This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

He might have been worried elsewhere, but in Central Lake, he wasn’t worried at all. Although this was his hometown, he still had to admit that the people here, especially those who still worked the land, were largely unambitious, weak, selfish, timid, and prone to bullying the weak while fearing the strong. These traits had become indelible marks on the men of this place. You wouldn’t easily see them actually strike someone with a hoe unless they were pushed to the absolute limit. This was especially true in places like Yangjiagou—neither rich nor poor—where these characteristics were even more pronounced. People always said that rogues hailed from impoverished and harsh lands, but true rogues, he thought, emerged from these middling sorts of places—neither one extreme nor the other.

In relatively affluent areas, like Duke Village, people tended to be more rational, prioritizing their interests most of the time. There, fighting wasn’t the primary means of resolving problems. People might argue fiercely, even spit, and resort to underhanded tactics—like casually tossing poisoned bread to your sheep while passing by, or spraying herbicide on your wheat field in the dead of night. In truly impoverished areas, people were often simple, perhaps even to the point of naivety. Most abided by the adages that ’to suffer a loss is a blessing’ and ’to yield a step ensures peace.’ When these types truly got angry, they wouldn’t charge in aggressively. Instead, they’d calmly approach, strike your head with a hoe, and then break your legs.

Moreover, in the Northwest, there wasn’t a strong concept of extended family or clan. Even if people shared the same surname, or even the same grandfather and father, everyone mostly looked out for their own immediate family. When conflicts did turn violent, it was most often between those with the closest blood ties. So, he’d never seriously considered the possibility of being mobbed.

Seeing the boisterous man before him, his face contorted with menace, Du Heng stood up and pulled Wu Buwei behind him.

”Senior Brother?”

”Step back.”

As he spoke, he tugged Wu Buwei further back.

Then, pointing at the man holding the hoe, he berated him, ”What do you think you’re doing? Tell me, what are you trying to do?”

At Du Heng’s rebuke, the man’s hoe hung awkwardly in mid-air. But when he saw the mocking gazes of the three old ladies beside him, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

At this, Du Heng took another step forward, pressing closer to the man. ”You want to hit me? Go on, try it! See if I don’t have you locked up for good! Practicing medicine without a license, recklessly prescribing medicine, and now you want to assault someone? Are you trying to get your whole family thrown in jail to live off the state?”

Although he knew the man was mostly bark and no bite, Du Heng remained vigilant; you never knew when someone like that might just snap.

As he closed in on the still-hesitating man, Du Heng snatched the hoe from his grasp. ”Call your father! You’re completely out of line!”

”You just wait!”

His face flushing red after having the hoe taken, the man quickly ran out. Then, all the chattering women from the doorway swarmed in.

Du Heng narrowed his eyes. Another typical Central Lake spectacle. In conflicts like this, it was always the women sent to the front lines. They couldn’t fight, but they could curse. If their curses didn’t kill you, they’d certainly sicken you with disgust. However, today, this tactic didn’t seem to be very effective.

Originally, hearing the chattering at the door, Du Heng had known what to expect and had even prepared his retorts for these women.

But when the five women actually entered, their tune changed.

”I say, Second Aunt Wa, what on earth are you all trying to pull? Hurry up and apologize to President Du.”

”Second Sister-in-law, I’ve told you before, you only finished elementary school and can barely recognize many characters. How can you prescribe medicine for patients? That’s bound to cause problems! It’s fortunate President Du discovered this before anything serious happened. This is for your own good. Hurry out and apologize.”

”Second Sister-in-law, there’s no end to making money, but we can’t lose our conscience. President Du is practically one of our own. Discovering this before a real problem occurred, he’s actually helped you.”

The five women who entered all started to admonish Yang’s second daughter-in-law, and in doing so, completely laid bare the questionable dealings of both her and Yang Zhengnong.

This turn of events truly surprised Du Heng. But it was also clear that Yang Zhengnong and his second daughter-in-law seemed to have thoroughly angered the family.

The woman from the inner room couldn’t stay put any longer. She opened the door and came out. ”Eldest Sister-in-law, what are you doing? We’re family! Quick, snatch the phone from his hand! He just took pictures!”

