Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Even though the patient had four severed fingers, the entire surgery only took Ling Ran three hours and a pair of 168 RMB underpants.
Compared with hepatectomy and other abdominal surgeries, hand surgeries were a lot more straightforward, and the moment the surgery ended, the doctor would have an idea about the success rate of the surgery. It was different from hepatectomy, where the patients might face all kinds of danger. It was to the point that even three days after surgery, there was still a high chance that the patient might die.
Meanwhile, Lu Wenbin was rather excited. Patients with four severed fingers were pretty rare. Aside from this, Ling Ran was giving Lu Wenbin a lot of opportunities to show his skills. And this made him feel even better than when he was operating on a patient alone.
“As expected, it’s more fun to operate on patients with a few people compared to doing it alone.” After Ling Ran was done showering again, Lu Wenbin fished out a piping hot pork trotter from a pot of braised soup. He placed it on a beautiful porcelain plate, passed it to Ling Ran and said with a smile, “Give this pork trotter a try. It’s from a carefully selected giant pig.”
“Carefully selected giant pig?”
“You know how pigs are hard to come by nowadays, and even pork trotters have become smaller. All the pigs in slaughterhouses are only around 170 or 180 pounds, and how big can their hooves get? Just compare the shoe size of a 170-pound person with that of a 300-pound person. Everyone wants to eat big pork trotters, don’t you think so? So I specially picked out the hooves of gigantic pigs and started this brand called ‘carefully selected giant pigs’. Each pork trotter is 10 RMB more expensive compared to normal ones,” Lu Wenbin explained with a smile. He never earned much from his pork trotters business, but this sudden idea had brought him so much money that he brought a Mercedes-Benz.
Ling Ran did not care about pigs. He ate a few pork trotters with his hands to fill his belly. He then rose and said, “I’m going back to sleep. If you have more pork trotters, do send some to the nurses and doctors in the ICU.”
He had worked in the ICU for only one day, but Ling Ran received a lot of help from the nurses there. Those nurses have given him a lot of fruits and milk too. Since the pork trotters Lu Wenbin gave him today were even more delicious than the usual ones, he immediately decided to let the medical staff members in the ICU have some.
Lu Wenbin felt honored, and he quickly said, “No problem. I’ll definitely choose the best ones and send them there.”
“Just send an invoice to me after you send the pork trotters over.” Ling Ran waved and headed to the elevator.
At this moment, Zuo Cidian who was already so tired that he could barely open his eyes said in a strained voice, “Doctor Ling, do send some to the patients’ family members who are waiting outside the ICU too.”
“Okay, sure thing.” Ling Ran did not think much about it, and he immediately agreed to it due to his trust in Zuo Cidian.
Lu Wenbin watched as Ling Ran entered the elevator before he looked suspiciously at Zuo Cidian. “Old Zuo, are you trying to make me our pork trotter representative?”
“Pah, you’re talking about it in the worst way possible,” Zuo Cidian snorted and said. “Wang Chuanli will be discharged in a few days, and all four of his brothers are staying in the hospital to watch over him. There are also many patient’s family members outside the ICU. They certainly won’t be able to get their hands on any delicious food. So, if we send them some good food right now, they will be grateful to us. They will then owe us a favor.”
Lu Wenbin immediately understood. He glanced at the pot and said, “I’ll ask my men to send more pork trotters over, then. Should I give some to the family members of other patients too?”
“Might as well. Only giving them to the Wang brothers wouldn’t look good on us.”
“I’ll need to check my stock, then. I’m afraid that there won’t be enough pork trotters from carefully selected giant pigs.” Lu Wenbin whipped out his cell phone as he spoke. “The Wang brothers seem to enjoy a pretty good relationship. They’re keeping a watch on their brother in the hospital all the time.”
