Then, another call came.
Through the phone, Wang Ming Yang said in astonishment, “Brother, where did you go this time? I went to Cloud Street to find you but Fraud said that you went out to lie low and that it’ll be more than ten days until you come back.”
Lin Fan said, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. I really have something to do here and it’ll take more than ten days.”
Wang Ming Yang asked, “What on earth is it?”
Lin Fan chuckled. “Becoming a barefoot doctor, helping the public by practicing medicine.”
Wang Ming Yang said, “I give up. I really give up. I don’t even trust a single punctuation mark in that sentence you just said.”
“Haha…” Lin Fan laughed gleefully. “What I said is true. I won’t be in contact for this period of time. I need to properly appreciate society. I’m hanging up.”
After hanging up, Lin Fan momentarily didn’t know where to go. But after some thinking, since the task required him to visit five cities, he decided to just go to the local hospital for a walk.
Suzhou First Hospital.
Lin Fan stood at the hospital entrance. There were people coming and going. The people who came to treat their illnesses daily were really too many. Moreover, there were people from all over the world.
When he stepped into the hospital, his mentality suddenly changed slightly. Out of nowhere, a sense of confidence entered his heart.
In-patient department.
Thirteenth floor.
He had already thought through the Encyclopedia task. It probably required him to go to five different cities. If he had only gotten first-rate medical skills, he really wouldn’t have had so much confidence and felt as if he could treat any illness. However, with the ‘Encyclopedia’s mystical boost’, he possessed limitless possibilities.
The second floor of the in-patient department was the surgical room. As he waited for the elevator, he heard wailing sounds from around him.
“Give way…give way…”
On the pushcart lay a man covered in blood. The man’s face was slightly disfigured. It was as if he had been squashed severely by something. The townsfolk around him were in a commotion.
“This guy was driving an electric bike across the road when the light was red and he got banged by a car. It’s very serious.”
“Ahh, his face looks too gruesome.”
“Yeah, in the hospital, you’ll see all kinds of gruesome things. You can’t stay too long here, otherwise, you’ll start feeling nervous.”
It was the first time Lin Fan had seen something like this. His heart was beating furiously. It was really very bloody. It was only after the injured man had been pushed into the dedicated surgical elevator that Lin Fan boarded an elevator and headed towards the sick ward.
He reached the thirteenth floor.
Lin Fan walked outside the wards, looking in at each of them. Some of the patients inside were watching the television while others were resting. All of them had their family members by their side.
After going around, Lin Fan came to the window. He sat on the stool and pondered over what he should do.
This task required him to help others by practicing medicine and to go to five different cities. However, it didn’t say how many people he had to treat in total.
At that moment, a series of giggles emerged from the front. It wasn’t the sound that drew his attention, but the emotion behind it. To Lin Fan, it was slightly inconceivable.
At the staff counter, a little old man was laughing cheerily as he chatted with the nurses, “Little lady, do you think I won’t be able to live much longer?”
Lin Fan realized that the nurse appeared to be startled. Her eyes fluctuated for a moment, then she laughed and said, “How could that be? Uncle, your body is even better than ours!”
“Is that so? You bunch of little girls just like to lie to this old man. But forget it, I’m an easy-going man. I bought these fruits today. Have one each,” said the little old man cheerfully as he giggled.
Lin Fan just sat there, looking at this scene. At that moment, the little old man who was chatting with the nurses realized that Lin Fan was sitting there alone, so he came over and asked, “Hey kid, why are you sitting here alone?”
Lin Fan smiled and said, “Just enjoying the wind.”
The little old man patted Lin Fan on the shoulder and said, “Is there a family member who’s sick? Are you unhappy? Listen to this old man. Don’t be unhappy. You have to face everything with a positive attitude. If I had kids, I surely wouldn’t want them to be unhappy.”
“Uncle, there’s no one sick in my family. I just came to the hospital to have a look.” Lin Fan smiled as he thought the little old man was really amusing.
“Is that so?” The little old man looked at Lin Fan with suspicious eyes, then he patted Lin Fan on the shoulder and said, “Look at this sheet for me. Is it cancer?”
Lin Fan took over the sheet and had a look. There was a letter ‘C’, for cancer.
At that moment, he saw the nurses at the counter looking at him and shaking their heads as if to say ‘Don’t tell him’.
Lin Fan smiled and said, “No.”
The little old man took back the sheet of paper and said with a smile, “You’re just like those girls. You all like to trick me. Look, isn’t that a ‘C’? That’s cancer. I know it. You all think that I don’t know but actually, I’m the one tricking you. Haha, you’re all too stupid.”
When the nurses at the counter heard this, they couldn’t stop themselves from crying. They had gotten to know this uncle well and he was a very positive man. He often chatted with them and he was very likable.
Lin Fan smiled as he looked at the old man, “Actually, this disease of yours isn’t incurable.”
The old man waved his hand and said, “Don’t try to comfort me. I have a much better attitude than you young people. I’ve lived for long enough and I’ve experienced everything there is to experience. If I die, then so be it. I’m just worried about my wife being all alone after I pass away. I can’t bear it. When the time comes, she’ll be crying all by herself and I won’t even be able to rest in peace.”
Lin Fan looked at the little old man and patted the man’s shriveled hands. “It’s fate that you managed to talk to me. If I told you that I could treat you and let you live another twenty years, would you believe me?”
The little old man looked at Lin Fan and instantly started laughing. “You talk even more nonsense than those girls.”
Lin Fan shook his head, then stood up. “I think you know the condition of your own body. If you want to take a chance, meet me outside the elevator at 5 pm.”
“Old man, where did you go?” At that moment, an old lady came from the ward at the far end and shouted.
The little old man looked at Lin Fan with a surprised look as if he was stunned and didn’t know what to say.
Lin Fan patted him on the shoulder and said, “Remember, don’t tell anyone. I won’t charge any fees. If you believe me, then come at 5 pm. I’ll wait for you for ten minutes. If you’re not there by then, then forget it.”
Then, Lin Fan left.
Although he had gotten the Encyclopedia knowledge and the mystical boost, he was still just a young man and he hadn’t gotten any medical qualifications. In the medical industry, age was an important factor. The older one was, the more respect he or she would get. With this young appearance of his, only a crazy person would believe him.
As for whether that old man believed him or not, Lin Fan couldn’t make any guarantees.
If he believed him, Lin Fan would stay in Suzhou for two more days. If not, he would go to another hospital.
Being a doctor was not easy. In fact, it was really difficult.
The old man’s wife asked, “Who was that youngster just now?”
The old man smiled at his wife and said, “I don’t know either. He’s a pretty good kid. We were chatting quite happily so we chatted a little longer.”
His wife said, “Your body isn’t well, you shouldn’t go around like that. Just go back and rest. Don’t make me worry. I can’t walk much longer.”
The old man said, “Alright, alright. I won’t make you worry.”
Then, the old man looked in the direction that Lin Fan had left towards as he pondered in his heart.