This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

After leaving the Village Committee, Du Heng asked Qiu Pingzhen, ”Is our medical team nearby?”

Qiu Pingzhen immediately took out his small personal bag. ”I remember Director Cao from the Internal Medicine Department is in a village on our way back. I’ll check now.”

Du Heng didn’t rush him, just started the car, ready to return to the hospital.

Qiu Pingzhen quickly found the information he wanted. Just as he was about to speak, Du Heng’s phone suddenly rang.

Du Heng glanced at the caller ID. ”Wait a moment, I’ll take this call.”

After speaking to Qiu Pingzhen, Du Heng answered the phone. ”Hello, Director Zhou... You don’t dare to use it? Alright, I’ll try to get there as soon as I can. I’m currently in the countryside, so it might take me about forty minutes.”

After hanging up, Du Heng increased the car’s speed and said to Qiu Pingzhen, ”We’re not going to Director Cao’s place anymore. We’re heading to the Municipal First Hospital now.”

”To the Municipal First Hospital?”

”Yes, Director Zhou, the emergency director of the Municipal First Hospital, called. He said there’s a critical patient. We’re heading there now, and I hope we’re not too late.”

Qiu Pingzhen looked at Du Heng with some surprise. He knew Du Heng was an externally employed Deputy Director of the Provincial First Hospital, but he hadn’t expected Du Heng to also be asked by the Municipal First Hospital for a consultation for a critical patient.

Is this young man really so formidable?

It seems I still don’t know enough about this promising young doctor.

While Du Heng was hurrying, a doctor about Zhou Yixian’s age and an older, white-haired doctor were standing beside Zhou Yixian.

”Zhang, you’re our expert in cardiology. Tell us your thoughts.”

”Coronary heart disease, heart failure, and frequent ventricular premature beats and fibrillation... We’ve been trying to treat it for an hour. I’ve used every method I know, but the ventricular fibrillation can’t be eliminated. I’ve done my best.”

Director Zhang frowned. ”Zhou, give up. If we give up now, we can at least save the patient some money.”

Zhou Yixian’s lips twitched, his jaw muscles trembling. ”This isn’t about saving money. The patient is too young; he’s only 36. You saw his wife when you came in—she’s disabled, has difficulty moving, and is kneeling at the door with their two children right now. If we just give up, how will that mother and her two children survive?”

”But there’s really nothing we can do now. The patient’s heart rate is still 240 beats per minute. If it weren’t for our efforts, he’d already be gone. What’s the point of dragging this out other than racking up more medical expenses? Zhou, we’re doctors, we’re human, and there are limits to what we can do. Giving up now would be a kindness to the family. I can’t bring myself to insist on saving someone when I know it’s hopeless.”

Zhou Yixian took a deep breath. He wanted to give up too, but seeing the mother and children at the door, he just couldn’t bring himself to make that decision.

He had one last option: Du Heng.

But Du Heng had said it would take him forty minutes to get here. Could the patient hold on for another forty minutes?

With a heart rate of 240 beats per minute, ventricular fibrillation could strike at any moment. It was truly like one second in heaven, the next in hell.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Yixian took out a prescription Du Heng had used before to save two patients with pulmonale. He said to the older, white-haired doctor, ”Director Li, please take a look at this prescription. Do you think we can use it now?”

Director Li took the prescription. But as soon as he saw the first medicine and its dosage, his hand trembled.

Two hundred grams of aconite!

He was about to retire, yet the total amount of aconite he’d used in his entire career wasn’t even half of what this single prescription called for.

Looking at the other medicine combinations, Director Li couldn’t help but swallow. He had been cautious his entire life and had never dared to use a prescription with such massive doses.

Fortunately, his medical skills were still sharp. He steadied himself, carefully examined the prescription, and after some thought, said, ”Based on the two cases you mentioned and the combination of medicines in this prescription, it should be effective for the patient.”

Joy immediately lit up Zhou Yixian’s face, but before it could fully spread, he heard Director Li continue, ”However, the patient exhibits polyuria without thirst, a red tongue with little coating, and a feeling of the waist being tired like breaking. In traditional Chinese medicine, these are manifestations of yin deficiency. But this prescription contains no medicine to nourish yin; it only focuses on covering yang and rescuing of counterflow. I’m a bit unsure about this point.”

Zhou Yixian said anxiously, ”Director Li, then please see what kind of yin-nourishing medicine should be added. I’ll have someone prepare it immediately!”

Director Li shook his head. ”The prescription is too potent. I dare not alter it recklessly. If I were to mistakenly add a medicine, it could change the properties of the other ingredients, and we’d be killing him instead of saving him.”

These words directly irritated Zhou Yixian; it was as if Director Li had said nothing at all after all that talk.

Zhou Yixian felt helpless. Director Li put down the prescription, sighed, and said, ”Xiao Zhou, I understand how you feel. Although this prescription has indeed saved two people, the dosage is enormous—something I’ve never seen in my entire career. Moreover, as I said, this prescription is only *potentially* effective.”

”But let me be honest: with such a dosage, if anything goes wrong, you’ll be the one to bear the responsibility. So, I also advise you to give up. The patient has had recurrent ventricular fibrillation for an hour now. There’s really not much hope left.”

Director Zhang, who had spoken earlier, also chimed in, ”Our recommendation is to give up. Don’t prolong the patient’s suffering or the family’s agony.”