Chapter 101: Strong and Resilient Boss Shao
“Yang Zi, help me get the suture box—the blue one!” Boss Shao shouted again. A shop assistant who was cutting up some mutton slices put down the meat cleaver and went to grab a small first aid kit.
“The threads you want are all inside. I don’t mind having any scars; it’s something inevitable. Anything’s fine with me as long as I can continue barbecuing.” Shao Jian may have said those words, yet he stared intently at Ling Ran’s actions. It was clear that he was still a little concerned about the scar.
Ling Ran opened the small blue box by himself and found gauze, scissors, as well as other things. He opened a new bottle of iodophor and told Boss Shao that he was about to begin before he silently carried out the procedure on him.
The metal bits that entered the back of Shao’s hand had to be taken out. The wound needed to be cleaned, but anesthesia could not be used during the debridement. Hence, Shao Jian had to bare his teeth and endure it for a while.
When he was about to suture the wound, Ling Ran rummaged through the box and asked, “Is there no anesthetic?”
“Well, I don’t run a hospital…” Shao Jian smiled helplessly.
Ling Ran looked at him with a firm gaze.
“Anesthetics aren’t easy to obtain. Let’s not use it today. Some doctors also mention that it’s not good to use anesthetics. It’s easy to get addicted to them. Just suture it as it is,” Shao Jian said as he clenched his teeth.
“Well, I’ve prepared two more pieces of gauze.” Ling Ran nodded slightly. To use anesthetic while suturing was an inherently Chinese concept. Many foreigners did not use anesthetics when suturing. Of course, it was not that foreigners were not afraid of pain. Some foreigners were addicted to drugs, and they did not dare take the injection. Meanwhile, some countries with universal healthcare were short on medication, so they did not apply anesthetics. It would take three or four hours to administer anesthetics, and some foreigners simply could not wait that long.
Shao Jian asked once he caught a keyword, “Why do you need to prepare more gauze?”
“I’m afraid that if you struggle when it gets too painful, the blood flow would increase or the wound would tear.” Ling Ran also called for Wang Zhuangyong and Chen Wanhao, who had been waiting by the side for a long time, earnestly waiting to help.
Shao Jian’s eyes widened.
Being used to pain was one thing. At the end of the day, pain was still pain, and it would still affect people.
Wang Zhuangyong and Chen Wanhao had been interns for several months. They had not received a chance to stitch any human skin yet. They were about to die of excitement but could only sprinkle some disinfectant on the wound and look at Shao Jian dumbly.
“Doctor Ling, please personally suture the wound for me.” Mister Shao Jian was afraid that Ling Ran would pass his hand to the others for practice. Although he was often a subject for doctors to practice their skills, interns had too little skill.
Ling Ran nodded. Even if Shao Jian had not mentioned it, he would have still personally sutured the wound.
It was nothing if the area for debridement and suturing were slightly larger. At most, the scar would be a little bit uglier. Shao Jian’s wound was deep, and it was not suitable for beginners to practice their skills on him.
Ling Ran selected a relatively thick #0 thread for Shao Jian’s suture.
Shao Jian was a man who needed to work to pay off his debts. It was impossible to wait idly for his ten fingers to recover. The tensile strength of the suture thread had to be guaranteed. Of course, there was no need for Ling Ran to use a thread that was too thick. It would be meaningless for the thread’s tensile strength to exceed the strength of the muscle tissue.
While Boss Shao gritted his teeth and endured the pain, Ling Ran quickly completed the suturing. It was so quick that even Boss Shao did not manage to register it when the suturing was over.
Chen Wanhao looked at Ling Ran with a profound gaze and said, “Ling Ran, you’ve changed.”
“Huh?” Ling Ran dressed the wound.
Chen Wanhao said, “In the past, when you were in school, you were defined by your good looks, I was defined by my wealth, and Wang Zhuangyong was defined as a little sissy. But now, you’re getting faster…”
“Hey, do you think I’ll use a meat skewer to poke you to death?” Wang Zhuangyong, who had just been referred to as a sissy, used his thumb and middle finger to pinch a metal skewer. His other three fingers sprang up, and he positioned his hand in the orchid-shaped gesture [1].
“Zhuangyong, you’re the only one who hasn’t changed. I can’t hold on to my character setting for much longer.” Chen Wanhao pressed down gently on his metal skewer. He sighed and said, “Forget it. I was actually going to buy a car only after I’ve started working. But I guess I’ll just buy one in advance. I’m estimate that I’ll have to take out all of my pocket money before I can buy a BMW 5 Series…”
“You don’t have a parking space.” Boss Shao looked at his bandaged hand and relaxed. He kindly explained to Chen Wanhao, “The reserved parking spaces in your hospital are only for the doctors who are on duty. You have to go to the Medical Affairs Department to apply, and interns can’t apply.”
Chen Wanhao was stunned for a few seconds, and he curiously asked, “How do you know this?”
