Chapter 969

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

The next day Li Xiulan rose early, as usual, made breakfast, fed the livestock, washed clothes, watered the vegetable garden, until all the housework was done.

Because today was market day, besides the regular scheduled buses, there were also some passenger minivans, so she didn't have to deliberately wait for the bus schedule.

Li Xiulan went to Zhong Jianguo's home, picked up those two frozen roosters, and only then unhurriedly went to the highway side to wait for a ride.

Before long, a passenger minivan drove over.

Li Xiulan waved her hand, the vehicle stopped, then she opened the door and got in.

There were already several fellow villagers in the vehicle.

All were middle-aged and elderly, everyone chatting cheerfully about daily life, how so-and-so's cow was doing, who had built a multi-story house, whose daughter had married off, pulling a few sentences east, a few sentences west.

Though the vehicle interior was crowded, the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Li Xiulan arrived in town and immediately headed straight for the New Era Restaurant.

Wang Erhai had already greeted the manager here, and the manager, seeing Li Xiulan arrive, immediately welcomed her warmly.

After all, she was the boss's birth mother; he, a hired hand, dared not slight her in the least.

After Li Xiulan delivered the roosters and drank a cup of tea, she said goodbye and left.

Because she had to go get her tooth fixed.

The restaurant manager, seeing Li Xiulan leave, immediately called Wang Erhai:

"General Manager Wang, your mother brought those two roosters over; do you want me to take them down to the county town for you?"

Wang Erhai thought for a moment, then finally said:

"No need, you handle it yourselves."

The most important thing was, he was currently busy to the point of flying, where would he find time to cook.

So he could only handle those two roosters his mother gave in this way.

Wang Erhai also instructed:

"Whether you sell them at the restaurant or take them home to eat yourselves is fine, I have only one requirement: don't let my mother find out. Whoever lets my mother know, I'll fire them."

The restaurant manager hurriedly nodded like a chicken pecking rice in response:

"Understood, General Manager Wang. If your mother asks, I'll say you came over and took the roosters away."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Xiulan arrived at the entrance of a small dental clinic in town.

She hesitated for a good while, only then walking in through the door.

"Doctor, help me take a look at my teeth."

A middle-aged man walked over to greet her:

"Lie down on the chair, I'll help you examine, what problem do you have with your teeth?"

"Last night eating chicken meat, eating along, a tooth just fell out."

Li Xiulan lay on the specialized dental chair, and the dentist immediately swung over an operating light from beside the chair, then had Li Xiulan open her mouth, and examined her oral cavity.

After looking for a while, the dentist frowned:

"Your teeth aren't too good, periodontitis, and quite severe at that; the lower jaw teeth's gums have receded almost completely, so the teeth are all loose."

"What is periodontitis?" Li Xiulan grew nervous.

She didn't understand what periodontitis was, but hearing the dentist put it that way, she felt it was quite serious.

Not waiting for the doctor to explain what periodontitis was, she hurriedly asked again:

"How much money will treatment need?"

This was the issue she cared about most.

In this lifetime of hers, the thing she cared about most was spending money.

"That's not certain."

The doctor informed her honestly:

"You'll likely need full mouth treatment; periodontitis is very troublesome, gums have receded, they can't possibly grow back; the best case is just cleaning the teeth, doing good oral hygiene, then maintaining the status quo; the worst case is extracting all the teeth, then getting dental implants."

"What are dental implants?"

Li Xiulan's inner heart grew even more nervous.

The dentist said:

"It's at the position of the missing tooth, driving in a steel pin, then installing a false tooth on top."

"How much money?"

"Depends on what material you want; cheap ones one or two thousand, expensive ones three or four thousand."

The dentist at this time said:

"Also I can't do implants here, but I can recommend you go to the county town's oral clinic for implants; I'll give you a referral, that side can give you a ten percent discount."

"This expensive ah, one tooth costs several thousand ah……"

Li Xiulan was startled, inwardly resistant.

The dentist however smiled:

"What are you thinking, I just said the price for implanting one tooth; one mouth of teeth for several thousand, how could that be possible?"

"Ah?" Li Xiulan was even more startled, "This…… this is too expensive!"

Immediately she hurriedly stood up:

"I'm not treating it anymore, your price makes my heart race with panic."

The dentist hurriedly tried to keep her:

"You don't have to get an implant, but at least get a denture. Otherwise, the gap from the missing tooth will cause the adjacent teeth to fall out before long."

"How much for a denture?" Li Xiulan asked.

"Cheap ones are two to three hundred, expensive ones go up to over a thousand. It depends on what material you want."

Li Xiulan thought for a while, then seemed to make up her mind:

"Give me a two-hundred one."

She then pulled a crumpled red plastic bag from her pocket, unfolded it, took out two wrinkled hundred-yuan bills, and handed them to the dentist.

The dentist took the money and said:

"Then lie back on the chair, I'll take an impression."

Li Xiulan lay back on the chair again, and the dentist started fiddling with the machine in her mouth.

"Doctor, my adjacent tooth isn't bad, why are you drilling it with a drill?"

"It's not drilling, it's grinding. Your whole tooth is gone. To place a denture, you need a fixation point. I'm using your adjacent tooth as the fixation point, so I have to grind it down a bit first... you wouldn't understand even if I explained. Anyway, I won't cheat you. I said two hundred per tooth, so it's two hundred per tooth."

The dentist spoke while operating.

He wasn't even wearing a mask.

You can tell how non-standard the operation was.

But township dental clinics are just like this.

They serve middle-aged and elderly people. Whether the operation is standard or not, no one cares. Everyone cares about cheap and affordable.

The dentist spoke again at this time:

"You have tartar in your tooth gaps. This is the cause of your periodontitis. Do you want a teeth cleaning?"

Li Xiulan asked:

"How much for teeth cleaning?"

The dentist said:

"Teeth cleaning isn't expensive, 99 yuan for a full-mouth cleaning once."

The dentist said again:

"Your other teeth also have caries. It's best to fill them."

Li Xiulan thought for a moment, then said:

"Forget it. Just help me fix that tooth properly."

This dentist kept pushing sales, making her very vigilant, afraid she'd be deceived by the dentist.

But actually, the dentist was telling the honest truth.

Li Xiulan had tartar in her teeth. The tartar caused periodontitis, then gum recession, and tooth loosening.

Additionally, she had several caries. If the decayed parts aren't cleaned and refilled in time, the caries will get deeper and deeper. By the time she treats it later, it will cost even more money.

Seeing Li Xiulan's attitude, the dentist didn't say anything more.

He took her impression, then used some materials to fit Li Xiulan with a temporary tooth, then had her choose the tooth color, and finally left a phone number. When the formal tooth is finished, he'll call to notify her to come back for the fitting.

Li Xiulan looked at the mirror, examining the tooth in her mouth. It was fitted quite well, just the new tooth was a bit crowded, a bit uncomfortable.

"This fitted tooth isn't pretty good? Why still need another one?"

Li Xiulan asked.

The dentist didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but still explained patiently:

"This is a temporary tooth. It won't last long. Anyway, rest assured. When I tell you to come, you come. I won't charge you extra."

For situations like Li Xiulan's, the dentist had long since seen it all.

Many rural people are like this. They don't have much knowledge. Not only are they thrifty, they're also afraid of being cheated.