A few small cars mousily rolled into the basement of the Second People’s Hospital of Wuxin City.
The passengers got down from the cars swiftly. Some cars were seated with two or three people, while some with three or four people. The elderly were supported by the youngsters. Some of them walked slowly, some walked with a cane, while some sat in wheelchairs. They entered the wards with either emotional or happy faces.
The director of the Medical Affairs Department in the Second People’s Hospital of Wuxin City welcomed them in person, and he arranged all of them into respective their rooms.
The wards were arranged at the first floor. It made people feel happy when the cypress trees, evergreen cypress trees, the coniferous trees with their densely packed leaves were planted at the courtyard of the hospital.
The patient, Chen Tong, who came alone, stared fixedly at the cypress trees downstairs. He seemed to have forgotten the pain on his waist.
‘Damn!’
“Ack, it hurts.” Chen Tong put his hand over his waist. Then, he slipped a pillow under his body.
“Gallstone?” The patient beside him turned around and smiled in an amicable manner.
“Yes,” Chen Tong answered. Then, he looked at the patient’s children and turned his head around resolutely.
“You should’ve retired, right?” The patient beside him insisted on engaging in a conversation with him.
Chen Tong nodded and said, “I have retired since a few years ago. I was a school teacher.”
“So, you’re from the education system.”
“A high school teacher, I didn’t have any positions.” When Chen Tong said this, he felt that the other party should not want to engage with him in any conversation anymore.
But the patient beside him laughed. “What a coincidence, I’m now a teacher. A lecturer for calligraphy in the University for the Elderly.”
Chen Tong cast a glance at him and said, “Was your position quite high in the past?”
“Why are we talking about positions again?”
“Without any positions, you can’t get into the University for the Elderly. If your position is not high enough, you can’t perform well in calligraphy.” Chen Tong naturally came to a conclusion.
The patient beside him laughed. “When you put it that way, it’s true. Let me introduce myself, I’m Wang Cheng, as in, C-H-E-N-G. I’ve been retired for a few years. Having whatever position and receiving whatever treatment in the past is no longer meaningful. We’re all patients with hepatolithiasis now. Let’s hope we can become well in one go.”
“After the surgery, recovery will be a major problem.” Chen Tong glanced at Wang Cheng as he spoke.
“But Elder Mei recovered quite well after his surgery.” Wang Cheng said while he shook his head. He then continued. “Gallstones are too painful, and I can’t get through with it, so I came for surgery, since the option is now available for me.”
“Yup.” Chen Tong had the same thought.
“You also got here through Doctor Jin, right? How did you know him?”
“My doctor introduced me to him.”
“Oh…” Wang Cheng finally believed that Chen Tong was not someone with hidden abilities, so his speed in talking increased slightly. “Then, you’re quite lucky. Doctor Ling is pretty good in performing hepatolithiasis. When Doctor Jin told me about it, I took the trouble to confirm it. He really did a good job!”
Chen Tong nodded and said, “I’ve also checked.”
Once he finished speaking, Chen Tong switched his sight toward the trees in the courtyard again.
“Isn’t it?” Wang Chen smiled. He looked in the direction of Chen Tong’s sight and saw the cypress trees on the ground floor. He smiled and asked, “You like cypress trees, right?”
“This is a pine tree.” Chen Tong sounded as if he was correcting Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng was stunned, but he laughed in the next second. “Did you study this?”
“I can’t be considered as having studied it.” Chen Tong quietly looked at the pine trees downstairs while he said, “When I was young, I dabbled in scientific expeditions before. At that time, I went everywhere just to find pine trees.”
“Find pine trees?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you need to look for pine trees?”
“Our country is a country with the richest resources of gymnosperm in the world,” Chen Tong said as he recalled his past, “When the People’s Republic of China was newly founded, the discovery of cathaya was a finding that amazed the world. That was in 1955. The western scientific world looked at China like how we looked at Somalia. We managed to discover a plant that was known publicly to have gone extinct, and it was even a cathaya…”
Chen Tong became slightly excited as he spoke. He turned around and cast a glance at Wang Cheng, and he lost his interest again.
