542 Waves (1/2)
After Lower Groove Clinic was renovated, not only did it retain its historical air, but it was also embellished with modern elements. The more a person looked at it, the more he would find it pleasant to the eyes.
The designers even trimmed the old trees in the courtyard and filled the gaps on the corridors with all kinds of plants.
The devil's ivy were breathtakingly beautiful after they were watered.
The spider plants hanging high up enjoyed abundant growth.
Some of the neighbors who were passing by the clinic had stayed in Lower Groove for a few decades. All of them were full of praises for the clinic's new look, but they were still doubtful of the quality of healthcare provided. However, whenever they fell sick, they still showed their neighbors some support and visited Lower Groove Clinic.
Lower Groove Clinic experienced an exponential growth in terms of the number of customers, and the owners of the clinics nearby felt like crying when they saw how crowded Lower Groove Clinic was.
Even the most influential officers in the area, the director of the subdistrict office, visited the clinic and carried out an inspection.
With a smile on his face, Ling Jiezhou attended to the director of the subdistrict office in a relaxed manner without needing to spend a single penny.
He had been running the clinic for thirty years. Even though he had never met officers who ranked higher than that, he was very experienced in dealing with the director of the subdistrict office and those ranked below him.
Before the director of the subdistrict office left, Ling Jiezhou even shamelessly asked the latter to take a photograph together with him. He then printed the photograph, got it laminated, and hung it on the white wall of the observation room.
”This looks a little empty. Let's take more photographs in the future and hang them on the wall so that it looks better.” Ling Jiezhou hung the photo frame on the nail he just hammered into the wall. He then took a few steps backward and nodded. He did not seem very satisfied.
A white wall with a photograph with two people inside would be quite an eerie sight at night.
”We can add a caption: A photograph of Ling Jiezhou and the director of the subdistrict office of Victory Door.” The loud sounds of Juan Zi's footsteps rang out, and she commented when she saw the photograph.
Doctor Xiong, who was standing beside them, laughed when he heard that.
Ling Jiezhou, though, thought earnestly about it for a moment. ”I think Juan Zi just made a good suggestion. We shouldn't look down on our director of the subdistrict office. Besides, we can also do the same when other famous people visit our clinic. Hmm, we shouldn't place a caption there for the time being though. It'll make the picture and the caption look too lonely.”
Even though Doctor Xiong really felt like retorting, what Ling Jiezhou just said might very well manifest. Even if he were to disregard other things, Ling Ran was so good in massaging people that there were senior citizens from the sanatorium who made bookings just for that. Doctor Xiong had no choice but to say, ”Why don't we hang photographs that Ling Ran took together with famous people instead?”
”No, that would take the spotlight away from the owner of this clinic.” Ling Jiezhou immediately rejected the idea.
Doctor Xiong could not help but be stunned. 'You sound so logical that there's really nothing else I can say.'
Juan Zi clapped, and the sound produced was so loud that it was as if a car crash just happened. She chuckled and said, ”With the way our clinic is progressing, the wall will soon be covered with photographs.”
”You're right.” Ling Jiezhou immediately became happy. ”When our clinic expands in the future, you can be the head nurse.”
”Thank you, Director Ling.”
Ling Jiezhou froze for a moment. He then laughed out loud.
Juan Zi's cheeks were so puffy that she looked like a hamster. She laughed along with Ling Jiezhou and continued. ”Director Ling, since our clinic was just recognized by the director of the subdistrict office, we should throw a celebration, don't you think so?”
”How should we celebrate?” Ling Jiezhou was immediately on guard.
”Isn't there a pheasant left from yesterday? Let's make soup with it and have it with rice.” Juan Zi was salivating at the thought of it. She then continued. ”It would go well with some beef and pork cheeks. We can also cook some pig's tails while we're at it. I can totally eat three bowls of rice with these.”
Ling Jiezhou really felt like mocking Juan Zi as he gazed at her, but he decided to hold his tongue.
”Yeah, we should do that. This is a very joyous occasion indeed,” Ling Jiezhou said insincerely. He then asked, ”Should we have saute beef with cayenne pepper or boiled beef slices with sauce?”
”Braised beef!” Juan Zi's saliva was about to drip out of her mouth.
”No problem. Let's all have dinner together after work. I'll be cooking.” There was a smile on Ling Jiezhou's face.
Juan Zi nodded in satisfaction and left with a fluid transfusion bag beneath her arm. She stomped away from the place with her 112-pound left leg and 108-pound right leg.
Ling Jiezhou and Doctor Xiong sighed in relief.
Ling Ran went home for dinner at night too.
The 2.5-pound pheasant that had been stewed all day filled the space with fragrance.
There were a beef shank, a pork cheek, and a whole plate of pig's tails on the table. The dining hall looked like a stall selling braised meat.
Ling Ran could not help but arch an eyebrow when he saw that. ”Is Sister Juan Zi on a diet again lately?”
”I reckon so.” Ling Jiezhou wore a solemn expression. ”She said that she wants to eat three bowls of rice.”
”Is the rice cooked yet?” Ling Ran, too, seemed like he was not taking matters lightly.
Ling Jiezhou nodded and pointed behind him. There were three steaming rice cookers on the stainless-steel table in the newly-renovated kitchen.
Doctor Xiong coughed a few times and said, ”I won't be joining you guys for dinner. My wife's waiting for me at home, so I need to head back early…”
”Old Xiong, Juan Zi talked about a celebration, didn't she? What am I going to tell her when she asks about your whereabouts later?” Ling Jiezhou gently destroyed Doctor Xiong's plans for escape.
Doctor Xiong muttered, ”Just tell her, erm, that I'm going home to accompany my wife.”
”This is Juan Zi's first meal after her diet ends.”
”She didn't tell us that.”
”If she's still on her diet, she would at most have some meat. She definitely wouldn't eat rice. And if it has been some time since her diet ended, she wouldn't ask for three bowls of rice either.” Ling Jiezhou laid out the facts and reasoned with Doctor Xiong.
Women who were on a diet were scary, and this was especially true when it came to Juan Zi.
And she was the scariest when her diet failed.
Doctor Xiong quietly stopped in his tracks.