Great Doctor Ling Ran

Liuhu Park.

Chief Wang sat on a chair by the lake. He held a fishing rod, and every now and then, his hand would sway.

By the side, the guard watched over Chief Wang with full attention.

Meanwhile, his granddaughter brewed tea next to Chief Wang. She performed the complete Chinese tea ceremony, and she did it very artistically and earnestly.

“Chief, Doctor Lian is here. Doctor You from the Orthopedics Department of Zucheng People’s Hospital is also here.” his secretary walked quickly towards him and reported in a hushed tone.

Chief Wang brought his index finger to his lips to gesture his secretary to stay silent. His eyes were fixed on the lake. A few seconds later, he lifted the fishing rod abruptly. There was no fish…

The guard breathed a sigh of relief.

Chief Wang laughed out loud, “Fishes nowadays are getting more and more cunning.”

The secretary said in a soft voice, “It could be because the fish are already familiar with the bait you use.

The secretary decided to seek the help of someone who was good at fishing to make a few new kinds of bait.

Chief Wang waved. “The point of fishing is not to get a fish…”

“You’re right, Chief Wang.”

“Later, go and find someone to cast a net, see if you can get a large fish so that Yuan Yuan gets to enjoy hot pot tonight.” Chief Wang then turned around, grabbed the teacup, and drank a mouthful of tea before he asked, “Yuan Yuan, let’s have hot pot tonight?”

“Sure.” His granddaughter just turned seventeen and was still considered quite adorable.

Chief Wang laughed out loud and asked, “Is Young Lian here to advise me about undergoing surgery again?”

“Yes, he said that he found a very good doctor.”

“What’s the point of finding a good doctor? Aging is not a problem that can be fixed.” Chief Wang shook his head slowly.

His granddaughter, Yuan Yuan said in a soft voice, “Grandpa, don’t say that.”

Chief Wang laughed and said, “Don’t be afraid of the subject of aging. It’s not like I’m going to live forever even if you’re tactful about it, and it’s not like I’m going to die a sudden death if you’re not tactful about it… All right, ask Young Lian to come over.”

The secretary immediately went to call Doctor Lian over.

Soon, Chief Wang’s healthcare provider, the forty-five-year-old Lian Huihua arrived along with You Fengyu, who was almost sixty years old.

“Chief Wang,” Lian Huihua called out, and it was obvious that he was well acquainted with Chief Wang, “how has your health been?”

“It’s still the same.” Chief Wang rose with difficulty and inched forward a little.

You Fengyu immediately noticed that not only was Chief Wang’s knee swollen, but it was also more serious than before.

“Traditional treatment approaches aren’t really effective when it comes to damage of the meniscus,” Lian Huihua said in a hushed tone, “Chief Wang, you mentioned that you don’t want to be treated by foreign doctors, so I’ve been looking for an excellent local doctor to treat your condition. I’m here to tell you that I’ve found someone.”

“You guys call it traditional treatment, but I disagree. I think that they’re safe treatment approaches.” As Chief Wang spoke, he raised his voice a little and said, “I only had a fall, it’s nothing serious. Why are all of you making a big deal out of this?”

It was obvious that he really did not want to undergo surgery. After all, he had already started making statements by trying to get them off his back.

The secretary looked at Lian Huihua with a questioning gaze.

Lian Huihua shook his head firmly and said, “Chief Wang, you need to be responsible for your own health. For senior citizens, falls are not something to be taken lightly. The damage to your meniscus isn’t relatively serious, but if you continue to let it undergo wear and tear, it will become increasingly serious.”

Chief Wang snorted and sat back down.

Lian Huihua quickly took out the data he prepared and presented it to Chief Wang. He said, “I chose three doctors this time. One of them is Professor Huang from Beijing Jishuitan Hospital. He took a look at your knee before. Do you remember him?”

“I do. He aspirated the fluid in my knee joint or something and put me in so much pain. In the end, it didn’t help at all.” Chief Wang’s face turned extremely dark the moment he started talking about treatment. He grabbed a teacup from the table and emptied it in one go as if his throat was on fire.

Lian Huihua chuckled diffidently and said, “Professor Huang is considered one of the best in our country… Anyway, the second one is Professor Bian from Shanghai Changzheng Hospital. He’s a little younger and is only fifty this year. However, he’s very good at knee arthroscopy, and he’s among the first doctors who started doing arthroscopic surgeries in China—”

“Didn’t you say that you found an excellent doctor? Don’t list out so many doctors just to make up for the numbers, I won’t buy it.” Chief Wang knew what trick Lian Huihua was trying to pull and immediately cut him off before he looked at You Fengyu.

You Fengyu looked anxious and was not able to give an immediate response.

Lian Huihua was not afraid of Chief Wang, though. He smiled and said, “It’s because the doctor I want to tell you about today is a little too young. I was worried that you wouldn’t be open to the idea, so I was trying to lay the groundwork first…”

“What’s wrong with being young? I started working when I was fifteen. Just get straight to the point,” Chief Wang said firmly.

“All right. Have you been watching any sports competitions lately? This doctor was the one who operated on Liu Weichen a little while back.”

“The sprinter?” As Chief Wang watched the news, he had naturally seen the name before.

