For review

by Little Merger

intro chaps

8. Great Doctor Ling Ran 1-32

Ling Ran, a med school senior, begins to see the world like a game UI. He uses it to pave his way towards graduation, a residency, becoming the greatest doctor in the world… And finally getting a Transformer from his newbie packs? Maybe. We don't know yet.

---

Read Great Doctor Ling Ran - Chapter 1 - I am Not Mentally-Ill online free - Novelfull

Chapter 1: I am Not Mentally-Ill

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

[Please collect your newbie pack.]

This sentence popped up before Ling Ran's eyes again at noon. At the same time, an icon shaped like a parcel kept flashing at the top right of his field of vision like a broken ambulance beacon.

Ling Ran quietly took out his notebook and made a note of it, but he did not give any response.

As a medical student, Ling Ran had a considerable amount of curiosity, but he could also exercise a sufficient amount of caution and self-control.

After obtaining this system in a baffling and confusing manner, Ling Ran immediately started making all sorts of records and tests on it.

…Because he first had to make sure that he was not crazy. And to avoid losing the graduation certificate he was about to receive, Ling Ran had to conduct the tests himself.

Ling Ran first chose the Davos Assessment of Cognitive Biases Scale. It was used to assess the cognitive biases of schizophrenics, especially those with delusional disorder. Moreover, it was a self-assessment.

There were a total of forty-two clauses and they all described the different attitudes and beliefs people held. The questions were asked in first person point of view, with one point to 'strongly disagree', and seven points to 'strongly agree'.

It was very easy to complete the whole form and some of the clauses were also easily understandable.

For example, the first clause: I am on the lookout for danger.

The ninth clause: I am often not sure what people mean.

The twentieth clause: I make sure that all windows are locked.

The twenty-fifth clause: The first thoughts are the right ones.

The twenty-seventh clause: I do not go out after dark.

However, even though it was easy to complete the self-assessment form, it was rather troublesome to process it. It usually needed to be calculated with many types of formulae before the final tally could be obtained.

Besides, other than the assessment of cognitive biases scale, Ling Ran also did the Chinese version of the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery, Peters et al.'s version of the Delusions Inventory, Haddock's version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale which was used to determine whether psychosis was present, and how severe it was.

In short, Ling Ran needed a computer that was equipped with the relevant softwares to use data to determine his mental state.

Ling Ran quietly walked to the second floor of the school laboratory. When he knocked on the door, he heard the sound of someone walking inside. All of a sudden, the person stopped for a few seconds in front of the door before suddenly opening it.

"Junior Ling Ran, you're here." His senior sister wore a thin layer of lipstick and seemed to have applied blush on her face. Illuminated by the dim lighting, it was easy for others to recall the wolf impersonating the grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood when they saw her.

"Senior sister, sorry to trouble you again." Ling Ran smiled calmly.

"It's okay, no big deal." The sight of him made his senior sister feel good. There was a miniature version of herself howling furiously in her mind. 'The school hunk is so handsome, the school hunk looks so charming when he smiles…'

Ling Ran continued smiling.

The senior suddenly came to her senses, and immediately shifted her body away from the door. She spoke with a beaming face, "Come on in, I made you tea… No, I'll make you tea. Oh yeah, how have you been?"

"Hmm? Quite healthy, why do you ask?" Ling Ran took note of this, but only paid a little attention to it.

"I heard that you did a CT scan and an MRI scan that day… Um, I just accidentally heard about it," his senior sister said while preparing a tea bag.

A CT scan cost a few hundred RMB, while an MRI scan cost around two thousand RMB. As Ling Ran wanted to scan multiple parts of himself in one go, he naturally utilized the resources available to him and asked for the help of a female senior on the third floor. His aim was to make sure that there were no organic changes to his brain.

Ling Ran had also prepared an excuse long beforehand for this. He said calmly, "I wanted to write something, so I asked for Senior Lee's help. You saw it? How was it?"

"It looks pretty good." When she said that, his senior sister immediately corrected herself, "It is pretty good, you're young and lively. There's no problem."

But his senior sister kept chastising herself internally, 'Why did I casually talk like this?! Calling the MRI scan of someone's brain good-looking? This makes it easier for him to think of you as a pervert! You are fated to be single forever!!'

"It's good that there's no problem. Hmm, senior sister, is this the machine?" Ling Ran pretended not to catch the nuances in her words and shifted his attention to the computer in the laboratory.

"Yes, it has the SPSS 20.0 statistical analysis software installed. As long as there're enough data, we can make a diagnosis on schizophrenia based on the DSM-IV. The CQB, BDI, PDI and PSYRATS evaluations that you want are all not a problem…" When it came to her specialty, the senior could not stop talking. Immediately after that, his senior sister taught Ling Ran to use the software hands-on.

Every year, there would be undergraduates who came here to borrow machines and softwares, but Ling Ran was the only one who got to receive such careful guidance.

His senior sister was also very happy. She earnestly taught the school hunk how to use the software before reluctantly saying, "Then, please operate it by yourself. I'll go outside first."

It would not be nice for her to stay and look at the patient's data.

"Alright, sorry to trouble you." Ling Ran took it upon himself to sit down and focused his attention on the computer screen.

The senior left the laboratory, but she turned to look at him repeatedly at every step she took to leave the place. When the door was completely closed, Ling Ran got up and locked it before quietly taking out a thick stack of questionnaires from his backpack.

He completed these just recently. To prevent the effects of delusions or schizophrenia, Ling Ran even took videos and let his schoolmates check some of them.

It was not rare for medical students to conduct experiments on themselves, especially when it came to psychiatric assessments. Because no operation or injection was required, everyone liked to use themselves as their own guinea pigs.

Ling Ran entered the numbers and letters into the corresponding extensions according to what his senior sister taught him. He then checked them twice and clicked on the 'run' button.

The computer started running, making quiet whirrs. Even though there was only single digits in the table, after adding in the formulae and coefficients, the operand was quite large.

The creaking sound of the printer only came after a long time had passed. Ling Ran grabbed the piece of paper that came out of the printer. He looked first at the end result.

"Well… the standard value of the Davos Assessment of Cognitive Biases Scale should be 128.0526.5. Mine is… 154. Phew, fortunately, I am still 0.55 points away from being mentally ill."

Ling Ran happily stood up and decided to click on the newbie pack… but he stopped.

'I probably need to find a secluded and safe place before doing something like this. What if there's a Transformer in the pack? It would bring trouble to the country.'

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 2: The Ones at the Top are Lonely

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After dinner, Ling Ran headed for the old bomb shelter behind the school mortuary.

The bomb shelter had been long since been neglected. Once upon a time, it had served as a makeshift hospital. In another tale, it was a temporary mortuary. After the new medical block was constructed, it once again fell back to its old days of being a lonely, dilapidated corner. Not even dogs in heat would pound each other doggedly through the unbearable stench.

In contrast, Ling Ran did not mind the smell.

Medical students often had their gag reflexes tested since their first witnessing of a public dissection. Give them a couple of years and they would start yawning throughout the process.

Of course, it was not like they would go out their way to pay the mortuary a visit on boring evenings.

Ling Ran stood quietly in the middle of the bomb shelter, thinking, 'A leader-level Transformer should be around twenty to twenty-five feet tall, maybe thirty at most. This should be enough standing room… If the Transformer ends up surpassing even that, what do I do?'

As Ling Ran was thinking, he brought a finger up and tapped on the Newbie Gift Package in the top right-hand corner of his eye.

[Reward: Appositional Suturing Technique (Master Level)]

A calm, professional voice echoed in Ling Ran's mind.

From that moment on, whenever Ling Ran thought about the appositional suturing technique, the intricacies of the skill would fly into his mind: the distance between two needles, the force for applying the sutures, the choice of thread, the varieties of knots…

"Hmm, isn't the system a little too stingy if all it gives is a mere suturing skill? An appositional suturing technique, what's more!" Ling Ran muttered softly to himself.

"The appositional suturing technique includes simple interrupted suturing, simple continuous suturing, subcuticular closure, gambee suture, cross mattress suture, and interlocking suture, totaling up to six types," the system explained in a voice that sounded suspiciously pre-recorded and rehearsed.

Ling Ran grumbled, "You can give me a dozen suturing methods, but it's still suturing. I could learn the tension suture and inverting suture from elsewhere, so why not just give me a Transformer?"

This time, the system's reaction was slightly delayed before it finally answered.

"No."

"Why?"

"The Medical System only passes down medical knowledge, not Transformers."

Ling Ran pursed his lips, thinking, 'Doesn't look like the system is being controlled by some intelligent being.'

An intelligent entity would have asked, "Why the heck would you want a Transformer?"

"What exactly is this Master Level you speak of?" Ling Ran pressed on.

The voice of the system continued in the same artificial politeness, "The techniques are categorized from lowest to highest starting from Novice, Specialist, Master, and Perfect. Master is the third rank on this list."

"Soooo… Your Newbie Gift Package is only limited to this crappy, suturing technique?"

"Yes."

"Only suturing techniques?"

"Yes."

"No Transformers?"

"Yes."

Ling Ran frowned. Unless this system had convinced him into thinking that it is dumb, it would most probably fail the Turing Test (a test to determine whether the subject is a man or a robot).

The few questions he had asked had been a classic sequence in the Turing Test. If faced with the same questions, regular human beings would most probably have said "I've already answered that question" or something like that, provided that they did not start cursing first. Only a script would repeat these routine yeses.

'But, what if this thing is just feigning it?' Ling Ran shook his head. With the limited resources he had in his hands, he really could not prove it either way. Even if he performed the complete Turing Test, those same doubts would still arise.

"Alright… But what a waste of such a good bomb shelter." Ling Ran raised his head and looked at the sky, disappointed that the bomb shelter could not be used for anything better.

Upon his return to the dorm, his housemates came back from their dinner, but every one of them had their phones raised to take either selfies or pictures of each other.

Chen Wanhao was the first to see Ling Ran. He said a few words to him, and then lifted his phone.

"Ling Ran, hurry up and collect your white robe. They dug it out of some dingy storeroom and it's more wrinkled up than an old cabbage. You can bring it to 306 to iron it out."

"Goodness… is this really necessary?" Ling Ran looked at the medical students lying about in the room, still in their white robes. He sighed dejectedly.

"We're going for our internship tomorrow—in an actual hospital. We should leave a good impression on others. The school's white robes are wrinkled. If I don't iron it, how am I supposed to wear them?" When Chen Wanhao spoke, he tilted his head at a 45-degree angle towards the sky, then his camera emitted an audible click.

"Where do I get the stethoscope?" Ling Ran pointed at the red stethoscope on Chen Wanhao's neck.

Chen Wanhao laughed and said, "I bought it. It's from 3M, it gives you super-hearing. Wanna try it?"

"The stethoscopes in the hospital aren't up to your standards?"

"Interns are only given white robes, no stethoscopes."

"And why is that, I wonder?" Ling Ran gave a sympathetic glance at Chen Wanhao. "Stethoscopes must be very expensive."

Chen Wanhao blinked in surprise for a moment before he took them off sadly. "I sacrificed five foot spa sessions for this, and you're telling me that I don't get to use them? This red one burned a hole in my pocket."

"I told you so. Stethoscopes are of no use; interns only need gloves."

Wang Zhuangyong stretched out his hands that were already wrapped in white gloves, shaking them in an incessantly flamboyant manner.

Ling Ran refused to look at him any longer. He lowered his head and took out a banana from his drawer.

Wang Zhuangyong clicked his tongue twice. "Wow, that's quite a size."

Ling Ran silently used the surgical knife to cut through the banana peel. Wang Zhuangyong could not help but avert his gaze, saying, "Ling Ran, your suturing should be fine from all your practice, you don't need to do any last minute preparations now."

"I'm feeling particularly sharp today," Ling Ran lied. He turned on the table lamp and took a 70cm Johnson Ethicon thread from the drawer.

This #00 thread was particularly abrasive. It got caught easily while trailing after the needle, and was relatively unwieldy. Many foreign medical schools recommended using it for practice. The only problem was that it was comparatively more expensive than the ones manufactured locally. It was not something many students could afford to practice with over an extended period of time.

Fortunately, Ling Ran's family owned a clinic. They had some savings, and they understood the expenses of a medical student. They were happy to provide for him.

Ling Ran held the forceps in his left hand and controlled the needle holder with his right. The moment the head of the needle fell on the banana peel, countless bits of information jumped to the forefront of his mind. It all happened in a flash. Without a moment's hesitation, he gave his wrist a deft flick and the needle passed through like it was liquid.

'Get the needle in, get it out, tie the knot…'

Ling Ran had garnered a fair level of proficiency through his own practice. It was largely the reason why he did not find the 'Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique' particularly helpful.

In retrospect, Ling Ran may have been overestimating himself. His new insight only served to show him just how wet he was behind the ears. What once took him intense focus in the past now came to him subconsciously.

Throughout the entire process, the banana remained utterly still. His repeated actions of pushing the needle in and pulling it out did not move it in the slightest.

The distance between the two needles remained the same. One could use the most precise ruler available and still find nothing wrong. The knot had been executed to mechanical precision—even closely resembling industrialized embroidery.

The accuracy, precision, the mature judgment, the chosen angle and depth, the balanced and stable movements… It was something as simple as suturing, but executed at a level of mastery that transcended one's wildest imaginations.

"F*ck me, you sewed that thing up so quickly!" Wang Zhuangyong suddenly appeared from behind Ling Ran, grabbing the big sutured banana with one hand. Then, as if he was surveying an art piece, he lifted it to his nose and scrutinized it.

Ling Ran suddenly felt the loneliness of a solitary master. 'After everything that I did, all you have to say on it is the "speed"?'

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 3: Offer of Housemanship [1]

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Yun Hua Hospital.

In the outpatient facility downstairs with the exterior wall made entirely of glass, a group of interns were lined up with their heads up and looked straight ahead. Several instructors who wore white coats that were embroidered with either words saying Yun Hua University, Yun Hua Medical University, or Yun Hua College of Traditional Chinese Medicine were consulting the administration staff of the hospital in soft voices.

For medical students, an internship was the mark signalling their beginning towards becoming a doctor.

It held the kind of excitement where one would finally see the fruits of their many years of labor.

"You don't say… I've been here in Yun Hua Hospital before this. And yet, the feeling I have now is completely different from that of the past." Wang Zhuangyong stroked his hair with his white gloves twice. He turned towards the logo of the hospital with the look of someone who looked forward to the future.

"The last time you came here, you did so to undergo a circumcision. Of course the feeling is different." Chen Wanhao wore a well-ironed white coat. There was a big red stethoscope hanging on his neck, two pens were pinned neatly right in front of his chest. He appeared to be roleplaying as a licensed doctor, his words were also sharp and straight to the point.

Wang Zhuangyong had gotten used to getting rendered speechless. He did not feel annoyed and was calm as he said, "The big birds should work in a great hospital."

When he said these words, Wang Zhuangyong looked at Chen Wanhao askance, regarding him disgustedly.

Chen Wanhao immediately had his feathers ruffled. Enraged, he exclaimed, "What the heck does THAT mean?!"

"Old Chen, don't work yourself up." Beside him, his classmate persuaded him to calm down and said, "We've all been bathing together in the public bathroom all this while, who hasn't seen whose d*ck, right?"

Chen Wanhao could no longer suppress his anger. He then said, "Don't try to hold me back…"

"Silence, everyone!" The mentor who led the team held a megaphone as he said, "We will start with a small meeting first as a group and talk about certain matters that require attention during your internship. Then, we will take a tour around the hospital. We shall split into groups and visit the departments in rotation. Everyone, focus now. Every aspect of the following will affect your internship score."

A few of the classmates looked at Chen Wanhao in worry. Right before their eyes, that Chen Wanhao who flew into rage a moment ago had become like a quiet rabbit which had been sedated.

When the routine speech and visit had come to an end, the interns were sent to the simulation training space—they went in a noisy fashion.

By then, the instructors from every school had already returned to their homes. The person in charge had now been replaced by the Director of Medical Education, Lei Beisha.

Lei Beisha had seen groups of interns come and go every year at the finest hospital in Yun Hua.

When he saw the new faces which looked young and excited, Lei Beisha proceeded to put the youngsters in their place the moment he spoke.

His voice was deep when he said, "Most of you would end up going to small hospitals in the days to come! You will idle away in the small hospitals, giving injections, prescribing medication, giving IV drips to people, performing appendectomies, and you will go through another year.

"Are the tertiary grade A hospitals in our country short-handed? Of course they are. How about the top-class general hospitals in places like Yun Hua, then? We are in dire need of manpower! Even in our dreams, we want to recruit others, but…" Lei Beisha then raised his volume and continued to speak in a deafening voice, "We want proficient hands! We want mature doctors!"

Lei Beisha went on with his words and said, "Of course, we will also train our own doctors. We have many famous doctors walking out from Yun Hua, yes. But! Only the gifted, the diligent, and the ones who have the attitude of a doctor are worthy of being trained by us. In truth, this isn't something that only happens in Yun Hua, the local hospitals and the great hospitals that you all dream of going to do the same thing.

"So, are you all the kind of doctors who have the gift, the diligence, and the attitude?" Lei Beisha stood on the podium in the simulation training space as he set his sights on all the people from higher ground. He then slowly said, "In the upcoming year, everything will depend on your performance."

The medical students who were pumped with enthusiasm at the beginning instantly became dejected. In all honesty, everyone knew about what the director just said, but when someone said it out loud in such a straightforward manner, the youngsters could not really handle it.

Ling Ran stood firm though. His family ran a clinic. It was natural that he knew how small clinics and small hospitals worked.

Regardless of whether it was general or private, the small clinics and hospitals in the country could only treat minor illnesses and relieve minor pain. The salary a doctor obtained there was actually sufficient to feed only one family. Still, it was inevitable for the doctor to feel as if he was wasting away.

It would be especially so for the medical students who struggled hard in their studies throughout the years. They would be unwilling to become a doctor who only measured blood pressure and treated the common flu.

Ling Ran was unwilling to be someone like that too, but he had never put his hopes on silly things like wishing for all his wishes to magically come true.

"Our hospital does have an offer for housemanship as well." Lei Beisha noticed that his words to intimidate had served their purpose effectively. A smile appeared on his face, slowly replacing the serious look as he spoke with a hint of pleasantness in his voice. "If the results of your internship are among the best, our Medical Education Department will prioritize recruiting you. When the other hospitals are recruiting resident doctors, they will definitely also look at the results of your internship."

Once he saw that the morale of the students had recovered well enough, Lei Beisha smiled again. Then, he said, "You have one entire year of internship at Yun Hua. We will observe and record your performances during that period. As for yourselves, you should all aim to improve your skills using places like this simulation training space where we are right now. Our hospital has spent millions to build this space for you to practice your skills."

Lei Beisha took a step back and introduced another young doctor who was right beside him. "This is Doctor Kang. He is our Yun Hua's well-known chief surgeon. Next, let's have him give us a brief lecture about suturing techniques."

Kang Jiuliang was currently 35 years old—the prime of his life. He was also deemed the most skilled young doctor among hand surgeons.

Kang Jiuliang only treated the matter of being called to the podium by Lei Beisha like getting a period of rest. Even when Lei Beisha introduced him, he still spoke in a lackadaisical manner. "There are many techniques to master for a surgeon, suturing is merely the basic among the basics. You should have practiced that back in your school."

When Kang Jiuliang talked about this, he smiled a bit and said, "In the Hand Surgery Department, the fundamental requirement for new doctors to even be able to perform surgery would be to pass the test from the simulation training space."

Kang Jiuliang glanced at Lei Beisha as he continued to speak, "The standard to pass the test in the simulation training space is actually very simple in theory. You just have to anastomose the tails of ten white rats."

While he was giving his speech, Kang Jiuliang pulled away a curtain that was covering a wall beside the podium, revealing a large glass behind it and the small laboratory inside.

The laboratory was more than a dozen square meters large. There was one white rat transfixed to the middle of the experiment table in the laboratory. Approximately twenty to thirty centimeters directly above it was a compound binocular microscope.

The projection screen had also been lowered—with loud creaking sounds—behind the podium. When the projector was switched on, everyone could see the tail of the white rat.

"Our interns and doctors of the Hand Surgery Department would come over to the simulation training space to practice whenever they are free. We express our gratitude for the sacrifice of the animals used for the experiments. Thanks to them, many of our patients were healed."

Kang Jiuliang continued to speak after that, "The diameter of the thin blood vessels in a human's finger would be approximately 0.3 millimeters. The diameter of the blood vessels in the tail of a white rat should range around 0.5 millimeters. That should be almost the same thickness of the blood vessels in the middle finger of a normal human being. That being said, those who cannot pass the test in the simulation training space will not be capable of getting onto the surgical platform for hand surgeries.

"Department Director Lei mentioned an offer for housemanship just now. You can obtain an offer for housemanship in our Hand Surgery Department by simply performing a successful tail reattachment surgery for a white rat. Whichever intern manages to pass this test within a year will be welcomed with open arms in the Hand Surgery Department."

After he had finished talking, Kang Jiuliang smiled in a barely noticeable manner and said, "I shall pick one student to perform the anastomosis with me. You can also try it out yourself later."

A group of medical students raised their hands. Their eyes gleamed brightly.

They lacked knowledge in far too many things in regards to performing surgeries on people, but suturing techniques was what all medical students had learned and practiced during their time as students.

This was evidenced by the good sales of the bananas and pomelos sold at the school gate [2]. Any person who would like to get into the medical field upon graduation would practice suturing whenever they were free. Many students had trained to the point where their confidence in this skill had been developed as well.

"Put down your hands, you don't have to raise your hands; this is not a school, after all." Kang Jiuliang turned his head to the side as he looked at the students. Right at first glance, he saw Ling Ran, who was so handsome that he stood out among the others. Without a moment of doubt, he chose him and said, "Let's pick this fellow student, then. You, sit across from me and watch while I do the first round. Then, you will do the other round."

After that, Kang Jiuliang pushed the small door beside him open. He then gestured for Ling Ran to change into surgical attire and to get ready for operation.

Translator's Note:

[1] Housemanship: a two – year period after graduating from medical school during which newly qualified doctors practice under supervision in designated hospitals in the country.

[2] Pomelo and banana: In this context, it means that the sales of pomelos and bananas were good because the students kept buying them to practice their suturing.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 4: Tail Replantation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lei Beisha was executing the carrot and stick approach in the large room. Once he said those scathing words, he worked on comforting the interns. "In the beginning stage of your internship, all of you should mostly make observation as your priority and pay attention to the methods of learning. Study diligently and train hard. At the same time, you must strive to balance hard work and rest.

"Today, the most important thing we will be doing today is to show all of you a demonstration. After this, you will have plenty of time to shut yourself in the simulation training space. By then, even if you don't want to be here, you will still find yourselves in this place."

After seeing that Lei Beisha's attitude had taken a turn for the better, Wang Zhuangyong quickly raised his white-gloved hand and asked, "Department Director Lei, how difficult is the tail replantation for a white rat and what is the hardest part of it?"

"How difficult is it, you ask…? How do I put this into words…?" Lei Beisha pondered on that thought for a moment and said, "Let me describe it a little to you. Other than you students from the medical academy coming over to do your internships here in Yun Hua Hospital's Hand Surgery Department, we also accept almost a hundred doctors from other hospitals within the province to come in and do practical learning with us every year. Even when these doctors arrive, the number of those who are capable of completing the tail replantation and meet the requirement of 95% blood flow rate will only be in the single-digits."

The students simultaneously gasped in shock.

Even if the doctors who were able to come back to work in Yun Hua Hospital lacked skill, they would still be better than the medical students who had never been at the operating table. With this impression in them, the respect that students had in their hearts grew even more towards those who could perform tail replantation for white rats.

A few minutes later, Kang Jiuliang and Ling Ran sat on two sides of the table respectively. The objective lens for both of their double binocular head compound microscope were aimed on the tail of the white rat. At the top side of the machine, Kang Jiuliang and Ling Ran were both provided with a pair of eyepiece lenses.

"Normally, when we are training, we will cut the rat's tail into approximately sixty to eighty segments. Today is a special case for us; we shall cut it into fewer segments." At the same moment Kang Jiuliang switched on the microphone on one side of the table, he picked up a scalpel.

"The white mouse is so cute, please don't cut its tail." A girl cried out while she hid among the crowd.

Although he supposed that she was just pulling a joke, Kang Jiuliang remained serious as he explained, "Experimental animals are the unsung heroes of our hospitals. Everyone would use them for practice in order to improve their skills and further improve the welfare of humans. In the meantime, everyone should also try their best to utilize every chance for experimentation, but perform your experiments within the limits of your abilities. That way, you can try to minimize the suffering of the animals. So, when you're practicing, you must remain serious… Student, what are you doing?"

While Kang Jiuliang was talking, he saw that Ling Ran had already cut the tail of the anaesthetized white rat into tens of segments.

"You said that we would cut fewer today, so I've cut it into 42 segments. Is that too few?" The scalpel that Ling Ran held in his hand glinted with a silver light across the blade.

The students below watched with both eyes gleaming, that included the girl who just mentioned that the "white mouse is so cute". She was also extremely excited, to the point that she wished she was the one holding the scalpel.

"You have already made the cuts, leave it there. You must listen to direction after this." Kang Jiuliang set his eyes on a pile of rat tail pieces. He could not possibly make Ling Ran put all those pieces back together…

Well, that was not too accurate, since they were about to perform tail replantation right then.

"I shall do the demonstration." Kang Jiuliang held a pair of medical forceps with his left hand while he picked up a needle holder with his right hand and said, "What we are using here is called a medical microscope instrument . Many students have most likely never touched this before. Its main feature is that it is small. For instance, the thickness of the suture thread that we are using right now is only one-tenth of a strand of human hair… By the way, student, how should I address you?"

"Ling Ran," Ling Ran replied.

"Not much of a talker, eh?"

"Not much."

"You'll love talking in the days to come. Surgeons are all chatterboxes when they perform surgeries." During the surgery, Kang Jiuliang had obviously turned into a completely different person than he was before the surgery.

Ling Ran responded with an "oh".

Kang Jiuliang could not hold it in anymore and said, "Don't you feel curious about why?"

"Because of boredom," Ling Ran replied.

The interns giggled.

Kang Jiuliang was shocked for a moment. He asked, "Is the question I asked too boring?"

"It's while the surgeons are operating that it gets too boring."

"Indeed, performing a surgery takes a very long time. It's true that it is quite boring. Normally, it would already be ten or twenty hours later when we finish a session for hand surgery. The others around you would probably want to talk even if you don't feel like talking." Kang Jiuliang no longer bothered himself with the underlying meaning in Ling Ran's words. While he spoke, he started working with his hands, as if both actions would not affect the other and interfere with each other.

In the eyes of the interns, the rhythm of Kang Jiuliang's hands as he worked and the speed he used while he spoke was completely different. As the saying went: practice makes perfect. Kang Jiuliang's exceptional performance even while he spoke was probably what that idiom meant, because he could only do this after a lot of practice.

In the meantime, Ling Ran was also familiarizing himself with the details in Kang Jiuliang's actions as he operated on the tail. After all, in the end, tail replantation for white rats was just a circulatory anastomosis.

It would require six to eight stitches on the small vascular section in order to stitch each of the severed blood vessels back together, thereby ensuring that blood would circulate smoothly, unobstructed, and without any leakages.

During the suturing process, the doctors should also be careful of not letting body cavities[1] and dead spaces[2] appear. In all honesty, these specifics and small concerns would be the things that define the skills of a surgeon.

For instance, a doctor of the Hand Surgery Department would require training for two to three years on tail replantation before he or she could reconnect the tail. But the condition of the white rat itself and the skills of the surgeon, which played an even more decisive factor, would determine whether the tail could function as normally as it had before, and whether there would be any pain or even complications after the surgery.

In simpler words, suturing was not easy, and completing the stitch perfectly was even harder.

Kang Jiuliang began to feel bored just talking by himself. He asked Ling Ran directly, "Do you recognize the suturing techniques I am using?"

"It's a simple interrupted stitch." Ling Ran did not say much at all.

"Are you familiar with it?" Kang Jiuliang asked another question, but he answered the question himself immediately afterwards. He said, "You should be familiar with it. This is the most common and also the simplest suturing technique. It is otherwise known as the suture and knot-tying technique, isn't it? One knot right after one stitch. Back when I was training in my school, this is the skill that was practiced the most. How about you?"

Ling Ran remained concise as he replied, "About the same." He watched the operation performed by Kang Jiuliang. His mind was overflowing with information, he did not want to talk at all.

"Alright, give it a try." All of a sudden, Kang Jiuliang seemed a little sullen. 'I'm a very busy person, why can't you learn how to chat with me a little after I've gone through so much trouble to be here to give all of you a demonstration…?'

At first, he wanted to perform a few more anastomoses for a while to allow Ling Ran to familiarize himself with it. After completing just one circulatory anastomosis, he immediately decided to let Ling Ran take over.

Ling Ran was stunned for a moment, but he did not give it much thought. He just said "alright" as he picked up the needle-holder.

All the while, Kang Jiuliang did not move his eyes away from the eyepiece of the microscope. At that moment, he could not help but lift his head up and take a quick peek at Ling Ran.

The saying went that an expert's skills would be determined once he laid his hands on his craft, and the basic skill required for microsurgeries for experts was for their hands to not shake when they picked up the needle-holder.

In order to put eight stitches on the artery with a mere 0.5 millimeters in diameter, the surgical suture that they were using at the moment was only one-fifth of a hair's thickness. If an ordinary person picked up the needle-holder, the front tip of the needle would shake indefinitely.

Under the microscope, the magnitude of the tremors would make it seem as if the needle was dancing around.

In actuality, doctors who were never properly trained to perform microsurgery would shake so much that all onlookers would feel dizzy while they watched these doctors pick up the needle-holder under the microscope. These doctors would definitely need to practice holding the needle holder over a long period of time. Some doctors even held the needle holders in their hands until they became swollen just from practice.

As for medical students…

Kang Jiuliang could not help but ask, "Do you still practice microsurgery in Yun Hua Medical Institute?"

"My family runs a small clinic," Ling Ran said using the lie he made up. The tip of the needle under the microscope went straight for the small artery in the white rat's tail.

Kang Jiuliang quickly focused his attention, but he only saw that the artery of the white rat's tail had not moved even by a tiny bit under the microscope. Kang Jiuliang could not help but to raise his eyebrows marginally.

The arteries under the microscope did not tremble at all. That meant that none of them were pulled, not even by a little. This was not a basic requirement in microsurgery. This was, in fact, a very outstanding skill.

In order to train this particular skill, some doctors would put bubbles in a basin of water and perform sutures and knot-tying on top of the bubbles. The goal was for the bubbles to not move even the slightest bit.

It was similar to suturing a broken finger. If the process could be done with that sort of suturing standard, the sutured finger would have much stronger recovery abilities and even mobility in the future than it did in the past.

During that moment of absent-mindedness, one stitch on the anastomosis had already been completed. Kang Jiuliang did not even notice the exact time, the only judgement he could make was that it was at least faster than his.

After contemplating it, Kang Jiuliang quickly looked at the point of the anastomosis under the microscope. He could only see that the knots which were exposed on the outside were fairly consistent. It was pleasing to the eye by the looks of it, there was not even a single mistake like a granny knot[3].

This was practically a textbook example of a vascular suture and vascular knot-tying. There was no mistake at all to be picked out.

'A small clinic?'

Kang Jiuliang lifted his head and glanced at Ling Ran. Afterwards, he thought to himself, 'How many fingers had to be chopped off in order to nurture such a high standard of suturing?'

Translator's Notes:

[1] Body cavity: any fluid-filled space in a multicellular organism other than those of vessels (such as blood vessels and lymphatic vessels).

[2] Dead space: a cavity, potential or real, remaining after the closure of a wound that is not obliterated by the operative technique (Source: Stedman's Medical Dictionary)

[3] Granny knot: also known as false, lubber's, calf, and booby knot. It is a varicosity or redundancy of an umbilical vessel (usually the vein)

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 5: Skill Passed Down Through Generations in the Family

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When a surgeon got to work on the table with undeniably legitimate skill, one could no longer stand in a corner and call him a quack.

Anyone related to the field—in any capacity whatsoever—would be able to gauge the proficiency of any surgeon after sitting through one surgery with said person.

Anastomosis may be the twig at the end of the branch when it came to the surgery tree, but it was where all the foundations lay when it came to hand surgery.

The most commonly performed surgeries in the field of hand surgery would be the reattachment of amputated fingers, hand laceration suturing, and many more. Once the surface work was done, the real work started in the pursuit of full circulatory anastomosis.

Kang Jiuliang had performed over hundreds of surgeries in Yun Hua Hospital, and had seen no fewer than a hundred surgeries. But never had he witnessed a surgeon who sutured so efficiently while maintaining a perfect, uniform rhythm, taking everything into consideration despite the beeping of the medical apparatus.

Ling Ran was one such individual, living and breathing right before him as his hands worked with mechanical precision. Kang Jiuliang found himself staring at Ling Ran in astonishment for a long time.

"There's a saying about certain individuals born with God-given elegance and poise. Ah, judging by his face, he has to be a fresh grad from medical school."

Kang Jiuliang could not come up with any other plausible explanation for Ling Ran's skill. There was no simplicity in the single-minded pursuit of perfection in the simplest actions like suturing.

It was true that achieving circulatory anastomosis was not much of a feat. It only required the very basic of all suturing skills: simple interrupted sutures. Even just by the sound of the technique, a layman could tell that it did not require much. As long as one listened carefully in class and practiced it, they would be able to use this skill. Taking it a step up with a microscope only took a brief period of adjustment. The skill itself remained the same.

Then again, how difficult would mastering this skill become?

Kang Jiuliang had practiced tying so many knots that he could practically make a curtain from it. Imagine this: How much time and energy would be needed to knit a sweater with nylon? And how long would it take to make a sweater that resembled a curtain? Mastering the art of suturing and then subsequently tying knots would take an even longer time than simply tying knots.

That being said, Kang Jiuliang did not become the chief surgeon in the Hand Surgery Department overnight. Hundreds of successful hand surgeries had driven him to such standards. With that said, the feat of procuring amputated hands every single day to perform surgery so that he could practice his skills was not an easy thing in itself.

Throughout the entire country, hospitals that had the resources to form their own Hand Surgery Departments were only found in large-scale industrial cities.

Industrial machines were the largest culprits when it came to the unintentional amputation of human hands. While those machines continuously generated economic value, privately-owned factories in Yun Hua City generated their share of industrial accidents. The workers who got their fingers or even hands amputated by the ruthless machines would be taken to the nearest major hospitals at the fastest speed their coworkers could muster.

