Chapter 21: Cui Xiaoyan's Sorrow

  The People's Hospital is for the people. That's right! The hospital's entrance indeed has those words written on it! But for people without RMB, will the People's Hospital still be for the people? Perhaps it depends on one's moral character and luck...

  The ninth floor of the People's Hospital is the nephrology department. Various kidney disease patients gather here. Kidney yang deficiency, kidney yin deficiency. For minor problems like kidney function disorders that need to be adjusted, generally no one will be hospitalized, most people just go home and take some medicine, see a traditional Chinese doctor, and adjust it. If you don't have to come, really nobody wants to gather here!

  Cui Xiaoyan stood in front of the hospital bed, watching as her mother slowly drifted off to sleep. She recalled the words of the doctor in charge: "Your mother's kidney failure is due to chronic nephritis, mainly because most of the glomeruli have been destroyed and cannot be repaired or regenerated, leading to renal function failure."

  Cui Xiaoyan looked at the chief physician sitting at his desk, calm and composed, as if reciting a familiar text. She really wanted to grab him by the collar and ask what to do next. Looking at the doctor's unruffled demeanor, Cui Xiaoyan felt her temper flare up!

  "Chronic renal failure is a slowly progressive disease. The course of the disease can last for more than 20 years. It cannot be cured and there are no specific Chinese or Western medicines that can cure it. In severe cases, patients have to rely on long-term use of dialysis machines to help their kidneys remove waste products from the blood, or undergo kidney transplantation as a radical treatment."

  Cui Xiaoyan suppressed the anger in her heart and forced herself to ask, "Doctor, how much does a kidney transplant cost?" The attending physician pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said calmly, "The cost of a kidney transplant is generally not very high. People's Hospital can reduce some costs for patients based on their economic ability, but at least, the source of the kidney will not be less than 300,000!"

  "Three hundred thousand?" After hearing the doctor's quote, Cui Xiaoyan seemed to feel that the doctor's words had just exploded in her ears like a thunderbolt! It strongly shocked Cui Xiaoyan's inner world!

  The doctor in charge emphasized: "Three hundred thousand is just the cost of kidney source, and there are hospitalization fees, medical expenses, etc. You need to prepare another one hundred thousand yuan!" In fact, for Cui Xiaoyan, three hundred thousand and four hundred thousand are not much different. Even if someone can't afford three hundred thousand, adding another one hundred thousand might be like the saying goes: "the more fleas, the less itching; the more debts, the less worry."

  Cui Xiaoyan's bright red eyes were so lifeless, stunned for a moment, and tears began to swirl in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she asked: "Doctor, currently our family is indeed limited in economic ability! The cost of kidney transplantation is indeed impossible! Do you think there are other ways?"

  The doctor in charge looked at Cui Xiaoyan and sighed, saying: "Actually, there is a way!"

  Cui Xiaoyan hastily asked, "What method is it?"

  The doctor in charge looked up at Cui Xiaoyan and said, "You can donate a kidney to your mother. This way, you can save around 300,000 yuan. As for the remaining amount, think of a solution yourself, I don't think it's a problem. Besides, there are medical expenses, hospitalization fees, treatment costs, and insurance! Although your mother's situation is special, reimbursing around 60% shouldn't be a problem! If you still can't come up with the 40,000 yuan..."

  Listening to the doctor's words, Cui Xiaoyan felt as if she had stepped from hell into heaven. Life is so wonderful! Life is so beautiful!

  But then the doctor in charge said, "However, I still want to remind you that although the matching rate of direct descendants' kidneys is as high as 95% or more, we still need to do tests and matching." Before he finished speaking, a nurse walked in with an invoice and said to the doctor, "Dr. Ma, we need to notify Zhang Shufen's family! They already owe over 300 yuan!"

  The doctor in charge looked at the nurse and pointed directly at Cui Xiaoyan, saying: "This is a family member, you can give her the form directly!" The nurse nodded to Ma Daifu and handed the form to Cui Xiaoyan's hand.

  Cui Xiaoyan took the bill and hadn't had time to look at it when she heard the nurse say: "The 5,000 yuan deposit your mother paid when she was hospitalized has been used up. You need to pay another 10,000 yuan deposit to the inpatient department for our treatment and medication!"

  Cui Xiaoyan's face was difficult to look at as she rushed to ask Dr. Ma: "Dr. Ma, I also told you about our family situation earlier. Can we pay a little less deposit? Or I can pay it immediately after I receive my salary!"

