Chapter 281: Price Hike? Price Cut?

The Patient was sent to the ICU, and Deng Chaohong and Sui Zhuren from the Orthopedics Department were also called in to treat the fracture of the left forearm's ulna and radius.

Ji Xiang and the others saw Deng Chaohong hurriedly changing clothes to enter the ICU, not even having time to exchange greetings.

"Let's go, let's go out for a bite to eat and have a couple of beers to calm our nerves." Seeing that the Patient had no further congestion or arm-twisting fractures after receiving the tetanus antitoxin, Liu Zhuren already had a count in his mind.

Ji Xiang's diagnosis was correct.

Knowledge regarding tetanus had gradually faded, long since returned to the teachers, so Liu Zhuren secretly used his phone to "see a doctor" online, looking up tetanus-related theories and comparing them one by one with the Patient's symptoms.

Various bizarre aspects had received theoretical support.

Remembering how he had been scared to the point of almost wetting himself, he felt a bit ashamed and called for Ji Xiang to go eat.

Meng Qingfei was on duty and couldn't leave, so Liu Zhuren called a second-line professor to cover the shift and left the Second Affiliated Hospital with Wu Zong in a daze.

"Xiao Ji, what do you want to eat?" Liu Zhuren asked.

At this hour, when asked what he wanted to eat, Ji Xiang thought for a moment, and his first thought was Peiyang Barbecue.

Last time at Peiyang Barbecue, he had encountered a little guy playing with fish, and Ji Xiang had even opened the System Mall.

In the blink of an eye, many days had passed.

"Let's go eat barbecue. It's a bit late, other places probably aren't open. Last time, Teacher Mo and..."

"Peiyang, let's go." Liu Zhuren already knew where Ji Xiang wanted to go and said so directly.

"Zhuren, do you go there often too?"

"Of course," Liu Zhuren said. "That shop has been open for over 20 years; to us, it's different from an ordinary shop."

"Oh? How is it different?"

Ji Xiang caught a glimpse of Liu Zhuren's legs still being somewhat stiff, walking with a hitch, so he began to chat with Liu Zhuren to ease the tense atmosphere.

"Have you ever seen a shop that does great business but still closes on weekends?"

"They actually rest?"

"Of course. The boss of Peiyang says this is called balancing work and rest. I believe that old codger!" Liu Zhuren cursed bitterly. "Every time I want to grab a bite after an extra shift on the weekend, I have to call him first to ask if they're open. Is that any way to run a business?"

"It's not just that. I heard that because their business is good, someone suggested expanding the storefront, but the boss of Peiyang refused."

"Uh... why?" Ji Xiang couldn't understand it at all.

"It's said that his shop is just that big, and the boss can manage it perfectly by himself. If the shop were any bigger, the quality would drop. Anyway, I don't believe it; I think their boss started 'lying flat' a long time ago."

"Earning enough money to spend is enough; the boss of Peiyang seems to think that having more money is meaningless."

"It's not quite 'lying flat.' I know the waiter at his shop; I went there for a consultation," Liu Zhuren said.

There was a story behind this, so Ji Xiang pricked up his ears.

"That child was a homeless orphan who fell from a height some years ago, landing on the back-left of his head. At the time, the child was bleeding from the seven orifices, his pupils were dilated, and he had no light reflex."

"Later, after hanging a bottle of Mannitol at a township health center, he was rushed to the county hospital. The director at the county hospital told them to transfer him as soon as he saw him, and he finally arrived at our Second Affiliated Hospital."

"At that time, Bai Chuzhang was still in Clinical, performed surgery on the child, and it's said he lost about 30ml of brain tissue."

"So this story is true!" Wu Zong was curious.

"Of course. At that time, Bai Chuzhang even asked me to consult." Liu Zhuren changed his clothes, took Ji Xiang and Wu Zong, and left, walking toward Peiyang Barbecue. "Xiao Ji, Xiao Wu, let me ask you a question: what happens to a person who loses 30ml of brain tissue?"

"..."

"..."

Neither Ji Xiang nor Wu Zong knew.

"Bai Chuzhang said that everyone is different. Anyway, that little shop assistant from Peiyang was in a coma for 3 days. After waking up, he became agitated. There was an air balloon in his urinary catheter, and he pulled the catheter out directly with the balloon still inflated."

"!!!"

"Not to mention that, 1 month later, the Patient finally got a bit better, but Bai Chuzhang discovered that when he faced doctors, he spoke Mandarin—standard Mandarin, not our Northeast dialect. But when he chatted with other patients and their Family Members, he spoke Minnan dialect, all jumbled up, and no one else could understand him."

"Whoa, does that really happen?" Ji Xiang was surprised.

"What happens?"

"That memories are triggered after a brain injury."

"Doesn't seem like it. Anyway, in the end, Bai Chuzhang couldn't explain exactly what was going on. When the Patient was in the recovery phase and about to be discharged, he had nowhere to go. The two of us went to Peiyang for skewers, and the boss of Peiyang said he happened to be short a little waiter, and if he could do the work, he could take him in."

"The boss of Peiyang is really quite good," Wu Zong said.

"A rather strange person," Liu Zhuren said. "He usually stares straight at female customers, looking all lecherous."

"Hahaha, men, they're all the same," Wu Zong laughed, but there was no mirth in his laughter.

The bizarre scene he had just experienced had dealt Wu Zong a deep blow, and he hadn't recovered even now.

Even though he was laughing and chatting normally, he was different from his usual self.

The three of them talked as they walked, arriving at Peiyang Barbecue.

A large sign stood outside the storefront, bright red, with a line of text written on it.

【Due to rising prices, lamb skewers have increased from 12 skewers for 10 yuan to 14 skewers for 12 yuan.】

After seeing it, Ji Xiang was a bit stunned for a moment. Is the boss of Peiyang crazy? If he hadn't seen that dark, thin man with his own eyes, Ji Xiang would definitely have thought so.

"There, take a look." Liu Zhuren caught a glimpse of the notice on the sign and laughed heartily. "Although he rests on weekends and doesn't like to stay up late, he's still willing to earn a bit more during the off-season."

"Zhuren, this is losing money!" Wu Zong said in surprise.

"Losing money? Your first impression is that not only did it not increase in price, but it actually got cheaper. The boss must be crazy," Liu Zhuren laughed.

"Yeah."

"Xiao Ji, what do you think?"

Ji Xiang calculated in his heart and immediately discovered the problem, answering with a wry smile, "It used to be 83 cents a skewer, now it's 85 cents. It did indeed increase in price."

"Anyone who uses elementary school math can see it increased, but this advertisement gives people the impulsive urge to consume, thinking the boss isn't very bright and that they should take advantage of the bargain," Liu Zhuren laughed.

Wu Zong started calculating, and only after a long while did he realize it; it was indeed a price increase. Although the margin of the increase was pitifully small, just based on the "advertisement" and the impulsive urge to consume he felt after seeing it, the effect of this advertisement was simply massive.

"The boss of Peiyang is very interesting. This shop has been open for many years. When I was a Resident Chief, I often ordered takeout. Back then, there were no delivery drivers, so his shop had its own delivery person, specifically selling to doctors, Nurses, and Patients at the hospital."

"And then?"

"It seems they used a food delivery app for a while, but then cancelled it, deciding to just keep someone on staff specifically to run to the hospital. Anyway, everyone is familiar with each other, so it doesn't matter whose place we order from."

……

……

Note: I recommend this book, "Leisurely Cultivation in the City," an urban cultivation story about lying flat.

(End of chapter)