Great Doctor Ling Ran

They emptied their glasses three times, and five dishes were served.

Xie Yihe held a glass of red wine up and toasted with the others before returning to her spot. She smiled and said, “Hospital Director Zhou, Department Director Huo, the ruptured tendons must be scanned with the MRI. It will be very inconvenient if every single patient has to be sent to the medical technology building. When the M-Tang technique programme is launched in the future, a few cases in a day would be enough to clog up the queue. Don’t you think we need to get our own MRI?”

Huang Maoshi almost sent the cola squirting out his nose, but he was still smiling. ‘So generous?’

MRI machines’ price range was large. There were cheap ones and expensive ones. Even if it was a domestically produced MRI machine, the starting price of each unit should cost at least 3 million RMB. If it was the imported ones with a superconducting magnet, the normal median price of each costing over 10 million or 15 million RMB sounded just right.

The sale of each machine earned far more than selling one’s own body.

Huang Maoshi utilized all of his experiences he earned over twenty-two years to keep himself smiling.

In his mind, his smile was as charming as Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Beckham, the young Leonardo Dicaprio, Daniel Wu, Tony Leung, Kaneshiru Takeshi, Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, Edison Chen, Alain Delon, Nicholas Cage…

Hospital Director Zhou swiped her gaze over Xie Yihe’s face. She then swiped his gaze over Huo Congjun’s face and then subsequently Huang Maoshi’s face. She smiled at Ling Ran and said, “If we purchase an MRI machine specifically for the purpose to use M-Tang technique, young Ling here will be a real big shot.

“If you are thinking of buying it, you should consider buying one for our Emergency Department.” Huo Congjun guffawed before he continued, “An MRI machine is something I have always wanted. We couldn’t even carry out a single MRI scan in the entire Emergency Medicine building. That can actually drag out the time we need to come out with diagnoses for the patients’ medical conditions, which can be detrimental.”

Hospital Director Zhou took a sip of the red wine and said, “Old Huo, this is no dinner gathering. It’s a trap that you’ve set up for the invited, very expensive traps involving MRI machines… How about we settle for just a PET?”

“If you buy me a PET, I will finish this bottle of Jian Nan Chun[1].”

The moment Huo Congjun heard Hospital Director Zhou make him a promise, his annoyance at being called old flew out of the window, and his spirits were lifted.

Hospital Director Zhou smiled, “We only ordered one bottle of wine. What would young Ling drink if you finish it up?”

“I am just about done.”

Ling Ran picked up the bottle and filled up his wine decanter before he pushed the bottle back to Huo Congjun. He could drink ten ounces of white wine and still be sober. So, drinking three ounces every day was fine for him.

Hospital Director Zhou showed her motherly smile and said, “You can drink what you want, but don’t drink too much. A surgeon should not drink too much. How are you going to perform treatment if you suddenly receive a phone call?”

“Hospital Director Zhou is right, I hereby propose a toast to you.”

Huang Maoshi smiled until his cheeks hurt. He decided to play all his cards. He knew that the term PET was referring to the positron-emission tomography machine. The offer price of a single unit was over twenty million RMB.

Twenty million!

If he could negotiate on behalf of Huo Congjun, he would have been willing to fill up his coke bottle with Old Village Chief wine[2] and drink it until his insides were filled with bile.

Hospital Director Zhou politely held up her glass and touched the red wine glass with her lips.

Huang Maoshi finished the liquor from his 15ml glass in a go. He felt the burn, and he hissed through gritted teeth. A few seconds later, he quickly put on another smile on his face.

‘Smiles are my weapon.’ Huang Mao Shi encouraged himself quietly in his heart.

“The fact that young Ling has completed the first M-Tang technique surgery in our Emergency Department of Yun Hua Hospital is something to be celebrated. Our hospital should support it. But to be honest, it’s impossible for us to get an MRI machine, and it is impossible to add a new operating theater. But, it is still fine to buy a suitable microscope.” Hospital Director Zhou lifted the cup towards Ling Ran, took a sip of red wine and let it swivel in her mouth for a few seconds before flashing a smile.

“Unfortunately, our Department Associate Director Pan from the Hand Surgery Department of our hospital has once performed the M-Tang technique as well. You can only consider this as a stroke of bad luck on your side. Otherwise, I might have been able to put aside some of the hospital’s budget for you guys to improve your equipment.”

“Our Doctor Ling and Department Associate Director Pan can both perform the M-Tang technique independently. However, the hospital only looks who performed the first case, which is unfair to our Emergency Department.”

Huo Congjun went along her conversation and attacked.

Hospital Director Zhou smiled, but remained silent.

Huang Maoshi moved his position slightly to ensure that he Hospital Director Zhou could see him, but at the same time, was not in her direct line of sight.

Huang Maoshi smiled.

He was smiling with all his effort.

If smiling was like a bullet, Huang Maoshi was just like a machine gun; if smiling was like a cannonball, Huang Maoshi was just like the cannon; if smiling was like an egg, Huang Mao Shi was just like a mother hen…

“Only Yun Hua Hospital practices such a tradition.”

