145: Simple test

Zhong Xiguo certainly understood the principle that one cannot delay when ill, but his family truly had no money!

Zhong Xiguo quietly asked from the side, "Dr. Qin, could you please help us calculate how much all these examinations will cost in total?"

Qin Jiang had never heard such a request before.

After all, he usually only gave a comprehensive treatment cost after determining what the patient's illness was.

However, patients certainly had the right to know the cost of each examination.

So, Qin Jiang had the intelligent computer list out every fee and compile it into a single statement for Zhong Xiguo to see.

"Five thousand four hundred in total, that expensive!"

Upon seeing the cost statement, Zhong Xiguo's face immediately turned grim.

Even Zhong Chenglong, who had always been at odds with Zhong Xiguo, frowned at this moment.

"Dr. Qin, are there any of these treatment items that can be reduced or omitted?"

"My family is in extreme poverty. My parents' combined annual income is only eighty thousand yuan, and I've just started university..."

Zhong Chenglong's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke.

The education he had received told him that doctors would certainly not prescribe so many unnecessary examinations for no reason, just to make them spend money.

Especially a highly capable doctor like Qin Jiang, who must be aiming to cure the illness.

But his family's financial situation forced Zhong Chenglong to ask, to see if there could be any further reductions.

Qin Jiang also hadn't expected the family of three to be in such dire financial straits.

An annual income of eighty thousand yuan for three people?

That meant the three of them combined only had a monthly income of just over seven thousand yuan?

One must know that this was the family's total income, which also included expenses for food, clothing, housing, transportation, and tuition fees.

No wonder even when Zhong Xiguo took Zhong Chenglong to the Hospital, they only did basic examinations.

After all, an MRI scan alone costs one to two thousand yuan, how could a family like theirs afford it?

Qin Jiang sighed and said, "These examination items are all used to determine the cause of your illness, so they are necessary examinations."

"However, since your family's situation is special, I can first reduce a portion of the medical fees for you. Then, for the remaining medical fees, you can put them on account with me and pay them back little by little when you have the money."

Upon hearing Qin Jiang say this, the family of three quickly thanked him.

Especially Zhong Xiguo, whose eyes were already welling up with tears.

The netizens in the live stream also felt very saddened by this scene.

"Alas, I've seen too many wealthy Buddys online, earning hundreds of thousands or millions a month at the drop of a hat. I've almost forgotten that there are still poor people in our country."

"That's because genuinely poor people generally don't have money to go online. Not everyone can afford broadband at home. The monthly broadband fee is a significant expense for them, and more importantly, installing broadband is useless for them."

"Yes, when I went back to my village for Chinese New Year before, I found that many elderly people's only entertainment was watching TV. Going online and such had nothing to do with them at all. It felt like they were people from two different worlds."

Although it's hard to admit, there are indeed many people from families like Zhong Xiguo's, who live honest and humble lives, with their family's only hope and wish being for their child to go to university.

Zhong Chenglong indeed lived up to expectations and got into university.

However, due to his physical condition, his grades continuously declined and he kept failing.

Coupled with the high tuition fees that had to be paid every semester, his mental pressure only increased.

This was also why Zhong Chenglong had consistently lacked interest in studying during this period, and he even considered dropping out at one point.

However, Zhong Xiguo and the others were unable to understand these thoughts of his.

This led to Zhong Xiguo's irritable temper towards Zhong Chenglong, as if he had completely lost trust in his son.

"So, can we go for the examinations now?"

Zhong Xiguo nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, you can do them now, right away."

Qin Jiang printed out the list of examinations and then had Zhong Xiguo sign it.

This time, Zhong Xiguo signed without hesitation.

As long as it wasn't about money, why would he not want Zhong Chenglong to be healthy?

After Zhong Xiguo signed, Qin Jiang took Zhong Chenglong back into the pharmacy for the examinations.

However, there were many examination items this time, so Zhong Xiguo and Liu Xiu waited outside with some anxiety.

Half an hour later, Qin Jiang emerged from the pharmacy with Zhong Chenglong, holding an examination report in his hand.

Zhong Chenglong, who had just undergone the examinations, looked a bit weak. Liu Xiu saw this and quickly stepped forward to support him.

Zhong Xiguo asked, "How is it, Dr. Qin? Have the examinations revealed what illness my son has?"

Qin Jiang did not answer Zhong Xiguo immediately. Instead, he looked at Zhong Chenglong and asked, "I'm going to give you a simple test now. I hope you can cooperate with me."

Zhong Chenglong nodded.

"Please tell me, Dr. Qin."

"Now, first remember three words. Make sure you remember them clearly, and I will ask you again later."

"These three words are: 'ball,' 'car,' and 'tree.'"

Zhong Chenglong silently repeated them in his mind.

Qin Jiang didn't rush him, letting him memorize at his own pace.

"Dr. Qin, I've memorized them."

Qin Jiang nodded, then asked, "I ask you, what is one thousand minus three?"

"Nine hundred ninety-seven," Zhong Chenglong answered without hesitation.

Although the netizens in the live stream didn't know what test Qin Jiang was going to perform, when they heard that it was subtraction within a thousand, they all instantly became confident.

"One thousand minus three, that math is too simple! What kind of test is this? It can't test anything at all, can it?"

"Stop bullshitting. Could Dr. Qin's test questions be that simple? If you're so confident, then do it along with him."

"Do it along with him then, I don't believe this kind of addition and subtraction within a thousand can stump me."

The netizens all felt that Qin Jiang's test was too simple.

Even a first-year middle school student could easily solve such arithmetic problems, let alone Zhong Chenglong, a university student?

After getting Zhong Chenglong's answer, Qin Jiang continued, "Subtract seven again."

"Nine hundred ninety."

"Subtract seven again."

"Nine hundred eighty-three."

"Subtract six again."

"Nine hundred seventy-seven."

Qin Jiang continued subtracting by single digits, one by one.

After an unknown number of subtractions, Qin Jiang suddenly asked again, "Now I ask you, what were those three things I told you to remember at the beginning? Do you still remember?"

"It was 'ball,' and then... then..."

Zhong Chenglong stopped mid-sentence, suddenly feeling his mind go blank, unable to recall anything.

This made Zhong Chenglong feel extremely scared.

Because they were just three simple words, and he had specifically tried to remember them for a long time just now.

Yet now he couldn't remember them?