When Boss Shao was not in, the Shao family’s restaurant seemed to lack a worldly atmosphere, and everything would move about as if it had been programmed instead.
Ling Ran just ordered some beef tripes and roasted meat to fill his stomach, and those dishes were considered his lunch.
Only 88 marks could be given to the beef tripes marinated with Boss Shao’s secret sauce that afternoon.
For the large Shao family’s restaurant, it was practically a polite and fair comment.
The associate hospital director stared at Tian Qi while she ate happily, and he felt curious but uneasy at the same time.
When Tian Qi happily went off to get some orange juice and soda, the associate hospital director quietly tugged Zuo Cidian’s arm and whispered, “Is the Rolls-Royce really hers?”
“It should be.” Zuo Cidian had followed Ling Ran for some time, so he was very cautious with his words. “I haven’t seen her driving license before.”
“What I mean is… Are we just treating her for a barbecue? Is it sufficient to cover the petrol fee of a Rolls-Royce?”
Zuo Cidian cast him a glance and retorted, “Then, what should we treat her to cover the transportation fee of a Rolls-Royce?”
The associate hospital director hesitated for a while. “Hmm… Maybe we should make our purpose clear? Well, it’d be too much in poor taste if we order everything in the shop, but at least… Argh, I don’t even know what to say.”
“I used to have the same thought as yours,” Zuo Cidian suddenly agreed with the associate hospital director.
The associate hospital director was surprised and looked up.
“Later on, I called Didi every day. After some time, I didn’t have such a thought anymore.” Zuo Cidian lowered his head, ate the beef tripes, and took a sip of tea to get rid of the greasy feeling in his mouth. He then said in a relaxed manner, “You always call Didi too, right? Have you ever gotten a Rolls-Royce before?”
The associate hospital director looked at Zuo Cidian. He could not understand, and said, “I’ve seen it in the news before. I rarely call for cars. When I go to work and leave work, the hospital usually sends a car over to pick me up. Today is a really special situation. I’m sorry…”
Zuo Cidian did not even bother to listen to the last line.
When Zuo Cidian heard that the man had a car to send him to work and get him back home after work, he suddenly realized that the polite-looking middle-aged man with thinning hair was actually a leader of the hospital!
If the associate hospital director from the Third People’s Hospital was transferred to the town hospital, it would be very easy for him to become the hospital director.
In other words, the middle-aged man with thinning hair was Zuo Cidian’s life goal, ambition, reason for striving for excellence, and the medal of his efforts.
It was truly…
Zuo Cidian’s eyelids fell. Just as he was about to say some formal words, Zuo Cidian’s gaze traveled past the associate hospital director’s head, and he saw Ling Ran.
Ling Ran was still in a relaxed mood. He ate a skewer of beef tripes, and once every few bites, he would wipe his mouth with tissue paper. Although the tissue originated from a Hermes tissue box, still…
Fortunately, not all wishes in a person’s life had to come true!
In the late afternoon, Ling Ran performed a few more surgeries and used up all the operating theaters in the Third People’s Hospital.
The infectious diseases hospitals usually prepared many operating theaters in one go because they seldom used their operating theaters. Of course, the Third People’s Hospital did not expect Ling Ran’s speed at performing surgeries to be so fast, and that his frequency would be so high.
If they looked at it from another perspective, it also meant that the cost for operating on a patient with infectious diseases was very high. In other local hospitals, their operating theaters would be in danger if they operated on more than two patients a day.
After making an appointment with Ling Ran regarding tomorrow’s surgery time, the associate hospital director personally arranged for transportation to send Ling Ran back.
Since Ling Ran had started to perform surgeries on patients with infectious diseases, Ling Ran planned to finish off all the surgeries in the Third People’s Hospital. Then, he could free up some space for the newly built rooms back in Yun Hua Hospital’s Emergency Medical Center so that the workers could install the facilities, and the medical staff could organize the rooms.
At Lower Groove Clinic, the courtyard was quiet, but also bustling with activity. The residents of the neighborhood happily received their fluid transfusion, drank medication, and chatted.
