Finding ways to cut off Li Jingsheng's financial means could eliminate this competitor that has stubbornly survived for over nine months.
"Dr. Li's skills are really quite good; I've had my injuries stitched up here before," Master Liu said with a simple smile, speaking up for Li Jingsheng. Maybe because of the blood loss, his face was a bit pale, and his lips were trembling slightly.
"Yes, yes, Dr. Li is young and promising, and his skills are indeed not bad. This morning, I had a patient who couldn't wait because there were too many people in line and ended up coming to Dr. Li for treatment."
Boss Zhao gave Li Jingsheng a deep look, with dissatisfaction and warning conveyed in that glance, piercing into Li Jingsheng's heart.
No wonder Boss Zhao suddenly came by; it turned out it was about this matter.
It's the patient's right to choose where to get treated; no one has the right to interfere.
At that time, Quick Recovery Clinic was so busy, yet Boss Zhao knew that the patient went to Li Jingsheng's Sunshine Clinic. This shows that Boss Zhao had been closely monitoring Li Jingsheng's clinic, with even the slightest changes within his grasp.
This also sent chills down Li Jingsheng's spine.
"Boss Zhao eats meat while we sip soup!"
Tang Ping laughed beside him, helping Li Jingsheng to smooth things over.
"Don't misunderstand me, I'm not bringing this up for any other reason; I just wanted to kindly remind Dr. Li that there are risks in infusions, and not everyone can handle this kind of work. Even sipping soup, you have to be careful not to choke. All right, you guys get busy, I'll visit again next time."
Though Boss Zhao said he didn't mean anything else, the warning was quite obvious.
"Beauty Ping, it's not easy for a woman to raise a child alone. You should seriously consider what we talked about. I believe you're smart enough to know what choice to make."
After saying this, Boss Zhao didn't linger.
He didn't even look again at Li Jingsheng, and went straight out.
In front of Li Jingsheng, he deliberately mentioned that he had private talks with Tang Ping, and it sounded like he was trying to poach her.
This was both a show of force to Li Jingsheng and an attempt to sow discord.
This move was truly insidious.
Tang Ping's face turned slightly pale, and she looked at Li Jingsheng with a bit of trepidation.
In front of patients, she couldn't explain herself.
But her apologetic gaze already proved her sincerity; she wanted to tell Li Jingsheng that she was innocent.
Li Jingsheng didn't say anything, just took Master Liu inside to take an X-ray.
According to regulations, clinics with medical and technical departments must have at least one medical technical staff member with the appropriate professional qualifications in each department.
Unable to afford specialized technical staff, Li Jingsheng had to teach himself and obtain the necessary technical qualifications, acting both as the attending doctor and filling the role of an X-ray and ultrasound technician.
After taking the X-ray.
He found that although Master Liu's wound was very deep, it hadn't damaged ligaments or bones.
He couldn't help feeling secretly pleased, as it seemed this big business might indeed work out.
"Dr. Li, what's the result of the examination?"
Master Liu asked anxiously.
The coworkers beside him had equally anxious expressions.
If important vessels, nerves, or bones were injured, he'd need to go to a large hospital for treatment, which would be a big hassle.
"It's basically a blessing in disguise; the lateral collateral ligament, fibular head, knee joint cavity, and other critical areas weren't damaged. Once we confirm no major blood vessels or nerves are injured, I can treat you here."
Due to being an industrial frequency machine, Li Jingsheng's X-ray machine produced quite blurry images.
He struggled a lot to examine them clearly.
Once he had the money, he'd definitely upgrade to a high-frequency machine like private hospitals do.
However, the price is quite astounding.
The cheapest industrial frequency machines cost about forty or fifty thousand, while more functional ones are around eighty thousand. A high-frequency machine would cost hundreds of thousands, far beyond his current means.
Besides, if there aren't enough patients, breaking even would be difficult.
The depreciation and maintenance costs each year would be no small expense, and it would take up significant space.
To gauge a hospital's scale and level, one just needs to look at its doctor count and the advancement of its diagnostic equipment.
"Come, try to pull your toe back towards you with this foot."
Li Jingsheng began performing some simple nerve tests on Master Liu's injured left leg.
