This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

As soon as they entered the door, two familiar figures stood up. It was Zhu Fanzhong and his daughter, Zhu Minyan.

When Zhu Minyan saw Du Heng, her face immediately bloomed into a smile like a flower. However, with her father and others present, she didn’t show the same warmth as when they were in the Capital.

She just softly called, ”Du.” Then Du Xuejing, who was also happy, pulled her into her bedroom.

Zhu Fanzhong, unlike his daughter’s warmth, became a bit more restrained. He called out, ”President Du,” and then stood respectfully to the side.

His restraint, however, made Du Heng feel a bit embarrassed.

Fortunately, Du Heng’s older brother was at home and chatted with Zhu Fanzhong, quickly easing the slightly awkward atmosphere. This allowed Du Heng and Zhu Fanzhong to find topics they could both talk about.

When they finally relaxed, Du Heng asked Zhu Fanzhong, ”Brother Zhu, has your appendix bothered you again?”

”No, after your treatment last time, it never acted up again. Moreover, my stomach hasn’t hurt at all.” Zhu Fanzhong had come to pay Du Heng a New Year’s visit, genuinely intending to thank him for saving both his and his daughter’s lives.

Not to mention the danger of his daughter’s malignant lymphoma, which everyone knew about, but his own condition at that time was no less serious.

He had later heard from others that with appendicitis and peritonitis, if he had undergone a laparotomy, he might have needed further abdominal washout procedures every few years. Not only would he suffer, but it was uncertain how long he might live.

Now, with his daughter healthy and back in school, and he himself as normal as anyone else, how could he not visit Du Heng for the New Year? He resolved to visit Du Heng every year in the future.

It was just that the current occasion and timing weren’t right; otherwise, he genuinely had the urge to kowtow to Du Heng.

Seeing Zhu Fanzhong’s grateful face, Du Heng just smiled and didn’t take it to heart. Instead, he said with a smile, ”During these New Year holidays, don’t overeat and overdrink. After the seventh day of the New Year, you should go to Municipal First Hospital to have your appendix removed. Don’t let that thing stay in your stomach and cause problems.”

Zhu Fanzhong, his expression full of emotion, stiffened for a moment. He asked in confusion, ”I feel fine now, and there’s no discomfort at all. Why should I have it removed?”

Honestly, after what had happened before the New Year, he was genuinely afraid of hospitals. At the same time, he was afraid of surgery and, even more so, of spending money.

Du Heng explained, ”You may feel fine now, but after what happened last time, your appendix is at risk of becoming inflamed and suppurating again at any time. If you were to develop peritonitis again then, and treatment was even slightly delayed, it could cost you your life.

It’s better to take advantage of your current good health and have this useless culprit removed once and for all, solving the problem for good.”

Zhu Fanzhong felt no internal struggle.

He was afraid of going to the hospital, but he now also believed in Du Heng implicitly, especially regarding medical matters. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his trust was absolute.

Hearing Du Heng explain the possible consequences, his mind raced for a moment, and he immediately agreed, saying he would go to Municipal First Hospital for surgery right after the New Year holiday.

Regarding the appendectomy, Du Heng had actually considered having Zhu Fanzhong get it done at the Health Clinic.

But then he thought about the Health Clinic’s operating room and quickly dismissed this impractical idea.

Regardless of whether anyone at the Health Clinic could perform the surgery, Du Heng felt that operating in that room would be less preferable than doing so in the hospital’s Hall.

He had always felt that the hospital’s Hall was cleaner than that operating room.

There was a very unfortunate, or perhaps interesting, custom in Central Lake.

When visiting someone’s home, guests might be chatting happily, but just as the meal was about to be served, they would stand up to leave.

Some people were resolute about not eating, no matter how the host tried to persuade them to stay. They would insist on leaving, even if it led to an argument. It was as if to say, ”We can drink your family’s water, but we absolutely cannot eat your food.”

