, of course, referring to Hong Ling behind Zuo Xiaoqing.

After Zhang Yang left, Hong Ling’s angry voice rang out again, “He actually cursed at me! What kind of medical student is he? His manners are truly terrible!”

Indeed, Zhang Yang had no interest in dealing with this young girl. He followed Chen Guowei, the free guide, to Room 103 where he lived. He carefully observed Chen Guowei’s every move, whether it was how he greeted the doorman or how he used the key to open the door. Zhang Yang remembered everything clearly.

Everything in this world seemed new to him, and he had to quickly adapt to everything here. There were four interns sharing one dormitory, but the other two interns rarely stayed here because they lived nearby. Although Chen Guowei lived with Zhang Yang, it was evident that he looked down on Zhang Yang as a medical student from the bottom of his heart. He rarely took the initiative to talk to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang struck up conversations here and there, with the sole purpose of extracting as much information about himself as possible from Chen Guowei’s mouth.
Often, after asking three questions, Chen Guowei would finally answer one. Despite this, Zhang Yang still gained a lot of information. Chen Guowei turned on the 14-inch black-and-white television, and the sudden image and sound startled Zhang Yang.

Coincidentally, the TV was playing the drama “Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties,” and Cheng Yaojin swung a large battle axe, roaring, “Yang Lin, I’ll fight you for three hundred rounds!”

Zhang Yang was deeply shocked by everything he saw. Yang Lin? Wang Yanglin, the powerful figure who held great influence in the court. He was the cousin of Emperor Yang Guang, the eldest of the Five Founding Elders of the Great Sui Dynasty. However, Zhang Yang had dealt with Yang Lin before, and he definitely didn’t look like this.

While Zhang Yang was engrossed in watching, the TV suddenly changed, and several graceful girls in swimsuits walked along the pool. Off-screen, a voiceover said, “There are a few inconvenient days every month. But with Danbis silk, I can swim every day…”

Zhang Yang was dumbfounded. He looked around the TV repeatedly but couldn’t find the scene of Yang Lin battling Cheng Yaojin. Full of confusion, he muttered, “Where is Wang Yanglin?”

Chen Guowei secretly chuckled like a country bumpkin, grabbed the basketball under the bed, and went out to play.

After three minutes of commercials, the battle between Cheng Yaojin and Yang Lin finally resumed. Zhang Yang vaguely realized that this thing might be fake. He began to pay attention to the wardrobe in the room. All four compartments of the wardrobe were locked because Zhang Yang had seen Chen Guowei open them with a key.

It was easy for Zhang Yang to figure out the method. He used the keychain hanging from his waist to probe one by one until he finally found his own compartment at the bottom. Besides some clothes, the cabinet contained books and food, which were mostly onion-flavored chicken instant noodles.

Zhang Yang was hungry. He tore open the plastic package of the instant noodles and started munching on them without even using hot water. He hadn’t learned how to make instant noodles with boiling water yet. What surprised him was that there was a book titled “Outline of Chinese History” by Bai Yang among his belongings.

Zhang Yang devoured the instant noodles while flipping through the history book from the beginning. He already knew about events before the Sui Dynasty. He was poisoned by Emperor Yang Guang in the twelfth year of Daye, in 616 AD. The more he read, the more shocked he became. It was now February 11th, 1992, which meant that he had unknowingly traveled to a future world after 1396 years.

That night, Chen Guowei went to play cards with his classmates and ended up sleeping in another dormitory. When he returned in the early morning, he found his dormitory still brightly lit. Zhang Yang had finished reading all the newspapers and magazines he could find and was sitting on the bed, fully focused on watching the morning news.

The next morning, Zhang Yang took the day off, staying in the dormitory to read books and watch TV. He had already eaten almost the entire box of onion-flavored chicken instant noodles from the wardrobe.

When Chen Guowei returned, he solemnly informed Zhang Yang, “Yuan, the head of the Science and Education Department, wants you to report to the department early tomorrow morning.”

Zhang Yang showed no concern about Chen Guowei’s statement. “Guowei, there’s no emperor now?” he asked. Chen Guowei chuckled and replied, “There is, but not in China!”

Zhang Yang felt relieved and let out a sigh of relief. He put his ID card back into the pocket of his jacket. Through the tireless knowledge supplementation during the past day and night, Zhang Yang had a rough understanding of his current situation. He was Zhang Yang, male, twenty years old.

As a graduate of a medical school, he was already considered relatively old for his age. His home address was at No. 16 Anti-Imperialist Road, Xiguan, Chunyang County, less than three kilometers away from the County People’s Hospital. Zhang Yang had a habit of keeping a diary, and through the entries of Zhang Yizhen, he got to know Zhang Yang’s inner world.

When Zhang Yang was one year old, his father passed away. His mother, Xu Lihua, married her current husband, Zhao Tiesheng. Zhao Tiesheng already had two sons and a daughter, so he naturally didn’t have much affection for Zhang Yang, who was like a burden. The diary entries revealed Zhang Yang’s deep resentment towards the Zhao family.
Chen Guowei looked at the dry instant noodles in Zhang Yang’s hand and sympathetically patted his shoulder. “Eating instant noodles too often is not good for your stomach. The food in the hospital cafeteria is pretty decent. Don’t be too frugal.”

