89: Chapter 89 Unexpected Situation: Exorbitant Surgery Fees

Yunzhou International Hospital, outside the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant, mixed with the electric hum from the "Surgery in Progress" red light, making it hard to breathe.

Su Wanqing gripped the thin diagnosis sheet so tightly that her fingernails poked holes in the paper.

The doctor was a bald, middle-aged man. He held the newly developed angiography film, his tone professional and devoid of any emotional color: "The patient has three main coronary arteries. Two are more than 95% blocked, and the remaining one is also in a precarious state. This is a typical case of imminent sudden cardiac death. My recommendation is to perform a bypass immediately and insert three imported stents. Plus the follow-up ICU expenses, you need to prepare at least 500,000."

"Five... 500,000?"

Su Guohua sat by the hospital bed, his old face, full of deep wrinkles, instantly turning deathly pale. His cloth shoes scraped uneasily against the floor, like a child who had done something wrong.

"We won't treat it."

Su Guohua stood up abruptly. Because he rose too quickly, his body swayed twice. He reached out to pull out the indwelling needle on the back of his hand: "Let's go home. My chest just feels a bit tight; it'll be fine after drinking some Huoxiang Zhengqi water back home. 500,000? Even if you tore my old bones apart and sold them by the catty, they wouldn't be worth that much!"

"Dad! What are you doing!"

Su Wanqing threw the diagnosis sheet aside, rushed over to hold down her father's hand, tears falling like broken beads: "The doctor said it's a matter of life and death, can you stop being so stubborn? We will find a way to get the money!"

"Find a way? What way can you find?"

Su Guohua's eyes widened, the veins on his neck bulging like earthworms: "That's 500,000! Not 50 yuan! Chen Fan... that Old Chen, he works himself to death to earn 1 million a year, and he still has to support that big family. We just smoothed things over with them, and now you want to ask for half a year of his hard-earned money? Do I still need this old face of mine?"

The old man had been strong his whole life, terrified of poverty, and accustomed to his pride.

In his heart, Chen Fan was now just a small boss with a little bit of money. If this money were spent, how would his daughter be able to hold her head up in her husband's family in the future?

"Mom! Please persuade Dad!" Su Wanqing turned to look at Liu Yumei.

Liu Yumei shrank into the corner, wiping her tears, clutching that old Nokia senior phone, trembling as she said: "The old man makes sense... We can't act like bloodsuckers just after entering the family. How about... how about I borrow some from your eldest uncle and second uncle? We can scrape some together, and if it really doesn't work... even a cheaper surgery would do."

Su Wanqing grabbed at this like a straw, quickly taking out her phone: "Right, call the eldest uncle! The eldest uncle's family got two houses from the demolition two years ago; they must have money!"

The call went through.

Speakerphone on.

"Hello? Wanqing?" The eldest uncle's voice came through the receiver, with the sound of mahjong tiles clattering in the background, "What's up so late? I'm waiting for a tile here, two of bamboos!"

"Eldest Uncle, it's me, Wanqing. My dad is in the hospital, his heart's main vessel is blocked, we urgently need surgery fees..."

Before she could finish, the sound of mahjong on the other end suddenly stopped.

"Oh, heart disease? That's a rich man's disease." The eldest uncle's voice dropped an octave instantly, full of vigilance, "Wanqing, it's not that I don't want to help you. You know, a while ago your cousin bought a car, which emptied out our family savings. My pockets are cleaner than my face right now. Anyway, the signal is bad, I'm hanging up, tell your dad to drink more hot water!"

Beep—beep—beep—

The busy signal hit Su Wanqing's face like a slap.

She gritted her teeth and dialed the Second Aunt's number.

"Second Aunt, my dad is..."

"Wanqing, Second Aunt was just looking for you! Your cousin is getting married, and we are still 100,000 short on the bride price. I heard your new boyfriend is a big boss? Can you see if you can lend Second Aunt some money first?"

Su Wanqing's hand trembled, and she almost dropped her phone: "Second Aunt, my dad is in emergency rescue..."

"What? Emergency rescue? Oh my, that's going to cost a lot of money! Wanqing, although we are relatives, we help in emergencies, not poverty. This heart disease is a bottomless pit, don't be too persistent, everyone has their own fate... Oh my, I have meat stewing on the stove, it's burning, it's burning!"

Another busy signal.

In just ten minutes, Su Wanqing made five calls.

