Chapter 868 Holding Themselves Back
“Beef from Bazhaixiang actually tastes pretty good. There were even people who deliberately came over to Bazhaixiang to purchase beef.” As a Bazhaixiang local, Xiang Xueming attended to everyone with enthusiasm.
His colleague, though, looked a little diffident. Even though he was older than Xiang Xueming, his hands trembled whenever he held a wine glass. It seemed that he was not well-developed when it came to social skills.
Ling Ran was not a drinker, so he merely smiled. The middle-aged doctor from Bazhaixiang immediately understood what he meant. He flashed a smile at Ling Ran.
“Doctor Ling, here’s a slice of beef brisket.” Tian Qi enthusiastically grabbed a slice of beef brisket for Ling Ran with a pair of chopsticks like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
The servants from the Tian family, who were standing on both sides of Tian Qi, were astonished when they saw what their young mistress was doing. They immediately understood what was going on in Tian Qi’s mind. A few of them even stepped forward and were about to stop her from grabbing food for Ling Ran. However, they held themselves back.
“Hm, go ahead and grab one for yourself too,” Ling Ran said with a smile before he shoved the entire slice of beef brisket into his mouth and started chewing it.
Tian Qi smiled so brightly that her eyes were narrowed to slits. She grabbed a slice of beef with an equal amount of fats and lean meat. She fanned it with her palm to cool it down before shoving it into her mouth.
“How about some potatoes?” Tian Qi placed a slice of potato in Ling Ran’s bowl.
Ling Ran hummed in acknowledgment. He then grabbed a ladle and asked, “Do you want some broth to go with your rice?”
“Sure,” Tian Qi said. However, as she caressed her belly with her hand, she worriedly added, “I’ll eat less rice. I’m worried that I’ll get fat.”
Ling Ran glanced at her and said, “You have good body proportions and an adequate amount of muscles. It won’t be a problem for you to eat more…”
Tian Qi did not finish listening to what Ling Ran was saying at all. Her heart erupted with joy only after hearing the first part.
Zuo Cidian deliberately arranged for Cai Qiong to be seated away from Ling Ran. Cai Qiong snuck a few glances at Ling Ran and Tian Qi. He then lowered his head and started eating without looking around.
Zuo Cidian was sitting at the same table as Cai Qiong as he attended to everyone. Even though he was curious about what was on Cai Qiong’s mind, he did not dare to ask as he was worried that Cai Qiong would say something strange.
The atmosphere at the main table was pretty good, though. Even though Ling Ran did not like to chit-chat, the two chief physicians from Yun Hua Provincial Hospital knew each other. Aside from this, they were accompanied by several pharmaceutical sales representatives who were good with words. The food was also good, and everyone soon got into a good mood.
Of course, the reason behind it was also because the two chief physicians form Yun Hua Provincial Hospital had not been flattered much lately. They had to face Cai Qiong, who was only good at making snide remarks, all day. They would take a pharmaceutical sales representative who was not good with words over Cai Qiong any day.
Everyone had a great meal, and toward the end, the two chief physicians from Yun Hua Provincial Hospital were still in the mood to have fun. Hence, they invited everyone out with enthusiasm. “I heard that the karaoke place in Bazhaixiang is open for business again. Why don’t we head over and sing a few songs? Doctor Ling, do you like to sing?”
Ling Ran was surprised as he looked at the other party. He then shook his head gently. “I have an operation scheduled for the afternoon.”
“Ah, you have to operate on a patient in the afternoon?” Chief Physician Li already knew about it, but he still uttered the question. He was tipsy from the alcohol, and he asked with a smile, “Aside from working hard, you should also get enough rest. If it’s not a major surgery, why don’t you let one of your subordinates take over?”
Ling Ran merely smiled without saying anything.
“Doctor Ling will be performing hepatectomy in the afternoon,” Lu Wenbin, who was sitting beside Ling Ran said.
Associate Chief Physician Deng immediately furrowed his eyebrows. “Hepatectomy? This afternoon?”
“Yes,” Lu Wenbin answered without missing a beat. “Residents of Bazhaixiang rarely seek treatment, but there are actually a lot of patients who are suffering from hepatolithiasis. We’ve operated on a few of them before this, and all of them are discharged now. The fact that they can receive hepatectomy here spread by word of mouth, and they can get reimbursement for most of the fee too. Hence, many of them have come over for hepatectomy.”
Both Associate Chief Physician Deng as well as Chief Physician Li, who was sitting beside him, were speechless. Why did they come to the Bazhaixiang hospital branch? It was because they were incapable of performing hepatectomy even though there were patients who wanted it done.