  Dr. Ma helplessly waved his hand and said to Cui Xiaoyan, "Give me the bill, I'll change it to 5,000 for you! If it's not enough, of course, you can pay more; if it's too much, we'll refund you!" Cui Xiaoyan thanked him profusely and handed over the bill. Dr. Ma then scribbled some notes on the bill with his pen.

  Those two strokes of characters made Cui Xiaoyan, a school teacher, bewildered. A big circle wrapped around a small circle, and the circles were connected to each other. She really didn't know what was written!

  The doctor, Ma, who had just finished modifying the payment slip, handed it back to Cui Xiaoyan and said: "You go back and do some ideological work on your mother. Currently, in our country's kidney transplantation surgery, the most common is between siblings, and those from parents to children are not uncommon either. However, those from children to parents are still very rare."

  Of course, it's not that the children are unfilial. The other day, we received a patient named Mr. Liu here. His family situation is similar to yours.

  The nurse on the side inserted a sentence: "Pitiful parents in the world! At that time, Old Man Liu said: He himself would not agree to let his children donate a kidney for him. After all, the children are still young and their future path is still long. I don't want them to suffer any harm." The nurse sighed and said: "I was so moved that I bought two kilograms of beef that evening and went home to stew it for my mother!" After finishing speaking, she wiped her slightly red eyes and turned around to busy herself with her own tasks.

  The doctor in charge sighed and said, "Go back and do some ideological work with your mother! By the way, dialysis still needs to be done! Twice a week, three hundred each time. This can't be reduced!"

  In the hospital corridor, relatives came and went. Some patients came out to get some fresh air, wearing blue and white patient uniforms, which made Cui Xiaoyan feel particularly dazzling.

  Cui Xiaoyan snapped back to reality, thinking about the more than 20,000 yuan she had left in her savings account. Five thousand would have to be paid for hospitalization. It was estimated that another five thousand would need to be paid during treatment. And then there was the night market stall she rented out, with a monthly rent of three thousand. The minimum rental period was two months, and it was only because she was the teacher of the night market boss's son that no deposit had been required!

  Cui Xiaoyan deeply understands that in the principle of making ends meet, increasing income is the best way, while reducing expenses is only a secondary measure. By just cutting expenses, she can't even afford to eat or drink with her meager salary, let alone pay for her mother's medical treatment. Increasing income is imperative!

  Watching his mother still asleep... he saw Liu's son and his daughter-in-law walking in from outside the bedside!

  As he walked, he muttered to his wife: "The hospital is too scammy! My mom paid 10,000 yuan for the deposit when she was admitted, and they said they would refund any excess or supplement if necessary. But it's only been a few days, and the hospital has already spent all of it. I've figured it out! The hospital never intended to refund or supplement anything. They just spend whatever they want and then ask you to pay more. No wonder the relationship between doctors and patients is so tense these days!"

  The daughter-in-law was quite sensible and said: "That's your mother! No matter how expensive it is, you have to treat her!"

  Cui Xiaoyan looked at the payment notice in her hand and sighed. She went to the payment office...

  The weather in April is just the season when spring warms up and flowers bloom. Li Xiaoteng and Zhao Baozi finished discussing the night market issue. Manager Dong let them wait for the result, but with his sharp eyes, Li Xiaoteng saw that Manager Dong's hands were tightly gripping the teacup at last, and his slightly trembling body knew that this matter was settled!

  Li Xiaoteng inquired about the customized sheep skewer carbonization oven at an internet cafe next to Dongxing Restaurant. He found that there was a hundred-year-old steel processing shop in Taifeng District, and immediately took Zhao Baozi to find it.

  Li Xiaoteng walking in the underground pedestrian tunnel. Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the tunnel!

  A soundless loudspeaker, an electronic organ. On the electronic organ, a microphone is inserted at an angle. The most distinctive feature is that the electronic organ is filled with red three-fold pages of "Hai Shang Securities". And the person is leaning against the wall, playing and singing by himself!

  "Is it her?" Li Xiaoteng blurted out in surprise. Zhao Baozi stared at the beauty, his mouth watering. Then Zhao Baozi asked: "Do you know her? How do all these beauties know you? Oh my god! Brother Teng is so charming!"

