Chapter 659: Believe
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It was a hot day.
The sun was shining brightly.
The wind was gentle.
The waiting room cut a tranquil sight.
The devil’s ivy danced along to the breeze of the air conditioners.
The potted devil’s ivy had thick and strong stems. Their stems and branches were already swirling around the pipelines on the roof. They looked like they were trying to break out of prison. They only swayed reluctantly whenever someone increased the power of the air conditioner fans, as though they were being forced to do so by the warden.
Compared to the devil’s ivy, the poison ivy in Beijing Sixth University Hospital were more meticulously planted and taken care of. There was a pot of poison ivy on each side on the balcony, and they looked simple and beautiful. They were almost hidden in plain sight too, just like ballet dancers to whom no one would pay any attention to if they were not into ballet.
Dong Sheng the young novice monk had stayed for two days and one night in Beijing Sixth University Hospital.
Dong Sheng departed two days earlier than he was supposed to in case something unexpected came up. He ended up having a smooth journey and arriving early. As a result, he had to get his own accommodation as the current batch of students furthering their studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies had not left the place yet.
Beijing was the capital of China indeed, and the cost for a night’s stay in a hotel totally reflected the cost of things in Beijing. Dong Sheng had made some calculations, and he realized that the money he would need to spend to stay in a hotel for a night was enough for him to buy a box of Mayinglong ointment. As monks should not spend lavishly, Dong Sheng took the temple master’s suggestion and asked for alms from Zuo Cidian in the form of free accommodation in a hospital bed in Beijing Sixth University Hospital.
Now that he had a place to sleep, Dong Sheng felt extremely at ease.
This was Dong Sheng’s routine for the past day. He woke up early in the morning to clean the place before heading to the waiting hall on the surgical floor where the amethyst geode was at. He recited Buddhist chants and talked to people there. He then returned to the waiting room to study and work on the worksheets prepared by his master. He did this for the rest of the day.
Other than the time he was massaging Ling Ran, Zuo Cidian, Zhang Anmin, and the others, Dong Sheng basically spent the second half of his morning reading and studying.
Dong Sheng only headed to the canteen at noon to wait for Ling Ran and the other doctors to be done with their surgeries so that they could have lunch together.
They were naturally eating vegetarian food.
As the chef tried his best to make the food as delicious as possible, it was unavoidable that he had used a few expensive ingredients such as high-end edible fungus and premium bean curds.
Tian Qi came over whenever it was time for meals. She rode a bicycle to avoid the jam, and she was extremely hungry by the time she arrived at the hospital.
“What are we eating today?” Tian Qi wore an anticipatory expression as she entered the waiting room.
She was greeted by the sight of Ling Ran and Dong Sheng sitting side by side facing the sun. Ling Ran was reading a book while Dong Sheng was working on a worksheet.
Both the adult and child were clad in white.
While Ling Ran wore a large white coat, Dong Sheng wore a white T-shirt.
They were so focused on their tasks to the point that they paid no attention to what was happening around them.
The sunlight filtered in through the glass window and fell upon the spot in front of their books. Instead of colorful flowers, the stems and leaves of a large, simple and beautiful devil’s ivy could be seen behind them.
Even so, the hyper Tian Qi immediately went silent when she saw this, and she wished that she could look at the sight before her forever.
*Click, click.*
Mai Chun who received orders to head to Beijing University Sixth Hospital raised her phone and started taking photographs. She applied different filters to these photographs, and every single one of them looked very artistic. She immediately felt like a professional photographer and could not help but take a few more photographs.
When she raised her head, she saw that Tian Qi was looking at her.
Mai Chun immediately flashed a smile to please Tian Qi and passed her phone to Tian Qi.
Tian Qi could not help but say, “If this were to appear in a magazine, the magazine would probably go out of stock.”
