Chapter 198 Malicious Competition
"By the way, Alan called me today. He said his daughter's illness is completely cured. He's very grateful to you and has lowered our purchase price by five percent. He also invited us over for dinner when we have time," Jennifer suddenly said.
James was not surprised. Considering the time, Alan's daughter should have recovered by now. So, he just responded with an "Oh" and didn't say much more, appearing very calm.
Jennifer looked at James with a surprised expression and said, "Your reaction is so calm. Don't you feel proud at all?"
"Well." James was a bit taken aback. Seeing Jennifer's puzzled expression, he suddenly realized something.
'Have I been performing too well lately? Is that what's making Jennifer suspicious?' he thought.
"Not really," James said with a smile. "After all, compared to curing Brandon, curing Alan's daughter was much simpler. There's nothing particularly proud about it."
Jennifer thought for a moment and found it somewhat reasonable. She nodded and didn't think further about it.
James had eaten too much and felt a bit bloated. He didn't go to sleep immediately but stayed in the living room for a while. When his stomach felt less full, he went back to the bedroom.
To his surprise, Jennifer was still awake and browsed on her phone, clearly typing and chatting with someone.
Jennifer rarely chatted with people at this hour, so James asked curiously, "Why aren't you asleep yet? Who are you chatting with?"
"Harmony," Jennifer replied. "She's chatting with me."
Harmony? Hearing this name, James instantly felt a bit nervous.
'Could she be telling Jennifer something?' he thought.
"Oh, what is she chatting with you about?" James pricked up his ears, trying to act nonchalant.
Jennifer didn't suspect anything and said, "Nothing much, just sharing her love life with me."
"Love life?" James's heart skipped a beat. He quickly glanced at Jennifer's expression and found it normal, without any unusual emotions. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you often chat about these things?" James asked as he lay down.
Jennifer simply answered, "Yes."
James suddenly thought of what Harmony had said at tonight's banquet. She knew he hadn't touched Jennifer in their five years of marriage, which showed how deep the issues they discussed were.
Thinking of a certain possibility, James shivered.
'No, I must avoid getting too close to Harmony in the future to prevent her from getting a hold on me,' he thought.
Fortunately, at the banquet tonight, he had been passive the whole time and hadn't betrayed Jennifer. Otherwise, if Jennifer found out, he would be in big trouble.
The next day, Jennifer got up first and went to the clinic, while James went to the market to buy groceries. After preparing lunch, he went to the clinic.
Upon arriving at the clinic, James was surprised to find that there were hardly any patients, making the place seem very quiet. Usually, at this time, the clinic was crowded, and patients had to queue up to see a doctor.
"Mr. Smith, you're here," a newly hired intern greeted James.
James nodded and asked, "Where's Dr. Johnson?"
The intern replied, "Dr. Johnson is seeing a patient."
"Oh, okay." James nodded. Just as he sat down and was about to read the newspaper, he heard a dissatisfied voice from the consultation room. "What? Such a complicated treatment for a skin allergy? Are you trying to rip us off?"
Jennifer's voice immediately followed. "Her skin allergy is quite severe. To cure it, she needs acupuncture treatment and at least a month of herbal medicine."
"Nonsense! I'd rather go to the clinic next door. The doctor there said two days of IV drips would cure it, and the medication he brought up is less," a woman said . "Mom, let's go to the clinic next door," her daughter added.
Then, the mother and daughter came out of the consultation room, their faces full of dissatisfaction.
James frowned. He had heard the conversation, but what made him bizarre was that there was a new clinic next door.
He walked into the consultation room and saw Jennifer looking worried. He asked, "What's going on?"
Seeing him, Jennifer sighed and said, "A clinic opened next door a couple of days ago and has been luring our patients away."
James was a bit surprised. "They managed to lure all our patients away in just two days? Are their medical skills that superior?"
Jennifer sneered and said indignantly, "Their medical skills may not be that superior, but their methods are certainly dirty."
At this point, two intern doctors also chimed in, "Yes, they are too despicable. They are spreading rumors everywhere that our clinic is inferior to their clinic. They even smear our reputation!"
