Great Doctor Ling Ran

Wang Zhuangyong felt like a fish in water in the Ling family’s small clinic.

He was not that hemophobic, and he could have passed off as an internist. But it was obviously more comfortable for Wang Zhuangyong to be a rehabilitation specialist. Moreover, he seemed to be quite talented in rehabilitation medicine.

Previously, when Wang Zhuangyong worked together with the attending physicians and the senior resident doctors in the hospital to help patients with rehabilitation, not only was it tiring, but he was not taken seriously. This did not end in the department. To the patients and their family members, Wang Zhuangyong was too young to be substantially skilled in any area.

However, when a legit rehabilitation specialist appeared in Lower Groove Clinic, all of the people in the neighborhood regarded him with importance.

“Ah, my shoulders…”

“My legs hurt when it’s cold…”

“I scraped my knees…”

Lower Groove Clinic had always been a place where the residents of Lower Groove liked to gather. Now that they heard that there was a legit rehabilitation specialist there, all of them took the initiative to come over and make inquiries as well as receive treatment. There were also some who merely went there to join in the fun.

Ling Jiezhou decided to hang the board Dong Sheng had used outside the clinic. The words “25 RMB” were printed in large and bold font. The price was the same as what a salon in Lower Groove used to charge for a hair wash. It was very affordable for the people in Lower Groove.

When Wang Zhuangyong saw how busy Ling Jiezhou was and the way the latter allocated a special room for him, he was a little embarrassed. He said, “Uncle Ling, you don’t have to make things so formal. I’m just helping out in the neighborhood. It’s not very appropriate to involve money in this, isn’t it?”

“If it’s not appropriate to involve money, what should we involve? It’s not like you’re from Lower Groove. Also, even people in Lower Groove don’t do things for free. If we were to do everything for free, how is anyone going to make a living? I have to pay even when I eat sliced noodles in the Yang family’s restaurant, okay? I can’t just eat for free because my son had stitched up Old Yang’s hand before, can I?” Ling Jiezhou waved in dismissal and said, “Just be at ease and help the people in the neighborhood with recovery. As for the 25 RMB fee, I’ll give all of them to you.”

“Rehabilitation,” Wang Zhuangyong said in a soft voice. “Moreover, rehabilitation exercises are not for everyone.”

“If they feel like doing it, just help them out. The exercises won’t harm the body, will they?”

Wang Zhuangyong thought about it and shook his head a little. “There definitely won’t be any harm, as we tailor-make the exercise programs based on the condition of the patients’ bodies.”

“That’s why. It’s just like how we add glucose into the fluid transfusion bags. Without glucose, the patients would think that you’re shortchanging them. With glucose, they get to chit-chat with us and other patients for a longer time.” Ling Jiezhou smiled. “Doctor Wang, even though our clinic is small, you’ll be able to make 500 RMB every day if you were to treat twenty patients a day. Just look at it as a side income.”

Out of habit, Ling Jiezhou tried to make Wang Zhuangyong, the young doctor, fall into his trap.

It was extremely important for a clinic owner to know all sorts of relationships with doctors. This was especially true for those who wanted to expand their business, as they would need to hire a lot of doctors.

It took Wang Zhuangyong quite a while to do the math. “It’s impossible for twenty patients to be seeking treatment from me every day, isn’t it?” he asked a little hesitantly.

“You’ll know after giving it a try. Our clinic is actually pretty famous for massages.” Ling Jiezhou looked pleased with himself. “Ling Ran and Dong Sheng offer their massage service here all the time, and everyone’s pretty willing to pay for it.”

“Then… about this… shouldn’t we split the profit equally?”

“There’s no need for that. You can have all the money. The fact that you’ll be bringing patients to the clinic alone makes me happy,” Ling Jiezhou said generously and waved in dismissal. Indeed, it was important for Lower Groove Clinic to be able to retain their patients.

As long as the people in the neighborhood were willing to pay the clinic a visit, there were countless ways for him to earn money.

Correspondingly, if all the patients decided to head to Upper Groove or Yun Hua Hospital instead, Lower Groove Clinic would meet its end soon.

