Chapter 401

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"Master, stop right here at the dental clinic ahead!"

The three-wheeler was nearing the No. 1 High School gate when Wang Xiaohua suddenly shouted this at the driver.

Right diagonally across from the school gate was a dental clinic, and Wang Xiaohua wanted to go consult about teeth straightening right now.

He was a man of action; whatever he wanted to do, he had to do immediately, he would not delay — just like doing an exam paper, a paper that had to be finished within two hours, he would never drag it out to two and a half hours.

"Got it! Then I'll stop up ahead!"

The driver acknowledged and pulled to a stop right at the dental clinic entrance.

Wang Xiaohua got off the three-wheeler and walked into the dental clinic.

A female nurse immediately came up to greet him:

"Hello, how may I help you?"

Wang Xiaohua stated his purpose directly:

"I'd like to consult — how much does teeth straightening cost?"

The nurse replied:

"That depends on the specific situation. Easy cases don't cost that much; difficult cases cost more. Why don't you let the doctor take a look at your oral condition first?"

Wang Xiaohua said, "Sure, sure."

The nurse called over a middle-aged male dentist, who was presumably the owner of this private dental clinic.

The dentist had Wang Xiaohua lie on the instrument chair and used the operating light on the chair to examine his oral condition.

"Open your mouth, open wider."

Wang Xiaohua forced his mouth wide open.

The dentist used a tool with a small mirror to probe and observe inside Wang Xiaohua's mouth, and also used the camera on the chair to take several photos of his oral cavity.

After finishing, he had Wang Xiaohua rinse with water, then said to him:

"Your case isn't easy to handle — your teeth are too crowded, extractions are needed. Also you have cavities; they must be filled before straightening."

"Extractions? How many teeth?"

Wang Xiaohua was somewhat surprised.

"At least four — two upper, two lower, the ones next to the canines." The doctor answered honestly.

"Can't it be done without extractions?" Wang Xiaohua asked.

"No, not enough space." The doctor gave the answer, then explained: "Your head is relatively small, your oral cavity is also relatively small, and your teeth are this crowded. If you straighten without extractions, the protruding mouth and buck teeth problems will be very hard to resolve."

"I see..." Wang Xiaohua pondered a moment, then asked again: "Then how much will it cost?"

The doctor said:

"Extractions are 150 per tooth. For straightening, we have several packages depending on which you choose: domestic traditional wire braces, 8,000 yuan; imported wire braces, 9,000 yuan; invisible aligner braces, 12,000 yuan."

"So expensive..." Wang Xiaohua thought, being a dentist really makes money too easily.

The doctor smiled and explained: "This is already a discounted price. If you think it's expensive, you can choose the domestic traditional wire material."

"What's the difference between these materials?"

"Domestic wire causes greater friction in the mouth; after wearing the appliance you might scratch the oral mucosa while chewing, and get ulcers every few days. Imported wire can greatly reduce this. As for invisible aligners, they're generally used more by girls — no visible wires, more aesthetic. I think as a guy, you don't need to choose that."

"Is there any difference in results between these packages?"

The doctor answered honestly:

"Actually not much difference. The final results are all the same — just pulling the teeth into correct positions so they stay aesthetic. The treatment duration doesn't differ much either; usually one to one and a half years to complete, specific time depends on individual circumstances."

Wang Xiaohua was surprised again:

"Takes that long? I just finished the college entrance exam, in two months I have to go to university."

The doctor smiled and said:

"Then I suggest you wait until after you start university to straighten. Find a dental hospital or clinic near the university, so you don't have to run back to the county town every few days — the travel fare alone would cost a fair bit."

Seeing Wang Xiaohua's appearance, the doctor could tell he wasn't from a wealthy family. Although he wanted to do business and make money, he didn't want to deceive a poor family's child, so he gave honest advice.

"Thank you, Doctor."

Wang Xiaohua expressed gratitude for the doctor's advice.

"You're welcome." The doctor smiled in reply, then added: "You can get the cavities filled first, wait until university to straighten. Filling here isn't expensive either — 200 yuan per tooth. I just checked, you have two cavities."

"I don't have much money on me now. I'll bring money in a few days to get them filled, and have you extract the teeth that need pulling at the same time." Wang Xiaohua said this.

But the doctor said: "Better not extract them yet. Let the doctor who does your straightening extract them, otherwise he'll think it's a re-treatment and might not want to take you on, or might charge you more. Re-treatments generally cost more because the risks are higher."

"I see... thank you so much. Then I'll come back to you for the fillings."

Wang Xiaohua felt this dentist was very sincere, so he didn't even plan to ask elsewhere — he'd just get the fillings done here.

"Alright, come back whenever you have time."

Wang Xiaohua left the dental clinic.

He couldn't help but sigh.

It seems teeth straightening is a long-term process, impossible to complete in just two months.

He had been too naive before.

He thought if he started straightening right now, his teeth would be fixed before school started.

He had originally planned that if his teeth could be fixed before school started, he would ask Niu Chunsheng to pay his tutoring salary in advance. He knew that if Niu Chunsheng knew he was taking the money for teeth straightening, he would definitely be willing to pay in advance.

However, it seems this calculation won't work out now.

He roughly calculated the costs needed after correction in his mind: two cavities, two hundred each, that's four hundred; four extractions, one hundred fifty each, that's six hundred; the cheapest correction package at eight thousand; adding it all up comes to nine thousand.

This cost is quite expensive.

But if he can smoothly get the ten thousand yuan tutoring fee from Niu Chunsheng, it would still be barely manageable.

Wang Xiaohua walked back to school while thinking.

Before he knew it, he had already arrived at the classroom door.

At this time, the Special Elite Class classroom was no longer quiet and heavy like before; the college entrance exam had just ended, everyone was very relaxed, and it was filled with joyful noisy sounds.

After the group photo tomorrow morning, everyone will go their separate ways.

Each going to their own university, it's uncertain whether they'll ever meet again.

Classmates with better relationships were exchanging gifts as reluctance to leave.

Some gave books, some gave pens, some gave small toys.

Several classmates even had others sign their school uniforms, then put away these uniforms to commemorate these three years of youth.

Li Jianjia was one of them.

She went around laughing, letting classmates sign on the school uniform she was wearing.

"Where to sign?"

"Except for this place, anywhere can be signed!"

Li Jianjia covered her left chest with her right hand, laughing as she answered.

"Then I'll sign your back, the back is easier to write on."

After that classmate finished signing, Li Jianjia saw Wang Xiaohua had returned, and hurriedly ran over: "Xiao Hua, you come sign my name too!"

"Xiao Hua, you come sign my name too!"

Wang Xiaohua laughed and answered: "Okay okay!"

"Okay okay!"

Wang Xiaohua picked up a pen, just wanting to also sign on Li Jianjia's back.

But Li Jianjia pointed at the blank spot on her chest, laughing as she said: "You sign here! This spot I specially saved for you!"

"You sign here! This spot I specially saved for you!"