Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Most of the people back at the waiting hall outside the operating theater of Beijing University Sixth Hospital had gloomy expressions while they waited. The sight of anxious people pacing around could be seen everywhere. There was also the annoying sound of people speaking loudly into phones, but what stood out the most were worshippers of the amethyst geode.
The amethyst geode was as tall as the height of the knee of an average adult. It gleamed with a faint light under the illumination of energy-saving lights. One could feel as if they were looking at the universe if they stood closer to have a look at it.
Right before the amethyst geode was a stool. There was a bunch of electronic candles with steady light located right in the middle of the stool. And there was also a great deal of tributes beside it. A box of cigarettes, a box of cigarettes that had some cigarettes left in it, bottles of drinks, bottles of drinks which were not finished, a box of condoms left behind by an annoyed husband because his wife had decided to receive induced labor, and it had no after story for the moment just yet…
The Du family sat on the long bench behind the amethyst geode. They did not know what kind of expression they should put on their faces as they faced all this.
Academician Du remained in the operating theater. That was most worrisome. When they had such a matter ahead of them, it was as if everything else had been forgotten.
So, when Boss Du Zecai said that he wanted to pray to the amethyst geode, everyone followed and prayed to it.
So, when there were people who wanted to kneel down and pray at it after they were done praying to the amethyst geode, they did not stop them as well.
So, when more and more people came forth to pray to the amethyst geode, it was too late to stop the inertia.
The people who stood around and worshipped the amethyst geode in the waiting hall for families while they waited for the patients as they received their surgery had the emotions as those of the Du family. Regardless of which perspective they took when they regarded this, the Du family, who were intellectuals and who also occupied two rows, who had no idea how to take care of the amethyst geode and the people in front of it.
If they took it away, they would definitely cause conflicts.
Leave it be. More and more people began to come to pray to the amethyst geode, making the Du family feel a little lost about what they should do once again.
*Thud*
A lady with a green scarf around her neck finally knelt down on her knees in front of the amethyst geode.
The Du family were exhausted and quiet as they looked at her.
Speaking of which, when they began praying to the amethyst geode, Boss Du Zecai was still sitting on the small bench. As for the family members who prayed after him, some of them crouched down, some sat, and some even bowed before they left.
Now, the lady who knelt on her knees had finally brought this act of praying to an entirely new level.
*Thud thud thud*
The lady kowtowed three times in succession. Soon after that, she seemed to want to light up a joss stick. She looked left and right, and she pulled out a cigarette from the opened cigarette box.
The chubby grandchild of the Du family looked at his father before he said with a drawl, “You can’t light up cigarettes here, you know?”
Obviously, the lady was not the first to do that.
The lady was stunned for a moment, but she did not refute at all. She just pressed her hands together, prayed, prostrated herself on the ground again and kowtowed three times.
After that, she straightened herself up with her knees on the ground and pressed her hands together once again.
At that time, the little child’s playful laughter was heard echoing from the front. “You can’t light up cigarettes here, you know?”
The lady’s face stiffened up as well. Then, she saw two children hiding behind the curtain behind the amethyst geode.
The boys were seven to eight years old, and they were giggling with pouted lips. They boost each other’s courage as they pointed at the lady while they continued to giggle.
The lady was stunned for a few seconds. These two kids… did they just receive all six of her kowtows?
When the lady thought of this, she instantly stood up, charged forward like an arrow, and caught one of the children. She then began spanking him on the butt.
These foolish children had escaped their parents’ ferocious palms, avoided the violent attacks from the other child-bullies, hid from the treacherous needle from the intern nurses, but they had never thought that they would fall into their current predicament. The two children were stunned the moment when the palm landed against one of the children’s butt.
When the first loud cry that came a little late was heard echoing in the area, the lady had already changed her target to the other child and began spanking him.
In an instant, the parents of the children rushed over. All four parents looked ready to confront the lady, and when the mediators also joined in the mix by standing in the middle, they looked as if they were about to start fighting.
*Squeak.*
The door to the corridor of the operating theater opened to the left and right.
A group of doctors walked into the vicinity together.
The patients’ families in the waiting room stood back up on their feet and automatically revealed looks of concern.
The doctors also looked at the patients’ family members who were about to start fighting, and they also gave them the expression that they were used to seeing this.
“Doctor Ling…” It was only then that Du Zecai raised his head and saw Ling Ran. He no longer bothered about anything else and quickly pushed the others beside him away to squeeze himself through the crowd.
“The operation is successful. Your father is not young, however. So, we need to send him into the ICU for observation for two to three days. If there are no other issues, he will be able to be discharged very soon.” Ling Ran listened to Xu Wen and Zuo Cidian’s opinion. He decided to step forward and explain the situation a little.
The sounds of crying started to echo by their ears…
Du Zecai’s little sister, the daughter of Academician Du, was the first to cry out loud.
Soon after that, everyone from the Du family became worked up.