Yun Hua Hospital had not intended to establish a Hand Surgery Department at the beginning, but as the industrial sector continued to expand and the number of industrial incidents grew in kind, Yun Hua Hospital was forced to build their Hand Surgery Department, regardless of what the Board thought.

The 35-year-old Kang Jiuliang was a hand surgeon born out of necessity by the development of Yun Hua's private sector. Many of his patients had successfully returned to working at full capacity with the industrial machines to date. This was in no small part due to his expertise.

With skill and seniority came self-confidence. He was all too aware that his talent may have played a role in his accomplishments, but talent was nothing without hard work. He also had some great tutors, sufficient practice, and an ample number of surgeries.

The medical student Ling Ran right in front of him might have the first two qualities, but Kang Jiuliang was still unable to find the final jigsaw puzzle piece. How did this fresh graduate actually reach this level with sheer practice and no actual experience?

"Doctor Kang, it's done." Ling Ran put down the surgical tools and moved his wrist around for a bit, seemingly unaccustomed to the amount of work he had to do.

The Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique in the Newbie Gift Package had far exceeded his expectations.

As he worked on the bananas to hone his skills, he had only felt that the system-assisted suturing technique was pretty good, but had no idea that it was this good.

The test he did a moment ago on the tail gave Ling Ran a more accurate evaluation of his newfound abilities.

Judging by his knowledge about sutures which he had acquired from the system, the Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique was clearly greater than Kang Jiuliang's suturing skills.

Kang Jiuliang was most definitely a first-class surgeon in the Hand Surgery Department, and the Hand Surgery Department in Yun Hua Hospital was the leading department for suturing—which was their specialty—in Yun Hua Hospital itself.

By the looks of it, the Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique truly lived up to its name as the skill of a master.

"You stitch very well." Kang Jiuliang's voice interrupted the thoughts in Ling Ran's mind.

"Thank you." Ling Ran smiled calmly. He did perform admirably.

"In which hospitals have you done your internship?" Kang Jiuliang was well-aware that over a hundred students outside could hear the conversation between the two of them, but he could no longer hold his silence.

It was the only possible explanation. Many medical students were willing to intern in other hospitals during their semester breaks. Even though most of the work they did was merely procedural tasks such as writing down a few medical reports or running some errands, they would still be able to pick up something.

If one was talented, diligent and hardworking, able to capture the big picture, be amazingly efficient, and perform dozens or even hundreds of surgeries, it was possible for one to become this good prior to one's debut.

Even so, Ling Ran only shook his head slightly and said, "I just help around in my family's clinic from time to time."

Once he said that, Kang Jiuliang developed profound respect for Ling Ran's small clinic and asked, "What is the name of your family's clinic?"

A long list of names of famous private hospitals and high-end private clinics were already running through Kang Jiuliang's mind: Chang Gung Hospital, Hua Bo Private Clinic, Beautiful Life—

Ling Ran said, "Lower Groove Clinic."

Kang Jiuliang looked down at his own hands. He was suddenly filled with self-doubt; all the things he had come to know, accumulated over years of hard work, might have been for naught.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 6: To the Emergency Department

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the simulation training space.

Lei Beisha was in such a shock that he could no longer keep his mouth shut and his jaw hung open.

The suturing techniques in the Hand Surgery Department of Yun Hua Hospital were top-notch. To put it crudely: most of the doctors in the other departments did not meet the required standards set for hand surgeons in Yun Hua Hospital to perform surgery on the operating table when it came to suturing.

Of course, the interns were even more unqualified. Even if they did train for many years, some students still could not perform tail replantation surgeries on white rats. Some who realized that had already chosen internal medicine instead, and those who could not see their own standards mostly ended up as subpar doctors who would only bring trouble to the world.

After staying in the Medical Education Department for more than a decade, this was the first time he had encountered a student like Ling Ran.

"Lower Groove Clinic?"Although Lei Beisha did not believe that a clinic could have brought up such a highly-skilled doctor, he still remembered that name.

The demonstration of suturing techniques ended rather abruptly. The constantly serious Lei Beisha was even smiling as he watched Ling Ran walk out of the operating theater.

He asked him, "Ling Ran, your mastery of sutures is pretty good. So, for the next rotation, which department would you like to go for?"

This meant that Ling Ran was given a choice to pick the department he wanted first. The students all looked at Ling Ran with envious faces, but none of them said anything.

During their lecture, both Lei Beisha and Kang Jiuliang had mentioned that whoever could perform tail replantation on white rats would be offered a housemanship. At the very least, there was a high possibility that they would be able to stay in Yun Hua Hospital's elite surgical department—the Hand Surgery Department. Kang Jiuliang, too, was gazing at Ling Ran with a smile.

The harsh treatment of hospitals towards new members was notorious. Internships were also as harsh as apprenticeships during the Middle Ages—full of exploitation. Many master or doctorate research students could only renew their contracts after working in a hospital for some time.

However, the hospitals' desire for skilled personnel was incomparable to any other profession. Skilled doctors were welcome anytime in any hospital. They could bring fame to the hospital; they could bring a great volume of surgeries and money to their department; they could share their colleagues' burdens; and they could provide much more treatment options for the patients.

To be impressed by skilled doctors was a tradition that was etched deep into the bones of hospitals… and Director Lei was no different.

Before Ling Ran came to the hospital, he did his homework. He knew that the internship rotation was rumored to be dependent on luck.

As an intern who wished to be a surgeon, going into the Department of Internal Medicine to learn some of the basics before being assigned to a surgical department would be his best option. From thence, once his foundation was built, it would then be perfect for him to start learning some surgical techniques, which would take at least four to five months. After half a year, it should grant him a better chance to be at the operating table.

As the saying went: The early bird catches the worm. If the intern who first provided assistance at the operating table made fewer mistakes, then he would become the third or second assistant earlier than his peers, and he would stand at the top of the other interns… even become the first assistant, qualified to operate surgical tools.

Even if such an intern could not remain in Yun Hua Hospital and had to seek employment elsewhere, he would still be in a more advantageous position.

Ling Ran's mind turned fast, thinking about what kind of decision he should make. At that moment, a line of words went across his eyes.

[Newbie Mission: Treat patients]

[Mission Details: Suture the wounds of ten patients]

[Reward: Interrupted Vertical Mattress Suturing Technique (Specialist Level)]

[Time Limit: 10 days]

'A mission?'

There was a sudden shift in Ling Ran's train of thought.

'First of all, I have no mental illness, so this mission must be real, it's not just my hallucination. Secondly, I need to complete this mission in 10 days! The interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique is a type of tension suture. It's a common and useful technique.'

Ling Ran knew that to finish this mission, he needed to choose a department that would allow him the opportunity to carry out his mission.

'I shouldn't think that just because there are many patients in Yun Hua Hospital, the chances would be high for me to operate. In truth, there won't be a chance for most interns to even touch the patients most of the time.'

Even those from the Hand Surgery Department would not recklessly send Ling Ran to the operating table just because his suturing technique was good.

The operating theater was a closed and independent space, anything could happen in there. Even a very lenient department head would still observe him for a few months before he would give Ling Ran a chance to perform a single stitch.

Ling Ran was also not the only person who wanted to operate. The young doctors who came a few years ago were most probably eyeing for a chance to perform surgery.

'So, the only place for me to suture wounds would be…'

"Can I go to the Emergency Department?" Ling Ran gave a shocking answer.

Lei Beisha frowned, saying, "Ling Ran, you just started your internship, you should still consider familiarizing yourself with the environment. The Emergency Department is very busy, and the doctors may not have time to teach you…"

However, compared to learning from the doctors, Ling Ran was currently more willing to prioritize the completion of his mission.

"I can observe the doctors first." Ling Ran stopped briefly, then said, "I wish to go to the Emergency Department first, then be transferred to other departments."

Director Lei could not go back on his word in front of so many people, this was the first reward he promised. If he retracted his words just because the other party's wish did not meet his, where would his dignity as the Director of the Medical Education Department be?

Furthermore, he still needed to arrange for students to go to the Emergency Department. If he talked about all the bad things in the Emergency Department right then, how was he supposed to allocate students to that department later?

Thus, Director Lei could only shake his head at Ling Ran's persistence and say, "If you want to go to the Emergency Department, so be it. Well then, let's divide ourselves into groups."

After that, Director Lei ordered his subordinates to start calling out names and give out the cards. There were hundreds of students from different schools, and they were to be assigned into the dozens of departments in the hospital. They would then be trained in various departments through a rotation process. The schedule itself already showed that there was quite a lot of work to be done for the interns.

Everyone obtained a number plate and a username with a password, which could be used for checking into the official website for their internship arrangements. Ling Ran got his number card last. Clearly, his schedule had been rearranged.

Kang Jiuliang left early. Lei Beisha said a few more words before he, too, left the simulation training space, leaving the students to draw lots in a rowdy manner. All of them wanted to try their luck with entering the small operating theater.

As his roommate, Chen Wanhao felt sorry for Ling Ran, saying, "You should've at least chosen the Hand Surgery Department. I can tell that you made a good impression on Dr. Kang. I think you would've probably learned some real stuff from him."

"I highly doubt your judgement because of that big red stethoscope you bought." Wang Zhuangyong showed his skepticism.

Ling Ran did not even bother explaining his actions. Instead, he asked, "Where are you two going?"

"I'm going to the Thoracic Department. It's a little too early for me though," Chen Wanhao said with a heart full of regret.

Wang Zhuangyong answered nonchalantly, "I'm going to the Medical Laboratory Department. Oh well, I'll have to go there sooner or later anyway."

They were living in a dorm which was not fully occupied. There were only a total of three members in it, but fate had it so that they were sent to three different departments.

Wang Zhuangyong sighed involuntarily. His voice was filled with a melancholy as he spoke. "It looks like today we'll be starting our journey on three different paths—"

Without hesitation, Chen Wanhao interrupted his very good friend Wang Zhuangyong in his brief sentimental moment, "We're going to perform surgery while you're going to play with poo, of course it'll be different."

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 7: Picking Someone

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When Ling Ran stood at the doors of the Emergency Department, the first thing he felt was a feeling of agitation that came crashing into his face.

Patients were all over the place and their records were written messily, their perplexed family members were everywhere, and information was thrown about in a chaotic manner. The machines were arranged haphazardly all over the place, while the nurses and doctors moved about helter-skelter…

Then there were the inexperienced interns who stood in the room, completely baffled and out of place.

"This is the Emergency Department." Lei Beisha walked slowly from the corridor. He was practically considered the most relaxed individual in the emergency room, and he introduced Ling Ran to the department by saying, "Sickness comes indiscriminately, be it day or night. Therefore, the Emergency Department of the hospital has no sense of time."

"Huh? Director Lei?" the interns greeted him in a hurry, then looked enviously at Ling Ran. They knew that Lei Beisha most probably came for Ling Ran.

The day before, many students had lined up trying to perform the white rat's tail replantation, but none succeeded. On the other hand, their failures actually proved just how outstanding Ling Ran was.

Despite the countless interns Lei Beisha had encountered, Ling Ran was indeed extraordinary.

Asking the outstanding doctors in the Hand Surgery Department to demonstrate a tail replantation was a tradition that Yun Hua Hospital had for the interns. They used the most well-understood basic medical skill that the interns had—sutures—to prove how naive they were.

The hospital understood the logic of using what you thought you were good at to defeat you. The only medical skill that an intern could say he or she had mastered was suturing. Hence, the hospital arranged for the tail replantation to serve as a warning for the interns.

This tradition was unique as well as extraordinary, and it always worked in torturing the interns to the point where they cried for their parents. It worked from the beginning of its implementation to the present, and no incidents had ever occurred…

…that was, until Ling Ran showed up.

For that reason, even though Director Lei was displeased with Ling Ran's 'silly' choice, he still rushed to the Emergency Department early in the morning. The interns in hospitals were as numerous as weeds, while top-caliber doctors were lacking in every hospital.

After one night, Director Lei had recomposed himself. He nodded at the interns who greeted him and turned to look at Ling Ran. He asked, "What do you think of the Emergency Department?"

"Not bad." Ling Ran's answer was crisp and concise. What else could he say? He could not, after all, say that he cared more about the system, nor could he say that he did not want to pay attention to the Director of Medical Education, right?

In Director Lei's eyes, Ling Ran was the type that would not repent until he was in trouble. However, if such an intern could master sutures so well, there was no telling if he could stitch a coffin out of a piece of paper should he be given one.

Director Lei spoke to Ling Ran with exceptional patience. "I've just introduced you to Director Huo, but don't expect any special treatment. There are many things to be done in the Emergency Department, and they have never liked interns. As for the rest of you, work hard and be nice with your words so that you won't suffer."

The interns were tearing up with gratitude, thinking that the director had finally remembered them. But if he had already greeted the Head of Department, then was it even possible for Ling Ran to not receive special treatment.

When Director Lei left, the interns were still overwhelmed with emotions. They felt impressed but also indignant when it came to Ling Ran.

"Interns, come with me." A nurse moved hastily to the doors. After she finished taking the attendance, she turned and walked speedily away.

The interns were at the bottom of the food chain in the ecosystem of the hospital; their positions were lower than the nurses, so they followed her obediently.

After they passed by the receptionist counter and the transfusion room, the dozens of interns were then led to the office next to the resuscitation room.

In the office, there were seven to eight men in white robes. When they heard the door open, they all turned to look.

"Miss Li, they sent people here again?"

"Oh, new members."

"Miss Li, do you need any help?"

The men in white robes were so passionate towards the nurse that it made the interns shocked.

The small nurse, however, ignored the men in white robes. She turned to the interns and said, "Stay here. If there's no one calling for you, don't leave this place on your own accord. You are not allowed to meet the patients, you are also not allowed to answer the patient's questions and their family members' questions."

After that, the nurse replied the men with an "I'm busy" before she turned and left… leaving behind a room full of wailing men.

"Are you interns, too?" The medical student who first entered the room observed the office with much confusion.

Most of the men in white robes did not even bother answering the newcomer's question. Only a mature-looking one chose to answer him flatly, "We're all residents, we're here to help."

"Ah, you guys are here to try your luck in getting to operate on someone." The ones who knew what was going on went straight for the ugly truth.

The mature-looking doctor's face changed, and he ignored the one who spoke. The interns also felt that it was pointless to continue talking to these doctors, so they gathered into a group and whispered among themselves.

"What's the purpose of getting your hands on the operating table?" Ling Ran asked seriously after he found a place to sit down. He seemed oblivious to the cold and tense atmosphere in the office.

Everyone's gaze was trained on him, but not the slightest change was present in Ling Ran's facial expression.

"Wait till you're all housemen, then you'll know how difficult it is for you to get appointed to surgeries," said the mature resident lazily. He then continued, "But if you go to a trashy hospital, no one will even care about the number of surgeries you perform."

The interns who were already troubled by the prospect of unemployment immediately glared at him in anger. The residents did not show any weakness as well.

The underpaid doctors in the office had the same motive as the interns; they were all there at the Emergency Department to get a chance to perform surgeries.

The number of surgeries performed represented the experience required for a surgeon to level up. Junior doctors, the newbies in gaming terms, did not have the chance to get into the operating theater to tackle the difficult cases—the Bosses in games. Therefore, they could only try their luck in the Emergency Department.

The competition was already fierce, but once the interns entered the place, it was just like adding oil to fire on the battlefield.

Only Ling Ran continued to sit alone in the middle. He took out his phone indifferently and played his game.

[Five seconds left before the enemy arrives on the battlefield. Be prepared to launch a full assault…]

The words in the game broke the tense atmosphere in an instant. Both parties looked at Ling Ran and were stunned for a few seconds. Once they realized that he did not even care about the situation, they all withdrew their gazes.

The interns who were new there retreated to their places quietly. Their spirits were a bit low and the intern who just mentioned that the residents were trying to get a chance to operate felt more depressed as he said, "We're done for. Yun Hua didn't separate us from them."

"That doesn't mean we're doomed." The interns were also rather confident, and weren't willing to listen to depressing words.

An intern who knew the inner workings of the hospital whispered, "If we're separated from them, we could follow the doctor in charge of checkups and do a few things. We might not be able to do any practical work, but at least we could observe them. But now, look at this! Why would the nurses choose us but not the doctors? I guess we're most probably going to sit in this room till our bums hurt."

"Hey, why are the nurses picking the doctors?"

"Why not? Do you expect the department head to recruit his men here? He's so busy that he needs someone else to help him out, what else did you expect?" The intern who knew the inner workings of the hospital was a bit unhappy. He took out his phone and spoke while he switched it on. "Well, just bear with it for a few days. We can wait till they're finished with everything first. I'm sure they'll arrange some hard labor for us after that."

"You mean we should just wait in vain for the next few days?"

"The residents at least know a bit more compared to us new interns who haven't even received our graduation certs. If even they don't have surgeries waiting for them, it would be much less probable for us. What else are we supposed to do other than wait?"

"If I had known about this, I would've chosen the Department of Internal Medicine. At least, I could have learned to write medical records there."

The intern who knew the inner workings of the hospital was also angry. "In the hospital, the interns' time is the most worthless. I do believe that Yun Hua is the kind of hospital that doesn't like to give chances to interns—"

Bang!*

While they were talking, the door of the office was rammed open. In came another small nurse who moved swiftly into the room, she carried some medications with her.

A few of the doctors immediately stood up and greeted her by calling her "Nurse Wang" or "Pretty Wang". The reserved ones sat upright, showing their smiles.

For the sake of getting practical experience, these young doctors had all but lined up in rows to bow to the nurse and show her respect.

Nurse Wang scanned them, and just as she was about to pick someone, she noticed the handsome Ling Ran in one glance. Her eyes very obviously landed on him for a moment.

Nurse Wang asked Ling Ran, "Do you know how to perform sutures?"

Ling Ran was stunned for a moment, then said with a nod, "Yes."

"Then follow me."

Nurse Wong did not wait to listen to his reply. She turned and left in a hurried manner, leaving the others disappointed with her choice…

They were also disappointed that they lived in a world where the handsome and pretty ones always had the upper hand.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 8: The Surgical Department's Divine Physician

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"What's the situation with this patient?" Ling Ran asked as he fell in line with Nurse Wang's brisk and urgent footsteps.

At that very moment, it was impossible to say that he was not nervous. He may have obtained 'Master Level in Suturing' from the gift package, but the patient in the emergency room might need more than sutures.

Ling Ran wanted nothing more than to practice and complete his mission, but he also wanted to treat the patient with the appropriate amount of respect.

"The patient's hand was impaled by a tree branch when she fell from it."

Nurse Wang was even younger than Ling Ran. She had made that statement coldly—a habit nurtured from her line of work. But she went a little red when he turned to meet her gaze, and her tone quickly softened.

"You're so tall…" she murmured.

Ling Ran had always been blessed with good looks since birth. At that moment, his lips habitually curled at the corners.

The young nurse quickly hid her rapidly reddening face from him and said, "My name is Wang Jia. Jia as in 'family'."

"What a good name."

Ling Ran replied at the appropriate moment.

The young nurse was instantly filled with cheer. Her burdensome, mundane work life suddenly seemed a lot easier, a lot lighter. She made some additional, necessary comments about the patient only to give herself more opportunities to converse with this dashing doctor.

Upon arriving at the treatment room, Wang Jia pulled open Curtain 3. Ling Ran saw a middle-aged woman who lay on the light blue operating table with a hand extended out to her side. A doctor was already working on her hand. His back faced Ling Ran, but he could see him gently removing the dressings with a pair of forceps.

Ling Ran heaved a sigh that carried with it a mixture of relief and regret.

"Doctor Zhou, I have brought him," Wang Jia announced crisply.

"Thank you very much." Doctor Zhou's hands paused for a moment. When he turned around to greet Ling Ran, he was startled for a moment. He had never seen this person before, but he did not say a word about it.

Yun Hua Hospital was the biggest general hospital in the province. The hospital itself had almost a thousand doctors and every year, even more doctors came for training, observation, housemanship, and internship. It was not altogether uncommon to see an unfamiliar face.

It was also inappropriate to make self-introductions when a patient was lying on the table before them. He only said, "Please assist me with the debridement. 0.9% sodium chloride mixed with iodine complex. Have you brought the anesthetic here?"

"2% lidocaine," Wang Jia said as she drew the dosage required for local anesthesia into a syringe and passed it to Doctor Zhou. Doctor Zhou took it and scrutinized it before jabbing it into the edge of the patient's wound.

Ling Ran observed carefully, so earnestly that it looked as if he was repairing a Transformer.

It was only the act of injecting an anesthetic, but laymen would be at a loss if they were asked to attempt it themselves.

If the desired effect could not be achieved with the stipulated dosage, an additional shot could be sneaked in, but they would also have to pray that they would not bear witness to any complications that might follow.

The lectures in school were mostly theoretical in nature rather than practical. When it came to local anesthesia, only a couple of words were said about it accompanied by the same few standard examples.

However, there were too many variables and surprises in reality. The practicum of medical students served to mend the gaps in their knowledge in regards to these aspects.

"Wash it."

Doctor Zhou tossed the syringe aside. Ling Ran immediately picked up the bottle of solution that Wang Jia had mixed and poured it onto the wound.

"More," Doctor Zhou said as he fiddled the wound with the forceps.

His movements were gentle and straightforward. First, he removed the foreign object in the patient's wound. He then picked up a knife and ablated a small amount of skin at the edge of the wound. This step meant that they were already halfway done with the minor surgery in closing up the superficial wounds.

Doctor Zhou was rather plain-looking and ugly, but he was an attentive and good-hearted man. He smiled and said to the patient, "There's quite a lot of foreign objects in your wound. We'll wash it two more times before we start stitching. Don't worry, okay?"

"I'm not worried, I'm not worried."

After the local anaesthesia, the patient no longer felt any pain. She relaxed her furrowed eyebrows and said, "I fell on mud, and there were pine needles on the ground. There won't be any permanent damage, would there?"

"No, we just have to make sure it's cleaned up nicely," Doctor Zhou said gently.

The patient quickly calmed down once she received his assurance.

When Ling Ran heard this, he quickly grabbed the opportunity and said, "Doctor Zhou, if I may, I would like to do the suturing."

'Getting out of the waiting room was difficult enough as it is. This doctor seems easy-going. If I don't take the opportunity now, I'll never get it again.'

The mission from the system still awaited.

'Perhaps I'll finally be rewarded with a Transformer if I get it done perfectly?'

Ling Ran was so excited that his eyes sparkled.

"Hmm… alright." Doctor Zhou did not make things difficult for Ling Ran. He did not even start asking questions.

When it came to the operating table, the chief surgeon would be constantly barraging his assistants with request after request. The assistants' hands would be too full to even think of undertaking a task on their own.

However, when it came to such a minor debridement surgery, there was no need for such talk.

Doctor Zhou spent his time in the Emergency Department every single day. He had seen many young doctors come here looking for a chance to operate, and he was also willing to give them that chance.

He did not mind watching from the sidelines, and only intervening when complications arose. Even if they did, no lives nor livelihood would be at risk.

This was why so many young doctors were lined up outside the Emergency Department. The doctors in the department were often understandably busy and tired after their long bouts of surgeries. When it came to something minor like this, they were more than willing to have someone else step in.

Ling Ran suppressed his emotions as he made pre-surgical preparations. He then slowly took the chair as Doctor Zhou made way for him.

If it were not for the system, he would not have attempted this so soon. Now that he had obtained 'Master Level in Suturing,' Ling Ran was more confident in his skills.

Since Doctor Zhou had already performed the debridement, he only had to follow the steps needed before suturing a minor wound.

All of Ling Ran's thoughts suddenly came to a halt the moment he picked up the needle holder. In Doctor Zhou's eyes, the movements of the young doctor suddenly went from inexperienced to skilled.

Only a moment ago, Doctor Zhou had also been wondering if he should take over and perform the suturing himself, but in the next second… Ling Ran had inserted the needle under the skin and made a knot with the forceps…

"Ah… you're done?"

Doctor Zhou was so stunned that his tongue was almost numb in shock.

Throughout his few years in the Emergency Department he had seen many people who were fast, efficient workers. But according to legend, only those of the divine could suture a spontaneous aortic rupture within two minutes.

'I would like to see these divine physicians someday…'

Doctor Zhou fixed his gaze upon Ling Ran. A ceiling lamp happened to be just above Ling Ran's shoulder.

'Hmm… the light today is a little dazzling…'

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Ling Ran felt good when his mission completion status was updated to [1/10].

"Doctor Zhou, could you take a look and see how the suture is?" Ling Ran took the trouble to ask. He did not feel like he did the suturing particularly quick or well.

In truth, when it came to medical knowledge, his faculty of judgment was still at the level of a medical intern. When it came to these things, one should have more experience to build the correct perception.

Just like how an aborigine who chased after prey in the mountains all year had to compete with other people to know if he was a fast or slow runner.

Doctor Zhou glanced at Ling Ran suspiciously, not knowing if he was joking or not. If he was only teasing Doctor Zhou, he should not be doing it in front of the patient. If he was not teasing him… why the hell would he ask such a question? Could it be that… he wanted Doctor Zhou to praise him? Or was he merely showing off to Doctor Zhou?

In the blink of an eye, all kinds of thoughts ran through Doctor Zhou's mind.

All normal surgeons did some strange things. Those who played symphonic music, rock music, hip-hop music and Guo Degang[1] crosstalk in the operating theater were considered normal surgeons. A penchant for making and listening to dirty jokes was also a necessary characteristic for surgeons.

As for those surgeons who liked to scold others or be praised by others… this depended on their medical skills. The skillful ones naturally had the right to scold others, and could ask everyone in the operating theater to praise them to their heart's content…

For unknown reasons, Doctor Zhou was rather unhappy. He speculated that the young doctor in front of him was an expert from some local hospital who was there for an exchange of experiences to increase his medical standards.

Even though they were all there for their practicum, medical interns and housemen were not the same as visiting doctors from local hospitals.

'He was probably often praised in his local hospital's operating theater for having these types of skills. It's understandable that he's developed a lot of bad habits because of this,' Doctor Zhou thought. 'By taking the initiative to do the suturing, I reckon that he wanted to show off.

'But even though your skills are good enough, I'm not a junior in your department. Why would I flatter you?'

Doctor Zhou mentally let out a few snorts before raising his head and forcing a slight smile. "The suturing was perfect."

Internally, Doctor Zhou bemoaned his degeneration again. 'Sigh, members of a society would only follow the norms of a society. It's also better not to offend experts from other hospitals if I can help it.'

As he stepped in the swamp known as worldliness, Doctor Zhou thought of the passing of his youth, his dreams and moral integrity as he pretended to be calm, and asked, "We've never seen each other before. How should I address you?"

Doctor Zhou reckoned that after showing off, the person would naturally want to be remembered, just like a certain hero who took great pains to shatter a massive rock, pulled a weeping willow from the ground, and fought a tiger[2]. He did it to become famous, right?

Doctor Zhou decided to play along since he had been impressed by his skill.

As a medical intern, Ling Ran naturally answered when he was asked a question. "I'm Ling Ran, and I was just assigned to the Emergency Department yesterday."

"Ling Ran, huh?" Doctor Zhou desperately recalled.

"Doctor Ling, your fingers are so long. They're especially suitable for a surgeon." Wang Jia the young nurse was usually unpleasant to medical interns, but she succumbed to Ling Ran's good looks without even bothering to put up a fight. She did not even mind addressing him as 'doctor'.

It should be known that if a medical student who just started his internship was addressed as 'doctor' by his patients, he would feel so ecstatic it would be like he was on cloud nine.

If he could be addressed as 'doctor' by other doctors or nurses, the medical intern would be so happy that the cloud nine he was on would start pouring, and the rain would be his tears of happiness.

Ling Ran was very happy. He flashed Nurse Wang Jia a big smile. The young nurse Wang Jia's entire body went limp.

Another nurse came over to call for the doctor. "Doctor Zhou, are you free? There's a patient in Bed 3."

There was never a lack of patients in the Emergency Department. Patients with a knife in their chests were emergency cases, and patients with light bulbs stuck in their mouths were also emergency cases.

Doctor Zhou nodded and left with the nurse. Ling Ran followed him without hesitation. As a medical intern, he had to grab every opportunity he could.

Wang Jia was also summoned by another nurse. The doctors were busy with their own things, and the nurses did not have the chance to relax either.

Doctor Zhou was not quite willing to let the expert from another hospital follow him, but he said nothing.

The nurse who came over to summon the doctor had no objections, too. She only shot a glance at Ling Ran before she started to brief them about the patient's condition. "The patient in Bed 3 recounted that his head was cut and injured by someone. He has been bleeding for more than an hour. There was intake of alcohol, no loss of consciousness, no nausea, no vomiting, no bleeding through the nose, mouth or external auditory canal, and no problems with bodily movements…"

Upon arriving at Bed 3, Ling Ran saw a young man with a full-sleeve tattoo. He was muscular, with triangular eyes and a flat nose. He was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed and pressed a gauze hard against the left side of his head. At the same time, he was chatting and laughing with two gang members.

The man accompanying the patient was older. Upon seeing the doctor, his voice immediately rang out, "Oh my, the doctor is here. Doctor, quick, take a look at my big brother. My big brother was chased by almost a hundred people. If it weren't for his good fighting skills, he wouldn't have been able to come here today. All of you have to stitch him up well…"

"How am I supposed to look if you don't make way?" Doctor Zhou was also speechless for a moment. He said, "Family members of the patient, kindly go outside and wait. We'll call you if there's anything wrong."

"No, we have to stay here and watch." Two young men shook their heads firmly, and they widened their eyes so much that they looked like copper bells.

"This place is small. How am I going to do my job with the both of you standing here?" Doctor Zhou had encountered similar situations before and his tone was lukewarm.

Doctors did not get to choose their patients. It was especially so for the doctors in the Emergency Department who faced even more complicated doctor-patient relationships. They truly could not be angry or anxious.

The two young men shook their heads as violently as rattle-drums. "We can't not have anyone next to big brother—"

"Just leave someone here to make the payment, and the other person can wait outside." Doctor Zhou's tone was gentle.

"We already paid just now!" The two lackeys sounded a little panicky.

"With such a serious injury, you'll definitely need to make a supplementary payment. Only one of you needs to stay here."

As Doctor Zhou spoke, he waved his hand. The two lackeys obediently made way. After a little while, they disappeared without a trace. However, the tranquilness Doctor Zhou anticipated did not come.

After receiving local anaesthesia, the tattooed man's entire body felt extremely good. He started to boast about his combat history as his wound was being debrided. His wound quivered every time he spoke. Even though Doctor Zhou reminded him about it, he was no match for the tattooed man's forgetfulness.

After debriding the wound with much difficulty, Doctor Zhou was drenched in sweat. He lowered the forceps and warned the man again, "We're about to suture the wound now, so you should stop talking. Or else, what are we going to do if the needle is inserted into the wrong place?"

"If the needle were inserted into the wrong place, it would be medical negligence, and you'd have to compensate me for it." The tattooed guy remained unfazed. He said, "Treating an injury is your duty, and you have to do it well. Guan Yu, Guan Yun or whatever even ate, drank, chatted, and played chess while the poison was scraped off his bones[3]. Bian Que[4] didn't say a thing and just allowed him do so."

Doctor Zhou stared at the ceiling, speechless. "Hua Tuo was the one who scraped off the poison."

"Bah, I don't know much about the other things, but I know everything about Mr. Guan. Are you really an intellectual? Hua Tuo scraping off the poison? I'm laughing my a* off."

"Hua Tuo's… forget it." Doctor Zhou turned and asked Ling Ran, "Do you want to carry out the suturing?"

'Since the expert from another hospital wants to come here to show off his skills, I shall give him a hard one.' Doctor Zhou thought secretly of all sorts of endings to this situation.

Ling Ran went forward without hesitation. For medical interns, every opportunity to practice was as precious as a newly-bought inflatable doll.

"Please turn to the side." Ling Ran adjusted his position and picked up the needle holder.

The tattooed man had already noticed the young Ling Ran. He said, rather dissatisfied, "Why is there a substitute? Let me tell you, I've been to many hospitals. If all of you don't stitch up my wound well today, you won't have an easy time…"

As the tattooed man talked non-stop, he suddenly noticed that Doctor Zhou looked distracted. He became even more dissatisfied. "Hey, what kind of expression is that?!"

Doctor Zhou closed his jaw, which had hung open from shock. He glanced at Ling Ran in amazement, then said to the tattooed man, "Your wound's already sutured."

For a surgeon, suturing a wound on the head was not difficult at all. However, this was the first time Doctor Zhou had seen someone handle suturing in such an epic manner. In other words, to complete the suturing at such a rapid pace while the other party was talking… such skill would truly only be utilized in very high risk surgeries.

For example, during heart surgeries where the heart would beat nonstop, the suturing of blood vessels or even the bicuspid valve could easily lead to unforeseen circumstances due to the instability caused by the beating heart.

However, was it not too much of a waste to use such a staggeringly difficult suturing technique on a bald head?

Ling Ran, who inserted the needle beneath the man's skin, made a knot with a pair of forceps, and did a simple interrupted stitch—he did not find it a waste at all.

In a dashing manner, he put down the surgical instruments, held the tattooed man's head, and turned it a few times as if he was twisting a toy Transformer's head. Then, he said in satisfaction, "It's pretty perfect."

In the mirror, only patches of contaminated blood were visible on the tattooed man's head injury. The fine surgical thread perfectly pulled the wound together. If one was not looking carefully for it, the position of the suture would not be identified at all.

With Ling Ran's personality, he could only relax and sigh in relief after the suturing was completed in such a manner. What bothered him the most in school were those girls who made bulges when suturing bananas. It was not aesthetically pleasing whatsoever.

"This was done faster than when the wound was inflicted. Hmm, it's stitched up well, and the stitches are uniform, too." The tattooed man had been in and out of hospitals all year long and could tell good sutures from bad ones. He sighed emotionally and immediately said, "Doctor, give me a business card. If anything else happens in the future, we'll always come to you."

Ling Ran did actually feel a little tempted to hand him a card, but he did not have one. As he bandaged the wound, he said, "I don't have a business card, but I do work in this hospital."

The tattooed guy slapped his leg, making a sound, and said, "It's a deal, then. I'll go slaughter a few more people, and if any of my brothers get injured, I'll send them all to you."

He got excited as he talked. He waved his uninjured arm and cried out, "Brothers, come with me! We're going back to kick some a*!"

