Great Doctor Ling Ran

It was eight in the morning.

Ling Ran followed Doctor Zhou to check some rooms and fill out some lists before they got off work.

What the Yun Hua administration had was a three-stage ward round system. Those in charge of beds on the first-string performed the first stage checks. They were expected to perform ward rounds at least twice a day. Second-string attending physicians performed the second stage checks. They were expected to perform ward rounds once every day. The third-string directors and assistant directors were only required to perform ward rounds once to twice per week.

To junior doctors, when the assistant director and director were not performing ward rounds, it would be a relatively relaxing day.

Doctor Zhou did not make Ling Ran stay for long. But when he was about to leave, he specifically instructed Ling Ran. “When you return, regardless of how excited you are, you should get some good sleep, or else it’ll be very bad for your body.”

“I sleep very well,” Ling Ran answered.

Doctor Zhou purposefully schooled his face and said, “Don’t exploit your body just because you’re young. Burning the midnight oil is the number one cause of cancer. You should be serious about it, don’t look down on it.”

“Yes.” What else could Ling Ran say? Was he supposed to say that he had to sleep till broad daylight?

However, the ugly and ordinary resident doctor by the side wanted to say something. He first yawned, and Doctor Zhou waved his hand at him, saying, “If you’re tired, go back and sleep. If you’re not, then stay and help out.”

“No, I better go back. If I stay here any longer, I might die of fatigue.” The resident doctor quickly made his stand.

“You… This fellow already knows how to be a loafer.” Doctor Zhou chuckled twice and said to Ling Ran, “You should also go back soon. Today’s Friday. For the next two consecutive days in the weekend, you can rest. Treasure it. When your internship ends, there will no longer be such nice things.”

Ling Ran stretched his body and nodded.

A rest day was still quite important. At least, he could still breathe outside the hospital and get some fresh… exhaust fumes from the back of a car.

…..

Lower Groove Clinic.

The lamp box by the door shone with red and yellow light, carrying out its duties responsibly. The little restaurant, little barber shop, and little market all used the same model of lights, and together, they illuminated the old street.

More people seemed to be having intravenous infusion in the main house’s transfusion room in the Ling family courtyard. Those who could not lie in bed sat on the chairs and played with their phones to pass the time.

“Today, business hasn’t been bad,” Ling Jiezhou said upon seeing his son. His big face looked like a pot of porridge as he smiled.

“Has there been an influenza outbreak lately?” Based on the impression Ling Ran had, when there were many people in the clinic, there was either an influenza outbreak nearby or people falling sick due to the drastic changes in temperature when the seasons changed.

“Better than an influenza outbreak.” Ling Jiezhou laughed, feeling proud of himself. “Ever since Boss Yang’s incident, the neighborhood has acknowledged us more. If I had known, I would have bought and hung firecrackers at that time…”

Ling Jiezhou spoke softly as he tugged on Ling Ran’s shoulders to get him to lower his head, “Some of them are from Upper Groove. They came all the way to us for a consultation.”

Ling Ran originally thought it was some kind of secret, and he looked at his father askance as he said, “Upper Groove and Lower Groove are connected.”

“You know how lazy people these days are. They won’t even want to go the restaurant under their houses. They rather spend money on calling for delivery. The people from Upper Groove are willing to walk ten minutes all the way to our Lower Groove Clinic to get their shots. Do you know how great that shows we are? By the way, today our lunch will be claypot fish.” Ling Jiezhou gestured to him and said, “That girl called Young Lu gave us a six-pound grass carp yesterday. She said that it was caught at the Tiger Leaping Gorge Dam [1]. It was still alive. I kept it in the tank and just made it into a dish”

“Did you pay her?”

“She didn’t want to accept it. She said that you helped her with her business, so she wanted to repay you or whatever. Your mom gave her something in return—her hand-weaved sun hat. Girls quite like it.” For the past twenty years, the couple, Ling Jiezhou and Tao Ping, frequently helped Ling Ran buy all kinds of small gifts for the purpose of returning the kindness they showed to Ling Ran. They were all quite used to this.

