CHAPTER 129: 129 TO CREATE STARS

"Okay, that’s impressive. I’ll take care of the soy-braised ribs this year; we can eat them whenever we want." Zhou Li gave Liu Banxia a hearty pat on the shoulder.

"Sister Li, I can’t possibly accept this. Besides, it wasn’t that much cheaper, was it? Isn’t their furnished option only around 23,000 yuan per square meter on average? And they offer discounts, so it can’t be that different from what you’re paying now, right? What could the difference be? A few tens of thousands?" Liu Banxia said.

"You’re such a naive boy. He gave me a *really* good discount today," Zhou Li said.

"You just believe whatever the developer says? They have so many tricks up their sleeves. Take this average price, for example. If you buy based on that, you’ll end up with a unit with bad orientation, a bad location, or on a bad floor. It’s all a ploy to get you to look at their properties, just to trick people."

"Old Wang and I actually looked at Yuhua Courtyard. The price for a 20th-floor unit is at least 24,000 yuan. And their stated renovation standard is 2,000 yuan per square meter. Do you realize how big a difference that is?"

Liu Banxia shook his head, grinning foolishly.

"Their 2,000 yuan per square meter renovation standard is calculated based on the gross floor area. How much is the actual usable area? You’d be lucky if it’s even 80%," Zhou Li said.

"And that’s just their *claimed* 2,000 yuan per square meter standard. How much do they actually spend? Nowadays, developers love selling these ’premium’ fully-furnished apartments; it’s mostly a scam."

"We’ll just have him do our renovations. Everything will be top-notch. And because of your connection, if I set a budget of 200,000 yuan for renovations, it’ll definitely be much better than the developer’s standard handover."

"Sister Li, there are so many hidden details in this? When you factor everything in, the difference really amounts to hundreds of thousands!" Liu Banxia said, somewhat startled.

"What did you expect? That’s why I think Liu Haibing genuinely appreciates you. If he ever needs anything from you in the future, give it your best effort. Sister Li will remember this favor," Zhou Li said.

"Sister Li, what could he possibly need me for? He probably just wanted to thank me for diagnosing his and his father’s conditions. It was just luck on my part," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

"Don’t sell yourself short. He might not need you now, but who can guarantee they won’t get sick in the future? You’re the rising star of our Second Hospital. He’s shown his goodwill, and if you reciprocate, that’s what matters," Zhou Li said with a chuckle.

Liu Banxia grinned and nodded. He hadn’t expected Zhou Li to think so highly of him.

Seated in his office, Zhou Shuwen also noticed the brief interaction between Liu Haibing and Liu Banxia when Liu Haibing came in, but he didn’t pay it much mind. Doctors are people too; they need their own social lives. He remembered Liu Haibing – the man just needed to come in for bloodletting every month. Even the watermelon he’d brought was worth over three hundred yuan, but that wasn’t a big deal.

In the Chief Director’s office, Zhou Zhiyong accepted the tea Chen Zhenxing poured. "Chief Director, it looks like we’re really going to get serious about the residency training this time, huh? But making Liu Banxia the benchmark... can he handle that pressure?"

"You don’t know yet? Shuwen plans to take him under his wing. With Shuwen looking out for him, there won’t be any problems," Chen Zhenxing said with a laugh.

"You could say that our Second Hospital’s reform was entirely spurred by this kid. Without him, we wouldn’t have realized how poor our teaching and training programs were. Without him, we wouldn’t have considered expanding our emergency services."

"Last time I left late, I watched a surgery he handled in the Emergency Department. It was very impressive. Don’t let the fact that he just finished his residency fool you; he already shows the demeanor of a seasoned general. I have high hopes for him."

"His previous two years of practical work experience probably contribute to this. That’s why I have a bold proposal. Since our ultimate goal is to establish a trauma emergency center, and the Emergency Department will eventually have many sub-departments, we can steer more residents towards this area in the future."

"Moreover, we’ll have a few foreign exchange students this year. I’m planning to assign them to the Emergency Department as well. You know, even though that kid seems a bit unconventional, he’s actually quite good at mentoring people."

"Linlin hasn’t been in the Emergency Department for very long, but she’s improving very quickly. That girl is very thoughtful, but she rarely listens to my advice."

"I’m just worried about Liu Banxia’s temper. Yesterday, he butted heads with Old Qin again. And Old Qin... honestly. He’s already in the Medical Affairs Department; wouldn’t it be better for him to just quietly wait for retirement?" Zhou Zhiyong said.

"What’s there to worry about? Liu Banxia is a bit of a prickly pear; it’ll be good for Old Qin to smooth out his rough edges," Chen Zhenxing said casually.

"The reforms we’re implementing are also being taken very seriously by Binhai Medical College. If we succeed, they’ll be promoted in other affiliated hospitals."

Zhou Zhiyong nodded. "Then we need to hurry and finalize the plan for this year’s residency program. How soon will the new emergency building be ready for use?"

"Mid to late August, I expect. The construction will be fast-tracked for the lower five floors. Renovations for the upper floors will use a dedicated access through the rear entrance," Chen Zhenxing said.

"The strain on the Emergency Department is becoming obvious. Actually, it’s always been there; we just didn’t pay enough attention. That was our oversight."

Zhou Zhiyong nodded. In the past, there was no intention to invest more in the demanding and unrewarding Emergency Department, so it was conveniently ignored. Gradually, the Emergency Department became the Second Hospital’s Achilles’ heel.

"So, I want to build a star, and Liu Banxia will be that star. I want people to know that our Second Hospital dares to innovate, dares to practice, and dares to give opportunities. As long as you have talent, I dare to use you," Chen Zhenxing continued.

"Regarding our Second Hospital’s current reforms, some people aren’t optimistic. They think we’re just blindly imitating others, and even if we manage to set up the trauma emergency center, it’ll be mere window dressing."

"I want them to know that we’re not just following trends; we genuinely want to achieve something substantial. If we were just chasing fads, we could have simply poured more funds into Cardiology, Neurosurgery, or Orthopedics to create nationally recognized, star departments."

Zhou Zhiyong glanced at Chen Zhenxing. He hadn’t expected Chen Zhenxing to be this worked up. It seemed there was significant opposition; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so determined to make Liu Banxia the poster child for this reform.

But he couldn’t voice these thoughts right now. He also understood that it wasn’t Liu Banxia driving the Second Hospital’s reform, but rather Chen Zhenxing himself.

The only worry now was whether Liu Banxia could bring honor to the Second Hospital. If, after all the effort invested in grooming him, he didn’t show significant improvement, then things would get... interesting.

"Sorry for rambling on. I got a bit carried away," Chen Zhenxing said, laughing.

Zhou Zhiyong shook his head with a smile. "There’s still a lot of work to do. I need to get things organized. When the time comes, I’ll do my best to assign our hospital’s permanent staff and residents to other departments accordingly."

This was Chen Zhenxing’s do-or-die battle. It concerned not only the Second Hospital’s standing in Binhai City’s medical community but also his own future candidacy for the deanship of Binhai Medical College.