Wang Zhuangyong did not seem like he was convinced, but he entered the room and sat in a chair. Through the tiny hole on the door, he could see the words “25 RMB” on the neon board clearly.

“It’ll be 25 RMB per session. From now onwards, Doctor Wang will be offering consultation in Lower Groove Clinic.” Ling Jiezhou made Wang Zhuangyong one of the clinic’s doctors without a second thought. It was not like he had to give Wang Zhuangyong a basic pay, anyway. As long as Wang Zhuangyong was willing to come, they could never have enough doctors.

Soon, a middle-aged woman entered the room.

“Hello, which part of your body is experiencing discomforts?” Wang Zhuangyong was not qualified to offer consultations in the hospital. He became very excited when he saw the patient walking through the door.

“My shoulders are pretty stiff.”

“Let me take a look at it first.” Wang Zhuangyong walked forward as he spoke and gave her shoulders a few presses. “They’re pretty stiff indeed. Are you taking any medications?”

“No. It’s an old injury, and none of the medications work.” The middle-aged woman shook her head.

“How did you hurt yourself?”

“When I was frying sunflower seeds.”

“Oh.” Wang Zhuangyong took a look at the middle-aged woman’s body size and showed his understanding.

“Young man, just give me a good, hard massage.” The middle-aged woman often went for massages in Lower Groove Clinic too. When Dong Sheng was around, she would let him do it. But whenever Ling Ran was around, she would be more proactive in coming. Even though another doctor was offering massage services today, she was also willing to give it a try.

Wang Zhuangyong chuckled and massaged the middle-aged woman like how Ling Ran taught her to. Before he was done, he said, “Madam, I mainly help patients with rehabilitation exercises, and it’s not really the same thing as massages.”

“Is it more expensive?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, how do you do that, then?

Wang Zhuangyong thought about it for a few seconds and slowly said, “I’ll simplify things. For massages, you just have to sit there without doing anything; the masseur does all the work. As for rehabilitation exercises, I’ll teach you a few moves, and you’ll have to do it yourself.”

“I’ll have to do it myself?” The middle-aged woman furrowed her eyebrows.

“Yes. Let me teach you the first move. You can give it a try.” As Wang Zhuangyong spoke, he started to move his arm.

The middle-aged woman stood up a bit reluctantly and said, “Alright, if I have to move myself, so be it. Do make it cheaper…”

“Just pay whatever you think you should.” Wang Zhuangyong had never gotten used to such monetary transactions, but he sounded like a typical doctor right then.

The middle-aged woman could not find any fault in what he had said. She had no choice but to start moving according to Wang Zhuangyong’s instructions.

Wang Zhuangyong naturally rose and made sure that she would not hurt herself. He also gave her instructions.

“Use more force, okay?”

“I’ll press it for you.”

“Keep going. Just three more times!”

Wang Zhuangyong’s voice kept ringing out from the room.

Along with his voice were the middle-aged woman’s uncontrollable screams.

The sounds pierced through the walls into the courtyard and penetrated the ceiling, and they could be heard in the reception hall. All the neighbors who were receiving fluid transfusion could hear them.

“That’s quite a commotion.”

“Pretty interesting.”

“So, this is how Big Sister Liu sounds like when she screams.”

Fifteen minutes later, the middle-aged woman who was drenched in sweat walked out of Wang Zhuangyong’s little consultation room with a refreshed expression.

An old man who often sold fritters in front of the small supermarket gazed at the white clouds on the horizon with a languid expression and spoke to Ling Jiezhou, who was walking past him. “Old Ling, I know that everyone’s businesses aren’t doing well this year, but as a clinic, you guys should stick to what you’re good at. You can’t just sell everything.”

Ling Jiezhou was shocked. “What are you talking about?”

The old man gave Ling Jiezhou a profound look. “I heard that your clinic has started selling shampoo and body shampoo.”

Ling Jiezhou could not help but laugh. “Those are for people who are allergic to ordinary products and pregnant women.”

The old man chuckled. “Whatever you say. It’s not like I can control what you sell, anyway…”