Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Meng Shan made some preparations before he took the morning flight to Beijing.
The morning flight from Guangdong to Beijing was filled with all sorts of professionals who put on formal attire. Meng Shan sat at the business class cabin. He glanced at the person next to him, then he looked at people behind him, and he could not help but feel proud. ‘No matter who you are, you have to beg me when you have broken legs, arms or waist.’
Immediately after that pride came baffling emptiness.
Recently, Meng Shan did not really perform surgery, and business in Eastern Science Hospital had slowed down.
Naturally, Eastern Science Hospital never had much business to begin with. Usually, they just treated flu for some kids, handled problems with teeth, or performed some examinations for pregnant women. They basically earned money from people who did not want to queue up in public hospitals.
But when the patients needed surgery, most of the middle class could not afford to pay their fees. Meng Shan was also lazy to earn these poor people’s money. Just like in the private hospitals of the Putian system [1], the patient needed to pay tens of thousands RMB for surgery, and it would be shared among salespeople and doctors, which was very difficult for them.
What Meng Shan wanted to delve into was the crowd that bought great commercial insurance in the country, which was the crowd that sat around him in the plane.
Previously, Meng Shan liked to size up the peers beside him, even observed their movements and the way they walked. When it was time for him to perform surgery for this group of people, he would do it accurately.
‘If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have caused myself trouble.’ As Meng Shan observed them, he grumbled in his heart.
Torturing Ling Ran was an entertainment Meng Shan set up. At least at that time, he thought it as an entertainment.
Who would expect that a simple mistake he made would cause such a backlash?
Regret only fleeted briefly in Meng Shan’s mind.
Now, he just wanted to go to Beijing, find Ling Ran to talk to him, apologize, and settle things.
He had come for Ling Ran instead of the Qi family because Meng Shan knew the price requested by the Qi family will definitely be very high.
Once rich rednecks like the Qi family had the advantage, they would not feel satisfied with just a piece of cake. Besides, Meng Shan did not have much to offer.
In comparison, Meng Shan felt that it was easier to convince Ling Ran. At worse, giving him a car should be able to satisfy him.
When Meng Shan thought about this, he felt his heart clench in pain.
A car would probably cost a lot. Although he knew that Ling Ran drove a Jetta, if he really wanted to give him a car, he should give him a car that was at the very least a Grade B car. If he considered that as his apology, he needed to give Ling Ran a Mercedes Benz that did not have any oil leaking from it.
Honestly, even when they went to a private hospital, Meng Shan only had the average income of a chief physician from a tertiary Grade A hospital, and he will not get the income of a department director of an Orthopedics Department.
Meng Shan was prepared to observe whether he really needed to fork out so much money.
He kept frowning as he thought. When he touched down, he went to the washroom to wash his face and smooth out his clothes. He was listening to Small Suitcase and looked like a weak middle-aged man who did not work out and always stayed up late, or a pilot who was not welcomed by members of the opposite sex. He quickly left the airport, and he saw his old friend from Beijing at the arrival hall.
“Old Hei.” Meng Shan shook hands with his old friend tightly.
The friendship between classmates became more precious during hardship.
Meng Shan always had good grades during his student years, and he rarely kept in touch with old friends. After all, since he spent more time with books, he would have less time to hang out with people around him.
Meng Shan held Old Hei’s hands, shook it hard, and sized him up.
Old Hei was a typical middle-aged doctor. He had dark circles, eye bags, scarce hair, and fingers that had become deformed. Obviously, he had put a lot of effort in the medical field. However, just like what Meng Shan knew, Old Hei’s road in the field of medicine was not quite smooth. Well, at least, he was not as successful as Meng Shan.
With the exception of becoming an authorized doctor in Beijing, Old Hei was not outstanding in his work as a doctor. Until now, he was still an internally employed assistant lecturer. The so-called internal employment referred to the insufficient number of assistant lecturers in the hospital, and since Old Hei had the qualification in becoming an assistant lecturer, after a few years, the hospital temporarily gave him the equal treatment as an assistant lecturer. It might seem quite normal as compared to a normal assistant lecturer, but it was totally different, and he was like an unauthorized assistant lecturer.
In Beijing, Old Hei’s condition could not be said to be good.
However, Old Hei was an optimist who was good at socializing with others. Even when he did something wrong during spinal surgery, he still straightened his back and showed a smile on his face.
