Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Once Ling Ran got that piece of spessartine, he was too lazy to choose another piece. So, he just played with it.
Academician Du became high spirited. He wanted to scavenge for another piece when the shop owner was busy, but he failed to pick a good stone several times.
Meanwhile, the old man with grayish-white hair made the shop owner bring out a few more pieces of spessartine. He picked a piece that was similar in size to Ling Ran’s before he secretly paid using his phone. He did not let Academician Du know the amount.
The loafers who came because of Academician Du’s fame also surrounded the counter. Only a few of them chose seriously; the majority of them just came for fun.
More people came, so there were more people who spoke.
The shop owner was probably fed up with them, so he swung his arm that put all the raw stones on the iron counter into the dustpan before he said, “It’s time for me to close shop. Please come early tomorrow.”
“I haven’t finished choosing…”Academician Du raised his head.
The shop owner waved his hand. “We should rest when it’s time to rest. Come again when you’re free.”
Academician Du was stunned for a while, and during that time, he was kicked out of the shop.
The sun was bright on the street, and it did not look like it was time for the shop owner to close the shop.
“Forget it, don’t sell it if you don’t want to.” As Academician Du spoke, he smiled at his grandson, “This shop owner is really a weirdo…”
“He’s not just strange,” the chubby grandson said and looked at Ling Ran. He smiled and said, “I didn’t expect that Doctor Ling would be able to get a good piece on your first scavenger hunt. Your spessartine is small, but it’s normal if you sell it for more than 1,000 RMB. 880 RMB is too low. If you sell it later, the price may be doubled.”
But Academician Du was not very satisfied. “The spessartine was the stone Doctor Ling picked himself. Doctor Ling, give me another chance, I’ll get you a piece…”
“We should go back now. We still have to do a lot of preoperative preparations,” Ling Ran earnestly said, “After you’re discharged, it’s still not too late for you to choose a stone.”
“Who will know what will happen after I’m discharged?” Academician Du said in resignation, “Is it that urgent?”
“Yes…” Ling Ran took the lead and walked toward the spot where the car was parked.
Under the sunlight, Mutton Lane looked like a catwalk crafted by time with its shady road and black brick walls that was a blend of ancient and modern culture. When Ling Ran went through that place, he attracted a lot of attention.
Ling Ran slowly stopped. His nostrils flared, and he looked to the shop to the right.
It was a small restaurant that had roasted duck hanging from it.
“Let me treat you with roast duck.” Ling Ran turned around and said to Tian Qi.
“That’s great,” Tian Qi answered very readily.
As they spoke, they went into the restaurant.
Academician Du stood at the street, and he was puzzled. “Aren’t we in a hurry?”
Zuo Cidian who followed behind them gave him a gesture to continue forward. He said faintly, “Doctor Ling is anxious because it is time for the patient to go to the hospital. Since the patient has decided to go, it’s only natural that he would not be in a hurry.”
Academician Du still wanted to argue, but Zuo Cidian talked to the chubby grandson beside him and said, “Why are you still standing around dumbfounded? Send your grandfather to the hospital. He needs to perform surgery tomorrow, why is he still hanging around at this time?!”
The chubby grandson instantly snapped out of his reverie of the scavenger hunt. He quickly said, “Grandfather, let’s go to the hospital first. We’ll talk about other things later.”
“Can’t I even get some roast duck?” Academician Du was not satisfied.
“No. There are strict rules on the preoperative food and beverages you can take. Otherwise, when you are anesthetized, when your muscles relax, the food may block your trachea.” Zuo Cidian could tell that Academician Du was the type of patient who would keep asking until he was satisfied with the answer. It was useless to let him know about the taboos only, because he was a very skeptical person. However, if he were told the reason, he would listen to the instructions before he got any opposing evidence.
A doctor should give different advice to different patients. The only main issue in this was how to divide their attention to the patients when they tried to give them advice. As for today, it was not a problem, as Academician Du only wanted some special rights, and Zuo Cidian was more than willing to help.
The group of people quickly left Mutton Lane and headed to the wards of Beijing University Sixth Hospital.
