Chapter 271: The Way Out

After Ji Xiang left, Wu Zong took Lu Kai to the ICU to take another look at the Patient.

The Patient had regained consciousness from Anesthesia, their vital signs were trending stable, and the pale red bloody fluid draining into the urine bag was flowing smoothly; there wasn't much blood, so there were no issues.

Wu Zong returned to the ward happily, humming a little tune along the way.

"Wu Zong, why are you so happy today?"

Lu Kai hadn't followed into the surgery, so he didn't know what had happened during the procedure.

Wu Zong didn't explain either; he returned to the Doctor's Office with a smile, sat down, and crossed his legs.

"Lu Kai, it's a real pity you didn't join in on today's emergency rescue. Tell me, have you taken to heart what I told you a few days ago?"

"What matter?" Lu Kai was startled.

Wu Zong glanced at him. "What you're going to do in the future. I'm not just giving you a suggestion; go be a medical escort—to put it nicely, call it a 'medical escort specialist'."

"..." The little chubby man was somewhat troubled, tapping his two index fingers together.

"Say whatever you have to say, look at you," Wu Zong said. "Hurry up and speak, don't act like you haven't finished your business."

"Wu Zong, on my first day here, I heard Wang Daxiao say that we doctors become more valuable the older we get; the ceiling isn't high, but the floor is exceptionally high."

"Don't listen to Wang Daxiao's nonsense," Wu Zong said with disdain. "He sees things clearly and has long since 'lain flat.' Otherwise, why would he say he'd die before leading a team, insisting on staying in Mo Jiaoshou's group?"

"Is it to go out and perform surgeries?"

"Of course," Wu Zong said. "Our base salary is too low; earning money depends on performance-based pay. Let me ask you, what is performance?"

"The more patients you see, the more money you earn," Lu Kai replied.

"As a doctor, can you hope for patients to get sick?"

One question after another pushed Lu Kai into a corner.

"Wang Daxiao has nothing to look forward to in this life; the sunk costs from his early years were too high to switch careers, so he just goes to the Nan Ke Yi Yuan to perform some surgeries to earn extra money."

"But... I've heard people say since I was a child that doctors become more valuable as they get older."

"Withdrawing cash from Pinduoduo—how easy was that at the beginning?" Wu Zong curled his lip. "That was the dividend of the era. When Wang Daxiao and the others were young, there were fewer doctors and more opportunities to operate. By the time they reached forty or fifty, they had enough seniority."

"But look at now."

"You can't even get cash out after pulling in dozens of people; withdrawing 800 is like looking at a mountain and running a horse to death. I figured this out a long time ago. If I hadn't met Liu Zhuren, I reckon I would have gone to be a medical escort long ago."

"Ah!" Lu Kai let out a meaningless 'ah'.

Seeing that he didn't understand his meaning, Wu Zong sat up straight and said seriously, "You and Ji Xiang came together. In ancient times, this would be called being classmates, peers, and fellow students—a relationship that couldn't be more solid."

"Ji Xiang?"

"Hang out with Ji Xiang more. Did you see Lu Gang, Lu Zhuren?"

"I saw him." Although puzzled, Lu Kai nodded honestly.

Wu Zong smiled; he felt that what he had said so far was enough.

"Wu Zong, tell me more, I haven't wrapped my head around it yet." Lu Kai knew he had to be cautious when facing major life decisions. He was still confused, and since he was thick-skinned and familiar with Wu Zong, he continued to press him.

"Hospitals and doctors in this country belong to a 'gray area' industry."

"Hahaha, look at what you're saying; it immediately reminds me of Coconut Palm." A smile that all men understand appeared on Lu Kai's face.

"I didn't tell you to drink it from childhood to adulthood," Wu Zong chuckled, then became serious again. "The gray area I'm talking about isn't what you understand. Be serious, I'm telling you."

"Wu Zong, go ahead."

"Administratively, it's considered a public welfare industry, and the state issues funds. But the money the state issues gets intercepted repeatedly once it reaches the local level. Or the state just talks about issuing money and gives an administrative order, but the local level has no money, so it gets deducted layer by layer."

"It's already very good if we can get 30% of the state subsidy; it basically hovers between 15-25%."

"Doesn't anyone care?"

Wu Zong gave Lu Kai a look of disdain.

"As for hiring, those big shots in our Jiguan Lou definitely won't hire more people. Why share the capitalist's profits, right?"

"They seem to get an average bonus."

"Average my foot! The average bonus of the top three departments in performance, plus other coefficients for positions—'average' is just a lie!" Wu Zong said indignantly.

"Oh, oh, oh, Wu Zong, please continue."

"No matter how bitter or tired a doctor is, as long as they have a bite to eat, they won't jump ship, unless they've truly been sold to a private enterprise," Wu Zong said. "That big coal tycoon's mine hospital in the neighboring province used to be so awesome—a bit worse than our Second Affiliated Hospital but about the same, and their technical level was high. After it was sold, everyone who should have left..."

Wu Zong instantly realized he had gone off-topic and pulled the conversation back.

"Is it good to go out? All crows under heaven are black, unless you find a tenured position to work in the Outpatient Department and grind until retirement."

"Oh, oh, oh."

Lu Kai was young after all; Wang Daxiao would understand the talk of grinding until retirement, but Lu Kai still had the spirit of a youth.

"While you're young and have the opportunity to make connections in the hospital, you can accumulate more. Our Second Affiliated Hospital, while not top-tier nationally, is still one of the best in the province."

"These are all connections. If a relative of your county magistrate gets sick, and you take them to the Imperial Capital, and old Lu gives you face and gets them a private room, that's enough for you to brag about for the rest of your life back home."

Lu Kai's eyes lit up, and he nodded.

"There are so many doctors who come to our Second Affiliated Hospital for Standardized Residency Training and internships; at least sixty percent don't end up being doctors," Wu Zong said. "So, I suggest you consider my advice carefully."

"Wu Zong, how would I know the depth of things? Just tell me directly, and I'll ponder it later."

"Graduate and go home; finding a job is best, then send gifts to the leaders to get out for advanced studies."

"Advanced studies take time."

"When I was at Huaxi, I met an old visiting doctor. That person had been working at Huaxi for over a decade, and their status was still 'visiting doctor'!"

"!!!"

"There's a lot to this; it depends on whether you can pull it off," Wu Zong said. "Do you think no one in your county wants to leave a path open outside? By then, you might not even be doing advanced studies at the Second Affiliated Hospital; going directly to the Imperial Capital is possible, and even..."

Wu Zong paused and swallowed the next sentence about following Ji Xiang.

As he spoke, Wu Zong even wanted to go do it himself, if not for the fact that Liu Zhuren had always known how to use his talents and he really couldn't leave.

"I'll think about it," Lu Kai lowered his head, trying hard to write down what Wu Zong had told him.

"It doesn't matter; regardless, whenever you ask me to perform surgery, I will definitely go," General Manager Wu said with a chuckle.

……

……

In that familiar restaurant, Tang Yan was reporting her work to her boss.

One hundred thousand yuan a month; Tang Yan was enjoying it to the fullest. As long as she followed Ji Xiang to perform surgeries, Tang Yan really couldn't think of any job more comfortable than this one.

Although Ji Xiang had many surgeries, and a portion of them were Interventional Surgery, Ji Xiang did not require the Instrument Nurse to go inside and be exposed to radiation, just to stand outside and wait.

It was very easy; Tang Yan even felt guilty about taking this money.

Therefore, as soon as Feng Yuqing called her, she came out eagerly without any hesitation.

(End of chapter)