Zhang Yang nodded and said straightforwardly, “I don’t have money.”

Chen Guowei had some understanding of Zhang Yang’s family situation and sighed. “Come on, I’ll treat you tonight.”

Zhang Yang didn’t refuse his offer and followed Chen Guowei to the cafeteria. They enjoyed a satisfying meal. Chen Guowei’s father was the head of the Finance and Property Department of a state-owned enterprise in Jiangcheng. Their family was well-off, and he was usually generous.
The reason he treated Zhang Yang to dinner was partly because he pitied him and partly because of another reason. Zhang Yang had already angered Director Zhou earlier, then assaulted a patient outside the hospital, and today he boldly skipped work. These three incidents combined were enough for the hospital to send him back to the medical school. This meal had a farewell connotation to it.

Zhang Yang devoured two servings of braised pork and three bowls of rice until there was nothing left. Then he focused on the tomato and egg soup in the white porcelain bowl. Since he arrived in the 1990s, he hadn’t had a proper meal. He was truly starving.

Chen Guowei stared in disbelief at Zhang Yang. This guy could really eat! Little did he know that Zhang Yang had been hungry for over 1,300 years. This amount of food was nothing to him.

Zhang Yang wiped his lips and let out a satisfied burp. As he looked at Chen Guowei, his gaze became much warmer. One should never forget the person who provides you with water when you’re thirsty. Since someone invited him to eat, he naturally had to be friendly.

Chen Guowei blinked and stood up. “Um… You go back to the dormitory first. I’ll go to the emergency room…” Although there were no intern shifts at the emergency room, many interns still went there every night, hoping to learn more.

Zhang Yang nodded and left the cafeteria with Chen Guowei. They found that it was drizzling outside. Since he had nothing to do in the dormitory, Zhang Yang decided to go to the emergency room with Chen Guowei.

The two ran toward the emergency room while staring at the drizzle. Before they reached the emergency room, they heard the urgent sirens of ambulances getting closer.

Five ambulances parked in front of the emergency room one after another. Doctors and nurses from the emergency department rushed out in a panic, accompanied by many interns.

At a glance, Zhang Yang spotted Hong Ling and the school beauty, Zuo Xiaoqing, among the rescue team.

A tall and sturdy young doctor was busy directing the scene. Fifteen injured patients were brought in by the ambulances. The incident was a serious one, as the scaffolding of the tax bureau building in the southeast of the county collapsed. Although there were no fatalities on the scene, the injuries of the fifteen workers were extremely severe.

The medical staff in the county hospital’s emergency room were still quite understaffed. Besides otorhinolaryngology and pediatrics, there were only five doctors who came to the scene. The young doctor in command was Gao Wei, an orthopedic surgeon who graduated from Jiangcheng Medical University in 1989.

He was the senior of Hong Ling and Chen Guowei. This was the first time Gao Wei had encountered such a situation. He commanded the transportation of the injured patients to the emergency room while instructing Hong Ling to contact the on-duty doctors from various departments.

Seeing Chen Guowei and Zhang Yang standing there watching, Gao Wei shouted angrily, “You two, go and help measure blood pressure!”

Chen Guowei nodded hurriedly and followed a stretcher inside. Zhang Yang understood the techniques of observation, smell, questioning, and pulse diagnosis, but he had no clue about measuring blood pressure. A nurse handed him a blood pressure monitor and pointed in the direction of Zuo Xiaoqing, indicating that he should measure the blood pressure of the patient she was taking care of.

Zhang Yang approached, and it was evident that Zuo Xiaoqing was experiencing such an emergency situation for the first time. Her pretty face had lost color due to nervousness, and a strand of hair escaped from her white cap, adding a touch of charm. Zhang Yang secretly admired her beauty.

Zuo Xiaoqing immediately noticed Zhang Yang’s attention focused on her face and gave him an angry glare. “Measure the blood pressure!”

“I don’t know how!” Zhang Yang honestly admitted.

Zuo Xiaoqing bit her lip. How could an intern not even know such a basic skill as measuring blood pressure? She couldn’t fathom what he had been doing all this time.

She snatched the blood pressure monitor from Zhang Yang’s hand and pulled up the sleeves of the patient. However, she discovered that both of the patient’s arms were dislocated and deformed. She became somewhat flustered and looked around for Gao Wei, calling out, “Dr. Gao!”

Gao Wei was busy stopping the bleeding of a severely injured patient and couldn’t attend to her plea for help.

With just a glance, Zhang Yang could tell that the patient had a dislocated elbow joint. He smiled faintly and grabbed the patient’s left arm.

“What are you doing?” Zuo Xiaoqing exclaimed in shock. In her opinion, the patient most likely had a broken arm. The last thing she wanted was for someone to move the injured limb casually, as it could cause further misalignment.

Zhang Yang completely ignored her. He supported the patient’s upper arm with his left hand and held his wrist with his right hand. With a gentle tug, there was a crisp sound, and the patient’s left arm was successfully reduced.