Others wouldn’t be so firm in their refusal. After strong insistence from the host, they would eventually sit down at the dining table.

This was less common among relatives, but if it involved neighbors or fellow villagers, the scene of one side urging the guests to stay and the other insisting on leaving often resembled a battle.

Today, Zhu Fanzhong was behaving this way. Seeing that the dishes cooked by Du Heng’s sister-in-law were about to be served, the middle-aged man stood up, insisting he had to leave, with an air that suggested he couldn’t be stopped.

His daughter, Zhu Minyan, on the other hand, was quite amusing, showing a very strong desire to stay for dinner.

Although she didn’t explicitly say she wanted to stay and had started to move towards the door at her father’s urging, her little mouth was pouting high, and the reluctance was clearly written all over her face.

Even more strikingly, while Zhu Fanzhong, under Du Ping’s attempts to detain him, had already stepped out of the room’s door, Zhu Minyan had barely moved two meters from where she started.

Du Xuejing was also particularly fond of Zhu Minyan. After all, they had attended the same middle school, went to university in the same city, and were peers with only a year’s age difference. They had countless things to talk about.

She paid no mind to whether Zhu Fanzhong was determined to leave or not, simply pulling Zhu Minyan forcefully to her side, sitting her down at the dining table, and refusing to let go.

Du Heng couldn’t stand this tug-of-war of politeness and directly stepped in with his elder brother to persuade Zhu Fanzhong to stay.

Zhu Fanzhong might resist Du Ping, but he held Du Heng, this young man, in high regard. As soon as Du Heng reached out and pulled him a couple of times, he sat down at the dining table, his face flushing.

And so, the dinner that should have started ten minutes prior was delayed for over ten more minutes before they finally picked up their chopsticks.

Since it was a somewhat coerced gathering, the atmosphere was a bit stiff. Du Ping tried to break the ice with a topic, ”Brother Zhu, do you know any suitable girls? Could you introduce one to my younger brother? My brother is a good man in every way, but he’s already thirty and doesn’t even have a partner. It’s quite worrying.”

As it turned out, this topic immediately relaxed Zhu Fanzhong. He glanced at Du Heng and said, ”President Du is now the Dean of the Health Clinic, earns a good salary, and is highly skilled. He should find a girl from the city.

The girls I know are all from our countryside; they might not be a good match for President Du, and he might not be interested in them.”

Du Ping shook his head. ”It doesn’t matter, Brother Zhu. If you know any good girls, please introduce one to this hapless brother of mine. He’s thirty years old; any girl would be a good match. Besides, he agreed to it himself; he told me last time.”

Then, looking at Du Heng, he said, ”You said it yourself, didn’t you? That you wanted me to help you find a partner?”

Du Heng felt rather helpless. He hadn’t expected his elder brother to become so fixated on his marriage. Seeing his brother’s earnest gaze, he nodded sincerely and then said to Zhu Fanzhong with a smile, ”Brother Zhu, if you come across anyone suitable, please do introduce us.”

Only then did Zhu Fanzhong truly believe this was serious, and he laughed along. ”Alright, no problem. I’ll help President Du ask around when I get back.”

Zhu Fanzhong wasn’t just saying this to be polite; he genuinely took this matter seriously and planned to start asking around for suitable girls as soon as he got back.

”President Du, do you have any requirements?”

”No particular requirements, Brother Zhu. As long as you help screen them first, that would be fine.”

Zhu Fanzhong, however, shook his head. ”That won’t do. President Du, with your qualifications—you have the looks and the job—if you don’t set any conditions for the woman, I’m afraid no girl would dare to agree to a blind date with you.”

Seeing Zhu Fanzhong was serious, Du Heng had to say, ”She should have a decent appearance, not be overweight, and most importantly, come from a family with good values. Please don’t look for girls from families where they like to gossip, stir up trouble, or where siblings don’t get along.”

”What about education? Or her job? Do you have any requirements for those?”