Chapter 246: Valuable advice from elders

Zhang Fan decided to purchase Ma Wentao's hospital. Back at Shao Hua's home, although Zhang Fan didn't want to give her parents any pressure, her parents would surely pay attention to such a major matter. Although Shao Hua's parents didn't mention their worries at nighttime when they saw him, they definitely weren't acting as casually as they used to. Suddenly running a hospital which would cost more than a million yuan? This was way too sudden. Shao Hua's parents had a hard time accepting this.

Although they treated Zhang Fan just like a son, for some things, there would still be a difference between a son-in-law and a son. Not to mention, Zhang Fan and Shao Hua still hadn't gotten married yet!

Zhang Fan's original plan was to ask one of his relatives to become the legal owner of the hospital. However, Shao Hua's father heard this, and suddenly interjected, "Don't count on any of your relatives for this. I'll be this legal representative and owner or whatever for your hospital! I'm getting old already, so I have nothing to worry about."

"Dad!" Shao Hua was a bit dissatisfied with this. It was common for young people to feel that older people couldn't keep up with the times.

However, Zhang Fan's eyes lit up at this suggestion. Still, Zhang Fan told Shao Hua's father, "Sir, the legal owner of the hospital will have to take legal responsibility."

"I'm someone with half a foot in the grave already. What do I have to be afraid of? Besides, you don't have many people that you know here. You probably won't feel assured with anyone else. I can at least help you watch things at the hospital."

"That's right. Listen to your father. If it wasn't for the fact that your father had a poor temper, he would likely be a retired government official by now!" Shao Hua's mother told Zhang Fan and Shao Hua.

"Why are you bringing this up again? This is such old history." Shao Hua's father glared at his wife. This was one of his biggest heartaches. Even if it was his wife, he didn't want her to mention it.

Shao Hua's mother knew that she couldn't help out, so she kept muttering as she left.

"That's how it will be, then. I'll help watch over the hospital for you. I don't understand anything about medicine, but it will be no problem for me to be a doorman," said Shao Hua's father.

"Dad!" Shao Hua pulled on her father's arm. Originally, she had already prepared herself to become the legal owner and representative of the hospital. This was because Zhang Fan couldn't possibly become the actual legal owner and representative, because the Bureau of Health wouldn't allow him to do so.

"Yeah. I can't help you much because of my age, but since we're mentioning this topic, the three of us should properly discuss things. Although I don't know much about this, I've already listened to a lot from you. Three ordinary people can beat Zhuge Liang, isn't that how the saying goes? Let's talk things over properly. What are your current plans?"

"I intend to focus on hand and foot surgery, which is an area that no public hospital likes to work on. I'll also add some sports medicine since the hospital has already had some success with sports medicine advertisements," Zhang Fan said after a moment of thought.

"You can make the decisions for such things. Do whatever you like with regards to professional matters. You don't need to listen to others' opinions. I think that you should already know what to do. What about how to run your business, then? You have so many stockholders in your hospital now. Are you still going to use the previous salary system or something else?"

"Yeah! I'll pay out stock dividends according to shares held at the end of year, and keep paying salaries as normal."

"I'm going to have to tell Shao Hua to keep some of her own money if that's what you're planning. You definitely won't be able to succeed like this. Since your hospital is staffed by your friends and coworkers, the most likely scenario is that everyone starts hating each other in the end," Shao Hua's father stated seriously.

Most of the time, Zhang Fan's impression of Shao Hua's father was that the latter was a rather stubborn retired old man who would often play Chinese chess. Shao Hua's father would also passionately go over to help any friend or neighbor who needed something. However, Shao Hua's father had never shown off any major abilities or foresight before. Zhang Fan thus didn't really understand what Shao Hua's father meant here.

"I don't think that will happen. There's plenty of patients to go around. Besides, the hospital already has a steady customer base," Zhang Fan said in some confusion. He was still too young to really understand what Shao Hua's father meant.

"I'm not talking about a lack of customers. Let's just talk about supermarkets or restaurants as an example. Just look at what you can find outside. Why are there good businesses and bad businesses? Besides, your hospital is run as a partnership since everyone has contributed. It will definitely fail unless you have a reasonable system," Shao Hua's father said confidently.

"Why act so mysterious? Just tell him what you know already." Although Shao Hua's mother was in the kitchen, she was still listening in on the conversation due to her concern.

