Great Doctor Ling Ran

Tao Ping shoved a pack of tissues into the small pocket of a stuffed bag. “Young Ran, it’s totally different staying outside than staying at home. You need to take care of your safety. Don’t just eat anything out there. Don’t work until it’s too late in the night. Also, consult a doctor if you’re not feeling well…” she reminded earnestly.

“Mom, I’m a doctor,” Ling Ran argued in resignation.

“You don’t even have the license to prescribe medication to others yet. How can you prescribe medication for yourself?” Tao Ping had been influenced by what she heard in the clinic. So, with just one sentence, she could already refute Ling Ran’s words in the name of law.

Ling Ran nodded obediently. “Okay, I’ll consult a doctor if I’m really sick.”

“Just go whenever you don’t feel well. Otherwise, how can you know if you’re sick? ” Tao Ping reminded Ling Ran, even though she phrased it like a question. She did it just like a teacher who popped a question at the end of a long-winded description.

“Yes. I’ll go if I don’t feel well,” Ling Ran said, understanding.

“You need to take good care of yourself when you go out. Don’t ever think that because you’re young, you can stay up late. It’s good for you to rest early and wake up early. By the way, don’t try to grab a cab at midnight in Shanghai, especially with DiDi [1]. It’s very dangerous… Let me think… How about we get your father to drive you to Shanghai?”

Ling Jiezhou was terrified when he heard what his wife just said. He immediately replied, “Why do we need to drive his small and broken car to Shanghai? He doesn’t have a Shanghai driving license, he won’t know where he can park his car. It’s very inconvenient for him.”

“Then what should we do?” Tao Ping stood on tiptoe, patted her son’s head, and said, “Look at your son. It’s fine during the day, but at night, people’s moral values will be reduced to nothing. It’s dangerous for him regardless of whether the taxi driver is a male or female…”

“What are you talking about?” Ling Jiezhou could not stand it anymore.

Tao Ping snorted and said, “I can’t let this happen. Ling Ran, why don’t you just stay in the hostel inside their hospital?”

“They don’t have a hall of residence in the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center.”

“Then, doesn’t that mean they’re lousier than Yun Hua Hospital?”

“They emphasize different things. Yun Hua Hospital is a general tertiary grade A hospital, so there are more ward beds and doctors. Every year, many interns and newcomers come to the hospital, that’s why there’s a hall of residence. Meanwhile, Academician Zhu’s research institute is more like a specialized department. It only contains about one hundred beds and thirty doctors, so they don’t really need any hall of residence.”

Tao Ping did not want to discuss that problem with Ling Ran. She turned around and said, “Old Ling?”

Ling Jiezhou trembled.

Every time his wife called him Old Ling, it meant that Madam Tao Ping was in a bad mood. Ling Jiezhou was very sensitive about that. Ling Jiezhou really could not handle his wife when Madam Tao Ping was angry over family matters. She was an impetus for him in moments like that…

Ling Jiezhou racked his brains and said, “Okay, let me contact my friend in Shanghai and see if I can borrow a car from him?”

“Borrowing a car isn’t really good.” Tao Ping shook her head. She was not satisfied with his suggestion.

“We can’t afford to buy a new car there, can we? We don’t have the money for that. Even if we do, we can’t do that. Business in our clinic has just become slightly better, but it doesn’t mean we can buy a car whenever we want.”

“What if we rent a car?”

Ling Jiezhou took a deep breath and said, “Car rental is also expensive. We can actually afford to rent a car, but we aren’t just renting for a day or two. It’s for at least one or two weeks and it’s too costly… Didn’t you say you want to visit Europe? Something about the British Museum and the Louvre Museum… When I was young, I used to say that I would bring you there, but I never managed to earn much money. Neither you nor I were willing to spend money for the trip. Now that we finally have some money, are we supposed to spend it on car rental?”

“What you’ve said makes some sense. It’ll be very obvious if we rent a car there. It won’t be good if his new colleagues see it.” Tao Ping nodded slightly.

“I didn’t… Ahem. Boys will be quite safe. Just don’t grab a car at midnight. If you really need to stay until midnight, you can just stay in the hospital. The hospital normally provides a place to rest for the doctors who are on-call, right?” Ling Jiezhou had quite the understanding of hospitals.

Ling Ran nodded quietly. “Yes, there are.”

“Then, it’s settled. Actually, you don’t need to wake up too early. You’ll feel better if you get more rest,” Ling Jiezhou said while he turned around to look at his wife. He then smiled and said, “Am I right?”

Madam Tao Ping smiled faintly. “Son, when you arrive in Shanghai, just stay in the hospital so that I won’t be worried too much.”

Ling Ran shouldered his backpack and dragged his twenty-eight-inch suitcase along to depart after his parents’ discussion.

Bed sheets, towels, and other personal items that he was used to had to be brought along. Besides, he also brought the small gifts given by his colleagues to show his respect. It seemed like his female colleagues had a discussion before they gave him their gifts. The items they bought for Ling Ran, like the toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, and eye masks did not overlap at all. They bought him so many gifts that Ling Ran had to return their gifts twice before he could pay back the favor.