"Kick a*! Kick a*!" Outside the emergency room, more tattooed men had arrived at some point in time. They were all lackeys, but their voices were so synchronized that they sounded like a family.

Ling Ran looked at his mission completion status which had become [2/10]. For some inexplicable reason, he was actually looking forward to it.

Every broken-winged angel[5] was a treasure to medical students doing their internships in the hospital.

Translator's Note:

[1] Guo Degang is a Chinese crosstalk (xiàngsheng) comedian.

[2] Lu Zhishen is a character from 'Outlaws of the Marsh'.

[3] According to legend, Bian Que was the earliest known Chinese physician.

[4] 'Scrape the Poison off the Bone' is a story from 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' where Hua Tuo removed the poison from Guan Yu's body while Guan Yu drank and played chess. So no, Bian Que did not cure Guan Yu. You cannot expect a gang member to be well-versed in history, can you?

[5] Referring to a gang member.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 10: I'm an Intern

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"The Emergency Department seems pretty empty today, huh, Nurse Wang?" The young resident doctor went to the young nurse and offered her a bottle of iced black tea.

"I don't drink sweet things." Wang Jia did not take the drink.

The resident doctor slapped his head and said with a smile, "Oh gosh, my memory is bad. It's already so late, everyone is probably exhausted. We should take over."

Resident doctors and nurses were colleagues, and unlike medical interns, they at least show each other some form of care. It was not very respectful for her to have him wait for half a day without giving him any opportunities to hone his skills.

Wang Jia's tone softened a little. "There's no work to do right now, though."

"The Emergency Department actually gets to stay idle?" The resident doctor laughed.

The Emergency Department was practically a hospital's screening department. Emergency Departments of bigger hospitals transferred a large number of patients to other departments every single day, especially when they were in critical condition. More often than not, the Emergency Department would be stabilizing vitals and giving the patients basic treatment before they were hastily sent off to the operating theater.

If there was one thing the Emergency Department lacked, it was free time. This was why the resident doctors came to the Emergency Department for a chance to perform surgery.

Wang Jia hesitated for a moment, but she did not tell him of the situation in the treatment room. She only said, "The condition of the patients today are a bit more special…"

Another resident doctor came over. He spoke while putting his arm on the resident doctor's shoulder, "We're not afraid of special ones. We can do anything. Right, Old Wu?"

Old Wu nodded earnestly.

"I've seen a ping pong ball stuck up there; I've seen a ping pong ball stuck down there; and I've seen balls in the front and back. Whatever it is, we've taken them all out."

Wang Jia had been a nurse for a few years and would not be defeated by the dirty jokes of two resident doctors. She kept a straight face. "The benchmark of the Emergency Department here is to take out a golf ball."

"How can a golf ball be…" The two new young men who had just entered the trade were immediately rendered speechless.

"Alright, Doctor Wu and Doctor Li, come with me."

Nurses always meant well, even if their words were sometimes harsh. Although Wang Jia had a rather cynical nature, she still gave the resident doctors an opportunity. However, the final say would be up to the attending physicians of the department and the directors.

In the office a few meters away, the medical interns looked outside with eager eyes. They could not even find the chance to get insulted for their work.

Doctor Wu and Doctor Li followed Wang Jia excitedly and walked into the treatment room with quick steps. When they strode past the doorsill, they felt a familiar heat.

Doctors, nurses, patients, and family members of patients walked to and fro in the tiny treatment room. One only had to take a deep breath and the irritation would set in.

However, Doctor Wu and Doctor Li remained unperturbed. Their enthusiasm forced all the negative current away. They treasured every single opportunity to perform treatment, be it to remove ping pong balls, golf balls, or volleyballs. They were duty-bound to treat all of them.

"Doctor Zhou, these patients are waiting to be sutured, right? Do you need our help?"

Doctor Wu first looked for a familiar face before he turned to a few men with full-sleeve tattoos and were sitting on the isolation beds. His eyes sparkled with eagerness. He was a puppy, and these men were crunchy, juicy bones.

Having asked this question over the past couple of months while performing treatment in the Emergency Department, Doctor Wu knew how the minds of these doctors worked. There was a rift between the director and the associate director, and neither of them were willing to mend that rift.

Among the senior attending physicians, Doctor Zhou was the most generous at giving opportunities. Of course, this could also mean that while he had an ugly face, he was a friendly and laid-back person.

Doctor Zhou was leisurely debriding one of the tattooed men's wounds. He said, "Suturing needs to be carried out, but I have no authority over them."

"Huh? Has your role been changed?" Resident Doctor Wu looked around curiously.

The Emergency Department had been divided into different areas of authority according to the beds. An attending physician or experienced resident doctor would be responsible for anywhere between a few to dozens of beds. To ensure that the appropriate amount of care is given, patients would be assigned by the beds within said doctors' jurisdictions.

The associate director and director only handled ailments. The attending physicians and experienced resident doctors were the ones who routinely gave attention to less important matters.

Based on what Resident Doctor Wu and the others could remember, the first few beds belonged to Doctor Zhou.

Doctor Zhou said nonchalantly, "Those people requested for Doctor Ling."

"Which one is Doctor Ling?"

It was an unfamiliar name, and Doctor Wu could not help but look around.

"Over there." Doctor Zhou pointed. As a local powerhouse, he was unwilling to advertise for an external force of power.

Resident Doctor Wu looked towards the direction Doctor Zhou pointed and saw Ling Ran sitting in the cubicle.

"Isn't he an intern?" Resident Doctor Wu was so shocked that his mouth flopped wide open.

Doctor Zhou was momentarily startled. He asked, "You know him?"

"He came here together with the other interns this morning."

"Then, you're probably mistaken." Doctor Zhou could not help but laugh.

You could forge documents, you could talk your way out of things, but medical skills spoke for themselves.

Ling Ran's skills were so epic that if Doctor Zhou put all the skin that Ling Ran had sutured into one line, he could probably circle around the globe and invade Taiwan again on behalf of the Dutch. How could he be an intern?

Resident Doctor Wu was just as baffled, but he was still mainly concerned with practicing his skills. He brushed over the matter with a chuckle and said, "I see that quite a few patients are waiting. Why don't we go and help them first?"

Beside him, Doctor Li quickly nodded.

Doctor Zhou chuckled and said, "Before that, you should be asking patients for permission."

"There are actually patients choosing their doctors in the Emergency Department?" Doctor Wu blinked in surprise.

Doctor Zhou raised his eyebrows at him helplessly and said, "They want to choose. What can you do about it?"

Resident Doctor Wu was rendered speechless. Resident Doctor Li, who came along with him, did not buy this madness for one minute. He went to a kind-looking tattooed man with a unicorn on his arm and asked with a smile, "Does your injury hurt? Come and sit here, I'll stitch it up for you."

'Boys who like unicorns shouldn't be too violent, right?'

However, the kind-looking tattooed man glanced at Resident Doctor Li disdainfully and said, "I'm waiting for Doctor Ling."

"Your wound only requires a simple suture. It'll be the same no matter who does it." Doctor Li was being even more attentive towards the unicorn man than to his own girlfriend, since it meant that he would be able to get a chance to perform a suture.

The unicorn guy snorted and said, "Don't take me for a fledgling. I've had to visit Yun Hua's Emergency Department many times over. 'It'll be the same no matter who does it'? Do you see the stag on my arm?"

"This is a stag?" Doctor Li widened his eyes and went into deep contemplation as he gazed at the one-horned stag's head. 'So the tattooists nowadays don't watch National Geography anymore?'

The unicorn guy growled resentfully, "The other horn of this stag became slanted to one side because some idiot doctor sewed it up wrong. I had no choice but to get it modified into a unicorn. What am I going to do if you twist it up again?"

"Have it modified to a horse's head, then." The tattooed man beside him laughed out loud. "Hahahaha!"

"It would easily be mistaken for a donkey's head."

"Better a donkey than anything, ya know? Donkeys have big c*cks. We won't want a mule there."

Clearly, this was a familiar topic among them. The moment it was mentioned, everyone started laughing so hard that they were all clutching their sides.

"Broken-tailed Tiger, Slanted Dragon Legs, and Wooden Arhat, why are all of you so pleased with yourselves?"

The unicorn guy raised his arms. The bloody unicorn even looked cute 3.

Resident Doctor Wu looked over as he held back his laughter. He saw that there indeed was something very wrong with the tail of the tiger tattoo on Broken-tailed Tiger's arm.

The problem with Slanted Dragon Legs' tattoo was not as obvious. One had to look clearly to see that the clouds under the dragon's belly were modified from the claws.

Resident Doctor Wu did not really understand Wooden Arhat's tattoo, though. Since all doctors loved solving problems, Resident Doctor Wu thought hard about it.

Wooden Arhat became more and more annoyed as Doctor Wu stared at him. He said, "What I tattooed before this was the Eighteen Arhats, you stupid doctor."

Doctor Wu was stunned for a moment. Fortunately, he managed to reel his laughter in.

"All of you happened to have injuries on your tattoos. It's unfortunate, but unavoidable." Doctor Wu hid his smile and tried to explain. "Those wounds of yours were probably quite large, and your muscle tissues were most likely upturned. Nobody can restore that to full condition."

"Just admit it if you don't know how to suture. Why talk so much?" The thugs were all too impatient to listen.

Doctor Wu said gravely, "It's not that I don't know how to suture; if the wound is messed up and jagged, we can't do much about it."

"Then why are those cosmetic surgeons allowed to stitch as they please?"

The unicorn man became even more displeased when he heard that. He was already used to his unicorn tattoo—at least the girls liked it. He really did not want it to become a horse's head or a donkey's head.

Doctor Wu was defeated by the other party's logic. After thinking for a few seconds, he said falteringly, "Well, being cut open by a machete is not like being cut open by a surgical blade. Even cosmetic surgeons can't hide those scars."

The unicorn guy suddenly laughed and said, "You almost got me. I think you're just an old loser who actually can't fight anymore but is still full of hot air. Take a look at Doctor Ling. Everything you claimed, he's fixing them up like it's nothing! You just don't have enough skill."

The moment he said that, the other injured tattooed men agreed and acknowledged Doctor Ling while mocking Doctor Wu. Resident Doctor Wu blushed.

After a decade of studying, ranking highly among those of his grade for each test, and then ranking in the top 5,000 in his province for his college entrance examination before he enrolled into a medical school that was part of Project 985[1, he then studied hard for five years in his postgraduate programme in the same school, and slaved for his mentor for four years before he finally fought his way out and obtained a position in Yun Hua Hospital, the most famous hospital in the province. He left home early, returned at dusk, burned the midnight oil to study, and whenever his hands were finally available, he queued outside the Emergency Department to seize every opportunity…

But now he was actually being looked down on by a few tattooed men who claimed that he did not have enough skill.

Resident Doctor Wu snorted softly, no longer wishing for a chance to perform surgery. He got up and went to the cubicle where Doctor Ling was.

Resident Doctor Wu mumbled in his mind as he walked, 'Suturing is just simply suturing. What am I supposed to do? Stitch their wounds into flowers or something?'

After that, he saw Ling Ran at work.

Plain and simple? This was not the case for Ling Ran at all. Even a layman could tell that he was anything but plain and simple.

For a moment, Resident Doctor Wu had wanted to mock Ling Ran for being 'pompous.'

As he watched the decapitated eagle tattoo on the patient's back return to normal before his eyes, Resident Doctor Wu found himself truly unable to utter the words.

Every single one of Ling Ran's movements, from inserting the needle to making knots, did not just hit the standard; they were all careful and calculated movements. No other doctor would have been able to reattach a decapitated eagle's head like that.

Even so, regular doctors were not particularly concerned about the tattoos of their patients. Doctors were there to treat and save patients, they were not tattoo artists. They would very much rather use their refined medical skills on what was beneath the patient's skin, not on the patient's skin. Of course, most doctors were not masters of suturing.

Most doctors' stamina were also limited. Of course, resident doctors were not included in that category.

As he thought of this, Resident Doctor Wu suddenly had an urge to cry. This urge lasted for at least five seconds.

Then, Resident Doctor Wu gathered up his emotions, suppressed his impulses, thrashed his dignity, and went behind Ling Ran with the shamelessness of a resident doctor. He praised Ling Ran in a pleasant tone, "Doctor Ling, you suture so well. How did you train to become this good?"

This was how pure a resident doctor's spirit of learning was.

Ling Ran—already suturing the tenth patient—was looking forward to the effects of the EXP upon completion of the mission. The answer slipped right out of his tongue when he was suddenly asked this question.

"The Newbie Gift Package gave it to me."

Resident Doctor Wu was startled for a moment. He laughed. "Doctor Ling, you're so funny. We met in the waiting room before this. You came with the interns. I thought that you were an intern, too. Are you working part-time in a medical school?"

"Call me Ling Ran, I'm an intern, and I'm not funny." Ling Ran's tone was a little cold and stiff.

He had to give the wound his full attention. The Master Level in Appositional Suturing Technique did not provide him the ability to dress wounds properly.

Resident Doctor Wu did not have time to care about Ling Ran's tone. The word 'intern' had already completely stunned him to his feet. Resident Doctor Wu blinked a few times and slapped his thigh all of a sudden. "I knew it! I knew it…"

Medical interns were essentially medical students who had not yet graduated and often had to address resident doctors as teachers.

'But! But… this guy sutures so well…'

For some reason, Resident Doctor Wu began to recall a particular summer, and more specifically, a certain semester. He was thirty and had ordered a Giant ATX online with the living expenses he had saved up by being single. It was something which he had had his eye on for a long time. In contrast, a particular year one junior who had just entered university, drove a Mercedes Benz c330—a gift from his father—while delivering Resident Doctor Wu's orders. The junior also had a girlfriend working and studying together with him.

For some reason, Resident Doctor Wu could feel his eyes tear up.

Translator's Note:

[1] Project 985 is a project that aims to promote the development and reputation of the Chinese higher education system by founding world-class universities in the twenty-first century.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 11: New Skill

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"The suturing is done. Keep the wound clean and don't get it wet. Be careful when exercising." Ling Ran finished the sutures on the cut eagle head. After bandaging it, he started reciting the Standard Precautions for Patients.

Unlike the miracle doctors on television who disregarded rules, Ling Ran preferred to act according to the rules.

He liked the feeling of counting the bandages before surgery and counting the bandages after surgery. He liked to measure drugs precisely, down to the milligram. He liked medical imaging, where even a black dot garnered attention…

He liked reciting the Standard Precautions for Patients, even though the same set of rules attached to the wall of the Emergency Department.

The man with the cut eagle head still listened earnestly, more earnestly than when he played mahjong.

Resident Doctor Wu continued tearing up.

This was something he longed for just a short while ago when he treated his own patients.

"Doctor Ling, it's my turn, right?"

After Ling Ran was done with the eagle head man, the unicorn man entered the isolated area with a smile on his face. He said anxiously, "Ya gotta make sure to save the staghorn for me."

Ling Ran nodded and said, "Sit down first and let me take a look."

The unicorn man sat obediently on the small chair with his injured side facing Ling Ran, which caused him to sit face to face with Resident Doctor Wu.

Both the obedient unicorn man and Resident Doctor Wu felt a little awkward.

"Can you draw the curtains?" the unicorn man asked Nurse Wang Jia shyly.

"It's not like this is a gynecological examination." Even though Nurse Wang said that, she still drew the curtains.

During this time, Ling Ran did not say anything. Instead, he was deep in thought as he stared at the unicorn man's wound.

Ling Ran had just received a notification from the system.

[The newbie mission 'Treating Patients' has been completed.]

[Reward: Interrupted Vertical Mattress Suturing Technique (Specialist Level)]

And the SP Bar also appeared in his mind.

[Current Skills:

[Appositional Suturing Technique (Master Level)

[Interrupted Vertical Mattress Suturing Technique (Specialist Level)]

Ling Ran thought, 'The Newbie Gift Package really isn't that bad.'

He still did not know how much the difference between Specialist Level and Master Level was. But if he judged the value of the Newbie Gift Package based on the numbers alone, that would mean that the Newbie Gift Package was worth six missions, since there were six sub-skills included under the appositional suturing technique.

Still, it felt pretty amazing to be able to obtain the interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique after suturing only ten patients.

The appositional suturing technique Ling Ran obtained from the Newbie Gift Package was just as its name implied. It was a suturing technique where two tissue bites were made opposite each other across the incision. It can be used to anastomose blood vessels and treat gashes.

The interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique was a bit more special. It was mainly used to suture incisions on loose skin.

What did incisions on loose skin mean? The incisions on the lower bellies of elderly people were usually on the loose side. If the interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique was used to finish up the surgery, the likelihood for wound inversion or infection can be reduced. The technique itself would also promote healing.

Other than that, the interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique was also used in the Department of Urology because the skin of the scrotum for most people was usually loose. ()

Ling Ran could not help but have his gaze change, too. 'A newly obtained skill. I really want to give it a try.'

The unicorn man's two thighs shuddered slightly from Ling Ran's gaze. He asked softly, "So doc, am I gonna keep my arm or what?"

Ling Ran opened a new suturing pack and examined the surgical instruments. He asked, "What were you saying?"

Ling Ran's tone was quite monotonous, but the unicorn man trembled violently.

He could not help but think, 'Has the doc ever hesitated when treating so many bloody wounds before this? No! He only took a few minutes to suture a wound. But how long was he staring at my wound just now?'

The unicorn man utilized his imagination to the best of his ability and said grievously, "Doc Ling, is my arm going to become crippled?"

There was a relaxed smile on the unicorn man's face, as if he was free of his burdens. He said, "It's in the rules of the underground that large knives are not allowed. That motherf*cker even bought a cleaver to act cool. Does he think that people like us who use fruit knives can't afford good knives? Well, now that I'm handicapped, they have to go to jail, too. Yun Hua will become boring after this—"

"Alright, I'm done suturing your horn." Ling Ran's movements were becoming more and more skilled. In an instant, he managed to align the horn on the tattoo.

There was a slight smile on his face. That feeling of having even more confidence felt really good.

The unicorn man, who was still sad earlier, froze. He reached out a trembling hand and wanted to touch the wound.

"Don't touch the wound, and don't get it wet!" Before Ling Ran could react, the nurse had already blocked the unicorn man's hand. She took the opportunity to say what Ling Ran was supposed to say as well.

"Keep the wound clean and don't let it get wet. Be careful when exercising." Ling Ran repeated the Standard Precaution for Patients. He could not skip it just because the young nurse had said it.

"Next!" Nurse Wang pulled the dividing curtain like a woman running a brothel—diligent and making every second count.

Ling Ran sat quietly inside the isolated area and waited for the arrival of the next tattooed man.

His entire day was spent inserting and taking out needles. When it was time to get off work, Ling Ran's muscles ached a little.

Fortunately, interns did not have to be on shift. Ling Ran just had to notify the superintendent before he went home.

In the hospital's system, medical interns were at the bottom-most layer of the food chain, like algae in a pond, plankton in the sea, and insects in a forest—insignificant yet indispensable.

The hospital and doctors would raise all kinds of demands, but no one cared about how the interns lived or where they rested.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 12: Lower Groove Clinic

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lower Groove was located in the southwestern corner of Yun Hua's main city. It was once a large passage for Yun Hua's import and export of illegal items.

Even though numerous reformations—which were carried out all across the country as it developed—ended the rampant import and export of illegal goods, they were unable to change the fact that the place looked like a village within a city.

The alleys nearby were arranged in a crisscross pattern. Old, dilapidated, small, and low buildings were scattered around. There were also tube-shaped apartments—which was just strange. Apart from that, there were also double-story houses with old courtyards around them, similar to Ling Ran's house.

The old courtyard was left behind by his grandfather. It was renovated and expanded by Ling Jiezhou about a dozen years ago.

That was also the Ling Family's most glorious period. There was a steady stream of people coming in for consultations and buying medication. Even though Ling Ran's mother, Tao Ping, went shopping every day, learned dancing, learned the art of tea, watched movies, and played the piano, there was still money left for them to build a house.

The signboard of the Ling Family's 'Lower Groove Clinic' was also made from an entire slab of Phoebe Zhennan.

But now, to prevent the signboard from getting stolen, Ling Jiezhou had no choice but to hang it in the courtyard. As a result, there was only an old lightbox outside, which shone with a strange red and yellow light.

When he opened the door, he could see seven or eight people, either sitting or lying down, receiving intravenous infusions (IV drips) in the main room. It had already been modified into a transfusion room.

That was the Lower Groove Clinic's main source of income. At this time and age, the pharmaceutical businesses were monopolized by drugstores of various sizes, and pharmacies. Providing emergency treatment as a source of income for this clinic never existed because Ling Jiezhou was not a doctor.

In the words of Ling Jiezhou himself, he was only a businessman who operated a clinic.

Therefore, Lower Groove Clinic had no choice but to regularly employ old retired doctors to sit in the clinic, causing them to earn even less.

"You're back." Ling Jiezhou was sitting and doing office work in the wing-room beside the door. His table was always covered in all sorts of ledgers and medical records. Those who did not know would think that Mister Ling attended to hundreds of important matters every day.

However, Ling Ran knew that his father was just too lazy to clean the table.

"Where's your white robe? Why are you still dressed like a student?" Ling Jiezhou stood up and carefully evaluated his son. He then asked, "Did you get to learn anything in Yun Hua Hospital? Even though big hospitals are good, they also have lots of rules. You have to be careful."

Ling Ran nodded in acknowledgement and asked, "Where's mom?"

"She's making tea upstairs."

"Just in time. I'll go drink some tea." As he spoke, Ling Ran could feel that his mouth was dry. Even though Madam Tao Ping had not done any proper work for more than ten years, her standards for her hobbies were very high.

Ling Jiezhou followed his son upstairs and said as he walked, "It's quite good to rest a bit at home. You have to work hard when you're in the hospital. At least pass the test and get a medical practitioner's qualification certificate. We can hang it in our clinic and I won't have to look for help from other doctors all the time."

"Did Doctor Xiong's price go up again?" Ling Ran knew what Doctor Xiong was trying to do just from hearing it. Or more appropriately, right when he heard his words, he knew what bullsh*t his dad was pulling.

As expected, Ling Jiezhou nodded with a pained expression. "It went up by another 50 RMB. It happens every single month!"

He was referring to the retired doctor whom the clinic had hired.

"It's probably time that we raise his pay anyway. Even the price of the buns they sell in the alley have gone up."

"I just raised his pay by 25 RMB during the New Year." Ling Jiezhou shook his head. "Anyhow, you have to study well and strive to take over the family business one day."

"Does our son have to end up coming back and taking over the family business after doing his internship at Yun Hua Hospital?" Tao Ping was sitting behind a tea table made of wood from an old ship. She was on the balcony at the first floor, leisurely making tea in an elegant posture.

Compared to the noisy ground floor, the first floor was like a paradise. It even smelled better.

When Ling Jiezhou saw Tao Ping, he immediately became obsequious. He laughed and said, "How is that possible? I'm giving him a back-up plan. If he can't find a job in the hospital, it's not a bad idea to come home and run the clinic. Son, don't you agree?"

"I'll drink some tea first." Ling Ran ignored what they said and took his ruyao cup[1] from the antique shelf next to him. He washed it with freshly-boiled water and asked his mother for tea.

Tao Ping slowly raised the transparent glass and poured a cup of tea the color of red wine into the ruyao cup. She said, "This is ripe tea from the year 2002 and can be drunk anytime. Don't listen to your father. Having him work at the clinic is enough. Just work hard in the hospital and develop your medical skills."

Once she said this, Tao Ping's tone was a little downcast.

Ling Ran guessed that she was recalling his grandfather, who died during his prime. He did not say anything else and sat down to enjoy the tea.

Ling Jiezhou tore open a packet of sweet bean cakes subserviently and placed them on a white plate as snacks. He smiled and said, "I agree with my darling. Ling Ran, you have to work hard to develop your medical skills and quickly become the chief physician. The pay's high and you'll have a lot of freedom. By that time, with your name in our family clinic…"

As Ling Jiezhou spoke, he made gestures in the air with his hands.

"I know." What else could Ling Ran say?

Bang!*

There was a crash on the main door downstairs.

"Doctor! Is the doctor here?!" the newcomer shouted loudly, and the people upstairs were immediately unable to sit still.

"Something's happened. I'll go downstairs and take a look." Even though Ling Jiezhou had no medical skills, he was rather devoted when it came to the clinic's business.

Ling Ran immediately put down his teacup and followed his father downstairs.

On the ground floor.

The owner cum chef of the knife-cut noodles[2] restaurant had a towel wrapped around one hand. It was dripping with blood. Next to him was his shop assistant, who was panicking so much that he did not know what to do but shout loudly.

Doctor Xiong was old-aged. He staggered to the courtyard and put on his reading glasses. He first commented, "Boss Yang, how many years have you been slicing noodles? How are you still able to cut your hand?"

"The knife fell from the chopping board. My mind went blank, and I just reached out to grab it," said Boss Yang as he bared his teeth from the pain. "There's quite a lot of blood. Can you take a look to see if you can stop it?"

He had been slicing noodles for more than ten years and had experienced cutting his hand before. He was still considered to be of sound mind and rationality because he was able think about stopping the bleeding before going for treatment at a big hospital. After all, having been neighbors for so many years, he basically knew the quality of Lower Groove Clinic.

Doctor Xiong did not take it to heart even after he knew what the chef was going to do. He said, "You're also quite clumsy. I'll take a look first. Have you called for a ride? No matter how slight the injury is, you can't run out by yourself. That'll only cause more bleeding."

As Ling Ran walked down from the stairs, he could not help but slap his hand over his forehead once he heard the conversation.

'How can the first reaction of my highly-esteemed Lower Groove Clinic be to transfer a patient who accidentally cut himself to the hospital instead of treating him? This is… indeed a very low standard for a clinic.'

He did not need to think much. Ling Ran grabbed a large white robe below the stairs, wore it, went over, and said, "I'll help."

The instant he made the decision, the system's notification appeared too.

[Newbie Mission: A small test of skill]

[Mission Details: Treat Yang Zhongshu's hand and obtain satisfactory results.]

[Reward: Basic Treasure Chest]

Translator's Note:

[1] Ruyao: A rare variety of chinaware from the Song Dynasty.

[2] knife-cut noodles: A popular dish in Shanxi Province.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 13: Suturing a Lacerated Hand

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Ran was already accustomed to having the system issue him various missions out of the blue. After he stopped for a moment, he continued walking to walk as if nothing had happened.

On the other hand, the skinny Doctor Xiong raised his head to glance at Ling Ran, but turned away, yelling, "Juan Zi, come help."

He had retired from the hospital almost ten years ago and had seen far too many green-eared interns. He did not expect Ling Ran to be of much help.

Juan Zi was the Lower Groove Clinic's only nurse. She weighed 194 pounds, and she was so efficient that she could do the work of two nurses alone.

Thumping sounds rang out on the old wooden floor, and everyone knew that this meant Juan Zi was moving quickly. It gave them a strong sense of security.

"What's up?" Juan Zi's voice carried just as much weight and power.

"We're going to rebandage Boss Yang's cut."

As Doctor Xiong spoke, he instructed Boss Yang to sit in the treatment room and dispersed the crowd watching the show.

Ling Ran took the opportunity to follow Doctor Xiong into the treatment room. He had handled over ten cases that involved knife wounds today, and it had given him a lot of confidence.

The treatment rooms of small clinics were usually for injections and the removal of stitches. There was a big hospital nearby, and ordinary people did not mind heading for the Emergency Department to have their wounds sutured. However, when it was time to remove their stitches, hospitals suddenly seem to be far more inhospitable because of the long queues to the sign-up, waiting for their numbers to be called, and the waiting time itself.

Of course, due to the Ministry of Health's demands, small clinics were also equipped with all the instruments to debride, suture, and disinfect wounds.

When Doctor Xiong slowly unwrapped the towel around Boss Yang's hand, Ling Ran unfurled his large suturing kit.

Needle-holder, smooth forceps, toothed forceps, curved scissors, straight scissors, tissue forceps, hemostatic forceps, towel forceps… Ling Ran counted these instruments one by one.

Suturing was the simplest among surgical procedures, but it was also considered a minor surgery. That was why not a single instrument can be missing for the operation.

"Let's take a look at this, I'll clean it up first…" Doctor Xiong washed his hands, took a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and prepared to pour it on Boss Yang's cut.

Clatter.*

Ling Ran turned on the tap and began performing the seven steps of handwashing…

Doctor Xiong snorted and suppressed a cough in his throat. He said, "Young Ran, my boy, we're only going with some simple disinfection to stop the bleeding, that will be enough."

Ling Ran turned around and flashed him a quick smile. He had nothing to say; some things could not be solved with words.

In the meantime, Doctor Xiong could not just ignore the bleeding palm and continued to discourage the young man from washing his hands.

Doctor Xiong turned back to Boss Yang's palm. He said while pouring disinfectant on the cut, "Your wound was inflicted by a knife. The good news: it's easy to clean. The bad news: the wound is rather deep. It's very likely that your tendons are injured. You should head for Yun Hua Hospital and let them take a look—"

"Let me take over." Ling Ran watched as Doctor Xiong finished disinfecting the wound. He put on a pair of gloves and sat on the chair beside Doctor Xiong. He slowly turned Boss Yang's chair around, the latter shocked as he came face to face with Ling Ran.

Doctor Xiong and Juan Zi exchanged looks.

As neighbors, Boss Yang recognized Ling Ran instantly, he also knew that he went to medical school. But as a member of society, he knew better than anyone that there was a huge difference between studying, and applying the skills learned in school into practical use.

Boss Yang grimaced. "It's pretty severe, isn't it, Ling Ran?"

"It's just your palm that's injured. Nothing's severed, from what I can tell. This isn't exactly bad." Ling Ran offered what he thought were words of comfort.

Boss Yang repeated the word "severed" and began to fidget.

Most patients do have some knowledge about medical conditions and ailments. However, most patients in the Emergency Department were there because of accidents, and also because they had no corresponding knowledge regarding their own conditions. They usually relied on the doctors' opinions.

Boss Yang turned to Doctor Xiong for a second opinion. As doctors were part of a medical organization, patients were easily swayed by doctors. The fact that they were not equipped with medical knowledge made everything that doctors said to them sound like direct quotations from the Bible.

According to conventional understanding, Boss Yang should have such a wound treated at a big hospital, but it was rather daunting to have him travel six miles with a still-bleeding wound.

Doctor Xiong appeared even more skeptical than Boss Yang. Even his form of address towards Ling Ran changed. "Ling Ran, it's better if we prioritize reliability and stability over—"

But before he could finish speaking, Ling Ran was already holding a pair of forceps.

Boss Yang let out a scream, "Ouch!"

"Injecting anesthetics after cleaning the wound reduces the likelihood of superinfections. Bear with it a little."

Ling Ran turned and smiled. "Sister Juan Zi, please dilute 2% lidocaine into 1% and give it to me. Also, can you prepare more hydrogen peroxide and iodine?"

The processes for debridement and suturing basically remained the same for all cases. Ling Ran did not complicate things and began to work according to the steps.

When Juan Zi saw that Doctor Xiong did not react, she did as Ling Ran asked. Ling Ran was already getting to work. At this juncture, it was difficult for Doctor Xiong to even object to his actions.

He could even walk away for a minute or two before decisively coming back to stop him. But with Ling Ran's Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique, one minute was long enough for him to perform dozens stitches.

If they were to really talk about it, there was no way that Boss Yang's cut could be considered minor. A severed tendon could potentially affect one's hand function. If it was not sutured well, there was a possibility that in the future, the patient would not be able to exert force when gripping something or when working on something delicate.

If he were to be sent to the Emergency Department of Yun Hua Hospital, the attending physician would most probably send him to the Hand Surgery Department for treatment.

From a doctor's perspective, Boss Yang's injury was actually more severe than the tattooed men's gashes. But for Ling Ran, it was all one and the same.

The Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique he possessed allowed him to be much better than most doctors in Yun Hua Hospital when it came to suturing. A lot better.

Reattaching tendons was a challenge to the doctors in Yun Hua Hospital's Emergency Department, but it was a routine task for those in the Hand Surgery Department. It was even easier for Ling Ran.

Boss Yang had owned a knife-cut noodles restaurant for over a decade. He relied on his skills to earn an income. In other words, he needed a fully functional hand to work.

If he went to the hospital, he might be able to get a more ideal suture, but he might also receive average medical service at best.

Ling Ran was certain that he could reduce the probability of negative consequences to the minimum. He put all his heart into it, working slightly slower than he did in the emergency room, but the results were exceptional.

"I'm done suturing your hand. Let me bandage it for you now. Try not to get it wet, and remember to keep the medication fresh…" Ling Ran recited the Standard Precautions for Patients, as per usual.

Doctor Xiong was gawking at him. 'Is Yun Hua University School of Medicine really this great?'

Even after a medical intern graduated from medical school, worked as a houseman for two years, and then worked as a resident for two more years, he would still never be able to produce such suturing.

Ling Jiezhou was a lot more direct. He rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, "Son, with this standard, you're qualified to practice in our clinic."

Even though he was not a doctor, he was experienced and knowledgeable. More importantly, Doctor Xiong had supervised the entire process. This itself was enough to set his mind at ease.

Ling Ran said, "I still need to complete my internship."

"It'll be good if you can also help us save up on wages, you know." Ling Jiezhou sighed.

Doctor Xiong was not swayed. He said calmly, "My pay remains."

Ling Jiezhou huffed and was just about to go ahead and argue with Doctor Xiong when he heard someone shout loudly behind him.

"Dad, dad, where are you?"

In an instant, a muscular and robust figure ran over.

"It's okay, it's already stitched up." Boss Yang pointed at his hand which was already being bandaged, and he forced a smile.

If Boss Yang was unsettled, then his son was even more anxious. He widened his eyes and asked, "Didn't you call the ambulance? Why was it stitched up here?"

"The clinic stitched it up for me, there's no need to go to the hospital." As a neighbor, Boss Yang was somewhat embarrassed. He said weakly, "Hu'zi, don't panic…"

"How can I not panic? If his hand becomes handicapped, it would be a lifelong issue. Can a small clinic be compared to a big hospital?" Yang Hu glared fiercely at Doctor Xiong and Ling Ran, who were in large white robes. In the end, he fixed his gaze on Doctor Xiong and asked,

"How dare you lay hands on such a serious wound?! My father relies on his hand to earn a living. If my father's hand doesn't return to normal, you'll be paying up for the rest of his life."

