Great Doctor Ling Ran

“This broth is our hotel’s specialty. Old hens were stewed in it to give it its flavor…” The cook with the toque specially introduced the dish to the crowd while he stirred the broth so that it became more concentrated.

He then upturned a bowl of rice onto a plate and repeated the same maneuver with a few more plates. He showered the plates of rice with the thick broth and placed an abalone on each plate. He then added some cooked asparagus, and the plates of rice with abalone sauce were ready.

The other cook was also done. He placed the plate of stir-fried beef with green pepper in the middle of the table so that the diners could stimulate their taste buds with another flavor.

Tian Qi took the opportunity to sit across Ling Ran. There were six of them, and each had their own plate of rice with abalone sauce. The stir-fried beef with green pepper was their only side dish, so it could be considered quite an “economic” meal.

Tian Qi grabbed a pair of chopsticks and ate small mouthfuls of rice. She smiled so happily that there were stars in her eyes.

Doctor Zhou was filled with envy when he saw the way Tian Qi looked at Ling Ran. He asked Tian Qi, “Don’t internships pay very little? Is it enough for your expenses?”

“I’m only doing this internship to gain experience,” Tian Qi said earnestly, “As for my expenses, I get a designated sum of living expenses every month.”

Doctor Zhou was dumbfounded. “Your living expenses don’t fall from the sky, right?”

“Sometimes they do.” Tian Qi pondered for a while and said, “I recently used the education funds my family gave me to purchase a company. After reshuffling the staff, the company’s stock rose rapidly. The chief financial officer told me that if the company gives out dividends at the end of the year, the money I receive will not only be able to cover the entire amount my family paid for my education earlier on, but also allow me to put a large sum into my family trust.”

Doctor Zhou’s eyelids twitched. “Family trust?”

“Yup, I have to put plenty of money in my family trust so that I get to do whatever I want. Or else, I’ll have to adhere to my family’s plans for me and become the director of some boring company or work in some random place.” Tian Qi shook her head. She said, “My eldest cousin only managed to save enough money when he was thirty-six, and he resigned from being the chairman of a bank. If I were to sell all the shares of the company I have right now, I would probably have enough money to fulfill my family’s requirements and still have extra on the side.”

“Forget it, I asked the wrong question.” Doctor Zhou was afraid that he would get a stroke if he continued to ask stupid questions.

Sitting next to Doctor Zhou, Zuo Cidian was completely out of the loop, but he wanted to know what was going on around him. He could not help but ask, “Then, have you sold the shares of that company?”

“No,” Tian Qi said in a gentle voice.

“Isn’t it better to pay off all the money first?”

“There’s no need for that. I’m still studying and can’t go anywhere anyway.” Tian Qi smiled as she continued, “You can’t say that I’m returning a debt either. Our family trust distributes money to all our family members every month. And after that, if I fulfill all the requirements, I can even take that money out for my own use.”

“I see.” Zuo Cidian giggled a few times and said, “Whenever I owe other people money, I feel extremely uneasy. I can only feel better once I pay the person back.”

“I’m keeping the company mainly because right now, the company’s assets are obviously bringing about profit that’s great enough to sustain the company. A third-party consultant predicted that in the coming two or three years, the gross profit of the company will increase steadily. Hence, I plan to take out most of the dividends and buy over two or three companies of similar nature… Currently, the main problems these companies experience are regional barriers, institutional obstacles, and financial distress. I happen to have the resources to solve all these problems. Once the yearly report comes out, there should be more good news…” Tian Qi’s voice was very soft, and she sounded as if she was gossiping about some celebrity.

Zuo Cidian was pretty much completely dumbfounded. He had merely been a top cadre in a town hospital, and his biggest achievement in life was his eleven-year-old son (they never did a DNA paternity test) along with the fact that he once drank 2.6 pints of beer in one go. He never expected conversations with people in the city to go in that direction.

Doctor Zhuo looked at Zuo Cidian and chuckled a few times. ‘Aren’t you just making yourself uncomfortable by asking such a question?’

While no one was looking, Lu Wenbin took the opportunity to shove spoonful after spoonful of rice with abalone sauce into his mouth. He did not even realize that there was abalone sauce at the corner of his lips.

Ling Ran was also not the type to initiate conversations. Hence, there was a momentary silence across the dining table.

Yu Yuan looked around and suddenly felt like she should shoulder the responsibility of starting a conversation.

