Chapter 91: Little Shop of Specialties

In the meeting room where the crowd had dispersed, the atmosphere seemed bleak.

The screen on the 98-inch LCD TV was paused, and the various wires below the TV were pulled out, but were piled up in a messy fashion.

The conference table in front of the TV was piled with junk; there were cigarette boxes, ashtrays with cigarette butts, drink packages, and boxes. A few books were spread out, while some magazines were simply thrown around. There were even newspapers separated into different pieces and scattered all over the place.

Hashimoto Shiro threw his suit into the corner. He then unbuttoned three of the buttons on his shirt. That vaguely revealed his thick soft flesh and a few soft dangling hairs on his chest.

Pan Hua was somewhat leaning against the table as he wiggled around for a bit before he said, “Let’s continue watching.”

“No thanks.” Hashimoto Shiro shook his head, not willing to touch the remote control.

Pan Hua got back up and pressed the button himself.

The operation theater on the screen came to life once again. The nurse proficiently adjusted the operating table higher in order to adapt to Ling Ran’s height, as he was the chief surgeon. Ma Yanlin who temporarily became the first assistant was on a footstool and stood opposite Ling Ran to support him in the operation.

“That’s just annoying.” It was not the first time Hashimoto Shiro had witnessed that scene. He muttered to himself in frustration.

Pan Hua was not able to clearly hear what Hashimoto Shiro said, but he could guess what it was all about.

Back when he was in Keio University Hospital, he already discovered that Hashimoto Shiro was very sensitive about his own height. He never liked to stand on a footstool. As a result, assistants who were taller had to bend down to cooperate with him. The operations in the Orthopaedics Department took up longer hours, and that caused many young doctors to complain after the operations.

Of course, Hashimoto Shiro had to step on a footstool whenever he was cooperating with his professor. However, it seemed that being an assistant to the professor was not a beautiful memory as well.

Having to see Ling Ran adjust the operation table higher at the start of several operation videos that he watched consecutively must have caused Hashimoto Shiro’s mood to sour.

Pan Hua smiled quietly deep down his heart, but that smile did not last for long, because the next scene in the operation caused discomfort to Pan Hua. His mood was ruined as well.

The more videos Pan Hua watched, the more he felt agitated and frustrated.

As a professional who intensively researched the M-Tang technique, not only was Pan Hua able to see and understand Ling Ran’s operation, he was also able to make guesses about Ling Ran’s decision each time during the operations. Whenever he tied a knot very tightly, was he trying to block something? Did he discover something whenever he slightly offset his stitching points on purpose?

All those tiny details were presented one by one right before Pan Hua’s eyes. Doctors who did not practice the M-Tang technique would not have been able to notice them. With each time they happened, they caused Pan Hua to gradually switch from praising Ling Ran’s actions to thinking about them, and from thinking about them to feeling frustrated about them.

It was especially so when he saw the recent videos. Pan Hua was able to clearly sense the improvement in Ling Ran.

Under the circumstance where one had proficiently mastered a certain operation technique, it would be extremely difficult to improve by a huge margin. It was already very difficult to attain a small improvement, nevertheless, every time after a few operations, Pan Hua was able to notice the changes in Ling Ran.

He was improving most of the time. Sometimes, Ling Ran’s performance would drop, but that was usually because he had encountered new issues and was forced to take new precautions to solve or circumnavigate the issues. In the meantime, each time after Ling Ran encountered such issues, Pan Hua could sense the improvement in Ling Ran’s standard even though Ling Ran had just experienced them less than a couple of times.

If he had not watched through the videos one by one, Pan Hua would never have believed that someone could actually be so capable of learning so fast and so well.

The thing that he was not willing to admit even more was the possibility that Ling Ran might be performing this particular brand of surgery better than him.

However, as the American saying went, “if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”

If a doctor’s skills in surgery were better than yours, his judgment during an operation were more accurate than yours, and the prognosis of his patients were better than yours, then he would be known as a better doctor than you.

That conclusion was not the kind of conclusion Pan Hua wished to get.

He wanted to return from Japan to his country in a hurry because he wanted to maintain his own status back in Yun Hua Hospital. Becoming a top-tier doctor for a certain type of operation was extremely important for doctors, especially high-end doctors. It was only then that they would be able to retain the most basic flow of patients coming towards them. That was the reality of the situation.

The M-Tang technique which Ling Ran had been performing recently had basically drained the number of patients with flexor tendon injuries near Yun Hua. There had previously been a steady flow of patients to Pan Hua because there were no other suturing professionals for no man’s land around Yun Hua region. Other doctors were just part-timers like Wang Haiyang. They would only perform sutures if they encountered a similar case in the past. They would not be bothered even if they did not encounter any.

However, Pan Hua wanted to concentrate solely on the M-Tang technique. That would inevitably lead to a path where he would have to fight with Ling Ran in terms of patients with flexor tendon injuries.

He had been in a hurry to return to the country because he feared that once Ling Ran had practiced the M-Tang technique many times over, Ling Ran would completely squeeze him out of the competition.

