Chapter 76: Worldly Wisdom is True Literature

Hearing Wu Zong roaring, Ji Xiang thought of the steamed buns dropped on the ground and those few young boys holding basketballs, overflowing with the aura of youth.

If it were them, perhaps they wouldn't be in such a difficult spot.

But even with a good family background, one can only afford "basic" treatment costs. The number of people who can go to the Meiao for check-ups and treatment every year is still small.

Even if one could go to the Meiao, so what?

Ji Xiang also knew of even higher-level places for medical treatment.

"What are you doing."

Wu Zong's roar was too loud, attracting Liu Zhuren.

Liu Zhuren, wearing a White Uniform, walked into the Doctor's Office with his arms swinging, smiling broadly.

Ji Xiang's heart stirred; this matter was a "task" given to him by the System NPC, and no matter how many times he thought about it, Ji Xiang could not solve it.

Let's see how others do it.

Without even changing his clothes, Ji Xiang walked to the door of the Doctor's Office, focusing his attention on the scene before him.

"What are you shouting about so early in the morning." Liu Zhuren sat down with a smile and greeted Lu Kai, "Young man, go help me ask the Nurse if there is any freshly squeezed apple juice. If there are still apples, get me a cup."

"Zhuren, you..." Lu Kai was stunned.

"Hey, hurry up and go." Liu Zhuren waved his hand, then clicked on the computer very casually, "What is the Patient's name?"

"Wei Liang." Wu Zong replied.

Liu Zhuren found the Medical Record and began to flip through it.

"Doctor Wu, I feel much better..." the young boy insisted.

His counselor bent over and came to Liu Zhuren's side, "Zhuren, I am Wei Liang's counselor. His family situation is indeed very difficult. The college subsidy has already been applied for, it's just that... the speed of it coming through is a bit slow."

Liu Zhuren seemed to be playing Minesweeper, holding the mouse in one hand and clicking a few times lightly, looking distracted, as if he hadn't even heard the counselor's words.

"Yesterday I used... used my private savings to pay ten thousand for the hospitalization fee. This morning they said the funds weren't enough, and to have the surgery, I need to pay more."

The counselor rubbed his hands in embarrassment.

Click, click.

The sound of Liu Zhuren clicking the mouse distractedly drifted over.

Wu Zong sighed, stood by the Zhuren's side, and said, "Zhuren, I am trying to save on costs as much as possible, striving to get it done for a little over ten thousand. But he had too much Stone Crushing done at the Qu Yi Yuan, and now there is an infection in the abdominal cavity. He needs anti-inflammatory and symptomatic treatment. Honestly, coming directly here..."

"Oh, it's fine." Liu Zhuren nodded after glancing at the Medical Record, "Don't discharge him yet, let me think of a way."

Saying this, Liu Zhuren stood up, "Xiao Wu, send the apple juice to my office in a while."

After looking at the Medical Record for a few moments, Liu Zhuren left. Ji Xiang's first thought was that Liu Zhuren didn't care about a Patient at all; he was just brushing them off.

Right, brushing them off.

Ji Xiang shook his head, racking his brains on how to solve it.

Wei Liang was as stubborn as a little donkey; he had no choice but to be stubborn, as tens of thousands of yuan were an unbearable sum for him.

Ji Xiang frowned, carefully thinking about how to solve this problem.

Actually, the simplest and most effective method would be to just make a phone call.

Although Ji Xiang didn't spend much money and had no concept of money, from childhood to adulthood, no matter what he took a fancy to, as long as there was a reason, he could have it delivered home quickly with just a word.

He figured this time would be the same.

However, the System NPC would not let him do that.

It really was a difficult problem.

Ji Xiang changed into his White Uniform and kept thinking about what to do.

But unlike solving problems at school or performing surgery in the System Operating Room, this time he had absolutely no ideas, and his mind was a blank slate.

Only less than 10 minutes later, while Ji Xiang was still deep in thought, his train of thought was interrupted by Liu Zhuren.

"Xiao Wu, go find the Patient and the counselor and bring them to my office!" Liu Zhuren opened the door and said while standing in the doorway, "Also, where is the apple juice!"

Ji Xiang curled his lips; he guessed he was going to persuade the Patient to be discharged.

However, Ji Xiang guessed wrong again.

A few minutes later, Wei Liang looked bewildered, but the counselor looked a bit more spirited and walked quickly away from the Zhuren's office.

"You go to surgery, don't worry, no problem." The counselor said to Wei Liang, "Don't always dwell on these little things. Can a living person really be stifled by urine?"

"Counselor..."

"You, just honestly go to surgery!" The counselor was clearly in a great mood; he patted Wei Liang's shoulder hard, "I'm going to handle all sorts of paperwork, I'm very busy, I won't accompany you. Be strong."

"Oh."

Ji Xiang was stunned. The problem was solved? How is that possible!

Paperwork, what paperwork?

Ji Xiang crowded behind the Patient and the counselor, wanting to hear more useful information.

But the counselor left in a hurry, moving like a bolt of lightning, running off like a runaway sycophant.

What is going on?

Ji Xiang stood blankly in the hallway.

"The Zhuren said this thing looks like urine in a urinal, why does he still like to drink it." Lu Kai held a disposable paper cup, talking to himself as he walked.

"Lu Kai, let me go deliver it, okay." Ji Xiang said politely.

"Hey, Ji Xiang, look at this thing, it really is just like the urine in a urinal." Lu Kai gave a chuckle, looking at the foam on the disposable paper cup and laughed, "The master's hobby is truly unique."

Ji Xiang took the paper cup and glanced at it; it did indeed look very similar.

"You go ahead, I'm going to get busy." Lu Kai didn't know what Ji Xiang was doing, thinking he was looking for a chance to get close to the Zhuren, so he didn't stop Ji Xiang.