  Li Xiaoteng was speechless! Looking at Zhao Xun, he saw that her long hair cascaded straight down her back, her melon-seed-shaped face had a pair of bright and beautiful eyes that were unforgettable at first glance, and the thick lips under her high nose bridge. It really made Li Xiaoteng feel that she was so charming and seductive!

  It's still that Chinese red long windbreaker. Only today, it was paired with a light yellow high-necked thin sweater, which made her even more slender and charming.

  Zhao Xun sang while playing the piano: If you yearn for a drop of water, I'd offer an entire sea. If you want to pluck a red leaf, I'll give you the whole maple forest and the clouds. If you need a smile, I'll open my fiery heart. If you need someone by your side, I'll accompany you into the future! Spring is warm and flowers bloom~~~ This is my world! Every time they burst forth, it's the love erupting from my heart! The breeze whispers... It's my dialogue with the sky. Happiness has always been with us~~~~

  Passersby stopped to listen for a couple of sentences, then hastily left. Some people casually threw 50 cents or one yuan into the electronic piano case and stopped to listen for a while!

  Li Xiaoteng and Zhao Baozi walked over, listening to Zhao Xun's singing. Li Xiaoteng felt the warmth of spring accompanied by the music. The soft and hoarse voice made Li Xiaoteng feel as if he was in a dream, as if he were in a beautiful prairie!

  The song ended. The people who stopped to listen quickly walked away! Zhao Xun casually picked up the three-fold page on the electronic piano and, accompanied by the microphone, said shyly: "Hai Securities, free account opening, commission discounts!"

  Li Xiaoteng, who was like a dream, suddenly heard Zhao Xun's loud shout and instantly had his three views destroyed!

  Li Xiaoteng was a regional manager of a securities company in his previous life. He had distributed flyers on the overpass, held banners with brokerage firms at supermarket entrances, handed out color pages, set up small tables inside supermarkets, and stationed himself at bank counters. He had done all sorts of things to market to customers. But he had never seen anyone like Zhao Xun who had such a unique way of developing business and pulling in clients.

  He immediately walked over with Zhao Baozi and greeted, "Zhao Xun! How's business?" Zhao Xun looked up and replied excitedly, "It's you? Hehe, is your injury healed?"

  Li Xiaoteng laughed and said, "Much better! How have you been lately?" Zhao Xun's face immediately darkened: "Ah, it's not good! The company has been forcing me to open accounts, open accounts, open accounts! I'm at my wit's end. They've even brought out the big guns! Haven't you seen that I've fallen to performing on the streets?" Li Xiaoteng asked, "What's the effect like?"

  Zhao Xun shook his head and said: "Not very good, some people who were interested took the list and left!" Li Xiaoteng continued to ask: "How many phone numbers did they leave?"

  Zhao Xun asked strangely, "What's the point of leaving a phone number?" Li Xiaoteng felt a lot of pressure and immediately said, "Others will take your business card and who knows where they'll go after they get home! You leave them your phone number so you can send them stock market analysis references and whatnot. Just to keep in touch. Who knows, maybe they'll even open an account or transfer one! Singing alone won't work, right?"

  Zhao Xun's face turned red with embarrassment as she said, "But I don't know what to say?" Li Xiaoteng became even more speechless and said, "Just introduce the company, introduce the service. Then ask if they have an account, if not..."

  Li Xiaoteng continued to speak, but suddenly felt Zhao Baozi secretly pulling him. Seeing Zhao Baozi's pig-like face, he suddenly understood something.

  Haha smiled and said: "Forgot to introduce! This is my childhood friend, Zhao Dong!" Then introduced Zhao Dong: "This is Zhao Xun, the big client manager of Hai Shang Securities!"

  Zhao patted his mouth with the back of his hand, hastily nodding and saying: "Haha, nice to meet you, I'm Zhao Dong, a friend of Li Xiaoteng's!" Zhao Xun politely nodded, thinking to himself: "So his name is Li Xiaoteng! Ah, last time he said he wanted to open an account, but didn't even ask for the person's name, what a failure!"

  Zhao Xun's face turned red as she asked, "Xiao Teng, you said last time that you wanted to open a stock account, have you opened it?" Li Xiao Teng shook his head and said, "Not yet, in a few days, at the end of the month! I'll give you a call, and then support your work. Go find you to open an account!"

  "Really? Then give me your phone number, I'm afraid you'll run away..."