After Tao Ping watched her son leave, she walked up to the first floor and observed her son from a farther distance. She then took out a pack of tissue papers and used one to wipe off her tears and blow her nose. Once she was done, she pushed Ling Jiezhou away slightly when he came to comfort her, and said while she sobbed, “Go and buy the flight tickets.”

…..

The Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center was located next to Fuyuan Stadium. It consisted of four levels and was shaped like an L. There was a small gym at the center of the stadium.

Ling Ran was brought to the stadium by Xue Haochu once he got off the plane.

Xue Haochu had read through Ling Ran’s surgical records. He also read Yuan Wei’s X-ray scan and medical record. All of this made him admire Ling Ran a little, emphasis on “a little”.

Xue Haochu felt very proud in his heart once he returned to the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in Shanghai. Xue Haochu had followed his teacher, Academician Zhu Tongyi, on many projects in one of the strongest orthopedic research institutes in the country. He had also published many research papers, and was slightly famous now. His insufficient clinical experience caused him to focus more on research, but in the medical world, research had always been more important than clinical practice.

Great research abilities drove the medical field forward. If research was not conducted, current orthopedic studies might probably still wonder why there was less blood flowing out of the body when doctors sawed a patient’s leg.

Xue Haochu was very passionate when it came to the medical research field. If Ling Ran’s surgery skills could contribute to research development, he believed that he could still treat Ling Ran in a friendly manner.

“Doctor Ling, this is the famous Fuyuan Stadium in Shanghai. Our national teams, including our track-and-field, basketball, badminton, and baseball teams love to training in Fuyuan Stadium. Our research institute is also in charge of providing sports health care.” Xue Haochu smiled confidently and said, “Doctor Ling, do you have a favorite star athlete? I can help you get a signature.”

“Not anyone in particular.” Ling Ran understood very well how it felt to have someone flatter him. As the saying went, “Do not do unto others what you would not do to yourself.” He did not like to flatter others and cause any disturbance.

Xue Haochu just assumed that Ling Ran was shy. He smiled and said, “Once you stay longer, you’ll see that star athletes are also human beings like us. When they’re not very busy, they’ll be willing to give us a signature. If you perform well in providing sports health care, there will be star athletes who will offer you a high price to hire you.”

“Oh,” Ling Ran replied without any excitement on his face.

What he liked was a clean and tidy operating theater, a temperature that was maintained at 73.4 degrees Fahrenheit, an anaesthetized patient covered with a surgery drape, and threads as well as equipment that always stayed in the same place…

It was hard for him to be fond of a stadium, which was hot and sweat-inducing.

Although the stadium had a large surface area and could accommodate tens of thousands of people, it did not provide Ling Ran the comfort he wanted. In fact, he was less comfortable there than he was in Yiyuan County Hospital.

Based on China’s traditional values, a building should be built with a balance of Yin and Yang. The stadium could only accommodate tens of thousands of people, so the cheering would not be too loud. Nevertheless, it would never be as quiet as a morgue, hence it was very easy for a person to become arrogant in such places.

However, Xue Haochu liked the stadium very much. He breathed in the passionate air in the stadium, glanced at the green fields, and sensed the the contracting muscles of young athletes. He felt his heart grow as large as the stadium.

He casually looked around, and very soon, he found a person he was familiar with. He pulled Ling Ran over, smiled, and said, “You see, that’s the main player of our Shanghai badminton team.”

Ling Ran looked in the direction of Xue Haochu’s gaze. He pondered over his words and said, “He looks like a healthy person.”

Xue Haochu glanced at him and said, “He has always been healthy. Don’t just casually throw those words around. It’s a taboo among athletes.”

“Since this man is healthy, why did you ask me to look at him?” Ling Ran asked him back.

Xue Haochu was speechless for some time before he replied, “You look at athletes because they are healthy of course. What else would you be looking at?”

“Wasn’t I invited here to perform a surgery for a star athlete? Is he here today?”

“You can familiarize yourself with your surroundings first and rest for two days.”

“Rest?” Ling Ran looked at Xue Haochu unhappily. He could rest anywhere. Why would he need to deliberately come to Shanghai to rest?

However, he did not want to argue with Xue Haochu. He found a long bench on the periphery of the field and sat down while he organized the information he had regarding the Achilles tendon repair technique.

“Are you sure that you don’t want a signature? If you don’t want one, I’m going to get one for myself.” Xue Haochu happily took out a box of playing cards. He was very experienced at getting signatures.

Ling Ran shook his head and sat on the long bench. He moved his fingers while he thought of something.

“Excuse me, are you a star?” A young girl suddenly summoned her courage and went up to Ling Ran.

Meanwhile, a married woman who still looked charming despite her age waved at them from a little farther away. She looked very polite and seemed to have a good upbringing.

All of a sudden, Xue Haochu did not want to leave. He held his playing cards and stood next to Ling Ran, trying to pose as handsomely as he could.