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

Arthroscopy?

These three words, like a muffled thunderclap, exploded in the living room, stunning everyone.

General Chen stood there stunned, and even Old Master Gu stopped fiddling with the walnuts.

"What the hell is a mirror?" General Chen couldn't help but ask, his face clearly saying, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Ye Zhen remained composed; she knew all too well how ahead of its time that term was for people in the 80s. With the calm tone of a surgeon explaining a patient's condition to their family, she broke down the complex concept, explaining it in detail:

"A miniature probe with a light, thinner than the tip of a chopstick. Make two or three small incisions less than one centimeter in size on your shoulder, insert the probe into one of the incisions, and you can see clearly what's inside your joints on the TV."

She held up two fingers, indicating a very small distance.

"In the other opening, various small pliers and scissors are inserted. I can sew up the torn tendons and grind away the excess bone splinters while watching the TV screen."

She paused for a moment, then delivered the most crucial conclusion: "The wound is about the size of a keyhole, with minimal bleeding and a faster healing time. You don't need to have a large gash several centimeters long, tearing your entire shoulder open."

These words weren't an explanation; they were like a bolt from the blue!

No need to cut open the shoulder?

Can surgery be performed by making just a few small incisions?

Can watching TV really wear down your bones?

This isn't surgery, this is like "telekinesis" from a myth!

The eagerness in General Chen's sharp eyes had faded, replaced by a childlike curiosity and shock.

Standing next to Ye Zhen, Gu Zheng couldn't help but smile as he watched his wife effortlessly silence a room full of military bigwigs with just a few words.

This girl always manages to come up with new ideas for him.

Grandpa Gu, who had remained silent until now, lingered for a few seconds on Ye Zhen's calm face with his unfathomable gaze. He slowly picked up the red telephone on the table and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly.

Without uttering a single wasted word, the old man asked in a steady voice, "Help me find out which hospital has arthroscopy, something related to orthopedics."

I don't know what was said on the other end of the phone.

Just two minutes later, Grandpa Gu hung up the phone.

He looked at everyone and spoke slowly, each word carrying weight: "We found it. Last month, the main hospital imported an arthroscopy machine from West Germany, costing two hundred thousand US dollars. The equipment isn't being used yet. The hospital has invited Dr. Klaus, an orthopedic expert from West Germany, to give a lecture."

Wow!

The whole place erupted!

Not only does it have the equipment, but it's right here in the main hospital! And it's brand new stuff that just arrived!

"Then what are we waiting for!" Boss Chen slapped his thigh excitedly, stood up abruptly, and pointed to the phone beside Old Master Gu. "Old leader, call Dean Li! Tell him my arm needs this kind of endoscope! Have Dr. Ye perform the surgery!"

Grandpa Gu glanced at him, then dialed the number of Dean Li at the main hospital as instructed, and pressed the speakerphone button.

On the other end of the phone, Dean Li's polite voice came through: "Mr. Gu, what instructions do you have?"

"Old Chen's arm needs to be operated on using your newly acquired arthroscopy."

Dean Li hesitated for a few seconds on the other end, then said in a voice trembling with tears, "My dear old commander, you must be joking! That equipment is incredibly valuable, costing two hundred thousand US dollars! Even our own people haven't even touched it. Besides, we've already examined Commander Chen's arm; the situation is complicated, and surgery isn't feasible at all!"

"Who says it's not possible?" General Chen snatched the words away, shouting into the microphone, "Let me tell you, Dr. Ye examined me today! She said she can cure it!"

"Dr. Ye?" Dean Li was even more confused on the other end of the line. "Which Dr. Ye? I've never heard of him before?"

"My granddaughter-in-law," Old Master Gu added casually.

There was a deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

After a full half minute, Dean Li finally spoke in a cautious tone, as if desperately trying to persuade the confused old man to come to his senses: "Old Gu, Commander Chen, how about... you two come to the hospital first? I'll have Dr. Klaus take a look as well; he's an authority in this field. Let's hear the expert's opinion, what do you think?"

***

Half an hour later, at the General Hospital of the Military Region, in the director's office.

The atmosphere was so heavy it could be squeezed out of you.

Klaus was a blond, blue-eyed white man in his fifties, accompanied by a translator.

After carefully reviewing all of Mr. Chen's X-rays and medical records, Klaus shrugged dismissively and concluded: "Rotator cuff tear, accompanied by severe osteoarthritis and bone hyperplasia. Arthroscopic surgery is extremely difficult in this condition due to the unclear field of vision; forcing it will only cause more serious damage. My advice is to continue resting."

His words were tantamount to sentencing General Chen's arm to death.

General Chen's face immediately darkened.

I disagree.

A clear, cool female voice broke the silence in the office.

All eyes instantly turned to Ye Zhen, who remained silent.

Dr. Klaus frowned unhappily, giving Ye Zhen a disdainful look, as if she were an intern: "Miss, are you a doctor too?"

"She's the Dr. Ye I was talking about!" General Chen immediately exclaimed.

Klaus laughed as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world, letting out an exaggerated "Ha!": "A young woman, trying to question my diagnosis? Ma'am, can you even read X-rays?"

Dean Li and several department heads echoed his sentiments, their eyes filled with the word "nonsense" as they looked at Ye Zhen.

"I can understand it." Ye Zhen walked calmly to the viewing light, picked up the X-ray film, and placed her slender fingers precisely on a certain position on the shoulder joint.

"Your diagnosis is only half right." She looked at Klaus, her eyes calm yet sharp. "You only saw the tear and the growth, but you didn't see the most crucial point—his coracoacromial arch angle is too small, which is the root cause of his subacromial impingement."

"Do it! Let Dr. Ye do it for me!" Boss Chen slammed his fist on the table and roared at the hospital director, "Did you hear me! My arm is in her hands today!"

"No! Absolutely not!" Dean Li was sweating profusely, waving his hands repeatedly. "Commander Chen, this is no joke! This equipment is a key national project, worth two hundred thousand US dollars! Who will be responsible if it's damaged? Besides, Comrade Ye doesn't have the medical qualifications to practice at our hospital. Letting her perform the surgery is a serious violation! I can't bear the responsibility if something goes wrong!"

The situation was about to completely freeze.

Grandpa Gu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, gently tapped the mahogany tabletop with his knuckles.

"Thump."

A soft sound, yet it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

The old man opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping calmly yet authoritatively across the room before finally settling on the dean.

"Since it's a new technology, Chinese and foreign experts should exchange and learn from each other even more." He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable authority. "So, let's arrange a case study seminar in the main hospital's conference room. Let Xiao Ye and this Dr. Klaus both talk about their treatment plans, from preoperative assessment, surgical approach, risk management to postoperative rehabilitation, and give a public presentation."

He paused, then uttered the final, definitive statement:

"Let's see whose proposal is better and more convincing to the experts present. This is an academic discussion, not an administrative order. Dean Li, is there a problem?"

Dean Li opened his mouth, but a "no" got stuck in his throat and he couldn't spit it out.

This wasn't a discussion; it was a decision made in one fell swoop!

What alarmed him even more was that what seemed to be a fair arrangement by Grandpa Gu was actually a huge gamble!

He was betting that Ye Zhen, this twenty-year-old Chinese girl, could defeat the world's top West German experts in a top-level academic competition!

What he was gambling with was the reputation of his Gu family and the face of the entire Beicheng Military Region!

Can Ye Zhen handle this huge gamble?