Due to a sharp drop in publicity, the new donations the Extraordinary Fund had received recently totaled less than one hundred thousand yuan.
The average cost of plastic surgery for a child with disabilities and deformities from a welfare institution was around one hundred thousand yuan.
At this rate, Yan Feifan estimated that without any new, large-sum donations, the fund’s more than fourteen million yuan would be depleted in just over a year.
Given the limited funds and the countless people in need of help, Yan Feifan established two principles for the fund’s use.
First, children from welfare institutions with disabilities and deformities would be given priority.
Yan Feifan didn’t have the extra manpower, resources, or energy to verify each applicant’s circumstances.
Working directly with children from welfare institutions effectively bypassed this verification process.
The second principle was to select cases that would help advance the surgical skills of Yan Feifan and his team, or further their medical research.
This wasn’t to say Yan Feifan was being selfish.
In fact, for many charitable projects led by individuals or companies, having a pragmatic goal was the only way to ensure the charity could continue its work effectively in the long run.
Yan Feifan’s idea was that if he came up with a new medical approach, he could proactively seek out suitable patients in financial hardship to treat.
At the same time, he could also select applicants he found interesting—cases that would help broaden his expertise and perspective.
Of course, this second principle would not be made public. It was the Extraordinary Fund’s unwritten rule for screening and selecting patients.
With limited resources, Yan Feifan, who held the reins, had the right to choose patients that would create a mutually beneficial outcome.
After dinner, Yan Feifan and Yu Suye sat on the living room sofa and began reviewing the small pile of patient applications.
Yan Feifan merely glanced at the first application before setting it aside.
Yan Ziruo curiously picked up the file. She saw that the applicant was a patient with late-stage liver cancer seeking aid for a transplant.
She looked over the file again, noting that the patient had a meager income and was supporting both aging parents and young children. She sighed sympathetically. "I hope this patient can get help from another charity."
"Sis, the chances are extremely low," Yu Suye said, her tone brutally honest.
She explained, "Patients with late-stage liver cancer like this have a very high risk of recurrence. The surgery and post-operative care are expensive, costing over a million yuan."
"The five-year survival rate is only about thirty percent, and many patients only live for another year or two."
"Charities rarely approve applications from patients like this."
Yan Ziruo fell silent for a moment before saying slowly, "Everyone says life is priceless, but in reality, it has a very clear price tag."
With a heavy heart, she put the file down and picked up the next one her brother had just discarded.
"Facial disfigurement from a motorcycle accident."
The graphic photos included with the application made Yan Ziruo look away, nearly making her throw up her dinner.
She turned to look at Yu Suye’s beautiful, flawless face to calm herself.
"Feifan, this person with the disfigurement is only seventeen, and this is your area of expertise."
"Why did you dismiss his case without a second glance?"
Yan Feifan replied without looking up from the file in his hands, "The information is fraudulent."
"Fraudulent?"
Yan Ziruo tossed the photos aside and picked up the application form again.
"It says here the accident happened on his family’s motorcycle, he has no insurance, and there’s a statement from his village confirming his family’s financial situation."
"Feifan, how can you tell it’s fraudulent?"
Yan Feifan reached over and pulled several itemized bills from the file in his sister’s hands.
"Sis, these are the bills for his initial treatment."
"Two broken ribs and a fractured right forearm. He was hospitalized for thirty-one days, and the daily room charge was two hundred and sixty yuan."
Yan Feifan explained, "A three-person room at our Affiliated Hospital is only eighty yuan a day."
"And he was at a local hospital, mind you."
"At that rate, he must have been staying in a private suite, at the very least."
"Also, look at the medications he was prescribed. They’re clearly the most expensive options among similar types of drugs."
Yan Feifan analyzed, "This indicates one of two things: either his family is well-off, or another party is responsible for his medical expenses."
At this, Yan Ziruo tossed the file down and said with disdain, "What is wrong with people?"
"I’ve heard of so many people who own houses and cars but still go on those crowdfunding sites, pretending to be poor to raise money. People have no integrity these days."
Yan Ziruo then noticed that her brother had been studying the file in his hands for a while now.
She leaned over. "Found one you’re interested in?"
Yan Feifan grunted in affirmation and sighed softly. "You could call it a true human tragedy."
His words made Yu Suye lean her head over to look as well.
After Yan Ziruo and Yu Suye briefly read through the application in Yan Feifan’s hands, the rims of their eyes turned red.
"Feifan, you have to accept this family’s application. If you don’t, don’t blame me for beating you up as your big sister."