267 Suture It Properly (1/2)

Ling Ran drove his small, newly-repaired Volkswagen Jetta all the way to Lower Groove through the heavy traffic.

Lower Groove was just as congested.

The alley could only accommodate two cars moving side by side at one time, but right then, it was full of urban white-collar workers who had gone there to eat.

The stores in Lower Groove changed again and again. In the end, the ones that survived the passage of time were mostly restaurants.

It was particularly so for the fast food restaurants, which were dedicated to office workers. Four of them had opened in the alleys of Lower Groove, causing old neighbors to complain.

Having a lot of people was a good thing, but having too many people turned out to be really annoying, especially when the fast food restaurants replaced the shops. Often, when the people in the neighborhood saw shops that had been around for decades, they would still feel a little bit of comfort even if they did not buy those traditional pastries anymore.

Ling Ran slowly drove past the diners before he parked his car properly. He then returned to his own courtyard and saw a queue at his clinic.

When he fixed his gaze on the queue, he found that the queue led to a small room in the west wing.

On the door of the room was a small plastic sign. [Five-minute massage for 10 RMB. Walk-in.]

There were more than twenty middle-aged men and women who brought over small foldable stools to sit down and chat with each other while they queued up. This meant that two hours were required before all of them could be dealt with.

”Mom, I'm back,” Ling Ran called out. He climbed to the first floor before he poured himself a cup of herbal tea to drink.

”You're back early today,” Ling Jiezhou announced his presence with swagger downstairs before he climbed up too. He smiled and said, ”Your mom went to the tea shop. She didn't expect you to come back. Let's just order delivery.”

”Oh.” Ling Ran asked, ”Is Dong Sheng doing the massages?”

Ling Jiezhou nodded. ”Yes. That boy, Dong Sheng, is really honest. I wrote 10 RMB for five minutes, and he massaged the customers for a whole ten minutes. He only reduced the duration when those who were still queueing started to get impatient, and complained.'

”It's 10 RMB for one time?”

”Yup, I get 4 RMB and I give him the other 6 RMB.”

Ling Ran glanced at Ling Jiezhou. ”Dong Sheng is only 10 years old, yet you split his pay by 40/60?”

”You don't understand, that's the rule. Doctor Miao also wanted a 40/60 share. If I give Dong Sheng something else, it won't be easy to lead those under me,” Ling Jiezhou said, looking like a troubled manager. ”Dong Sheng's meals and accommodation are even provided. This means I'm secretly giving him benefits. I can't go around telling people about it either. Moreover, no matter how many patients there are, I still need to provide him with meals and accommodation. I'm forking out money from my own pocket here.”

”I'll go and have a look.” Ling Ran was a little curious.

It was quite simple to learn how to massage. Many of the students in the schools for the blind, deaf, and mute did not take long to learn how to massage. Although the osteopathic physicians in the hospital might take a longer time to learn the skill, they did not spend most of their time on massage techniques. Instead, they spent it on the basics of human anatomy and other things.

Compared which surgeries, which operated on a more complete level of logilization, the demand for talent in massages seemed to be higher.

Fortunately, Dong Sheng grew up being raised by an old monk. He had already learned about acupoints and other things related to massages. Thus, he could easily catch up when he was taught by Ling Ran.

However, Ling Ran could not confirm how good he actually was.

The west wing...

The young novice monk was massaging diligently using the grabbing method to soothe the necks, shoulders, waists, and legs of the neighborhood people.

He was tiny and weak. Because of that, he had to be even more accurate in his administration to bring about an effect.

With the level of pain tolerance among the old neighbors around Lower Groove Clinic, Dong Sheng's strength was more than enough to handle them.

Students who were taught by someone with a Master Level in Chiropractic Manipulation also had some advantages over others when it came to their skills.

The massages given by Dong Sheng did not produce immediate results like Ling Ran's, and there was no advantage to speak of in his treatment. However, he could still relieve some pain for a short period of time.

Even Ling Ran's massages were mainly focused on pain relief. The only difference between their massages was the duration of pain relief.

However, the neighbors did not possess professional skills in massaging, so they did not have the ability to judge holistically when it came to massages. The only thing they could be sure of was that the young novice monk massaged longer, charged lower, and he wore a uniform…

Ling Ran went into the room in the west wing and observed Dong Sheng's operation for a while. Then, he nodded and walked out.

Dong Sheng's massage technique was still not fully developed, but there were not many errors. Moreover, he seemed to remember Ling Ran's warnings about the dangerous parts in the human body and actions that could be harmful. He did not violate any of them.

As a result, customers were willing to accept massages from Dong Sheng, and Ling Ran was able to happily take a break.

He found his own reclining chair in one familiar motion, put his legs up, launched his game, and played joyfully.

After a long time, Ling Ran was summoned by Doctor Miao upon the blaring sound of an ambulance.

”Doctor Ling, two more patients have arrived, do you want to take one of them?” Miao Tansheng smiled and extended the invitation. ”The fees will go to whoever performs the suture. Think of it as earning yourself some pocket money.”

”Give me a minute, the final battle is about to begin.” Ling Ran's whole attention was fixed on his phone. After a few seconds, he put it down.

Miao Tansheng looked at Ling Ran, and he did not understand what he meant.

Under Doctor Miao's observant gaze, Ling Ran pondered for a few seconds before he said, ”The final battle seems to have ended. They actually fought it at the down lane… What kind of patients are they?”

Doctor Miao did not play the game, so he just smiled and said, ”Injury from a blunt object. They've come from the construction site. Golden Deer Health Services now extends their services to the city's major construction sites, and it's even publicizing its services in the new community. We often have construction workers, renovation workers, and similar people coming to see us.”

Doctor Miao was pleased with Golden Deer Health Services' business expansion. For surgeons sitting in small clinics for extended periods of time, having many patients walking in to visit them for a consultation was a memory of the past. In fact, for Miao Tansheng, most of the patients he currently had were sent by Golden Deer Health Services.

It was considered Miao Tansheng's most comfortable month of life ever since he left the hospital.

He did not have to sell medication anymore, or rack his brains to accumulate more money. He only needed to finish suturing the patients sent his way, plus the income was quite good as well.

The techniques Ling Ran showed him also gave Miao Tansheng hope to improve.