Doctor Xiong stroked his chin and stared off into the distance. "Normal functionality, that is a broad idea…"

"The suturing is done." Ling Ran dusted his hands and said, "The surgery went well. You can bring him to the hospital for an examination. Make sure to exercise and rehabilitate the hand after the surgery. There's a great chance of recovering normal functionality."

"Do you mean there's a possibility that he won't recover?" Yang Hu grew even more frustrated.

Ling Ran frowned. Before he could speak, his father stopped him.

Ling Jiezhou knew his son's personality too well. He pulled his son back and immediately said to Yang Hu, "There's indeed a possibility that it won't be able to recover, but the odds are very low, just like the chances of winning the lottery. If that really happens, there's also a way to handle it, isn't there?"

Upon hearing that, Yang Hu felt his displeasure drain from him. He could not just refute them by saying the odds were high. Would that not be equivalent to cursing his own father?

"Hu'zi, Lower Groove Clinic has been in business for decades, and we have treated thousands of neighbors. When have you seen us encounter any problems? If we're not confident about it, we wouldn't handle the patient."

Even though Ling Jiezhou spoke slowly, his words were very compelling.

Yang Hu finally simmered down a little. Indeed, even though Lower Groove Clinic was a small clinic, it was the alley's small clinic. Before he attended university, he had also frequented the clinic every time he had a headache or a fever.

"Your father's injury isn't severe, but it isn't very minor. The ambulance wasn't here when we started, and it still isn't here. We don't know how the traffic condition is, and we don't even know if it's on the way here. Since we can treat it, we decided to do so. We couldn't just let him bleed out like that."

Even though Ling Jiezhou himself had no medical skills, his words were relatable to others. He tapped Yang Hu's shoulder and said, "Don't panic. Since you're worried, why don't you bring your father to the hospital for an examination? After the examination, you can come back to pay the medical expenses if you don't see any issues, okay?"

"What else can I say?" Yang Hu raised his arms up in surrender.

"I'll bring my father for an examination in a big hospital now to see if everything's good. It's alright if there's no problem. If there's a problem…"

He did not continue speaking. He angrily picked up his father and put him on the wheelchair outside the clinic's door before pushing him away.

Juan Zi extended her hand and tried to stop him, but Ling Jiezhou stopped her.

"Don't be anxious. We're a small, neighborhood business. They'll be back." After running the clinic for thirty years, Ling Jiezhou had gone through all sorts of trials and tribulations. He was calm and collected as always.

Ling Ran stared in the direction of the front door and was deep in thought.

'It seems like my mission would only be complete after they're finished with the examination.'

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

The next day…

Ling Ran reported himself to the Emergency Department of Yun Hua Hospital as usual. The management in the hospital required medical interns to do almost the same routine as the doctors, such as reporting to work on time, clocking in, and so on; they had to do everything required of a doctor.

What was different from yesterday was that Student Ling Ran had brought with him lunch, prepared by his mother, on this day.

Tao Ping rarely cooked. She had to devote her limited time into the four arts[1, singing and dancing, tea drinking, collecting cups, making Hanfu[2, photography, embroidery, and so many more activities. Hence, it was naturally impossible for her to manage household affairs day in and day out.

But then again, it must be said that Tao Ping's learning ability was as good as her gorgeous appearance. The food that she cooked sometimes would normally be so tasty that one would wonder what sort of pig food they ate themselves with the same bowl they used just the day before.

And because of that, Tao Ping had handed the lunch box she made to Ling Ran in the form of a reward. A lunch containing roast beef, roast goose, sausage, lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, corn, avocado, pears, dragon fruit, and rice was neatly packed with soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, chili oil, and mustard into a traditional Chinese-style, three-layered lacquerware inlaid with pearls. It was enough to take one's breath away just by how grand it looked.

It was rare that the aroma of food was good enough to match its visual presentation. Madam Tao Ping's seriousness when she decided to do something was far greater than any ordinary person. She was only a little unproductive.

"Ling Ran, come with me." Doctor Zhou waited at the office door. He began waving his hand the moment he saw Ling Ran.

"What's wrong?" Ling Ran quickly entered the room, put down the lacquer box, and donned his white coat.

"The department director wants to see you." Doctor Zhou seemed tense by the look on his face as he spoke, "It has never occured to me that you are actually an intern in the hospital. He wants to review all of yesterday's medical records. Sigh, why didn't you say so…?"

"Yesterday was the first day of my internship." Ling Ran did not know the rules in the hospital.

Doctor Zhou was a good-hearted person, he patted the back of his head and said, "Well, the blame's on me, too. I didn't ask clearly. When I saw your suturing technique, I really thought that you were a doctor from another hospital who came here to undergo training."

Although medical interns and visiting doctors from other hospitals were both here to learn, their standards and status were obviously as different as night and day.

Before Ling Ran could provide any other explanation, Doctor Zhou urged him forward again by saying, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Later, when the department director asks you questions, just don't say that you have no idea about the regulations. Just tell him that I found your skills acceptable, which was why I've allowed you to perform the sutures, understand?"

"Yes," Ling Ran replied very quickly.

Dr. Zhou found himself a little unable to continue the conversation, and he said, "You don't intend to act even the least bit modestly?"

"Modest? In what sense?"

"How could you say that? I'm the one who has to bear the responsibility." Doctor Zhou waved his hand and said, "Never mind. Medical interns are eligible to perform medical practices under the authority of the attending physician. Both of us would have to take responsibility if you performed any surgeries without the supervision and authorization of the attending physician. So you have to say that I have given you the authorization to do it."

His explanations were absolutely clear and left nothing unsaid. Ling Ran nodded and said, "The entire operation was performed under your authorization and supervision."

Doctor Zhou smiled as he said, "That's what I meant. Relax a little. We might become colleagues in the future. You've really developed your suturing skills well. You did not learn that from your school, right? You look like you have a lot of experience."

"I just occasionally help out in my family's clinic." What else could Ling Ran have said, right?

"Your family runs a clinic, I see. What's your clinic's name?"

"Lower Groove Clinic."

Doctor Zhou secretly remembered the name as he wondered quietly to himself. 'Could this be a private clinic run by the Japanese?'

Huo Congjun, the Director of the Emergency Department, was an old doctor with a face full of wrinkles. He asked Ling Ran a few questions and let him go. He only informed Doctor Zhou to provide more supervision for Ling Ran.

After stepping out of the room through the door, Ling Ran and Doctor Zhou let out a sigh of relief together. Then, they looked into each other's faces and smiled.

Once Doctor Zhou was handed the role of being Ling Ran's supervisor, he could not help but say a few more words, "Our department director used to be an army doctor back in the days. He pays a lot of emphasis on efficiency, but you shouldn't let your guard down either."

Ling Ran nodded in response.

Doctor Zhou sighed again. "As the saying goes, 'to be a doctor, you need to rely on talent,' and this talent of yours… is truly remarkable."

It would be a lie if he said that he was not envious of Ling Ran's talent.

He had been a doctor for ten years before he was able to become an attending physician. As far as the hospital's organizational chart was concerned, he had only advanced up the chart slightly, and as far as the skill chart was concerned, it could be said that he was only at the starting line.

However, judging by his current perception towards surgical techniques, he could tell that Ling Ran's suturing skills had truly reached a certain height.

It was not easy for anyone to polish their skills until they reached a certain level, and it was even more difficult with medical skills involving human lives. The slightest improvement in these skills were rare and priceless.

With Ling Ran's current standard in suturing, even if he did not know any other skill, he could still just specialize in performing sutures, and he would not have to worry about feeding himself.

Otherwise, why would the department director, who had always been strict with the rules, let Ling Ran off the hook so easily? And even allowed him, Doctor Zhou, to continue supervising and granting authorization for Ling Ran to perform sutures?

Only doctors would be able to understand how difficult it would be to improve fundamental techniques such as performing sutures.

It would require an extremely rare talent for a young medical student who was only twenty-five years old to be able to develop such high quality suturing skills.

"Since the department director has agreed to this, I'll let you handle all the patients who need sutures." Once Doctor Zhou was done being sentimental, his urge to slack off rose again in him. Ling Ran agreed to it immediately.

As the two of them spoke to each other, they made their way back to the Emergency Department. Ling Ran followed Doctor Zhou into the treatment room straight away, causing the young doctors and the other interns who were waiting outside to feel incredibly envious.

At the same time, Yang Hu also brought his father Yang Zhongshu to Yun Hua Hospital, and he asked to see a specialist from the Hand Surgery Department.

Translator's Note:

1. Four arts: Or the four arts of the Chinese scholar, were the four main academic and artistic accomplishments required of the aristocratic ancient Chinese scholar-gentleman.

2. Hanfu: Refers to the pre-17th century traditional clothing of the Han Chinese

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 15: Examination

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Yun Hua Hospital was one of the most renowned hospitals in Yuan Hua City. Even if you disregarded its overall strength, the strength of its Hand Surgery Department was acknowledged by people both within and outside the industry. Since Yang Hu wanted his father to do a reexamination, Yun Hua Hospital was naturally the first choice.

The hospital's great reputation also resulted in an astonishing number of patients. Apart from Yun Hua City, there were also patients from nearby towns and other places.

Yang Hu had asked his wife to come over and register beforehand. As he pushed his father—who was in a wheelchair—and entered the place, he saw numerous patients with their hands covered. They were either holding their hands, extending their hands for the doctors to inspect, or were getting their hands bandaged.

Yang Hu could not help but feel rather dumbfounded when he stared at the bustling crowd. "Why are there so many people?"

Yang Zhongshu was rather happy. He said, "Did you think that your old man's the only one who hasn't been careful? People use their hands the most, so naturally it gets injured the most. I've made knife-cut noodles for years, and there are still times where I make mistakes."

He got nagged a lot the night before at home, so when he saw the large number of patients in the hospital, he could not help but feel rather encouraged at that moment.

Yang Hu looked at his smiling father and said in resignation, "Dad, you only got injured because you caught the knife with your hand. After that, you even got it stitched up in a small clinic. That's why we're here."

"The stitches were actually done pretty well. Didn't the doctor in the Emergency Department say there was no problem yesterday?" Yang Zhongshu inevitably felt a little guilty.

"The doctor in the Emergency Department didn't think that it was serious and didn't take a proper look." Yang Hu let out a few dissatisfied snorts and said, "You get to be the chef and owner of your own small restaurant, and you get to happily make knife-cut noodles there, but do you think that a big restaurant would want you if you wanted to become the head chef there? Can a small clinic be compared to a big hospital? The doctors in our Lower Groove Clinic can't even hold a candle to the ones in Yun Hua Hospital."

"Enough, enough. Is the fact that I have a small restaurant shameful to you? Haven't I raised you and made sure that you didn't fall ill or get infected by any diseases? Otherwise, you'd also be a regular customer in the Lower Groove Clinic." Since he became a restaurant owner, Yang Zhongshu had never lost an argument.

Unable to win against his father in the argument, Yang Hu quickly lowered his head and pushed the wheelchair from Lower Groove Clinic forward.

When it was Yang Zhongshu's turn, Wang Haiyang the chief physician was already rather tired. He turned, yawned, and drank a mouthful of strong tea before he opened Yang Zhongshu's medical record. He recited it, "Non-stop bleeding in the right hand due to a laceration, reexamination after suturing… Hmm, let me take a look."

He first checked the color and temperature of the skin, then touched it a few times with his hand. Shortly afterwards, he asked, "Do you feel discomfort anywhere?"

"No." Yang Zhongshu shook his head.

Yang Hu immediately added, "About that, my father went to get his cut sutured in a small clinic because he panicked. So, I'm quite worried…"

"With such a serious injury, you went to get your injury sutured at a small clinic?" Wang Haiyang immediately focused his eyes and said with a frown, "You have to be responsible for your own body."

"I know, right?" Yang Hu immediately grumbled.

Yang Zhongshu flashed another guilty smile.

Truthfully, if Doctor Xiong had been the one to do the suturing, Yang Hu would have still felt rather confident. After all, Doctor Xiong retired from a big hospital. Even though he was old, his skills would still not be too shabby.

However, since Ling Ran was the one who performed the suturing, he could not say if his father's wound had been stitched well.

Yang Zhongshu asked softly, "Is my injury considered serious?"

He did not tell Wang Haiyang about what the doctor from the Emergency Department said the day before, in case this doctor's diagnosis would be affected by the previous doctor.

Wang Haiyang said, "With such a deep cut, the tendons are probably torn, and your nerves are definitely injured as well. You basically can't fully recover from this. The most important part is whether the anastomosis of the blood vessels was done well. If there isn't enough blood supply, there will be necrosis in the distal ends—the fingers. If necrosis happens, there will be no choice but to amputate the body part."

As he spoke, Wang Haiyang furrowed his eyebrows. He said, "How could you treat such a serious wound in a small clinic? With your injury, if you had been sent to the Emergency Department of Yun Hua Hospital, you would've been transferred for treatment and hospitalization in the Hand Surgery Department."

Yang Zhongshu and Yang Hu's expression changed at the same time.

"Doctor, I work in a knife-cut noodles restaurant. I'll lose my source of income if my hand stops working…" Yang Zhongshu was also starting to feel regret.

Yang Hu asked, "Is there any way to save it?"

Wang Haiyang sighed and said, "Give me your hand, I'll do a Peripheral Skin Bleeding Test."

"Okay." Yang Zhongshu endured the pain in his hand and extended his arm.

Wang Haiyang ordered the postgraduate student next to him to make preparations and explained, "The Peripheral Skin Bleeding Test is to test the peripheral blood supply. Blood supply includes the transport and circulation of blood. This is an important indicator of how well the recovery is going. There will be a little damage during the Peripheral Skin Bleeding Test. I didn't do it for you earlier because I didn't expect you to be… well, so 'courageous'."

"That doctor just started stitching right away," Yang Zhongshu was so terrified that even his tone had changed.

Yang Hu impatiently said, "You let him stitch it just because he wanted to. Don't you know how to say no?"

Yang Zhongshu gulped and said nothing.

"Let's do the test first." Wang Haiyang did not dwell on the subject. He gestured to the postgraduate student to begin.

From his point of view, it would be very difficult for them to get any good result from this test.

The suturing of palms was a very delicate procedure. Even for the surgeons in Yun Hua's Hand Surgery Department, they would often need to rely on luck to be able to get good results during a surgery. It was basically impossible for the other party to recover full hand function.

Now, the only thing up in the air was whether there was necrosis in the distal ends.

In truth, Wang Haiyang did not even regard this particular prospect favorably.

Yun Hua's Hand Surgery Department performed many surgeries every day, and failures were bound to happen. How good can a small clinic be?

It would already be good enough if the suturing did not result in any dead space or body cavities. He had also seen wounds treated by small clinics that were not even debrided properly.

The postgraduate student drew the curtain in the corner and came out to report. "Chief physician, there's punctiform blood coming out."

"Is this a good or bad thing?" Yang Zhongshu and Yang Hu had anxious expressions.

"Let me take a look." Wang Haiyang did not make an immediate conclusion. He looked at it a few times before he said, "Luck is on your side."

Yang Zhongshu and Yang Hu breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems that your blood supply is of a passable level." Wang Haiyang turned Yang Zhongshu's palm around and looked at it a few more times. He contemplated the case while he casually explained, "Ordinarily, if there isn't any blood, or if the blood is purple, it means that there's a problem with the blood supply. There isn't much difference in the way you're bleeding compared to normal people. There's profuse bleeding in your case. It may be because your wound is in a considerably good position…"

Yang Zhongshu shook his head as he spoke, "You mentioned that there was profuse bleeding?"

"You bled nonstop," Wang Haiyang explained in semi-professional terms. "So, the anastomosis was done quite well. I'll take a look at the condition of your nerves." Wang Haiyang then did a percussion test and realized that the growth of nerves was not bad as well.

Wang Haiyang was now interested all of a sudden. He asked, "Can you move your hand on your own now?"

"It's quite hard," Yang Zhongshu said.

"You just had your surgery yesterday, of course it'll be quite hard to move your hand today, but you have to move it. This is called rehabilitation, and it's quite important, too." Wang Haiyang paused for a moment and placed his hand on the table. He said, "Follow my movements. First, we'll try bending and stretching."

Yang Zhongshu bent and stretched his fingers.

"Abduct and adduct your thumb," Wang Haiyang said as he demonstrated.

Yang Zhongshu followed Wang Haiyang's movements and moved his fingers. Even though his range of movement was rather small and slow, he managed to do it.

"Now, do this with your palm."

Yang Zhongshu did as he was told.

"Then, do a Pinch Grip Test."

Yang Zhongshu managed to do that, too.

Chief Physician Wang Haiyang was quiet for a long time.

"Doctor? What do we do now?" Yang Zhongshu and Yang Hu were both being very cautious.

Wang Haiyang drank a large gulp of tea and asked slowly, "You had the surgery yesterday?"

"Yes, I got it sutured in a small clinic yesterday."

"You went to a private clinic, didn't you?" Wang Haiyang tried to correct their views on small and large-scale clinics.

There were also doctors in Yun Hua Hospital's Hand Surgery Department who could enable patients to recover hand functionality after surgery the day before. However, most of them could not do that.

The fact that Yang Zhongshu had managed to recover hand functionality was even more unbelievable when the facilities of both the clinic and Yun Hua Hospital were taken into consideration.

To put it in another way, it was impossible that any of the resident doctors in Yun Hua Hospital's Hand Surgery Department could suture so well. Even among the attending physicians, only the few outstanding ones could occasionally achieve such an outstanding result.

As for the associate chief physicians and chief physicians, if one were to disregard those who were promoted because they were well-versed in theories, those who rose to power through less than proper means, or even those known for their surgical skills, there was only a twenty or thirty percent chance that such a result could be achieved.

In contrast, the odds of there being experts who worked in high-end private clinics instead of government-assigned clinics were higher.

Yang Zhongshu knew what he meant and dazedly shook his head. "It's private alright, but it's just a clinic in the neighborhood. It's been around for about twenty to thirty years.

Yang Hu said, "It's a small community clinic. People usually go there for injections and stuff."

This time, Wang Haiyang did not even know what to say. He could only lower his head. He wrote a few bills and said, "From what I've seen, there's no problem. You can go for a few more examinations."

Yang Hu obediently took the bills. After hesitating for a while, he asked, "Are you saying that there's no problem with the stitches?"

"Looking at it now, there's no problem. Hmm, I'll give you more medicine. Come back for a reexamination in a few days. You have to work hard when it comes to rehabilitation; exercise your hand." As Wang Haiyang spoke, he wrote two more bills.

After walking out of the door, Yang Hu almost tossed the bills away when he saw the amount. "This hospital is a black hole for money!"

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 16: The Motorcycle Lady

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Yang Hu was a little hesitant as he stood in front of the door to Lower Groove Clinic.

The front door of the clinic was mottled and old, giving off a sense that it had been around for some time. It went very well with the style of the entire alley and was also similar to the style style of the Yang Family's knife-cut noodles restaurant. However, even though he rarely went to his father's knife-cut noodles shop when he was younger, Yang Hu knew how fast news traveled in neighborhoods like this.

Should he apologize in a well-behaved manner, or should he hide like a coward?

Yang Hu may have been pushing the wheelchair, but he was also going around in circles, showing how indecisive he was. Yang Zhongshu had no choice but to remind him, "Son, I feel a little dizzy."

Yang Hu immediately stopped and scratched his head in embarrassment. His hairline had receded a little. It felt smooth and pleasant to the touch, but unsightly to the eyes.

Yang Hu's thoughts inevitably wandered. 'One disadvantage of being a white-collar worker is that it's very taxing on the hair quality. I don't know what the doctors in the hospital are doing, too. After I went through the trouble of registering for a consultation, they dismiss me only after a few sentences, leaving me with no choice but to go to the small clinics. And the small clinics only want to earn money, they don't have any quality…

'Or more accurately, apart from this small clinic, other small clinics, especially those that claim to cure hair loss, don't really have standards…'

Yang Hu raised his head and looked at Lower Groove Clinic's signboard again. He knew that by coming here, he had actually made his decision.

Yang Hu lowered his head and mocked himself internally, 'I've worked for so many years and have been insulted by clients countless times. Are there still things that I'm ashamed of?'

He then changed his mind. 'Come to think of it, between doctors and patients, patients are the clients. Why am I, the patient, coming to this clinic to apologize?'

Nevertheless, even though Yang Hu had a myriad of thoughts running through his mind, he still extended his hand and knocked on the mottled front door several times.

He still had to apologize, and return the wheelchair he had petulantly pushed away that day. There was also the medical fee that he had yet to pay. Otherwise, the better his father was at making his knife-cut noodles, the more Yang Hu's name would be sullied in the neighborhood.

More importantly, they would also have to visit the clinic and ask them for help when it came to the rehabilitation and follow-up examinations.

"Ling Ran's in Lower Groove Clinic, right?" a crisp voice asked from behind the father-son duo. It was accompanied by the sound of a motorcycle exhaust pipe that was emitting smoke.

Yang Hu and his father turned in unison to see a black Honda motorcycle parked a few feet away. A young woman with long hair and long fair legs sat up straight before she lifted her chin slightly.

"Yes."

"Why are you looking for Ling Ran?"

The father-son duo answered at the same time. Yang Zhongshu was more cautious and he responded with a question, but his son had answered too hastily.

The motorcycle lady smiled and hopped off her bike by swinging one leg over it. She went forward obstinately and gave the clinic's front door a few loud knocks.

Yang Hu could not help but feel rather regretful. The young woman before his eyes was youthful and pretty, but he had acted in a cowardly manner.

Thud, thud, thud.*

While the young woman was beautiful, she behaved in a pretty uncouth manner. She spread her slim fingers and struck the door as if she wanted to smash it. Loud sounds rang out from her banging.

Thud, thud, thud.*

Based on the rate at which she was pounding on the door, they could tell just how impatient she was.

"Coming, coming." Ling Jiezhou finally heard the knocking from inside the clinic. He called out as he put on his clothes, "There's no doctor in the clinic right now. If you need emergency treatment, you have to go to the hospital."

After a moment, the door was opened. Ling Jiezhou stared at the female motorcyclist who bared a large portion of her fair legs. He was shocked and asked, "Are you sick?"

"You're the one who's sick." The female motorcyclist's voice was a little hoarse, but it had its own charm. Her eyebrows—drawn with an eyebrow pencil—were as sharp as knives. "Is Ling Ran here?"

"About that…" Ling Jiezhou could not help but feel a little worried.

"I'm here to give him a fish." The motorcyclist seemed aware of his concerns. There was a ghost of a smile on her face as she untied a plastic box from the motorcycle's backseat. Then, she threw the box on the ground. The box was very heavy and appeared to have a good texture. It was obviously of good quality.

It was not just Ling Jiezhou, Yang Zhongshu and Yang Hu also stared at the female motorcyclist in bewilderment.

The young woman pointed at the box with her chin and said, "Take a look."

Ling Jiezhou wracked his brain as he tried to recall what the gifting of fish signified colloquially. After a long time had passed, Ling Jiezhou lifted the cover of the heavy box under the curious eyes of the Yang father and son.

A salmon with protruding eyes lay quietly on the ice cubes, its scales looked like they were sparkling.

"A large Norwegian salmon, just arrived today. That's eighteen pounds of fresh fish. It tastes good no matter how you cook it." The young woman paused for a moment before saying, "It's my elder brother's gift to Ling Ran. Now, can you ask him to come out?"

"Who's your elder brother?" Ling Jiezhou was confused. In his many years of running the clinic, this was the first time he saw someone give a salmon as a gift.

But it was obviously not the young woman's first time doing this. She jabbed the salmon with her hand and said, "My family runs a fish shop. Ling Ran stitched up my elder brother's gash, and even managed to keep his tattoo. My brother asked me to give him a fish as thanks."

Ling Jiezhou finally understood. He straightened his body pridefully and yelled in the direction of the courtyard, "Son, a patient is here to give you a gift!"

Ling Jiezhou had always known about the custom of patients giving things like gift baskets and red packets to doctors. However, even after operating the clinic for decades, the gifts he had received could still be counted on one hand.

The fact that his son was already starting to receive gifts after only being a doctor for a few days, or rather, after only being a medical intern in the hospital for a few days, made Ling Jiezhou extremely proud. How he wished for all his neighbors to know about it.

"Ling Ran, a patient is here with a gift. It's in a really large box. Come here quickly and carry it." Ling Jiezhou straightened his body even more, and he desperately sucked in his protruding beer belly.

When Ling Jiezhou was young, he was also very good-looking, but life in the clinic had been too leisured. He put on weight every day, and in the end, became a plump middle-aged man.

Nevertheless, his voice was still loud and clear.

In the past, the love songs he sang were loud enough to travel through the entire region. Now, his voice was still loud enough to reverberate throughout Lower Groove.

Bang… Bang, bang.*

The sound of windows being opened came from both sides of the alley.

Most of the houses in Lower Groove were built around twenty to thirty years ago. Families who did not renovate their houses or change their window lattices were still using windows with frames divided into four squares by wooden bars. Those windows could be opened by pushing their frames outwards like a door. The windows would produce a creaking sound when they were either being opened or closed.

Ling Jiezhou was rather pleased with himself. He maintained his posture of sticking out his chest and sucking in his belly while his eyes were trained on the courtyard.

"Ling Ran! A patient is here with a gift for you!" When Ling Jiezhou did not hear any more sounds of windows opening, he yelled again.

Bang, bang.*

More people opened their windows to have a look at their clinic.

Ling Ran put on a T-shirt and went downstairs. He felt rather tired at that moment because he had only slept after he studied late into the night.

Throughout their lives, doctors were always learning, and many people found this lifestyle extremely torturous. Ling Ran did not mind, though. He liked the beauty of precision in surgical medicine, like how the doctors would cut the exact length they said they would without any deviation.

Nevertheless, Ling Ran was not in a good mood once he was forced to wake up after only a few hours of sleep. However, as the female motorcyclist stared at Ling Ran, her mood became so good that she was almost drooling over him.

She had seen quite a lot of handsome men. After all, nowadays there were even some men who put on foundation and makeup. But she had never seen such an elegantly handsome man with perfect facial features.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Lu Jinling, and I'm here to thank you on my elder brother's behalf." The female motorcyclist adjusted her demeanor, instantly looking less fierce.

Ling Ran rubbed his face and asked a little stiffly, "Who's your elder brother?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. My elder brother's name is Lu Haishan. Everyone in the market calls him the Deer King." When she saw that Ling Ran still did not understand who she was talking about, Lu Jinling pointed at the top of her fair arm and said, "He has a deer tattoo here. You stitched it up for him a few days ago…"

"The unicorn?" What Ling Ran uttered was his first impression.

Lu Jinling's expression changed. "My brother hates it the most when other people call him a unicorn."

It was as if the alley had suddenly become cold and quiet. The wind blew past the aged asphalt ground and stirred up a few pieces of fallen leaves.

When Lu Jinling saw that Ling Ran's expression did not change, the butterflies in her stomach grew even more violent. Her voice became gentler and gentler. "Forget about it. My brother isn't here anyway. Don't call him that again the next time you see him, or you might suffer."

Ling Ran declined to comment. Even though he had studied the unicorn guy's tattoo for a long time when he sutured the gash, he did not sense any anger or dissatisfaction from the other party.

"By the way, this is a gift from my brother." Lu Jinling took the initiative to open the large box on the ground and revealed the beautiful large fish again. The cold ice cubes made it seem as if there was fog inside the box.

Lu Jinling had originally planned to leave after she had delivered the fish, but at this moment, she was rather reluctant to move. She could not refrain from saying, "Do you usually eat salmon? Let me prepare it for you."

Once she said that, before the Ling father and son could respond, she pointed at Yang Hu and said, "Come and carry the box for me."

Yang Hu was already dumbfounded by the sight in front of his eyes. He wanted to say no, but Lu Jinling had already strode into the Ling Family's courtyard with her long fair legs.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 17: The Magic Hand That Restores Health

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lu Jinling held a sharp knife, explaining as she moved quickly to cut up the salmon, "An eighteen pound salmon is already considered quite large for a domestically produced fish. The salmon I have with me today just arrived this morning. Take a look at the eye, it's still clear and transparent."

Since they did not work in this field, Ling Ran and the others could not say anything regarding her technique when she cut fish, but her posture still seemed pretty graceful and professional to them.

Everyone only shifted their gazes a little when red slices of salmon were placed on white porcelain plates.

"Give it a try?" Lu Jinling placed three slices of salmon on a plate and took the initiative to pass it to Ling Ran. With so little food on a large plate, it look like French or Japanese cuisine. It gave off a very luxurious vibe.

Ling Ran was a straightforward person who did not disguise his thoughts or needs with frivolous mannerisms. He picked up the pair of chopsticks, took a slice of the salmon, and stuffed it straight into his mouth without dipping it into any of the sauces.

The somewhat cold salmon first felt a little sweet, then surprisingly smooth in his throat.

Foreigners seemed to place a lot of importance on the smoothness of raw food which they liked very much, and this was the case especially for salmon and oysters. They placed so much importance on it that they behaved like the Chinese with their emphasis for food that 'melted on the tongue'.

"Is it nice?" Lu Jinling was all smiles. If her flashy eyeshadow was overlooked, she could be said to look like 'the girl next door'.

If Ling Ran said he was taste-testing, then he literally meant he was taste-testing. He had already closed his eyes in satisfaction. He said, "It's fresher than the one we buy ourselves, and a little sweet."

His mother, Tao Ping had always been a trendy, middle-class woman. She had even prepared sushi and sashimi herself before. Ling Ran was neither repulsed by it nor passionate about it. The level of his liking for salmon was around his level of his liking for braised mutton, slightly less than his liking for braised beef, and slightly more than his liking for braised fish. It was at a level where he was willing to eat it when he saw it, but would not miss it when he did not get to have it.

Meanwhile, Lu Jinling said with pride, "All the salmon in Yun Hua is monopolized by our family. If you go and buy it yourself, you will find that the imported fish in the market wouldn't be as fresh as ours, and the domestic ones would be the leftovers from after we selected ours."

As Lu Jinling spoke, she continued maneuvering the chef's knife, which was the length of half an arm. She then put three more slices of salmon on a plate and gave it to Tao Ping. "You try it, too."

"Thank you very much." Tao Ping glanced at Ling Ran with a smile and helped herself to a slice.

"Is the taste good?" Lu Jinling asked again.

"It's quite nice." Tao Ping nodded slightly.

"Then, why don't you make me your daughter-in-law?" Lu Jinling's expression was unperturbed while she held the chef's knife.

Tao Ping almost spat out the salmon in her mouth while Ling Ran lifted his gaze.

He had heard that people of the underground were daring in their expressions of hatred and love. But he did not expect an actual woman of the underground to be so 'frank'.

'This sort of person might not be able to pass the "Davos Assessment of Cognitive Biases Scale".' Ling Ran, who scored 0.55 points lower than the upper limit, did not regard Lu Jinling favorably.

"Just kidding." Before everyone recovered, Lu Jinling took back her words and said with a smile, "I'm not ready to get married yet."

Right then, Ling Jiezhou felt a lot of regret as he stared at the chef's knife in Lu Jinling's hand. 'Why did I let her into the kitchen?'

He gave his belly a few slaps and immediately changed the topic. He said to Yang Zhongshu, who sat on the wheelchair beside him. "Old Yang, is your hand alright now?"

Yang Zhongshu was a little embarrassed as he spoke, "Yes, yes, yes. My hand is alright now. I went to Yun Hua hospital for an examination. The doctor there said that it was thanks to Ling Ran's good suturing skills that my hand can recover so well."

Yang Zhongshu pulled Yang Hu over and said, "My son made a big scene that day, and we came here today with the intention to apologize.

Upon hearing that, Lu Jinling's eyelids twitched. She asked Ling Ran, "Did they offend you?"

"Not really." Ling Ran was a rather calm person, and he was not mentally ill either. Why would he cut other people up just because their attitudes were not nice? Besides that, as a surgeon, he had to consider basic anatomy before cutting people up. If a surgeon wanted to hurt someone, then the basic moral fortitude he should have was to make it painful for his targets without hurting them.

Lu Jinling picked up a piece of salmon skin with the tip of her knife, ate it, and said, "Tell me if somebody offends you. My brother and I have our own methods to deal with people who annoy us in Yun Hua. We are especially good at fighting against vile people."

"Okay." Ling Ran declined politely.

"We won't charge you. My elder brother said that you must be of a certain standard to be able to stitch up his tattoo, and that not many people in Yun Hua are as skilled as you are." Lu Jinling gave a thumbs-up. At the same time, she straightened her body, like a grid girl about to send off the race cars. Her small breasts protruded, causing others to feel their hearts to race when they saw them.

Ling Ran was suddenly a little dazzled, not because of her voluptuous body, but because of her thumb pointing upwards.

It was a very beautiful thumb, with a natural curve on the distal phalanx. The angle from the base to the tip was reminiscent of a softly pressed string on a Chinese zither—gentle and beautiful, but bearing great and tenacious strength…

Her skin was smooth with a slight shade of pink. Ling Ran then looked at her right hand. At this moment, she held the sharp knife that was used to slice the salmon. It did not look bad either.

"Aren't both of you apologizing? We're waiting…" Lu Jinling slammed the sharp knife on the chopping board with a loud thud, as if she was collecting debts from Yang Hu and Yang Zhongshu.

There was a bitter taste in Yang Hu's mouth. People these days were not used to apologizing. Even the thought of uttering a simple apology made him hesitate outside the door and sway the wheelchair. Naturally, he found it difficult and embarrassing to make a serious apology.

"Hu'zi, take out the silk banner we made." After being the owner of a small restaurant for so many years, Yang Zhongshu was not too concerned about preserving his dignity anymore.

It was as if Yang Hu was suddenly roused. He immediately took out the silk banner from his bag.

Four feet long and two feet wide, the silk banner was considered to be of good dimensions. It was bright red with a silk-like tassel, and would look good when hung.

Ling Jiezhou hung it on the wall with a smile, and even deliberately smoothed the tassel below it. He said to Ling Ran, "From now on, this wall in our main house belongs to you."

His expression and tone were exactly the same as when he hung Ling Ran's medal from kindergarten on the wall.

"The magic hand that restores health? Can't you guys think of anything new?" Lu Jinling felt rather bored since she was not met with the objection and challenge she had anticipated.

"The magic hand that restores health is a good phrase. It's just right to put it in the middle of the wall so that the general praise can be seen first. In the future, there can be more detailed praises. Next time, we'll show this to whoever thinks that Ling Ran is still young and inexperienced," Ling Jiezhou replied smoothly so that Boss Yang would not feel awkward. They were, after all, from the same neighborhood.