"Hey! If you're bored, just go sit on the sofa. Stop messing around!" Shao Hua's father felt that the aura he had just built up just vanished due to his wife.

"Dad, please just tell me. We don't understand. Zhang Fan is actually quite worried as well." Shao Hua pulled on her father's arm. He was satisfied by this as he felt like his past glory had returned to him.

"When doing business, selling services is different from eating a meal together with your friends. There are benefits involved here. As long as benefits are involved, if there isn't a reasonable system, then great trouble will appear as time goes on. Without saying anything else, while your hospital's former President Ma could use his system, you can't use his system. Why is that? Let me explain to you." Shao Hua's father drank some tea and lit up a cigarette.

Shao Hua's father spoke again after spitting out so much smoke that it covered his face. It seemed as if he was reminiscing. "Back in the day, the farm we worked at was the most amazing farm around here. It had the largest machinery and most knowledgeable people. Everyone worked hard to improve things together. However, the glorious time lasted for only a few years before things started going downhill. The downhill slide only continued faster and faster until things collapsed in the end.

"Why would this happen? It's actually all because of benefits. At first, everyone was united and worked hard together. However, those who worked more and those who worked less were paid the same. As time went on, who wouldn't have some selfish thoughts? People started taking things from the farm to use in their own homes. The leaders also started enjoying much better foods. A nice farm became a place where everyone was only worried about themselves all the time."

"What does this have to do with the hospital?" Shao Hua asked in confusion.

"Don't interrupt. Please continue, Sir." Zhang Fan was beginning to understand.

"Human hearts will always fall to temptation. Especially in a partnership like yours, who does more work and who does less work, who gets more money and who gets less money, a proper system needs to be established from the very beginning so that everyone understands who gets what. Business is business. Friends are friends. You must draw the line clearly. If you don't, you won't have anything at all in the end. All the money will be lost, and your former friends will become your worst enemies."

"What do you think I should do, then?" Zhang Fan inquired.

"First of all, I agree with how you're having your doctors all invest in the hospital and become stockholders. You have quite some ambition yourself, managing to raise 1,000,000 yuan to invest into the hospital. That's very good. If people aren't willing to make sacrifices, then they won't be able to gain anything. You invested more than anyone, and you're also highly skilled. You've definitely gained the right of leadership in this hospital.

"Why is it that I'm saying that I agree with how you had your doctors invest in the hospital? There are several reasons for that. Firstly, the hospital is a place where skills matter. Without something concrete tying them here, trying to count on friendship or face isn't reliable. Everyone needs to eat and support themselves. That's why the most solid way to keep them here is through benefits. But, if you keep using the same old system as before, it won't work."

Zhang Fan poured a fresh cup of water for Shao Hua's father as he listened seriously to the latter's words.

The more that Shao Hua's father spoke, the more spirited he became. "Since we're going to run this business, we must run it properly. We can't be vague about anything. Otherwise, we won't even know how we died. To start with, we don't have much capital. We can't possibly compare to President Ma in this. He can use his vast personal wealth, but we can't. We can only use future expectations to give everyone confidence. The first step you must do is reduce everyone's salary to standard market value."

"What if everyone is unwilling to take the salary cut?" Shao Hua inquired.

"There will definitely be those who are dissatisfied. But, that's nothing to worry about as long as most of the doctors still stay on. Why is it that I agree with having the doctors become stockholders? It's actually quite good. Although they're regular employees, they'll all feel like they're the bosses. However, there can only be one person making the final decisions in the end. That will be you. You need to absolutely make sure of this.

"It's also absolutely necessary to lower everyone's salaries to market value. Firstly, this will reduce the pressure on your capital. Secondly, this will give them room for development. You can reduce their salaries, but you can also raise their bonuses. The bonuses will correspond directly to their work. As for dividends, there's no need to do them once a year. At first, start out with issuing dividends once per month. Once the hospital's business is on a proper track, then it will be no problem to only issue dividends once per year or even once every two years."

"What if others disagree?" Shao Hua asked rather naively.

"It's quite simple. Just let them leave! As long as most people stay on, including the most talented individuals, will it be that hard to hire new people? Letting the doctors become stockholders will really make them treat this hospital as their own. That will motivate them and improve their work efficiency. Lowering their salary but raising their bonuses will show them the benefits of working hard for extra money. You absolutely can't have people receiving the same salary for different amounts of work! For the early monthly dividend, the amount has to be higher than the standard bank interest. This way, everyone will have motivation. Also, you need to explain clearly to everyone who becomes a stockholder that it won't be that easy for them to leave as easily as they want! There will always be risks involved together with benefits. You can't be the one to take on all the risks by yourself. That will no longer be a business, that's just charity!"