Mai Chun asked, “Should I contact a magazine company? Most of our contacts in the media field are healthcare-related, and as for non-healthcare related media, we mostly keep in touch with newspapers. However, if you want me to look for a magazine company that would…”
“Just send those pictures to me.” Tian Qi blushed a little as she spoke, but it could easily be mistaken as a hot flush as she had just cycled all the way to the hospital.
It only took them a short time to finish the seven vegetarian dishes. Ling Ran put down his chopsticks and said to Tian Qi, “Academician Du was transferred to a normal ward from the ICU yesterday. Do you want to go and visit him together?”
“That’s great. Professor Li has been wanting to visit Academician Du, but ordinary people aren’t allowed into the ICU…” Tian Qi looked very happy as she asked, “Does this mean that Academician Du is cured?”
“Since the surgery was a success, he would at least get to live for a few more years. But no one can guarantee that there won’t be a recurrence.” Ling Ran explained things to Tian Qi.
Tian Qi nodded slowly and said emotionally, “Doctor Ling, your job is to save lives, and it’s really amazing.”
After they had their lunch, Ling Ran, Tian Qi, and Dong Sheng headed to Academician Du’s ward.
The ward was extremely crowded with Academician Du’s family members—almost all of them had come. Academician Du seemed to be in good spirits. He did not look pale, and he had the strength to talk.
Ling Ran performed a physical examination for him and thought about things.
Ling Ran had to take time to slowly figure out how the body of senior citizens reacted to such a major surgery.
As physical examination involved palpation, he got to understand the patient’s condition better.
Li Xuechao, who had silvery-white hair, entered the ward, too, and greeted Academician Du.
“Wow, there’s really no need for so many of you to come and visit me.” Academician Du managed a smile and nodded at Li Xuechao.
“I wanted to visit earlier, but something came up.” Li Xuechao apologized once again.
Academician Du’s IQ had obviously become lower due to the fact that he had just received surgery. He asked without thinking, “What’s the matter?”
Li Xuechao smiled and said, “We’re prospecting for non-ferrous metal mine at South Zhili, so I had been very busy. I was just sending the files to the participants before I came to visit you. Auctions nowadays are more troublesome than they used to be. In fact, they’re becoming more and more troublesome.”
Academician Du finally understood what was going on. He said with a smile, “It’s a shame that auctions have nothing to do with me as the ministry is responsible for it.”
“I know. Sigh, it’s just that it’s a little worrisome.” The old man with silvery-white hair looked even more sickly than Academician Du who was lying in a hospital bed. He was probably really tired.
Academician Du snorted a few times and said, “Non-ferrous metal mines. Back when I was stationed at South Zhili, I prospected for ores at a few locations before. But I didn’t investigate any of them further. What a waste.”
“We have to depend on the younger generation nowadays.”
“I do believe that there’s something valuable in those mines.” Academician Du became more and more tired as he spoke.
After a while, Li Xuechao followed everyone out of the ward. He sighed and said, “What a shame. I guess I’ll only get to ask Academician Du about those mines the next time I visit him.”
“Are you guys planning to bid on an existing mine or prospect for ores?” Academician Du’s plump grandson followed them out.
“What’s the main difference?” Li Xuechao asked with a smile.
“If you want to prospect for ores, forget about it. You might have less competition if you were to participate in an auction,” Academician Du’s grandson said in a hushed tone, “Mines that had not gone through thorough investigation are cheaper.”
“We’ll buy it then. I’ll follow Academician Du’s advice.” Tian Qi said when she heard this.
“Huh?” Academician Du’s grandson froze for a moment. “Are you guys really buying a mine?”
Tian Qi nodded and said, “It’s cheap, anyway.”
Li Xuechao flashed a wan smile, and Academician Du’s plump grandson suddenly became anxious. “About this… my grandpa meant that he reckoned that these lands might have ores underneath them, and it’s not guaranteed. Besides, the amount of mineral deposits under every mine is different. You guys shouldn’t be easily deceived…”
“I believe in Academician Du.” Tian Qi gave a simple reply.
