21 Suture ‘Production Line’ (2/2)

”Didn't you mean that?”

”I was thinking of asking a few interns to come over and assist me.” Ling Rin was not very keen on using this lazy Doctor Zhou who would not hesitate to work less should the opportunity present itself.

Debridement and dressing were all meticulous, physical work. It required hard work and effort. As for Doctor Zhou, he was the petty bourgeoisie[1] among the doctors, he would not do this sort of work if he could help it.

Doctor Zhou was momentarily stunned. Then, he said, ”You're thinking of giving the other students a chance, right? So, are you looking for a male, or a female student?”

As the words were spoken, Nurse Wang Jia anxiously eyed Ling Ran.

”It doesn't matter.”

Ling Ran lingered on the word 'chance' for a moment. Then, he said, ”Just my dormmates, then.”

The moment she heard that Ling Ran wanted male students, Nurse Wang Jia let out a breath of relief. Then, she spoke for Ling Ran, ”The number of patients who showed up today are far more than what we usually receive. The doctors waiting outside for a chance to work are also interns.”

Doctor Zhou's good-hearted side kicked in as he muttered, ”It is alright to call them in as well, but you must explain it to the doctor in-charge of their respective departments…”

Whenever the Emergency Department got busy, doctors and interns from the other departments would often scurry over to assist them. Every one of them had an equal opportunity to work.

Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong were delighted when they heard the news.

It was truly difficult for interns to get a chance to practice their skills. The past few days had told them all that they needed to know about this fact.

The two of them had remained cooped up in their own departments, doing nothing but brew tea and write medical reports every day. They could only dream of touching a patient for a brief moment by the end of their rotation in that particular department. Now that they had the chance to practice, their elation could only be compared to the resident of a windowless hotel room having his room upgraded into the presidential suite of a luxury hotel.

”Spill it already, you haven't been giving the doctor gifts, have you? I'll cover whatever you spent.”

The moment Chen Wanhua caught sight of Ling Ran, he pulled him to a corner and whispered those words.

A 3M red stethoscope remained hanging before Chen Wanhao's chest.

Naturally, that stethoscope was useless. However, he had acquired the nickname 'Red Stethoscope' in the department now. Chen Wanhao did not mind. He would rather be the laughing stock so that he could remain standing out among the other interns.

Ling Ran said, ”Not a single penny spent. No gifts either.”

”None?”

”Would it have worked if I sent any gifts?” Ling Ran retorted.

Chen Wanhao was caught off guard by the question.

He finally laughed sheepishly, saying, ”I thought of giving them something, but I was afraid that it might backfire on me.”

He fingered the red packet in his pocket and began hesitating.

When Ling Ran saw that he no longer had any questions, he said once again, ”I need someone to perform debridements, and another to dress wounds, your choice…”

Wang Zhuangyong hurriedly spoke, ”Dressing here. Debridement is just too gross.”

”You have been prodding feces in the laboratory for so long, and you still think that debridement is disgusting?” Chen Wanhao had no preferences. He merely made a jab at Wang Zhuangyong out of habit.

Wang Zhuangyong sank into a pensive mode, then adopted the typical thought-provoking tone you often heard in documentaries before he said, ”When you have seen enough filth, when you encounter them again, you will not be able to help yourself but to link that filth to a great many other things. The more you grow to understand filth, the greater the disgust you will have towards them, do you understand?”

”You…” Chen Wanhao was amazed by Wang Zhuangyong's solemn tone.

”When it is your turn to get transferred to the laboratory, you will know what I meant.”

Wang Zhuangyong's voice made him sound like a sage who was thinking out loud. He muttered, ”Just imagine being the intern in the laboratory. We are the lowest ranking personnel there. If none of the doctors are willing to touch the samples, who would be forced to?”

”You're not exactly imagining it, are you?”

Chen Wanhao felt a little chill creeping up his spine as he grabbed on to his big red stethoscope.

”The patient is coming.” Nurse Wang Jia stepped in and cut them off.

Following closely behind the nurse was a young man who had fallen when he was harvesting bird nests. There were pine needles and sludge over his wounds. However, he did not seem to be bleeding much. If anything, he was only grinning sheepishly, embarrassed at himself.

Doctor Zhou immediately sat up straight with a serious look on his face. First, he confirmed that the young man had not injured his head. Relieved when it was not the case, he went out for a stroll.

If you get an idiotic intern to attempt suturing thirty times, you would have a proficient idiotic intern on your hands. However, giving that idiotic intern his first or second chance to do that was difficult enough as it was.

With Ling Ran's help, Chen Wanhao nervously started performing the debridement. Even his eyes were filled with tears of happiness.

A patient who had had his head smashed in by a stone, a patient whose arm had been lacerated by a tree branch, and a patient whose thigh was punctured by a pen…

Those who had never been a doctor or stayed in the Emergency Department would find it extremely difficult to imagine the variety of injuries that a human being could have. Some were even bizarre…

Chen Wanhao and Wang Zhuangyong grew more proficient with their tasks. On the other hand, Ling Ran maintained his lightning-speed pace.

A 'production line' for sutures was quickly established between the three of them.

It only took more than two hours for Ling Ran's mission progress to jump from [20/20] to [30/30].

”Keep it up!” Ling Ran obtained another Energy Serum and pushed the pace.

He intended to clear out half of the patients while everyone else was occupied with the heavily wounded.

Translator's Note:

1. Petite bourgeoisie: also petty bourgeoisie, it is a French term referring to the lower middle class.