Chapter 91

That night, the two kerosene lamps in John's room remained lit.

The brightness of the kerosene lamps was clearly insufficient, but this did not hinder John from leaning over the table and writing fervently. On the last page of the stack of letter paper, he wrote earnestly: "Dear Grandpa, from the content of this letter, I believe you have probably already seen that I have decided to become a doctor, and this decision is unchangeable! Therefore, I humbly request that you agree to my decision and provide me with the urgent help I need!"

After writing this paragraph, John carefully checked the eight pages of the letter, and after confirming there were no issues, he signed his name.

"Phew..."

After putting down his pen, John let out a long breath.

The long eight pages, written as a letter to his grandfather, left John's hands feeling sore. Checking the time, it was already midnight, but he had no intention of resting. After sealing the letter to his grandfather, he immediately began writing another: "Dear Steve..."

Under the dim light, John's face was serious and focused as he wrote the letter to Steve Zola: "Steve, regarding the land we purchased in Manhattan, I have now made a decision: to build a hospital, a hospital that will be different from all the hospitals in New York! So I need your help. I have attached a simple blueprint in this letter, which basically outlines my requirements. I hope you can hire architectural experts to design and build a building that meets my needs..."

The events of that day left John very disappointed.

Originally, he had planned to stay in Europe for a few more years to build up more connections before returning. However, through today's events, he finally realized a fact: given his far-sightedness in medicine, if he could not convince them to follow his lead, even knowing many doctors would ultimately be meaningless!

He needed immense prestige, the kind that could make most doctors bow to his commands!

More prestige than Pasteur and Koch!

Originally, to avoid unnecessary trouble, John had planned to gradually build his reputation. But after today's events, he decided not to worry about this anymore.

What if he was only sixteen?

This era had geniuses like Edison, Tesla, and Einstein. Even in the medical field, there were countless experts from other disciplines. Why would he, a person who had been reborn, be afraid?

"Moreover, I need to improve the social status and income of doctors!"

Thinking of how Bergmann had rejected most of his proposals due to cost issues, a sharp light flashed in John's eyes, and he wrote even faster: "You don't need to worry about the cost and budget of this building. I will prepare sufficient funds for it. Even if it costs $100,000, I am willing to spend it, but I must emphasize that you must ensure that all the functions I marked on the blueprint are realized! Additionally, besides this building, I need you to help me purchase another piece of land nearby. It doesn't need to be too large, but at least an acre or so..."

Outside John's bedroom door, Hans stood quietly.

Seeing the faint light seeping through the door crack, the butler's face showed concern. After returning from the hospital that evening, John's expression had been very poor, and he had gone upstairs without even eating dinner. Now, finding that the young master had not yet rested, Hans naturally became even more worried.

However, after standing at the door for a while, Hans sighed inwardly and turned back to his room.

Behind him, the kerosene lamp in John's room continued to emit light and heat, illuminating the focused man as he wrote a letter that would influence the future of world medicine...

...

The next day was Wednesday. Since he didn't need to go to school or the hospital, John woke up very late, and Hans was considerate enough not to wake him.

However, just as John woke up at ten o'clock and had a quick breakfast, Hans hurried into the living room and handed him a telegram: "Sir, a telegram from your grandfather!"

"Oh?"

Having just written a letter yesterday, the arrival of a telegram from his grandfather surprised John. Recently, due to a lack of urgent matters, the two of them had rarely sent telegrams. After all, compared to the cost of writing a letter, telegrams were extremely expensive, charged by the letter, which was a bit much even for a wealthy person like John.

Upon opening it, John was stunned: "Grandpa is coming to Berlin for the New Year?"

"What? You mean Mr. Hunter is coming to Berlin?"

Hans, who had been waiting nearby, was also taken aback.

Having been the butler of the Hunter family for over a decade, Hans knew very well how old Mr. Hunter felt about returning to Germany, a topic he had never even mentioned. But now, saying he was coming to Berlin for the New Year, how could he not be shocked?