Lian Huihua nodded and said, “Yes, the sprinter. After his Achilles tendon was ruptured, he went to many hospitals and consulted many surgeons, including renowned foreign doctors. In the end, he went to Academician Zhu Tongyi from the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center. Academician Zhu Tongyi designed a treatment plan for him. However, because the plan was very difficult to execute, in the end, they could only find a young doctor called Ling Ran to do it.”

Lian Huihua left out a piece of important information when he told Chief Wang about Ling Ran. Even though the plan Zhu Tongyi designed was difficult, it was not like no one was able to execute it. It was just that, all the renowned surgeons who were capable of it were not willing to take the risk.

However, the lack of that information did not make Lian Huihua sound any less convincing. The lack of this information was the same as Warren Buffett’s family background not being part of his legendary status.

As expected, Chief Wang became a little interested. He asked, even though he already knew the answer, “Was Liu Weichen’s surgery a success?”

“It was a success. The Achilles tendon repair was really well done.” There was finally a question that You Fengyu had the answer to.

Chief Wang nodded slowly.

Lian Huihua took the opportunity to say, “Now that you’ve mentioned it, there’s something mystical about this Doctor Ling.”

“What?”

“He’s only twenty-three this year, and is still a medical intern in the hospital. Theoretically, he’s not allowed to be a chief surgeon. But this young man is indeed talented, and he’s extraordinarily hard-working too. He operates on patients day in and day out.” Lian Huihua paused for a moment and continued, “I took a look at all his cases, and even went into the operating theater to watch him perform knee arthroscopy. In the end, I realized that he only carries out one type of arthroscopy—knee arthroscopic meniscoplasty. He doesn’t even perform meniscectomy.”

Ever since Chief Wang hurt his knee, even though he had insisted on not undergoing surgery, he still did a lot of reading on surgeries related to the meniscus.

Now that the traditional treatment approaches were getting less and less effective on him, Chief Wang had also become a little more open to discussion. When he heard what Liu Huihua said, he replied in a semi-joking manner, “Are you waging on an intern now?”

“I wouldn’t even use you as a betting chip even if I put myself on sale,” Lian Huihua quickly pleaded innocence.

“He only does surgeries related to the meniscus?” Chief Wang asked.

“Knee arthroscopic meniscoplasty. This is the only type of arthroscopic surgery he does.” Lian Huihua paused for a moment and continued, “He performed Achilles tendon repair for Liu Weichen. He also does finger replantation surgery.”

Chief Wang nodded in a noncommittal manner.

Lian Huihua immediately felt much more relieved. He had been Chief Wang’s healthcare provider for quite a few years, and he knew that Chief Wang was rather inclined to say yes right then.

Lian Huihua continued, “Doctor Ling Ran is from Yun Hua Hospital. I got my hands on the information of the knee arthroscopic surgeries he had performed before, and went to meet more than ten of those patients. You may not even believe me when say this, but the success rate of Doctor Ling’s arthroscopic surgeries is almost 100%. He has carried out more than a hundred cases of knee arthroscopic surgeries, and all of them have been considered a success. Even the two patients with the worst prognosis only experienced prolonged inflammation because of their personal health condition. For knee arthroscopy, this is considered a very high success rate.”

“Hm…”

Lian Huihua took the materials out and showed Chief Wang. The information included some CT scans that Chief Wang did not know how to read, so Lian Huihua explained things to Chief Wang as he showed them to him. He finally managed to convince Chief Wang a little.

At that moment, Lian Huihua asked You Fengyu to present the information of the patients in his hospital who received freelance surgery performed by Ling Ran.

You Fengyu was similarly well prepared. After he explained things to Chief Wang in detail, they finally managed to change Chief Wang’s mind.

“Alright then, ask him to come and take a look.” Chief Wang finally gave his go ahead, and Lian Huihua immediately felt a lot more at ease.

“I’ll invite Doctor Ling Ran over immediately.” There was a smile on Lian Huihua’s face.

The others around Chief Wang were in a good mood too.

All of them naturally hoped that Chief Wang could be in good health and live a long life. They had been worried over the fact that Chief Wang refused to seek treatment for his knee.

Chief Wang nodded slightly and lifted his teacup again. He then said, “Wait…”

Everyone became anxious again.

“Isn’t Young Tang in Yun Hua? This is just the perfect time for us to go to Yun Hua…” Chief Wang glanced at Lian Huihua and said, “Wouldn’t that doctor feel more confident operating in a hospital he’s familiar with?”

Lian Huihua immediately knew that Chief Wang had already decided. Even though Chief Wang had refused to undergo surgery previously, once he made his decision, he would carry it out vigorously.

Lian Huihua nodded slowly. “I’ve gone over to watch two of the surgeries Ling Ran carried out. He’s pretty steady, but he is, after all, still a young man. If you’re willing to go to Yun Hua Hospital, it would definitely help him perform at his full potential.”

“Then, let’s do this. Let’s go to Yun Hua Hospital.” Chief Wang decided.

His granddaughter could not help but say, “Grandpa, how are you going to sit on a plane with your knee like that?”

“A plane ride is just a small matter. If I can’t manage it, I’ll take the train.” Chief Wang waved and said to his granddaughter with a smile, “In the future, remember this, when your life is in someone else’s hands, you must no longer prioritize your own feelings. You must also take the feelings of the person who has your life in his hands into account. Do you understand?”