Chapter 407: Chapter 406: Financial Freedom
A little past ten on Tuesday morning, Ye Lin, dressed in casual clothes and carrying a box of diapers, arrived at the Affiliated Hospital’s pediatric center.
It didn’t take her long to find Meng Yao in Infusion Room 5, who was with her daughter of just a few months as she got an IV drip.
"Mrs. Meng, how’s the little one? Is she any better?"
"Oh, Ye Lin, what are you doing here?"
Meng Yao greeted her, then sighed with distress. "The doctor said it’s developed into bronchitis. She’s going to be miserable for a few days."
At this, she glared at the young, bespectacled man sitting by the small hospital bed and ordered angrily, "Can’t you see my colleague is here? Give her your stool."
The bespectacled man didn’t dare to speak. He quickly stood up, handed his stool to Ye Lin, and took the box from her hands.
Ye Lin sat down and said politely, "Mrs. Meng, I wasn’t sure what gift to bring, so I just bought a box of diapers. I hope you two don’t mind something so practical."
Meng Yao smiled. "This gift is perfect."
"We left in such a hurry this morning, and my husband is so scatterbrained he forgot to bring diapers. I was just about to send him out to buy some."
At this, Meng Yao shot another glare at her husband, who was just standing there dumbly, and said resentfully, "Ye Lin, a word of advice: when you look for a boyfriend, make sure you find someone sharp."
"This whole ’honest and loyal’ thing just means you can’t count on them for anything."
Ye Lin chuckled. "Mrs. Meng, you don’t know how good you have it. Your husband is completely devoted to you..."
After a bit of small talk about their families and the baby’s condition, Ye Lin leaned closer to Meng Yao.
She said excitedly, "Mrs. Meng, Mrs. Meng! On my way here, I heard that our center’s financial account just received a transfer for five million."
Ye Lin made a gesture with her hand. "Mrs. Meng, that must be the incentive bonus we were promised, right?"
Seeing the glint in her eyes, Meng Yao chuckled. "You’re just wondering how much of that you’re going to get, aren’t you?"
Ye Lin gave an embarrassed smile. "I know Mr. Yan deserves most of the credit. We just did our part, and we’ll get every cent of the surgical allowances and overtime pay we’re due."
"But while Mr. Yan gets the lion’s share, those of us who helped should at least get a taste, right? A little bonus to show appreciation?"
Ye Lin then asked curiously, "Mrs. Meng, out of that five million, how much do you think Mr. Yan will get? Four million?"
Meng Yao shook her head. "The money is going through official accounts. The hospital will take at least half of it right off the top."
"No way?"
Ye Lin said, unconvinced, "But without Mr. Yan’s skills, they wouldn’t have gotten a single cent of that five million."
Meng Yao sighed softly. "That’s just how it is. Our plastic surgery center has always been a major source of income for the hospital."
Ye Lin looked disappointed. "So the hospital takes half, the center keeps some for itself, and Mr. Yan gets the lion’s share..."
"...Does that mean we’ll just get a few hundred as a token gesture?"
Meng Yao chuckled. "This is my first time dealing with an incentive bonus like this, too. I really can’t say how much it will be."
"However, Mr. Wang has a good reputation when it comes to bonuses. He’s not known for being stingy."
"And Mr. Yan doesn’t seem like a petty person either."
"I think we can still be a little hopeful. Maybe half a month’s salary? Or even a full month’s?"
Ye Lin’s lips formed a pout. "And here I was thinking it would be at least a few tens of thousands," she said, dejected. "Looks like I got my hopes up for nothing."
Meng Yao laughed. "Ye Lin, you’re really overthinking it."
"The work we did that night wasn’t that much more than what we usually do."
"That five-million-yuan bonus has very little to do with us. I’ll be perfectly happy with an extra few thousand."
After a pause, Meng Yao lowered her voice. "Ye Lin, I’ve got some news for you, too."
"We all know that a few days ago, Dr. Tang asked Dr. Ling from Huarong Medical Beauty to perform a restorative surgery on that bride-to-be..."
Ye Lin cut in eagerly, "Mrs. Meng, did the surgery fail, just as we expected?"
Meng Yao gave a small smile. "They’re not calling it a failure."
"A former colleague of mine who works at Zhiyin told me the results didn’t meet expectations."