“Is Dong Sheng not in today?” Ling Ran quickly discovered that the osteopathic manipulation board had been turned upside down. He entered and asked about the young novice monk.
Ling Jiezhou was busy with issuing receipts and collecting money. He was so happy that his eyebrows were shaking. “Once Dong Sheng earned enough money to buy a box of medication, he brought it back to the mountain. His master is basically a medication-filled person now.”
“Oh,” Ling Ran replied and nodded.
“The problem now is Doctor Xiong. He wants to increase his pay again.” Ling Jiezhou sent off a patient, stood up, and said angrily, “That old man wants to get more money from us because he sees that our family business has become better nowadays. He suddenly mentioned the average salary and that he was lowering the average price. Then, he mentioned that his workload has increased and the working hours were too long. He also said that making him work overtime is inhumane, and that I look like an ethical boss… Bah! Am I not an ethical boss now?”
Ling Ran quietly looked at his dad and asked, “How much does he want?”
“It’s not a matter of increasing his pay, it’s a matter of the underlying principle!” Ling Jiezhou was indignant and said, “He wants an increase in pay when business is better, but am I supposed to cut his pay when business isn’t good? The pay for employees is just like the price of oil; it will only go up, not down.”
Ling Ran calmly replied, “Oh.”
“It’s not that he can’t get an increase in his pay, but there must be a procedure, right? Let’s say a year… Or maybe an increment after three years. I’ll be able to understand if he gets substantial benefits with an increment like this.” Ling Jiezhou patted his legs after he said that. “That sounds like a good idea, I’ll talk to Doctor Xiong later.”
“Why do you need to wait until later?”
“I need to wait for him to clock off work, right? Can’t you see how busy the treatment room is now?” Ling Jiezhou shook his head and clicked his tongue.
Ling Ran did not want to join the discussion. When his dad finished, he went to the reclining chair under the eaves and stretched his body comfortably. He took out his phone and turned on his game.
Ten minutes later, he finished one round.
Ling Ran frowned and started another round without giving up.
It was one round after another…
Around forty-five minutes later, Ling Ran felt bored and put down his phone. He heard Doctor Xiong’s loud arguments, “The Yang family’s knife-cut noodles restaurant already increased their food prices by 5 RMB. So, isn’t it reasonable if my pay gets increased by 20 RMB every month?”
“The price of the Yang family’s knife-cut noodles restaurant increased because the video of Old Yang making knife-cut noodles with his injured hand went viral, and it attracted many customers.”
“I bandaged Old Yang’s hand.”
“My son’s the one who did his sutures.”
“You’re basically making it so that I can’t even afford a bowl of knife-cut noodles!”
“Your monthly retirement pay is 5,000 to 6,000 RMB, so you definitely won’t be willing to spend it on knife-cut noodles. I can’t do anything about that.”
“My retirement pay is in my wife’s hands. If she’s okay with me eating knife-cut noodles, why should I come out to work? Let’s not talk about all this nonsense. Is 20 RMB a huge sum now?”
Ling Jiezhou was agitated. “Not a huge sum? If it’s not a huge sum, give me that money right now! And you’re asking for 20 RMB? I’ll only give you 5 RMB at the very most.”
Doctor Xiong felt resigned. “Boss Ling, nowadays, the lowest bargaining price starts at 10 RMB.”
“All right, 10 RMB then!”
Ling Ran listened to their argument and walked up the stairs languidly. At some point, he fell asleep.
The next day, at two o’clock in the morning.
Lower Groove was completely silent.
The stray cats and dogs had disappeared a long time ago.
Even the breakfast shops had not switched on their lights yet.
Ling Ran woke up and washed up. Then, he went to the backyard and drove his Volkswagen Jetta out. When he reached the alley, he saw a young hawker yawning and getting ready to start up his small truck.
The hawker suddenly became very energetic and greeted Ling Ran when he saw him. When he saw Ling Ran’s small Volkswagen Jetta leave slowly, he happily took a photo and shared the picture to his Circle of Friends with a caption. [Although I earn more than a doctor, I wake up later than a doctor.]