“You were the leader of the scientific expedition in 1955?” Wang Cheng also felt pain at his waist, but he still wanted to talk.
Chen Tong looked out the window and smiled faintly. “How would I have that qualification? I was just a young scientific researcher.”
“Then?”
“Then? Oh, then I worked for twenty years. I didn’t have any achievements, but I got hepatolithiasis, so I changed my job to teaching in a high school,” Chen Tong said in a simple manner, and he sounded very calm.
Wang Cheng looked at him and could not help but say, “You said that you did not have any achievements. Did you mean you did not discover anything new after working as a scientific researcher for twenty years?”
“I did have some little findings without any value.”
“And you’ve still worked for twenty years?”
“Yes, because I couldn’t help thinking that I could discover something soon. Chen Tong did not want to talk about himself anymore, so he turned around and looked at Wang Cheng. He then asked, “What about you? What did you do before retirement?”
“I made machines. Now that I’ve made some calculations, I have worked for forty years. So, I have forty years of service.” Wang Cheng repeated twice, and he suddenly laughed. “I guess my biggest achievement is also hepatolithiasis. Our company can be divided into two units with a scale of a few thousand workers, but I’m the only one who got hepatolithiasis.”
Chen Tong heard what he said, and he could not help but laugh as well.
Two of them looked at each other and smiled. The atmosphere in the ward became much better.
On the next day, at four o’clock in the morning, Chen Tong rolled and turned to his side on his bed. Suddenly, he heard the door of the room being pushed open.
Chen Tong shuddered violently. He extended his arm to touch his waist. Suddenly, his memory of living in the mountains instantly surged into his mind.
In a second, Chen Tong saw a refraction of light on the dark white wall. He was slightly confused. ‘I’m in the hospital, and I did not bring a hoe along…’
Then, did this mean that a thief had come to the hospital to steal?
Chen Tong extended his hand to take his most valuable phone before he looked at the darkness outside the window. He could not help but feel sentimental. ‘Thieves nowadays are so professional. Can they get more money if they steal from hospitals? So, are all the thieves who came here elite thieves?’
“Hello, are you Chen Tong? Are you asleep?” A few white shadows blocked Chen Tong’s sight.
Chen Tong felt shocked. ‘The thief now knows my name?’
“Chen Tong? Wake up, it’s time for your ward round.” Yu Yuan gently pushed the patient’s shoulder.
Chen Tong opened his eyes swiftly while his mind was still unclear. “Ward round?”
“Ward round!” Yu Yuan make her tone stronger to remind the patient of what she was there for. Four o’clock in the morning did not affect doctors and Kobe Bryant much, but patients usually still had their minds foggy with sleep.
Chen Tong gently turned on the light at his bedside table.
Yu Yuan frowned. She blocked the light and complained. “Why do all patients like to switch on the light? If we need light, we will turn it on ourselves.”
“All of you don’t need light?” Chen Tong cast Yu Yuan a strange glance.
Yu Yuan waved her hand. “Tell us your name.”
“Chen Tong.”
“Alright, we are here to do preoperative preparations for you.” Yu Yuan glanced around and asked, “Where’re your family members?”
“I don’t have a family. I’m alone.” Chen Tong sat up straight.
Yu Yuan looked at him in surprise. Then, her tone became gentler as she said, “Then, let me tell you about your situation in the surgery…”
Chen Tong listened quietly. Even though he did not feel well, he also did not make a sound.
Yu Yuan decided to just keep him company until he entered the operating theater.
“Doctor Ling has very good skills, and his surgery success rate is very high, so you don’t have to worry too much.” Yu Yuan lowered her head and said. She sounded very confident.
“Okay,” Chen Tong answered. He watched Yu Yuan leave before he shut his eyes gently.
The operating theater slowly became crowded.