"Oh!" Zhang Fan broke out in a cold sweat after hearing all this. This was quite different from his food seller days of selling instant noodles. Even a small hospital would be a workplace with several dozen employees. So many things would be involved in running a hospital. Only now did Zhang Fan realize that this wouldn't be simple at all!

Shao Hua's father had a proud expression as he saw how Zhang Fan had been awed by him!

"How should we start things, then?" Zhang Fan asked.

"That's simple. Start with an internal meeting. Do as Mao Zedong has taught us to. First talk about the difficulties, which will scare off those who aren't resolute. People who are easily shaken are the scariest type to have around. When things are going well, they'll want to put a brake on development, and when things aren't going well, they'll be the first to rebel.

"After that, unify everyone's way of thinking. This is actually quite similar to how you perform a surgery. There needs to be only one leading way of thinking. No matter if it's business or government, it's never the guests who get to eat first. Why is that? No matter which idea prevails in the end, there's always only one idea that will suppress the others. You must unify everyone under the same goal.

"After that is the simplest part. Create your own system that must be enforced quite strictly. For example, how much money will you earn for each surgery? How much money will another doctor earn for each surgery? Everything must be written down clearly and in great detail.

"The final part is the most difficult, as well as our greatest weakness. We'll have to contact various government bureaus in charge of different types of approval for your hospital. I don't have the ability to help you here!" Shao Hua's father's energy finally receded a bit here.

"Sir, just look at what you're saying. You're already so amazing. It's as if a fog has been lifted from around my eyes. I finally have some ideas on how to run the hospital now. I'll think about how to contact the government."

"Actually, there's a shortcut for this. If we don't have connections, then we'll use the method available for those without connections." Shao Hua's father had a rather sly smile.

"Dad!" Shao Hua was dissatisfied with him.

"Sigh! Daughters will always leave the family after growing up!" Shao Hua's father could tell that his daughter was dissatisfied with him, but there was no helping it. "This method is to hire a retired government official and give them a position in the hospital. Have this retired government official go contact other government officials. It would be best if this retired government official had some actual power. For some things, there's really a huge difference between having and not having connections.

"Besides, no matter if it's a hospital or supermarket, you're selling something, which means it's a business. You can't have everything be stale or friendly. This isn't a retirement home. You need to have competition and elimination. Only by having worries will you be alive. Those who are too content will die."

"Yes! I understand." Zhang Fan was quite mystified inside. 'I could never tell that Shao Hua's father was someone so amazing!'

Later that night, when both of Shao Hua's parents went to bed, Shao Hua's mother worriedly asked, "Just what do you think of Zhang Fan's hospital?"

"I don't think it will succeed!"

"Then you're not trying to stop him? You're even helping him come up with ideas!"

"Although I don't think it will succeed, that doesn't mean that it has no chance at all."

Shao Hua's mother didn't understand, so Shao Hua's father explained.

"Firstly, that Zhang Fan, he mostly thinks about his surgeries. Even though he's spending so much money now on his own hospital business, he's still unwilling to leave his job at the public hospital. This means that he's not doing this for the sake of money. Secondly, it will take time for people to get used to working together. As long as they can survive the first year, then the hospital business will become stable. Thirdly, that little brat Zhang Fan is getting harder and harder for me to see through. He's just so daring. Where does all his confidence come from!"

"Sigh! With you saying this, I'm getting even more worried. Will this be good or bad for us all?"

"What can we do about it? A path that we've chosen is one that we must finish, no matter if there's laughter or tears. Our daughter was the one who chose Zhang Fan! He can't let us rest assured at all. What's wrong with having a plain and simple life? Shao Hua had to choose a troublemaker like this!"

"Don't you say that to Shao Hua."

"I'm not stupid! Since she chose him, then we'll just do our very best to think of ideas to help him! Sigh, I won't be able to rest well in my old age!"

"You're probably secretly snickering. You being the legal owner and representative of the hospital is probably the equivalent of a government bureau section chief!"

"Section chief? Just go to sleep! You should just think about what food to make for tomorrow!" Shao Hua's father no longer wanted to continue this conversation!