Ling Ran furrowed his eyebrows as he witnessed what happened right before his eyes and said, “The operation is very successful, that is a good thing…”
“I know…” Tears were rolling down from the corners of Du Zecai’s eyes. He nodded vigorously at Ling Ran. “It is a good thing, it is good. Thank you, Doctor Ling!”
Du Zecai only extended his rough hands which were used outdoors every year and grabbed Ling Ran’s hands. He shook Ling Ran’s hands as much as he could.
His fingers were rough, and he squeezed Ling Ran to the point where he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Ling Ran shook his head. He waited for Du Zecai to let go, and once he did, Ling Ran immediately squeezed out a puddle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and spread the liquid evenly across the surfaces of his hands, leaving no spot unattended.
Du Zecai seemed a little upset. He did not know if he should apologize or not.
Zhu Tongyi who stood behind Ling Ran smiled and said gently, “Zecai, call and inform your family members about this, and don’t forget about your mother so that they aren’t anxious from all the waiting. Your father is in the ICU now. It would be inconvenient for family members to go in. But there’s also no need for you to go in either. Just take a look from the outside. It will not be too late to make other arrangements two more days later.”
It was only then that Du Zecai recovered to his senses. His mother’s body was not too well as well. So, his other family members had kept this a secret from her. They did not mention their father’s medical condition. So, it would be even more impossible to bring her over to the hospital. However, there were so many relatives coming and going to her house, and when people reached his mother’s age, most of them would be able to guess what was going on as well. So, it would always be a little better to inform the relatives in the house a bit earlier.
Xu Wen also quickly said, “Your father’s arteries are extremely weak. If it weren’t because Doctor Ling operated on him, he might have been passed away. It was very dangerous, and he was also very lucky.”
Zuo Cidian did not get his turn in the operating theater. But when he came out, he attached himself right by Ling Ran’s side. He also quickly said, “Academician Du is considered very lucky. If you insisted on not undergoing the operation, the arteries would have ruptured by themselves after one to two months at best. Doctor Ling discovered it in time. That is why he could patch it up.”
“Thank you, thank you.” Du Zecai felt so confused that he did not know what else to say.
The middle-aged lady who kowtowed fiercely just now was just around the area. At that time, she overheard their conversation, broke free from the fight, ran over, and asked, “How did you pray?”
The entire Du family revealed a resigned face as they said, “We just casually prayed at it.”
“This is really effective, right? It is really effective, right?” The lady said as she pushed away the child’s family who wanted to argue with her. With a thud, she once again knelt down right before the amethyst geode.
As she stared at the dark purple crystal cave, the lady seemed to have pondered on her thoughts for a few seconds. Soon after that, she shut her eyes, pressed her palms together, and said out loud, “Cave God, please protect my husband. My husband is just in his forties. Please let him stay by my side, I beg you. I am just a woman from a village. I did not even finish middle school before I started working in the farm. Later on, I worked for my husband, earned money to build ourselves a house. There is not much money left after that. I am currently taking care of three children. We have two parents left to take care off, and none of them are healthy. I really cannot bear that burden. Cave God, if my husband is gone, our family will be ruined. Cave God, Cave God, please let him stay by my side, please let him stay…”
*Thud thud thud.*
The lady kowtowed three more times, and a bruise started forming at her forehead.
The parents of the children who wanted to grab her and fight against her again saw this, and they no longer had the mood to ask her for justice.
The Du family saw this and struck a chord with her. They had already been relieved from the anxiety, and now, their hearts were filled up by all sorts of strange emotions again.
It was only then that Du Zecai smelled the citrus smell of the alcohol-based hand sanitizer. He suddenly felt that it was so pleasant to smell it.
The doctors expressed their stance and emotions to the Du family. They formed the shape of a sharp arrowhead once again, and like a platoon of cavalries, they swiftly left the area.
After arriving at the corridor, Ling Ran turned his head around and asked, “What was her husband diagnosed with? I mean, the husband of the family member just now.”
The doctors from Beijing University Sixth Hospital had asked earlier on. So, someone whispered softly, “Late-stage gallbladder cancer, and he needs to receive liver transplantation.”
“Okay,” Ling Ran replied and said nothing else. He had Specialist Level in Cholecystectomy, but he could not provide any assistance when it came to gallbladder cancer operation.
Feng Zhixiang looked at him and suddenly said, “Speaking of gallbladder cancer, I did it quite often. Since everyone is here, Doctor Ling, let’s investigate it, shall we?”
“Alright.” Ling Ran swiftly agreed on that proposal.
Zhu Tongyi could not stop it in time. So he coughed two times and said, “Then, I am joining too.”
“There’s no osseous metastasis, though.” Professor Feng Zhixiang grinned as he looked at Academician Zhu Tongyi.
“I’m bored,” Zhu Tongyi smiled at Professor Feng Zhixiang so brilliantly that he looked like he had just reached the age of retirement.