Even though it was mainly because of reasons such as the lack of equipment, at the end of the day, it was because they were not confident enough.
If they had the confidence to perform hepatectomy as long as there were adequate facilities, they would not have to go through the trouble of transporting patients using a helicopter. Take Ling Ran as an example. Even though Yunli Medical Company helped him out by swiftly transporting a full set of brand new medical equipment, he was only able to do this because Department Director Huo gave him the green light.
Associate Chief Physician Deng, Chief Physician Li, and the specialists from Yun Hua Provincial Hospital’s General Surgery Department, who were still stationed in village hospitals, did not dare to guarantee their success in a complicated surgery like hepatectomy. As a result, they had to go through a tedious process. They had to obtain the patients’ agreement and try to transport them to the Bazhaixiang hospital branch before transferring them to Yun Hua Provincial Hospital…
If they were given a choice, they would rather fork out money from their own pockets—of course, not. It would be best if the hospital were to foot the bill and transport the equipment over. That way, they would even be able to perform more than one hepatectomy just like what Ling Ran was doing right now…
“You’ve done a few hepatectomies here?” Chief Physician Li pretended that he was concerned, but he was actually a little jealous.
When Lu Wenbin saw that the doctor from Yun Hua Provincial Hospital was shamelessly asking the question, he immediately said with pride. “Up until today, we have operated on five patients. From today onwards, Doctor Ling plans to carry out two hepatectomies a day.”
“Wow…”
“That’s great.” Even though Chief Physician Li was rather old and was involved in public health right now, he was still jealous. Projects related to public health were tremendously troublesome and complicated. Even though he had just gotten started, he was already facing his first obstacle—an idiotic subordinate… Compared to being involved in public health, a news headline like “Yun Hua Provincial Hospital Performed Six Major Surgeries as Part of Their Rescue Efforts in Bazhaixiang” sounded much better.
The two chief physicians from the General Surgery Department, who were pretty much drunk, were suddenly not in the mood for a karaoke session anymore. They felt just like two students who were asking a third student out for some fun when they realized that the other party had completed a lot of exercise books and mock exam papers.
Chief Physician Li spent a shorter time recovering from the shock. He grabbed his glass and finished the liquor inside. He then smiled, flashing his teeth, and said, “I always say that people are not stupid. The people in Bazhaixiang are extremely clever. By seeking out Doctor Ling, they’re practically seeking treatment from the doctor who is the best at hepatectomy in the entire province. Moreover, they do not have to spend much on it. The patients in the Bazhaixiang hospital branch can probably get an 80% reimbursement, can’t they?”
“Most of them can get an 80% reimbursement. However, they still need to pay for some of the drugs,” Xiang Xueming answered.
Lu Wenbin chipped in, “Due to the situation right now, we can’t bill patients for many of the drugs. So the total cost at the end of the day is pretty high when we treat these patients.”
“Doctor Ling is such a kind-hearted doctor.” Since it never hurt anyone to say a few kind words, Associate Chief Physician Deng immediately complimented Ling Ran. He then changed the topic. “Doctor Ling, if you’re not able to handle everything, I can help out since I’ll be in Bazhaixiang for a few more days. I don’t really have anything urgent to attend to either…”
“The greatest limitation right now is the number of operating theaters. We’re not actually lacking in manpower.” Zuo Cidian walked over when he heard the conversation. He chipped in as he stood beside Ling Ran. He then continued with a smile, “Chief Physician Li, please don’t fight for opportunities with junior doctors like me. We came all the way here to Bazhaixiang, and it would be sad if we don’t even get the opportunity to operate on patients here.”
As Associate Chief Physician Deng gazed at Zuo Cidian’s wrinkled face, he could not help but mutter internally, ‘Junior doctor, seriously?’ He then raised his head and faked a smile. “Alright, you guys can have all of the patients…”
He was an associate chief physician from Yun Hua Provincial Hospital, and he was not shameless enough to fight for opportunities with a group of resident doctors and attending physicians no matter how attractive those opportunities were.
“If you guys get too busy, I’m here to help,” Associate Chief Physician Deng said.
Zuo Cidian and Lu Wenbin smiled in unison.
After the meal, there was a tacit agreement between everyone to stop coming up with suggestions to have fun such as going for karaoke. The drunk Associate Chief Physician Deng and Chief Physician Li decided to follow Ling Ran when they saw him heading to the operating theater.
They wondered how a hepatectomy carried out under such conditions would turn out.