Yang Hu recovered and flashed an insipid smile. He then took out the red packet he had prepared and passed it to Ling Ran with his waist bent and head lowered. "We didn't even pay the medical bill last time. I'm really sorry."

Ling Jiezhou took the red packet and said, "It's okay. I'll write you a receipt."

"There's no need—"

"It's still needed." Without giving them a chance to explain, Ling Jiezhou went to tally the bill. When he returned with the bill, Yang Zhongshu could not sit still anymore and wanted to return the wheelchair.

Tao Ping stopped him from getting up and said with a smile, "You shouldn't be walking right now, so just stay seated first. Gifting a silk banner is a good thing, and we should be happy and celebratory. No more words of apology."

Ling Jiezhou looked at Tao Ping in mild disbelief. From what he remembered, his wife did not have such an affable personality.

"Old Ling, go to old man Zhou's house and get two strings of firecrackers. The hanging of a silk banner wouldn't be meaningful without some noise." The moment Tao Ping said that, Ling Jiezhou understood.

As expected, Tao Ping would not let the Yang family come and leave quietly.

Ling Jiezhou bought two strings of M-5000 firecrackers, the highest standard in the small supermarket. On regular days, they were only used for worshipping ancestors and at wedding banquets.

The loud sound of explosion startled the neighbors in the entire alley. The ones who were free naturally came downstairs to make their inquiries.

Then, Ling Jiezhou laughed out loud and yelled,

"Today, Boss Yang is here to hang a silk banner for our Ling Ran. Such joy!

"Our Ling Ran stitched up the cut on Boss Yang's hand.

"Boss Yang even came here with his son to apologize. We're all neighbors, and there's no need for apologies. So, we just lit up a few strings of firecrackers, and everyone is happy."

No matter what, Yang Zhongshu could not stay there any longer. He went back to the knife-cut noodles restaurant earlier, and even left the wheelchair in the clinic.

The moment the two stepped out of the clinic's front door, a small white box quietly appeared in front of Ling Ran.

"The newbie mission, 'A Small Test of Skill' has been completed. Yang Zhongshu's hand has been treated and the result is satisfactory. You are rewarded with a Basic Treasure Chest." The system's voice echoed in Ling Ran's mind.

The small white box was right on top of the chopping board, but no one else except Ling Ran saw it. Ling Ran thought of something, and he ran his hand over the small white box.

The moment Ling Ran touched the treasure chest, he saw the chest unlock by itself. The cover opened, and amid brilliant light, something that looked like a test tube slowly floated up with a halo around it.

[Energy Serum: Recovers your energy.]

In the blink of an eye, the serum and the treasure chest disappeared without a trace. Ling Ran could only feel that something heavy had suddenly appeared in the pocket of his trousers.

'A real item actually appeared?' Ling Ran lowered his head, a little shocked.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

It was Monday.

The Emergency Department in the morning gave off a sense of order.

There were no fights or accidents happening around this area, so there were no busy ambulances coming to the hospital.

Ling Ran did not receive a new mission after he made four stitches on a motorcyclist who injured his head. Hence, he asked Nurse Wang Jia to help him familiarize and differentiate the facilities and machinery in the department one by one.

At that moment, the usually irritable Nurse Wang Jia was very gentle while she taught him, and she almost nearly guided him step-by-step while holding his hand.

It was fortunate that the other interns did not witness the moment, or else they would have been flying up in the air with jealousy.

The facilities and machines in the hospital were complex and expensive. It was impossible for an average intern to even operate them, let alone differentiate them. If they wanted to differentiate them, then they would need to depend on whether the teacher that day was in a good mood, whether he or she was feeling generous, and whether that teacher was free.

How hard was it to achieve such conditions? Most of the junior doctors could only get their hands on the normal facilities in their second year when they began their standardized training. As for the advanced facilities, some might not even get to use them in their lifetime.

After one round of explanation, Nurse Wang Jia was parched and Ling Ran's understanding of the Emergency Department had grown.

"Have a drink." Ling Ran bought a bottle of cola from the vending machine and gave it to Wang Jia as a token of appreciation.

But Nurse Wang Jia humbly declined, saying, "You can have it…"

Ling Ran was stunned for a moment and said, "I usually drink water. I can tell that all of you really like buying drinks, though."

"You know I like drinking cola?" Wang Jia held the cold bottle of cola in her hands, she could not bring herself to drink it.

Ling Ran laughed and went on talking with her for a while before he returned to the waiting room.

All the small belongings that the interns brought with them were allowed to be placed in the waiting room. At first glance upon entry, other than cups and food containers, the next largest number of things that could be seen strewn all over the place were power cables and textbooks.

There were some interns playing with their phones, and some were studying. Everyone was preoccupied with their own activity. They would only lift up their heads in alertness like a troop of mongooses in white robes when the doors opened.

Ling Ran smiled at the crowd and went to a corner to open his bag. There was a vial of green liquid the length of a thumb tucked within a foam package.

Upon careful inspection, it looked like an extremely small bottle of drink. It was only 1.7 ounces, and it glowed a faint green color. There was no change in the liquid whether he shook it or placed it under the light.

Even the shell of the container was hard. Ling Ran tried striking it before, and it felt like metal.

Ling Ran did not touch the Energy Serum, he did not know whether it was a common or rare item. There was a need for him to observe more before he could tell.

He took out a notebook and he jotted down all the important points he had heard just now. He was very particular with this sort of thing.

To prepare beforehand was his success formula in doing everything. For this reason, Ling Ran first performed a mental health check on himself the first day he received the system.

After Ling Ran obtained Master Level in Suturing, he still did not let himself slacken from his attempts to understand hospital matters.

Modern medicine was built upon the foundations of modern medical science and medical studies which used equipment and medicine. No matter how skilled he was, without suitable equipment, he would still be like a rootless duckweed. It was just like suturing. Without the suture needles of modern technology and without the complete procedure of sterilisation, it would still be a dangerous skill to use.

It was vital for Ling Ran to understand the conditions of the equipment in the hospital and the nature of the medicine.

Ling Ran stretched his back after he jotted his memories in the notebook and put it away.

"Ling Ran, is the Emergency Department busy?" an intern shouted at him when he saw that Ling Ran was about to walk out.

Ling Ran stood frozen, thought for a while, and said, "It's quite free."

"Hey, 'free' is not a word to be used that casually."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"The hospital is a very strange place. When one says that it's 'free', then it'll be busy later."

A few residents immediately stood up to remind Ling Ran of this fact, and they eagerly preached their superstitious beliefs of the hospital to him.

Ling Ran went stunned for a moment, then said, "But it should be a good thing for us when there are more patients in the room, right?"

When that was said, all the residents and interns in the office were stunned.

"Ah, it is quite free today."

"It's god-damned free."

"I guess I'll be free till I clock out from work today."

A group of doctors and doctors-to-be latched themselves completely on to this new perspective for this particular superstition.

A mission popped up in Ling Ran's mind immediately after that:

[Newbie Mission: Treat Patients]

[Mission Details: Complete as many treatments as possible within one day.]

[Reward: One Basic Treasure Chest for every ten treatments.]

[Progress: 1/10]

Ling Ran pursed his lips discreetly. He was still to treat patients, but this time, the difference in rewards was incredibly great. However, if he just focused on the number of patients he was to treat, ten could still be easily done.

Ling Ran was full of enthusiasm, since he was feeling curious about the contents inside the Basic Treasure Chest. However, he was too lazy to be chanting repeatedly like the others. He just intended to cast the Great Art of Superstition once.

He was seen merely lifting his head up and heaving his chest. He stood with his body turned facing south, but his face turned to the direction in which the sun rose, and he gently whispered, "Boring—"

Bang!*

The Senior Nurse Liu Fei rushed in through the doors and shouted, "Residents, please come with me."

She stopped for a moment and saw the outstanding Ling Ran, so she said, "Ling Ran as well."

Immediately after that, Nurse Liu turned around and walked speedily away.

A few residents glanced at each other, their faces grew excited.

'This is a big task!'

Ling Ran also followed the group with swift strides to catch up to them. After half a minute, everyone was lined up at the side doors to the Emergency Department.

"There was an explosion at the suburban factory. Tentatively, the explosion might have been caused by the boiler. There are many casualties already on the way as we speak." The Director of the Emergency Department, Huo Congjun, calmed the agitated crowd with his slow and steady voice.

To an industrial city like Yun Hua, situations where injuries caused by industrial accidents were common. The Emergency Department already had an operational plan for situations like these, and everyone including the residents were exposed to it.

Ling Ran was the only one who was completely new to this. He stood among the crowd like a giraffe taking its first drink. It was not afraid of the carnivorous animals' attacks, but it also did not know how to spread its legs to take a drink.

Doctor Zhou, the average-looking man who grew kinder as he aged and became uglier, noticed this. He went to Ling Ran directly and smiled briefly, saying, "Ling Ran, you can come with me later and act as I instruct you."

Ling Ran immediately nodded his head.

Now, Doctor Zhou was totally confident in allowing Ling Ran to perform a suturing or something else basic. But patients usually suffered from all sorts of strange problems. Without the relative amount of experience, Ling Ran could easily mess up.

There were some jobs where if you messed up a little, it would not be that bad. But if a doctor messed up when treating a patient, the consequences would be too terrifying.

It was like Lego; it was okay to arrange them in the wrong way, but it would be hard to remedy if you were building a something off a plan.

Every patient was a limited edition.

Ling Ran stood behind Doctor Zhou, discreetly adjusted his breath, and waited for the busy moment to arrive.

After half a minute, he heard the wee-oo, wee-oo noise from the siren of the ambulance on the road. It approached them from afar.

"Get ready." Huo Congjun was still as composed as a mountain. To him, this was nothing more than a part of his daily activities.

Of course, he needed to focus his energy into settling these daily tasks, but they were still just an everyday matter.

The tasks of the gods managing the mortal world from above and the doctors running hospitals on earth were equally tiring, both mentally and physically.

Ling Ran's back was a little hot due to excitement, it was like the feeling he felt the first time he opened up the box of a genuine Transformer.

Right then, the first ambulance stopped in front of the doors. The back doors of the ambulance were opened, and a mangled body was pulled out.

Huo Congjun took a glance and withdrew his eyes. "Send him to the resuscitation room."

The first group of people rushed forward without hesitation, their white robes were instantly stained with blood. The ones remaining still continued to wait at the doors.

Then came the second ambulance, the third…

By the time the fourth one arrived, the patients in that ambulance were already able to get down from the ambulance on their own. Department Director Huo's orders also changed to "send them to the treatment room".

Doctor Zhou held on to Ling Ran's arm until the fifth ambulance came. This time, Ling Ran saw six people. All of them had light injuries, so much so that the worst injury he could spot among them was a lacerated brow.

"Debride, suture!" Doctor Zhou's face was grave, his heart was as calm as northerners gazing at snow. With Ling Ran's assistance, he could be as relaxed as he wished to be.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 19: Technique

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Doctor Ling, don't use up all your strength, there may be more ambulances arriving later," the young Nurse Wang Jia reminded Ling Ran as she carried out preoperative preparations.

Today was the busiest day in the Emergency Department beginning from the moment Ling Ran arrived at Yun Hua Hospital. 'And to think that there will still be ambulances coming…' Ling Ran smiled, showing his teeth. "That's good."

His mission was basically one where, for every ten patients he treated, he would acquire one Basic Treasure Chest. A moment ago, he had still been worried that there would be an insufficient number of patients, and that his mission would go to waste. It would naturally be even better for Ling Ran if more ambulances arrived.

Wang Jia did not expect to see such a response from Ling Ran. After experiencing a short moment of surprise, she could not help but think, 'As expected, Doctor Ling is different from those men who put on airs.'

A low-income resident doctor, who looked so common that no one could even remember his name, cast a glance at the treatment room. It was now filled with patients in every corner. He then said, "If more patients come, we'll be overwhelmed with work as well."

"Emergency Medical Care will not be sending patients our way for the time being. But that will also depend on the situation." Doctor Zhou, who was at least remembered by his family name even though he was rather ugly, gave a brief introduction on the situation in an attempt to make himself stand out. "The normal patients will definitely not be sent over here. However, those in critical condition will be sent here if they are close to us. The patients will also be assigned here if their families request for them to be sent here. And then there are the patients who'll just come to our doorstep on their own."

"Most of the patients will request to be dispatched to our Yun Hua Hospital, I assume." The resident doctor who came over to help pursed his lips a little. Yun Hua Hospital was one of several tertiary grade A general hospitals in Yun Hua City, even ordinary people would specifically come here for its outpatient services, and it would be even more so for emergency cases.

"Judging by the current situation, if we can transfer them over to the other departments, then we should just do it. Even if we're very busy, we still have to grit our teeth and persevere. We can't just ask the patients to be transferred to another hospital after they're sent here, right?" Doctor Zhou was already past the age where he would get sentimental. He only said, "You'll get to know about it after you stay here a little longer. For a big hospital like ours, we'll always have to work past the hospital's capacity for patients. Just wait until you have the experience, then you'll learn how to allocate your energy as well as set your priorities."

The resident doctor grimaced in pain at the thought, but agreed.

However, Ling Ran suddenly asked, "In that case, if I've already treated the patients who are assigned to us, is it acceptable for me to help the others as well?"

Doctor Zhou was shocked for a moment. He had never considered that question before. Was it not better to rest after completing your own tasks?

'Doctors work themselves to the bone every single day. As a doctor yourself, don't you want to rest?'

With the intention of encouraging the intern, and to not expose the craftiness of a middle-aged man in front of the intern and young nurse, Doctor Zhou said, "No one will stop you if you want to help the others in their job."

The resident doctor next to him seemed to be inspired by Ling Ran. His spirits were lifted and he said, "Then we'll have to work faster."

"You just follow me obediently," Doctor Zhou shattered the resident doctor's dream with just one sentence.

Doctor Zhou may have seemed like a good man with average medical skills, but he had already been in the hospital for around a decade, and he was a good judge of character.

He agreed to let Ling Ran act without supervision because Ling Ran had proven that he possessed the ability to perform ordinary sutures independently.

This was a very crucial step. It was something that many resident doctors could never achieve in a year, like the plain and ugly resident doctor who had his dream shattered. Doctor Zhou would definitely worry himself if he had allowed that resident doctor to perform debridement independently.

The fact that Ling Ran was able to perform debridement independently without causing others to worry meant that he could help as well as share their occupational burdens, and not bring about new complications.

The plain and ugly resident doctor was the opposite of Ling Ran. He still needed Doctor Zhou to guide and supervise him. Sometimes, he would even require step-by-step guidance. In Doctor Zhou's eyes, it really was easier to perform the surgeries himself than to teach others how to do it.

It would take less time, and the results would also be better. He would also not have to deal with the patient's dissatisfaction, much less recite the numerous clauses in the Standard Precautions for Patients.

However, from Doctor Zhou's viewpoint, judging by the injuries of the six patients assigned to them, Ling Ran's workload would already be heavy enough if he had to treat those patients. Ling Ran might probably end up needing others to assist him.

After all, the injuries were caused by an explosion. There was probably more than one wound on many of the patients. There would also be all sorts of contaminants covering the wounds.

After Doctor Zhou wore his gloves, he attended to the patient with the most serious injuries—the patient with the lacerated brow.

He proceeded to disinfect the wound and perform debridement on the patient. He used ether to wipe away the grime around the wound, and then replaced the gauze that covered the wound. Immediately after that, he dipped a soft brush into the disinfectant before he used it to thoroughly clean the skin. He also rinsed the wound clean with distilled water, washed it, and used antiseptic gauze to dry it up.

Doctor Zhou was already highly skilled in this process, but he still had to spend more than ten minutes just to get everything done.

When he lifted his head again, he was surprised to see that Ling Ran was done treating the patient on the bed next to his. That patient had many small wounds scattered all over one of his legs.

"Come over here and perform the suturing," Doctor Zhou called Ling Ran over to his side immediately while he went to the neighboring bed to check on Ling Ran's suturing.

He was worried that Ling Ran would make mistakes because he was trying to be quick. Making mistakes while rushing to complete surgeries was something commonly seen among young doctors.

However, when Doctor Zhou checked the entire suture, he became more and more shocked.

The patient had been injured by flying shrapnel, and he had more than ten wounds all over one of his legs. Some were deep and some were not, some were big and some were small. In response to that, Ling Ran had also used different suturing techniques on the wounds.

There was a simple interrupted suture with multiple knots tied on one side, and there was also a simple continuous stitch where a long thread was used to continuously stitch up the wound before a knot was tied at the end of it. There was also a cross mattress suture in the shape of an 'X' as a result of cross-stitching found on the largest and deepest wound.

Doctor Zhou could even see an interlocking suture below the knee.

That kind of suture was unfamiliar territory to the doctors in the Emergency Department, even though it was often used in operating theaters. That was because simple continuous sutures had to first be used on the wound before the doctor could interlock the thread. Not only was the difficulty of performing this suture much higher, the time and energy spent on it was also greater.

Although the interlocking suture technique was very suitable for handling thin skin and parts of the body that moved around a lot, doctors would usually just tell the patients to not move around to solve the problem.

If he had not been in the Emergency Department right then, perhaps Doctor Zhou would have thought that he was currently looking at someone giving a lecture on sutures.

In fact, Ling Ran's sutures were even better than those seen in lectures about sutures, because the sutures Ling Ran chose to perform were all appropriate for each wound. No one could pick any faults from it.

The interlocking suture was performed on the wounds located below the knee. The cross mattress suture was performed on the wounds in high-tension areas. The simple interrupted suture was performed on the wounds that were longer. The simple continuous stitch was performed on superficial wounds. It saved time and reduced the patient's pain as well.

It seemed that Ling Ran had mastered a large variety of sutures, and his decisions on which suture to use were correct as well. Doctor Zhou could not help but sigh while a well of emotion filled his heart. 'This man is truly blessed and protected by his ancestors.'

The patient seemed a little worried as he asked, "Doctor, is there any problem with my stitches?"

"No problem. The stitches are pretty good." Doctor Zhou paused for a moment and said, "Give me a moment. Let us take some photos of these so that we can use them as educational material for the interns."

After he said these words, the patient instantly felt relieved. Doctor Zhou quickly called for Nurse Wang, who was standing beside him, to take a few photos.

After they were done, Doctor Zhou turned his head around again. By then, Ling Ran was also done stitching up the patient with the lacerated brow.

The thread that Ling Ran used for the stitches was the surgical catgut[1] which can be absorbed. And because of this, it was also known as the absorbable suture.

The tensile strength of such sutures was weaker. So the doctors of the Emergency Department were not fond of using it, especially the older doctors. They adhered to the principal of saving lives, and were only concerned with whether the thread would break. They were not concerned about the scar being too big.

Additionally, thinner threads meant that they would need to stitch more rounds, leading to them wasting time for no reason.

However, Ling Ran did not have those ideologies weighing him down. He just used whatever he deemed appropriate.

Doctor Zhou could only laugh bitterly after he saw this. Then he said, "The private hospital outside would charge the patient over a thousand or two thousand because you used 0.39 inches of absorbable thread."

Ling Ran raised his eyebrows a little and asked, "So… did I just increase the revenue for our hospital?"

"You didn't notify the patient earlier, right?"

Ling Ran shook his head.

"Just charge it based on the rate of normal threads. Let's prevent the issue from becoming more complicated." Once Doctor Zhou finished saying this, he continued, "I'll just inform Department Director Huo verbally later."

The patient with the lacerated brow was a young lad. He heard the conversation between the two of them and quickly thanked them. Then, he also expressed contempt for the high fees charged by private hospitals. However, it remained unclear to all of them if the young lad actually felt contempt towards the 'revenue-generating theory' which Ling Ran had spoken of.

Doctor Zhou laughed cheerfully and said, "You're lucky you met Doctor Ling. If it were the other doctors, they would probably not be so capable in performing such fine stitches on your fractured brow. As the saying goes, 'one minute of performance on stage, ten years of hard work off stage'."

"In that case, I won't have a scar after this?" The young lad felt a little embarrassed after he asked the question, so he added, "I don't have a girlfriend yet, you see."

"You won't have a scar," Nurse Wang Jia assured the young lad of the results of Ling Ran's suture.

Ling Ran lifted his head and added a few words, "But that won't really help you much in finding a girlfriend."

"Doctor Ling, you don't have to say it out loud…" Wang Jia covered her mouth as she laughed. She also shook her waist and gave Ling Ran a gentle bump with her hip.

The young lad who was lying on the patient bed felt as though he was hit by an impact stronger than the explosion…

Ling Ran then specifically reminded the young lad, "Remember to keep your face free of expressions. Be cautious, or the thread may break off."

"You're very attentive with your patients, Doctor Ling." Two young nurse interns slowed down as they passed by Ling Ran's side. They also let out a few soft little chuckles that resembled bells.

Translator's Note:

[1] Surgical catgut: A type of cord that is prepared from the natural fibers found in the walls of animal intestines.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 20: Surgical Judgment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Done." Ling Ran skillfully maneuvered the needle and pulled the thread out. He recited the Standard Precaution for Patients while he bandaged the wound. He then said, "The next patient, please come in."

"There are no more patients," Wang Jia said. "The wounds of all six patients have already been treated."

"So soon?" Ling Ran was a little surprised.

"You're the one who's too fast. Doctor Zhou is still treating the second patient." Wang Jia stared at Ling Ran with admiration. She then quickly lowered her head as though she was afraid that Ling Ran would notice her gaze.

'Handsome and gentle, talented with a bright future, equipped with both ability and looks, elegant… If this sort of man isn't considered Prince Charming, there wouldn't be any Prince Charmings left in this world.'

In the face of this Prince Charming, Wang Jia the young nurse could not help but feel rather lost as to what to do.

Ling Ran only then noticed—upon getting reminded—that his daily mission completion status had become [3/10]. It was the amount of suturing he had performed that day.

It was undeniable that there were indeed plenty of opportunities for him to practice his skills in the Emergency Department. If he were in a place like the Neurosurgery Department, peeling down the scalp and cutting open someone's skull would take an entire hour. It was quite normal for everything, including the preoperative preparation and the postoperative care, to take up an entire day. An ordinary resident would probably have to wait for a long time to even become the second assistant for these kinds of surgeries.

"Then, I'll go and suture the others!" Ling Ran stood up in a flash.

"Wait." Doctor Zhou drew back the curtains of the isolated area. "Don't go and look for patients by yourself. Ask the nurse to call them in."

"Why?" Ling Ran found it unnecessary.

"If you directly pick patients from the crowd to perform surgical sutures, do you think that you'll be able to avoid being surrounded?"

Ling Ran thought about it carefully and nodded. "Makes sense."

The wounded who came in the last few ambulances had already been taken by all the doctors in the Emergency Department.

Yun Hua Hospital was not the only hospital in this condition; it was the same for all the tertiary grade A hospitals in Yun Hua City. A factory explosion was a major public incident, and Emergency Medical Care would always send the patients to large hospitals.

However, the factory explosion did not mean that there would be any reduction in the frequency of accidents in the large Yun Hua City.

Even though the number of ambulances had reduced, there were still patients being sent to the hospital. The patients who got there on their own were also anxious.

On normal days, they may be able to get treatment without having to wait very long, but it was not going to be the case for this day.

At the moment, there were at least twenty patients waiting outside. The number of family members was also several times more than the number of patients. Everyone was fidgeting with anxiety.

If a doctor wearing a large white robe went among them choosing patients to treat, the situation would be similar to a fat lamb entering a wolf's lair to cure its anorexia.

"Then, should I just stay here?" Ling Ran asked Doctor Zhou again.

"That's right. Sit down and don't go anywhere. Wang Jia, go and call the patients over."

When Doctor Zhou said this, he had raised his head up in pride but was entirely unaware of it. He was extremely emotional about how he could finally show his worth as an experienced doctor.

When he saw Ling Ran's skills in suturing earlier, even though it was just for a moment, he still felt quite pressured.

"I'll go and call the patients." Nurse Wang Jia was very happy that she could do something for Prince Charming. She asked, "Do you have any requests?"

"Preferably patients who only need suturing such as those who hurt themselves in an accident, resulting in torn tissues. Other than that…" Ling Ran thought for a while and said, "Try your best to choose patients who can be treated quickly.

"This is a good point of reference. You cannot be eager for quick successes and instant benefits," Doctor Zhou nodded and said approvingly when he heard this.

Earlier, he was worried that Ling Ran would want to choose cases that he had not seen before or cases that were unique. That would have been troublesome. After all, even though Ling Ran had proven his talent in suturing, he was only a medical student who had just graduated. If a patient with a stomach ache came in, how would he have enough experience to judge if the other party had appendicitis or just a very bad case of constipation?

Compared to that, it was much more assuring to let Ling Ran treat patients with mild injuries.

In truth, this was also how the training of resident doctors was like. They worked from simple cases to complicated ones while they slowly accumulated experience.

"Tell the doctor-in-charge my name," Doctor Zhou reminded Wang Jia.

Wang Jia nodded and went outside to call the patients.

Most of the patients who lingered around in the treatment room only suffered from mild diseases or injuries. Of course, this was judged based on the hospital and doctors' standards. For them, only cases such as strokes and broken legs from car accidents were considered serious.

But to the patients, even a scratch from a cat was a major incident and needed to be posted on at least three social media websites.

Wang Jia was very attentive towards her Prince Charming's request. She first found a strong, muscular man who had a wound on his shoulder, and sent him behind the blue curtain.

The wound was around three quarters of an inch in length, and had basically stopped bleeding. Since it was located on the shoulder, it was considered an extremely simple injury to treat.

Ling Ran skilfully debrided and sutured the wound.

It was said that the meaning of a book would become clear if you read it hundreds of times. It was the same for doctors. Before putting their skills to use, no matter how the textbooks described human muscles, they would not be able to accurately describe the hardness of the human muscle tissue, and tenacity of human skin tissue…

A surgeon could only estimate the strength exerted by his hand on a patient's skin after touching many different types of skin and muscles. When it was necessary, they could make accurate estimations of the strength needed.

Judgment was the life of a surgeon. From minor surgeries with only one or two stitches to major surgeries where the length of amputation had to be determined, every surgery was the combination of countless experiences and theoretical judgment.

No one could solve difficult questions from the start. Every surgeon slowly accumulated the ability to solve difficult questions by completing countless simple questions.

Difficult questions were just the culmination of simple questions. That was how it was for heart surgeries, and it was also probably the same for Goldbach and the Transformers.

What Ling Ran obtained were skills. Good skills reduced the difficulty for him when he had to make judgments, but they could not take his place to make these judgments. He still needed to practice nonstop and accumulate experience from real-life cases to strengthen his judgment as a surgeon.

The suturing of a wound on the shoulder was not complicated and was far from difficult. But only after suturing hundreds of similar cases, noting their similarities and differences, would he then not end up making the patient's stomach too small, or the intestines too large…

If you were to ask Ling Ran to perform the suturing for a patient with a lacerated brow, he would have definitely tried his best to choose a suture with higher tensile strength to reduce the possibility of the wound tearing. After all, the Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique only helped him stitch up wounds, it would not tell what kind of facial expression the patient would make on a daily basis, or what sort of thread was best for that type of person…

"By the way, the position of the wound on your shoulder is a little strange. How did you get it?" Of course, Doctor Zhou was not the type to look for more work after he finished dealing with the patients allocated to himself. He only had to supervise Ling Ran, and that alone was already considered part of his workload.

However, there was nothing to supervise when it came to Ling Ran's suturing. Doctor Zhou was extremely bored, and naturally became interested in chatting with the patient.

The shoulder of the muscular man trembled beneath the doctor's needle. He had no choice but to obediently chat with Doctor Zhou, "I scratched it on a nail on the wall."

"Renovation?" Doctor Zhou had seen similar cases.

The muscular man hesitated for a moment and said, "I was helping my wife air the laundry on the roof. The wind was too strong, and there were too many clothes. That was how I was pushed against the wall. Do I need a tetanus shot?"

"Hmm, I've never seen this kind of case before, certainly." Doctor Zhou marveled softly.

"What?" The muscular man did not hear him clearly.

"Hmm…" Doctor Zhou spoke with a drawl as he pondered. He touched his chin and said, "The wound isn't very deep. Usually, there won't be a need for a tetanus shot."

"I had better get a shot. By the way, Doctor, can you add a few more stitches to make it look more serious?" the burly man requested sincerely. He then said, "If the injury doesn't look serious enough when I go back, I'll still have to do chores; I'll still have to air the laundry… Maybe I'll get hurt again."

"Ling Ran, use the cross mattress suture technique on him," Doctor Zhou ordered, something rarely heard from him, but that was because he really sympathized with the muscular man.

They finally sent away another patient.

About an hour later, Ling Ran had dealt with seven more patients. During that time, he had also prescribed a few hundred RMB worth of medicine under Doctor Zhou's guidance.

The moment his mission completion status became [10/10, a white box appeared.

When he opened it, another test tube-like item slowly rose. It was surrounded by a halo.

[Energy Serum: Recovers your energy]

Ling Ran originally wanted to ignore it, but after thinking for a while, he felt uneasy and said, "Doctor Zhou, I'm going out for a moment."

He put the surgical instruments roughly in order and went back to the office. He put his hand in his pocket and took out an Energy Serum that shone with green light.

It was so delicate and beautiful that if others could see it, they would not forget it.

Ling Ran could not help but think, 'I've gotten an Energy Serum two consecutive times. If I only look at the level of difficulty, it seems to be very easy, but I don't know if this is a special privilege for newbies…'

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 21: Suture 'Production Line'

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The mission continued.

Ling Ran hid the newly acquired Energy Serum in the third layer of his lunch box before returning to the treatment room.

By then, Doctor Zhou had completed debriding another patient. He looked up and saw Ling Ran return. With a smile on his face, he immediately stepped aside and said, "Well now, I finished your chores—the stitching is all yours now."

Once he finished speaking, Doctor Zhou quickly comforted the patient. "Ling Ran is the young expert stitcher of our Emergency Department. He's better at it than I am. You can take it easy now. Just lean back and enjoy it."

Patients no longer felt pain after local anaesthesia was administered. But then again, the sight of a long needle with a curved tip burying itself in your skin would still cause anybody to flinch. "Can I enjoy something else?"

As his eyes ran over Ling Ran's youthful face, the patient who appeared to be nearing his middle-age seemed a little disgruntled. He said, "Young man, are you sure you're up to the task?"

Ling Ran could not care less about the patient's attitude. He replied honestly, "I can perform appositional suturing technique and interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique well."

The techniques he had mastered were Master Level Appositional Suturing Technique and Specialist Level Interrupted Vertical Mattress Suturing Technique. By the words 'Master Level' alone, Ling Ran assumed that the skill he acquired was most probably something extremely high-end. His interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique may only be Specialist Level and was one tier lower than Master Level, but it should still be better than most doctors in Yun Hua Hospital.

The patient did not understand what he said. Ignorantly, he asked, "They all sound like two fancy names for stitching, what's the difference?"

Ling Ran was actually rather willing to answer questions if the patients were curious about their own conditions. So, he thought hard for a few seconds and formulated an answer for the layman. "If you come in with a cleaver embedded in your head, we will use the appositional suturing technique. If your balls have been slit open by a blade, we will use the interrupted vertical mattress suturing technique."

"Balls?" The middle-aged patient squeezed his legs together and looked at Doctor Zhou for comfort.

Doctor Zhou seemed to have thought of something, and he smiled mysteriously.

"Come to the Emergency Department a few more times, and you'll understand that anything can happen here."

"Why would I come to the Emergency Department again if I'm alright… You… just get on with it already." The patient suddenly seemed to be afflicted with a severe case of blue balls and was more than eager to leave as soon as possible.

Ling Ran was as quick as ever.

Missions must always be treated like newborn children.

Experienced gamers knew all too well how shameless game developers would deliberately set limits and caps to missions and the rewards to the missions to control the players' progression speed, thereby allowing them to maintain the so-called balance in the game.

That was why every mission was a blessing that must not be taken for granted. One must not even hesitate when an event presented itself to them, or else they would only end up regretting a missed opportunity.

Ling Ran had no idea if such limits existed in his current situation, but he had a feeling that he should not waste the chance he was given on this day.

Treating ten patients got him one chest. No matter how he looked at it, it was a terrific deal. Anyone would want to capitalize on such an opportunity.

The system's actions could not be controlled. Ling Ran was also very willing to rely on himself and work hard to accomplish his missions.

Besides, the mission had come at an opportune moment. The geographical and social conditions for the completion of the mission were favorable as well.

The Emergency Department was not this busy every single day.

The huge Yun Hua City would bear witness to countless accidents every single day, but factories did not blow up so easily.

If it was any other day, the Emergency Department would not even come close to giving Ling Ran sufficient stitching practice.

One would be able to know that by looking at the eager looks on the faces of the resident doctors every day. They were only qualified to pick up the forceps only when the Emergency Department was at its busiest moments, though they still could not touch scalpels. That qualification exclusively belonged to the higher authorities.

Whenever a large influx of wounded patients rolled in, the other tertiary Grade A hospitals in all of Yun Hua City would have their hands full, including Yun Hua Hospital.

After all, receiving five ambulances was already the limit with Yun Hua Hospital's standards. Even smaller hospitals would have all their work cut out for them if two patients in critical condition turned up at their doorstep.

All the large hospitals were already fully occupied. Regardless, they would have to make room for even more patients. Even the most menial of tasks had to be attended by any available hand. At times, these hands would belong to much younger people.

As it neared the end of working hours, Ling Ran completed twenty treatments, and he smoothly acquired his second Basic Treasure Chest and his third green Energy Serum.

After seeing the patient out of the cubicle, Ling Ran stretched his stiffened joints. As he took a break, a thought took hold of his mind. 'I must get even faster.'

The Emergency Department was already clogged up. The chief physicians and the associate chief physicians were busy with the critical patients, leaving a large number of patients behind for the younger doctors.

Even so, they still had to deal with the amount of traffic in the Emergency Department.

As far as time was concerned, the chief physicians, the associate chief physicians, a large number of senior attending physicians, and the supporting resident doctors would be coming out one after another of the resuscitation room in less than a few hours, provided that no new critical cases came in. If those cases still could not be stabilized and transferred to other departments, these patients might die.

"Doctor Zhou, can I get someone over to assist me?" Ling Ran requested as an idea occurred upon him.

"Asist? Whatever for?" Doctor Zhou sipped on some plain water. These early middle-aged doctors probably grew up watching Japanese medical dramas. Drinking boiled water was the standard norm for them, but his slightly unsightly face made the entire process look rather awkward.

