Great Doctor Ling Ran

Chapter 304: Toque

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Before the flashbulbs, Ling Ran revealed a socially-acceptable smile, and his photographs took up more space in the flash memory than Liu Weichen’s photos.

The reporters took pictures of Liu Weichen for the sake of work and Ling Ran for the sake of their hobbies. Naturally, the difference between them was like light and day.

Zhu Tongyi was also smiling, and his joints turned white as he held the certificate of merit, but very few reporters took photos of him.

For the reporters, his title of an academician was good enough on its own, and his photos did not have to be detailed.

“Weichen and Doctor Ling, please shake hands,” a reporter with a big SLR camera requested.

“Okay.” Liu Weichen turned around and went with the flow. He shook hands with Ling Ran and whispered in Ling Ran’s ear, “Doctor Ling, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Ling Ran smiled and patted Liu Weichen’s hand.

He looked at Liu Weichen the way a doctor would look at a patient. In fact, Ling Ran did not think that Liu Weichen could bring in a lot of patients for him.

At the end of the day, patients were still brought to a doctor because of his or her skills. Ling Ran was not a man who paid a lot of attention to fame or had the confidence that he could become famous with the reputation of a celebrity. But if he needed fame, he did not have to use Liu Weichen at all.

He just liked to read in silence and conduct surgeries in peace even more. He already knew about all the ruckus he would have to face brought on by fame when he was in kindergarten.

Liu Weichen felt touched as he sensed Ling Ran’s gaze on him.

He was familiar with such a gaze.

He especially remembered how the track and field coach of the city team gave him the exact look when he just got his results from the sports school.

That was a gaze that did not ask for something in return, it was just a relaxed look that longed for peace of mind.

“Doctor Ling, thank you.” Liu Weichen could not help but repeat.

Ling Ran only nodded slightly before he saw a white Basic Treasure Chest in front of him.

With it was the notification that said [Sincere gratitude].

“You can get your check-up with peace of mind now.” Ling Ran finally believed that Liu Weichen was truly thankful to him.

“I will be sure to get my check-ups properly,” Liu Weichen spoke firmly as if he just swore a military oath. Then he said, “As long as they’re your orders, I will obey them 100%.”

At that point, he no longer believed in the city track and field team doctor or a major doctor like Zhu Tongyi. He only wanted to follow Ling Ran around for his check-ups, which was why he had emphasized that he would follow Ling Ran’s orders.

Ling Ran did not think much of it. He just nodded again.

Liu Weichen thought Ling Ran did not believe him, and he quickly said, “As long as they’re your orders, regardless of whether I need to perform two or three check-ups, I will have no complaints, and work hard.”

“Doctors are the ones who’ll have to work hard if you perform each check-up twice or thrice, right?” Ling Ran looked at Liu Weichen and started to wonder if he needed to perform an MRI scan on him.

In this world, there were always people who had mental health issues but were not aware of it. It was very suitable for doctors to use the MRI scanners on them.

When evening came, Zhu Tongyi followed Ji Tianlu, Ling Ran, and the others into Liu Weichen’s presidential ward in a grandiose manner.

For some resident doctors and postgraduate students, it was their first time seeing such a luxurious presidential suite. They were extremely curious. While Zhu Tongyi entered the room, they sneakily took out their phones to take selfies.

Liu Weichen lay on his hospital bed and smiled. “I feel very good now. You really don’t need to bring such a big group over.”

Zhu Tongyi smiled and said, “You’ll be more at ease after another check-up. I’ll tell you the result first, lest you overthink the situation. There’s no problem with your Achilles tendon, the recovery is very good. You can continue your training.”

Liu Weichen could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The coach who sat next to his bed also expressed his thanks. Although it only took less than seven seconds to run sixty meters, it was impossible to say that they were not worried. If an athlete’s perfectly fine Achilles tendon could rupture, it was even more so for an Achilles tendon that had just recovered.

The coach had been in his field of work for a long time. He had seen a lot more strange causes of injuries than many doctors. For example, when Liu Weichen trained, he only made one mistake when he performed his daily half squats with a 330-pound weight attached to him. Yet, he broke the wooden board, which was why he ruptured his Achilles tendon.

Problems that they could usually pay attention to and avoid during training could not be so easily avoided during competitions. The coaches were even more afraid of Liu Weichen getting a latent injury after the competition because if he did, they would not know how long he needed to recover from it.

Zhu Tongyi smiled gently and said, “Liu Weichen’s physical condition itself is very good. During the rehabilitation, he has also worked hard. After this, you just need to get your check-ups regularly.”

“Can I ask Doctor Ling to give me regular follow-ups?” Liu Weichen sat up a little.

Zhu Tongyi was a bit troubled as he looked at Ling Ran.

His impression of Ling Ran was very good, but Zhu Tongyi’s first consideration was the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center. Ling Ran was still affiliated to Yun Hua Hospital. If he became Liu Weichen’s physician in charge, would that not mean that he would end up bringing Liu Weichen to Yun Hua Hospital?

But if he said no, there was no reason for him to refuse Liu Weichen’s request.

The trust established between doctors and patients was the strongest during the beginning stages of the patients’ recovery. Meanwhile, Ling Ran’s understanding of the Achilles tendon repair technique itself exceeded what most doctors knew in the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center. Zhu Tongyi could not even think of someone who was better than he was.

“I’m afraid I don’t have time to perform check-ups for you,” Ling Ran said, and it solved Zhu Tongyi’s dilemma.

