Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As Doctor Zhou stood at the arrival hall of the airport, he sized the three Americans up.
The American walking in the middle was tall and thin with blond hair as well as blue eyes. It only took one glance for Doctor Zhou to know that he was a man who had often been bullied in high school and had no girlfriend in university but ended up winning in life by becoming a doctor through hard work. Doctor Zhou reckoned that he was the legendary Lloyd.
If an ambitious surgeon were in Doctor Zhou’s place right now, his eyes would have lit up. He would have jumped for joy and tried his best to be proactive so that he could gain more knowledge.
However, what Doctor Zhou yearned for was a good life. And a good life was not what a top-class doctor could give him.
Hence, Doctor Zhou merely looked away with a flat gaze.
The foreigner who was walking on Lloyd’s left was short and thin. It only took one gaze at him for Doctor Zhou to know that he was the type of man who was often bullied in high school, often bullied in university, and was only able to become a doctor and succeed in life by hiding in the library every day and studying hard.
The foreigner who was walking on Lloyd’s right was tall and burly. However, his gaze was empty. He looked like the type of man who wanted to bully other people back in high school but became the one who got bullied instead. He looked like the type of man who made it into university by sheer luck, and only became a doctor because he cheated in his exams.
Doctor Zhou made speculations regarding the three men’s personalities. He only raised the sign in his hand when the three men were nearer. The word “Lloyd” was printed on the sign in a large font.
“It’s us.” Lloyd walked over and flashed an ambivalent smile. He sized Doctor Zhou up for a moment and said to his companions in German, “He’s a typical Chinese doctor. He probably did quite well in medical school, but I reckon that he’s not good when it comes to practical things. He’s probably better at theory.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand.” Doctor Zhou was a little confused. ‘Is this some new and bizarre English dialect?’
Lloyd, though, merely shook his head a little and said, “We like to communicate using all kinds of languages every now and then.”
“Alright, Lao Ai [1], I will bring you guys to the hotel so that you guys can rest for a while first. After that, I will bring you guys out for a meal.” Doctor Zhou pursed his lips, and his English pronunciation got messed up a little.
“Lloyd.” Lloyd corrected him.
“Lao Ai, right? Pretty huge, isn’t it?” Doctor Zhou entertained himself by cracking a joke that the foreigners would not understand. When he saw that the other party did not react at all, he shrugged and led the way.
Lloyd followed him and said, “Thank you for your hospitality. I thought that Doctor Huo Congjun would be here, though.”
Doctor Zhou said in English, “Doctor Huo is a little busy. You guys will definitely see him in the coming days. Oh, by the way, which one of you is Mister Bowman?”
“I’m Bowman,” the tall and burly foreigner answered.
“Nice to meet you, Mister Bowman. I watched a video of you operating. It was an intestinal obstruction repair.” Doctor Zhou flashed a smile.
Bowman immediately smiled. There was a hint of happiness in his originally lifeless eyes.
After all, Doctor Zhou did not even praise Lloyd.
“I reckon that you are Mister Boyle, then?” Doctor Zhou greeted the short and thin doctor.
Boyle merely flashed a flat expression.
Doctor Zhou did not mind. He made some small talk as he brought the three men to Prosperous Fountain Hotel. He waited in the lobby for a short while as the foreigners checked into their hotel rooms. He then brought them to Shao’s family restaurant.
While they were on their way, Doctor Zhou took the trouble to explain the reason he was bringing them to Shao’s family restaurant. “Even though there are also restaurants in the hotel you guys are staying in, the food there tastes a little generic. I’m bringing you guys to a really special restaurant, and I hope that it’ll be a memorable meal for you guys.”
Lloyd said nonchalantly, “The main reason I’m in Yun Hua City is to meet one of the doctors in your hospital, Doctor Ling Ran. Do you know him?”
“I do.” Doctor Zhou looked at Lloyd with a smile. ‘No wonder Old Huo’s so vigilant about their visit.’
Right now, Ling Ran was one of the top surgeons in Changxi Province when it came to hepatectomy.
Other than Yun Hua Hospital, there were not really any other hospitals that Ling Ran could fit into. The General Hospital of Yun Hua Military Region was out of the question, as they followed a military system, with there being clear boundaries between junior and senior doctors. With Ling Ran’s personality, he definitely would not be able to survive in a department where associate chief physicians had to salute chief physicians whenever they crossed paths.
The same went for Yun Hua Provincial Hospital. The Departments of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery in Changxi Province were relatively weak, and this was why Yun Hua Hospital hired He Yuanzheng, who originated from another province. In comparison, the department director of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Yun Hua Provincial Hospital, Dou Yongchang, was quite an authoritative figure. Even though he was not one of the top liver surgeons in the country, his skill level was what a person would get if he were to calculate the average skill level of the liver experts in the country.
Of course, if a person were to look at hepatectomy alone, Department Director Dou Yongchang’s skills were far inferior to Ling Ran. However, Dou Yongchang was already the department director of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Yun Hua Provincial Hospital, and he had done nothing wrong. Yun Hua Provincial Hospital could not just kick him down to make way for Ling Ran. It was possible for them to create a Second Division of Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and make Ling Ran the department director. However, with two identical departments in the hospital, there would definitely be conflicts. Moreover, Huo Congjun from Yun Hua Hospital was one of Ling Ran’s most loyal supporters. Hence, Yun Hua Provincial Hospital had never even thought about hiring Ling Ran.