Ling Ran took the mug of lukewarm, fresh water adorned with a slice of lemon cut into the shape of a star from Nurse Wang Jia. He took a sip, and then took a larger gulp before he emptied half of the mug. Finally, he let out a long sigh and said, "I need two guys to work and cooperate with me. One person will perform debridements while another will dress the wounds. Meanwhile, I will be suturing. We'll be able to work fast this way, just like what we did just now."

He had immediately gone over to the patient that Doctor Zhou had performed debridement on just now. It only took him a few minutes to finish the stitch, apply medicine and bandages, and other miscellaneous things. If someone else had been there to take his place and start dressing the wound… well, to put it simply, at that time, no matter how many patients were admitted into Yun Hua Hospital's Emergency Department, they would still not be enough for Ling Ran to work with until his shift was over.

'Hmm, what do I do if I run out of patients…?'

Ling Ran was once again lost in his thoughts.

On the other hand, Doctor Zhou's face darkened.

"You're thinking of having me assist you with the debridement, aren't you?"

The normal and ugly resident doctor had only managed to stitch up four patients during the course of a full day. He raised his head up in surprise. 'This young intern actually wants the attending physician to act as his assistant…'

"Wait, you're actually willing to help me? That would be pretty amazing."

Ling Ran stroked his chin in surprise.

Doctor Zhou was equally surprised.

"Didn't you mean that?"

"I was thinking of asking a few interns to come over and assist me." Ling Rin was not very keen on using this lazy Doctor Zhou who would not hesitate to work less should the opportunity present itself.

Debridement and dressing were all meticulous, physical work. It required hard work and effort. As for Doctor Zhou, he was the petty bourgeoisie[1] among the doctors, he would not do this sort of work if he could help it.

Doctor Zhou was momentarily stunned. Then, he said, "You're thinking of giving the other students a chance, right? So, are you looking for a male, or a female student?"

As the words were spoken, Nurse Wang Jia anxiously eyed Ling Ran.

"It doesn't matter."

Ling Ran lingered on the word 'chance' for a moment. Then, he said, "Just my dormmates, then."

The moment she heard that Ling Ran wanted male students, Nurse Wang Jia let out a breath of relief. Then, she spoke for Ling Ran, "The number of patients who showed up today are far more than what we usually receive. The doctors waiting outside for a chance to work are also interns."

Doctor Zhou's good-hearted side kicked in as he muttered, "It is alright to call them in as well, but you must explain it to the doctor in-charge of their respective departments…"

Whenever the Emergency Department got busy, doctors and interns from the other departments would often scurry over to assist them. Every one of them had an equal opportunity to work.

Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong were delighted when they heard the news.

It was truly difficult for interns to get a chance to practice their skills. The past few days had told them all that they needed to know about this fact.

The two of them had remained cooped up in their own departments, doing nothing but brew tea and write medical reports every day. They could only dream of touching a patient for a brief moment by the end of their rotation in that particular department. Now that they had the chance to practice, their elation could only be compared to the resident of a windowless hotel room having his room upgraded into the presidential suite of a luxury hotel.

"Spill it already, you haven't been giving the doctor gifts, have you? I'll cover whatever you spent."

The moment Chen Wanhua caught sight of Ling Ran, he pulled him to a corner and whispered those words.

A 3M red stethoscope remained hanging before Chen Wanhao's chest.

Naturally, that stethoscope was useless. However, he had acquired the nickname 'Red Stethoscope' in the department now. Chen Wanhao did not mind. He would rather be the laughing stock so that he could remain standing out among the other interns.

Ling Ran said, "Not a single penny spent. No gifts either."

"None?"

"Would it have worked if I sent any gifts?" Ling Ran retorted.

Chen Wanhao was caught off guard by the question.

He finally laughed sheepishly, saying, "I thought of giving them something, but I was afraid that it might backfire on me."

He fingered the red packet in his pocket and began hesitating.

When Ling Ran saw that he no longer had any questions, he said once again, "I need someone to perform debridements, and another to dress wounds, your choice…"

Wang Zhuangyong hurriedly spoke, "Dressing here. Debridement is just too gross."

"You have been prodding feces in the laboratory for so long, and you still think that debridement is disgusting?" Chen Wanhao had no preferences. He merely made a jab at Wang Zhuangyong out of habit.

Wang Zhuangyong sank into a pensive mode, then adopted the typical thought-provoking tone you often heard in documentaries before he said, "When you have seen enough filth, when you encounter them again, you will not be able to help yourself but to link that filth to a great many other things. The more you grow to understand filth, the greater the disgust you will have towards them, do you understand?"

"You…" Chen Wanhao was amazed by Wang Zhuangyong's solemn tone.

"When it is your turn to get transferred to the laboratory, you will know what I meant."

Wang Zhuangyong's voice made him sound like a sage who was thinking out loud. He muttered, "Just imagine being the intern in the laboratory. We are the lowest ranking personnel there. If none of the doctors are willing to touch the samples, who would be forced to?"

"You're not exactly imagining it, are you?"

Chen Wanhao felt a little chill creeping up his spine as he grabbed on to his big red stethoscope.

"The patient is coming." Nurse Wang Jia stepped in and cut them off.

Following closely behind the nurse was a young man who had fallen when he was harvesting bird nests. There were pine needles and sludge over his wounds. However, he did not seem to be bleeding much. If anything, he was only grinning sheepishly, embarrassed at himself.

Doctor Zhou immediately sat up straight with a serious look on his face. First, he confirmed that the young man had not injured his head. Relieved when it was not the case, he went out for a stroll.

If you get an idiotic intern to attempt suturing thirty times, you would have a proficient idiotic intern on your hands. However, giving that idiotic intern his first or second chance to do that was difficult enough as it was.

With Ling Ran's help, Chen Wanhao nervously started performing the debridement. Even his eyes were filled with tears of happiness.

A patient who had had his head smashed in by a stone, a patient whose arm had been lacerated by a tree branch, and a patient whose thigh was punctured by a pen…

Those who had never been a doctor or stayed in the Emergency Department would find it extremely difficult to imagine the variety of injuries that a human being could have. Some were even bizarre…

Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong grew more proficient with their tasks. On the other hand, Ling Ran maintained his lightning-speed pace.

A 'production line' for sutures was quickly established between the three of them.

It only took more than two hours for Ling Ran's mission progress to jump from [20/20] to [30/30].

"Keep it up!" Ling Ran obtained another Energy Serum and pushed the pace.

He intended to clear out half of the patients while everyone else was occupied with the heavily wounded.

Translator's Note:

1. Petite bourgeoisie: also petty bourgeoisie, it is a French term referring to the lower middle class.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 22: I Have People

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Doctor Ling, there are no more patients that require sutures for now." When Wang Jia returned to the treatment room again, there was no one behind her.

"No one else?" Before Ling Ran could speak, Chen Wanhao stood up, feeling rather despondent.

Wang Jia said, "All the ones remaining are either internal medicine cases, or those with more complicated conditions."

"How complicated?" Chen Wanhao asked, still unwilling to give up on the chance to continue practicing his skills.

"There's a child who swallowed his toy. Doctor Huang has already been at it for half an hour. Do you want to go and help?" Wang Jia exerted her authority as a young nurse and glared so fiercely at Chen Wanhao that Chen Wanhao drew his neck back.

"Is the swallowing of a toy considered a serious condition?" Wang Zhuangyong felt that he could take on a few more cases.

Wang Jia let out a few scornful snorts and said, "Wait until you meet the child's parents, maternal grandparents, paternal grandparents, aunt, and uncle, and you'll know how complicated the situation is."

Yun Hua Hospital's Emergency Department had its own Emergency Medicine Building. Thus, they could allocate a standalone waiting room. However, apart from the resuscitation room where the family members of patients could be isolated from the patients, albeit with much difficulty from the doctors' part, it was very easy for there to be a large crowd in places like the treatment room.

After being in the Emergency Department for half a day, Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong had already felt the wrath of the patients' family members. They both lowered their heads, not daring to say anything.

"Then, I'll rest for a while." Rather regretfully, Ling Ran let out a sigh, stood up, and exercised his limbs.

"Aren't you going to get off work?" Wang Jia was a little surprised as she looked at the darkening sky.

"I'll stitch up two more patients before I go back." Ling Ran had treated a total of thirty-eight patients today, and only had two more patients left to reach forty. He would be able to open another box.

Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong quickly nodded as well and voiced their agreement, "There's nothing to do if we go back anyway, so why don't we just stay in the hospital?"

They participated in the treatment of ten or more patients today, letting almost none of the patients with minor injuries in Yun Hua go today.

Ling Ran was not the only one who found this kind of opportunity hard to come by. Even Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong were overjoyed. Especially for the last few cases where Ling Ran let them make one or two stitches. That thrilling sensation of piercing human skin was totally addictive.

Doctor Zhou came out to remind them. "Go eat something."

"Doctor Zhou, let's go together. Are you working overtime today?" Chen Wanhao took the opportunity to invite Doctor Zhou. He was not from a wealthy family, and was always trying to have others pay his bills.

Doctor Zhou waved his hand in a dismissive gesture and said, "I'll just take a bite at the canteen. If the chief physicians are still working, how can I get off work? You guys go ahead."

Actually, he had expected this. The Emergency Department of various large hospitals in Yun Hua were already operating at an overcapacity. The major explosion of a factory wounded almost a hundred people in the blink of an eye to different extents, and all the wounded had to be sent to fully-equipped, tertiary grade A hospitals. Otherwise, how could it be shown that their leader took this seriously?

The emergency specialists of various large hospitals also saw this as an opportunity that was hard to come by. They did not transfer patients to other departments for no reason and invited the doctors of other departments to perform treatment in the Emergency Department's operating theater.

During major public incidents, all sorts of talented people would always appear to help, and it would be a gathering of elites. No one was willing to give up such an opportunity. The patients of these incidents were equivalent to the rare items dropped only by elite monsters that were inferior to the BOSS, and were at a difficulty level that was slightly higher than normal monsters.

Of course, the ones with the heaviest burdens would always be the resident doctors on the front lines and the attending physicians who shifted between first-string and second-string. Fortunately, Ling Ran was there to help today, otherwise Doctor Zhou would have been extremely tired.

It was evident just by looking at the plain and ugly resident doctor. Throughout the day, he had not even sutured ten patients. He was a typical loser with a STR of only 5, and was not attractive either. When he returned to the small office that was used for breaks, it was already deserted.

At this time, the ones who were seeking opportunities to perform surgery were busy, and the ones who did not get their chances had already gone home.

Wang Zhuangyong and Chen Wanhao each went to the vending machine and bought bread and milk. When they returned, they saw that Ling Ran open an exquisite lacquerware lunchbox.

Lacquerware inlaid with pearls were the premium products of all lacquerware. They were not only glossy and smooth like ordinary lacquerware, their outer layers were mounted with seashells, and the entire lacquerware would be processed, making them even more beautiful, and also very artistic.

Madam Tao cooked this sincerely to reward Ling Ran for bringing pride to the family.

Madam Tao Ping would not do anything without reason, and always did everything luxuriously. So, she cooked earnestly this time.

Hot and spicy beef, streaky bacon, and cutlets of steamed chicken. She even made braised pork tripe and tofu. There were also red slices of salmon, four types of seasonal vegetables, four types of seasonal fruits, a serving of glutinous rice, and four types of dipping sauces.

Wang Zhuangyong and Chen Wanhao looked at it all with eyes wide and mouth agape.

Ling Ran slowly took out the dishes in the lunchbox. They took up half of the table.

There was soy sauce, vinegar, spiced salt, chili oil, and mustard in seashell-shaped saucers. When placed among the dishes, they beautified everything.

"Big Brother Ling…" Wang Zhuangyong held his bread and sat on Ling Ran's left.

"So shameless," Chen Wanhao said as he sat on Ling Ran's right. He put the bread and milk in his hands on the table and said, "Mister Ling, let's put our things together for the whole table to share."

…..

The three of them enjoyed the luxurious lunchbox Tao Ping made together. After simply pairing it with some bread and milk, they did not feel hungry anymore.

Ling Ran went back to the treatment room with the two of them. He could not help but feel a little disappointed when he saw that there were no new patients.

"The king asked me to patrol the mountains[1]…"

Ling Ran's cellphone rang, delaying him from looking for patients.

"Hello?"

"Ling Ran, it's me, Lu Jinling." Lu Jinling's frank and straightforward laughter could be heard through the phone, and there was quite a bit of background noise.

Upon hearing Lu Jinling's voice, the first thing that came to Ling Ran's mind was the gang member with the unicorn tattoo, and the gash on said gang member's skin. Immediately afterwards, he thought of how he only needed to treat two more patients to complete his mission.

He asked in a rather enthusiastic tone, "Your elder brother is injured again?"

"My-my elder brother isn't injured."

"Your elder brother hurt someone?"

"No." Lu Jinling sounded rather resigned.

"Then, are you injured?" Ling Ran raised his voice again.

Lu Jinling was a tough girl who was not good at lying. Still, she really did not know what to say after calling Ling Ran on impulse. Lu Jinling felt a surge of regret as she heard the pleasant voice on the other end of the phone.

In an instant, all sorts of inspirations along with the back of Ling Ran's handsome figure appeared in Lu Jinling's mind. She could not help but say loudly, "Wait, there are people among us who are injured."

…..

After putting down the phone, Lu Jinling put down the beer bottle in her left hand, put her cellphone away, tidied her boots, and said in a steady voice, "Stinky Two, I remember you saying that someone is crashing Naughty Bitch's nightclub tonight?"

…..

Translator's notes:

[2] The ending theme of the movie 'Surprise', where a self-proclaimed demon lord of a small town encounters a new group of people.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 23: A Golden Deer

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A yellowish-brown van slowly pulled into the parking lot at Clean Water Street.

The black Honda motorbike that accompanied it took a gentle turn. It was now at the left-hand side of the van.

Lu Jinling lifted her arms and took off her helmet. Her eyes gazed at the karaoke box named Pure Gold ahead of her. The dancing neon colors of red, yellow, and green on the sign reflected in her eyes.

Stinky Two pulled the handbrake then wound down the window.

"Deer, we have never crossed paths with Naughty Bitch. You are welcome to be a spectator of this show, but please, don't get yourself involved in this."

"It's alright, don't worry," Lu Jinling said, not even turning her head to look at the driver.

"Hey, you gave us your word. Don't you get involved later. I'll call your brother if you do cross the road."

Stinky Two was a thug with ample experience in this particular field of work in Yun Hua. He was already twenty-eight years old this year. Even though he followed Lu Jinling from day to night everyday, he still addressed her as Deer. His main duty was to inform her brother of her movements and act as her guardian.

Stinky Two was found wandering around the fish market when he was thirteen. Back then, that place was called Seafood Wholesale Market. The boss in the market was Stinky King. His subordinates were Stinky Mouth, Stinky Leg, Stinky Thigh, Stinky Hand, Stinky Fish, Stinky Prawn, Stinky Snake, and a whole other bunch of mean people. Stinky Two had not managed to secure himself the title of Stinky like those mentioned before, but had instead named himself Stinky Two and became known as such over time.

After that… their gang was captured by the police. Stinky Two had managed to escape due to his young age, but his work slowly lost its meaning.

When he was older, he began looking for a stable job at Lu family's stall. He delivered goods and peddled fishes. He would occasionally threaten the stall owners outside the seafood market for the fun of it.

However, he was not related to Lu Haishan. He did not want to fight to earn a living either, so he was sent to Lu Haishan's very own sister.

Lu Jinling was seated on her motorbike like it was a bench. He had both her legs on the same side of the motorbike while the breeze caught her hair. She unzipped the top of her jacket and grinned.

"Do you think you would be able to make the call in time if I really do cross the road?"

"As long as we don't cause trouble, Deer King could settle everything with a phone call," Stinky Two meekly said, sounding nothing like his past brave, belligerent self.

Lu Jinling did not expect much from Stinky Two. Her eyes were fixed at the gaudy lights of Pure Gold.

"You better call that Rotten Fish Legs first. Why isn't he here yet?"

"Rotten Fish Legs needs to take the bus, so he'll take a while. We couldn't give him a lift as we were busy with the delivery of goods," said Stinky Two.

Bored, Lu Jinling took out her phone to play and waited for another half an hour. Finally, she saw Rotten Fish Legs with his dyed, red hair.

At that moment, some noise could be heard coming from Pure Gold.

"Should we go in?"

Rotten Fish Legs was abnormally excited.

"Don't even think about it."

Stinky Two muttered, "We are just here to take a look."

"If we're just here to 'take a look', then we should go in to do so."

Rotten Fish Legs stomped his feet. He was eager to make a name for himself—too eager.

He was not even twenty yet, and it was the best time to make a name for himself.

Stinky Two's hands caressed his potbelly before he said contentedly while shaking his butt a little, "Rotten Fish Legs, if you dare set foot in that karaoke box, I will bludgeon you and make you the show of the day."

Lu Jinling silently played with her phone, sometimes raising her head to look at the doors of Pure Gold.

After a while, the long-awaited cries of battle appeared.

Lu Jinling stood up to take a look, and she spotted a group of men barging out of the karaoke box.

Apart from the big group, a few wounded men came stumbling out, clutching certain parts of their body like cute birds who had lost their way next to a group of swan geese returning back to their nest.

"Let's go…" Lu Jinling drove the van away and pointed at the pallet jack used to transfer baskets of seafood. It was the silent instruction to have Rotten Fish Legs and Stinky Two fetch it.

Even though they did not understand what it was meant for, they complied all the same. Pulling pallet jacks was something they did every single day in the market, anyway.

Lu Jinling strode through the parking lot. Her long legs covered a substantial amount of distance. It did not take long before she came upon a thug leaning against the lamp post. Half of his body was covered in blood, and he had the thousand-yard stare on his face.

"Take him away." Lu Jinling pointed from afar.

"What?" Stinky Two and Rotten Fish Legs were confused.

"Lift him up to the pallet jack, then take him back," Lu Jinling said.

"No… What!" Stinky Two was confused. If she wanted to take a look at a fight, then so be it. Thugs watching their own kind fighting against each other was just like how the upper class of the society watched theatrical performances. It was good enough to just watch, but it would be too crass for them to get involved in it.

Lu Jinling mulled over her thoughts for a moment before she also came to the conclusion that pulling an injured person onto a pallet jack was too stupid. She approached the weakened man and said, "I have a van, I can send you to the hospital. Do you have the money to see a doctor?"

"You are… Deer?"

The injured man recognized Lu Jinling and looked around before he asked, "The Deer King has come?"

"Just answer my question. Do you want to go to the hospital?"

Lu Jinling was getting annoyed.

"Call… Call my brothers, they'll pay on my behalf."

The thug's T-shirt was covered in mud and blood. It took a great deal of effort for him to extract his phone.

"Oh, new Apple. Sure, that will be 1,000." Lu Jinling nodded her head.

"Rotten Fish Legs, search through his wallet."

"There's 600 here." Rotten Fish Legs felt that he had a vague understanding of what Lu Jinling was up to, so he acted fast.

"Stinky Two, give him a bill. You could just use the bill we use for fish delivery and get him to the hospital. We usually charge 2,000, but I'll give you a 20% discount, so it's 1,600. I'll take the phone as your deposit. If you are willing, just sign here. If you are not, I'll just transfer other people." Lu Jinling had been working in her brother's shop for about three years. She was an excellent accountant, capable of writing even as she spoke.

Stinky Two was also rather familiar with writing these sort of bills. With a few swift strokes of the pen, he produced a bill which he held out for the wounded man to take.

"How should I address you, brother?"

"Turkey."

"Turkey? What's your real name? Could you tell me your ID number?"

Turkey stared at the two of them as if he was hesitating about something.

The battle was already dying down. Those who could still move were either fleeing the site, or chasing those who were fleeing the site. There was no telling which side had won.

The ones injured and on the ground could only pray hard… Never before had their brothers come back for them. Normally, they would either call for the ambulance, the cab, or they would just wait for the cops to arrive.

Calling for an ambulance was not cheap, the starting price was 50 RMB and every kilometer onwards was 7 or 10 RMB. There was even a need to pay for the deadhead charge and the return ride. If these ambulances brought along doctors and nurses, they would even be charged with consultation fees.

Cabs and patrol cars were not as costly upfront, but if you happened to bleed all over the car seats and stain the interior, there would be a need to pay for the cleaning…

Turkey grimaced in pain. More blood flowed from his body. He was starting to regret joining this battle, but he could not afford to bleed anymore.

"My name is Wang Ji. My ID card is in my wallet," Turkey weakly said.

Stinky Two smiled knowingly. He filled out the bill and had him sign it, complete with a palmprint.

"Rotten Fish Legs, get to work," Stinky Two shouted and felt his entire body filled with energy.

"Aye!" Rotten Fish Legs replied, feeling motivated.

'Chauffeuring passengers, such a lucrative business…' The pallet jack was quickly pushed to the parking lot, like how they often pushed fishes. They folded the backseats of the van down and threw Turkey into it before slamming the door shut.

At that moment, Stinky Two was already finished with the second bill. He handed it to the wounded Fire Bull and had him sign it.

Rotten Fish Legs then sent more people into the van. Stinky Two was giddy with excitement. He followed behind Lu Jinling and said approvingly, "Sister Golden Deer, this is a great idea. We have gotten ourselves three to four people, and there is now more than ten thousand RMB in this van. Furthermore, we can earn much more with all the phones and watches used as deposits."

Lu Jinling's lips curled into something that resembled a snarl. "You called me Deer before this, and now you call me Sister Golden Deer when you see the money?"

"I have always treated you as my lady boss, Sister Golden Deer. You have a good mind on your shoulders. Why don't we just fetch more wounded guys in the future instead of delivering fishes?"

Stinky Two was not embarrassed in the slightest. Well, what was there to be embarrassed about? As long as there was money to be earned, what pride did he have to guard? More importantly, Lu Jinling was the one who earned this money.

Having a van and manpower was one thing. Even knowing the details of their 'customers' ID was considered secondary. The bills they wrote, had the people sign, and their action of making these people offer up these items as deposits could only work when there was someone with a background like the Deer King supporting their actions.

A thug might not bring cash with him when he was out for business. The bill signed now might not be acknowledged later.

But with Deer King's support, the fee of a few thousand was something that no one would dare deny paying. They still needed to show some respect to him.

Deer King would probably support this, seeing that his sister Lu Jinling was able to make a living of her own.

"Pick the ones with minor injuries."

Lu Jinling pointed into the distance at a person who had been slashed on the thigh.

The wound looked severe, but it was, in fact, the easiest to work with. Lu Jinling believed that since Ling Ran was just an intern, messy wounds would be too much for him.

Stinky Two listened and nodded. "Minor injuries are good. We don't have to risk having people die on us, and we even get to save up on space. I could still take in two more."

Very soon, the van usually used for delivering fishes now carried five wounded thugs, and they now traveled on the highway to the city.

"To Yun Hua Hospital."

Lu Jin Ling locked her motorbike up and shooed Rotten Fish Legs to the back of the van. The man was forced to huddle up with the bloodied men in the back as she claimed his seat beside the driver.

Stinky Two stepped on the gas. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and said to the few people in the back of the car, "Sister Golden Deer is a kind woman. She could have thrown you guys into the horrible hospital ahead at the same price of two thousand, don't you agree with me?"

The few in the back of the car were not of the same gang. At that moment, they were staring and cursing one another out.

"By the way, you need to pay the deposit if you want to receive emergency treatment. Kindly fill in these bills from me. That'll be five thousand each. Treat it as a loan from me."

Lu Jinling had suddenly thought of this. In her heart, she said, 'Fortunately, I thought about this, or else Ling Ran would get an earful from the higher ups in the hospital.'

When Stinky Two heard this, his eyes brightened, and he once again praised her, "Sister Golden Deer is such a kind woman. She saved you when you were in trouble by lending money to you guys to treat your injuries. The interest rate is 40%, and you have three months to pay back. Reasonable, right? Those who are willing, sign the bill. Those who are not, get out of the car."

The injured men in the fish delivery van complained briefly. They were already broke, but they still needed to use the money to tend to their wounds, and getting the money here was the same as getting it elsewhere. They had no choice but to get it from her.

"Drive faster, if we drive faster, we can still make another trip."

Rotten Fish Legs was suddenly the anxious one. Stinky Two laughed with his face beaming. The Deer King himself had a small-scale loan company under his name, and commissions would be given out for every successful loan made.

Lu Jinling grinned. The more rounds she made, the more she could see Ling Ran. That was… a pretty good deal, in her books.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 24: New Achievement

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The flickering street lights illuminated Yun Hua Hospital's outline in the night. It stood out like a huge, religious monument.

People started to crowd around this monument. Light shone from within the monument. The people laughed, cried, and shouted as they surrounded the monument, speaking of their fear, helplessness, anger, grief, and happiness.

The busiest department in the hospital at night was the Gynecology Department. Not far behind would be the operating theaters. As for the Emergency Department, only luck would tell.

Whenever a factory blew up, the Emergency Department would have a busy day.

First-string resident doctors and attending physicians would always have their hands full. Second-string attending physicians and associate chief physicians were perpetually sleep-deprived. Third-string chief physicians also found themselves staying in the resuscitation room more often than not.

It was only after dawn that doctors started coming in and out of the Emergency Department to grab some food.

Huo Congjun came out of the resuscitation room early. He did not go to the stifling Emergency Department, but the slightly more relaxed treatment room.

When he stepped in, he saw a few doctors gathered in a tight circle, whispering among themselves.

"How many has he done now?"

"He has at least stitched up fifty patients. The electronic medical record keeps renewing the data."

"Without sleeping? Young people sure are filled with energy. Wait… how does he still have the time to write reports?"

"Didn't you see the intern next to this room? That guy is the acting secretary."

"He's an intern, but he has his own interns acting as assistants…"

The resident doctors were talking. As their mouths moved, their eyes were locked upon Ling Ran. Their faces reflected shock and scorn, but their hearts brewed envy.

His excellent skills in suturing were one thing, but his energy levels were inhuman.

Ling Ran steamrolled through the surgeries one after another. After tens of hours, he still looked as fresh as ever. This was amazing. It was like something that could only happen on the TV screen.

Huo Congjun surveyed the few faces. He asked, "Why don't you all go help him?"

"Ah… Department Director Huo."

"The department director is here."

"Department Director."

The doctors on duty were all junior doctors. When they saw Huo Congjun, they jumped up, and one of them immediately said, "It's not that we don't want to help him. The patients demanded that Ling Ran tend to their wounds."

"This is a hospital, not a footbath…" As Huo Cong Jun said that, he walked past a few treatment rooms and into Ling Ran's room. He peered over the young man's shoulder and began observing carefully.

Doctor Zhou was exhausted. He was barely even awake. The nurses prodded him, and he hurriedly stood up. He attempted to greet Huo Congjun but was waved off.

Ling Ran had drunk the first Energy Serum two hours ago. His energy levels were at its peak.

He had sutured the wounds of 52 patients at this very moment. He had received five Basic Treasure Chests, and all he got from those were Energy Serums. In addition to the previous reward, he had a total of six Energy Serums.

With the number of vials he had and the frequency of receiving them, Ling Ran grew emboldened to try one out.

It tasted sour and sweet, almost like rice wine.

The effects were very apparent.

At that moment, Ling Ran felt as if he had just gotten up from a good night's sleep.

His actions were precise. Every movement he made was stable and firm.

Huo Congjun's gaze was scrutinizing and critical.

He was a former military doctor who had seen the battlefield. He knew the consequences of greed. Even if Ling Ran's sutures were of a certain quality and that patients had acknowledged him, he still intended to find faults in his technique so that he could teach this young man a good lesson.

After all, if a sword was not sharpened, it would be no good for cutting.

With the same logic, doctors would also need to be sharpened.

With those thoughts in his mind, Huo Congjun eyed the treatment of the wounds like an eagle.

The positioning of the local anesthesia was correct and performed skillfully.

The cleaning of the wound was done well, but that was necessary.

The edges of the wound were aligned parallel to each other, and it was a job well done.

His simple interrupted sutures were up to standard… Not much could be said about it.

Once Huo Congjun was done observing the details, he moved on to the entire procedure. Then, he felt as if he was staring at the diagrams in textbooks.

It was so precise that he could not believe it.

These diagrams depicted the prime, perfect examples of a surgery. It was a fantasy of what surgeries would be like if carried out without a hitch. But as the Emergency Department's department director, Huo Congjun knew all too well how difficult it would be for a doctor to be able to stitch up a wound in the exact same manner as the diagrams in the books.

First, the patient suffering from the wound would not act like what the textbook showed.

Minor wounds which required three to four stitches would have differing positions, severity, and depth of the wound. How could you expect a doctor to repeat the feats shown in the textbook down to a tee?

Secondly, the treatment performed in the Emergency Department was emergency treatment. When patients arrived, their wounds were fresh and bleeding, and many would be screaming their lungs out in pain. There was not much room for a doctor to examine their wounds in detail.

Most of the time, doctors in the Emergency Department prioritized on speed and efficiency over precision. They would close up the wound, but they would not pay much attention to the aesthetics. Many took the rough, robust threads and just stitched up their patients' wounds, causing them to look like centipedes.

Ling Ran had been suturing continuously for more than ten hours. He had sutured the wounds of fifty patients, and was still performing as perfectly as he did the first…

Huo Congjun's intention to nitpick seemed to have been snuffed.

His love for the gifted was brimming like an erupting volcano.

When Doctor Zhou first introduced him to Ling Ran, he was only shocked by Ling Ran's age and his skills. Today, Ling Ran had earned his full and unadulterated approval.

The suture was so impeccably done that one would wonder about the time spent to hone such skills. If he could perform up to standard after suturing fifty something patients, then it could only mean that Ling Ran possessed an extraordinary sense of responsibility and a great attitude to treat patients.

'Wait… there were actually fifty something patients who required stitches today?'

Huo Congjun frowned and turned to Doctor Zhou. "Where did the accident take place?"

Doctor Zhou held his breath and eyed him beadily. When he realized that Department Director Huo was not about to scold anyone, he let out a breath and blurted out. "It's not about where or if there was any accident to begin with. Someone just sent the patients here."

Huo Congjun looked at him silently, unamused. 'Really, if the patients were not sent here, did the sky spit them out now?'

"It's this…" Doctor Zhou looked around before spotting Lu Jinling.

After a day of hard work, Lu Jinling was slightly exhausted. She glanced pointedly at Department Director Huo's thinning hair and spoke with a lazy drawl, "We are Golden Deer Health Services Pte Ltd."

"Golden Deer?" Huo Congjun's mind was searching for this name.

"We transport patients."

This was the main project of their company, which Lu Jinling and Stinky Two came up with after some discussion.

Lu Jinling had resolutely decided to take up this business full-time. The money earned on this day was easily more than acting as an assistant for her brother Lu Haishan.

Hence, when Lu Jinling shifted her gaze towards Ling Ran once she mentioned Golden Deer Health Services Pte Ltd, her gaze became exceptionally gentle… Who would have thought that this serious man would bring her such a good source of income?

When Huo Congjun heard the phrase "patient transportation", he was not even bothered to continue asking. Black cabs remained an unspoken topic in the hospital, especially when it came to the Emergency Department.

"Doctor Zhou."

Huo Congjun's tone was serious.

"Check Ling Ran's surgical records and take note of the patient's condition when they come back to remove the stitches. If all is well…"

"Ling Ran, take a day off." Huo Congjun raised his voice for everyone to hear, "Wake up early tomorrow, I'll let you come with me to observe a day of surgery."

The few resident doctors in the area exchanged looks. They were stunned to silence.

An intern at the operating table?

What was the difference between this and hitting the jackpot?

Ling Ran tied a knot and lifted his head to look at Doctor Zhou and then at Huo Congjun, saying, "What I did today is just debridement and sutures. They will be fine."

"If they are well, then all is good." Huo Congjun detected Ling Ran's pride and involuntarily allowed his pride to soar in kind. He stopped looking at Ling Ran's operation and headed home.

At the same time, the system slowly delivered its notification before Ling Ran.

[New Accomplishment: Continuous completion of 50 sutures]

[Reward: Intermediate Treasure Chest]

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 25: Intermediate Treasure Chest

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Ran did not immediately open the treasure chest. Instead, he went home and opened it in his own room.

A skill book which shone with a silver light was what emerged from the silvery white treasure chest.

[Level One Skill Book: Elevate a basic skill to Perfect Level]

Ling Ran could not help but rub his chin and begin contemplating.

According to the rank given by the system, Perfect Level was the highest mastery of a skill. It had even surpassed Master Level.

The simple interrupted sutures performed at Master Level were already extraordinary, if it was elevated to Perfect Level, which was one level higher, how would it be like?

Based on Ling Ran's recent observations, even though Yun Hua Hospital was one of the best large-scale, tertiary grade A hospitals in Yun Hua City, only a few doctors there could be said to possess Master Level suture skills.

If he looked at it from a broader sense, there were probably not many doctors that could be said to possess Master Level surgical suture skills in all of Yun Hua City.

'Then, how many would have Perfect Level suture skills?'

When he thought of it, Ling Ran decided against it. The skill book stated very clearly that it could elevate a basic skill to Perfect Level. It was obvious that instead of elevating his suture skills—which were already at Master Level—to Perfect Level, it was more worthwhile to elevate another skill to perfection.

Ling Ran pondered while he tried to open the skill book. In an instant, a skill tree appeared in his mind.

Two options were listed at the top of the skill tree: Basics of Internal Medicine and Basics of Surgery.

The Basics of Internal Medicine was in gray, while the Basics of Surgery was shimmering.

When he tapped on the shimmering Basics of Surgery, there were six more options that twinkled.

[Exposure ]

[Incision ]

[Seperation ]

[Bleeding Control ]

[Suturing ]

[Drainage ]

"All basic surgical techniques, huh?" Ling Ran muttered to himself.

Not long after entering medical school, Ling Ran had heard about these basic surgical techniques from his lecturer.

Even though the basic surgical techniques were divided differently according to various books, the classifications were roughly the same. Theoretically, if a surgeon mastered these six basic surgical techniques, he would be considered a famous surgeon. It was normal for ordinary doctors to be unskilled and lack understanding in one or two of these techniques.

As for medical students, if they were able to perform sutures as they approached graduation, they would already be considered very good.

Because it was Ling Ran's first time using the skill book, and he did not know its value as well, Ling Ran did not rashly tap on the options one by one. Instead, he first chose the option that he needed the most at the moment—Bleeding Control.

