This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Following Du Xuejing’s gaze, everyone’s attention focused on Du Heng. After all, he was the one with the most say in the family now, but he was also in a difficult position.

Choosing a school and major should not only consider practicality but also respect the individual’s wishes. However, persuading someone to study medicine is like asking for divine retribution.

Although some argue that studying medicine is the best way for students from humble backgrounds to transcend their social class, because children from wealthy families supposedly can’t endure the hardships of being a doctor. What a load of bullshit, Du Heng thought.

Undergraduate Clinical Medicine students start with a minimum of five years. Ninety-nine percent of them must then pursue graduate studies; otherwise, they won’t find employment after graduation. A quick calculation shows that’s seven or eight years gone. Then, internships and standardized training consume another one or two years.

And during these nearly ten years, they don’t earn a single penny but still have to bear tuition and living expenses. Which family from a humble background can withstand that?

Take Du Heng himself, for example. If it weren’t for his classmate Dong’s help, he wouldn’t know what he’d be doing now.

Just look at the current Health Clinic: which of the associate or bachelor’s degree holders who get in don’t have connections?

Thus, studying medicine has never been the first choice for families from humble backgrounds to turn their lives around. Without some financial foundation, forget about lasting until they can earn money; they probably wouldn’t even be able to finish their studies.

And is it any easier after starting work? Just look at Du Heng and Wu Buwei—they are two living examples. Their state after starting work is even more exhausting and arduous than during their school days. Copying disease records, writing papers, applying for professional titles, learning new techniques, methods, and concepts, plus reviewing previous knowledge—when is there ever a moment of leisure?

So, persuading someone to study medicine is like asking for divine retribution. That saying isn’t false at all.

However, there are now many medical specializations available; it’s not necessary to study Clinical Medicine. It would be best to ask Du Xuejing about her thoughts first. ”Tingting, you can go to medical school, but have you decided what you want to study?”

Without hesitation, Du Xuejing said, ”I want to study traditional Chinese medicine.”

Du Ping nodded in relief. His younger brother Du Heng was his pride, and his brother’s current proficiency was evident to all. With Du Heng to help Du Xuejing, my daughter’s skills won’t be too bad, he believed.

But Du Heng scratched his head.

He knew his own business best; he was all too aware of how high the aptitude requirements were for traditional Chinese medicine. Although having a Master and a guide can make things progress twice as fast with half the effort, personal aptitude is even more crucial. Given Du Xuejing’s flighty nature, Du Heng wasn’t too keen on her studying traditional Chinese medicine, or even Clinical Medicine. If he had the choice, he would be more willing to teach his little nephew, Du Yi. Although the kid is mischievous, he can sit still and absorb himself in books.

Sometimes when Du Heng was reading, the boy would be making a ruckus nearby. Du Heng would grab him and give him a storybook, and he could stay quietly by his side for a whole afternoon.

”Tingting, if you really want to study medicine, I suggest you study Oral Medicine,” Du Heng said after some thought.

Not hearing what she had hoped for, Du Xuejing seemed a bit disappointed. ”Why?”

Du Heng explained to Du Xuejing, ”In Clinical Medicine, whether it’s traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine, both are very tiring—extremely tiring. But Oral Medicine is different; its work is relatively much lighter.

Moreover, this industry currently doesn’t have too many restrictions on educational qualifications. Once you graduate with a bachelor’s degree, you can directly choose employment. Of course, you can also choose to continue your studies; even if you pursue a doctorate, your Little Uncle can afford it.

Nowadays, as people’s living standards improve, they are paying more and more attention to oral health, and the demand for dentists is growing. Projects such as oral cleaning, oral care, orthodontics, dental fillings, and dental implants are all indispensable now.

After you graduate, find a clinic or hospital to gain experience for a couple of years. When you feel confident enough to work independently and want to be your own boss, your Little Uncle will sponsor you to open your own dental clinic. This way, you won’t be too tired, won’t have to be on call, and most importantly, the risks are low, and the profits are high.”

Du Ping and Zhang Sumei both listened with bright eyes. Zhang Sumei couldn’t help but ask, ”Xiao Heng, is being a dentist really that good?”