“Well then, I’ll go play my game.” Ling Ran felt relieved. He turned and laid himself down on the recliner in the courtyard.

“Be mindful of your eyes.” When Ling Jiezhou saw that his son was acting normally, he joyfully went to work.

The clinic’s business was almost the same as a small stall. If you wanted business to be good, you needed to be generous and liberal. You needed to chat with the customers and give them a minimal discount. Hence, when families were low on supplies of… flu pills, Xue-Sai-Tong dispersible pills [2], glastum, Shexiang Zhuanggu Gao [3], then they would think of you.

Ling Jiezhou could only feed that money-consuming wife of his by relying on his extraordinary wit and diligence. However, that was the best a stall-like clinic could manage.

Ling Ran laid down in a comfortable position and took out his phone. He pressed the icon for Kings of Glory and conveniently sent out a game invitation to Dong Zhizhuan.

After a few minutes, Ling Ran fell back to his initial ‘Stubborn Bronze’ rank, and then he began a new, jolly expedition.

In the afternoon…

Because Dong Zhizhuan and the others had extra training, Ling Ran followed Doctor Xiong to check on a few old patients’ bodies.

Every clinic had a few regulars. They all had chronic diseases and hoped to lighten the symptoms by means of transfusion as well as medication; some were old and weak, hoping to ease the pain via transfusion and medication; some were paranoid, and hoped to rely on the means of transfusion and medication to curb the symptoms they imagined they had…

Once the regulars reached the clinic, they all chatted and laughed. Some would even guide the doctors and nurses in their prescription.

Doctor Xiong conducted his regular observation, then he helped in measuring their blood pressure. He also used the stethoscope to listen to their heartbeat and breathing. On the surface, it looked like a super weak version of a body check-up.

Ling Ran brought only his eyes and ears to observe and listen. He did not enquire or say anything.

Even if he did possess the Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique and Perfect Level Barehanded Bleeding Control, his understanding of internal medicine was still at an intern’s level. He was still far behind experienced doctors like Doctor Xiong.

Doctor Xiong was very pleased with Ling Ran’s attitude. He looked at him and said with a smile, “Young Ling has good character. After he went to the hospital for internship, he didn’t pick up any doctors’ bad habits.”

Ling Ran smiled.

“I wasn’t referring to you.” Doctor Xiong first clarified before he smiled. “Some doctors, especially those from tertiary grade A hospitals, would always like giving commands when they come to a lower-grade hospital. It’s as if they’re the only ones who know how to give a diagnosis.”

“Since those doctors from tertiary grade A hospitals are ‘good’, you know?” Juan Zi was running with her fifty-five pound legs in the little courtyard. Her stamina was extremely good.

She was a narcissistic woman. Her WeChat step counter always exceeded ten thousand steps daily, but her weight was still as heavy as mountains.

Doctor Xiong laughed and said, “There’s good and bad when it comes to doctors from the tertiary grade A hospitals. There are also skilled doctors in lower-grade hospitals. Furthermore, patients are divided automatically by the medical system to doctors and hospitals in the current age. For example, a doctor good at total thyroidectomy would first consider if a total thyroidectomy can be done after he meets the patient, or other doctors would send patients suitable to undergo a total thyroidectomy to this particular doctor. Let’s not talk about the doctors, even the hospital’ departments are now specialized for only a few kinds of diseases. When such doctors come to a lower-grade hospital and encounter patients with different conditions, they no longer have any rights to give commands.”

Ling Ran listened, nodding his head. Yun Hua Hospital actually had a similar inclination as well. There was a famous orthodontist in the Dental Department, who specialized in invisible orthodontics. His invisible orthodontics was very well done, but he cared about nothing else other than invisible orthodontics.

If Ling Ran wished to use the M-Tang Technique, he too could become a specialist, focusing solely on it.

There was a regular patient, who had back and thigh aches throughout the year. He interrupted them cheerfully, “Doctor Xiong is now a specialist for geriatrics.”