With the crude conditions of a small clinic, he had to resort to simple and practical methods for testing nerve function.
In fact, the focus was on testing motor function.
After testing, the left leg's motor function was pretty decent overall.
Li Jingsheng took Master Liu to the treatment room.
"Next, we'll have to do some preliminary cleaning of your wound and check the blood vessels inside. It might hurt a bit."
"It's okay, just help me get it done."
Master Liu gritted his teeth and said.
"Bite on this; it will protect your teeth and tongue," Li Jingsheng handed him a cork.
After taking it, Master Liu weakly asked, "How much will this cost?"
"Two yuan at cost, just give the cost price."
The biting cork was cheap, only occasionally used by small clinics. It's used to prevent patients from biting their tongues or lips.
Even for two yuan, Master Liu was reluctant to spend it.
"Old Liu, trust Dr. Li. Bite on it; I'll pay for this two yuan."
The coworker put two coins on the table.
"No, no, I've got the money."
Master Liu waved his hand repeatedly.
"Oh, don't be polite with me. Let's get the treatment done quickly, and after taking you home, I still need to find another worker to finish the job quickly."
It was clear his coworker was more cunning than Master Liu.
Generous with small change but very strict with key interests.
Having already taken the X-rays and done nerve function tests, it all seemed promising. Both were hopeful that the injury could be treated at Li Jingsheng's clinic.
Master Liu opened the cork packaging and bit it horizontally between his teeth.
Li Jingsheng carefully tried to loosen the strap tied around the thigh and then examined the wound to locate the bleeding source.
A larger blood vessel had been cut, while the rest were smaller vessels.
This larger blood vessel was a vein responsible for returning blood from the lower limb. After careful consideration, Li Jingsheng believed that ligating it shouldn't have a major impact.
Of course, if possible, it would be best to repair this blood vessel.
However, Li Jingsheng's current suturing skill level was quite limited, and his anastomosis technique wasn't even entry-level. He was simply incapable of repairing this vessel.
Ligation to stop the bleeding was the best option.
If he had the proper equipment, he could use electrocautery for hemostasis.
He didn't have any electrocautery equipment here.
Moreover, his electrocautery skill was also not even entry-level.
Surgical practice skills may seem simple, but they're extremely difficult. Learning surgical skills not only burns money— with equipment and materials being very costly—but also requires skilled mentors to guide one effectively.
Learning on one's own might mean practicing for ten years and still being inferior to someone who trained for a year in an operating room at a large hospital.
Boss Zhao's Quick Recovery Clinic had been around for over twenty years and even then, they couldn't perform vessel anastomosis.
Moreover, for such deep wounds, they would never dare to take them on and would directly refer the patient to a large hospital.
Even though Li Jingsheng learned the vertical mattress suture in just over two hours, it was because he already had a foundation in interrupted and continuous sutures, practicing them to a competent level.
In addition to having learned vertical mattress sutures before and having practiced multiple times, that's why he could learn it so quickly.
However, he was merely at the entry-level stage at the moment.
To progress from entry-level to proficiency, practicing on pigskin for three years might not even be enough.
Using entry-level suturing skills on patients is absolutely tantamount to ruining one's own reputation.
If anything goes wrong, it could be disastrous.
"Dr. Li, can it be treated? I don't mind if there's a scar."
Master Liu urged with a forced smile.
"We can try. Due to the wound being very deep and a rather large vein being damaged, it'll be complicated to handle. If you insist on being treated here, the treatment cost should be at least around 1100 yuan."
This was a more reasonable charge, if not a benevolent one.
"A thousand one hundred! Can it be a bit less?"
Master Liu's face showed a pained expression; it was pain for the money.
"I'm quoting you the lowest price because you're an old acquaintance, often looking after our clinic. Otherwise, for someone else, it would start at least two thousand upward, and in a big hospital, it won't be less than four thousand."
Li Jingsheng quoted a price approximately two hundred yuan higher than his actual estimate.
This is a business technique.
If he now told Master Liu it could be done for nine hundred yuan, and if it exceeded that, people would accuse him of overcharging.
Now, quoting 1100 yuan, and if it ends up costing only 1000, Master Liu would praise him for reasonable charges and being very fair.