Just past six in the afternoon, Lin Jie exited the lobby of the first floor of Xiangtai Apartment and sat in the front passenger seat of a Mercedes SUV that had just stopped at the entrance.

While fastening his seatbelt, he asked, "Kexin, why did Uncle An suddenly think of inviting me to dinner?"

An Kexin drove the car into the traffic and shook her head, saying, "I'm not sure either. Maybe it's because Manqing's engagement is tomorrow, and Dad got a bit emotional and wants to personally discuss marriage with you?"

"We've already decided to get married after the hospital starts operating next year, so it shouldn't be because of that."

Lin Jie thought for a moment and guessed, "Could it be that since Kemeng starts school on Sunday, the family wants to have a meal together before that?"

"Maybe!"

An Kexin replied casually, turned her head to glance at Lin Jie, and laughed, "Are you feeling nervous? I distinctly remember that when you used to meet Dad, you were always calm and composed."

Lin Jie snorted lightly and said, "Things were different before. Back then, I was in the role of a benefactor and a doctor. In front of Uncle An, I had an absolute psychological advantage. How can it be the same now?"

He grumbled in a low voice, "Without explaining the reason, suddenly calling me for dinner, it's only natural that I overthink it a little."

An Kexin giggled and comforted him, "Even now, Dad doesn't see your role as purely a son-in-law. At the very least, he considers you as someone of equal standing."

"So, don't overthink. At least it won't be a dragon den or a Hongmen banquet; perhaps it's just an ordinary family dinner."

"I hope so!"

The two stopped discussing the topic and instead talked about matters related to the hospital...

Almost an hour later, Lin Jie and An Kexin arrived at the An Family home.

They didn't see An Weize in the living room, nor did they see An Kemeng; only the sound of cooking came from the kitchen.

This was the housekeeper hired by the An Family, preparing dinner.

"Kemeng should be in her room, busy with her summer homework. Let's go to the study to see Dad first."

Lin Jie nodded and followed An Kexin to the door of the study on the second floor.

After a light knock on the door, the two pushed it open and entered.

An Weize was standing with his hands behind his back, seemingly deep in thought as he looked at the scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

Hearing the sound, he slowly turned around and, seeing Lin Jie and An Kexin hand in hand, smiled and gestured to the sofa beside them, saying, "Sit down. I have something to discuss with you both."

Once the three were seated, An Weize softly asked, "Have you decided to offer a chance for Lin Jie's operation as an auction item at the charity dinner?"

"Yes, it's more or less decided!"

An Kexin replied cheerfully, "Dad, with Lin Jie's medical skills, this is almost equivalent to a life-saving opportunity."

"I reckon there's a good chance this auction item will be selected by the organizers for live auction at the dinner, perhaps even as the finale item."

"This will definitely raise the reputation and status of the Anlin Charity Fund..."

An Kexin spoke with enthusiasm, but Lin Jie noticed that An Weize's expression was somewhat grim.

He tugged at An Kexin's arm to stop her from speaking further, asking, "Uncle An, do you think this auction item we came up with might not be entirely appropriate?"

An Weize didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Lin Jie, when you invested in Anlin Hospital, we had an agreement that you would have the autonomy to choose patients, and no one could interfere."

"Does this autonomy in patient selection mean you set certain criteria for the patients you decide to treat?"

Recalling the three conditions he put forward back then, Lin Jie smiled a bit embarrassedly.

At that time, his relationship with the An Family wasn't particularly close, so those three conditions were a form of self-protection and precaution.

"You could call it a form of criteria."

Lin Jie thought for a moment and said, "After the hospital opens, we'll definitely implement a hierarchical treatment system."

"Patients who can't be treated by resident doctors are referred to attending doctors, those that attending doctors can't handle are passed to chief doctors. Patients that can't be treated by anyone else are then sent to me."

"Meanwhile, I'll also select certain patients with unique conditions or critical illnesses for treatment based on my research needs and schedule."

"Essentially, other than patients I personally select, those sent to me through other means are either undiagnosable complex cases or critical patients unable to be treated by others."

An Weize nodded and said, "Can I interpret this as saying that as long as patients come to Anlin Hospital seeking treatment, regardless of the severity of their condition, they should receive relatively appropriate care?"

Lin Jie thought briefly and nodded, "That's a fair assessment."

"However, this is an ideal situation. There will definitely be a series of issues during implementation."

He further explained, "For example, if an attending doctor is overconfident in their abilities, or lacks ability and fails to escalate cases, it might result in misdiagnoses or missed diagnoses."

"Or for myself, due to limitations in time, energy, or capability, I might not be able to attend to all critical or complex cases."

An Kexin, who had been listening quietly, suddenly seemed to understand what An Weize meant and said, "Dad, are you worried that in the ideal scenario Lin Jie described, our auction item might lose its value?"

"After all, if patients can get effective treatment just by coming to Anlin Hospital, then paying a lot of money to bid for such an opportunity would be redundant, wouldn't it?"

An Kexin picked up the teapot on the coffee table and poured three cups of tea, "Dad, this is like waiting in line versus a direct express pass. Given Lin Jie's medical skills, his schedule will undoubtedly be fully booked by then."

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