"Apparently, Tang Zheng has been looking grim the past couple of days. His temper has gotten really bad, and he’s chewed out a lot of the nurses."
Ye Lin scoffed. "That’s what he gets for not listening to an expert. He’s paying the price now."
"Neither the director nor Mr. Yan approved, so he shouldn’t have been so stubborn and charged ahead."
"And now look. It’s a complete disaster."
Meng Yao added in a low voice, "I heard that the bride-to-be is a friend of Dr. Tang’s fiancée’s best friend."
"I also heard she originally planned on coming to our center for plastic surgery with Mr. Yan."
"I don’t know who talked her into it or what kind of guarantees she was given, but she ended up going to Zhiyin Medical Beauty instead."
Ye Lin clicked her tongue. "That’s what happens when you’re too easily swayed."
"Now she’s hideous, and the wedding is almost certainly off. What an absolute tragedy..."
Yan Feifan spent the entire morning in the neurosurgery director’s office, getting force-fed information by his teacher, Lo Jun.
At lunchtime, Yan Feifan got a call from Wang Chuan and headed over to the plastic surgery center.
When he arrived at Mr. Wang’s office, he found several delicious dishes already laid out on the coffee table in the seating area.
Yan Feifan didn’t stand on ceremony with Mr. Wang and sat right down to eat.
Halfway through the meal, Wang Chuan told him that the five-million-yuan incentive bonus from the superstar Ding Xuan had arrived, and that his share would be two million.
After waiting a moment, Wang Chuan saw that Yan Feifan had no particular reaction and was still busy eating, so he couldn’t help but ask, "You don’t have any objections?"
Yan Feifan shook his head. "No objections."
"You’re the one who negotiated the five million, sir. If I’d negotiated it myself, I would have asked for one million at most."
"To be getting two million... if I didn’t have to maintain some decorum while eating, I’d be laughing out loud with joy right now."
Wang Chuan chuckled. "As long as you don’t have any objections and you’re happy, that’s all that matters."
"Feifan, you must know that the Affiliated Hospital, as a public institution, is non-profit."
"Our plastic surgery center is the sole exception. We’re responsible for our own profits and losses, and every year we have to turn over a large portion of our revenue to the hospital to cover their shortfalls..."
Yan Feifan cut in, "Sir, you don’t need to explain."
"The Affiliated Hospital trained me. Now that I have the ability, it’s only right that I give back."
"Besides, with this income, I must be one of the top earners in the hospital now, right?"
Wang Chuan chuckled. "More than just ’one of the top.’ You’re probably number one."
As he spoke, he got up, went to his desk, and took seven thick red envelopes out of a drawer.
"Everyone gets a share. These are for the anesthesiologist, the surgical nurses, and the on-duty nurses from that night."
"I’ll let you be the good guy. You can hand them out."
Yan Feifan glanced over and saw that Mr. Wang had already prepared everything. The red envelopes were of varying thicknesses, and each had a name written on it.
The thickest one had the anesthesiologist’s name on it.
Yan Feifan estimated by sight that it probably contained about thirty thousand.
Meng Yao and Ye Lin’s envelopes looked like they held about twenty thousand each.
The thinnest ones, for the on-duty nurses, looked like they had two or three thousand.
Yan Feifan put the envelopes in his briefcase and then suggested, "Sir, everyone sends red envelopes through their phones these days. Giving out cash is such a hassle."
Wang Chuan shot him a look. "I’m not behind the times."
"Giving out cash not only helps with taxes, but the feeling of that heavy stack of bills in your hand is completely different."
"It’s especially meaningful for married men like Mr. Chen, the anesthesiologist."
"When you..."
Wang Chuan paused, then shook his head. "With your income, you’ll probably never understand the bitter struggle of a working-class married man trying every trick in the book to build up a secret stash of cash."
Yan Feifan retorted, "Sir, I know that feeling all too well. Ever since I was a kid, my older sister has managed all my money."
"I’ve only just recently gained my financial independence..."
After lunch, Yan Feifan hurried over to the trauma surgery department for instruction from Mrs. Yu.
A little after six in the evening, Yan Feifan was at the south gate of the Affiliated Hospital, where he got into a military vehicle that had come to pick him up and headed for the Armed Police General Hospital...