Indeed, after choosing the Bleeding Control option, he really did not know how to return to the homepage.

[Operational Bleeding Control ]

[Interventional Hemostatic Bandage ]

[Chemical Hemostatic Agent ]

[Topical Hemostatic Agent ]

There were four options in total. Ling Ran thought about it for a while and chose 'Operational Bleeding Control'. However, that was not the end of the division.

There were actually four more options under the option of Operational Bleeding Control.

[Perstriction ]

[Hemostasis by Pressure ]

[Hemostasis by Heat ]

[Barehanded Bleeding Control ]

Ling Ran could see that this was probably why the skill book was only at Level One.

If it were of the same level as the Newbie Gift Package, Ling Ran might be able to directly obtain the Perfect Level of the previous option–Operational Bleeding Control. That would be very useful in the Emergency Department, and he would feel even more at ease when performing surgery in the future.

'Still, even the four options below it are also considerably decent. After all, it did not take too much work to obtain the Intermediate Treasure Chest…'

As Ling Ran thought, he made another choice. He selected Barehanded Bleeding Control in his mind.

This time, no more options appeared.

There was sparkling gold light, and the words Perfect Level were attached to the Barehanded Bleeding Control skill.

Ling Ran lowered his head and savored it slowly.

He did not choose perstriction because he wanted to avoid wastage. It was obvious that suturing skills were also utilized in perstriction. Most likely, it would have required some additional surgical steps or for the surgeon to use some high class medical equipment. It would not be worthwhile to make it his first choice.

The remaining options—hemostasis by pressure and hemostasis by heat—were also not bad, but basically required the assistance of medical devices.

Ling Ran would have to work hard and prove his worth a lot longer before he could use medical devices in the Emergency Department. Barehanded bleeding control was the only one that Ling Ran could utilize immediately.

Medical approaches were not differentiated by whether they were good or not, they were only differentiated by whether they could or could not be used.

And even for higher level surgeries, the barehanded bleeding control technique was also often used in departments such as the Cardiology Department and the Nephrology Department.

Ling Ran extended his hand and imagined that he had the patient's entire kidney under his control. He imagined applying equal pressure to it with his thumb and forefinger, balancing his strength with the pressure between his fingers to achieve the objective of controlling the bleeding by pressing on it…

If what he possessed was the Master Level Barehanded Bleeding Control Technique, he reckoned that he would not be able to be do this so skillfully and at ease. And if it were of Specialist Level, the patient might even have some postoperative complications.

As Ling Ran thought, he blearily fell asleep. When he woke at breakfast time, even though he had only slept for four or five hours, he still felt relaxed and refreshed. He even felt like he had slept a lot.

After suturing patients for one day and one night, it turned out that he only needed a few hours of sleep to be recharged and alert. It meant that the Energy Serum was extremely effective.

Ling Ran thought, 'If that's the case, if I have enough Energy Serums in the future, I could even save time by not sleeping. I might even be able to use the Energy Serum for other purposes, but the thing is… I don't know what else to use it for.'

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Ling Ran went downstairs. Before he could even stand properly, he heard his father's booming voice.

"My son is here. Everyone, take a look at my son. My son was the one who cured Boss Yang."

Ling Jiezhou placed a hand on his waist and waved his other hand at the members of the neighborhood who were receiving fluid transfusions.

Transfusion patients were the best listeners. They looked at Ling Ran in unison. Ling Ran remained calm.

If his mother, Tao Ping, was a quiet and artistic middle-class woman who pursued enjoyment, his father, Ling Jiezhou, was always over-excited when they had guests over. Ling Ran had been aware of this since he got his first medal when he was in kindergarten.

"The hand of Old Yang, from the knife-cut noodles restaurant, is recovering really well. Yesterday, he went for a re-examination, and they said that ninety percent of his hand's functionality can be recovered. Their whole family was so happy. The people in the neighborhood know about it too. These past few days, they are all waiting to see you so that you can have a look at their illnesses." Even though Ling Jiezhou looked like he was talking to Ling Ran, he was actually still boasting to the crowd with all his might.

Ling Ran glanced at the area where the patients waited to see the doctor. There was no one there at all.

"Come, come, come, give it a try. You happen to be off this afternoon." Ling Jiezhou dragged Ling Ran and wanted to make him sit down.

Ling Ran said calmly, "Even if I were to practice in the clinic, you wouldn't be able to cut back on Doctor Xiong's pay. You probably have to pay me for working overtime as well."

Ling Jiezhou hesitated for a few seconds and said, "It's our family business, you have to take care of it. Look, we have more customers today."

"There's still a difference between patients and customers." After becoming a doctor, Ling Ran had grown a little sensitive towards this topic.

Ling Jiezhou froze for a moment, but he started laughing after that. He pointed at Ling Ran and said, "Your father doesn't understand medicine. But you don't understand business. Think about it, would the people who come to our clinic prefer to be called patients or customers?"

This time, Ling Ran was the one who froze.

With a serious tone, Ling Jiezhou told Ling Ran about the truth he had discovered after all these years. "Our clinic caters to people in the neighborhood. We shouldn't only treat their headaches and fevers, we should also make them happy, right? What would make them happier than calling them customers?"

At this moment, Tao Ping heard the commotion and came downstairs. She said, "Old Ling, don't pollute my son with your rotten thoughts."

"Not polluting, not polluting," Ling Jiezhou said nonchalantly. "I said it a little too crudely. I should have said: As a doctor, you not only have to treat people, but also their hearts. Isn't that right?"

Tao Ping smiled and turned to ask Ling Ran, "You worked overtime yesterday? What's with your hospital, working a student who just began his internship to this extent?"

"They don't pay you for working overtime, right? Do they provide free meals? Look at how the hospital does business, using all of you like donkeys. And all of you willingly throw yourselves into it as well." Ling Jiezhou's train of thought was completely different, though.

Tao Ping said unhappily, "Away with you. He gets to perform surgery if he works overtime. Not all interns get to perform surgery. It's because Little Ran has good medical skills, isn't it?"

Ling Ran nodded honestly.

If he only took into account his Master Level in Suturing, he did have really good medical skills. Now that he had obtained Perfect Level Barehanded Bleeding Control, it seemed like he had become quite the impressive doctor.

"I knew it. Ah, wait for a while, I asked the gods for something good for you." Tao Ping went back upstairs in a haste and came back with a jade pendant.

The jade pendant was clean and fair like a stone, it felt smooth like a stone, and smelled delicate like… a stone. It was understandable that Ling Ran doubted its authenticity.

"I asked for it from Eternal Celebration Temple. This is Manjushri [1]. I got it for when you take the exam for a professional title in the future. But since you'll be performing surgery tomorrow, I'll let you wear it first." Tao Ping earnestly showed it to Ling Ran and said, "Take a look, it's real Hetian, with good workmanship."

Ling Ran stared at the jade pendant, which did not look quite symmetrical, and asked, "How much did you buy it for?"

"Requested, you mean. I requested it." Tao Ping corrected him conscientiously.

"How much did you ask it for?"

"30 RMB."

"A 30 RMB Hetian? I don't think that's even enough to buy a white marble."

"How is that not enough?" Tao Ping said slowly, "A sincere heart can work wonders. You cannot judge it by its monetary value. I asked for this from Eternal Celebratory Temple. The manager personally told me that this is an authentic Hetian. He only asked for 30 RMB from me because he saw that I was sincere," Tao Ping spoke in all seriousness.

Ling Ran interrupted her and asked, "How was the manager able to see that you were sincere? With a questionnaire?"

"It's a matter of the heart."

"They talk about this in Buddhism, too?"

Ling Jiezhou smelled danger, and quickly reminded his son, "No matter what, you must take care of this jade pendant well."

Thus, Ling Ran put it in his pocket.

Ling Jiezhou shook his head and said, "I once lost your mother's diamond necklace."

"You even lost a diamond necklace?"

Ling Jiezhou nodded regretfully, as though reminiscing something from a long time ago. He said slowly, "The one on your mother's neck. She bought it for 3 RMB years ago. In the end, I only found one which was a little similar to the one she lost after spending more than 10,000 RMB."

"And the diamonds are a lot smaller." Tao Ping added. As she spoke, she swung the necklace on her neck. The foremost little diamonds sparkled.

"I was the one who didn't look earnestly for it." Ling Jiezhou's tone became even more regretful, and he warned Ling Ran again, "You must take care of the jade pendant well. Don't misplace it just because it only costs 30 RMB, or else you might not even be able to buy a piece of authentic Hetian with one year of your internship salary."

Ling Ran asked in a probing manner, "If I lose this jade pendant, can't I buy another jade pendant that looks similar?"

"At the time, I thought so, too." Ling Jiezhou chuckled and said, "But the necklaces I bought back then that looked similar to the missing one were all exposed as fake diamond necklaces. If you lose a Hetian jade pendant, you can't just replace it with an alabaster jade pendant, right?"

Ling Jiezhou stressed the word "Hetian".

Ling Ran finally understood. It did not matter whether the figure of Buddha in his pocket was made of stone or jade, it had the value of a jade now.

"The price inflated so quickly."

"Yeah…" Ling Jiezhou had a desolate expression. "It skyrocketed."

Translator's Note:

A bodhisattva associated with prajñā (insight) in Mahayana Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism, he is also a yidam. His name means "Gentle Glory" (Source: Wikipedia)

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 26: Sincere Gratitude

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the morning, Department Director Huo Congjun stepped into the Emergency Department, made a strong cup of tea, poured away the first brew, sat down, and leisurely drank the subsequent brew.

After that, he walked out of the department director's room with his hands clasped behind his back, and began to make his rounds starting from the observation room.

Behind Huo Congjun were three associate chief physicians and six attending physicians.

The doctors took the formation of a sharp arrow like lions on the plains bringing their lionesses out to hunt.

The resident doctors on duty waited in front of their patients' beds like dholes on the prairie, waiting for the leftovers between the lion's teeth.

The interns seemed like vultures flying freely in the sky. They had no fixed positions, and patients took no notice of them. They could only wait quietly to clean up the remains left behind by the lions and the dholes.

The area belonging to a department was not big. There were only a few dozen beds in observation rooms such as the ones belonging to the Emergency Department.

However, the lions and dholes still needed to maintain the order in the department.

In addition to Huo Congjun, there were two other chief physicians who acted as directors in the Emergency Department of Yun Hua Hospital. They were not required to follow him on his rounds.

Although they were all called department directors, Huo Cong Jun was still the owner of the territory with actual administrative powers. The other two chief physicians had these senior titles attached to their persons, but they were just like wandering lions. They would need to put in more effort to retain their freedom.

The hospital went about retaining order in each department at seven o'clock in the morning every day.

Ling Ran wore a white coat, put that Hetian jade pendant worth 30 RMB into his bag, and went into the emergency room to silently observe everything around him.

He had already acquired some hunting skills that would allow him to kill specific illnesses, but in this territory, those skills were far from enough for him to survive.

"Young Ling…" Huo Congjun suddenly called out to him and waved Ling Ran over.

"This is your patient, please give us a brief outline of the patient's condition." Huo Congjun stood in front of the patient in Bed 12, glanced at her medical record before handing the document over to Ling Ran who was striding forward.

According to the system, the patient actually belonged to Attending Physician Doctor Zhou. Even if everyone in the department knew of Ling Ran's magnificent feat of performing more than 50 sutures the day before yesterday, Department Director Huo should still first ask the attending physician for the patient's condition.

However, the director of a department was the king in a territory. He could do whatever he wanted to do. Even if the department director wanted to remove a kidney from a seemingly healthy patient, the other doctors could only verbally disagree with his decision, but were otherwise helpless to stop him.

Of course, the patient and the patient's family could intervene, but in a hospital environment, the authority of the department director was still second to only a few.

While taking note of the patient's condition, Ling Ran said, "Patient, female, 19 years old, has always been physically fit. There are lacerations on her elbow due to a fall from the stairs, and debridement was carried out…"

As he read off the medical report, he finished his first bedside case presentation.

Without waiting for Ling Ran to catch a breath, Huo Congjun suddenly asked, "Why did you choose the #0 thread?"

The #0 thread was much finer than the commonly used #4 thread in the Emergency Department. According to the standards of the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), #4 threads were indicated as 2-0, with a diameter of 0.3 millimeters. By those same standards, #0 threads was 4-0 and had a diameter of only 0.15 millimeters, which was exactly half of #4 threads'.

The diameter was twice as thick, and the cross-sectional area of one of the threads was four times the size of the other. That would be similar to the contrast between a little finger and a thumb.

Correspondingly, the tensile strength, which was the force allowing the thread to be stretched without breaking between the threads, was also different, with the #0 thread being much weaker.

In other words, wounds sutured using the #0 thread were more likely to be torn open as compared to the larger #2 threads, #4 threads, or even #7 threads.

Ling Ran was slightly taken aback by the question. The girl on the sickbed and her family members were just as puzzled and looked at the young doctor.

"I think the #0 thread can meet the requirements to stitch this wound," Ling Ran quickly responded, but it was more of an attempt to deflect than to answer, and his response was too simple.

For interns, housemen, resident doctors, and other junior doctors, being asked difficult questions during ward rounds was a daily routine in the hospital. Even so, they would attempt to blurt out two sentences to appear somewhat competent.

After all, being asked difficult questions was still a rare opportunity for the doctors to show off their expertise.

Huo Congjun shook his head and continued to ask, "Why didn't you choose the regular thread? What are you going to do if the wound you sutured using the #0 thread opens?"

"If it opens… I can just restitch it?" Ling Ran thought that it was a silly question. However, he was not going to put his superior in a spot… He might have done something like that before, but he did not need to do it every single time.

Ling Ran gave a kind and caring smile. He looked like a beaming, dazzlingly handsome sun.

Huo Congjun was unable to determine Ling Ran's thought process. He had been performing ward rounds every day and had listened to bedside case presentations for decades, but he had never seen such a clever, young doctor.

The chief physicians, associate chief physicians, attending physicians, and resident doctors who joined the ward round also fell into a long silence.

Good old Doctor Zhou sighed to himself and coughed to clear his throat. "I saw that the wound was not very serious and believed that the #0 thread could bring about the desired effect, so I allowed Ying Ran to use it."

"Don't you defend him, you are also in the wrong," Huo Congjun did not hold back, not even before the patient's family. "Ling Ran was rash in his decision to choose the #0 thread. You had to point it out."

The family members of the patient who could not understand what was being said instantly became anxious. Her mother, who was standing beside the bed, asked hastily, "Doctor, is there a problem with my daughter's arm?"

"There is no problem now, but it requires more careful care, and you have to avoid strenuous activity. We are simply determining the tensile strength of the thread. We are just worried that it would not be strong enough, and if it tears, the wound will not heal well." Huo Congjun always had a pleasant expression when he spoke to patients, and was not as stern and serious as he usually did during meetings. His demeanor was no different just because the patient's injury was mild.

The family members of the patients looked at each other, and all of them seemed worried and anxious.

It was only at this moment that Ling Ran understood the key points of Huo Congjun's question. He immediately spoke up, "The tensile strength of the #0 thread is sufficient. Avoiding activities and being careful is something every patient should do, and I don't think she needs to worry too much about it."

Huo Congjun used the tone he used whenever he lectured his subordinates.

"But those worries would be further assuaged if you were using the #4 thread, don't you think?"

"The patient is only nineteen. The surface area of the wound was large, but not deep. If a thick thread was used, the scar left would be too huge, which could affect her life later on."

The patient did not understand very well about what the doctors said when they rambled on about the #0 and #4 threads, but when Ling Ran spoke about the threads in terms of thickness and thinness, she, along with several other people, instantly understood what exactly the doctors were talking about.

The look given by the slightly plump girl on the bed was no longer full off skepticism, but one of genuine gratitude.

But the former military doctor Huo Congjun was not swayed by his explanation. He said, "It is alright to take scarring into consideration. But you have to understand that there are many causes to scarring. It is related to the patient's physical constitution and the condition of the wound. From that perspective, it is not advisable to choose the #0 thread."

It was only at this moment that the girl on the bed started to truly become nervous. She looked at Ling Ran in panic.

"The thread aside, the tissues on both sides of the wound should be tightly aligned, and the skin should be flat." Ling Ran lifted his head and said, "That has been achieved."

After pausing for two seconds, he continued and said, "The distribution of the suture's tension should be concentrated in the subcutaneous tissue and the deep layer of the dermis. There should be no tension in the superficial layer of the dermis and the epidermis… This was also achieved. I think the scar tissue will not grow too much. That is why it is necessary to consider the thickness or thinness of the suture."

When Ling Ran first started to speak, Huo Congjun and the doctors behind him had looked down on him slightly.

From their point of view, Ling Ran had bypassed the larger issue for a childishly short-sighted one. Throughout their professional careers, they had seen far too many of this sort who could not grasp the gravity of the situation and acted rashly.

However, the two problems Ling Ran raised later on and his actions to solve them gave a real surprise to all who were present.

They were not complex problems, but the fact that he had considered them and took steps to resolve them had amazed them.

"Is it time to change the dressing? Let's do it now." Huo Congjun found a reason for the nurse to remove the gauze on the patient's arm.

All the doctors who were present bent over and observed the wound on the girl's arm.

Among them, Huo Congjun was the one who observed the wound especially seriously.

After a long time, Huo Congjun looked up, but he waved and signaled the other resident doctors and interns to come over. He said, "Ling Ran, come talk about your thoughts while you were performing the suture."

Ling Ran had never suffered from stage fright, and he also had, in his possession, a simple interrupted suturing technique at Master Level, which was why he could speak with ease, "Usually, sutures used after debridement are simple interrupted sutures. This was no exception. During the suture, my main focus was to pay attention to the angle and depth when I inserted the needle into the skin. I had to make sure that the part where the knot is tied bulges after the suture, which will then act as a buffer before the scar formation."

There were nearly ten resident doctors and more than ten interns surrounding a sickbed and hence, the space was clearly insufficient. Some people even stood on chairs just to be able to see the patient inside.

The patient's family now understood that the doctor had excellently performed the operation, and they very happily offered up their spaces to the other doctors.

Ling Ran's voice was not loud, but it was clear.

"The underlying principle is that the needle is gently inserted into the thick wound edge, and the needle is deeply inserted into the thin wound edge. Besides, because the patient has a skin defect, the knot should not be too tight to avoid poor blood circulation around the wound, thereby causing a delay in the healing of the wound… After that, I will pay attention to remove the stitches, which could minimize the appearance of scar tissue to its maximum degree…"

"Well said." Huo Congjun led the others into giving Ling Ran a round of applause, and all of a sudden, the sounds of people clapping could be heard in the observation room.

"Everyone, have you learned it?" Huo Congjun looked at the young doctors.

"We've learned it."

"Learned it."

"Understood."

The resident doctors and the interns quickly nodded.

"It's good that you have learned it." Huo Congjun nodded slowly, and then his voice became harsh. "But none of you are allowed to perform it!"

Everyone was surprised and confused.

Huo Congjun said, "There are many ways to cover up scars. For example, you can wear long-sleeved clothes in the future or use a tattoo to cover it up. As a doctor, the first thing you need to consider is the treatment."

"I don't want to wear long sleeves or have any tattoos." The girl shook her head immediately.

Huo Congjun ignored her and continued on, "What Ling Ran took into consideration when he performed the stitches is reasonable, but it is only because he is skilled, that's why he could be confident enough to be this audacious. If your skills aren't on par, don't even dream about it. First learn how to perform your sutures well on wounds before you even think about asking me for permission to perform sutures like this, understand?"

"Understood." This time, the morale of the young doctors plummeted.

No one wanted to admit that they were weaker than someone else, especially when that someone else was an insignificant intern.

Huo Congjun's temper when he was in the army rose, and he raised his voice. "I can't hear you lot clearly, have you not eaten?!"

"Understood." The young doctors raised their voices, but their answers were not spoken as if they were one.

After all, hospital staff were not soldiers, which was why Huo Congjun did not try to force them to answer as one. He turned to Ling Ran. "This time, I'll let you pass. Help the patient change her dressing."

"Yes." Ling Ran was startled by the sudden assignment, but nodded nevertheless.

"Hey, so will I have a scar?" the girl quickly asked when she saw that the ward team turning to leave.

Huo Congjun was already several meters away from her bed, but he still turned his head around and replied, "The scar will be shallower, it is impossible to get away scot-free."

The girl let out a sensible utterance of acknowledgment before she smiled sweetly at Ling Ran, "Thank you, Doctor Ling."

"You're welcome." Ling Ran nodded gently. He was about to change the dressing when a white treasure chest appeared in front of him.

[New Achievement Unlocked: Patient's sincere gratitude]

[Achievement Description: A patient's sincere gratitude is the biggest reward to a doctor]

[Reward: Basic Treasure Chest]

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 27: Drugs to be Administered

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Another Energy Serum came out of the Basic Treasure Chest, bringing Ling Ran's total to six bottles.

As a player who had already gotten the Basic Treasure Chest six times and the Energy Serum seven times, Ling Ran did not care much about getting another Basic Treasure Chest.

However, as a medical student who had just started his internship, Ling Ran still cared about getting that 'sincere gratitude'.

The nurse got lazy and left the task of changing the dressings to the medical interns. Ling Ran took the trouble to do it softly and extremely gently. The nineteen-year-old girl's entire face flushed red with embarrassment from being fiddled with by a handsome guy for a few minutes.

"The dressing is already changed. For the next few days, make sure you don't get your injury wet. Remove the sutures on time and the scar will be less prominent." Ling Ran repeated the Standard Precaution for Patients as usual. Unlike the experienced doctors who treat their words like gold, if Ling Ran did not give the complete Standard Precaution for Patients, he would feel uneasy.

Her family members kept nodding their heads as they listened. The girl also asked, "Doctor… When it's time to remove my sutures, can I ask you to do it?"

"You can get your stitches removed anywhere. You can also do it in other hospitals or clinics," Ling Ran answered according to the hospital's policy.

"I want you to remove my stitches." The girl pouted.

"You can come find me, too. But I might not be on duty at that time."

"It's okay, I'll wait for you to come to work." The girl nodded with all her might.

"You cannot wait when it comes to removing your sutures." Ling Ran's tone suddenly became stern. He said, "Removing the stitches on time will reduce the growth of scar tissue. You can do it slightly earlier, but you cannot delay it. Do you understand?"

The girl froze when she heard Ling Ran's question. Beside her, her family members quickly said, "We understand. We'll definitely remove the sutures on time."

Ling Ran nodded in satisfaction. He looked very authoritative. The girl's eyes sparkled as she held her own arm.

The inspection of a few dozen beds would not take up much time. When a group of patients came to the Emergency Department in the middle of the inspection, the department director's pace was not even disrupted; he solved the problem just by dispatching an experienced attending physician to tend to them.

After they finished the ward round, everyone went back to their respective operating posts. Huo Congjun left the observation room and returned to the resuscitation room. He inspected the resuscitation room as well, looking left and right. Ling Ran followed Huo Congjun and looked left and right, too.

Yun Hua Hospital's Emergency Department received almost a thousand patients every day, but most of them can be treated in the treatment room alone. There were also some other patients whom would be transferred to other departments after receiving basic treatment.

Every day, there were not too many patients who really needed emergency treatment. During the more relaxed periods, there might only be one or two critically-ill patients in a day.

Of course, this kind of relaxation was something that they could only obtain by luck. So, the resuscitation room was in a state of chaos most of the time.

There were patients hooked to ventilators because they were either in shock or were unconscious, and patients with large, burnt areas, but the largest group of patients in the resuscitation room were always the ones who had difficulty breathing. They ranged between Level 1 and Level 2 patients, and were frequenters of the resuscitation room.

"Aaaahhh…"

The entire body of the middle-aged man beside them suddenly started convulsing. Around him, his family members were in chaos. They immediately began yelling for the doctor.

An associate chief physician immediately rushed over. He lowered his head to glance at the patient, and said to a resident doctor who was running towards them, "Prepare the defibrillator."

The nurse beside him did not need to wait for instructions. She began inserting a venous access device into the patient's vein to prepare for fluid transfusion.

Meanwhile, the nurse on the other side pushed the crash cart over and started testing the patient's heart for electrical activity, his blood pressure, and blood oxygen content.

Huo Congjun stood a few meters away with Ling Ran. He suddenly asked, "What are the drugs to be administered?"

"Erm…" Ling Ran's understanding towards the usage of drugs during an emergency was only limited to what he learned from books. He could only recall them desperately.

"It's time to give orders." Huo Congjun was obviously conducting a training simulation or, more appropriately, on-the-spot teaching.

The same question might only be worth five marks in his medical school's final examination paper, but the atmosphere at that time was so pressing that Ling Ran was drenched in cold sweat.

As the air hummed with tension around Ling Ran, he took a deep breath and said, "Epinephrine, and IV injection of lidocaine. And then… dextrose injection and IV transfusion of lidocaine…"

The moment he said that, the associate chief physician, who was tasked with saving the patient ordered, "Epinephrine, lidocaine."

Immediately after that, the associate chief physician personally went over and started performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before using the defibrillator on the patient and giving him injections.

He then continued to issue orders, "5% dextrose and IV transfusion of 250 mg lidocaine."

The emergency operation was standard and nerve-wracking, but orderly. Within a few short minutes, the patient was rescued from the brink of death.

As Ling Ran stared at the nurses' footsteps and listened to the doctor's commands, he did not feel nervous. All he felt was excitement.

He was excited because of the 5% dextrose, because of the 250 mg lidocaine, because of the infusion bag with the standard dosage, and because of the standard emergency procedures.

This kind of certainty and, more importantly, the patient's immediate feedback entranced him.

Other occupations had a very blurred boundary between whether something was right or wrong. That would often only be shown after a long time, and after plenty of subsequent changes appeared after the procedure was executed.

The blurred boundary still existed in hospitals, but it was an extremely thin line. Patients, especially critically-ill ones, would provide feedback at a speed so fast that doctors would not be able to react.

lt might only take one or two seconds for a patient to go from stable electrocardiogram readings to chaotic arrhythmia, and from skyrocketing blood pressures to a normal reading.

The question he answered from Huo Congjun earlier was the easiest question, and any medical student should be able to answer it. The difference was that if you got a question wrong during exams, you would lose points, but if you got a question wrong while practicing, a life would be lost.

"Why is lidocaine used?" Huo Congjun only continued the questioning after he saw the patient regain consciousness.

Ling Ran observed the patient and the movements of the doctors and nurses at the same time while he stood in the noisy emergency room. "Because lidocaine has strong anti-arrhythmic properties."

"And?"

Ling Ran recalled what he studied from his books. "It also has antibacterial and brain protective properties."

Huo Congjun shook his head. "Lidocaine is used in this emergency operation because of the fact that it can prevent an inflammatory reaction. There was a research stating that the usage of lidocaine during surgery can effectively reduce a patient's hospitalization time. Do you usually read research papers?"

Ling Ran answered honestly, "Rarely."

Medical students did not even have enough time to study, so how would he have time to read research papers?

"When you go back, read at least two research papers every day." Huo Congjun acted like a tutor and was already starting to assign tasks.

"Alright." Ling Ran promised him.

As usual, the Emergency Department's resuscitation room was as chaotic as a cock-fighting ring. But as Huo Congjun held Ling Ran's elbow, they were like two outsiders, only observing and talking; as if they were two outlaws, choosing cockerels and commenting on each one in a cock-fighting ring.

There were also other young doctors who wanted to listen in, but they had to return to their busy jobs after only a few minutes.

After this went on for two hours, Ling Ran's head hurt. He was starting to contemplate if he should take an Energy Serum.

The reception nurse put down the phone and yelled, sending a surge of excitement through everyone's head, "Emergency Department, get ready. There's a casualty from an accident who's arriving in five minutes."

This was when Huo Congjun perked up. He shrugged off Ling Ran's arm and took the lead. "Come with me to receive the patient."

The weariness that Ling Ran just began to feel immediately disappeared. He quickly followed Huo Congjun.

He had actually received casualties from accidents before. But as to how different casualties entering the treatment room were compared to the ones entering the resuscitation room… Well, he would know after five minutes.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 28: An Open Wound

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Please make way." Two nurses, one at the front and one the back, were pulling a gurney.

The senior attending physician, Zhao Leyi, followed them in small steps and reported to Huo Congjun, "The patient was injured in a car accident. There's a 7.9 inch open wound on his abdomen. Some parts of the intestines and the greater omentum are exposed and actively bleeding. A sterile pad has been applied to protect the intestines…"

Huo Congjun followed the gurney, and Ling Ran followed Huo Congjun.

The casualty's two family members were blocked behind them, they were perplexed and worried.

From a normal person's point of view, this was a terrible disaster because the exposure of intestines was basically what it meant—a person's intestines had spilled out of his body.

Of course, being transferred to the hospital meant it was not a mild injury. A hospital that was not tertiary grade A might not be capable of handling this, so that was why he was deliberately sent to Yun Hua Hospital.

However, that was the extent of how serious the injury was to the doctors in Yun Hua Hospital.

Because Yun Hua Hospital's Emergency Department had similar casualties practically every month. They also had casualties who suffered different and even more severe injuries.

Huo Congjun was listening while personally inspecting the wound. Then, he began speaking, partly to provide Ling Ran a description of the wounds on the patient, and partly to describe the patient's condition to his colleague, Zhao Leyi, "On the left, there are three to twelve ribs obviously dislocated, heartbeat is 105. There's severe bleeding, we need to prepare for a blood transfusion…"

He did not speak all that fast. There was no extreme sense of urgency in his tone like in the television programs.

The main reason was also that the patient had not reached the point where he needed to receive urgent treatment.

In the hospital's Emergency Department, the doctors always talked according to the patient's vital signs. In the Emergency Department's classification, this kind of patient was a Level 2 patient. The degree of urgency was not as critical as comatose patients.

Hence, the doctors making the decisions could consider more aspects of treatment, and they could also perform the treatment at a slower pace.

Zhao Leyi had worked in the Emergency Department for nearly ten years. He was experienced and knew Huo Congjun well. He calmly translated what Huo Congjun said and spoke as well, ticking off the emergency checklist, "Extract the vein's blood, immediately perform a routine blood test for kidney function, blood type, electrolytes, the first four items before blood transfusion, and blood clotting function…"

At the same time he spoke, he also filled up the emergency checklist. Huo Congjun nodded his head after he looked at it, the checklist was then sent out.

At that moment, the nurses were also done adjusting the patient's body position and an oxygen mask was placed on him. The nurses also connected the electrocardioscope monitor to the patient to measure his vital signs.

"Prepare the second venous access device, 17 ounces of Ringer's solution." Huo Congjun did not test Ling Ran this time, and he quickly made his decision as he said, "Omeprazole 0.3 ounces, saline solution 0.3 ounces, administer one single-dose intravenous injection."

After completing these, Huo Congjun then checked the patient's blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and other vital signs. He then said to Zhao Leyi, "You continue with the resuscitation, I'll talk to the family members. Ling Ran, you come with me."

"Yes." Zhao Leyi was so busy that he could not lift his head.

Huo Congjun brought Ling Ran with him and said to him while walking, "Other than good medical skills, handling the patients and the patient's family is also very important. If I tell you so much now, you might not remember it all. The first thing is that you must have confidence, you must be calm, and you must speak gently."

Normally, Huo Congjun would not actively talk to the family members; he would not do this kind of delicate work.

He was now already the department director. The equivalent of this in a military hospital would be a senior colonel ranked civilian. Unless all bullets and rations had been depleted, he would not enter the battlefield on his own.

Of course, the frequency of the Emergency Department exhausting their resources was relatively high, Huo Congjun still needed to be on the battlefield sometimes.

Huo Congjun laughed after seeing Ling Ran nod his head, he said, "You don't have to talk later, just observe and remember more."

"Alright." Ling Ran nodded his head again.

The two of the patient's family members were already held back outside the resuscitation room. They extended their necks to look, feeling very anxious.

Huo Congjun came through the door and put on a very friendly expression. The scary look that he had in the resuscitation room was no longer there.

"Good evening, are you Mr Lai Zhongde's family members?" Huo Congjun remembered the two who came down from the ambulance, but he still asked.

"Yes, I am his wife." The older-looking women wiped away her tears and asked, "Doctor, how is my husband?"

"Mr Lai is still undergoing resuscitation, I'm the physician in charge, I need to ask you all a few questions. Does the patient have any liver disease or any chronic diseases?"

The patient's wife shook her head and explained, "He is a civil servant, he has alcoholic fatty liver, as well as problems in the three highs[1]."

Huo Congjun nodded his head, and he asked, "Does he have any infectious diseases?"

"No, we have our check-ups done every year."

"Does he have problems like Hepatitis B?"

"No."

"What about other infectious diseases? At this moment, we must be fully aware of the patient's conditions."

"No," the woman said with certainty.

Huo Congjun then made a tick on the paper, asking, "What about allergies? What is he allergic to?"

"He is a bit allergic to pollen, it's no big deal." The patient's wife was trying hard to recall.

Ling Ran discreetly noted it down in his memory while he listened to the their conversation, and tried to identify them with what he knew.

There was a fixed formula in asking about the patient, but it would still require some skill in delivering the enquiries, as well as constructing the order of the enquiries.

Like this patient, if he was a civil servant, and if he had regular check-ups, then she should know about the chronic diseases and allergies he had. There was no need to ask further questions about that. However, infectious diseases could very easily be kept a secret by the patient or those related to him, and this was also something they did often. Huo Congjun, too, asked the most questions regarding this, he was also the most stern in regards to these questions.

He asked a few more questions regarding his drinking habits and his medications. He then said, "From what we have observed, the patient suffered severe bleeding, we need to perform a blood transfusion on him. Do you know if he has gone through a blood transfusion? Does he have a special blood type?"

"He has type-A blood. He has donated blood before."

Huo Congjun then let the patient's wife sign the blood-transfusion consent form, the acknowledgement form, and the resuscitation agreement form. He then allowed the patient's family to make the payment, and then he brought Ling Ran back to the resuscitation room.

Along the way, he said, "You must remember in the future that you must let the patient or their family members sign the agreement form. This is to protect you and the patient, understand?"

"Yes."

"What do you think about the conversation I just had with the patient?"

Ling Ran spoke while recollecting the process of Congjun's questioning, "I need to control the rhythm of the conversation."

"Not bad. What else?"

"Be firm."

"That's right, this is a very important point: You don't give patients unnecessary illusions. I know that to be friendly yet firm is difficult, but the patient does not need us to give them illusions. Our main mission in the Emergency Department is to save the patient." Huo Congjun stopped after he spoke up to that point.

