Chapter 816: Chapter 816: Greeting

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Chestnut, the police dog walked arrogantly as it patrolled the area around Yun Hua Hospital.

It liked the place quite a lot. There were neither other dogs nor other feeders. It could go anywhere it wanted to, and it could roll on the ground as it pleased. If it were in the mood, it could also hump a pillar or even flash a fierce grimace. No one would care.

If Chestnut had a diary, it would probably rate the day four out of five. It was the pinnacle of its life as a dog indeed.

If it were not for the fact that a goose pecked its neck for 3.17 seconds, it would definitely rate the day five out of five.

Qin Min was holding Chestnut’s leash with one hand, and she followed the dog whenever it went in a leisurely manner. She did not seem like she was heading anywhere.

She did not really feel like heading to the ward.

The conditions in the ward were by no means bad. Ever since the inception of Yun Hua Medical Center, most wards only had to accommodate three patients. The interior of the ward was spacious and bright, and it also came equipped with a private bathroom and other facilities. It was even more comfortable compared to the rooms most people rented. However, the atmosphere in the ward was way too dreary. This was especially true after Old Xu’s wife and children arrived.

Old Xu’s family was actually quite well off. He had two houses, one in the city center and one in the outskirts. He also had sizeable savings and a car. Even though his wife was no longer working as she was staying together with his son who was studying somewhere else, he had money to spare every month as he had rented one of his houses out.

However, no one in the police force was jealous of Old Xu’s family.

His house in the city center was what his parents left behind, and his house on the outskirts was given to him by the government. It was among the last batch of houses that the government gave to children of parents who had sacrificed their lives for the country. As for his savings… the money came from his parents’ pension.

No one in the police force wanted to inherit money under such circumstances. Even Old Xu himself was not ready to let his son inherit his money either.

Qin Min really could not bring herself to look at the way Old Xu talked to his son.

Even though Ling Ran was the one who would be operating on Old Xu, it was impossible for anyone to feel at ease in a ward.

……

“Police Officer Qin, are you here to visit your teammate again?” A resident doctor from the General Surgery Department walked over to Qin Min with a smile. While he was at it, he made some weird noises at the dog.

Chestnut did not even bother to wag its tail.

Qin Min let out a nasal hum. She then turned to leave with the dog in tow.

The resident doctor was reluctant to let her leave as he stared after her. Hence, he followed her and said with a smile, “Police Officer Qin, I know a lot of people in the hospital. If your teammate needs a checkup or something, I’m definitely the right person to talk to.”

Qin Min said in resignation, “My teammate is suffering from stomach cancer.”

The resident doctor was at a loss for words. He thought about it for a while and said, “Even patients with stomach cancer need checkups, right?”

Qin Min sighed. She was not in the mood to make small talk, to begin with, and it was even more so after she glanced at the other party’s face. She called out Chestnut’s name and continued walking.

The resident doctor thought about it for a few seconds and followed her again.

As a doctor, he had very little free time. He did not spend much time away from the hospital either. A beautiful lady like this was hard to come by, and he had to treasure this opportunity, as he would otherwise end up like Lu Wenbin from the Emergency Medical Center. Even though Lu Wenbin owned a house and a car, the most he knew how to say to a woman was, “Have you farted?”

The resident doctor calmed down and told himself to draw a lesson from Lu Wenbin’s painful experience. As he thought about this, he followed closely behind Qin Min and tried to recall all kinds of tactics a man could use to flirt with a woman.

Qin Min walked in front of the resident doctor, and both of them traversed the buildings.

Qin Min was holding Chestnut on a leash. Chestnut was wearing a mouth face mask, and it was quiet and obedient.

The resident doctor from the General Surgery Department who was walking behind Qin Min was wearing a mouth face mask, and he looked quiet and obedient too.

Qin Min glanced at him with a baffled expression and asked, “Why are you still following me? I’m starting to suspect that you’re a stalker.”

The resident doctor who was wearing a mask face mask flashed a mysterious smile. He was cackling internally. ‘This beautiful policewoman is getting curious about me, hahahahaha. I’m only one step away from successfully seducing her.”

He forcefully suppressed the surge of joy in his heart and said calmly, “I’m not stalking you. I intend to see the patient.”

“Why?” Qin Min became even more baffled.

The resident doctor said in a low voice, “To give myself a goal, I’m aiming to become the chief surgeon in a radical gastrectomy for stomach cancer. It’s one of my aims in life. When this finally becomes a reality, I’ll think of your name as I stand beside the operating table and operate on the patient…”

Qin Min looked at this resident doctor, who had a goal in life, with a profound gaze.

There was a smile on the resident doctor’s face. He was feeling as jubilant as before.

“Doctor Ling will be the chief surgeon for my teammate’s surgery today. He’s probably even younger than you…” Qin Min decided to be straightforward so that this resident doctor, who had a goal in life, would definitely understand what she was saying.