“Of course. I wanted to apply for a parking space too. There were often no temporary parking spaces…” Boss Shao said in a matter-of-fact manner. After he noticed that Ling Ran had finished with the bandaging, Boss Shao thanked him repeatedly and said, “The meal today for the three of you is free. Yang Zi, give them two portions of beef tripes.”
The beef tripes were tender and chewy, most suitable for young people to eat.
Ling Ran, Chen Wanhao, and Wang Zhuangyong finished eating one bucket after the other.
Boss Shao was not bothered by it. He watched them eat two buckets and finish two more after that.
The cost of two hundred skewers was similar to that of two bottles of iodophor. Boss Shao was still able to cover the cost for that.
In addition to the tripe, meat skewers were also continuously being brought to them.
The meat skewers in the Shao’s family restaurant consisted of small pieces of meat. They were freshly diced lamb cubes, and the main attraction was their tenderness. If the seasoning was done properly, it would be very popular among diners.
A lot of people came to buy food, but Boss Shao was injured. Because of it, there was a shortage of meat skewers. He could only occasionally spare a few skewers because the others were quickly given to Ling Ran and the rest.
The three did not mind. While they waited for the tripes, they ate the barbecued meat. While they waited for the barbecued meat, they ate the tripes. They then drank some Coca-Cola. and felt as if they were about to enter paradise.
“By the way, shouldn’t we give him a tetanus shot?” Wang Zhuangyong suddenly remembered this after he stuffed his stomach.
Boss Shao traveled towards them from afar before Ling Ran spoke. “I’ve had my tetanus shot, and I have full immunization. I just need to take another injection in ten years.”
“Boss Shao, you used to be a doctor, right?” Wang Zhuangyong patted his thigh and did the orchid-shaped gesture. He said, “I know that you definitely changed your profession because being a doctor is too much hard work. I write medical records every day to the point that even my skin’s become rough…”
…
The next day…
Ling Ran drove his black, hand-washed Volkswagen Jetta to work and requested for five operations to be arranged for him. Once again, it caused a discussion among the young nurses.
The focus of everyone’s discussion was naturally not the five operations. In the last month, Ling Ran would usually complete five to six sets of operations a day. Now that Department Associate Director Pan had returned to Japan to continue his training, and the flexor tendon repair of Yun Hua Hospital’s Emergency Department had been recognized by his peers, it was possible for Ling Ran to increase the volume of his surgeries if he so wanted.
However, the young nurses were not concerned about Ling Ran’s volume of surgery. They were more concerned about the Volkswagen Jetta that he drove to work.
“Doctor Ling’s still doing his internship, which is equivalent to studying at a university. He already has a car now, which means his family comes from a pretty good background,” a beautiful, young nurse commented seriously.
“I’ve heard people say that Doctor Ling’s driving a second-hand car, which isn’t very expensive. Others told me that his car’s similar to a Volkswagen Santana,” another beautiful, young nurse commented earnestly.
“What’s wrong with driving a second-hand car? The second-hand car’s been washed till its squeaky clean. It can still shield a person from wind and rain. Buying a second-hand car is better than spending away one’s fortune to buy a good car just to impress girls. This just shows that Doctor Ling is a responsible person,” another young and beautiful nurse added.
When they heard her comment, the topic of interest for the young nurses changed.
Several nurses who had been resting at the nurse’s station also went to the back and participated in the conversation.
“Doctor Ling could buy the car he’s driving now if he used the surgery fees he earned last month. So, maybe Doctor Ling bought the car himself. Ah… buying a car with his savings is such a responsible act. Just listening to it makes you feel a sense of security from Doctor Ling.”
“If Doctor Ling has a car, then we can go out with him, maybe even travel farther. How nice would that be?”
“Doctor Ling will need to be willing to go out with you first.”
“In any case, Doctor Ling’s joined the group of men who have cars. Hey, what do all of you think? Not that Doctor Ling has a car, will he be deceived by enchanting, flirtatious sirens outside?”
The topic changed so quickly and was so close to reality that it immediately made everyone think.
“Hey, why don’t we organize some events and hang out together?”
Young Nurse Wang Jia happily made a suggestion. She was Ling Ran’s chief scrub nurse when he worked in the operating theater. She would often rub shoulders with Doctor Ling at work. She could touch his hand when she handed him surgical instruments and touch his broad chest when she tried to wipe off his sweat. She had practically done almost everything, However, she had never spent time with Doctor Ling outside the hospital, and she was the most enthusiastic with her suggestion at the present moment.
The relatively old Nurse Liu looked at them with a smile, but decisively said, “Having gatherings for food is forbidden. Don’t go breaking rules now.”
“We’ll go Dutch.”
“Going Dutch isn’t allowed too,” Nurse Liu said. “The last time someone organized a birthday party in the provincial hospital, the person was warned.”
“A warning’s just a warning.” Wang Jia pouted.
“Try telling that to the head nurse and see if she puts you on night shifts for a month.” Nurse Liu snorted softly.
The group of young nurses did not continue their chat. They only exchanged glances discreetly.
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