Great Doctor Ling Ran

[Is hepatectomy dangerous? How would one’s life be affected after the procedure? Should my father undergo hepatectomy?]

[Can hepatolithiasis be cured? How much longer will I be able to live?]

[I was diagnosed with hepatolithiasis when I went for a physical examination. What should I do?]

On Doctor’s Here, more and more patients were asking Ling Ran, who was a specialist, questions. The questions were also becoming increasingly difficult and in-depth.

In the beginning, they were asking Ling Ran about all kinds of strange diseases. After a while, the questions slowly became ones that patients asked doctors before making appointments for consultations. Now, most of the patients had already decided on which direction to take when they asked questions.

China was a massive country, and the population was huge.

There were 14 billion people in China, and 1% of them suffered from hepatolithiasis. This meant that hundreds of millions of people suffered from hepatolithiasis in the country. Even though they were at different stages of the disease, the total number of people diagnosed with hepatolithiasis was astonishingly huge.

Aside from hepatolithiasis, there were also patients who needed hepatectomy because of illnesses like cirrhosis and liver cancer. Most patients who had decided on surgery would proactively search for top doctors to make inquiries. They did not only look for national specialists. Doctors who were considered top specialists in their area also received plenty of inquiries.

Next, the patients who had decided on a doctor would head to various large hospitals.

Yunli Medical Company created “Doctor’s Here” to match patients with doctors, and within a very short time frame, the effects became visible.

Very soon, Yun Hua Hospital, where Ling Ran was working, also got caught up in the waves.

More than three patients asked for consultations from Ling Ran every day. Even though it was not more than what Huo Congjun could get for him, considering what a difficult surgery hepatectomy was, this number of patients was already considered shocking.

If this were to happen to an ordinary associate chief physician or chief physician, he would be racking his brains over the filtering of patients. This was because it was impossible for an ordinary doctor to carry out a few major surgeries every single day.

It was not really rare for ordinary associate chief physicians to carry out three or even four major surgeries within a day. But things would be different if they had to do the same every single day without stopping.

Doctors had to do more than just operate on patients. They also had to perform daily tasks like making ward rounds, which was also very time-consuming. Moreover, top-notch doctors had to give consultations and lecture students. They also had things to do outside the hospital such as attending academic conferences…

“Everyone, remember to make ward rounds.

“Lu Wenbin will be in charge of guiding the medical interns.

“Yu Yuan, do arrange the materials that we’ll be using for the meeting.

“Zuo Cidian, do go and talk to the patients’ family members.

“Guys, don’t forget to answer questions on Doctor’s Here.”

Ling Ran swiftly delegated tasks to his team members. He then asked Zhang Anmin and Ma Yanlin to be his assistants before turning and entering the operating theater.

The doctors of the Ling Treatment Group did not speak much either. For the past year or so, this was how life was like for them.

Yu Yuan and Zhang Anmin both caught a houseman to help them out. The one Zhang Anmin caught could be considered to have caught the jackpot, as he got to operate the retractor for Ling Ran throughout the night, to the point that his hand muscles ached and had to rest at home. To a houseman, this kind of high-intensity training was an opportunity that was hard to come by.

However, it was an unlucky day for the houseman Yu Yuan caught. He would need to write countless medical records and search for plenty of information, and would only get to rest by the time his eyelids were drooping. Moreover, it was not like he could learn much from this.

As Doctor Zhou who was hiding in the waiting room looked at the doctors of the Ling Treatment Group who were swiftly dispersing to carry out their tasks, he said a little enviously to the houseman beside him, “Ling Ran’s life is my dream. Sigh, why are none of my subordinates as capable as his?”

The incapable houseman glanced at Doctor Zhou and said, “Aren’t you in the waiting room because you don’t want to operate on patients?”

“Do you think that I want to be in the waiting room of the Operating Area? Of course, I want to openly stay in the treatment room. It’s large and lively…” Doctor Zhou said in a tone that made him sound like he was not allowed to see the light of day. He sighed emotionally as he stared outside the window.

“Then, why don’t we just head to the treatment room?”

“Young man.” Doctor Zhou pouted. “Work will never end. This is especially true in treatment rooms of hospitals like Yun Hua Emergency Medical Center. There would always be countless patients waiting to be treated. You need to stay alive to be able to treat patients, right? Doctors who don’t know how to look for places to rest will never be able to survive in the Emergency Medical Center.”

“The emergency room isn’t like the operating theater. You will get to rest after treating all the patients there, won’t you?” Even though the houseman spoke in a soft voice, he obviously did not look like he was convinced by Doctor Zhou. Hence, he could not help but refute.

Doctor Zhou did not really mind. He laughed out loud and said, “Let’s make a bet. You don’t have to do much. Just head to the treatment room for four hours and work without taking more than fifteen minutes of rest in total. Are you game?”

The houseman hesitated for a few seconds and asked, “What are the stakes?”

