Maximize Interest, My Money Grows Infinitely-Chapter 254 - 188: The First Kiss in the Hospital Room

An hour later, Chen Cheng and Chen Donghai arrived at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

As soon as they reached the ICU ward, Chen Cheng felt an unprecedented silence, with only the regular ticking of the devices audible.

Through the glass window, Chen Cheng looked at Jin Baogen lying in the bed laden with tubes, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He had never imagined that the always-smiling, seemingly energetic old man could overnight be transformed into this state.

"Can I go in?" he asked Chen Donghai by his side.

Chen Donghai was also unsure; when he himself came to see Jin Baogen today, he had gotten Meng Wanning’s information only through a message from a nurse.

"Mr. Chen, I’ll go and ask at the nurse’s station."

After saying this, he turned and left.

Chen Cheng stood in place, his gaze unwavering from Jin Baogen on the bed.

Scenes of his time spent with Jin Baogen played over and over in his mind.

From the first time he proactively went to Chaoyang Park to find him to solve the matters concerning the red pieces, to later when Jin Baogen spared no effort in pushing him up the ranks, to when Chen Cheng’s financial empire was just taking shape, this always smiling old gentleman had given him much help.

But now, he lay there lifelessly on the hospital bed, accompanied only by the cold machines, causing Chen Cheng’s heart to ache deeply.

At this moment, Chen Donghai came back, with a doctor in a white coat accompanying him.

"Mr. Chen, this is the on-call doctor tonight, he will come and discuss the situation with you."

Chen Cheng turned around and glanced at the doctor’s name tag, "Hello, Doctor Chu."

"Hello." Doctor Chu pushed up his glasses and asked, "May I ask who you are?"

Chen Cheng: "I am Jin Baogen’s family member, my last name is Chen."

Doctor Chu nodded, "Hello, Mr. Chen. We have done our best for Old Mr. Jin’s condition, the surgery was very successful, but..."

He paused, seeming to organize his words, "but, Old Mr. Jin is advanced in age and already had underlying diseases, the postoperative recovery is not ideal..."

"Old Mr. Jin has an aortic dissection." Doctor Chu continued:

"This disease, also known as a ’vascular bomb’, is very dangerous, with a low rescue success rate, being able to come off the surgery table is already a blessing. But postoperative recovery is also a major hurdle that requires constant monitoring of the patient’s condition."

Chen Cheng felt his heart sink; if even Peking Union Medical College Hospital couldn’t guarantee a positive outcome, the situation was truly serious.

"Currently, Old Mr. Jin’s vital signs are all quite unstable, we are doing our best to maintain them."

Doctor Chu continued: "Also, there are signs of deterioration in his cardiopulmonary function. We are in the process of assessing and preparing to put him on ECMO."

Chen Cheng flinched at the word "ECMO".

Although not a doctor, he knew about ECMO.

It stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, a treatment technique that provides continuous external respiratory and circulatory support to patients with severe heart and lung function failure.

In simple terms, it substitutes for the patient’s heart and lungs to maintain life.

In the final moments of Chen Cheng’s grandpa, Zhai Tiansheng, he too was put on this machine, but he couldn’t be saved.

The main reason was the lack of enough money to cover the expensive treatment costs.

Just running the machine for three days cost nearly a hundred thousand yuan.

Now Peking Union Medical College Hospital wanting to put Jin Baogen on ECMO meant that his physical condition was even worse than Chen Cheng had imagined.

"Is there a high risk if Mr. Jin is put on ECMO?" Chen Cheng tried to ask calmly.

"ECMO itself carries certain risks, such as bleeding, infection, limb ischemia, and so on, and it’s costly," admitted Doctor Chu frankly.

Chen Cheng: "Money is not a problem."

After saying this, he glanced again at Jin Baogen lying on the hospital bed.

Money, indeed, was not the problem.

But in the face of fragile life, it seemed money couldn’t exert any strength.

He knew that ECMO was just a means to maintain Jin Baogen’s life and could not solve the underlying problem.

Whether Jin Baogen could survive this ordeal ultimately depended on his own will.

"Mr. Chen, rest assured, we will do everything we can to provide Old Mr. Jin with the best treatment."

Chen Cheng nodded, "Then Doctor Chu, can I go in and see him?"

Doctor Chu glanced at the time, "Today’s visiting hours are over."

Disappointed, Chen Cheng understood that the ICU had strict rules, and he couldn’t trouble the doctors further.

"Alright then, Doctor Chu, thank you for your trouble, I’ll come back early tomorrow."

"You don’t have to come early, there is a one-hour visiting time starting at 3 o’clock in the afternoon."

"Alright, thank you, Doctor Chu." Chen Cheng nodded with gratitude.

After Doctor Chu left, Chen Cheng stood in front of the glass window for a while longer.

His mind was in turmoil; a perfectly fine person just over a week ago had now come to this.

"Xiao Hai."

"Yes, Mr. Chen."

Chen Cheng asked softly, "Have the care workers been arranged?"

"All set up, all the most experienced, working in three shifts."

It seemed like Chen Cheng couldn’t do anything at the moment, except to do his human duty and leave the rest to fate.

"You go back first," he sighed.

"But what about you, Mr. Chen?" Chen Donghai asked, knowing full well that Chen Cheng was reluctant to leave.

"I’ll sit here for a while, you go on back," Chen Cheng said again.

Chen Donghai was a loyal man; he also knew that Chen Cheng needed some time to come to terms with the reality, "Then I’ll wait for you in the parking lot."

"No need, I can just take a taxi back," Chen Cheng gestured with his hand, indicating he didn’t need to worry.

"Well... alright then," Chen Donghai hesitated for a moment but agreed.

Just as he turned around, he glanced back and said, "Mr. Chen, there is a jacket in the car, I’ll bring it up for you. The weather has turned chillier."