Knock on the door.

"Come in."

Ji Xiang pushed the door open and entered, closed the door behind him, and placed the disposable paper cup on Liu Zhuren's desk with both hands.

"Zhuren, the apple juice you wanted."

"Just leave it there." Liu Zhuren didn't even look at Ji Xiang, laboriously pecking at something on the keyboard with two index fingers.

"Zhuren, shall I?" Ji Xiang's mind stirred.

"Heh." Liu Zhuren looked up and grinned, "Sure, you do it. My head aches whenever I type. When I was young, I spent every day soaking in the operating room; I didn't have time to soak up girls online. If you ask me, this operating room is much more fragrant than any girl."

"..."

Ji Xiang was speechless.

These old hands, they just let it roll off their tongues without a second thought.

"Doctor Xiao Ji, not bad, not bad." Liu Zhuren praised him, stood up, and let Ji Xiang sit down.

Ji Xiang had assumed it was a document like an application letter, but upon sitting down and looking closely, it was actually a speech draft for the hospital's weekly meeting.

A wave of disappointment washed over Ji Xiang.

Ji Xiang's typing speed was very fast, and Liu Zhuren was very satisfied. Amidst the sound of clacking keys, a speech draft plus editing was completed within ten minutes.

"Not bad, it really takes a young guy," Liu Zhuren said with great satisfaction. "With this hand speed, you could probably chat with ten girls online at once without any effort."

Ji Xiang broke into a cold sweat.

"Preparing for the shift handover." Liu Zhuren printed out the speech draft and headed for the door, holding the warm pages.

"Zhuren." Ji Xiang hurriedly called out to stop him.

"What is it?"

"There is something I would like to ask your advice on." Ji Xiang bowed slightly and said sincerely.

"Whatever it is, just say it; no need to be so formal."

"That Patient named Wei Liang from just now, what did you do to him, and why did he agree to the surgery?"

Ji Xiang didn't hide anything and asked the question in his heart directly.

"Oh, that matter? It's quite simple," Liu Zhuren said. "Public hospitals have a certain quota for free medical care every year, something called aid or the like; I don't know the specifics myself."

Hm? Ji Xiang was startled.

He had never heard of this before.

Since he started his internship, Ji Xiang had a certain understanding of the hospital, doctors, and nurses, but he had never heard anyone mention anything like this.

"Pfft, why would a little kid like you need to know about this?" Liu Zhuren said.

"Zhuren, how did you handle it? I... I'm just trying to gain some Clinical experience." Seeing that Liu Zhuren was about to leave, Ji Xiang hurriedly pressed him.

"Make a phone call to the Medical Affairs Department and reserve one of this year's slots. Then, count the Patient as a referral between hospitals; we are considered to be assisting a district-level hospital."

"How many slots are there in a year?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Heh heh." Liu Zhuren felt that this kid Ji Xiang was interesting, so he stood firm and looked into his eyes. "How many slots there are depends on how you put it."

"How do you put it?"

"Our Second Affiliated Hospital has an annual revenue of one billion; nominally, we belong to the whole people. Since it's the whole people, the Patients are all the people." Liu Zhuren's smile was somewhat strange.

"Owned by the whole people"—this term was even more unfamiliar to Ji Xiang.

Moreover, this statement was too ethereal; the preceding and following sentences didn't connect at all.

Liu Zhuren laughed, "Doctor Xiao Ji, you are very eager to learn; I think highly of you."

"However, this matter is too far beyond your level."

"Zhuren, please say two more sentences, just two." Ji Xiang knew the shift handover was coming and that Liu Zhuren didn't want to waste time, so he lowered his request to the minimum.

"Heh." Liu Zhuren smiled. "Then I'll say two sentences. First, the path exists, but doing proper work is still work; if your relationship with the Medical Affairs Department isn't good, who is going to drop everything to get things done for you the moment you ask?"

"Second, worldly wisdom is the true learning; we doctors can't just rely on good skills to run rampant through the world."

After listening, Ji Xiang was even more confused; he nodded, then shook his head.

"If you can understand this before you're thirty, you have super high emotional intelligence. This matter can't be explained. Some people never understand it in their whole lives, but if they don't understand, they don't understand—what can you do about it?"

Having said that, Liu Zhuren went out to the shift handover.

Ji Xiang followed behind him, carefully ruminating on Liu Zhuren's words.

Because he didn't understand, Ji Xiang didn't go directly into the System Space to talk to the System NPC about this matter.

At ten in the morning, the Patient's paperwork was finished, and Wu Zong submitted the emergency surgery order and took Ji Xiang to the Operating Room.

While changing clothes, Wu Zong whispered, "Doctor Xiao Ji, your Laser Lithotripsy is done well, can you... can you..."

Can you teach me? This simple sentence was stuck in Wu Zong's throat like a large Four-Joy Meatball, unable to be spat out.

After getting excited and saying it yesterday, he was much more bashful today.

"You perform the surgery, and when it's time to pass the Zebra Guidewire, we can discuss it." Ji Xiang knew that the more it was like this, the less he could be arrogant, so he lowered his voice and kept his expression humble, leaving plenty of face for Wu Zong.

"Hahaha." Seeing that Ji Xiang understood, Wu Zong patted his shoulder hard and laughed out loud.

Some things are better left understood without being said; once spoken, they lose all meaning.

Changing clothes and going on stage, Wu Zong was in high spirits, while Ji Xiang looked at the task, wondering how much his leveling speed would increase after Wu Zong became his experience beast.

"Brother Wu, it's been a long time since I've worked a shift with you."

Entering the Operating Room, the Instrument Nurse had already changed her clothes and was organizing the instruments; she looked at Ji Xiang with a smile and greeted Wu Zong.

(End of this chapter)