Ling Ran had ordered his food and looked around with a judgmental look.
The old and ancient decoration was not too outstanding, but it did not make people feel uncomfortable.
The small restaurant’s door was not big, but the amount of space on the first and second floors was not too small. A total of six tables were placed with a huge space in between, and there were also four enclosed rooms. A screen was used to separate the tables. Now, they had sat by a table for around half an hour, so the business was not too bad.
Ling Ran and Tian Qi sat by a small table. Li Xuechao turned down his colleagues’ offer and went to the noodle shop that was not far away. Two bodyguards with black shirts stood at both sides of the screen with an imposing manner.
Tian Qi sat politely across the table. She only looked around with the corner of her eyes and whispered with a guilty conscience, “My family insisted on arranging those bodyguards for me. If I get rid of them, my family will be worried about me. If you do not like somebody following you…”
“It’s okay,” Ling Ran said with a calm tone, “Public areas will always have many people who like to stare at others. I’m used to it already.”
“It’s good that you think in this way.” Tian Qi suddenly burst into laughter.
The two men in black who stood not too far away stared at each other and looked away in a very awkward manner. ‘How did this weird conversation start?’
But neither wanted to talk to each other about it.
Soon, the roast duck was served.
As a small restaurant, the roast duck was not cut into pieces in front of the customer, and hence, it lacked a ceremonial air. The duck meat was well roasted, and the crispy skin layer was thick. When it was picked up, the shining, as well as oily layer, made it look very tasty.
When it was placed in a person’s mouth, it made the person lose himself, and he would just keep nodding.
When Ling Ran saw Tian Qi nodding with him at the same time, he could not help but smile faintly.
Tian Qi was even happier. She felt that the duck meat in front of her was shining brightly.
“So crispy.” Tian Qi praised in a reserved manner and ate the duck skin in two bites.
“The skin of the roast duck is indeed crispy.” Ling Ran praised and nodded.
Crispy duck skin did not have the traditional taste of roast duck. If Quanjude’s roast duck was treated as the authentic roast duck, then soft duck skin should be the standard of Quanjude-style roast duck.
However, authentic did not mean good taste. So, under the great opposition of the country’s citizens, particularly Beijing citizens, modern roast duck skin became crispier. The roast duck that had a thick skin, and had a crispy, oily and tender taste received attention from many foodies and were highly welcomed by them. Da Dong and Duck De Chine were hence built and became famous.
Meanwhile, Quanjude, which was held back by its traditional mindset, had to increasingly rely on stories to survive. This was one of the most difficult questions faced by the famous foods in Beijing. The foodies would come for the reputation of the ‘authentic taste’, but the people in modern society had a great difference in taste with the people in the old days. The market that praised food once it had extra lard in it had now disappeared. Whether or not the cooks should change the flavor of their food had become a marketing problem that was hard to decide.
Ling Ran did not care about this. When he smelled something good, he just wanted to come in and taste it.
Tian Qi did not even care. The chef at her home might make a better dish, however, a meal was more than just eating.
When it was about time, Academician Du laid on the hospital bed. He was so bored that he became a bit annoyed and kept looking around.
The single room was specially meant for the academician. But the white and blue colored walls would not make anyone become more cheerful. The white-colored bed sheets, modernized multifunction nursing bed, and the complicated calling system would make one feel sense how feeble they were.
“Academician Du, we’re here to give you an injection.” The head nurse brought another two nurses with her and entered.
“Sorry for the trouble.” Academician Du tried to be polite.
“It’s our duty. Associate Hospital Director Wang told us that you are a pillar in our country, so he wants us to do our best.” The head nurse tried to joke around and pointed at the two nurses beside her. She smiled and said, “I have brought the best I have over here.”
The two nurses smiled faintly, and they did not want to grab the limelight from the head nurse. They continued to do things quietly. One of them performed disinfection and bound Academician Du’s arm while the other held the syringe and injected it into Academician Du’s vein.
“So brittle.”
“Academician Du’s vessels are indeed brittle.”
“The skin is quite fragile too.”