”Second Aunt Wa, we’re telling you this precisely because we’re family. If it were outsiders, we wouldn’t say a word.”

”Eldest Sister-in-law is right! Second Sister-in-law, what in the world are you and Dad doing? You don’t know a thing, yet you dare to give patients injections! What if you seriously hurt someone?”

”Exactly! And remember during the New Year, Li’s daughter-in-law had a stomachache. You insisted it was just menstrual cramps and prescribed her motherwort, which caused her to miscarry! If it weren’t for Dad’s reputation, do you think you’d have gotten away with just paying 5,000 yuan in compensation? Why don’t you ever learn your lesson? And now you still dare to prescribe medicine!”

At this point, the youngest daughter-in-law, who had been shrinking at the very back, finally spoke up. ”You all are too much. I said we shouldn’t come, but you insisted. What’s the point of coming? Second Sister-in-law pocketed all the money, and now that she’s caught, you expect us to come and raise a ruckus? Am I an idiot, or what?

”Second Sister-in-law, a person has to have some conscience! You want to buy a house for your son, that’s your son, not ours! Besides, you took all the money Dad earned. During the New Year, you only gave my son fifty yuan, and he still calls you ’Second Auntie.’ How dare you call me? Why should we snatch someone else’s phone? Do you really think we’re that stupid?”

A family drama was unfolding spectacularly, leaving Du Heng and Wu Buwei, the actual parties involved in the original dispute, completely sidelined. This had the three old ladies watching nearby grinning from ear to ear, thoroughly enjoying the show.

The youngest sister-in-law’s words instantly tore away any pretense of harmony among the women. The torrent of foul language Du Heng had anticipated now began to erupt in earnest. Some of the remarks were so vile that even Du Heng and Wu Buwei, both grown men, blushed.

But would Du Heng step in? He’d have to be crazy to try and mediate. Their brief ’friendly exchange’ alone was enough to make Du Heng’s heart pound with trepidation. He truly hadn’t imagined that Yang Zhengnong and this second daughter-in-law of his had actually committed so many serious misdeeds.

They’d prescribed the wrong medicine, leading to a miscarriage and compensation. They’d administered IV drips in patients’ homes, causing convulsions. They’d bought expired medications for villagers, passing them off as genuine. Listening to all this made Du Heng’s scalp tingle.

And all these things had apparently happened in the short span of three months, from January to March, since the old man had been discharged from the hospital.

Had that hoe blow actually addled the old man’s wits?

Just as Du Heng was listening with a pounding heart to these appalling stories, the sound of a car braking sharply came from outside, and then Yang Zhengnong, his hair white, rushed in.

Judging by the speed and energy with which Yang Zhengnong rushed in, calling him an ’old man’ seemed inaccurate. Most middle-aged men weren’t as agile as he was at that moment.

”President Du, why are you here?” he asked, a fawning smile instantly appearing on his face that made Du Heng feel nauseous.

”I couldn’t reach you on the phone, so I came to check. I didn’t expect to find such a scene. Doctor Yang, you’ve got some serious nerve!”

Seeing Yang Zhengnong’s demeanor, Du Heng, who had been suppressing his fury, finally snapped. If Yang Zhengnong weren’t over sixty, Du Heng would have been sorely tempted to march over and slap him twice.

Yang Zhengnong hurriedly took out his phone and checked it. ”President Du, you didn’t call me.”

Wu Buwei snorted from behind him, ”I called.”

”You?” Yang Zhengnong looked at Wu Buwei, who seemed vaguely familiar but whose name he couldn’t recall. ”Oh, I must have been performing acupuncture then. I saw an unfamiliar number and hung up. I forgot to call back later, my apologies.”

He walked over to Du Heng and the other doctor, seemingly oblivious to Du Heng’s earlier furious questions and the uproar among his daughters-in-law in the clinic. Still smiling, he said, ”President Du, I was out giving IV drips to the villagers today. Since there was no one here, I had my daughter-in-law watch the clinic for a bit.

”I have a room in the back where I usually rest. President Du, Doctor, let’s go to the back and chat.”