This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

The few men who ran over saw the situation on the ground. They immediately dropped their shovels and other tools, and each carried one of the injured men on their backs as they headed downhill. Going up the mountain was easy, but coming down was treacherous, especially on a snow-covered path. They had initially planned to slide down, but now, carrying someone, they needed people to support them from behind and guide them from the front. The group stumbled as they began their descent, and Du Heng quickly took out his phone.

His first call went straight to Dong Yuezhang at the foot of the mountain. ”Dong, is there an ambulance coming up?”

”No.” Dong Yuezhang, watching the black smoke on the mountain gradually thin, had just begun to relax when Du Heng’s question made his heart leap into his throat. ”Did something happen to someone?”

Du Heng was agitated and had no time for pleasantries. ”The father and son who caused the fire fainted. The father, Ma Yuanghai, has emphysema. He inhaled a lot of dust fighting the fire and is now experiencing difficulty breathing. He needs emergency aid.”

”Then... then... what do we do now?” Dong Yuezhang panicked again. What kind of place is this? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a remote wilderness. Where can they find emergency aid?

When Du Heng heard Dong Yuezhang was at a loss, he decisively hung up and immediately called Du Xuejing.

However, Du Xuejing didn’t answer until the phone was about to stop ringing. Just as she picked up, Du Heng rounded a small bend on the downhill path, and the call dropped. He checked his phone; after that small bend, the signal had dropped to just one bar.

Du Heng stomped his foot in anger but had no choice but to turn back and climb to the previous mountain ridge. After finding a signal, he called Du Xuejing again. This time, she answered as soon as it rang.

Du Heng, gasping for breath, said immediately, ”Tingting, grab my black carry-on bag and two bottles of mineral water. Hurry to Grandpa and Grandma’s grave. Be quick!”

Without waiting for Du Xuejing’s response, Du Heng hung up again and called Yu Haiting, who was on duty today.

”Yu, at my place, the Du Family, Duke Village Brigade 5. One person is experiencing respiratory distress of pulmonary origin. Get an ambulance here right away.”

”Dean, is it where the fire was?”

”Yes, yes, right here. The patient has emphysema and inhaled a lot of smoke and dust. Make sure you have emergency supplies ready in the ambulance.”

”We’ve been prepared and will set off immediately.”

”There’s snow on the road up the mountain, be careful.” Hanging up, Du Heng couldn’t help but remind Yu Haiting.

After putting his phone away, Du Heng half-slid, half-ran downhill, scrambling over two field edges before catching up with the group cautiously making their way down.

Just then, Du Heng’s group encountered the firefighters heading up the mountain.

Without Du Heng needing to shout, Ma Yuanghai and his son were immediately taken over by the approaching firefighters.

Seeing the firefighters in their orange uniforms, Du Heng’s heart lifted. He quickened his pace downhill and shouted, ”Do you have water? Did you bring any water?”

The words were barely out of his mouth when someone produced a bottle of mineral water.

Overjoyed, Du Heng reached out and stopped the man carrying Ma Yuanghai. ”Stop! Stop for a moment and put him down.”

Du Heng hurried forward, took the offered mineral water, and began to clean Ma Yuanghai’s face. When cleaning his nasal and oral cavities, however, Du Heng’s actions were a bit rough. This was mainly because he had no suitable tools at hand, and Ma Yuanghai was only semi-conscious and couldn’t cooperate.

As he cleaned, though, Du Heng’s movements naturally became more careful.

Blisters!

There were blisters on Ma Yuanghai’s face and neck. When Du Heng washed the back of his hand, he found even more. Besides the blisters, many areas of his skin were red, dry, and wrinkled from the burns. Ma Yuanghai had been covered in black soot earlier, so Du Heng hadn’t noticed these. He was surprised to see Ma Yuanghai had so many burns.

”Get him down the mountain. Be careful not to break the blisters on his face; they’re very painful,” Du Heng urged the firefighters who took over, then immediately ran towards Ma Yuanghai’s son.

Cleaning Ma Yuanghai’s son was much easier, as he was more cooperative and suffered less. After the surface dust was washed away, many burns became visible, and the pain made the young man grit his teeth and grimace. However, he was strong and impressively didn’t let out any overly dramatic cries of pain.

Compared to his father, his burns were much lighter. Apart from one or two blisters on the back of his hand, the other areas were only mildly burned, appearing red and dry.

He seemed to have recovered some strength by now and no longer needed to be carried. With some assistance, he quickly hurried after his father.

Du Heng let out a breath. He looked at the small amount of water remaining, then glanced at the men who had hurried on ahead. He poured all the water into his mouth but didn’t swallow, merely rinsing his mouth before spitting it all out.

After crossing the gully, they reached the spot where the local leaders had gathered. Everyone was eager to know Ma Yuanghai’s condition. Dong Yuezhang even pulled Du Heng aside, wanting details.

But Du Heng had no time to waste explaining. ”Let go of me! If you delay me any longer, he might really be in danger.”