Ling Ran was not even tempted by hospitals in Beijing. Doctor Zhou did not even need to use his brain to think to figure out that Huo Congjun was definitely seeing Lloyd as a threat.
When Doctor Zhou thought about it this way, Huo Congjun’s worry was not hard to understand. The Anderson Cancer Center was a world-class hospital. Even though being a surgeon in The Anderson Cancer Center might not be as lucrative as carry out freelance surgeries in China, the feeling of working in one of the world’s top hospitals and the social status that came with it…
As Doctor Zhou thought of this, he could not help but chuckle self-deprecatingly. ‘Okay, it’s understandable that Department Director Huo is jumping to conclusions. But why am I doing the same? We’re talking about the Anderson Cancer Center here. One does not simply just get hired by the Anderson Cancer…’
However, Doctor Zhou suddenly changed his mind again. ‘Ling Ran is not an ordinary person…’
“Doctor Zhou?” Lloyd glanced at Doctor Zhou who was lost in thoughts and asked, “Can you introduce Doctor Ling to us?”
“You’ll get the chance to meet him.” Doctor Zhou did not dare to make any hasty promises. He then asked, “How did you know about Doctor Ling?”
“I watched a video where he was operating.” Lloyd gestured with his hands and said, “From Yunli Medical Company.”
Doctor Zhou was astonished. “So, you’re here because of Doctor Ling’s skills? What do you think about him?”
“Amazing!” Lloyd raised his voice to emphasize how amazed he was.
Doctor Zhou chuckled a few times and reminded himself once again that he must watch his words.
Soon, they arrived at Boss Shao’s restaurant.
Boss Shao, who had just undergone a full set of tests when he sought consultation from Ling Ran, looked healthy. He deliberately walked out from behind a barbeque stand and greeted Doctor Zhou. He then said in fluent English to Lloyd and the other foreigners, “Welcome.”
“Boss Shao, it’s your chance to bring glory to the country,” Doctor Zhou said with a smile, “I won’t be ordering. Just serve us whatever you find appropriate.”
“Certainly.” Boss Shao did not bother putting on a polite front. He sized the three foreigners up and asked in English, “Is there anything you guys don’t eat?”
“Dog meat.”
“Cat meat.”
“Internal organs.”
Lloyd and his companions rushed to say.
Boss Shao nodded and noted what they said down on his notepad. He then said, “I’ll serve a bamboo rat that we reared alongside some barbequed beef, then. They should be used to this, so the probability of the food causing diarrhea will be low. I’ll serve some lamb chop too, as they might injure themselves with the toothpicks used in lamb skewers. Do you want some porridge? To warm up their stomachs or something as the food might heat up their body and cause nose bleeding. Do you want some beer?”
“Just give us whatever you find appropriate.” Doctor Zhou observed his surroundings.
Boss Shao nodded and went to make preparations like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
Soon, the beef was served. Lloyd and his companions gave a thumbs up in satisfaction, and nothing strange happened.
Next, the lamb chop was served. Lloyd and his companions gave a thumbs up in satisfaction, and nothing strange happened…
Lastly, the bamboo rat was served. Lloyd and his companions found the dish a little strange, but still, nothing strange happened…
“Alright, the day went quite smoothly. It’s pretty good.” Doctor Zhou rose and paid. He heaved a sigh of relief.
Lloyd and his companions did not sense anything strange. After they had some beer, all their muscles were relaxed. They exited the restaurant along with Doctor Zhou with smiles on their faces.
Bowman, whose belly was full of beef and who had drunk some beer, waved his large and muscular hands as he asked with a smile, “Doctor Zhou, you mentioned that you have watched a video of me operating before. Where did you see the video?”
“Some video streaming website.”
“Ah, if you’re interested, we can operate on a patient together. It should be more fun to watch me live.” As Bowman spoke, he turned to look at Doctor Zhou and flashed a toothy smile. “My skills should be pretty…”
“Watch out!” Doctor Zhou yelled, and could only watch as Bowman slipped at the sidewalk.
The tall and burly Bowman kneeled on the floor along with Doctor Zhou’s scream.
He kneeled on one knee!
The surroundings were too noisy, and Doctor Zhou could not hear the sound Bowman made as he fell. So, Doctor Zhou had no choice but to imagine the sound effects. *Plop! Crack!*
“Boss Shao?” Doctor Zhou called out loudly.
Boss Shao quickly craned his head out. He merely took one glance at Bowman before he asked, “Can he walk?”
“Probably not.” Doctor Zhou saw the grimace on Bowman’s face and reckoned that he was quite badly injured.
“Got it,” Boss Shao said. Within half a minute, he reappeared with a large first-aid box.
Doctor Zhou quickly took off his coat and helped out. The doctor worked together to secure Bowman’s knee. They then saw that a Wuling Formo had stopped beside them without making a sound.
When Doctor Zhou opened the back door, he saw the seats had disappeared. Instead, there was a sturdy-looking emergency hospital bed in their place. A double hospital bed!
