Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Delicious.” Miao Tansheng put his elbow on the table and used it as an axis so that he can bring the crispy pork belly from the plate into his mouth. He was so happy that his fish eyes twitched, and his rosacea-infected nose seemed to have become redder.
Ling Jiezhou looked calm while he counted, “Six, seven, eight… Eat more if you want.”
“Pork is still more delicious than other meat, especially this pork belly. It’s not only oily, but its aroma is unique…” Miao Tansheng looked like he had not eaten pork for four hours, two days, and a week. He chewed the meat with gusto, and he looked very happy.
“Old Miao, you’ve earned quite a lot. Is all your money used up by your wife?” When Ling Jiezhou counted to twelve, he decided to interrupt Miao Tansheng.
Miao Tansheng sighed, drank a mouthful of water, smiled, and said, “How could it be? My wife is very thrifty. She’s the kind who will not buy shirts only when both sides can be worn, and not the ones where only the outer side can be worn, but not the inner side.”
Ling Jiezhou stared at Miao Tansheng’s chopsticks, nodded, and said, “I can tell.”
“She can’t be compared with you, Chief Ling.” Miao Tansheng picked another piece of pork belly again, then he put his chopsticks together on the table. He chewed the pork belly and said, “If I use modern terms, then Chief Ling, you’re a second generation rich kid. You’re running such a big clinic, and the commissions you receive alone is great enough for you to travel to Tahiti. I’m thinking of whether I can open a clinic when I am at your age.”
Ling Jiezhou’s veins were ready to pop when he heard those words. He had many things to criticize about what Miao Tansheng said, but since there were just too many things to criticize about Miao Tansheng’s words, so much so that there were flaws everywhere in what he said, Ling Jiezhou did not know where to start.
“Doctor Miao, didn’t you say you’ve found a patient? Is the patient coming over by himself or herself or through other means?” Ling Jiezhou decided to change the topic.
Miao Tansheng made phone calls throughout the morning. After contacting a number of people, he finally found a suitable patient. Although there was only one patient, no one could ever start anything without facing difficulties, so Ling Jiezhou did not mind the number. In fact, Ling Jiezhou was still hopeful about the first patient who would come to have his or her Achilles tendon repaired.
Honestly, when the Ling family first started up Lower Groove Clinic, they made it so that they could perform surgeries. Ling Jiezhou’s dad could perform the simple debridements and sutures, appendectomies, and even the more complex orthopedic surgeries, plastering, putting on splints, and other surgeries. Besides, the old man also knew how to administer traditional Chinese medicine. He could perform acupunctures, so when the neighbours had headaches or fevers, he could administer acupuncture and treat them well.
But when the clinic was passed to Ling Jiezhou, the clinic slowly transformed into a transfusion hall and pharmacy. It was not because Ling Jiezhou could not hire a doctor, but because the environment caused the clinic to fall to this state. Even if he could offer a high salary and hire a good doctor, the patients were still from this neighborhood, and it was impossible that they would fall sick and come for treatment all the time.
However, the current Ling Ran had already surpassed what Ling Jiezhou would consider a good doctor.
Forget everything else, Ling Jiezhou knew that the cost for a VIP number for Ling Ran’s consultation would cost 800 RMB, and even the scalpers also sold his consultation numbers from 500 RMB to 600 RMB. Of course, it might be because Ling Ran only consulted patients for half a day every week.
While in the big first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, doctors like Ling Ran who gave consultations in private clinics or private hospitals were a common sight.
For patients who did not have medical insurance or did not care to apply for reimbursement, they went to private clinics or private hospitals for consultation, paid a price which was much higher than the consultation fees in public hospitals, and were guaranteed a chance to see the doctor of their choice. They could even receive a slightly better service than in public hospitals.
The Ling family had their own clinic, so developing a second battlefield for Ling Ran was also something they could try once Ling Jiezhou considered things from his perspective.
Miao Tansheng was actually envious of this too.
Even if the clinic looked like a pharmacy, it was still a clinic. Besides, the Ling family’s clinic had a complete set of licenses, had a long history, and a good foundation. If the clinic were passed to him, Miao Tansheng would launch breast augmentation surgeries without any hesitation…
“I was exhausted just to get this patient,” Miao Tansheng answered Ling Jiezhou’s question. He first complained, before he smiled and said, “But it’ll be convenient in the future. I’ve discussed it with them. If they meet any suitable patients, they will send them over to us. I can’t say it’ll be a continuous supply, but there’s going to be quite a number of patients.”
