This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

”No need for any special massage techniques. Just take a little of this ointment each time, apply it to all exposed skin, then gently rub it in, back and forth. That’s all.”

”Mmm, I’ve noted it down. You all carry on; I should head back. Nannan will overthink things if she’s alone for too long.” Wu Shengnan’s mother smiled and excused herself.

Stepping out of the office, she took several deep breaths, then turned and walked towards the nearby bathroom.

A few minutes later, an intelligent, elegant mother with a gentle smile reappeared before everyone.

In the office, Li Jianwei’s brow was tightly furrowed. ”Xiao Du, is there really no way to save the patient’s toes?”

Du Heng sighed and leaned back in his chair. ”It’s very difficult. The frostbite on the toes is too severe, and the lower limbs have suffered from ischemia for too long... Let’s wait two more days. If there’s no improvement within that time, we’ll have to ask Director Zhao to step in and remove these toes. Otherwise, if they’re left for too long, this ischemic necrosis will inevitably lead to infection, and it will spread to other areas.”

Li Jianwei knew Du Heng had done his utmost, and his own skills weren’t on par with Du Heng’s, so he said no more, nor did he offer any unconstructive suggestions. He simply stated, ”Just proceed with your treatment plan. I’ll contact Director Zhao.”

”Thank you, Teacher.”

Ever since agreeing to become Li Jianwei’s graduate student two days prior, Du Heng had changed his form of address for him.

This address, ”Teacher,” without using his name, made Gu Ping, who was standing nearby, start inwardly.

Gu Ping was no fool, nor was he some blockhead with zero emotional intelligence. From this form of address, he immediately grasped a possibility. ”Mr. Du, have you been admitted to Director Li’s graduate program?”

Du Heng smiled but didn’t intend to explain. ”More or less. After the New Year, once the university term begins, I should officially become Director Li’s student.”

He then glanced at Gu Ping. ”How about you? Want to apply for graduate studies too? You graduated the year before last, you’re not old, and a bachelor’s degree really isn’t quite enough these days.”

Gu Ping chuckled. ”I think I’ll wait a couple more years. Once you’re qualified to supervise students, Mr. Du, I’ll apply to be your graduate student.”

Although Du Heng didn’t know why Gu Ping was reluctant to pursue graduate studies, he wasn’t bothered by it; after all, in such matters, subjective desire always outweighed objective circumstances.

”Then you’ll have quite a wait,” Du Heng remarked casually.

However, Li Jianwei, standing beside them, laughed. ”Xiao Gu’s idea might not take that many years to realize.”

Suddenly, all eyes focused on Li Jianwei.

Li Jianwei said with a smile, ”Your Mr. Du will take just over three years at most to complete his graduate studies. If he can produce some research achievements this year, it might even be just two years. At that time, your Mr. Du will only face two remaining restrictions to qualify as a graduate student supervisor. One is the required years of work experience, and the other is the number of published papers and completed projects. As for papers and projects, Mr. Du already has some in hand. It’s estimated he’ll have several outputs before the end of this year. Regarding work experience, according to our province’s current regulations, a Master’s graduate needs ten years of clinical work experience. Although Mr. Du won’t meet this specific requirement upon his Master’s degree graduation, his total years of work experience are sufficient. We should be able to find a way around it by then; after all, special talents deserve special consideration.”

After Li Jianwei finished speaking, Du Heng and Gu Ping both widened their eyes, then stared at each other in disbelief. What had started as a joke now seemed like it could actually become a reality.

”Oh, by the way,” Li Jianwei added, ”Mr. Du is currently an assistant professor at our school. When he graduates, he just needs to pass the pre-assignment training qualification assessment for graduate mentors, and everything will be set.”

Gu Ping pursed his lips. ”In that case, I’ll wait two years. I want to be Mr. Du’s founding disciple!”

Du Heng’s mood brightened, and he chuckled. ”Alright, I’ll keep the position of your First Senior Disciple reserved for you.”

Afterward, everyone returned to their respective tasks. Around three o’clock in the afternoon, Du Heng gathered his supplies and went to give Wu Shengnan another acupuncture treatment.