Just like many other young doctors in Yun Hua Hospital, when the resident doctor with a goal in life heard the word “Doctor Ling”, he instinctively pricked up his ears and perked up. “Doctor Ling isn’t that much younger than me. If you were to calculate how many months we have been in this world, I’m around the same age as him…”

“You look a lot older than Doctor Ling,” Qin Min said expressionlessly. She then called out Chestnut’s name and walked away from the resident doctor, who was wearing a shocked expression, with Chestnut in tow.

Qin Min left Chestnut outside the ward area. She then washed her hands and lathered some alcohol-based hand sanitizer from the bottle that was hung outside the ward on her hands before entering Old Xu’s ward.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

A group of people was chatting with Old Xu.

Some of them were their teammates, and their leader was also there. There were also a few cadres from the city bureau as well as the government, and all of them filled up the ward. There were also a few representatives from among the Xu family’s distant relatives, but all of them were sitting outside the ward. They did not look perturbed.

After the group of people was done talking to Old Xu, they exited the ward. Another group of people went in and they, too, exited after a while.

Even though Old Xu was repeating the same words again and again, he was not annoyed.

Old Xu had not experienced such a lively scene for quite a while, and it was able to act as an analgesic that reduced the pain in his heart.

After another group of people left. Old Xu turned and smiled at his son. He held his son’s hand and said, “I’m alright. Have you finished your homework? You shouldn’t delay your homework anymore, or you’ll get scolded by your teachers.”

“I’ve asked for a day off.” Old Xu’s son looked around thirteen or fourteen years old, and he was somewhat but not fully mature. There was a lost expression on his face. He looked just like how Old Xu did back when something happened to Old Xu’s parents.

Old Xu forced a smile. He then raised his head and said to his wife, “Why don’t you guys head outside and take a rest? There’s no point staying inside here.”

His wife wanted to smile, but she was unable to do so. She had not seen her husband for quite a few months. She thought that she would just need to endure being away from her husband for a few more years and that she would have plenty of time together with him after her son finished university. Little did she know that fate had a way of playing games.

“Visiting hours are over. Can the patient’s family members and friends please leave? We are about to start carrying out preoperative preparations.” A nurse came in and started chasing everyone away.

Everyone immediately bade farewell to Old Xu with reluctant expressions on their faces. It was as if they might not get to see him again tomorrow.

The atmosphere in the ward was never cheery.

Qin Min had no choice but to leave after merely greeting Old Xu.

……

In the operating theater, the scrub nurse was checking the laparoscope. She then laid out all the medical consumables in the order of which ones would be used first. The circulating nurse was preparing some sterile water that would be used to wash the lenses during the surgery. When it was almost time for the patient to enter the operating theater, they started checking and familiarizing themselves with the equipment.

The scrub nurse who would be assisting in the operation today was from the Department of Surgery. However, the circulating nurse was from the Emergency Medical Center, as it would make things easier for Ling Ran when it came to asking for instruments and medical consumables.

The anesthetist and his assistant, too, arrived early. They were bored as they waited for the surgery to begin. When Huo Congjun came over to examine the operating theater, they put on an act and flashed an earnest expression.

Ouyang Kan who would be acting as the assistant was a little envious, for some reason.

Even though he was an associate chief physician of the General Surgery Department and an expert within Changxi Province when it came to gastric surgery, the Department of Anesthesiology had never been so cautious around him whenever he was acting as chief surgeon.

In a hospital like Yun Hua Hospital, doctors from more than ten departments carried out surgeries every day. Among them, not only were there extraordinary chief physicians and associate chief physicians from the Neurosurgery Department, but there were also rich chief physicians and associate chief physicians from the Orthopedics Department. Some were even top surgeons like Chief Physician Jin Xi from the Hand Surgery Department. The status of a treatment group’s leader in the hospital was plain to see whenever he carried out surgery. A person just had to look at whether the other departments offered him their full cooperation.

“Isn’t it great to be young? The Department of Anesthesiology is going all out for Doctor Ling’s surgery.” Ouyang Kan took a stool and sat beside the anesthetists.

Su Jiafu, who was acting as the anesthesiologist assistant today, felt something being pulled out from beneath his buttocks, and he looked at Ouyang Kan in surprise. “You aren’t from the Emergency Medical Center, right?”

“What?” Ouyang Kan felt like he had missed something.

“Oh… nothing much.” Su Jiafu sighed internally as he looked at the stool beneath Ouyang Kan’s buttocks. He mentally reminded himself to be vigilant, as the former military doctor was not the only person who liked to steal chairs from anesthetists.

The attending physician from the Department from Anesthesiology knew Ouyang Kan, and he winked at Ouyang Kan. “This has nothing to do with youth.”

“It has something to do with Department Director Huo too, hasn’t it?”

The attending physician could not help but laugh “It also has something to do with our bonus.”

“Bonus?”

“Do you know which doctor is the one who treats the most foreign patients as well as patients who fund themselves in the hospital?” The attending physician gestured with his chin at the person.

Ouyang Kan immediately understood, and he realized something. “So, you guys receive quite a lot of bonuses from the Emergency Medical Center?”

The two anesthetists looked at each other and laughed.