In the blink of an eye, he restored the patient’s right arm to its original position. Zuo Xiaoqing stared dumbfounded at Zhang Yang. Among those present, she was the only one who had witnessed Zhang Yang’s actions just now.

A student from the School of Medicine, yet his orthopedic reduction technique was so proficient. Based on the appearance of the patient’s arms alone, she deduced that Zhang Yang had effortlessly healed the two dislocated arms with a single movement.

Zhang Yang gave her a mysterious smile, causing Zuo Xiaoqing’s face to flush. She finally snapped back to reality and picked up the blood pressure monitor to measure the patient’s blood pressure. Zhang Yang curiously watched Zuo Xiaoqing’s actions. Even the simplest blood pressure measurement was a novel experience for him.

However, Zuo Xiaoqing’s delicate eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and her expression became serious. Although the patient’s blood pressure was normal, his breathing had become noticeably rapid. The awakened patient pointed at his throat, and his face quickly turned purplish-red. He was obviously experiencing respiratory distress.

Zuo Xiaoqing hurriedly ran towards Gao Wei, who heard about the respiratory distress of patient number 7. After taking a quick look, Gao Wei swiftly proposed a treatment plan, “It might be upper airway obstruction. Perform a tracheotomy on him! You do it!” He then hurriedly moved towards another severely injured patient.

Zuo Xiaoqing was already at a loss. Oh my god! She was only a student with six months of internship experience. Tracheotomy—her knowledge was limited to what she had read in books, and she had never performed it herself. Remembering Zhang Yang’s miraculous actions just now, Zuo Xiaoqing turned to him, seeking help, “You must know how to do it, right?”

How could Zhang Yang understand the tracheotomy procedure? He lightly tapped the patient’s chest and immediately sensed the differences on both sides. Although he had no knowledge of modern medical terms, he believed that Gao Wei’s suggestion of a tracheotomy was a wrong approach.

The patient had a left chest injury, causing air to enter the chest and compress the lung, which was the real cause of his difficulty in breathing. Based on his past experience, Zhang Yang could have used a hollow needle to extract the trapped air, but there didn’t seem to be a suitable instrument at hand. His gaze swept around and suddenly noticed the syringes placed on the treatment cart. A faint smile appeared on his lips. This thing should work.

Amidst Zuo Xiaoqing’s astonished gaze, Zhang Yang grabbed a syringe and removed the plunger. Then, he aimed at the space between the patient’s ribs on the left side and swiftly inserted it.

Zuo Xiaoqing almost fainted and covered her mouth with both hands. Time seemed to freeze until she heard a hissing sound. She snapped out of her terror when she realized Zhang Yang’s judgment was incredibly accurate.

The patient only had a simple pneumothorax, and the correct treatment method was to drain the trapped air from the chest, not perform a tracheotomy. If they had followed Gao Wei’s treatment plan, the patient’s condition would have worsened.

After relieving the symptoms of pneumothorax, the patient’s respiratory distress immediately disappeared, and Zhang Yang quickly withdrew the syringe.

At this moment, the on-duty doctor from the inpatient department arrived hastily after receiving the information, and the medical team’s strength was fully reinforced. The tasks of the interns were taken over by the experienced doctors.

Only then did Gao Wei remember the situation with patient number 7. He came over, took a look, and noticed that Zuo Xiaoqing hadn’t done anything yet. His eyebrows furrowed involuntarily. “Xiaoqing, why haven’t you started?”

Zuo Xiaoqing weakly replied, “He had a pneumothorax!”

Then, she turned and walked towards the rest area.

Gao Wei’s expression seemed a bit embarrassed, but when his gaze fell on Zhang Yang’s face, it quickly turned into anger. Zhang Yang, with his keen eyes, immediately realized that this guy was going to shift the blame onto him.

Taking evasive action was the best strategy in this situation. He quickly turned around and followed Zuo Xiaoqing’s footsteps, slipping away in a hurry.

Zuo Xiaoqing absentmindedly washed her hands, with the scene from just now still flashing in her mind. This seemingly unremarkable student from the School of Medicine possessed incredible abilities. If she hadn’t witnessed it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed everything that had just happened.

Zhang Yang approached her and washed his hands at the adjacent faucet, coughing lightly.

Zuo Xiaoqing looked at him. “Your name is Zhang Yang?”

Zhang Yang nodded.

Zuo Xiaoqing revealed a bright smile and extended her fair and delicate hand. “I’m Zuo Xiaoqing. Nice to meet you!”

Having seen this handshake protocol countless times on TV news, Zhang Yang hesitantly extended his hand. Their wet right hands shook together, and Zuo Xiaoqing’s hand felt warm, soft, and pleasant against Zhang Yang’s palm.
Zuo Xiaoqing whispered, “You’re really amazing!”

Zhang Yang grinned, revealing a set of snow-white, neatly arranged teeth, and whispered back, “Just some small skills, nothing worth mentioning!”

He was indeed being modest, but in Zuo Xiaoqing’s eyes, it wasn’t the case. Zhang Yang gave her an unfathomable feeling, and this guy was quite good at pretending.