Too Bad I Take Things Seriously-Chapter 493 - 206: You Really Can’t Go Into This Hospital!_2

The traditional diagnostic routine—observation, listening and smelling, inquiry, and palpation—was completed. Ordinarily, this would be followed by a prescription for some medicine costing just a few tens of yuan, and the patient would be on their way after taking it.

But Western medicine was different from traditional Chinese medicine. It usually started with inquiries about the medical condition and the patient’s own reactions, followed by blood tests, B-scans, color Doppler ultrasounds, and other such examinations. These were two different medical systems. Western medicine relied on scientific instruments for test results to determine the condition, which is why it incurred high testing fees.

Though their methods differed, both systems could achieve good results. But in terms of treatment costs, Western medicine was clearly much more expensive. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Go pay the fees. Come back for a follow-up consultation once the test results are out," Han Dongting said, noticing Qin Mu seemed a bit distracted and reminding him again.

The corner of Qin Mu’s mouth twitched. But, figuring ’nothing ventured, nothing gained,’ he decided to bite the bullet. He went straight to the front desk and paid 230 yuan.

After an hour, he completed both tests. Finally, with the results in hand, he returned to Han Dongting’s respiratory medicine consultation room.

Han Dongting took the test results and studied them intently for a while. Then he said, "There’s no inflammation, just simple nasal congestion. I’ll prescribe some nasal decongestants for you." As he spoke, his penmanship was swift and flowing as he wrote down several drug names.

Qin Mu: ...

Nasal congestion, my ass! He’d just diagnosed it as some kind of inflammation and tricked me into doing two sets of tests, costing 230 yuan.

Yet, after seeing the test results, Han Dongting showed no shame at all. He didn’t seem to think his judgment of the condition was problematic in the slightest.

RIP!

Han Dongting tore off the prescription slip, handed it to Qin Mu, and said, "Alright, take this to the pharmacy staff on the left and get your medicine."

Qin Mu looked at the prescription with its swift, flowing script in his hand and couldn’t help asking, "Get it right here in the hospital? Does the hospital have the medicine?"

His main purpose in coming this time was to check out the situation with the hospital and the pharmacy. According to Su Yongnian, a box of medicine at *that* pharmacy sold for 288 yuan.

"What kind of question is that? Of course, the hospital has medicine," Han Dongting said, his face immediately turning stern, a hint of displeasure in his voice.

Qin Mu gave a dry laugh. He had no choice but to take the prescription slip and go to the hospital’s internal pharmacy to get the medicine.

The two medicines Han Dongting prescribed weren’t expensive. The total cost was only a little over thirty yuan.

However, when he thought of the testing fees, Qin Mu couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

These kinds of testing fees were still compliant and legal. According to the ’Medical Law,’ registered hospitals had fees for various medical equipment tests, and these were strictly regulated. Tests like CT scans cost between one and two hundred yuan. This hospital’s testing fees hadn’t exceeded the limits. Moreover, the hospital hadn’t forced him to do them; he had chosen them himself. The prices were clearly listed, and he had paid voluntarily. Even if the tests showed no problems, the hospital wouldn’t bear any responsibility.

But what surprised him was that Han Dongting actually hadn’t told him to go to that pharmacy outside to buy medicine.

Could it be... my illness is too minor? Qin Mu frowned.

Carrying the medicine for his stuffy nose, he walked out of the hospital. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the pharmacy near the hospital entrance named ’Wanantang.’

The pharmacy wasn’t large, only about a hundred square meters. Various types of medicine were displayed on its shelves. At the entrance, a large advertising board was placed, stating: "Wanantang Promotion: Top up 1,000 get 200 free, the more you top up, the more you get. Special member prices, buy five get one free."

Even pharmacies are doing membership promotions now, Qin Mu mused with a sigh.

He remembered that in ancient times, the couplets at pharmacy entrances used to say, "May there be no illness in the world, and may our medicines gather dust on the shelves." But now, most pharmacy entrances advertised how much you’d save if you bought a certain amount of medicine, or they’d simply give away eggs... It was all uniformly aimed at stimulating consumption, encouraging others to buy medicine.

This kind of promotion was quite normal in other industries. But for pharmacies to engage in such marketing... it seemed extremely shameless. People bought medicine because they were afflicted by illness or pain. Yet pharmacies used these methods to encourage them to buy more. This was tantamount to hoping for more illness in the world, hoping for more suffering for others.

"What medicine are you looking to buy?" Inside the pharmacy, the owner, seeing Qin Mu standing at the entrance for some time, couldn’t help but ask impatiently.

This owner was also a middle-aged man, about forty years old. He had a beard and wore a white coat, looking like a doctor as well.

"My nose is a bit stuffy. I’d like to buy some medicine," Qin Mu said, glancing at the owner as he walked into the store.

"Your nose is a bit stuffy?" The owner looked at Qin Mu with surprise. He then walked to a shelf in the corner and took out a box of medicine. "This is for nasal congestion. Ten yuan and eighty cents."

This cheap? Qin Mu was stunned, finding it somewhat unbelievable. Su Yongnian had spent nearly 1,200 yuan here just to treat a cold.

"If it’s just a stuffy nose, this will do. Of course, there are more expensive ones..." The owner cast a sidelong glance at Qin Mu, then walked to a more conspicuous display shelf. He casually pulled out a box of medicine. "This one works wonders for nasal congestion. Eighty-seven yuan a box."

Qin Mu: ...

The two boxes of medicine were about the same size, but in terms of price, they were worlds apart. Just for a stuffy nose... there was medicine costing 87 yuan a box.

"I’ll look around myself first," Qin Mu said, declining the owner’s assistance. He then began to carefully observe the medicine shelves.

In this Wanantang pharmacy, the more expensive medicines were all placed in the most conspicuous positions.