“That’s great. We don’t need a continuous supply, because our clinic has only fewer than twenty hospital beds, so we can’t also accommodate a high number of patients.” What Ling Jiezhou referred to was the hospital beds that could accommodate the patients staying over. The hospital beds used for fluid transfusion at the lower floor were naturally excluded.
Miao Tansheng chuckled and nodded. Then, he said, “After we complete this surgery, I will report to every hospital. Then, we will basically have sealed the deal. But… munch, munch…”
Miao Tansheng was halfway through his words before he picked up another crispy pork belly and chewed it.
‘Fifteen.’ Ling Jiezhou silently counted. Then, he went along the flow of the conversation and asked, “But?”
“Among the people I contacted, some are classmates and friends, whereas some are my former colleagues and social contacts. I’m thinking if we should give them some rewards? You know, to increase their motivation.” Miao Tansheng’s fish eyes twitched. After leaving the hospital and entering the clinic, Miao Tansheng had his own understanding about the way of life on both sides, so he also knew how to communicate well.
Ling Jiezhou did not think too much into it. He nodded and said, “Then, we’ll just give them the same rewards as we do to Golden Deer Health Services Pte Ltd.”
“Sure.” Miao Tansheng did not prepare to ask for a lot either. If he really offered a stimulating price, it would be bad if these parties sent such a high number of patients over that they could take all of them.
Once they were done talking, Miao Tansheng also sighed in relief. He then looked at Ling Ran and said, “Doctor Ling, can I be your assistant in the coming surgeries?”
“Sure.” Ling Ran agreed. For him, all his assistants needed to do was to have hands. For skilled assistants, he would give them more tasks while he focused on the core part of the surgery in order to reduce the patient’s risk, but when he encountered assistants with bad skills like Yu Yuan, as long as her attitude was serious, Ling Ran could also afford to take up the majority of the operation while giving her tasks that she could handle.
Ling Ran had been using this reverse spoon-feeding technique over the past two years. In fact, as celebrity doctors gained more experience, they would more or less master some reverse spoon-feeding techniques, otherwise, having a continuous stream of doctors on-training, interns and visiting doctors coming over was not a good thing.
Miao Tansheng felt relieved. He thanked Ling Ran again and helped increase Ling Ran’s confidence in him by saying, “My surgical technique back in the day was quite good, and I’ve been performing minor surgeries often lately, so I will not drop the ball.”
Ling Ran glanced at Miao Tansheng and said, “It’s fine even if you make mistakes.”
The passionate Miao Tansheng’s excitement was instantly stuck in his body, and he did not know what to say.
He knew that Ling Ran had just said those words with absolutely good intentions.
However, when he thought that he would be Ling Ran’s assistant, Miao Tansheng could not help but be perturbed.
“Oh yes, about what time will the nurse and anesthetist arrive?” Miao Tansheng forcefully changed the topic.
“Two in the afternoon.” Ling Ran was still very attentive when it came to surgeries.
Miao Tansheng became excited again. He said, “So, everything is ready now. The nurse and anesthetist from Yun Hua Hospital are very busy, right? Was it easy for you to get them to help?”
Ling Ran answered, “Yes. When I don’t perform surgery, they are free.”
With Ling Ran’s surgical volume, the nurses and anesthetists allocated to him were basically overworked. Therefore, when Ling Ran was free, the nurses in the Emergency Medical Center and the allocated anesthetists had their workload reduced, and they naturally had free time.
Miao Tansheng nodded, but he heard Ling Jiezhou saying, “Let Juan Zi perform the surgery. I’ll hire another two nurses later.”
Ling Jiezhou was still not willing to hire more people, but he would earn more when they began performing surgeries. When he thought about this, he did not find it a waste that Miao Tansheng had eaten thirteen big pieces and twelve small pieces of crispy pork belly.
Miao Tansheng thought for awhile and asked, “Has Juan Zi worked as a scrub nurse before?”
Ling Jiezhou answered, “She can be considered to have approached the field before. But the young girl is willing to learn, so she can pick it up after learning a few times.”
Miao Tansheng forced himself to smile. “Young girl, huh…?”