“I’m now your family doctor.” Doctor Xiong snorted twice and said, “If I’m overseas, I can at least charge you a few thousand USD per year.”

“Well then, I need to have a few thousand USD to pay you.”

Everyone started to chat and laugh once again. The grim atmosphere was gone.

Ling Ran secretly withdrew from the transfusion room. He was always teased by different patients, and perhaps because of that, when he looked at the clinic’s patients, he felt a sense of closeness to them. However, he was also tired of chatting with them to the extent that he found some of them repellent.

“The king asked me to patrol the mountains…”

Ling Ran’s phone was ringing and vibrating.

“Hey.”

“Ling Ran, why aren’t you in the hospital?” Lu Jinling’s voice was clear but her volume was a little too loud.

“I’m taking a break today.”

“Whoa, then what should I do? The ambulance I just bought brought a vehicle of patients to meet you.” Lu Jinling’s voice was a little excited as she said, “Our company’s now affiliated with Cangping District Hospital. The ambulance ownership licence is here. There’s also equipment and medication. I even hired a part-time doctor…”

Ling Ran went silent for a few seconds.

To be honest, he had received different kinds of gifts from many female classmates since he was young. Their gifts were all stored in the cellar, the fridge, and the Sima Guang style tank, but this girl gave patients as a gift…

The girls in the Medical Institute would at most bring him two lab rabbits so that they could dissect them together.

“Or, you could send me a copy of your working schedule. I’ll send people over there according to your working hours.” Lu Jinling swiftly thought of a brand new solution. She thought that her plan was perfect. ‘Sending patients during working hours, dating after working hours.’

Ling Jiezhou, whose ears were always alert to monitor the clinic’s situation, approached Ling Ran and said, “Can you ask her what kind of patients they are? They can come to our clinic, right?”

“Right, your family owns a clinic.” Lu Jinling was instantly enlightened after hearing his father’s voice.

“What kind of patients are they?” Ling Jiezhou stretched his hands and took Ling Ran’s phone.

Lu Jinling was stunned for half a minute before she said, “They’re all suffering from external injuries; the most severe one had his head knocked with a baton.”

“And?”

“There’s one with his arms hacked, one coughing blood as a result of an assault, and another with all kinds of bruises on his body…”

Ling Jiezhou remained silent for a few seconds, and he professionally said, “The one who had his head knocked with a baton needs to do a CT scan or whatever they call it. We don’t have that facility here. The one coughing blood as well. You need to leave him to the Yun Hua Emergency Department. As for the one suffering multiple bruises, don’t you have a part-time doctor there? Let him check if his brain is injured and ask him if he has a congenital heart defect. If he doesn’t, send him together with the one who had his arms hacked over here.”

After a brief pause, Ling Jiezhou added, “For every patient we accept, we give you five… twenty-five RMB. As for the ambulance fee, ask the patients to fork out their own cash.”

Upon hearing Ling Jiezhou’s words, Lu Jinling was pleasantly surprised. “I can still get money by sending patients to the hospital with an ambulance? Yun Hua Hospital never gave me any money.”

“Yun Hua Hospital never lacks patients. Before I forget, don’t send those who are bleeding severely to us. We don’t have the facilities for blood transfusions. We mainly manage sutures for external injuries.”

“Good, our patients all have external injuries.”

The two made a deal, and Ling Jiezhou happily threw the phone back to Ling Ran as he asked, “What do you think? You should be fine suturing some external injuries, right?”

…..

Translator’s Note:

Tiger Leaping Gorge: Is a scenic canyon on the Jinsha River, a primary tributary of the upper Yangtze River. (Source: Wikipedia)
Xue-Sai-Tong dispersible pills: A traditional Chinese medicine with total saponins of Sanqi ginseng as active ingredients, has been used for more than 500 years to treat coronary artery disease in China. (Source: NCBI)
Shexiang Zhuanggu Gao: A Chinese medicine made with artificial musk, used as a pain relieving plaster. (Source: Baidu)