Xie Yihe refilled Hospital Director Zhou’s glass. Then she added liquor to Huo Congjun and Ling Ran’s glasses. She smiled and said, “The hospitals that I know will provide whatever their surgeons want, be it money or instruments, as long as there are doctors who can come up with something fresh and new. As long as the project starts, they will just pay the cost regardless of the price, right? Just like MRI machines, our company’s inspection fee is roughly between 900 RMB for the low-end machines and 1,200 RMB for the high-end machines. The Emergency Department can perform at least ten cases a day, right? You can earn back the cost for the machine in one year..”

Hospital Director Zhou smiled and shook her head.

Xie Yihe immediately steered from the topic smartly, “Let’s set aside the MRI and focus on the M-Tang technique project Doctor Ling launched. Isn’t this is a project that other hospitals would need to invest vast pools of resources before they can succeed? I remember that others have once told me that developing a new technique is similar to planting trees. When you plant a seed in a hospital, it needs a minimum of a few years to grow into a tree. But you will need to wait for a decade or so before you can find someone qualified to sow the seeds. That is just how rare it is.”

“Doctor Ling can be considered a transplant, then.”

Hospital Director Zhou smiled and continued speaking after Xie Yihe.

Huo Congjun immediately said, “Young Ling is a doctor who grew up in our hospital. His M-Tang technique is considered to be a family inheritance.”

Hospital Director Zhou coughed and laughed out loud.

“You actually have the guts to say that the M-Tang technique is a family inheritance? Is there anyone who pass on the M-Tang technique as a family inheritance? You want to cut 12 fingers every year during the New Year, freeze them, and then get some practice each month?”

The smiling Huang Maoshi suddenly broke out in laughter as well.

“How can one person have 12 fingers, hahaha…”

“If I cut two of yours, I can make it 12, isn’t that right?” Xie Yihe glared at Huang Maoshi. She was furious. ‘This idiot… Smile more and talk less. Just which word from that phrase did he not understand?’

“As I recall, our Department Associate Director Pan often invited the experts of M-Tang technique to carry out surgeries in our hospital about three or four years ago. He was their first assistant, and he learned during the process. Accumulatively, Department Associate Director Pan has studied the technique for over three to four years. But he still went to Japan to further his studies.” Huo Congjun clicked his tongue before he continued saying, “The money our Ling Ran saved is already worth an MRI machine. At the very least, it should be enough to install one more operating theater and one more rehabilitation room.”

“Inviting a freelance surgeon is very costly these days. The minimum cost should be around twenty thousand to thirty thousand RMB. Let’s not talk about the need to arrange for their transportation and prepare good lodging first, even organizing all the seminars would also cost a fair bit,” Xie Yihe spoke on his behalf as a pharmaceutical sales representative.

Nowadays, hospitals preferred to invite freelance surgeons over to learn from their skills. It was easier to learn the essence of the techniques by inviting doctors who were good at surgery than to send a doctor of their own over to the target hospital for training. Meanwhile, freelance surgeons could earn money and act awesome while teaching others. Doctors also regarded freelance surgeons with respect. These freelance surgeons lived a comfortable life, and they could be their own selves.

However, that was far slower than poaching good doctors from other hospitals.

Hospital Director Zhou retained her smile and said, “Department Associate Director Pan’s situation is not the same. It’s not as if he only knows the M-Tang technique. I am in favor of getting a rehabilitation room. It is not impossible to get an operating theater as well. But the hospital cannot just refurbish one single department for your sake, right?”

“Wasn’t the Orthopaedics Department thinking of adding another operating theater? I will look for old Li and bring up this topic in passing.”

After saying that, Huo Congjun’s goal was basically achieved. He smiled and said, “I could not care less about how Department Associate Director Pan sees it. Even if old Pan views this in a negative light, it doesn’t matter to us. The Emergency Department should just perform their own duties. Using the M-Tang technique to suture ruptured flexor tendons can be considered to be an advanced technique in the entire country-no, the entire world. We should develop it first. At this time next year, you can come over to see our results.”

“Okay, I wish you success when the moment arrives.” Hospital Director Zhou got to her feet and clinked glasses with Huo Congjun. He turned to Ling Ran and said, “Let’s have another glass, and we shall call it a day.”

Ling Ran did not want to let the good wine go to waste. He looked at the remaining one-third of wine in the wine decanter. That volume should just be equivalent to the amount of three glasses. He was too lazy to pour them out. So, he picked up the wine decanter and clinked it with the glass that Hospital Director Zhou held in her hand.

Hospital Director Zhou’s smile was so wide that she almost squished out the hyaluronic acid injection she had on her face last year.

Huang Maoshi imitated Ling Ran and filled up his wine decanter to the brim. He held it up with shaking fingers, mustered his courage, and closed his eyes before gulping it all down in a go. He did not forget Xie Yihe’s teachings as he flashed his mouthful of neat, white teeth, tongue, and tonsils right at Hospital Director Zhou.

Everyone left the place one after another. Before getting into the car, Hospital Director Zhou spoke to Xie Yihe, “You should consider performing an MRI scan for that boy who came with you.”

Translator’s Note:

1. Jian Nan Chun: Is a product of Jiannanchun Winery in Mianzhu County, Sichuan Province. Basically, it is a famous brand of wine in China.

2. Old Village Chief wine: A wine that is produced in Heilongjiang, northeast China, and is a high-quality brand in the low-grade liquor of the Northeast. The taste of the wine is soft, sweet and smooth. After drinking it, one will not feel their heads painful, and their mouths will not feel dry. And there is a very comfortable feeling. It is a good quality wine.