Zhang Fan was quite worried as he sat around with Chen Qifa and Li Liang for a discussion with only the three of them. He considered the other two to be his core team for the hospital. They were currently discussing the issues that they needed to deal with.

The first problem was that there were no veteran doctors who had held a medical license for many years already. Since Ma Wentao had left, the expert doctors and directors from Raptor City had also left the hospital. To be honest, it wouldn't be possible to hire them on only a regular salary. Zhang Fan couldn't afford to hire them back on the higher salaries they wanted.

"It won't be possible to perform any surgeries without a single veteran doctor. The Bureau of Health would instantly shut us down," Zhang Fan stated.

"Bro, how about you invite an expert from Chasu City Hospital?" Li Liang suggested.

"That would probably be too much trouble. I have a candidate in mind," Chen Qifa mentioned as his eyes lit up.

"Hmm?" Zhang Fan questioningly looked over.

"Teacher Zhang, do you still remember Director Nuar?"

"How could I possibly forget him? Nuar, you say? He's now retired and resting at home. I don't think he would be interested in coming to Chasu City?"

"He'll definitely come. We don't need him to do any actual work. He just needs to sign his name on all our surgeries. His son is a bit of a wastrel. His meager retirement pension is probably gone instantly on the day that he receives it. Just give him some money, and he won't even have to do any real work here, so he'll definitely come," Chen Qifa stated confidently.

"Then let's contact him immediately. Shall I or will you?" Zhang Fan asked.

"Teacher, you should be the one to contact him. You're the one who's going to be in charge of the hospital, after all. Also, Li Liang, when at the hospital, don't address Zhang Fan as Bro anymore. Call him Director or Superintendent." Chen Qifa was telling both Li Liang and Zhang Fan that in the future, Zhang Fan needed to pay attention to elevating his own status! This was the world of adults. There was no fairy tale world here. There would only be those of higher rank who would suppress those of lower rank!

"Alright, I'll pay attention in the future," Zhang Fan hurriedly spoke before Li Liang could.

"Also, next up will be about each department's work. I'd like to split things up into two or three different teams," Zhang Fan added.

"Why split up into different teams?" Li Liang didn't understand, as he was still young and hadn't worked for long at a public hospital like Kuake City Hospital.

"Yes, I was going to suggest to you as well. Splitting up into teams is a must. Otherwise, everyone will just be doing no work while waiting for their salary within three months. Also, Teacher, you must split up the teams so that the teams are all equal in skill. It would be best if there are three teams instead of two. There will be too many people in a team if there's only two teams. If we do a good job, other places will definitely try to headhunt from us. It's not a big deal if they headhunt one or two people, but what's scary is if they poach an entire team. That would be really troublesome for us. That's why it's better for us to separate them into smaller teams. As long as they're competing with each other, it will make it more difficult for them to want to rebel!"

It was quite correct to say that older people would be slyer. Chen Qifa had worked at Kuake City Hospital for several decades already. He knew quite well about all the shady things at a hospital. Chen Qifa was truly treating Zhang Fan as his teacher; otherwise, he never would have explained such things.

"Yeah, that's what I think as well!" Actually, this was all Shao Hua's father's idea. Zhang Fan was simply borrowing the idea.

"After determining personnel assignments, there's also salary. With the doctors' current salaries at this private hospital, it would give me too much pressure to keep paying everyone the same salary. I want to lower the base salary and raise the bonuses, and also add monthly stock dividends. What do you two think?" Zhang Fan mentioned another one of Shao Hua's father's ideas.

"We can do that. Otherwise, there won't be any pressure on everyone." Li Liang supported whatever Zhang Fan said without even thinking about it. He really trusted Zhang Fan.

"You shouldn't be the one to say this at the meeting with everyone. Either myself or Li Liang should say it. You're the one who invested the most into the hospital, followed by Li Liang. You can't be the one to say it, as that will be a bit too much," Chen Qifa told him.

"I'll say it!" Li Liang immediately volunteered.

"How will you say it? Think about it by yourself and practice it several times. Tell me when you're ready, and I'll listen to your words." Although Chen Qifa was Zhang Fan's disciple, Li Liang was actually Chen Qifa's disciple. That was why Chen Qifa would adopt the tone of an elder with Li Liang. Still, one of Li Liang's good qualities was that he was willing to learn from others.

"Also, we need someone who specializes in interacting with government officials. I really don't have any idea who should do this." Zhang Fan wasn't from this area. It really would be difficult for him.

