Chapter 604: This Is Just an Advertisement!

"An advertisement?"

"An advertisement?"

"That's impossible, who would post an advertisement that insults their own company? That would be insane."

Lu Gang's words were like a pebble, sending ripples through the air.

The production crew looked at Lu Gang as if he were an idiot, but Lu Gang just curled his lip, not caring at all.

Yet a flash of lightning struck Fan Dao's mind; the vague questions he had just moments ago seemed to have found their answer.

"Lu Zhuren, if you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. This is a Medical Dispute; I think you should be more familiar with this than I am," said Fan Dao's assistant.

"Shut up," Fan Dao snapped.

"Director, please calm down, don't..." Fan Dao's assistant hurriedly tried to persuade him.

"I told you to shut up," Fan Dao said.

"..." Fan Dao's assistant was stunned.

Fan Dao walked toward Lu Gang, "Lu Zhuren, please share your thoughts."

"Thinking of me now?"

Fan Dao felt a wave of annoyance that he couldn't just have a proper conversation, but he still smiled and said, "You have been with the crew the whole time, of course I must listen to the Expert's opinion."

"Heh." Lu Gang smiled and held up one finger.

"The first layer of meaning is the literal meaning: doctors are vampires."

"They used one-third of the space to write about one example, which is also the only example they could bring up—a ward explaining the condition to a Patient's Family Member, saying the Angiography would cost 3,000 yuan, but it ended up costing 3,500."

"It wasn't the end; it was when they were signing the forms, different doctors explained it differently."

"And then?" Fan Dao felt Lu Gang was being too long-winded, but seeing Lu Gang's glowing face, he didn't interrupt.

"Is this an example? How the hell can this be called an example? What's the difference between 3,000 and 3,500? I admit there is a difference, but compared to the 20,000 to 30,000 yuan in treatment costs that follow, this difference is negligible. And!"

Lu Gang emphasized his tone.

"Pricing is set uniformly by the state. Different hospitals might push the boundaries a bit, but in reality, this kind of gray area isn't large."

"Lu Zhuren, what are you trying to say?" Fan Dao's last bit of patience was worn thin, and he asked with a slightly impatient tone.

"The second layer of meaning." Lu Gang held up two fingers.

"What would someone with a little bit of social experience think? The Family Member doesn't want to continue treatment, but they can't say it, because the Family Member has to pretend to be a filial child."

"This situation is very common in Clinical practice. Generally speaking, the doctor offers a few words of comfort, signs the automatic discharge papers, and then waits for the Old Man to reach the end of their life, have a grand funeral, and everyone comes to eat at the wake."

"..." Fan Dao looked at Lu Gang's two fingers, silently dazed.

"But it just so happens that the doctor is skilled and has medical ethics, so they took the high risk to perform surgery on the Old Man, and the surgery 'coincidentally' went very well, to the point where you couldn't even find a single flaw."

"Unfortunately, the Family Member has spent the money and still has to keep supporting the Patient, waiting for this burden to step into the gates of hell next time. The Patient is over ninety years old; it's not an exaggeration for me to call the Patient a burden."

"Uh." Fan Dao pondered, "Lu Zhuren, what do you do when you encounter similar Family Members in Clinical practice?"

"I let it be," Lu Gang said with a curl of his lip.

"..."

"A doctor must know how to read people. When encountering similar Patients and Family Members, you must be able to distinguish within three sentences whether the Family Member truly wants treatment or is just pretending to be filial to fool you," Lu Gang continued.

"Once you discover the clues, the way you explain the problem must change. Try to describe the prognosis as poorly as possible and the costs as high as possible," Lu Gang said. "State every possible thing that could happen."

"The Family Member will definitely take the opportunity to pretend to be in a difficult position. At this time, you must soothe them, say something nice, something the Family Member wants to hear."

"For example, say the Old Man is already 94 years old, an advanced age, and to have lived this long while being healthy, the family must be very attentive; their filial piety is moving to heaven and earth. Now it belongs to something beyond human capability; even if surgery is performed, there is a high probability they will be paralyzed in bed."

Fan Dao and everyone in the production crew fell into deep thought.

"If there is no quality of life, what is the point of living? Director, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes," Fan Dao answered honestly.

"At this point, the initial contact is over. Then I would have the Family Member bring all the relatives from home, preferably all the aunts and uncles, even the dog that can bark at home."

"Repeat what was just said, emphasizing that it was only because of the Family Member's meticulous care that the Patient lived to be over 90; such filial piety would have been recommended for official honors in ancient times."

"In short, the Family Member's filial piety is heaven-moving and earth-shattering; say whatever sounds pleasant to their ears."

Fan Dao sighed in his heart; if one followed Lu Zhuren's line of thinking, it was indeed impossible for this to end up on the trending list.

But...

"Elevate the Family Member, put hat after hat of 'filial child' on them, and finally explain the Patient's condition, emphasizing the complications, and keep lowering the success rate of the surgery. 'One chance in nine' isn't enough; make it 'one chance in ninety-nine,' and even if they survive, they will still be paralyzed in bed."

"Finally, sigh and say the Family Member has already done their best, and this is fate. The suggestion—the suggestion here must be vague. Everyone knows they should give up treatment, but it cannot be said explicitly."

"Even if the Family Member has a recording, it's useless. In short, the words to give up cannot come from the doctor's mouth. Even if you have to say it, you must add a 'but.' One should not have the intention to harm others, but one must have the intention to guard against others."

"Lu Zhuren, that's so complicated, so how should one say it?" Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li asked in confusion.

Lu Gang looked at him with disdain and didn't explain, instead holding up a third finger.

"I've explained the second layer of meaning to you, but actually, this topic has a third layer of meaning."

"Lu Zhuren, please go ahead," Fan Dao's tone was much more respectful.

"I don't know what you all are thinking, but, who among you has a similar Patient in your family?" Lu Gang raised his voice and looked around at everyone.

A middle-aged staff member raised his hand.

"Lu Zhuren, my mother had a cerebral infarction 3 years ago and is now hemiplegic."

"Does she have the ability to take care of herself?" Lu Gang asked.

Speaking of the Patient, Lu Gang's tone changed slightly; the previous playfulness was gone, and he became serious.

"Eating, washing up, and going to the bathroom are all still okay."

"That is a blessing in misfortune," Lu Gang said. "Let me ask you, what did you think when you saw this trending topic?"

"I thought, damn it, it only costs 30,000 yuan to recover to the original state!" the middle-aged staff member blurted out a swear word. "The hospital my mother was in at the time had poor technical standards. If I had caught this hospital, I would definitely have had the surgery done! Forget 30,000, even 130,000 or 300,000 would be fine!"

Fan Dao's heart stirred; he finally understood exactly what Lu Gang meant.

I am not the target demographic, so I remain indifferent upon seeing this advertisement. For someone at home with a sick person, however, they would think of something else entirely.

"That's how it is; this is the third layer of meaning." Lu Gang gave a scornful laugh, "This damn thing is just an advertisement!"

(End of chapter)