This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

With that mention of ”Mr. Du,” Du Heng shuddered.

He quickly waved his hand and said, ”Please don’t, absolutely don’t call me Teacher. I can’t accept that. Just call me Doctor Du.”

Unexpectedly, Xu Pinglin waved his hand nonchalantly. ”As the old saying goes, ’In learning, there is no order of precedence; the one who has attained is the teacher.’ Your knowledge is greater than his, you’re a few years older, and he has to learn from you. So, it’s only right to call you Teacher.”

He then turned his head and looked at Gu Ping. ”Take your Mr. Du with you. I’m busy with some things here, so I won’t go over.”

With a single sentence, Xu Pinglin cemented Du Heng’s status as a teacher.

Gu Ping, proving himself to be quick-witted, didn’t wait for Du Heng to demur and immediately said, ”Alright, Director.” He then turned to lead the way. ”Mr. Du, this way.”

Do I need you to show me the way? It’s not as if I don’t know where the Reception Room is.

He was genuinely a bit uneasy being called ”Teacher” by Gu Ping.

A teacher is one who imparts wisdom, instructs in skills, and resolves doubts! He didn’t have the thick skin some people possessed, to calmly accept being called ”Teacher.”

Before he could think of how to refuse the title, the two had already arrived outside the Reception Room.

From the outside looking in, the young man inside was restless, looking up from time to time as if searching for something, his eyes filled with anxiety.

When he saw Du Heng and Gu Ping through the glass, the young man stood up excitedly, took a step toward the door, and waited for the two to enter.

Upon entering, Gu Ping was the first to introduce. ”Mr. Du, this is the patient who came all the way from Linzhou to see you.”

”Let’s sit down and talk.” Du Heng gestured for the young man to sit, then pulled up a chair and sat beside him.

The young man seemed quite excited. The moment he sat down, he eagerly began, ”Hello, Doctor Du. I watched two of your live broadcasts in a row, and I am very impressed with your medical skills. So, I took leave this morning and came straight to find you. I hope you can cure my illness. I’m really being driven mad by this suffering.”

As the young man spoke, Du Heng carefully observed his appearance.

What was immediately visible was that the man was thin—very thin. It wasn’t the lean physique common in young people, but rather an emaciated look usually seen in those over fifty. Moreover, a few gray hairs were clearly visible at his temples.

”Live broadcast? What live broadcast?”

”It was the live broadcast yesterday of you treating gastric cancer. I was watching his daughter’s stream.”

Du Heng had a flash of understanding. ”Since you’re already here, there’s no need to rush. Let me ask you a few questions. How old are you, and what do you do for a living?”

”I’m 27. I’m a chemistry teacher at our county high school.”

”A high school teacher, eh? That must be tiring. Tell me about your situation. What’s wrong?”

The young man took a deep breath, calming himself slightly. ”About a year ago, I suddenly started feeling hungry all the time. I used to eat three regular meals a day, but from then on, I had to eat six or seven times a day. I always had to keep biscuits, bread, or something similar on hand; otherwise, when I got hungry, I’d immediately get acid reflux.

At the time, I thought I was just developing a better appetite. Since I was already quite thin, I was actually happy about it. But after about half a month, I hadn’t gained any weight at all; in fact, I’d become even thinner.”

Du Heng listened attentively and interjected at this point, ”Did you weigh yourself back then?”

”I did, definitely. I used to weigh 62 Kilograms. When I weighed myself again, I was down to 56 Kilograms. And as time went on, my stamina got worse and worse. I couldn’t even get through a single class; I’d have to sit down to teach for the last ten minutes or so.”

Du Heng estimated that the young man was about his own height, around 5.8 feet. A weight of 56 Kilograms was indeed too thin for that height.

”Have you been checked at other hospitals? What did the doctors say?”

”I went to our local County Hospital, and the doctor said I had hyperthyroidism. But after a period of treatment, there was no effect at all. Then that doctor recommended a TCM doctor to me.”

”You saw the TCM doctor? What did he say?”

”That TCM doctor said I had yin deficiency and fire prosperity. He prescribed Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill. I took two boxes, but didn’t see any effect.”

Du Heng picked up on this. ”Did they change your medicine? Was it Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill?”

At this remark, the young man’s face lit up with a mixture of surprise and joy. He asked with wide eyes, ”Doctor Du, how did you know that?”

Just as Du Heng was about to speak, he noticed Gu Ping beside him and recalled Xu Pinglin’s instruction. ”Doctor Gu, do you know?”

He wanted to test Gu Ping. If Gu Ping could answer correctly, it would show he had a good foundation. Then, Du Heng wouldn’t mind mentoring him, sharing more knowledge, and teaching him more. If he couldn’t even answer this, then Du Heng would keep him around out of consideration for Xu Pinglin, but he’d really just be an assistant doing odd jobs. As for how much he could learn, that would depend on his own aptitude.

Gu Ping knew a test like this would come; he understood such a test was inevitable. Otherwise, if anyone who claimed they wanted to be a disciple was accepted, the master would be worked to death.

Just as a disciple chooses a master, a master must also choose a disciple.

This was undoubtedly a two-way street.

Gu Ping had already researched Du Heng and had used connections, hoping to study under him. Similarly, Du Heng would surely want to assess him to see if he was suitable material.

So, Gu Ping didn’t rush to answer but silently began to ponder.

Du Heng did not prompt him, merely watching calmly. This, however, made the young patient anxious, though he didn’t dare to voice his questions.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Gu Ping spoke. ”That doctor diagnosed yin deficiency and fire prosperity. The Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill was used for nourishing yin, and later supplementing with Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill was for clearing fire.”

Du Heng listened without comment, merely turning his head to look at the young man again.

This was a very basic question. The key was whether he knew the medicinal properties of the Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill and the Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill.

Although Du Heng showed no reaction, Gu Ping quietly breathed a sigh of relief. No reaction was the best kind of reaction; it meant I answered correctly. I’ve passed the first hurdle.

And after hearing Gu Ping’s words, the young man felt even more confident about his trip to Jinzhou. If even someone who looks like an assistant can answer that, then Du Heng, who can cure gastric cancer, must be truly skilled!

”Right, right, that’s exactly what the doctor said at the time. He said that for my illness, just nourishing yin might not be enough, that I needed to add some fire-clearing medicine, so he prescribed that Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill.”

As the young man spoke, he opened his bag and took out several medicine boxes. ”But after taking it for two weeks, there was still no effect. Then, that doctor told me directly to Seek Someone Else More Capable.”

This doctor was quite direct, actually telling him to Seek Someone Else More Capable.

”Doctor Du, I came to find you today to see if you can diagnose and treat me, to figure out what exactly is wrong with me. Even if I’m going to die, I don’t want to die so cluelessly.”

Du Heng leaned forward slightly. ”Don’t say such disheartening things. Since you came to me, you should have some faith in me. Come, extend your hand. Let me take your pulse and do an examination.”

While Du Heng was taking the patient’s pulse, he asked Gu Ping beside him, ”Have the basic checks been done?”

Gu Ping hurriedly handed the disease record to Du Heng. ”Blood pressure, pulse, electrocardiogram—all these have been done. Apart from a slightly fast heart rate, everything else is normal.”