“If you win, I’ll buy you better food for lunch and dinner. I’ll also buy you a cup of bubble tea. If you lose, you’ll have to write all the medical records from last week,” Doctor Zhou said quickly.

“Why are the medical records from last week still…? Alright, it isn’t unendurable.” The houseman agreed.

“Alright. Go ahead, then.” Doctor Zhou put his foot up the chair. “I’ll wait for you here. See you four hours later. Give me a call if there’s anything.”

The houseman working under Doctor Zhou nodded solemnly. He then went downstairs with determination and headed to the treatment room.

He entered the treatment room and saw that it was full of patients and their family members. He then wrote down Doctor Zhou’s name at the nurses’ station. Suddenly, the houseman felt that something was not quite right.

‘Why would I work myself to death in the treatment room alone for four hours? Even if I were to win, I would just get a cup of bubble tea. Is working my a*s off for four hours just for a cup of bubble tea even worth it?’

When the houseman thought about the possibility of failure, he could not help but shiver.

‘I wonder how long I would need to write one week’s worth of medical records. Some might even be difficult cases.’

“You’re the houseman working under Doctor Zhou, aren’t you?” Zhao Leyi who was in the treatment room was also super busy right now. The moment he saw a houseman, he immediately put on a nice facade and talked to the houseman.

After working in the hospital for a while, all junior doctors would learn that none of the senior doctors were good people. Whenever a senior doctor talked to a junior doctor in a friendly manner, it meant that the senior doctor wanted the junior doctor to do something for him.

The houseman who was fooled by Doctor Zhou was not very familiar with the hospital yet. Hence, he said obediently to Zhao Leyi who was an attending physician, “I am. Doctor Zhou asked me to come to the treatment room to…”

“Come, why don’t you take a look at this patient and gain some experience…” Zhao Leyi did not bother to listen to the rest of the sentence. He waved at the houseman, deceiving the houseman to treat the patient on his behalf in the process.

Four hours later, Doctor Zhou took off his large white coat and changed into a pair of leather shoes that he wore on casual occasions. He looked healthy and energetic as he walked out of the operating area. Before he headed home, he made a detour to the treatment room to check on his houseman.

Even though the houseman was working hard, his gaze was dull.

“Don’t forget to write the medical records.” Doctor Zhou greeted him and immediately made his way out of the treatment room.

This was when Huo Congjun entered the treatment room from the main hall without saying a word.

“Little Zhou.” Huo Congjun’s voice was like a large, heavy fist that hit Doctor Zhou’s heart.

If Doctor Zhou’s heart were hooked to an electrocardiograph right now, the electrocardiogram would definitely indicate that his heart was beating haphazardly, with the p of his aVR being upright. [1] However, in the end, Doctor Zhou did not dare to flee. He turned to face Huo Congjun and smiled gloomily. “Department director…”

“Hmm… There’s a group of foreign doctors in Yun Hua Hospital right now. They would like to take a look at our hospital. Can you go and attend to them?” Huo Congjun said nonchalantly.

Doctor Zhou furrowed his eyebrows a little. His instincts told him that things were not as simple as it seemed. ‘What does Department Director Huo mean by “attending to them”? Shouldn’t those visitors receive a warmer welcome?’

Doctor Zhou could not help but ask in a hushed tone, “Which country are those doctors from? Won’t we need an interpreter?”

“From the Anderson Cancer Center in the United States. They speak English. If I remember correctly, your English is pretty good.” Huo Congjun glanced at Doctor Zhou.

Doctor Zhou quickly nodded. Immediately after that, he asked carefully, “Since they’re from the Anderson Cancer Center, aren’t the hospital leaders showing up to welcome them?”

“They specifically said that they were looking for Ling Ran. Moreover, they did not bring any official documents with them. This means that they are here in a private capacity. Hence, there’s no need to notify the hospital,” Huo Congjun said in a tremendously relaxed manner.

Doctor Zhou’s expression turned gloomy. He said hesitantly, “Isn’t this how foreigners do things? We can’t just expect the Anderson Cancer Center to write us an official letter.”

“They would need to at least show proof of their identities, don’t you think so? I think they’re just in Yun Hua City for some seafood.” Huo Congjun did not intend to discuss the matter further. He waved in dismissal and said, “Just bring them to Shao family’s restaurant, attend to them for a bit and see what’s on their minds. We’ll report things to the hospital leaders after we are sure of what’s going on.”

As Doctor Zhou listened to Huo Conjun, he felt that what Huo Congjun was saying made sense. He had no choice but to obediently note down the other party’s contact number and what time they would be landing. He then said in a meek voice, “I’m actually about to get off work.”

“You’ll get to go home eventually.” Huo Congjun tapped Doctor Zhou’s shoulder a few times.

Translator’s notes:

[1] As all the depolarisations are going away from lead aVR, all waves are negative in aVR (P, QRS, T) in normal sinus rhythm. In dextrocardia, (True and technical) the p is upright in aVR