“Their relationship is pretty good,” Zuo Cidian gave a brief reply, and there was no way that he would talk about the entanglements and arguments between the Wang family members regarding their interests. Rich and powerful families were complicated, to begin with, and as a mere doctor, he had no intention of partaking in their drama. He did not even bother gossiping about it.
Meanwhile, Lu Wenbin was only concerned about his stock. He made a few consecutive phone calls before plopping onto a chair in a relaxed manner. There was a satisfied smile on his face. “What a good day. I operated on a patient with four severed fingers and managed to sell so many pork trotters.”
Zuo Cidian had a thought in his mind. “Did you make a lot of money?”
Lu Wenbin was brewing another pot of soup, and he pursed his lips as he smiled. “I’ll give you ten pork trotter coupons later. But you know, Doctor Zuo, you know a lot of people. If you could help me promote my business…”
“Forget about it. I’m still hoping to become an attending physician.” Zuo Cidian the old resident doctor waved in dismissal and said no to this suggestion that did not sound very attractive anyway.
…..
Ling Ran drove back home in a leisurely manner.
After operating on the patient with four severed patients, it was no longer the peak traffic period after work. There were not many cars on the road, and Ling Ran did not have to be stuck in a jam as he drove his Volkswagen Jetta.
He opened the car window and breathed in some fresh air. He was in a pretty good mood.
Even though the system did not reward him fairly for his recent mission, he still felt very happy to have resuscitated so many patients back to back.
Ling Ran even started to recall the time when he was still a child. He would often watch patients get treated in the clinic. There were not many hospitals at that time, and patients had to go through complex procedures to receive treatment at a hospital. Hence, the responsibility to administer initial treatment and provide a diagnosis for patients fell on clinics, including Lower Groove Clinics. They had to take in many children with fever and adults with diarrhea at night. It was totally different from what was happening right now when people only went to clinics for fluid transfusions.
“I wonder how Doctor Miao is doing with his cosmetic surgery patients,” Ling Ran muttered as he slowly reversed his car into the parking lot.
It was nighttime, and there were only a few scattered patients in the clinic. Judging by the amount of liquid left in their fluid transfusion bottles, they would be leaving soon.
Ling Jiezhou had carried a reclining chair into the treatment room, and he looked like an old patient as he lay alongside the patients. He was chit-chatting with a few elderly men who were receiving a fluid transfusion.
Tao Ping was holding a bowl of peach resin desert. She sipped spoonfuls of it and listened as the men talked. She would chip in every now and then, and there was a smile on her face from the beginning to the end…
…..
“I’m back,” Ling Ran called out. He sounded like he just got back from school.
“Eh? You’re back, son?” Tao Ping was surprised. “Didn’t you send me a text message saying that you’re working in the ICU?”
“Yup, but I’m done.” Ling Ran nodded.
“So… are you having dinner?” Tao Ping finished the peach resin dessert in her bowl and rose.
Ling Ran shook his head and said, “I had some pork trotters.”
“You can eat again later. Hm, why don’t you have a bowl of peach resin dessert first?” Tao Ping said and went to the kitchen.
Soon, Ling Jiezhou sent the last few patients away, and a delivery man from Haidilao [1] came.
“We ordered this for you.” Ling Jiezhou asked the delivery man to set up the table and said with a smile on his face, “Your mom immediately called them after you got home.”
As he spoke, the delivery man placed the pot on the table and poured the broth into it. There were two broths, one was clear and the other was red. The delivery man then placed beef, mutton, fish paste, meatballs, pork intestines, and ox aorta on the table.
Soon, the table was full.
The delivery man said respectfully, “Mister Ling, because you ordered the meal six hours in advance, there’s a complimentary fruit platter. I’ll put it here—”
“It smells pretty good,” Ling Jiezhou quickly cut the delivery man off.
Hence, the delivery man lowered his head and continued setting up the table. Before he left, he said, “Mister Ling, I have also placed the additional set of cutleries on the table, so there are three sets in total. Do you need anything else?”
