Great Doctor Ling Ran

“The surgery went smoothly. Your father will be sent to the ICU first. Hepatectomy is major surgery. As your father is old and the tumor removed is relatively large, he might need to stay in the ICU for quite a few days,” Zuo Cidian said to the patient’s family members after he left the Operating Area.

All of the Wang family members were already tired right now, and they did not get emotional when they heard this.

Wang Jia’s eldest son hummed in acknowledgment. He then asked with slight uncertainty, “I heard that it’s quite expensive to stay in the ICU?”

“His medical insurance can subsidize part of the fees.” Zuo Cidian paused for a moment and continued, “It will be more expensive on the first day, as we will bill you for the operation of machinery and other expenses. The days following that will be cheaper. I suggest that you let your father stay in the ICU for a few more days. It will improve his prognosis. Other than that, it will only cost you an extra 30,000 RMB to 50,000 RMB to let him stay in the ICU for an extra week.”

“Thirty to fifty thousand… Did you say 30,000 RMB to 50,000 RMB?” Wang Jia’s eldest son furrowed his eyebrows.

Now that his father’s life had been saved, he naturally started thinking about the financial aspects of things.

This was when one of the Wang family members, who was a middle-aged man, cleared his throat a few times and said, “I’m just saying, but 30,000 RMB to 50,000 RMB isn’t a small sum…”

He probably felt that this was the right time to speak up as a relative.

After this man spoke up, a few other members of the Wang family also took a step forward. They looked like they were about to say something.

“Yes. And this is why money should be spent wisely.” Zuo Cidian flashed a slight smile and stopped them from speaking. He had met plenty of similar patients and patients’ family members. Hence, he was neither surprised nor worried. He merely looked at them with a slight smile on his face and said, “Let’s just put it this way. If you guys were to receive such a surgery somewhere else, it will cost you more than an extra 100,000 RMB. You guys can ask other hospitals about this if you want. Also, Doctor Ling often operates on foreign patients nowadays, and those patients have to pay in USD. Doctor Ling has also traveled overseas to operate on patients…”

“We don’t earn as much as those foreigners…” One of the members of the Wang family found an opportunity to chip in.

“And this is precisely why we have put in a lot of effort into this surgery. Doctor Ling personally acted as the chief surgeon, and we used the newest technology available. Truth be told, you guys are lucky. If another doctor were to handle your father’s case, he might not even get the chance to be admitted to the ICU.” Zuo Cidian was only telling half-truths, and this was a technique he often used back in the town hospital.

As expected, this changed the facial expressions and thought processes of the Wang family members.

It was indeed very expensive to stay in the ICU. But since they had saved a lot of money when it came to the surgery fee, it felt more acceptable to fork out such a large sum to stay in the ICU.

With this thought in mind, the large sum it cost to stay in the ICU was no longer as shocking. After all, even before the surgery, the Wang family members had already expected to be hit by a huge financial burden.

However, at that time, they thought that they would cross that bridge when they get to it.

Now that death had been averted, money…

“You guys can try to get in touch with some people.” Zuo Cidian’s voice rang out again. “If you guys are really facing financial difficulties, our hospital can subsidize part of the fees. I can’t give you an exact number, but Doctor Ling and our department director have some authority when it comes to this. It all depends on who you’re able to get in touch with. Of course, our hospital director holds the most authority.”

Zuo Cidian was still speaking half-truths.

It was true that the hospital could subsidize part of the fees, but a huge subsidy was not really possible. Also, it might or might not be useful for them to try to get in touch with people who could help them out.

If an ordinary patient was capable of getting in touch with a powerful person who could help him get his medical fees subsidized, these thousands of RMB should not even be a problem for him, to begin with. If a patient was unable to get a subsidy through contacts, he would have no choice but to go through the normal procedure.

However, that was indeed a possible route.

Aside from that, if somebody they knew well was helping them with the process, the patient’s family members would act more reasonably. There was no need for Zuo Cidian to explain things in detail. He merely showed the patients’ family members a way. Whether it worked out or not, they would have nothing but gratitude for him.

“We don’t have any contacts in the hospital. Can you…” When it came to looking for contacts, they naturally could not use brute force. That was why the members of the Wang family became more amicable without even realizing it.

Zuo Cidian smiled. “I’m your doctor in charge, and you’ll see me again when I’m making ward rounds. Why don’t you guys go and check on the patient first…”

“I’ll go and see my father first, then.” Wang Zhong’s eldest son had regained his senses, and he started worrying about his father’s health again.

This was how patients’ family members were like. Like neurotics, they would think of problems and solve them in phases. The Wang family could be considered an ordinary family with a slight potential to go astray. As the money they made was enough for their expenses, if one of their family members were hit by a minor illness which gave them more room for negotiation, they would be amicable and even humble. However, now that a family member of theirs was suffering from a major illness, they might go crazy because of money.