However, judging from the current situation, it seemed that he was still one step too late.

“I’m thinking about staying in the country for a period of time. Can I delay my training?” Pan Hua paused the video as he spoke to Hashimoto Shiro in Japanese, “I know that this request is probably against convention…”

Hashimoto Shiro revealed a smile and said, “I understand your request. If I met with the same circumstance, I’d also panic for sure. People who panic tend to make the wrong decisions.”

“Huh?”

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“Let me guess, you want to remain in this hospital and compete with him. Is that right?” Hashimoto Shiro gestured with his chin at Ling Ran on the screen.

Ling Ran’s gaze was sharp. His focus could be seen even through the screen. With some effort, Hashimoto Shiro moved his abs-less stomach, got up to his feet, and turned off the television.

Pan Hua forced himself to hum in agreement and said, “I’ll ultimately come back here. Instead of snatching patients later, I should do it much earlier.”

“You’re wrong.” Hashimoto Shiro started to laugh.

“Please enlighten me, Hashimoto-kun.” Pan Hua knew how Hashimoto Shiro’s habits.

Hashimoto Shiro shook his head contently as he said, “As you can see from the video and the prognosis, you’re still a little behind Ling Ran when it comes to flexor tendon sutures. So, what’s the point of you staying? Ling Ran’s just going to leave you behind even faster.”

Pan Hua remained silent.

Hashimoto Shiro smiled and said, “Your best option is to use the opportunities provided by your in-service training in the coming days to improve yourself and enhance your techniques. Learn new techniques and return to China. Then use your absolute strength to crush him completely.”

Hashimoto Shiro smashed and crumpled the paper cup in his hand into a ball.

With Hashimoto Shiro’s guidance, Pan Hua seemingly found his direction and his eyes appeared to light up.

“Oh my… it’s already so late.” Pan Hua put on a show of being shocked as he said, “Mister Hashimoto, I’ll treat you to some Chinese specialties.”

“Is that all right?”

“Of course it is. Do you prefer a larger specialty shop or a smaller shop?”

“A specialty shop, eh… I like the little ones.” Hashimoto Shiro’s eyes lit up as his imagination went wild in his mind.

The two of them swiftly got downstairs and went across the road. They squeezed themselves into a small alley, crossed another road, and entered another small alley…

Thirty minutes later…

Hashimoto Shiro sat in a shop while looking at the large letters of [Yun Hua Hospital] not too far away from him. He quietly put on some gloves as he started to remove the shell of a red swamp crayfish.

“This is the best specialty here. It’s also deemed the most popular dish in China today.” Pan Hua took a sip of his soup in satisfaction. Then he removed the shell of the lobster with his bare hands and said, “Ever since my return to the country, I’ve only been yearning for this day and night.”

“So, the thing you missed the most during your few months away from your country is this dish of red swamp crayfish?” Hashimoto Shiro asked Pan Hua in bewilderment.

“Yes. Have a taste, and you’ll know why. Let me tell you, no one’s happier than us right now.”

Hashimoto Shiro put in a lot of effort to remove the shell of one crayfish. Then, he took a bite. His face looked more at peace after that. “It’s true. This is delicious.”

“Right? The happiest thing in life is to have a box of red swamp crayfish after a busy day.”

Hashimoto Shiro was speechless.

…..

The lights in the building of the Yun Hua Hospital’s Emergency Department remained as bright as usual.

As he had only performed three operations earlier on, Ling Ran remained a little ill at ease. After some thoughts about how he would have nothing to do if he returned home, he decided to get back to the hospital and look for operations that he could perform.

Yun Hua Hospital was a leading hospital. Tens of millions of people knew it and trusted in it. The skills of its doctors in flexor tendon surgery—a high-end surgery—also made it a powerhouse in the area, allowing its fame in that field of surgery to spread farther. Since its fame reached such a wide area, it meant daily patients with tendon ruptures. The number of patients they treated for such ruptures was rather fixed.

Ling Ran had only performed three M-Tang technique cases, which meant he had yet to treat all of the “respawned” patients. Patients would naturally need to go to other hospitals for treatment. Even if Ling Ran wanted to perform more operations the next day, he could not make up for lost progress.

It was only natural that Ling Ran was dissatisfied with his own performance. Fortunately, he was free during the night. So, he decided to greet Department Director Huo straight away and go on to contact other hospitals that wanted to refer their patients to other places for treatment.

Taking into account the new patients who arrived at night, Ling Ran finally managed to seize two operations where he obtained two people and four fingers to work with.

It was near dawn when he completed his series of tasks.

“Doctor Ling, you must be tired. Come, have some red swamp crayfish.” A few nurses began to serve Ling Ran passionately. Since he did not show any signs of refusal, they managed to pull him into the waiting room.

“Doctor Ling, come have some crayfish.” A young nurse removed the shell of a whole red swamp crayfish and placed it right in front of Ling Ran.

“This one’s bigger.” Another red swamp crayfish was placed right before Ling Ran.

“Eat it quickly before it gets cold.” A third crayfish was placed directly next to Ling Ran’s mouth.