However, seeing the puzzled and confused John, Hans immediately understood.

"Yes, that's what the telegram says, and he should have already set sail!"

John's eyes widened, and his tone was very unpleasant.

Looking at the date of the telegram, it was from yesterday, and it said that old Mr. Hunter had boarded a ship to Britain on the same day. Along with him were Henry and Joshua, who were also heading to London and Berlin. This meant that John had no chance to send a telegram to dissuade him!

The old man was being too capricious!

Crumpling the telegram into a ball, John's face darkened like a storm cloud.

As a man in his sixties, old Mr. Hunter was undoubtedly very healthy, even robust! In recent years, with John's subtle reminders, he had started to exercise in the morning and evening to maintain his physical condition. However, for a transatlantic journey, his age was still a concern!

The steel-hulled steamships that had appeared in recent years had shortened the transatlantic journey by several days, but it would still take many more days to reach Berlin from Britain, and the journey would be arduous, as John well knew!

Although there were first-class cabins on the cruise ship and the care of Henry and Joshua along the way, what if...

Thinking about it, John couldn't help but pace back and forth in the dining room.

However, there was no wireless telegraph yet, and since old Mr. Hunter had already boarded the ship, there was no way to get him off. So, apart from feeling frustrated, John could only prepare to welcome his grandfather.

Thinking of this, John turned to the butler and said, "Mr. Alber, please prepare a room as soon as possible and get everything ready... Grandpa said he wants to stay in his hometown for a while, maybe two or three months!"

"Yes, sir."

Hans immediately nodded in agreement.

Back in the study, the news of the old man's arrival was so unexpected that John had no heart to do anything else. He decided to seriously consider the impact of old Mr. Hunter's arrival.

First and foremost was his decision to become a doctor.

The letter he wrote last night definitely wouldn't be sent, but how to convince old Mr. Hunter to support him, especially in building a hospital that would be considered "luxurious" by today's standards, was John's top priority! After all, the funds he had prepared for the hospital building could reach up to $100,000, and in 1884 New York, what did $100,000 mean?

An ordinary white-collar worker's annual income was only a few hundred dollars, and the rent for a room was just a few dollars a week!

Even with the high returns from the bicycle factory and Lego blocks starting this year, $100,000 was still a lot. If it were an investment in a factory, old Mr. Hunter would definitely support it, but building a hospital...

It was hard to imagine that the old man, who already had reservations about John becoming a doctor, would agree!

However, John was not one to compromise. He had not planned to become a doctor in this life, but now that he had made up his mind, no one could stop him, not even his only relative!

"So, I need to show Grandpa my determination, and I need more than that!"

John quickly found a solution.

It was actually quite simple. The reason old Mr. Hunter did not want John to become a doctor was, on one hand, because the status of doctors was not high and their income was too low. On the other hand, due to his performance in electric lights, batteries, bicycles, and building blocks, old Mr. Hunter had great expectations for John's talent!

Solving these two problems was not difficult for John.

The low income of doctors could be compensated for in other ways. Besides his shares in the bicycle factory and Lego blocks, John believed that if he could come up with something else in a short time, old Mr. Hunter would not oppose it. After all, with shares in many companies, the dividends alone would be enough for John to live comfortably. As for the other issue, although time was tight, achieving medical success before old Mr. Hunter left America was not a difficult task for John!

"If just the blood type theory seems a bit insufficient!"

John thought of the paper he had already prepared, but immediately shook his head. Even in the future, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist had a hard time promoting the blood type theory, let alone in this era?

After all, just ten years ago, a British doctor had confidently stated: "A wise and humane surgeon would never open the abdominal, thoracic, or cranial cavities for surgery. If that were the case, what would be the point of blood transfusions?"

"So..."

Thinking about the level of surgery in this era, John's eyebrows raised, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Some things definitely required time to promote patiently, but others could show results in a short time. For example, the right lower quadrant pain that most doctors had yet to understand was a good starting point...

(To be continued)

...r861

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