When Dong Yuezhang heard this, he quickly released his grip. Over the years, he had forgotten most of the medical knowledge he’d learned in university.

Catching his breath, Du Heng said quickly, ”Get a car ready. We need to get him down the mountain.”

With that, he ignored Dong Yuezhang and started shouting, ”Tingting, where are you? Du Xuejing, can you hear me? Hurry over!”

Du Xuejing, stuck in the crowd on the periphery, heard Du Heng’s voice. ”I’m here! I’m here!” she shouted anxiously, pushing her way through with Du Heng’s bag.

The moment Du Heng saw Du Xuejing, he took the black bag from his niece’s hand, immediately unzipped it, and reached for his needle tool kit.

Despite their rapid descent from the mountaintop, Ma Yuanghai had started muttering nonsensical talk, and his limbs began to twitch. His freshly cleaned face was turning a sickly green, his lips were purple, and his breathing grew alarmingly erratic.

Just as Du Heng took out his bag, Dong Yuezhang squeezed in again. ”Quick, use my car! The driver is already at the wheel.”

Du Heng paused his movement to get the needles. ”Don’t rush me. Not the car yet. Wait, just wait a moment.”

After rapidly weighing his options, Du Heng decided against using the car immediately. Ma Yuanghai’s burns could wait. His current symptoms—respiratory failure and arrhythmia—were critical. If he wasn’t treated immediately, he might not survive long enough to reach the incoming ambulance.

”Everyone, step back a bit! Don’t crowd around! Step back, step back!” Du Heng shouted, already resuming his previous actions. ”Someone, lift his shirt! Quickly!”

He took out his needle tool kit, grabbed a small vial of cotton balls soaked in alcohol from the bag, and quickly disinfected the needles. He then applied needles to Ma Yuanghai’s PC-06, the hollow at the base of his neck, a point on his inner wrist, the center of his chest, and a point on his lower leg—five acupoints in total—continuously using the strong stimulation method.

Only when Ma Yuanghai’s slight convulsions ceased did Du Heng switch to a moderate stimulation method. By then, sweat was rolling down Du Heng’s temples, washing clean, flesh-colored ’gullies’ through the soot on his face.

Once Ma Yuanghai’s breathing stabilized, Du Heng immediately began to remove the needles.

This had only temporarily stabilized Ma Yuanghai’s condition; it was a symptomatic treatment, not a true cure. His underlying emphysema remained, and the dust inhaled into his respiratory tract was still there. The root cause of his respiratory failure persisted. This had only bought them precious time to get him to the hospital.

”Lift him into the car! Keep him flat, and be gentle.” As the others helped lift Ma Yuanghai into the car, Du Heng quickly packed up his needle utensils, tossed the bag to Du Xuejing, and hurried to the vehicle.

”Put him in the back seat, and keep him flat.” Following Du Heng’s quick instructions, the car finally started, heading back the way they had come.

They were nearly halfway there, but Du Heng still hadn’t seen the Health Clinic’s ambulance. A glance at Ma Yuanghai in the back seat, whose breathing had become rapid again, made Du Heng feel a surge of anxiety mixed with a flicker of anger. This speed didn’t match Yu Haiting’s claim that they would set off immediately.

Did they leave late? Were they afraid to drive fast? Or did they go the wrong way? Or perhaps they had an accident because of the slippery road?

At this thought, Du Heng’s heart clenched.

Fortunately, after rounding the sharp bend by the school, they spotted the ambulance. It was at the bottom of the school’s steep slope, its engine roaring, but its wheels spinning uselessly, unable to gain any traction. A long trail of muddy ruts stretched out behind it. Clearly, the ambulance had only managed to get this far by having earth and stones piled under its wheels for grip.

Remembering that Dong Yuezhang had reached the fire in twenty minutes on foot, and now seeing the ambulance’s pathetic state—belching black smoke—Du Heng’s immediate thought was that this ambulance absolutely had to be replaced.

No time for further thought. Du Heng had Dong Yuezhang’s driver stop the car. He leaned out and shouted, ”Turn around! Turn around now!”

Getting up this slope had been hard, and turning around proved just as challenging. It took them nearly a minute of careful maneuvering before the car was finally pointed in the right direction.

Du Heng immediately called out to Yu Haiting and the others who had disembarked, ”Quick! Transfer the patient to the ambulance! He’s having trouble breathing!”

Yu Haiting, along with two doctors and three nurses, quickly transferred Ma Yuanghai without a word of unnecessary talk.

As Ma Yuanghai was placed in the ambulance and an oxygen mask was fitted over his face, Du Heng suddenly felt his entire body go limp, an overwhelming wave of fatigue washing over him.

The aches and pains he’d ignored until now surged to the forefront. He felt his calves trembling as he stood, his knees barely able to support his weight. The aftereffects of sudden, heavy physical labor—something his body wasn’t used to—made his heart pound.

The car door, though only a few steps away, seemed incredibly distant. He felt as if he’d collapse if he tried to lift a leg.