亚洲人成社区

Chapter 879: Sunset

“The scenery in Bazhaixiang is actually very beautiful.” Tian Qi looked at the sunset with a smile on her face. She then glanced at Ling Ran. She could not help but be in an extremely good mood. It was like every cell in her body was happy.

Ling Ran nodded slightly and said, “The average altitude of Bazhaixiang is relatively high, and the place gets sufficient rainfall. Hence, the plants grow in a pretty different environment compared to Yun Hua City.”

“But it’s very beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It’s very beautiful.” Ling Ran looked at Tian Qi.

Tian Qi flashed a sweet smile. She grabbed a glass of red wine and said, “Oh, by the way, I made this batch of red wine. Why don’t you give it a try and tell me if it’s nice?”

“I rarely drink any alcohol.” Even though Ling Ran said that, he still grabbed the wine glass before him and took a small sip.

The red wine was thick, and even though it was slightly bitter, it formed a rich taste together with the sweetness.

“Does it taste good?” Tian Qi was very concerned about Ling Ran’s opinion of the wine.

“It’s pretty good. The taste of tannin isn’t that strong.” Ling Ran swayed the wine glass skillfully.

“You said that you rarely drink any alcohol, but you do drink, don’t you?” Tian Qi was a clever woman, and she immediately realized something after pondering about Ling Ran’s words. “Is Madam Ling the one who taught you how to drink?”

“Yes.” Ling Ran smiled and nodded.

“Hm… if that’s the case, should I give Madam Ling some red wine? But… it might not be a very appropriate gift.” Tian Qi was conflicted.

Ling Ran lowered his head and started cutting his steak.

As usual, Chef Zhu was the one who grilled the steak today. It was a Brazillian Zebu, and it tasted very beefy. The Zebu had slimmed down a little after being reared in Yun Hua for a few months. However, it still tasted just as delicious. It had been grilled over blazing flames, and all of the juice was locked inside the meat.

Ling Ran cut his steak skilfully, and he cut himself a large chunk of beef. He placed the chunk of beef in his mouth and started chewing it. He was tired after performing surgeries for many consecutive days, and this was mainly mental fatigue. After this mouthful of steak, it was as if all the fatigue had dissipated.

For every few mouthfuls of steak Ling Ran ate, he would take a sip of wine. Soon, he finished the large chunk of ribeye steak.

Chef Zhu was wearing a tall toque, and he asked politely as he stood beside Ling Ran with his hands clasped behind his back, “Doctor Ling, do you want a New York strip steak? I’ve just finished grilling it.”

“Sure.” Ling Ran immediately agreed without bothering to put on a polite front. He was rather excited about the steak.

Three attendants walked over. One of them cleared Ling Ran’s plate, while another cleaned the table as well as the table cloth. The third attendant placed a New York strip steak on the table. There were some marks on the steak courtesy of the grill.

Compared with the juicy and tender ribeye steak, the New York strip steak, which was made with boneless sirloin, was more coarse and elastic. It was perfect to eat a New York strip steak after a ribeye steak, as the person eating it would not become tired of eating steak, and would also be able to taste the uniqueness of the steak.

Truth be told, the main attractions of both Brazillian steak and American steak were their juiciness and beefiness, as both kinds of steak were mainly made up of lean meat. Steaks made using Australian or Japanese wagyu beef were so greasy that people would get sick of them after eating half a pound of them. If a person were to eat a catty or two pounds of these at one go, he might not crave for steak again for the rest of his life.

In contrast to Australian and Japanese wagyu steak, New York strip steak was made out of more lean meat. Hence, it was more suitable for those with a big appetite.

The New York strip steak in front of Ling Ran was around 1.5 pounds. He felt tremendously satisfied as he paired it with a glass of red wine.

Tian Qi was done eating a while back. She held her glass of red wine and took slow sips. She glanced at the beautiful scenery, and then at Ling Ran. This filled her heart with happiness. At this moment, even though she was in Bazhaixiang, she found the scenery extremely beautiful, and she felt that this was the happiest place on earth.

“If a vacation home were built here, it should be a very comfortable place to stay in.” Tian Qi gazed down the cliff, and she was able to get a good view of the scenery below her.

Ling Ran followed Tian Qi’s gaze and did not disagree with what she said. “If the vacation home is easily accessible, I’ll give it a 70 out of 100.”

“Oh, is that so? This place is great, but it’s not unique enough.” Tian Qi then looked at Ling Ran and asked, “Doctor Ling, do you like vacation homes?”

“I’ve never been to one, but I don’t want to stay too far away from the hospital.” Ling Ran swallowed the beef in his mouth, and he looked like a lion who was swallowing its prey. He raised his head a little as he spoke.

Tian Qi nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it would be such a waste for you to spend time traveling when you could use that time to save patients’ life instead. But compared to other places in Changxi Province, the scenery in Bazhaixiang is really beautiful. If you travel in a straight line, it’s not too far from Yun Hua City either. If an expressway were built, this would be a pretty good place to stay.”

