Great Doctor Ling Ran

After Ling Ran received the mission, he started to ponder about it.

Zhang Anmin had just learned how to perform hepatectomies. Was he considered to be a novice? But if he were to determine Zhang Anmin’s skill level based on the difficulty of the surgery, Zhang Anmin should already be a novice in the field of hepatectomy since he was able to complete a hepatectomy on his own.

If that were the case, it would be an arduous task to help Zhang Anmin level up to Specialist Level.

So, if Zhang Anmin had yet to achieve the Novice Level…

Ling Ran reckoned that it would still be very hard to help Zhang Anmin level up.

Hepatectomy was, after all, a difficult surgery. Even though Zhang Anmin had managed to do it once, he would have to weather through various obstacles to be able to repeat that feat.

Aside from this, Ling Ran had done all that he could. He could not just invest all his time and energy on teaching Zhang Anmin just for this mission. When it came to the matter of teaching other people, a high investment did not guarantee high returns.

Hence, Ling Ran did not adjust his schedule at all. He made ward rounds, received Sincere Gratitude Basic Treasure Chests, and operated on patients as usual.

The Emergency Medical Center of Yun Hua Hospital seemed to have become a quieter place too.

There were orthopedic patients who had to stay in the hospital for a long time and patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic problems who were always trying to get discharged as soon as possible. They arrived at the hospital with fear in their hearts and left the hospital with hope in their eyes.

In Yun Hua Hospital, the devil’s ivy were as alluring as ever, and the spider plants danced in the air. The large goose was still wagging its buttocks as it walked.

On Monday, Zhang Anmin rushed to the Outpatient Department early in the morning. With Zuo Cidian’s help, he obtained a sticker with “specialist consultation” written on it. He pretended to be nonchalant as he stuck the sticker on the door of his consultation office. He was actually doing it very meticulously.

Since he was an associate chief physician now, he was qualified to give “specialist consultation”.

Without taking Ling Ran into consideration, Zhang Anmin was the second doctor in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery who could provide specialist consultation.

He Yuanzheng’s sticker was diagonally opposite his door, and it was right opposite Ling Ran’s sticker.

Zhang Anmin only dared to glance at the sticker. He then took a deep breath and scurried back to his office.

As he had been under He Yuanzheng’s authority for years, he did not dare to stare at He Yuanzheng’s door for long right now. However, he did have a strong desire to become an associate chief physician. He was willing to offend He Yuanzheng for this. He was not like the other doctors in the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery as well as the associate physicians who used to be in the department and had left the department. When other doctors became associate chief physicians, they had to fight for He Yuanzheng’s leftovers, and there were a lot of conflicts between those doctors. They had to endure a lot of pain too. Zhang Anmin had nothing to be afraid of. Since he was a traitor, he could only make a living in the Emergency Medical Center after he became an associate chief physician. Hence, he did not give much thought to what happened in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery.

“Doctor Zhang, I’ll put up twenty-five slots for you so that you can get used to things first?” There was a smile on Zuo Cidian’s face. He put up ten slots for Ling Ran as usual and helped Zhang Anmin with putting up his slots too.

After all, Zhang Anmin did not have any subordinates yet. Since it was his first day as an associate chief physician, Zuo Cidian thought that he should let Zhang Anmin enjoy life for a bit.

Zhang Anmin rose. “Twenty-five slots are enough.”

Now that Zuo Cidian was no longer calling him “Young Zhang”, Zhang Anmin had to get used to things all over again.

Zuo Cidian smiled and explained things to Zhang Anmin, “A doctor usually sees around thirty patients a day. Since you are just starting to give consultations, there shouldn’t be many patients asking for additional slots. I’ll give you twenty-five slots so that you get to have some fun today. As for Doctor Ling, there are a lot of patients asking for extra slots, and he also has to see some of his previous patients. So, I put up fewer slots for him.”

“This is appropriate.” Zhang Anmin immediately agreed.

“Alright, I’ll ask Yong Qu to help you out, then.” Zuo Cidian nodded and headed to the next room to attend to Ling Ran.

Zhang Anmin turned and saw Qu Xiaoliao entering his office. Qu Xiaolian greeted him.

Zhang Anmin heaved a long sigh of relief. Compared to staying all alone in the office to see patients, it was a lot more comfortable for him to have someone help him out. Zhang Anmin suddenly felt a surge of warmth in his heart when he thought about how Zuo Cidian had taken this into consideration.