Nurses, the anesthetist, and assistant doctors slowly came into the operating theater. Chen Tong shut his eyes tightly without making any sound. Then, the anesthetist started to touch him.
“Cough, cough. ” Chen Tong opened his eyes through laborious effort.
“Judging by your accent, you aren’t a local, are you?” Su Jiafu lowered his head to glance at Chen Tong. Then, he smiled and made a joke.
Chen Tong was stunned for a few seconds before he flashed a faint smile.
“Don’t be too nervous…”
“Your Doctor Ling has good skills, I know.” Chen Tong stopped Su Jiafu from speaking.
Su Jiafu was stunned for two seconds before he laughed. “I guess you already know. Alright, breathe in slowly. I’ll help you check. Follow me and count, one, two…”
Su Jiafu raised his head and looked at the monitor. He then smiled at Ling Ran, who had just stepped into the operating theater. “Anesthetized.”
Ling Ran had put on a new surgical gown. He had his forearms held vertically before him. He took a look at the patient’s face and asked for confirmation, “67 years old?”
“Yes, all the patients Doctor Jin sent over are elderly patients.” As an anesthetist, Su Jiafu was extremely afraid of elderly patients.
But it did not matter to Ling Ran. He made someone bring him the ultrasonography scan so that he could remember the details of the patient’s body in greater detail before the operation.
At this time, short phrases appeared before his vision. They came from the system which had not appeared for a long time.
[Mission: Extremely High Quality Surgery]
[Mission Details: Solve patient’s pain through extremely high quality surgery.]
[Mission Reward: Complete ten cases of extremely high quality surgery and be rewarded with one Intermediate Treasure Chest]
[Mission Progress: 0/10]
Ling Ran stared at the system prompt and fell into deep thought.
‘What sort of surgery is considered an extremely high quality surgery?’
While Ling Ran was still thinking, he lowered his arms and took off his surgical gown.
“Doctor Ling?” A few people who stood in front of the operating table were puzzled.
“I’ll go take a bath.” Ling Ran left the operating theater without turning back.
A few small cars mousily rolled into the basement of the Second People’s Hospital of Wuxin City.
The passengers got down from the cars swiftly. Some cars were seated with two or three people, while some with three or four people. The elderly were supported by the youngsters. Some of them walked slowly, some walked with a cane, while some sat in wheelchairs. They entered the wards with either emotional or happy faces.
The director of the Medical Affairs Department in the Second People’s Hospital of Wuxin City welcomed them in person, and he arranged all of them into respective their rooms.
The wards were arranged at the first floor. It made people feel happy when the cypress trees, evergreen cypress trees, the coniferous trees with their densely packed leaves were planted at the courtyard of the hospital.
The patient, Chen Tong, who came alone, stared fixedly at the cypress trees downstairs. He seemed to have forgotten the pain on his waist.
‘Damn!’
“Ack, it hurts.” Chen Tong put his hand over his waist. Then, he slipped a pillow under his body.
“Gallstone?” The patient beside him turned around and smiled in an amicable manner.
“Yes,” Chen Tong answered. Then, he looked at the patient’s children and turned his head around resolutely.
“You should’ve retired, right?” The patient beside him insisted on engaging in a conversation with him.
Chen Tong nodded and said, “I have retired since a few years ago. I was a school teacher.”
“So, you’re from the education system.”
“A high school teacher, I didn’t have any positions.” When Chen Tong said this, he felt that the other party should not want to engage with him in any conversation anymore.
But the patient beside him laughed. “What a coincidence, I’m now a teacher. A lecturer for calligraphy in the University for the Elderly.”
Chen Tong cast a glance at him and said, “Was your position quite high in the past?”
“Why are we talking about positions again?”
“Without any positions, you can’t get into the University for the Elderly. If your position is not high enough, you can’t perform well in calligraphy.” Chen Tong naturally came to a conclusion.