"Yeah, this is our weakness." Chen Qifa and Li Liang also fell silent as they contemplated.

"Let's do this for the time being. You can be in charge of government contacts for now. Once I find a more appropriate person, then you can focus fully on clinical treatment," Zhang Fan told Chen Qifa.

"Alright. I'm just worried that I won't be able to do a good enough job!"

Chen Qifa then spoke up again after some thought. "Right now, our hospital only has a C-arm X-ray, computed radiography, and ultrasound. We have no other major medical equipment. This is also a big problem."

"I've already contacted someone about this matter. It shouldn't be a problem," said Zhang Fan.

What had happened here? Yesterday, Zhang Fan contacted Li Qiong, who was Director Gao Shijun's medical equipment supplier, as he wasn't very well acquainted with any other medical equipment supplier.

Li Qiong had been really angry that Zhang Fan was the type who never cared about medical equipment one bit. Yet, there was nothing she could do about it.

But when she received a call from Zhang Fan, she immediately took a plane flight from Raptor City to Chasu City. While others might not know how important a talent like Zhang Fan would be, she knew quite clearly the importance of a talented doctor. Even if Zhang Fan only wanted her to buy some toothpaste for him, she would still personally fly over to do it for Zhang Fan right now.

"Director Zhang, I've been waiting all this time for you to summon me. You finally called me!" Li Qiong was wearing a suit, making herself appear quite professional. Her aura instantly transformed from coquettish to professional with this attire as she was really skilled at dressing herself up.

"You're being too polite! This time, I have a request to make of you!" Zhang Fan acted quite humble since he was the one who wanted something from her.

"Oh my, Director Zhang, this is too much. No need to be so polite with me. You can just call me Little Li."

"Alright then, I'll be direct and say everything. It's like this. I purchased a hospital, and right now it lacks some medical equipment," Zhang Fan told her.

"Oh, that's good. What medical equipment would you like?" Li Qiong immediately started losing interest. Typically, private hospitals only wanted older and cheaper medical equipment that was already outdated in order to save on the costs.

"I would like the most modern computed radiography technology and biochemical analyzer. I also need routine blood test and ultrasonography equipment, along with some smaller things. Do you have these in stock?" Zhang Fan was also a little sly himself. He wanted to see what he could get!

"Hey! No wonder Director Zhang wasn't interested in me before. So you were actually really rich! All of this together won't be cheap," Li Qiong looked with astonishment at Zhang Fan. Without mentioning anything else, the latest computed radiography technology would cost 2,000,000 yuan to start with! The newest biochemical analyzer would cost at least 3,000,000 yuan. Remember, these were only the starting prices! The prices wouldn't lower much even for a private hospital.

This was the plight of China. Major medical equipment was too expensive, and always came from other countries. Only the Chinese government would purchase Chinese-made medical equipment and issue it to hospitals. If the government gave money to a hospital for purchasing medical equipment, the hospital would never purchase Chinese-made medical equipment. If the hospital had a lot of money, it would choose European or American medical equipment. If the hospital had a medium amount of money, then it would choose Japanese medical equipment. If the hospital didn't have much money, then it would choose Korean medical equipment. If the hospital didn't have enough money, only then would it wait for the government to issue it Chinese-made medical equipment!

Normally, private hospitals would purchase used medical equipment that was no longer the newest edition. This would be much cheaper, and the medical equipment was usually still of good quality and quite usable. The price would depend on one's own connections and abilities. There was far too much involved in the medical equipment business!

"Do you have them in stock or not?" Zhang Fan asked with a chuckle.

"Yes, I do. I have both Chinese-made and imported. I have both high-end and low-end medical equipment," Li Qiong told him.

"Will it be alright if I buy them via loan from you?" Zhang Fan inquired.

"A loan! Um, that would make things difficult, Director Zhang." Li Qiong's expression of excitement was instantly wiped away as she started frowning. All of this medical equipment would be really expensive. What would happen if Zhang Fan was unable to finish paying back the loan? Even if she devoured him for his entire net worth, that still wouldn't be anywhere close to being enough to paying back the loan. That was why Li Qiong instantly refused.

"How about this, if a loan won't work, then we can enter a partnership." Zhang Fan tried another one of his little schemes. Today, he was here to absolutely conquer Li Qiong.

