This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Zhou Yixian was taken aback for a moment.

He had actually had quite a few interactions with Du Heng: the man with a cerebral hemorrhage after being hit by a house beam; the two students suffering heatstroke during the college entrance examination, one of whose family members nearly made them scapegoats; and today’s abnormal delivery.

Four disease records, all critical illnesses.

Through the patients and treatment records, he had witnessed Du Heng’s medical skills and had come to recognize them.

Otherwise, regarding this collaboration, he wouldn’t have agreed so readily just because his workplace was the superior unit and he owed Du Heng a favor.

Without Du Heng’s medical skills as support, and given the Health Clinic’s level of expertise, their Emergency Department, as the referral unit for the Health Clinic, would only have to endlessly clean up their messes.

But now, this case involved heart failure caused by pulmonale, complicated by a cerebral crisis and acute renal failure; they were out of options, and it seemed there was no turning back.

Zhou Yixian frowned and asked, ”Why this suggestion?”

Hearing that Zhou Yixian didn’t directly refuse, the male doctor’s spirits lifted. ”Director, do you remember the patient Li Qiuhua we rescued in early May?”

Zhou Yixian thought for a moment but had no recollection. He dealt with so many emergency patients daily that it was impossible to remember every single one.

”Just tell me what happened.”

”In early May, Li Qiuhua, a villager from Shang Ling Village in Zhonghu Town, was brought in for emergency treatment due to heart failure caused by pulmonale. Three days after she was stabilized, her family took her home to prepare for her funeral.”

Zhou Yixian frowned. ”What does this have to do with calling Du Heng?”

The male doctor pursed his lips. ”Director, please be patient and hear me out. I didn’t pay much attention at the time and assumed the patient had passed away. But last week, Li Qiuhua actually came with her family for a cardiothoracic surgery review, and she even showed me her film and inspection sheet.”

”I was completely stunned at the time. The person I thought was dead was standing right in front of me. Other than some slight weakness, there were no other visible problems, and she walked and talked without any abnormalities.”

This time, Zhou Yixian didn’t speak, listening intently as the male doctor continued, knowing the story wasn’t over.

”I examined Li Qiuhua’s film. Her pulmonary fibrosis showed slight improvement, her heart failure was no longer an issue, and the respiratory failure she’d also been suffering from at the time had resolved when I met her.

I was incredibly surprised and asked where she had received treatment and what medicine she had taken. Li Qiuhua’s eldest son told me that Du Heng from Zhonghu Health Center had saved his mother. Just one night, and she had avoided imminent danger.”

Zhou Yixian felt his heart pound a few times and quickly took a deep breath to compose himself. ”Are you sure?”

”I’m sure. After Li Qiuhua left, I thought I might have misremembered, so I specifically pulled her treatment records. I also spoke to the doctor from cardiothoracic surgery who handled her follow-up, and he confirmed it.”

Zhou Yixian fell silent.

What to do? If what the male doctor said is true, should we ask for Du Heng’s help or not? If we do, what about my pride? We just had that unpleasant incident a couple of days ago. But a decision must be made quickly. Who knows when this patient might suddenly become critical again?

After a moment of rapid thought, Zhou Yixian said, ”Come with me to speak to the family. Let them make the decision.”

”Alright.”

Soon, the two found the family members waiting outside and explained Du Heng’s situation to them. ”You need to decide quickly whether to ask Doctor Du to come and take a look. Given the old man’s current condition, there might not be much time left.”

The family member they spoke to was a woman, and she couldn’t make the decision alone. ”Could you wait a moment? I need to call my brother. He went home to look after my father.”

”Please discuss it quickly. Also, I need to clarify one thing in advance: if you invite Doctor Du, you’ll need to pay an additional expert fee. This payment goes directly to the specialist and isn’t part of the hospital’s emergency treatment costs.”

”I understand. I’ll tell my brother.”

It wasn’t long before the woman hung up her phone. ”We’ll ask for his help.”

”Alright.”

「...」

After finishing with the last patient of the night, Du Heng returned to his office and comfortably stretched.

Treating so many patients by himself had made his waist incredibly sore.

”Finally done,” Du Heng muttered, picking up his cup to get some water.

Now that Wu Buwei is gone, I can’t even slack off if I want to, he thought. But then, another worry surfaced. Wu Buwei had already taken his professional practice exam. Barring any mishaps, he was sure to get his license. But that also means his father will use his connections to get him transferred back. How long that will take depends on how much his father is willing to spend. The transfer itself is almost certain, though, especially since I gave Wu Buwei second authorship on two papers. Looking back, I kind of regret doing that. After all the effort of training an assistant, it feels like all my hard work was just to benefit someone else. Sigh!

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.

The sudden ringing of the phone interrupted Du Heng’s reverie. He glanced at the caller ID: Zhou Yixian. This was a bit surprising. Although their respective workplaces collaborated, there was still some personal estrangement between them.

Du Heng had saved this phone number back in May when Zhou Yixian had called him while he was visiting Wang Shuqiu’s house.