After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The restaurant was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Can you fix it?"

Gu Jianguo narrowed his eyes, his tone filled with utter suspicion—the instinctive distrust of a veteran towards a greenhorn. "Do you know that the Zhao family has only one son? Lanlan is only nineteen, the prime of her life! What if she dies on the operating table…"

"Second Uncle."

Gu Zheng leisurely peeled a large shrimp, dipped it in vinegar, and put it in Ye Zhen's bowl. Then he pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands, grinning nonchalantly, "The way you're saying it, it's like the girl will be alive and kicking if we don't treat her. She's someone the King of Hell has already booked. Besides my wife, can you find another person in Beijing who dares to snatch someone from the King of Hell?"

"Shut up!" Gu Jianguo's face flushed red from being choked, and he glared fiercely at his nephew. "This is a matter of life and death, not for you to spout nonsense and defend your own!"

Ye Zhen remained expressionless, not even lifting her eyelids, and simply reached out her hand to Gu Linlin beside her: "Linlin, paper, pen."

"Okay!" Gu Linlin, like a quick-witted little orderly, swiftly fetched paper and pen.

"Second Uncle, I won't beat around the bush with you, let's look at the picture."

Ye Zhen's voice was clear and cool, like jade, and her pen scratched across the paper. Without a ruler, with just a few strokes of her pen, a three-dimensional diagram of the aorta of the heart appeared on the paper, as precise as a printed image.

Although Gu Jianguo didn't understand medicine, the skill in drawing these hand-drawn pictures made his eyes narrow slightly.

"Marfan syndrome causes the aorta to expand like an inflating balloon. The internationally accepted treatment is called the Bentall procedure." Ye Zhen circled a circle on the diagram. "Simply put, it involves cutting off the root of the aorta and replacing it with a tube containing an artificial valve. It's like dismantling the original 'door'—frame and all—and replacing it with an iron door."

"Isn't this good enough?" Gu Jianguo frowned.

"Okay?" Ye Zhen paused heavily with her pen, marking a glaring X on the "iron gate" section. "Second Uncle, after the mechanical valve was replaced, the patient must take anticoagulants for life to prevent blood clots, and the risk is that he is prone to bleeding."

She raised her head, her cold eyes staring directly at Gu Jianguo, each word piercing his heart: "Old Zhao's daughter is only nineteen years old, not married or with children yet. If she were to take anticoagulants for life, every time she had her period, it could lead to massive bleeding and shock; as for childbirth? That would be a death trap."

The table was deathly silent.

In this day and age, the inability to have children means something self-evident to a young woman and her family.

"Even if the surgery is successful, she'll be a porcelain doll for the rest of her life, constantly needing medication, unable to withstand any bumps or falls, and at risk of brain hemorrhage at any moment." Ye Zhen's voice wasn't loud, but it sent a shiver down Gu Jianguo's spine. "Is this the result Political Commissar Zhao wanted?"

Gu Jianguo fell silent and put his chopsticks down completely.

"So...so what are you planning to do?" Gu Jianguo's form of address had changed without him even realizing it.

"Replace only the pipes, not the doors."

Ye Zhen drew another diagram next to her, with an extremely complex and ingenious structure. It was a technology that was ten years ahead of its time. "I don't want to replace the valve, I only want to replace the blood vessel. I will trim her own natural valve and, like grafting a sapling, replant it in the artificial blood vessel."

She put down her pen and said calmly, "No need for anticoagulants, it won't affect her marriage and childbirth, and it will guarantee her twenty years of peace of mind."

This is the future David procedure. In the 1980s, this was a miracle, a fantasy.

Gu Zheng clicked his tongue and poured his second uncle a glass of wine with a proud look on his face: "Second Uncle, it doesn't matter if you don't understand. Just know that no one in the world, except my wife, dares to perform this surgery. What's that called? That's called a unique skill."

Gu Yue exclaimed softly from the side, "Dad, I think my sister-in-law's idea is great! If Lanlan can't have children, how will she live with her in-laws?"

Gu Jianguo took a deep breath, his expression shifting unpredictably.

Reason told him that believing a girl in her early twenties could solve a world-class problem was simply insane; but a soldier's intuition told him that the light in this girl's eyes was not something a liar could fake.

"Second brother, what are you hesitating for? Hurry up and call them to tell them the good news!" Gu Linlin's father, Gu Jianye, spoke up. "Linlin, go get the phone! Is the cord long enough?"

"Enough! Enough!" Gu Linlin dashed out again like lightning.

Gu Jianguo gritted his teeth, as if he had made a huge decision, grabbed the phone on the table, dialed a number, and pressed speakerphone.

"Old Zhao, it's me, Jianguo."

A weary, hoarse middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the phone, with a woman's suppressed sobs audible in the background: "Old Gu... have you arrived in Beijing yet?"

Gu Jianguo glanced at Ye Zhen and said, forcing a smile, "We're here. Um... my niece-in-law is also a doctor. She looked at the medical records and said there's a treatment plan that can not only save the patient's life but also eliminate the need for lifelong medication. What do you think..."

"Old Gu, you're kidding me."

Old Zhao's voice was filled with deep despair and exhaustion. "I've asked around all the domestic surgeons these past two days. Even Zhang from Fuwai Hospital shook his head and said it wouldn't work. I've already asked my old classmate, Counselor Chen, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact Sir Williams at the Royal Brompton Hospital in England. He's the best expert in Europe for Marfan surgery."

Gu Jianguo's face stiffened, and he subconsciously glanced at Ye Zhen, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Old Zhao continued, his voice choked with emotion: "Old Chen is on the phone with the British, trying to get a bed. Although the hope is slim, they're asking for 20,000 pounds, and I have to sell my house to raise foreign exchange... But for my daughter, even if I have to beg, I have to send her to the UK. The technology abroad is always better than ours."

This is the most accurate portrayal of this era.

When faced with a terminal illness, the first reaction of Chinese people is always: go abroad and find foreign experts. Even if it means going bankrupt, they still feel that the moon is rounder abroad and the knife is faster abroad.

Gu Zheng sneered, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. He was about to snatch the phone and confront the person when a slightly cool hand pressed his hand down.

Ye Zhen remained calm, leaned closer to the microphone, and spoke with a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, exuding a strong sense of confidence:

"Political Commissar Zhao, this is Ye Zhen. I just want to remind you that the British only perform the Bentall procedure, which has a very high mortality rate. Moreover, even if the surgery is successful, your daughter will face the risk of hemorrhagic shock every time she has her period, let alone being able to have children."

She paused, then raised her voice slightly: "Is this the result you wanted after selling your house and going to England to suffer?"

There was a visibly pause on the other end of the phone, followed by Old Zhao's bitter voice:

"Ye Zhen? She's the young wife the Gu family just married, right? Jianguo mentioned her to me. Child, I appreciate your kindness. But when it comes to medicine, there's a huge gap. We have to acknowledge the British technology… We can talk about having a baby later; saving her life is the priority!"

Suddenly, a shout came from the other end of the phone: "Old Zhao! It's eight o'clock! They're calling from England soon!"

Old Zhao's tone instantly became urgent: "Old Gu, I have to go now. Old Chen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised to call me back at eight o'clock. I'm hanging up now!"

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The phone went dead.

Gu Jianguo held the receiver, looking at Ye Zhen with an embarrassed expression.

Ye Zhen simply picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, as if she wasn't the one who had just been rejected.

"Let's eat first," Ye Zhen said calmly.