The patient beside him laughed. “When you put it that way, it’s true. Let me introduce myself, I’m Wang Cheng, as in, C-H-E-N-G. I’ve been retired for a few years. Having whatever position and receiving whatever treatment in the past is no longer meaningful. We’re all patients with hepatolithiasis now. Let’s hope we can become well in one go.”
“After the surgery, recovery will be a major problem.” Chen Tong glanced at Wang Cheng as he spoke.
“But Elder Mei recovered quite well after his surgery.” Wang Cheng said while he shook his head. He then continued. “Gallstones are too painful, and I can’t get through with it, so I came for surgery, since the option is now available for me.”
“Yup.” Chen Tong had the same thought.
“You also got here through Doctor Jin, right? How did you know him?”
“My doctor introduced me to him.”
“Oh…” Wang Cheng finally believed that Chen Tong was not someone with hidden abilities, so his speed in talking increased slightly. “Then, you’re quite lucky. Doctor Ling is pretty good in performing hepatolithiasis. When Doctor Jin told me about it, I took the trouble to confirm it. He really did a good job!”
Chen Tong nodded and said, “I’ve also checked.”
Once he finished speaking, Chen Tong switched his sight toward the trees in the courtyard again.
“Isn’t it?” Wang Chen smiled. He looked in the direction of Chen Tong’s sight and saw the cypress trees on the ground floor. He smiled and asked, “You like cypress trees, right?”
“This is a pine tree.” Chen Tong sounded as if he was correcting Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng was stunned, but he laughed in the next second. “Did you study this?”
“I can’t be considered as having studied it.” Chen Tong quietly looked at the pine trees downstairs while he said, “When I was young, I dabbled in scientific expeditions before. At that time, I went everywhere just to find pine trees.”
“Find pine trees?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you need to look for pine trees?”
“Our country is a country with the richest resources of gymnosperm in the world,” Chen Tong said as he recalled his past, “When the People’s Republic of China was newly founded, the discovery of cathaya was a finding that amazed the world. That was in 1955. The western scientific world looked at China like how we looked at Somalia. We managed to discover a plant that was known publicly to have gone extinct, and it was even a cathaya…”
Chen Tong became slightly excited as he spoke. He turned around and cast a glance at Wang Cheng, and he lost his interest again.
“You were the leader of the scientific expedition in 1955?” Wang Cheng also felt pain at his waist, but he still wanted to talk.
Chen Tong looked out the window and smiled faintly. “How would I have that qualification? I was just a young scientific researcher.”
“Then?”
“Then? Oh, then I worked for twenty years. I didn’t have any achievements, but I got hepatolithiasis, so I changed my job to teaching in a high school,” Chen Tong said in a simple manner, and he sounded very calm.
Wang Cheng looked at him and could not help but say, “You said that you did not have any achievements. Did you mean you did not discover anything new after working as a scientific researcher for twenty years?”
“I did have some little findings without any value.”
“And you’ve still worked for twenty years?”
“Yes, because I couldn’t help thinking that I could discover something soon. Chen Tong did not want to talk about himself anymore, so he turned around and looked at Wang Cheng. He then asked, “What about you? What did you do before retirement?”
“I made machines. Now that I’ve made some calculations, I have worked for forty years. So, I have forty years of service.” Wang Cheng repeated twice, and he suddenly laughed. “I guess my biggest achievement is also hepatolithiasis. Our company can be divided into two units with a scale of a few thousand workers, but I’m the only one who got hepatolithiasis.”
Chen Tong heard what he said, and he could not help but laugh as well.
Two of them looked at each other and smiled. The atmosphere in the ward became much better.
On the next day, at four o’clock in the morning, Chen Tong rolled and turned to his side on his bed. Suddenly, he heard the door of the room being pushed open.
Chen Tong shuddered violently. He extended his arm to touch his waist. Suddenly, his memory of living in the mountains instantly surged into his mind.
In a second, Chen Tong saw a refraction of light on the dark white wall. He was slightly confused. ‘I’m in the hospital, and I did not bring a hoe along…’
Then, did this mean that a thief had come to the hospital to steal?