Tian Qi looked at her administrative secretary, who was standing not far away from her.

Her administrative secretary was an obedient-looking woman. She was wearing black-rimmed spectacles, a pair of flats, and old-fashioned office wear. She quickly made some notes on her laptop and said, “Right now, the leaders of Changxi Province welcome those who want to help rebuild Bazhaixiang very much. If we were to build a small housing area or a nursing home here, I reckon that reception would be good. Should I ask someone to make an analysis report?”

“Sure.” Tian Qi gave an affirmative answer.

The administrative secretary faded back into the background.

Tian Qi turned to look at Ling Ran again. She suddenly said in embarrassment, “Sorry, Doctor Ling. I could not help but talk about work.”

“It’s okay, I like work too.” Ling Ran raised his head to glance at her. He then continued cutting his steak.

Tian Qi flashed a smile that was as beautiful as the sunset.

……

By the time they were done with dinner, the sun had set almost completely.

Ling Ran and Tian Qi left in a helicopter. Two vans that were parked in the forest drove over to collect the cooking equipment, leftover ingredients, and the small amount of trash.

On the vans’ way back to the Bazhaixiang hospital branch, they even helped a driver out. The driver’s car had broken down in the middle of the road. Naturally, cars in Bazhaixiang were not that well-maintained.

After Ling Ran arrived at the hospital, he did not return to the operating theater. He glanced at his phone before he returned to his room to play a game on his phone.

After the roads that led to Yun Hua City became usable, Changping District Hospital’s Bazhaixiang hospital branch was flooded with doctors from all over the province who went there to help out.

Ling Ran never liked the crowd, and he hated crowded hospitals even more. Hence, at a time like this, he did not bother to join the legion of doctors in the hospital branch and squeeze into the operating theater.

After losing a few games, Ling Ran suppressed the desire to start a new game. He thought for a moment about what to do before opening the WeChat app on his phone. He sent a message to his treatment group’s chat group. [Summarize the evaluation of target lesions in the human liver.]

After he sent the message, Ling Ran covered himself with his blanket. He felt at ease as he went to sleep.

The following day, the Bazhaixiang hospital branch became even livelier than before. Naturally, fewer tasks were allocated to the Ling Treatment Group.

As Zuo Cidian was worried that Ling Ran would be unhappy, he waited for Ling Ran at the door and said, “All the patients now are basically just here for common illnesses. At most, there are some regulars who utilize the subsidy that’s being given now to seek treatment so that they could save some money. Two or three doctors would be enough to see to these patients. Right now, there are six or seven medical teams present, and there are around twenty or thirty doctors. There’s nothing much for us to do.”

Ling Ran nodded, but he corrected Zuo Cidian. “The patients who were transferred here will stay.”

Zuo Cidian shrugged. “They’re all from the same village. How many patients could there be? Why don’t you take the opportunity to rest for a few days?”

There were not many patients left, and the doctors from the medical teams who came after the roads were usable were extremely proactive as they fought to carry out all the available tasks. Truth be told, Lu Wenbin and the other members of the Ling Treatment Group were already extremely tired, and Zuo Cidian did not think that they would be able to perform better than the fresh manpower.

Ling Ran thought about it and said, “I’ll go and debride wounds at the emergency room, then.”

“Debridement… There aren’t many patients who need debridement. But you can go ahead if you’re bored,” Zuo Cidian said helplessly. There were almost ten thousand people in Yun Hua City, and whenever a person got hurt, their first choice would always be large hospitals such as Yun Hua Hospital. But in the Bazhaixiang hospital branch, it was well possible that there would not be any patient who sustained external injuries for days.

However, even in the Bazhaixiang hospital branch, the doctors who were there on the rescue mission did not like to treat patients with minor injuries in the emergency room. So, they would not fight for the task with Ling Ran.

Hence, Ling Ran headed to the emergency room, the same way he always did in Yun Hua Hospital. He sat and did nothing as he waited for patients to arrive.

Zuo Cidian stared ahead as he sat behind Ling Ran. He was ready to start daydreaming.

Right then, a middle-aged woman whose hand was wrapped using a towel arrived on a motorbike.

“Doctor!” the driver of the motorbike growled. He hopped down the motorbike and carried the middle-aged woman off the motorbike. He suddenly tripped, and both of them fell to the ground.

Everyone in the emergency room went silent for a moment.

Only then did a nurse push a gurney over. It took six people to put the patient on the gurney.

“How did she get hurt?” Ling Ran asked as he followed them into the reception hall.

“Our house is being renovated, and she accidentally got stabbed by the sharp end of a piece of wood.” The driver of the motorbike was around forty years old. He rested a hand on his waist as he panted.

“I’m going to remove the towel.” Ling Ran put on a pair of gloves and called a nurse over to help him out. He then started removing the towel.

That was when a reporter who was holding a camera walked over.