He then immediately shook his head to chase away this thought. Zuo Cidian’s wrinkled face reminded him of a braised egg, and warm braised eggs did not taste good.

“Associate Chief Physician Zhang?” Qu Xiaolian greeted him in a soft voice.

Zhang Anmin trembled violently and said subconsciously, “Just call me Doctor Zhang.”

“Okay,” Qu Xiaoliao said obediently.

Zhang Anmin suddenly regretted what he said a little. Someone who called him Associate Chief Physician Zhang was so hard to come by. There probably would not be anyone calling him this in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery.

When he thought about this, Zhang Anmin could not help but adjust his expression. He looked subconsciously at the computer screen and smiled at his own considerably young reflection.

“Doctor Zhang, should we start calling the patients in?” Qu Xiaolian asked after he walked out of the office and came back in.

“Let’s get started.” Zhang Anmin sat up straight.

…..

On the other side of the wall, Zuo Cidian immediately walked out of the door after Ling Ran nodded. He crossed his hands and called out loud, “Patient One, you can come in now.”

“Number one.”

“Who’s Patient One?”

A few patients who were standing in the corridor also called out for Patient One. Before they could repeat themselves, a middle-aged man rose and said, “I’m Patient One.”

“You’re pretty early, aren’t you?” The patient beside him chuckled a few times. As the nurse standing at the corridor and guarding the consultation area of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery allowed five patients in at once, the remaining four patients chatted in a low voice.

The old man sitting closest to the door smiled when he heard that and said, “It’s your first time seeking Doctor Ling’s consultation, aren’t you?”

“You’re right. How did you tell?” The patient who was chuckling just now looked at the old man.

The old man said, “There are a lot of people selling scalped tickets for those who want to seek Doctor Ling’s consultation. The patient just now probably paid to be Patient One.”

“Probably? He definitely bought a scalped ticket.” The patient sitting the furthest away from the door was a middle-aged man, and out of habit, he placed a hand on his waist as he spoke.

The patient opposite him asked, “How are you so sure?”

“I’m Patient Four, and I paid for a scalped ticket.” The middle-aged man with a hand on his waist admitted straight out. He then looked at the other patients.

“Me too.”

“Same.”

The old man was the only exception. He chuckled a few times, pleased with himself. “My son came over early in the morning to queue up on my behalf.”

“What a filial son!”

“You got it good, old man.”

“You got to save money.”

This was when the patient standing opposite them looked at them with a curious expression and asked, “How much does a scalped ticket cost?”

The other patients looked at one another, but no one said a thing.

The atmosphere remained awkward for a few seconds until the middle-aged man with a hand on his waist said, “I spent 700 RMB.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

“You didn’t haggle, did you?”

“I bought a scalped ticket for a consultation with an associate chief physician in 301 Hospital. It was only 1,200RMB.”

“That depends on which doctor you’re going for. Scalped tickets for some doctors in 301 Hospital go up to 2,000RMB to 3,000RMB.”

The patients exchanged their thoughts and opinions, and the place soon slowed into silence.

For ordinary people, it was already quite a burden to pay a few hundred RMB for a consultation with a doctor, let alone two to three thousand RMB. Moreover, even though they could get a claim for their medical bills, they would not receive a single cent of reimbursement for their scalped tickets at all.

“Let’s hope that we get cured.” The old man was the one who broke the silence. After all, he was the only one who did not fork out cash for a scalped ticket.

The middle-aged man with a hand on his waist snorted a few times and said in a low voice, “After the first consultation, you can find a way to take up one of the extra slots in the future. Doctor Ling only puts up ten slots a day, and there are usually extra slots for patients who are not seeing him for the first time.”

“It’s pretty troublesome to have to wait for the extra slots every single time.”

“Every single time?” The middle-aged man with a hand on his waist laughed. “If you’re not cured yet even after seeing him for a few times, why are you still here? People seek Doctor Ling’s consultation because they want to receive surgery, do you understand?”

The rest of the patients nodded in unison.

Official news outlets would never report about doctors’ abilities and surgical skills, but patients would always seek various ways to know more about this. This was especially true for those suffering from illnesses such as hepatolithiasis, as the disease progression was drawn out and painful. Moreover, the surgery involved was a dangerous one. Hence, patients who decided to receive surgery had usually spent a long time making that decision.

“Let’s hope that all of us get cured,” the old man repeated and closed his eyes to rest while he waited.