Chen Tong extended his hand to take his most valuable phone before he looked at the darkness outside the window. He could not help but feel sentimental. ‘Thieves nowadays are so professional. Can they get more money if they steal from hospitals? So, are all the thieves who came here elite thieves?’
“Hello, are you Chen Tong? Are you asleep?” A few white shadows blocked Chen Tong’s sight.
Chen Tong felt shocked. ‘The thief now knows my name?’
“Chen Tong? Wake up, it’s time for your ward round.” Yu Yuan gently pushed the patient’s shoulder.
Chen Tong opened his eyes swiftly while his mind was still unclear. “Ward round?”
“Ward round!” Yu Yuan make her tone stronger to remind the patient of what she was there for. Four o’clock in the morning did not affect doctors and Kobe Bryant much, but patients usually still had their minds foggy with sleep.
Chen Tong gently turned on the light at his bedside table.
Yu Yuan frowned. She blocked the light and complained. “Why do all patients like to switch on the light? If we need light, we will turn it on ourselves.”
“All of you don’t need light?” Chen Tong cast Yu Yuan a strange glance.
Yu Yuan waved her hand. “Tell us your name.”
“Chen Tong.”
“Alright, we are here to do preoperative preparations for you.” Yu Yuan glanced around and asked, “Where’re your family members?”
“I don’t have a family. I’m alone.” Chen Tong sat up straight.
Yu Yuan looked at him in surprise. Then, her tone became gentler as she said, “Then, let me tell you about your situation in the surgery…”
Chen Tong listened quietly. Even though he did not feel well, he also did not make a sound.
Yu Yuan decided to just keep him company until he entered the operating theater.
“Doctor Ling has very good skills, and his surgery success rate is very high, so you don’t have to worry too much.” Yu Yuan lowered her head and said. She sounded very confident.
“Okay,” Chen Tong answered. He watched Yu Yuan leave before he shut his eyes gently.
The operating theater slowly became crowded.
Nurses, the anesthetist, and assistant doctors slowly came into the operating theater. Chen Tong shut his eyes tightly without making any sound. Then, the anesthetist started to touch him.
“Cough, cough. ” Chen Tong opened his eyes through laborious effort.
“Judging by your accent, you aren’t a local, are you?” Su Jiafu lowered his head to glance at Chen Tong. Then, he smiled and made a joke.
Chen Tong was stunned for a few seconds before he flashed a faint smile.
“Don’t be too nervous…”
“Your Doctor Ling has good skills, I know.” Chen Tong stopped Su Jiafu from speaking.
Su Jiafu was stunned for two seconds before he laughed. “I guess you already know. Alright, breathe in slowly. I’ll help you check. Follow me and count, one, two…”
Su Jiafu raised his head and looked at the monitor. He then smiled at Ling Ran, who had just stepped into the operating theater. “Anesthetized.”
Ling Ran had put on a new surgical gown. He had his forearms held vertically before him. He took a look at the patient’s face and asked for confirmation, “67 years old?”
“Yes, all the patients Doctor Jin sent over are elderly patients.” As an anesthetist, Su Jiafu was extremely afraid of elderly patients.
But it did not matter to Ling Ran. He made someone bring him the ultrasonography scan so that he could remember the details of the patient’s body in greater detail before the operation.
At this time, short phrases appeared before his vision. They came from the system which had not appeared for a long time.
[Mission: Extremely High Quality Surgery]
[Mission Details: Solve patient’s pain through extremely high quality surgery.]
[Mission Reward: Complete ten cases of extremely high quality surgery and be rewarded with one Intermediate Treasure Chest]
[Mission Progress: 0/10]
Ling Ran stared at the system prompt and fell into deep thought.
‘What sort of surgery is considered an extremely high quality surgery?’
While Ling Ran was still thinking, he lowered his arms and took off his surgical gown.
“Doctor Ling?” A few people who stood in front of the operating table were puzzled.
“I’ll go take a bath.” Ling Ran left the operating theater without turning back.