"What type of partnership? Actually, Director Zhang, with your current skill level, as long as you properly work hard, you'll be able to make plenty of money in just a few years. Why worry so much about running your own hospital, when there's the danger of losing all your money?" Li Qiong tried to guide Zhang Fan down her own preferred path for him.

"Hey, how could I possibly lose money? If I don't make money, I'll write my own name backwards from now on!" Although Zhang Fan was actually unsure of how well his hospital would do, when in front of Li Qiong, he knew he had to appear as confident as possible in order to convince her into agreeing to sell him the medical equipment on loan. "I also heard from Director Gao that you do everything great in all areas, President Li. That's why I came to find you. If it's impossible for you, I'll go talk to someone else instead. I'll stop troubling you." Zhang Fan began to use the threat of going to someone else instead as a haggling technique.

"Director Zhang, it's not that I don't want to, but selling to you on loan really is impossible."

"Really impossible?"

"Really impossible." Li Qiong really regretted personally coming here now. If only she had known, she would have made one of her sales managers come here instead.

"Let's do a partnership. Sell the medical equipment to me on loan. We can discuss how to split the profits. Don't refuse yet, and listen to what I have to say," Zhang Fan hurriedly said as he noticed that Li Qiong was furrowing her eyebrows in displeasure. "Currently, just about all patients pay their medical fees with the national medical insurance. Because their medical fees are all paid for with insurance, public hospitals don't have a lot of power regarding purchasing medical equipment. You probably also have a lot of competition. Additionally, this type of medical equipment is something that will become outdated within only three to four years."

"Of course not!" Li Qiong exclaimed.

"Then just say if you have a lot of competition or not! How many biochemical analyzers can you even sell in an entire year? My bet is that you only sell one on average every two or three years, am I right?"

"Yes, you're right."

"You see? And if a hospital wants to purchase medical equipment, they'll only want the newest medical equipment. They definitely won't want something that's two or three years old, even if it's never been used. So, each year that you can't sell off a major piece of medical equipment, it will lose a lot of value. Not only that, you probably have to pay for its storage and maintenance. Won't that also cost money? You might as well sell it to me on loan instead. Not only will that reduce your own upkeep, it can even bring economic benefits to you. I've already invested more than 1,000,000 yuan in my own hospital. Do you think that I'd really be willing to see all my money go down the drain?"

"Let me go make a phone call. Please excuse me!" Li Qiong went to go call her higher-ups. She wasn't actually the highest-ranking person in the medical equipment company she worked for.

"That's what's going on," Li Qiong said on the phone after explaining the current situation. "Also, this Doctor Zhang is the most skilled doctor in all of Chasu City. Even expert doctors from Raptor City come to learn from him."

"You should first go and confirm the condition of his hospital. If his hospital seems to be alright, then this could actually work. We do have several sets of medical equipment in storage that we're currently unable to sell. Although the big hospitals would probably have no interest, such medical equipment would already be considered really good for a private hospital."

"Understood!"

Li Qiong then went to go take a tour of Zhang Fan's hospital. After she finished looking around, she felt that she could indeed make money here.

"Superintendent Zhang, your hospital is too small! Not only that, you only provide such a limited amount of treatment types. You also don't have a large number of people coming in for physical examinations. This would be far too slow for paying off the loan."

Zhang Fan immediately could tell that there was hope that she would agree! He understood that having complaints meant that there was actual interest.

"Although this hospital isn't very large, a large hospital wouldn't be interested in the medical equipment you have in stock, don't you agree? Besides, why would we lack patients coming in for checkups? Just think about it. In the entire area around Chasu City's jurisdiction, we're the only hospital around that focuses on hand and foot surgery, so of course we won't lack patients. Besides, giving physical examinations isn't our main service. As long as we properly perform hand and foot surgeries here, that will definitely attract a large number of patients. How about it? You can enter a partnership with my hospital while it's just getting started. That will give you a good opportunity to negotiate your share of the profits. There won't be such a chance again once my hospital properly gets going."

"My company wants to become a stockholder in your hospital. We want that rather than just taking a portion of your profits. We'll directly use our medical equipment to become a stockholder in your hospital. We'll take care of all of the medical equipment maintenance for you. We can also provide you with basic medical equipment and medicine. You can definitely feel reassured with us." Li Qiong began her own attack.