Most of the patients Zuo Cidian had met were unreasonable, anyway. All he had to do was to talk earnestly to them and sway their minds. This was not considered something that was hard to deal with.

Zuo Cidian did not let this bother him. To him and to the other doctors in the hospital, this was part and parcel of being a doctor.

As for Zhang Anmin, he was scurrying around the ICU to check on the patient.

As a doctor of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, he did not have a right to enter the ICU. Even though the ICU was not a large department, it was still an auxiliary department. It was impossible for them to let some random doctor from the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery in to mess with their patients.

However, as Ling Ran was speaking up on behalf of Zhang Amin, things were slightly different.

In reality, Ling Ran did not even have to say anything. He merely issued a written instruction, and the doctors and nurses working in the ICU did not stop Zhang Anmin from entering after they saw it.

For some reason, Zhang Anmin felt great to be treated that way.

He followed the doctor working in the ICU for a while. After he made sure that Wang Zhong’s breathing was steady, and that all his vitals such as his sinus rhythm were stable, he left the ICU.

“Young Zhang, things have been going pretty well for you, haven’t they?” He Yuanzheng seemed like he was in the ICU to check on a patient too, and it was a complete coincidence that he ran into Zhang Anmin.

He might have pretended to run into Zhang Anmin, but Zhang Anmin knew that He Yuanzheng never came to the ICU.

As the department director of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, even though He Yuanzheng had very few subordinates and did not hold much power, he was still a department director. There were plenty of matters related to his department that he had to deal with, and he had to carry out freelance surgeries as well. Why would he bother himself with the ICU?

Zhang Anmin calmed himself down and flashed a smile. “Hello, Department Director He. A patient was sent over here just now, and I followed him to check on him.”

“Why? You guys don’t trust the doctors in the ICU?” He Yuanzheng furrowed his eyebrows.

He Yuanzheng was extremely dissatisfied with the fact that Ling Ran had been carrying out hepatectomy. However, Ling Ran only operated on patients with hepatolithiasis. This, coupled with Ling Ran’s excellent surgical skills and how excellent Huo Congjun was at scolding people made He Yuanzheng ignore whatever Ling Ran was doing. He merely focused on operating on patients with liver cancer.

But now that Ling Ran had taken in a patient with liver cancer and Zhang Anmin was helping Ling Ran out in the surgery, He Yuanzheng felt that he could not stand idly by anymore.

Of course, He Yuanzheng did not dare to scold Ling Ran. But he felt that there was a need for him to scold Zhang Anmin.

Zhang Anmin, too, lowered his head obediently and waited for He Yuanzheng to scold him.

Not only was he a doctor, but he was also a surgeon. To surgeons, scoldings were nothing. Only children were afraid of scoldings. For surgeons, even though they would weep after they were scolded, they would merely wipe away their tears and continue with their job.

“As a doctor, you should focus on the tasks assigned to you by your department. Do you think that any random doctor could just enter the ICU and be as good as the doctors in the ICU at their job? Do you think that you are as good as the doctors in the ICU when it comes to taking care of patients? If things were this simple, why does the ICU even exist in the first place? Why don’t you guys just ask the hospital for a ward and take care of the patients on your own?” He Yuanzheng stood in the corridor of the ICU, and his words became harsher and harsher as time progressed.

Zhang Anmin did not even bother to raise his head. This kind of scolding was nothing to him, and he could totally endure it.

He Yuanzheng snorted in disdain. He knew very well how good Zhang Anmin was when it came to enduring scoldings, but he was not a beginner at scolding people either. He continued nonchalantly, “Young Zhang, you have been working under me for quite a few years. I would like to ask you to be more focused. Do whatever the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery requires of you, and don’t bother yourself with the ICU. It’s just like how surgeons who have been focusing on cholecystectomy should not get involved in hepatectomy, don’t you think so?”

Zhang Anmin could not help but raise his head a little. He hesitated, not knowing whether to refute.

“Doctor Ling said that Doctor Zhang is qualified to perform hepatectomy now.” Lu Wenbin was also in the ICU to check on his patient. He spoke up at that moment and stood behind Zhang Anmin.

He Yuanzheng glanced at him. He was a little annoyed. ‘This man is just a resident doctor.’

Ma Yanlin had been lagging behind Lu Wenbin. At that moment, he, too, took a few steps forward and stood beside Lu Wenbin. “Doctor Ling said that surgeons should do whatever they are good at.”

He Yuanzheng narrowed his eyes.

Yu Yuan raised her head and spoke, “Doctor Ling said that…”

“Gosh darn it! You scared me.” He Yuanzheng only saw Yu Yuan when he lowered his head. He rubbed his chest before he waved in dismissal and left.