The relatives who usually came over during the holidays to mooch a meal ran faster than rabbits the moment they heard the word "borrow money." Some cried poverty, some played dumb, and some even made sarcastic remarks, advising Su Guohua to "let it go."

Su Guohua sat by the bed, listening to those cold words on the phone, his back bending more and more, as if his spine had been pulled out.

"Stop calling."

Su Guohua's voice was hoarse, tears streaming down his face: "Daughter, stop calling. It's shameful. My life isn't worth that much, don't make yourself beg others and look at their faces for my sake."

As he spoke, he ripped off the needle on the back of his hand, blood instantly spurting out, dripping onto the pristine white sheets, red and blinding.

"Go! Let's go now! Even if I die, I want to die at home!" Su Guohua didn't care about his bleeding hand, pushed Liu Yumei aside, and prepared to rush out.

"Dad! I won't let you go!" Su Wanqing blocked the door firmly, crying until her throat was hoarse, "I'll pay this money! I have money! Chen Fan gave me a card!"

"That's his money! Not the Su family's!" Su Guohua roared desperately, "I, Su Guohua, have been poor my whole life; I cannot be a debt collector at the end!"

Just as things were in a complete mess.

Bang!

The ward door was kicked open from the outside.

The huge sound startled everyone in the room.

Chen Muyang stood at the door, his expensive custom-made suit slightly disheveled by the wind, fine beads of sweat hanging on his forehead. Behind him followed the panting Lin Wanqiu and the terrified driver, Old Zhang.

The young man stood tall and straight, his eyes as cold as icicles in the dead of winter. He scanned the room, his gaze landing on the bleeding back of Su Guohua's hand, and then looked at his mother, who was covered in tear stains.

"Who said that's someone else's money?"

Chen Muyang strode into the ward, his leather shoes making a dull sound on the floor. He carried an unquestionable sense of oppression, forcing Su Guohua, who was about to rush out the door, to retreat two steps.

"That is my money, and it is also your grandson's money."

Chen Muyang took out the black card Chen Fan had given him from his pocket, held it between two fingers, and raised it in front of Su Guohua: "Grandpa, the money in this card is enough to buy half of this hospital. If you lose your life just to save this bit of money, that is a slap in my face."

Su Guohua was stunned, looking at this grandson who was radiating such an aura, the thought of "saving money" actually wavered slightly.

But he still couldn't get over that mental hurdle: "Muyang, Grandpa knows you are filial. But this money... it's too much. 500,000, that's enough to buy a house in the county town..."

"500,000 is nothing."

Chen Muyang swore, stuffed the black card directly into the doctor's hand, his tone grim: "Swipe the card. Use the most expensive medicine, hire the best experts. If the money isn't enough, I'll transfer more. As long as the person is alive, it doesn't matter how much it costs."

The doctor held the heavy Centurion black card, his hand trembling slightly: "This... this doesn't need that much, a pre-payment of 100,000 is enough..."

"I told you to swipe a million!" Chen Muyang roared, his eyes full of bloodshot veins.

Just then, a burst of rapid and chaotic footsteps came from the end of the corridor, accompanied by the signature fawning voice of Dean Li Jishi.

"Mr. Chen! Please slow down! Watch out for the slippery floor! The expert team is already on the way!"

Before the person was seen, the voice was heard.

Immediately after, a man wearing flip-flops, big shorts, and holding an unfinished meat sandwich rushed to the ward door like a gust of wind.

Chen Fan had arrived.

He looked at the tragic scene in the room—his father-in-law's hand bleeding, his wife crying into a tear-stained mess, his son full of murderous intent.

Chen Fan threw the meat sandwich in his hand into the trash can, the playful expression on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by a domineering aura that made people want to kneel and worship.

He didn't look at the doctor, nor did he look at Chen Muyang, but walked straight to Su Guohua and reached out to press his hand on his father-in-law's bleeding hand.

"Dad, I heard someone thinks it's too expensive?"

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes, his tone as flat as if he were chatting about today's weather: "Then we won't treat it here. I just had someone buy a helicopter; it will land on the roof in twenty minutes. We'll go to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, stay in the best special ward, and have those academician old men line up to consult on your case."

Su Guohua was completely dumbfounded, his mouth wide open, his chin almost dropping to the ground: "Helicopter? Bought... bought one?"

Chen Fan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and took a tissue from his pocket to wipe the blood off his father-in-law's hand.

"Yeah, bought it. Our family is so poor that we only have money left, so please stop trying to save for me, okay?"