”Absolutely. Because this profession also involves aspects of plastic surgery and aesthetics, as long as your skills are good, you’ll never have to worry about a lack of patients. What’s more, its costs are low, but the profits are very good.”

Seeing her family so interested, Du Xuejing said with great dissatisfaction, ”A dentist... you’d be too embarrassed to even call yourself a doctor when you go out. If you encountered an emergency, you wouldn’t even dare to speak up. It’s utterly mortifying, a far cry from the prestige of those ’proper’ doctors.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Du Heng’s expression became a bit more serious. ”Tingting, your thinking is flawed. Oral Medicine and Clinical Medicine are both primary disciplines, parallel in status. The subjects it requires you to study are by no means fewer than those of other disciplines.

The reason you look down on dentistry is merely because you see other clinical fields dealing with life and death, while the Oral Department simply doesn’t handle emergencies. However, as far as I know, Periodontology and Mucosology within Oral Medicine are closely related to various chronic diseases in the body. If you truly master it, how could you possibly feel ashamed?

Moreover, being a doctor, regardless of the type, has a fundamental function: to treat patients’ conditions, alleviate their pain, and help everyone achieve a healthy body. This profession has never been about prestige.”

After listening to Du Heng’s words, Du Ping and his wife exchanged glances. They both felt that Oral Medicine might be an excellent choice. This was mainly because this major could satisfy their daughter’s desire to become a doctor without her having to work as hard as other doctors.

As for whether she would make money after graduation, that was a secondary consideration. For a girl, this profession was indeed very good. As parents, they didn’t demand their daughter to be infinitely glamorous or extremely wealthy. Their greatest wish was for her to have a stable job and live a relaxed, happy life.

Du Xuejing didn’t dare say anything more; she had just been intimidated by Du Heng’s stern expression.

In her memory, Du Heng had never spoken to her so seriously, not even during the college entrance examination, nor when she had insisted on visiting Xiao Ying who had jumped off a building. Du Heng had never shown such an expression before.

Also, her desire to study traditional Chinese medicine was influenced by Du Heng, not because she herself particularly liked it. It was just that over the past six months, Du Heng had become increasingly respected. On the few occasions she had seen him treating patients, she’d found him very cool and charismatic.

Ultimately, she didn’t really have a long-term, clear plan; she was just making decisions based on her feelings.

But this couldn’t be blamed on her, as her family had never cultivated this kind of awareness in her.

In the past two years, the most frequent exhortation she heard was to study hard, get good scores in the college entrance examination, and then attend a good university.

As for what kind of university, what kind of major, or what kind of work she would do in the future, no one had ever told her, and she herself had never seriously considered it.

Seeing the atmosphere was a bit heavy, Wang Shuqiu hurriedly tried to smooth things over. ”Oh, there are still a few days before she needs to submit her college preferences. Let Tingting think it over carefully, see what she wants to study. There’s still time to discuss it once she’s figured it out.”

Standing up, she pulled Du Xuejing along. ”Come on, accompany me to check the curtains I bought. If they don’t look good, I’ll have to rush to exchange them tomorrow.”

Saying that, she took Du Xuejing to the next room.

As soon as the person in question left, Du Ping and his wife wanted to ask Du Heng about the specifics of Oral Medicine, but Du Yi suddenly grabbed Du Heng’s hand and said, ”Little Uncle, I want to be a doctor too, a doctor just like you.”

Du Heng’s eyelids twitched. He looked at Du Yi with amusement. ”Are you sure you want to learn from me? No regrets?”

Du Yi nodded his little head with utmost sincerity. ”No regrets.”

”There are a lot of books to read, you know?”

”I can read them.”

”And you have to memorize them.”

”I’m very quick at memorizing texts; my teacher always praises me.”

Du Heng chuckled. This was something Du Yi himself had proposed; he couldn’t blame me for it later!

Instantly, Du Heng found a successor for his roomful of books; he even had ideas for Du Yi’s schedule after school each day.

You truly chose to ignore the path to heaven and instead barged into ’hell’ when there was no gate!