These words were not what he would tell other interns or residents. It was because Huo Congjun favoured Ling Ran highly that he would explain all this with much patience.

The missions in the Emergency Department were complicated and cumbersome, and they could be messed up easily. However, none of the mistakes should not be equated to the relationship between the patient and the doctor. Yet if one could not manage this well, he or she would not be a doctor for very long.

"Department Director Huo." When the doctor who was working at the gurney saw Huo Congjun, his voice became two decibels louder.

"How is it?" Huo Congjun could hear the attending physician's agitation.

"The bleeding won't stop." The attending physician gritted his teeth and forced out the words in his throat.

Editor's Note:

[1] The three highs: high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. All three are problems closely related to obesity.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 29: Barehanded Bleeding Control

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The resuscitation room did not run a general practice. When faced with critically-ill patients who had complicated conditions and serious trauma, their duty was to stabilize the patient's vital signs, and then transfer them to specialized departments for treatment.

If the bleeding could not be stopped no matter what, the patient could not be considered stabilized. Moreover, bleeding meant more than just that, it also signified serious trauma.

"What have you used?" Huo Congjun stood still, neither anxious nor irritated. All sorts of strange diseases could always be seen in the Emergency Department. Being anxious and irritated would not solve the problem.

Under his influence, Zhao Leyi the attending physician also calmed down. He said, "Intramuscular injection of reptilase, iced saline, and norepinephrine. We expedited the application for erythrocytes and plasma of the same blood group, and also gave multiple ethamsylate injections. The patient has been administered a total of 47 ounces of fluids."

As Huo Congjun listened to him, he shined a torch on the patient's pupils and said firmly, "Prepare for emergency surgery. Perform exploratory laparotomy and increase fluid replacement."

"Are we performing exploratory laparotomy now?" Zhao Leyi was a little hesitant. Right now, they still could not confirm that the bleeding source was inside the stomach. If they got it wrong, the patient would be dealt an extra blow.

"Save the patient first before treating him!" Huo Conjun said through gritted teeth.

"The patient is going into shock!" a nurse yelled loudly.

Many patients suffered from circulatory collapse in the resuscitation room, but it was usually not good news for a patient to go into shock during an emergency treatment.

Ling Ran still kept his eyes on the patient. But at this moment, he turned to leave and began to wash his hands in the isolated area.

"Excuse me." A plain and ugly resident doctor who was once in the same group as Ling Ran elbowed Ling Ran aside and started washing his hands under the faucet beside Ling Ran.

Ling Ran shifted a little to the side and continued washing his hands meticulously.

When he saw that Ling Ran was washing his hands so seriously, the resident doctor kindly reminded Ling Ran, "During busy times in the resuscitation room, you'll have to come into contact with countless patients in a day. You can usually just wash your hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and let it air-dry. Or else, if you wash your hands too often, your skin will peel off."

"I'm preparing for surgery," Ling Ran answered and started rubbing his hands together. He did that non-stop, causing heat to be produced.

He had not only sutured almost a hundred patients during his few days in the treatment room, he had also familiarized himself with the way the hospital worked.

The resident doctor looked around in astonishment. "What surgery?"

All the doctors in a hospital's departments were divided into groups. Each treatment group was led by a chief physician or an associate chief physician, and was responsible for one or more patients.

It was also like that during an emergency treatment. All doctors who came into contact with a patient were usually from the same treatment group.

The medical interns were not divided too strictly, but since Ling Ran was following Department Director Huo today, if he wanted to perform surgery, he would naturally be part of Huo Congjun's treatment group.

The plain, ugly resident doctor saw that Huo Congjun was busy with that critically-ill patient. He could not refrain from pursing his lips and thought. 'It's already considered impressive for an intern to be able to run errands during this kind of emergency operation. How would he get to perform surgery?'

If a patient went into shock, it meant that his risk levels had gone from Level 2 to Level 1.

Near-death patients were the most troublesome beings in the resuscitation room. Even regular attending physicians might not be able to participate in their rescue. To put it in a more westernized way, the patient's level of criticality had increased by one.

Ling Ran left the wash basin and returned to the resuscitation room with his hands held together. He put on a pair of latex gloves.

In the Emergency Department, it was actually relatively rare to see a doctor be so serious and ready for surgery. The sight of Ling Ran raising his hands to put on his gloves in such a serious manner attracted many doctors' attentions.

Upon returning to his operating post, the plain, ugly resident doctor could not refrain from laughing out loud. "As expected of a young'un. No matter how highly Department Director Huo thinks of him, it's impossible that Department Director Huo will let him try his hand on a patient who is near death. What is he thinking?"

Doctor Zhou turned to glance at Ling Ran and said casually, "Young Ling just started his internship. He'll understand in the future."

"It's already good that Department Director Huo didn't chase him away. The patient is losing blood and going into shock, and an exploratory laparotomy is about to be performed. What's he doing, going there—Oh my god!" As he spoke, the plain, ugly doctor began shouting.

"Why are you shouting?" Shocked, Doctor Zhou followed the other party's gaze and was startled as well.

Ling Ran stood between the attending physician and Department Director Huo, and was actually directly extending a hand into the open wound on the patient's stomach.

All the doctors in the Emergency Department who saw this were stupefied.

'He actually had the audacity to operate directly without setting up a surgical field. Is this a murder scene?! Even if you disregard the fact that he did not give any warnings before he did this, such a thing is still not seen even during normal surgeries.'

Huo Congjun's enraged stature immediately appeared in the plain, ugly resident doctor's mind. He trembled violently as if he had experienced the department director's scolding himself, and said, "This is the most daring intern I have ever seen."

Even though Doctor Zhou wanted to defend Ling Ran, he had nothing to say.

Compared to the onlookers, Huo Congjun scored the highest on the shock index. From his interactions with Ling Ran in the past two days, Ling Ran was a meticulous young man. Even if Huo Conjun were to become even more imaginative, he would not be able to imagine that Ling Ran would dare to suddenly extend his hand in the middle of an emergency operation, which was a matter of life and death for the patient.

"Ling Ran, let go!" Huo Congjun could not pull Ling Ran's hand away because it would hurt the patient even more.

"The bottom of the patient's Glisson's capsule is bleeding. It's in a bad position and will be hard to suture. If the bleeding isn't stopped quickly, there will be too much blood loss." It only took a few brief sentences for Ling Ran to explain what he was doing and what he was currently doing.

He sounded as if he knew what he was doing, forcing Huo Congjun and Zhao Leyi, the attending physician, with no choice but to look at the monitor.

"Department director, the bleeding has stopped." Zhao Leyi's expression was one of extreme disbelief. Huo Conjun became even more shocked.

He knew that Ling Ran was using the barehanded bleeding control technique. This method was widely used in the resuscitation room, especially during first aid.

The most commonly used acupressure technique could be used on patients whose heads and faces were bleeding by pressing on the maxillary artery on the same side, and on patients whose necks were bleeding by pressing on the carotid artery of the same side. It was also very effective to press on one's axillary artery to stop upper arm bleeding.

But for the bleeding of the liver capsule… If Ling Ran was right, how did he identify the position?

From what Huo Congjun could remember, people who could perform barehanded bleeding control to this extent were rare even in military hospitals. How did a medical intern manage it without corresponding practical experience? Why was he so daring?

"Department director?" Zhao Leyi urged.

Time waited for no one, and changes to the patient's condition could happen at any time.

Huo Congjun glanced profoundly at Ling Ran and spent another few seconds checking the numbers. He finally nodded and said, "Ling Ran, get onto the gurney, don't move the patient. Young Zhao and I will go into the operating theater."

The barehanded bleeding control technique could only temporarily stop the hemorrhaging. Surgery would still need to be carried out.

Huo Congjun called two resident doctors over and instructed them to carry Ling Ran onto the gurney.

The group of people then pushed the patient and Ling Ran into the operating theatre.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 30: Operating Theater

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The first experience that Ling Ran had in the operating theater was while he was affiliated to a medical organization.

In order to ensure the bleeding control's effectiveness, Ling Ran stretched out his arm and held on for nearly an hour. While he waited for the moment his arm would be liberated, his entire limb went numb.

However, this also allowed him to observe an operation from another closer angle. It was also quite a valuable experience for a medical student.

"How did you know the point was at the Glisson's capsule?" After the vital signs of the patient were stabilized, Huo Congjun was also much more relieved than before. He did not even inform the General Surgery Department before he started performing the surgery himself.

He came first from the General Surgery Department. Although he had been transferred to the Emergency Department many years ago, snatching the General Surgery Department's surgeries was still what he did most.

Ling Ran was rubbing his arm. At the same time, he was also recalling the feeling he felt just now as he said, "Because the volume of the bleeding was huge, the patient's abdomen was basically exposed on the front and there were no signs of any other problems such as hemothorax. So I paid attention to the situation of the blood flow."

The technique that Ling Ran acquired was the Perfect Level Barehanded Bleeding Control Technique. For that, not only did his muscle memory become greater, his corresponding knowledge reserves, too, increased.

It could be said that other than the lack of on-site experience, and the lack of practical experience on real and solid bodies, Ling Ran's barehanded bleeding control technique had attained the standard of top-notch doctors.

In comparison to that, even though Huo Congjun was the Director of the Emergency Department, the standard of his barehanded bleeding control technique was only a little better than a beginner, and he was far from reaching Specialist Level. Hence, he was even further away from reaching Master Level and Perfect Level. Besides, he would not spend time studying the barehanded bleeding control technique even if he was free.

This time, Huo Congjun suddenly recalled the pain of being dominated by his mentors and his prodigal classmates at the start of his vocational training.

"Where did you learn this from?" Huo Congjun could only start asking questions from this point on.

Ling Ran thought for two seconds before he decided to throw in his 'question eliminator' and replied, "I learned this from my family's own clinic."

"Your family's own clinic?"

"Lower Groove Clinic."

"That is not far from our hospital. Is it a community health center in an alley of Lower Groove?" Huo Congjun gave it some thought for a few seconds, and found that he actually knew the place. He said, "Lower Groove has always been sending patients to our Emergency Department. I never noticed that they possessed such a skill though."

The Lower Groove Clinic was just like other community health centers. The income source of the health centers basically came from patients with influenza and fevers. But they would sometimes encounter some cases that were more complicated. For instance, patients with acute appendicitis coming to the clinic thinking that they were just having a bad stomach ache; patients who had an ectopic pregnancy thinking that they were just having a normal stomach ache; or patients who had acute pancreatitis thinking that it was just a stomach ache… Or maybe like Boss Yang from the knife-pared noodles restaurant last time. If he did not run into Ling Ran, he would have gotten basic treatment at Lower Groove Clinic and be transferred over to Yun Hua Hospital after that.

Ling Rad also did not expect that Huo Congjun would actually know Lower Groove Clinic. He simply decided to let time solve the problem. "I learned it from the physician in charge."

"Your clinic has such an impressive physician in charge?" said Zhao Leyi, who served as first assistant beside Department Director Huo, but he felt like he was supporting Ling Ran in another form, and he, for some reason, felt a little uncomfortable because of that.

"I have no idea if the physician is good or not," Ling Ran said, "I only learned for a month."

Zhao Leyi was inclined to not believe him as he said, "You can learn it in a month?"

"The main key to learn the barehanded bleeding control technique is talent." Ling Ran's reply was particularly serious. It absolutely did not match the atmosphere in the operating theater.

Zhao Leyi was retorted to the point he was rendered completely speechless. A thought appeared in his head, 'I'm the attending physician, you know? Why would I want to be a stooge to a mere intern?'

He cast an unexpected glance at the young nurses to the side… That was when he noticed the way they looked at Ling Ran: the gentleness, the admiration, and also the indescribable emotion in their gazes he had never felt trained on his person before…

Zhao Leyi felt quite troubled. He looked at Ling Ran again. It felt just like the time back in his elementary school, when he had to watch the class monitor carrying three canes tied together, trying to collect homework from around the class when Zhao Leyi himself did not complete his own homework that morning.

"The liver seems to be in a good shape." After he was done with the bleeding control, Huo Congjun went on to attend to the intestines and the greater omentum. He had become much more relaxed as his words were easier on the ears now.

Zhao Leyi, who was responsible to chat with him, snapped back to attention and also extended his head out to observe the operation. He agreed and said, "The patient is quite lucky. Department director, your suturing is perfect. It should not affect the patient's functionality. He's not merely good luck, your skills are good as well."

The fact that the patient, whose life was in danger and was now saved, gave Huo Congjun a feeling of fulfillment. His mood took a good turn, but he immediately thought about Ling Ran who acted on his own accord. So Huo Congjun put a stop to his intention to praise Ling Ran, and said,

"However, no matter how good your technique is, you still have to follow operating procedures. Even if you are sure that you will succeed, you should not have meddled with this issue like that. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Ling Ran was a person who was willing to follow operating procedures, but the procedures that he was willing to abide by were the technical procedures, not the administrative ones.

If he was not an intern but was an attending physician or associate chief physician, his stunt of pulling off a rescue with barehanded bleeding control would have garnered praise from everyone from the entire department.

At the same time, Ling Ran was also reflecting on his actions during the operation. Putting what you have studied into practical use was an appropriate learning attitude to be placed in medical practices. Medical skills were refined under constant revision, after all.

The atmosphere was tense for a moment, but after a while, Huo Congjun decided to alleviate the atmosphere. He could not help but say, "Normally, it would be very easy to hurt the liver and intestines when using your hands to pinch them. Not to mention that five out of ten hepatobiliary complications are similar."

Huo Congjun lowered his head. He spoke as he worked. "The technique that Ling Ran used just now is rather distinctive. The blood flow is quite smooth. Were you using the pulp of your finger?"

He had directly asked Ling Ran that last sentence.

The saying of 'being thrilled to see one's favorite sport and having the itch to play' would fit completely to describe the mood of a doctor who saw a special case, just like Huo Congjun did at that moment.

He actually thought of criticizing Ling Ran. But then again, he could not help but want to fulfil his curiosity first. Well, it was not really that important to criticize his actions anyway.

Ling Ran made some gestures with his hands and said, "When I put my hand in, I found that the bleeding source was not in an easily accessible position. So I used the inner pulp on the second section of my little finger."

"After that, you used your entire hand to hold the liver?" Huo Congjun put some thought into it for a moment. A simulation of the situation from that time came to his mind.

Ling Ran replied with an affirmative and said, "I used the joint of the finger to hold it down lightly to prevent it from breaking loose."

"In that case…" Huo Congjun sighed with a tinge of emotion, but he did not continue asking questions. He was already a man who was more than fifty years old, it would be very difficult for him to learn such techniques now.

The most important thing was that he would not have the time to learn a side skill like this. Nevertheless, he did not know how Ling Ran had picked this up.

"You'll perform the abdominal closure later." Huo Congjun's head was lowered as he spoke.

Laparotomy was the chief surgeon's duty, while closing the abdomen was an opportunity that many assistants would fight for. The opportunity would be even rarer for interns.

Some resident doctors would need to train for more than half a year before it was possible for them to have the opportunity to perform abdominal closure.

It was true that Ling Ran had performed debridement and suturing many times over, but those were merely minor operations. They were not even operations in the eyes of laymen. Abdominal closure still seemed to fascinate Ling Ran. He could not help but feel a bit motivated.

Huo Congjun was still going through the intestines. By now, he was able to understand: After the patient on the operating table had his liver injured and squeezed into the corner, Ling Ran could only use his softest and smallest little finger to reach in if he wanted to reach his fingertip inside to press on the wound.

He solved the issue of organ displacement by holding his finger down lightly, and also minimized the possibility of the organ being damaged twice…

However, the inflexibility of the little finger had troubled countless surgeons for over a hundred years in the past. Huo Congjun believed that a doctor who had stayed in the operating room for a lifetime might not even be able to possess technique of such a caliber. And yet, there was a doctor with such skills right before his eyes, and even more astonishing was the fact that this was the first time he entered an operating theater.

In the face of talent, all those who were untalented could not help but sigh.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Zhao Leyi glanced at Ling Ran with an amazed expression.

'When did I first perform an abdominal closure? I think it was not until I was certified doctor for about a year…'

Zhao Leyi could still recall how excited he had been, but also how awkward he had been in his movements.

The excitement was because it was his first time, and he had been awkward… because it was also his first time…

Zhao Leyi now could still recollect the dumb look on his face as he tentatively fiddled with the patient's belly with his hands fidgeting about with the forceps, much to the displeasure of the nurses' and the anesthetists who stood in wait…

A typical abdominal closure took about almost a quarter of an hour, but by the time he was done, everyone had no choice but to clock out late. New doctors were the reason why medical workers were working overtime every day. They were not a welcome addition to a hospital.

In truth, Zhao Leyi was also incredibly nervous at that time.

On the other hand, Ling Ran seemed a little excited, but also very calm. It was difficult to dislike him.

Zhao Leyi lowered his head and took a closer look at the abdominal opening. Strictly speaking, this was not exactly a standard abdominal closure, as the patient's abdominal opening was more of an open wound caused by an accident. Despite the sterilization and sanitization, it was still different. This could be considered a type of debriding and suturing surgery, it was just that the level of difficulty for this was much higher than the cases he had to deal with in the treatment room.

One could only say that Department Director Huo had been particularly nice to Ling Ran. He had given him way too many opportunities.

"One, two, three, four, five, six…

"Two, four, six, eight, ten…

"All the bandages are here." The scrub nurse ran through the apparatus twice for good measure before giving Huo Congjun the green light.

Huo Congjun nodded and did the checking himself yet again. He surveyed the wound once more to confirm that there was no bleeding. Then, he said to Ling Ran, "Close it up."

He had done his job as a chief surgeon. He could now leave the operating theatre and take a break, or he could rush off to the next surgery.

However, today was the intern Ling Ran's first attempt at an abdominal closure. It was also nothing like a regular abdominal closure either. Huo Congjun did not immediately leave, but moved to the back to allow Ling Ran to take his spot, and then continued observing Ling Ran as he performed the operation.

Ling Ran may have performed several sutures in the treatment room, but this was nothing like any of his past minor surgeries.

Performing minor and major surgeries was just like dancing deliriously in the disco hall and performing on stage. They were two completely different concepts.

As for abdominal closures, Huo Congjun had seen those who sutured the wrong layer of the abdomen and those who accidentally formed body cavities while they were performing the suture. He had even seen a doctor who slipped and dropped a pair of forceps into the patient's stomach.

Bad sutures were rather common, and none of the resulting outcomes were favorable. These could already somewhat be considered as medical negligences.

Of course, Huo Congjun had full faith in Ling Ran's capabilities. A person who danced exceptionally well in the disco was still slightly qualified to prance around at the corner of a great dancing stage.

While Huo Congjun was worrying himself to death over the stress that he was certain Ling Ran had to be experiencing, Ling Ran had cleared the last of the clouds in his mind.

Spending a few days in the treatment room had taught Ling Ran much. He gained perceptual knowledge regarding suturing. He had witnessed injuries inflicted in any manner the mind could come up, and had pinched, pierced, and tied knots over real, living skin and muscle. He had also gained great confidence towards the Master Level of Appositional Suturing Technique.

As long as the appositional suturing technique could play a role in the surgery, there was nothing he could not do!

Ling Ran was now without fear when it came to simple sutures.

"Needle holder."

Ling Ran's voice was confident and solemn.

The scrub nurse placed it into Ling Ran's hand with a smile. Her thin, luminescent glove-clad hand also slid over his palm.

Ling Ran's attention was currently placed on the exposed operating area. He made no indication of having felt the discreet caressing.

Abdominal closures were nothing like regular sutures. It had to be done layer by layer, and if the method of incision was different, even the suturing guidelines was different.

For today's patient, Ling Ran first needed to suture the deepest layer of peritoneum, then the rectus sheath, the skin itself, and what laid beneath it.

If aesthetics were given the least of considerations, things would have been far simpler. However, the necessity of the first two steps made the entire process slightly more challenging. After all, junior doctors had never even had first hand experience to the peritoneum and the rectus sheath before. It was normal for them to be uncertain of their actions when they performed the suture.

Zhao Leyi did not leave either. He studied Ling Ran with a meticulous eye.

Some deep, dark corner of his heart still hoped to make a joke out of him.

Junior doctors made mistakes far too frequently and easily, but that was normal. All of them learned from mistakes.

In the operating theatre, scolding was growth.

'Watching Ling Ran 'grow' would make me feel better…' Those were Zhao Leyi's thoughts, which were not to be known to anyone, while he observed Ling Ran's actions.

A minute later, Zhao Leyi was dumbfounded, and his thoughts came to a screeching halt.

'My God!

'Is this really an intern who just graduated from a medical institute?'

Zhao Leyi had worked for ten years. He could not even enumerate the number of famous doctors he had been with. He had probably seen hundreds of skilled doctors who came to give talks or who came from overseas. While he did not have their skills, he most definitely had the learned eye to determine what actual skill was.

Skill that Ling Ran clearly had.

To be honest, this was the first time Zhao Leyi saw such a smooth abdominal-closure operation for a first attempt… Those doctors who were better than him would no longer perform abdominal closures, and those who had poorer skills… Well, those weaker doctors would probably not even be able to dream of performing abdominal closures.

"What a dirty hacker." Zhao Leyi sighed, quoting a line he once read on the Internet.

Department Director Huo Congjun was one generation behind. Naturally, he did not understand.

"What did you say?"

"Young Ling did quite well." What else could Zhao Leyi say? After all, he could not spew lies, right? In hospitals, skills held the most sway over everything else. If he said that Ling Ran was terrible, it would only be treated as him cracking a self-deprecating joke, and those were the worst things to appear on the operating theatre.

Huo Congjun genuinely felt that it was a perfectly executed procedure. He praised his own judgement in Ling Ran's skills, and said, "He just lacks some experience, act as a mentor for him as well if you have time to spare."

"Yes." Zhao Leyi felt that Huo Congjun was the one who was spewing lies right now. How could this young man be lacking any experience? This must be one of those men who dissected corpses since young.

"Done!"

Ling Ran tied a knot on the end of the last thread and exhaled gently.

"Phew…"

Zhao Leyi finally released his long-held breath. One would have thought that he was even more nervous than Ling Ran.

He looked up to see Ling Ran and Huo Congjun giving him strange glances.

Zhao Leyi coughed twice but managed a friendly smile. He had utterly forgotten about that mask that completely concealed his face, making it impossible for anyone to see his face.

To Zhao Leyi, he felt like he had just watched a delightful performance.

When he remembered once more that Ling Ran had executed barehanded bleeding control with the inner second pulp of his little finger without setting up a surgical field… Zhao Leyi then could not help but shudder, like a music fan who had goosebumps all over their body because they listened to good music.

As a doctor, Zhao Leyi finally understood just what sort of surgery he just witnessed.

Zhao Leyi muttered to himself, 'If it's me, I would write a paper and have it published at SCI after I walk out of the operating room.'

As the world's leading science-archive search engine, SCI collected many science journals and had readers comment on their influence.

For any person working in a field related to science, having anything inducted into SCI's collection of journals was a symbol of class and distinction.

Of course, the number of articles a person managed to publish in SCI could also be used during his or her professional evaluation so that they could get salary bonuses.

If hospital doctors wanted a promotion, they first had to write an article. In this regard, they were similar to schools and research centers.

Whether it was a promotion from a resident to attending physician, from attending physician to assistant department director, or from assistant department director to department director, writing journal articles was a necessary step to take for a promotion.

Even department directors could not let down their guards. Their statuses as department directors or directors of the hospital were reflected from the number of articles they had published in medical journals.

However, clinicians who wanted to write journal articles first needed a sufficient track-record in their name. In this regard, their criteria to write a paper was different from other academicians who wanted to write a normal academic paper.

Clinicians who wanted to prove themselves must first perform a surgery with great success before kicking off their fame by a retelling of it in the form of a journal.

'A pity that Ling Ran did not know any of this.' Was what Zhao Leyi thought. 'At most, he only knows how to rely on social media to propel him to fame, but they can't show the value of his surgery.'

At that moment, Huo Congjun finally looked up and announced that the surgery was completed. He took off his gloves and hesitated for a few seconds before turning to Ling Ran and asking, "Do you know how to write research papers?"

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

[Mission: Complete a research paper]

[Reward: Intermediate Treasure Chest]

Ling Ran glanced at the new mission that floated before his very eyes, and he immediately mulled over what the mission meant.

The first Intermediate Treasure Chest had produced the Perfect Level Barehanded Bleeding Control. Its effects… allowed him to be capable of predicting and stopping the bleeding of the Glisson's capsule. Maybe that alone was already enough for Ling Ran to make a name out for himself at the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery.

The Intermediate Treasure Chest had a long-term, amazing effect compared to the Basic Treasure Chest that only gave Energy Serums.

Besides, he had to write a research paper anyway. Other doctors had to work their as*es off for a few months, picking over the bones of medical cases and opportunities for the appropriate surgeries before they could finally come up with a research paper… Ling Ran had not only skipped the steps to find medical cases, he had practically been given a free Intermediate Treasure Chest as well. Of course, he would be ecstatic about it.

The slight problem was in the simple nature of how research papers were never that easily written.

The medical education at Yun Hua Medical Institute was deemed to be one of the best in the province. Even so, undergraduates of this department had never received much training when it came to writing journals.

Students in the first and second year could read up on some fundamentals about sciences, learn chemistry, mathematics or some other similar subjects. The most they could learn were the basics about medical history, anthropotomy, medical immunology, and others.

They would learn about pathology and pharmacology during their third year as they further familiarized themselves with corpses. Only in their fourth year would they gain some slight exposure to some real clinical medicine. In the same year, they would also need to cope with other problems such as the College English Tests and national post-graduate entrance examination. By the fifth year where Ling Ran currently was, they would begin their busy internship career. Time would turn into a fleeting dream for them.

To write a research paper, one would not only need to make time to look up information and find medical cases, they would also need to be prepared to learn something new from scratch.

Of course, being a doctor also entailed the lifelong journey of learning. It was a given, and Ling Ran was long prepared for that. He just did not expect this day to arrive so soon.

Ling Ran went to look for Doctor Zhou after agreeing to it, all while not knowing what exactly he was supposed to do.

In theory, Doctor Zhou was still his clinical mentor. Department Director Huo was simply throwing in some input.

Furthermore, Department Director Huo's schedule had to be flooded to the brim. Him stepping in to instruct Ling Ran personally was already a blessing from the heavens. It would be impossible to expect some actual, basic tutoring on how to write research papers from his part.

On the contrary, Doctor Zhou was known to be a nice old man. He was also gentle and encouraging.

"Department Director Huo asked you to write this, and he also promised to make you the named author of the research paper?"

When Doctor Zhou heard it from Ling Ran, he was bewildered.

Ling Ran nodded and said, "Barehanded control of bleeding with partial pressure applied without setting a surgical field while performing a suturing on the Glisson's capsule. I would probably be writing a research paper that leads towards that direction."

"Your luck is really something, young man." Doctor Zhou was no longer paying attention. He only continued to sigh emotionally.

Ling Ran lowered his head and looked at Doctor Zhou. He had been listening to empty praises since young. He knew that those words would always be followed by some form of explanation.

"The Director of Yun Hua's Emergency Department. Do you know what that means?" Doctor Zhou was clicking his tongue.

Ling Ran shook his head in silence.

"Yun Hua Hospital is a provincial hospital. The director of Yun Hua Hospital's Emergency Department has always been a standing committee member of the Emergency Medicine Society of Changxi Province, and is also a committee member of the Chinese Society of Emergency Medicine… Do you see where I'm going with this?" Doctor Zhou looked at Ling Ran.

Ling Ran shook his head again. He was barely even a fresh graduate. Why would he ever pay attention to this?

"Let me put it this way. Department Director Huo also plays the leading role of our Yun Hua City's emergency treatment. He has quite the presence in the medical field of this province." Doctor Zhou put his words carefully, in a way that Ling Ran would understand.

"That man is all that, and he wants you to write a research paper. Your research paper is most probably anticipated by many at this point."

Ling Rin smiled for a moment.

Doctor Zhou grinned and said, "You understand it now?"

"You said that Department Director Huo is the leading expert."

Ling Ran's expression was suddenly sombre.

…..

Laughter never lingered in the Emergency Department for long.

Ling Ran quickly returned to the resuscitation room as he once again followed Department Director Huo on his rounds.

As the Director of the Emergency Department, Huo Congjun seldom got his hands dirty. If it was not for giving Ling Ran a chance to operate on this day, he would not be having a walk right now.

In the meantime, Ling Ran would gain a substantial amount of experience after getting some practical experience and also observing other doctors in their craft.

Interns and resident doctors searched for chances to practice their skills desperately because it was difficult for newcomers in a hospital to get a chance to practice. Under normal circumstances, the attending physicians would never dare let them handle the patients. It was a vicious cycle. On the one hand, the senior doctors would have their hands so full that they could never get their jobs done. On the other hand, newcomers would find it difficult to get a chance to get into contact with patients.

In other words, the most important thing for a surgeon was to get that first try in surgery.

Through the first suturing, one could fully understand the toughness and structure of the human skin, which was something that stitching bananas and pig skins could never teach.

It would be the same for one's first operation, one's first resection, one's first field diagnosis, and so on.

However, this very same 'first time' was almost impossible to obtain for surgeons. They would have to fight tooth and nail for that opportunity.

Groups could be formed and they could take turns doing various menial tasks. But it would be difficult to seize the opportunity to become chief surgeons of surgeries. Occasionally, interns might encounter cases where they had to perform appendectomies on patients. During their standardized training, the easiest types of cases they could get their hands on would be performing appendectomy.

It would be a pipe dream for anyone to think about touching a patient's liver or kidney without three to five years of preparation.

Much less plunging an arm into a patient's torso like Ling Ran.

If one succeeded, they could get to write an SCI research paper. But if they failed, they would be lucky with just saying goodbye to their professional career. Any worse and they could even possibly face a lawsuit or two.

Human life was to be treated with utmost care. If it were not for how the patient of the car accident had lost blood, entered shock, and was in critical condition in conjunction with Ling Ran's complete confidence brought by his possession of the Perfect Level Barehanded Bleeding Control Technique, he would not have risked putting his arm into the patient's abdomen.

However, today's incident had earned Lin Ran the Emergency Department's respect.

Everyone had acknowledged that Ling Ran really "had some tricks up his sleeves." But more of them were more concerned about preventing Ling Ran from suddenly butting in and taking over their surgeries.

Barehanded bleeding control without setting up a surgical field and so on sounded epic, and it was just as epic as it sounded. But due to how notoriously risky and difficult it was, nobody was willing to give Ling Ran another chance to try that out again.

An obligation of means[1] was commonly practiced these days. What would have happened if you failed?

So, doctors who did things by the book were even more cautious against Ling Ran.

Ling Ran did not seem aware of any of that.

Neither was he concerned about it.

Unlike a lot of medical students who took the examinations to be a doctor due to certain factors in society, Ling Ran had been fueled by the interest in medical science since childhood.

It was in a clinic where he got his own outlook on the world, life, and values.

Ling Ran was too curious and had too many questions about human beings and diseases. As a result, his interpersonal relationships suffered, but it did not really matter to him either.

The worries of the attending physicians in the treatment room and the resuscitation room weighed lightly on his heart.

However, he would not go out of his way to thread on their principles either.

Truthfully, none of the remaining patients were suitable for him to practice his skills.

The Perfect Level Barehanded Bleeding Control was not perfect, to begin with. It was not suitable to be used in many areas, especially in the resuscitation room of the Emergency Department. There were several other safer alternatives.

Ling Ran had been born with good looks, so he never really had a chance to keep a low profile, and he did not really care much about showing off.

The mood within the resuscitation room significantly lightened during the afternoon.

Department Director Huo got off work on time. Before Ling Ran left the workplace, he dropped by to take a quick look at the patient from the car accident.

A few hours had passed. The patient was still asleep. A few youths around the age of twenty were standing around the patient.

"Doctor Ling, thank you for saving our coach." A thin and tall young man saw Ling Ran. He stepped forward and greeted Ling Ran. Then he said, "I really didn't expect such a perfectly healthy person to suddenly get caught up in a car crash…"

Ling Ran lowered his head and took a look at the white coat on his person. Then he said, "Can't say that I'm the one who saved him. Doctor Huo was the chief surgeon who oversaw the operation."

In the hospital, taking credit for being the one in charge of an operation was a serious matter. No one should take it lightly.

The thin, tall young man smiled and said, "You don't have to be modest about this. I've seen the video footage. If you had not jumped in and applied pressure on him, our coach would have bled to death."

"Video footage?"

Judging from the look on Ling Ran's face, the young man knew that Ling Ran was utterly clueless about it. So he quickly took out his phone and showed it to Ling Ran.

"This is the one."

The video recording on the phone was a little on the shaky side. But the focus point of the lens was trained on Ling Ran.

The angel in white with a handsome face was basically the main theme of the beginning of the footage.

A few seconds later, Ling Ran was seen completing the seven-step hand washing technique. With both of his hands flexed and raised with firmness, he quietly walked across the middle hall of the resuscitation room, passing through the crowd of onlookers in white coats. Then he walked past the space between Department Director Huo and Zhao Leyi as they stood close to each other before he reached straight into the abdomen of the patient who was laying on the hospital bed.

At the same time, the owner of the phone also cried out in surprise. The volume of the recording increased. The words that traveled into Ling Ran's ears subsequently sounded rather familiar.

"'The bottom of the patient's Glisson's capsule is bleeding…'"

"'Director, the bleeding has stopped.'"

"'Ling Ran, get onto the gurney…'"

The focus point of the video was on Ling Ran. Meanwhile, the voices of the people speaking beside the Ling Ran in the video also traveled into the viewer's ears along with the other noises in the resuscitation room.

He listened to the conversation of a few doctors, and watched the movements of a few doctors. Finally, he looked at the moment when he got himself on the gurney. He had supported his weight on the gurney with his arms as they moved into the operating theater. At that moment, the sound of a drum suddenly rang violently from the video on the phone. It sounded just like the beating sound of a human heart, followed by the sound of an inspiring song.

"Pride is facing ten thousand heavy waves[2]…"

"Hot blood is like the red sun[3]…"

Translation Note:

1. Obligation of means: it is like a system where the first doctor attending to the patient is responsible for the patient. It is the responsibility of that particular doctor to learn everything about the patient, and has to pass that knowledge to his attending physician if necessary according to the situation.

2. Pride is facing ten thousand heavy waves: A line of the lyrics from the song "A Man Should Strengthen Himself"

3. Hot blood is like the red son: Another line of the lyrics from the song "A Man Should Strengthen Himself"

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter