Chapter 246 - Valuable advice from elders (1/2)

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.