Another intern doctor added, "Look, there are even fewer patients coming to our clinic today. They've all gone to their clinic. As a medical practitioner, using such methods to attract patients is utterly unethical!"
"But it doesn't stop their business from thriving," James said after hearing the interns' complaints. He had a general understanding now; the clinic next door was engaging in malicious competition.
Jennifer then said, "Actually, it's not a big deal if our business is bad. My original intention in becoming a doctor is to hope that all patients would get well soon. But I'm afraid they might use heavy medication in pursuit of efficiency. If they really do that, it would be the patients who suffer."
This was one of the things James admired about Jennifer. Unlike many doctors who saw medicine purely as a lucrative profession without much compassion, Jennifer's purpose in studying medicine was very pure—she wanted to cure diseases to the best of her ability and help patients.
"Don't worry. Lies will eventually be exposed. If the clinic next door is really using heavy medication, something will go wrong sooner or later. We just have to wait. Besides, didn't you say you've been feeling too tired lately? Now you can take a break," James said with a smile.
Jennifer nodded helplessly. Even if she sighed, it wouldn't change the fact that those patients had decided to go to the clinic next door. Moreover, she couldn't bring herself to smear her competitors maliciously. She could only wait, as James suggested.
Indeed, the entire afternoon passed with hardly any patients coming in, except for a few old customers who came for follow-ups and treatments.
In contrast, the clinic next door was bustling with people, with lines stretching out onto the street. It was exceptionally busy.
There were even scalpers selling registration tickets at high prices. One intern found out that a ticket originally priced at five dollars was being sold for as much as two hundred dollars at its peak.
In the following days, the Hall of Benevolent Medicine became increasingly deserted, to the point where it was almost empty, forming a stark contrast with the bustling clinic next door.
James observed that the clinic next door had three doctors, all relatively young, with the oldest being no more than thirty-five or thirty-six years old.
In their clinic, minor ailments like colds, fevers, skin allergies, and acute gastroenteritis were cured with a single injection, making the treatment very efficient and eliminating the need for prolonged medication. In this fast-paced society, such simple methods of treatment were naturally much more popular than the traditional treatment at the Hall of Benevolent Medicine.
Of course, while this treatment method was quick, the patients didn’t know its drawbacks. It caused significant harm to the body, often curing one ailment but lowering the patient's immunity and leading to another ailment.
James didn't particularly reject this treatment method. In his view, any treatment method that could cure patients was good medical practice.
However, it was clear that the clinic next door wasn't trying to outdo the Hall of Benevolent Medicine with superior medical skills but was using smear tactics.
Facing this dilemma, James couldn't help but think of the upcoming medical exchange conference in Pearl Peak City. The competition would surely be even more intense then.
Another day passed, and the Hall of Benevolent Medicine remained particularly quiet, with hardly any patients. Jennifer was fine with this and able to endure it, but the two interns were getting restless. Seeing the booming business of the clinic next door, their confidence began to waver.
After all, not everyone had a pure heart like Jennifer. They studied medicine mainly to make money.
And now, the popularity of the clinic next door was clearly higher. That clinic was bustling with business every day and making a lot of money, while their clinic was very quiet. This was quite a blow to them.
James noticed their psychological changes. He tried to counsel them, but it wasn't very effective, so he didn't continue to nag.
After getting off work that day, James, Jennifer, and the two interns went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Coincidentally, they ran into the three doctors from the clinic next door, and their tables were right next to each other.
Jennifer immediately frowned. She had no good feelings toward these three doctors and was about to change seats when one of them came over to greet them, "Oh, isn't this the doctors from the Hall of Benevolent Medicine? You're eating here too? What a coincidence."
Out of politeness, Jennifer nodded perfunctorily and didn't say anything more.
But the doctor clearly came to show off, saying, "Since we're all in the same profession, why not share a table? We can discuss medical skills, right?"
Jennifer coldly replied, "There is no need for that. We have nothing to discuss with you."
At this point, another doctor sneered and said, "What, aren't you the ones who claim to have superior medical skills, curing food poisoning without stomach pumping? Why don't you dare to discuss it with us now? Are you not confident in your skills?"
The other two doctors laughed along with him.
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