"That won't be possible. What basic medical equipment would hand and foot surgery even use? At most, just some Kirschner wires. There's even less medicine that we need. We only need some common antibiotics, not much medicine other than that. Besides, if you want to become a stockholder, what percent of the stocks do you want? You also know already that for hand and foot surgery, the doctors are the most important. The medical equipment isn't actually that important. I'm only doing this in order to elevate the status of my hospital. In my opinion, there doesn't even need to be anything more than a single C-arm X-ray."

"Haha, Superintendent Zhang, I never expected that you wouldn't be simple at all. Let's all just be direct with each other. We're both in the medical field. I won't be able to fool you, and you can't scam me. We want to become a stockholder. Otherwise, this discussion won't continue."

Zhang Fan was actually still too inexperienced. For this type of negotiation, he should have invited at least one more medical equipment merchant. This way, Li Qiong would have been more pressured, and would be forced to lower her demands as she would have a competitor.

"How much percent stock do you want?"

"I've finished looking over your hospital. Your main expenses are probably just rent and paying everyone's salaries. I also calculated the value of your current medical equipment. At most, it's worth 3,000,000 yuan. Adding on hospital renovations and rent, the entire hospital is worth 4,000,000 yuan at most," Li Qiong said with a smile as she looked at Zhang Fan.

"Of course it's more than that. You sell new medical equipment, so you know how it is. Back when we purchased everything, it cost us at least 6,000,000 yuan." Zhang Fan was breaking out in a cold sweat because Li Qiong's analysis had been far too accurate.

"Alright, I'll count your hospital's value as 6,000,000 yuan, then. I can equip your hospital with 6,000,000 yuan's worth of medical equipment. In exchange, our company becomes a 50% stockholder of your hospital." Now that Li Qiong had begun her attack, she wouldn't rest until she obtained results.

"Forget it, then. I'll consider thinking of some other method." Zhang Fan instantly refused. He was thinking that perhaps he should try contacting orthopedic department #2 Director Wang Dehua's medical equipment merchant instead.

"40%. I can't go for any less than that." Li Qiong started panicking since Zhang Fan was threatening to leave.

"10%. I don't need the 6,000,000 yuan's worth of medical equipment that you offered me. I won't even have any place to put it all. I only need the medical equipment that I requested for. Also, you'll only have the dividends and the right to look through our finances. I'll still be in charge of everything else!" Zhang Fan was now standing up already. He didn't have much time. He couldn't afford to keep his hospital closed for a long period of time. Otherwise, his employees would lose all confidence, and the hospital would also lose all of its patients.

"Superintendent Zhang, even for just the medical equipment that you requested, you also wanted the most modern versions. 10% is way too little for that much value of medical equipment. Not to mention, you still want full management rights, so we won't feel secure at all. There's no need for you to rush. We can talk things over slowly."

"I don't have the free time right now. 15% at the very most. That's my limit. Feel free to call me if you agree to this. There won't be a chance for us to collaborate anymore by this time tomorrow. I'll be leaving now." Zhang Fan really did immediately leave after this. He had come to a realization that his hospital was the only hand and foot surgery specialization hospital in the entire area around Chasu City, but there would be plenty of medical equipment merchants other than the company that Li Qiong worked for.

The end result was that the boss of Li Qiong's company arrived in Chasu City before it was even noon in order to personally talk to Zhang Fan, who refused to budge on how much stock he would offer. In the end, they signed a contract agreement that Zhang Fan would give up 18% of his hospital's stocks in exchange for the medical equipment. Zhang Fan would retain all management rights. The medical equipment merchant wasn't actually that interested in the hospital itself. They were doing this as an investment in Zhang Fan, valuing his potential.

After Ma Wentao's hospital became Zhang Fan's hospital, not every doctor working there was confident that Zhang Fan would be able to properly run the hospital. While everyone knew that Zhang Fan was highly skilled, some were of the opinion that it would take more than just medical skills to properly run a hospital. Three of the doctors previously working for Ma Wentao resigned, although it was at least on friendly terms.

Chen Qifa had been absolutely correct regarding former Director Nuar. When Zhang Fan called Nuar, the latter instantly agreed to come be the hospital's veteran doctor in name who would rubber stamp every surgery. After retirement, Nuar had really withered. He was no longer an alcoholic. When he met with Zhang Fan, he wasn't as direct as he used to be. He seemed just like a scared old man. This was all due to the passing of time. Reality was just like a knife, cutting down someone who used to be department director into someone like this!

Zhang Fan finally finished all of the work he needed in order to start up his hospital. His hospital now officially opened for business!