At this moment, even Yu Yuan sounded anxious as she said, “Regular check-ups are only done once every two or three months. You won’t have your schedule delayed or anything…”

Ling Ran looked at Yu Yuan in displeasure. “If I have one whole afternoon gone once every two or three months, then I will have two days gone in one year, and twenty days gone in ten years. The life expectancy of modern people is more than eighty years old. Liu Weichen still needs to do check-ups for the next sixty years, and we have to delay one hundred and twenty days!”

This time, Yu Yuan was not the only one shocked, even the doctors around Ling Ran were also shocked.

The 229-pound resident doctor had not been in a good mood recently. He could not help but said, “You can’t count time like that.”

“Oh?” Ling Ran looked at the big-sized resident doctor.

The 229-pound resident doctor hunched his shoulders and whispered, “In the beginning, regular check-ups will be done every two to three months. But as time passes, the frequency will be reduced until the patient only needs a checkup once every half a year. Once he retires, he only needs to receive special check-up on his bones, which will be done once a year.”

“So the delay is between thirty to forty days…” Yu Yuan’s calculation was pretty quick.

Liu Weichen smiled wanly. “You don’t have to think about it for so long. No matter what, Doctor Ling, I’m definitely counting on you. You can give the bill straight to me, just like the American doctors do. I’ll follow you. I’ll tell the media directly later that you’re my specialist.”

The American doctors’ practice was a bit like the medical practices that were being implemented in the country. They practiced medicine in many spots, which meant that a doctor could work in several hospitals or clinics, and of course, he could also work in a fixed hospital or clinic.

But whether they chose one or all, the bills from the doctors and hospital were given separately. Most doctors’ charges were also determined by the doctor himself and the insurance company he was contracted to.

In comparison, hospitals provided multiple services. The doctors and hospitals in America shared a relationship like the relationship between big shopping malls and stores.

Liu Weichen had gone to foreign countries for medical treatment several times. He was very accustomed to foreign practices. He was far less loyal to hospitals compared to his loyalty to a doctor.

Ling Ran thought about this sensibly for a few seconds before he nodded, “Well, if we have a celebrity as a patient, we can at least attract some patients…”

The crowd could not help but feel envious of Ling Ran as they looked at Ling Ran.

He would not just attract “some” patients with a celebrity like this as his patient!

Liu Weichen was also used to it. He smiled and said, “Doctor Ling, you’re a straightforward and frank person, your temper suits me. Academician Zhu, please don’t be upset. Doctor Ling suits my personality…”

“I won’t be able to live a few more years, anyway. The world is for you youngsters now.” Zhu Tongyi interrupted Liu Weichen’s words because he did not want him to continue to speak.

In truth, Liu Weichen would not choose Zhu Tongyi to be his physician in charge, no matter who he chose, and Zhu Tongyi would not have the time, anyway, because he was an academician. But he was still a little disappointed.

As for Liu Weichen’s original physician in charge, Doctor Qu, he was absent today.

Once the ward round ended, the doctors moved away, and Liu Weichen got out of his bed and invited Zhu Tongyi and the others to go out for a meal.

Zhu Tongyi naturally refused the offer, Ji Tianlu agreed to it, and they looked at Ling Ran.

Ling Ran shook his head decisively and said, “I have surgery to be done in an hour…”

“Why don’t we do this?” Liu Weichen tried to persuade him. “Let’s eat first, and we can take some photos together after dinner. I will send a Weibo and say that my Achilles tendon is cured because of you. I’m telling the truth, anyway. By then, there will be a lot of patients coming in for you, so you don’t have to be in such a hurry to operate on your next patient.”

Before Ling Ran could say anything, Yu Yuan whispered into his ear beside him, “A normal Achilles tendon surgery will be completed in thirty minutes.”

Ordinary people would not need to use Plan A for their surgery. Only those who were not professional athletes or professionals who required their Achilles tendon for their work would need Plan A. Their blood supply would not determine whether they could receive Plan A. When Ling Ran performed Achilles tendon repairs, he could complete one case in twenty minutes if he was fast.

If this were the case, attracting a few more patients could obviously increase his work efficiency.

However, Ling Ran would not delay his surgeries so easily.

He thought for a moment and said, “I ordered food delivery. Why don’t we eat at the cafeteria in the ward?”

This was also counted as a compromise. Liu Weichen thought about it and nodded, “Then I’ll ask my friend, let me order from…”

“It’s okay, the takeaway steak I ordered over the past two days is quite good,” Ling Ran said as he took out his phone and clicked on Meituan.

Liu Weichen could not help but look at his coach.

The coach laughed. “Doctor Ling, Weichen can’t eat steaks cooked from random restaurants.”

“The other party will bring fresh steak, and they will only put salt and pepper on it,” Ling Ran said, showing that he knew an athlete’s diet well.

Liu Weichen suppressed his doubts and waited for half an hour. Then, he saw a chef wearing a toque appear in the room with four assistants.

They brought their own stoves and kitchen utensils, and in front of the crowd, they cooked the food in a huge cast iron pan. The smoke from it rose curled into the air. A row of steaks was arranged on stainless steel plates, and they introduced the dish. “As of current, we can provide M9 and M12 Australian Wagyu beef, cooked steak from Argentine and Uruguay grass-fed and grain-fed cattle. You can choose to have rib eye steak and sirloin steak from those choices. In addition, we have rump steaks from Kentucky, which is quite characteristic dish in America…”

Liu Weichen looked at the beautiful steaks that were as thick as his knuckles and which had huge marble lines on them, and he could not help but took out his phone before he asked, “I didn’t expect the food delivery service in China to be so good. How much do you pay for selling steaks like this?”

The chef in the toque hesitated for two seconds before he bowed his head, picked up the white receipt, and recited, “The customer won the Koi Set Meal. We will charge according to pax. The meal costs 9.90 RMB per person, and you can eat until you’re full.”