Since Wu Shengnan’s father and grandfather were also present during this treatment, Du Heng barely spoke a word to her, keeping his head down and focusing intently on the procedure.

Once finished, he didn’t linger to chat, simply packed his things, and headed back.

On the way home, Du Xuejing was still immersed in the previous day’s joy, chattering away with someone on her phone and occasionally bursting into a silly giggle.

By the time they reached home, the sky had turned pitch black.

His sister-in-law was in the kitchen, the usual clatter of her chopping vegetables filling the air, while Du Yi sat on the sofa watching his favorite Ultraman, sometimes excitedly mimicking the moves.

Strangely, though, the boy had the TV volume very low today and was silent as he struck his poses.

Moreover, their big brother, who would usually be sitting on the sofa smoking at this hour, was nowhere to be seen. It was quite odd.

The moment Du Xuejing entered, she went to the kitchen to help her mother with dinner. Du Heng, after coming in, tossed his bag onto the sofa, plopped down beside Du Yi, and casually pulled the boy into his arms. ”Where’s your dad?”

Du Yi, finding Du Heng’s embrace restrictive, squirmed free and darted over to the front of the tea table to continue watching Ultraman battle monsters. ”Dad’s sleeping in the inner room.”

”What’s wrong with your dad? Going to bed this early?”

”Today, on the way to my younger maternal aunt’s house, Dad fell. He went to sleep as soon as he got back.”

Du Heng froze for a moment, then rose and walked towards his big brother’s bedroom.

Upon entering the bedroom, he found Du Ping lying diagonally on the bed, low moans occasionally escaping his nostrils.

Du Heng frowned, approached, and gently patted Du Ping. ”Bro, what’s wrong?”

Du Ping wasn’t asleep, just lying there. Hearing Du Heng’s question, he hummed softly and tried to turn over, but even that simple movement caused his features to contort as he sucked in sharp, pained breaths.

Du Heng quickly lent a hand, asking anxiously, ”What on earth happened to you?”

Once Du Ping was lying flat again, he let out a long sigh. ”Don’t even ask. Leaving Tingting’s younger maternal aunt’s house today, I wasn’t paying attention, stepped on an ice slide, and fell flat on my back. Nearly broke my back. Ever since I got up, I’ve had this sharp pain beneath my rib bones; even breathing makes it feel like my insides are twisting. And my right shoulder hurts like hell; I can’t lift it at all.”

Du Heng was exasperated. ”Then why didn’t you call me? What’s the use of just lying here? Come on, get up. Let me see what’s happened. Don’t tell me you’ve actually broken a rib.”

”You never have anything good to say, do you? Can’t you offer a little comfort for a change?” Du Ping grumbled in dissatisfaction, yet he slowly started to sit up with Du Heng’s assistance.

Hearing Du Ping’s words, Du Heng was utterly speechless. ”My dearest brother, honestly! Do you think if I say nice things, your potentially broken rib will magically un-break itself? I’m really at a loss with you. Couldn’t you have called me earlier? Why suffer like this?”

”Well, I figured you’d be back this evening anyway, so I didn’t want to bother you with a call.”

Du Heng was truly at a loss for words.

After helping his big brother sit up properly, Du Heng began to examine his injuries.

Once he had a clear idea, Du Heng let out a long breath, feeling an even greater sense of exasperated fondness for this somewhat obstinate big brother of his. ”Okay, it’s not too bad. Your rib bones are fine. However, you’ve trapped some air beneath your rib cage—what we call a ’qi deviation’.”

As he spoke, he reached out and squeezed Du Ping’s shoulder. The sudden pain made Du Ping lurch and cry out, ”You rotten egg! What do you think you’re doing?” Du Ping cursed directly at Du Heng; clearly, the pain was intense.

Du Heng looked at Du Ping with amusement. ”So, now you feel the pain, huh? Your shoulder is dislocated. I honestly don’t know how you managed to endure it until I got back.”

With a qi deviation, as long as you don’t move around too much, it generally isn’t very painful. But a dislocated shoulder is intensely painful on its own. For someone with a low pain tolerance, it’s enough to bring tears to their eyes. Moreover, even the slightest movement causes the pain to flare up again.