Great Doctor Ling Ran

Panda Novel

“Show two sets of MRI scans.” Ling Ran clasped his hands beside his back as he stood in the operating theater and ordered his assistants to show the MRI scans.

Qu Xiaolian the houseman froze for a moment, but he did not say anything. He merely glanced at Ren Qi before walking to the computer and showing the MRI scans.

Ren Qi had just entered the operating theater, and he felt extremely diffident when he saw that the houseman was looking at him. He wanted to explain things, but he did not know a single person in the operating theater.

Ren Qi hesitated for a moment before saying with a shy smile, “There’s no need to switch on a computer just for me.”

“The assistants should understand the situation too,” Ling Ran turned and said, denying Ren Qi the opportunity to showcase his humility.

Qu Xiaolian continued switching on the computers to show the MRI scans.

Ren Qi’s smile became even more anguished. He wanted to help out, but he had already washed his hands, so he should not contaminate them. His face slowly turned stoic as he watched the junior doctors from Yun Hua Hospital work.

“The operating theater is pretty big.” Ren Qi tried to liven up the atmosphere.

No one in the operating theater smiled to play along with him.

Su Jiafu the anesthetist said, “Department Director Huo likes big ones.”

Ren Qi said with gratitude, “No wonder…”

“I’m talking about breasts,” Su Jiafu joked expressionlessly.

“My breasts are pretty big.” Ren Qi was the best at telling dirty jokes. In the operating theater of the provincial hospital he worked at, the atmosphere was the most cheery whenever someone told dirty jokes. Everyone would be smiling like one big happy family.

And the chief physicians often started scolding people the moment the dirty jokes ended.

Ren Qi would rather talk about his breasts and carry on with the dirty jokes than to let them stop.

Su Jiafu, though, froze. He had been working with members of the Ling Treatment Group for a long time, and he was used to how quiet they were. For a moment, he was not very used to having someone tell dirty jokes together with him.

“Is it a problem if they’re too big?” Ren Qi continued with a grin on his face.

Su Jiafu continued looking at Ren Qi in a daze. ‘The atmosphere in the operating theater had changed instead.’

“The scans are ready.” Qu Xiaolian did not take long. Everyone knew that Ling Ran would read the patient’s MRI scan the moment he entered the operating theater. This was especially true for major surgeries like hepatectomy, and it would not do for a surgeon to skip the step.

To junior doctors who were working under Ling Ran, persuading patients to get an MRI scan was an important task. This was because of how expensive it was to get an MRI scan, and there was a general consensus that it was not needed for many of the organs and body parts of the human body. Hence, the junior doctors had to spend a lot of energy to persuade patients to get this expensive scan done.

Aside from this, many doctors did not know how to read MRI scans. This was why certain patients were aversive to getting an MRI scan.

Truth be told, most surgeons did not know how to read MRI scans.

For example, Ren Qi the attending physician.

“I’ll scroll the page for you. Is this speed okay? This is the index page…” Qu Xiaolian earnestly explained things to Ren Qi.

As long as a doctor knew how to read MRI scans, no matter which Grade A hospital he came from, he was considered an excellent doctor.

Ren Qi the attending physician had no choice but to stand before the computer. He glanced at Qu Xiaolian who was scrolling the page, then at the monitor.

Several dozen MRI scans flashed past his eyes, and all of them were raw scans.

Ren Qi’s brain slowly stopped functioning.

A gradual change was happening to his thought process.

‘What on earth is this?

‘What on earth?

‘I’m afraid that I’m actually an idiot…’

After Ling Ran was done reading the MRI scans, he turned to glance at Ren Qi and asked, “Are you done? Or should we get started first?”

“I…” Ren Qi’s lips quivered a few times, and he did not know where to begin.

He was even feeling a little aggrieved.

‘If I knew how to read raw MRI scans, why would I come for in-service training in the field of surgery in Yun Hua Hospital? Wouldn’t it be better for me to head to the Medical Imaging Department? The environment there is cleaner, with very few cases of doctor-patient disputes. I’ll have quite a good income too. Most importantly, I won’t need to dig shit…”

“Spill the beans.” Zhang Anmin was being a little authoritative. Ling Ran did not like to talk in the operating theater, and the doctors working under him had to create an effective hierarchy so that the team could work together effectively. That was something crucial, as it tested the team members on how much they could cooperate with each other.

Right then, the doctors of the Ling Treatment Group had formed a consensus that they could scold doctors who were not part of their treatment group as much as they want to.

Ren Qi’s lips quivered again.

He wanted to apologize, but he ended up swallowing his words.

“I…” Ren Qi’s lips quivered a few more times, and he finally managed to speak. “I usually just read MRI scan reports. I thought that Doctor Ling was asking me if I know how to read MRI scan reports.”

For some reason, Zhang Anmin breathed a sigh of relief. “He wouldn’t have asked you anything if he was referring to the report.”

“You’re right.” Ren Qi lowered his head, but he was feeling a little indignant.

‘Learning how to read MRI scan reports takes time too, okay?

‘If everyone knew how to do it, patients wouldn’t need to waste time queuing up just to consult doctors.

‘Only a few doctors know how to do it in the provincial hospital I work in.’

As Ren Qi thought of this, he could not help but look at Ling Ran.

“Doctor Ling is an expert at reading MRI scans in our hospital,” Zhang Anmin said a little proudly.

“I have never expected there to be a surgeon who knows how to read raw MRI scans.” Ren Qi immediately flattered Ling Ran.

This time, no one said anything in response to his words.

Ren Qi gulped. “Let me tell you guys a joke…”

Ling Ran arched an eyebrow and glanced at Ren Qi. He did not say anything.

Zhang Anmin, though, had no problem with that. “Go ahead.”

“Sure.” Ren Qi breathed a sigh of relief. “There was a tortoise who wore a…”

Ling Ran stayed quiet as he operated on the patient.

He had carried out a lot of hepatectomies. But compared to other surgeries, hepatectomy was more interesting because there were plenty of variations when it came to the human liver and related structures.

Ling Ran soon became immersed in the surgery.

Zhang Anmin also became immersed in Ren Qi’s jokes.

He had been working with Ling Ran for quite some time. Whenever there was no other assistant, he would have no choice but to work quietly and play his part as a lonely assistant because anesthetists were more often than not zoning off. Nurses usually spent their time looking at Ling Ran, so they would not speak much either. Every time this happened, the atmosphere in the operating theater would become strange. This was especially true when an endotherm knife was used, causing the operating theater to smell like a barbeque restaurant.

As he got to listen to jokes, it was a relatively good working environment, and he felt calmer. He assisted Ling Ran while listening to the jokes.

Ren Qi told one joke after another.

And then another…

Ren Qi worked hard to tell jokes to prove his worth in the operating theater. “There was a tortoise who wore a—”

“You’ve already told this joke before.” Su Jiafu raised his head and said airily.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Ren Qi apologized profusely. “Let me tell you guys another joke. There was a tortoise who liked to take the bus.”

“You’ve already told this joke before.”

“Then, how about this? There was a tortoise who felt that turtles led a happy life…”

“You’ve already told this one before.” Zhang Anmin’s voice rang out. “Don’t you have any jokes that don’t involve tortoises?”

Ren Qi licked his dry lips in resignation. “I didn’t expect there to be so many surgeries today. After we’re done with all the surgeries today, I’ll search for more jokes.”

Zhang Anmin and Su Jiafu looked at each other. They then laughed out loud.

The two young nurses laughed too.

“That’s a good one.” There was a cheery atmosphere in the operating theater.