“It’s hard to see your face. How long will you be staying this time around?” Old Hei patted Meng Shan’s shoulder and said, “I have booked the hotel in front of our hospital for you. Don’t look down on the standards of that hospital. I can only get a hotel of that level for you…”
“I can get a hotel on my own,” Meng Shan said politely, but when he saw that Old Hei insisted on it, he agreed to it. He sighed and said, “I was overconfident and made a foolish mistake. I’ve got no choice, and I have to talk to someone.”
“I’ve heard about it.” Old Hei did not bother pretending. He said, “Old Ban called me and asked if there is any solution.”
“How kind of Old Ban.” As Meng Shan spoke, he started to say in a nostalgic tone, “When we were studying at medical college, we thought we could just become a doctor. Who knew that things were so complicated when we really became doctors?”
“Hmm… What do you want to do?” Old Hei was rather immersed in the memories of his student life.
Meng Shan shook his head and said helplessly, “What else can I do? I’ll have to go and meet Ling Ran first, then see how much he wants.”
He did not say anything about buying a car. It was best if he did this personally. Even though they were old friends, he did not need to point out the details.
Old Hei did not feel anything wrong, so he brought Meng Shan to the carpark while he said, “Ling Ran is in Beijing University Sixth Hospital recently. I’ve asked around, and they said he went for a freelance surgeon surgery before he stopped.”
“What happened?” Meng Shan became excited all of a sudden.
If anything happened to Ling Ran, especially if Ling Ran had any medical negligence, it will be easier on his side, and there will be a lot of leeways for him to do things.
Old Hei shrugged. “I don’t know the specifics. However, the freelance surgery he performed should not be any problem. Some doctors went to take a look. They said that the prognosis is not too bad.”
Meng Shan pursed his lips, “It’s hard to say about the prognosis for liver cancer. You can’t tell from the surface.”
When he said this, Meng Shan suddenly felt that he was not in too much of a hurry to see Ling Ran.
He looked to the side and asked, “Old Hei, do you have any way to bring me to the patient? I mean, the patient who received freelance surgery by Ling Ran.”
“Easy,” Old Hei answered in a clear cut manner.
When he arrived at Beijing University Sixth Hospital, Meng Shan understood why Old Hei could answer in such a forthright manner.
Beijing University Sixth Hospital did not lock down their news and limit visitations. On the contrary, Beijing University Sixth Hospital deliberately transferred the patient who received surgery from Ling Ran to an independent special care unit. The doctors from other hospitals only needed to pretend to register, and they could visit through the glass.
If they wanted detailed information, or secure the patient, then it would be more complicated. However, the Medical Affairs Department of Beijing University Sixth Hospital paved the way for the doctors. If they could show their pass, they could enter the unit during a certain period of time. The patient and his family had also signed the agreement, so they did not feel unhappy about the large number of medical staff going in and out.
Meng Shan followed Old Hei to take a look at the patient. He glanced through the medical scans and checked the data of biochemical tests over the past few days one by one, and he was speechless.
He was an expert in the field of sports medicine, but he had no issues in reading normal medical tests. The doctor could already get the idea by checking some information for the prognosis of a liver cancer patient.
But obviously, the one in front of him was out of his expectations.
“Doctor Ling’s skill is really good. The recovery of the patient is very good.”
Meng Shan and Old Hei stood in front of the glass. Their ears twitched when they heard the word “Ling”.
“For liver cancer surgery, in terms of skills, there is nothing to be picky about. Very little of the liver was cut, and the liver recovery was very fast. Doctor Ling’s method is very practical, especially for older patients…”
“It’s not just practical. An operating technique like this actually has the value to be promoted. It’s not just intraoperative inspection, because this is something many people might not be able to master, but the series of surgical treatments are also very particular.”
Meng Shan looked to the direction of the voice, and he could see the side profile of the two doctors who were chatting to each other.
He made some judgments of them, and he was able to recognize them.
When he turned around, Old Hei, who was in front of Meng Shan, lowered his voice and said, “One of them is the subordinate of Ling Ran, the other one is Xu Wen from Beijing University Sixth Hospital.”
“I’ve seen Xu Wen before.” Old Hei held back his words. A moment later, he listened to their conversation again and could not help but say, “Never thought that he’s also good at buttering up to others.”
“Well-matched, right?” Meng Shan looked as if he was regarding them in contempt, but warning bells rang loudly in his heart.
Regardless of how honest a person was, after being buttered up for a long time, they might also become arrogant. By the looks of it now, if he wanted to simply persuade Ling Ran to let things slide, he needed to be better than the two of them in terms of his verbal preparation.
Meng Shan frowned a little. ‘This is not something easy.’