Yu Yuan swallowed a chunk of springy delicious abalone and said with a smile, “If I had a lot of money, I’d first buy a vast land and build a large storage room. Then, I’d—”

“Hey, this abalone’s pretty tasty,” Doctor Zhou immediately cut Yu Yuan off, all to preserve his appetite to eat the abalone.

Lu Wenbin nodded non-stop too. “Yeah, this abalone’s really delicious. Even the rice is really fragrant and glutinous.”

Both of them worked together and managed to initiate conversation even though it was through considerable effort.

Ling Ran ate quietly.

Tian Qi glanced at Ling Ran every time she ate a spoonful of rice.

Ling Ran had finished eating his rice with abalone sauce and was about to wipe his mouth with tissue paper when Tian Qi handed him a handkerchief.

Ling Ran hesitated for a moment before he took it. He kept it in his pocket after he used it, and said, “Thank you very much. I’ll return it to you after I wash it.”

“Okay.” Tian Qui nodded excitedly.

Doctor Zhou glanced at the handkerchief, which had horses printed on it. Filled with envy, he said to Ling Ran, “Be more careful when you wash it. Don’t destroy the handkerchief.”

“Okay,” Ling Ran said obediently and handed his empty plate to the rider beside him, who was still wearing the toque. “Can you please give me another plate of rice with abalone sauce?” he asked.

The rider did as he requested.

Zuo Cidian was filled with doubt and astonishment as he stared at the kangaroo on the rider’s uniform. ‘The service industry in big cities is really advanced.’

Zuo Cidian no longer had the mood to give Ling Ran the food he bought from the hotel earlier.

…..

At noon, Ling Ran continued to carry out Achilles tendon repairs.

There were a lot of sports activities going on in Changxi Province as well. From professional athletes to sports lovers, countless people ruptured their Achilles tendons every day. Aside from that, an increasing number of patients who ruptured their hamstrings also sought treatment in Yun Hua Hospital.

Theoretically, a normal person would not require the Zhu-Ling Achilles Repair Technique to treat their ruptured Achilles tendons. However, people nowadays always strived for the best. It was just like how—unless they lacked money—ordinary people were willing to buy the best basketball shoes and running shoes even though they did not need to make high jumps or run long distances.

Patients with ruptured hamstrings had the same desire too. In reality, aside from female patients who cared about the size of their surgical scars, male patients always ended up seeking for Achilles tendon repairs in Yun Hua Hospital after much research.

As a result, Zuo Cidian only got to rest after he assisted Ling Ran with two surgeries consecutively.

After he took a night’s rest, Zuo Cidian returned to Yun Hua Hospital’s Emergency Department at dawn. He felt like he had never left.

At that moment, there was an African patient on the operating table.

Zuo Cidian was rooted to the spot as he gazed at the patient’s black calves, arms, body hair, and face, which were all dark…

“This is our patient for today?” Zuo Cidian switched on the shadowless lamp and started to carefully observe the patient.

As the African patient did not understand what Zuo Cidian said, he stared at Zuo Cidian with widened eyes.

Su Jiafu the anesthetist swung his legs while he kicked the wheels of the stool he was on. He asked with a grin, “You’ve never seen an African before?”

“I’ve seen some, but I’ve never operated on any,” Zuo Cidian answered honestly.

“Then, you’re about to experience something exotic today.” Su Jiafu started laughing.

The nurse who was busy preparing for the surgery beside them rolled her eyes. She did not have the energy to tell them off. The African patient continued to lie on the operating table in confusion. There was a smile on his face as he gazed at the two doctors.

Zuo Cidian nodded vigorously. He was beginning to feel excited. “When I saw the name list just now, I thought the patient was an ethnic minority. The big cities are really excellent… Oh, by the way, is there anything special I need to take note of when operating on this foreigner?”

Su Jiafu did not know how to answer Zuo Cidian’s question. He stood up with one of his legs still on the legs of the stool. He gazed at the foreign patient, who was illuminated by the shadowless lamp, and pondered before he said, “I reckon that his flesh is a little tougher?”

“Elastic is probably a more appropriate term, isn’t it?”

“No, his skin could be very thick.”

“Since the structure of his muscular fiber is different, it must feel different when you sink the scalpel into his flesh, right?”

“That’s true. I’ve read some research papers, and I think we need to administer more Skelaxin.”

“The fat content also plays a big role. That’s why it feels different when you thrust a knife into pigs who are fed fodder and those who aren’t.”

“It’s too bad that we can’t stick a knife in him.”

“If only we could.”

The two doctors who were clad in large white coats sighed in unison.

The African patient was extremely baffled.