This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

As Mei Dong had said, some beds indeed held three children.

But on others, there were four.

What was most fascinating was that the nurses inside knew exactly where each baby they were responsible for was placed. As they moved through the room, no mix-ups occurred.

Of course, mistakes might have happened, but Du Heng didn’t notice any.

After a tour of the ward, Du Heng was escorted to Mei Dong’s office.

Mei Dong spoke at length, mostly explaining why he had invited Du Heng for the consultation, extending him considerable courtesy.

At the same time, Mei Dong subtly conducted his initial assessment of Du Heng, needing to ascertain if he possessed genuine skill.

Du Heng, of course, could detect the probing nature of Mei Dong’s words, but as it was neither obvious nor excessive, he felt no resentment.

Soon, the conversation shifted to the child requiring treatment. After listening to Mei Dong’s explanation of the situation, Du Heng didn’t immediately offer his opinion. Instead, he said, ”Director Mei, if it’s convenient, I’d like to perform a comprehensive examination on the child.”

Mei Dong wasn’t surprised by Du Heng’s request; in fact, he would have been surprised if Du Heng hadn’t suggested it. ”Alright, then please change your clothes, President Du.”

Du Heng nodded in agreement.

Changing clothes was a simple way of putting it. Entry into the critical care ward required thorough disinfection and cleaning.

Once Du Heng had completed all preparations, he followed Mei Dong into the ward.

It was only then that Du Heng suddenly realized the sounds he’d heard in the hallway earlier were trivial in comparison to the cacophony within.

The moment he stepped inside, his ears were momentarily deafened, followed by a persistent buzzing in his head.

The relentless, overlapping cries of the babies, to put it bluntly, were distressing and caused Du Heng a strong sense of physical discomfort.

It was also at that moment that he gained a clearer appreciation for the resilience and difficulty faced by the medical staff working there.

This job truly isn’t for ordinary people.

Especially without immense mental fortitude; prolonged exposure to such an environment would undoubtedly lead to a breakdown.

Du Heng gently shook his head. After a moment to adjust, listening to the wails around him, he recalled the twins he had heard about earlier.

”...Director Mei, may I see the twin sister?” Du Heng recounted what he had overheard outside and then made his request.

”I know the twins you’re referring to. They’re over here; follow me.”

Without hesitation, Mei Dong led Du Heng around a corner to a small, single cot.

With just one glance, Du Heng asked, ”Are these twins premature, leading to underdeveloped cardiopulmonary function?”

Mei Dong nodded. ”Born forty-five days early, and twins at that. When they were first brought in, each was only about the size of two palms.”

He sighed. ”Their cardiopulmonary development was incomplete upon arrival, and many tests were inconclusive. But after a tremendous effort, we managed to pull both children through. Two days ago, once they stabilized, we performed another examination.

Who would have known the younger sister had a congenital heart defect—no septum—and with her underdeveloped cardiopulmonary function, surgery was impossible.”

After exerting such immense effort, this outcome was heartbreaking, even for Mei Dong, who was accustomed to matters of life and death.

”Actually, if the child merely had a septal defect, she could have waited for her cardiopulmonary system to fully develop, then undergo curative surgery. Or if her cardiopulmonary development had been good at birth, we could have fought for her. But now, there’s no chance. To prevent the family from wasting more money, we arranged for her direct discharge. There’s no longer any point in treatment. Sigh, I was the one who signed her discharge papers this morning.”

So, the hospital wasn’t deliberately overcharging.

Du Heng hadn’t believed from the start that Mei Dong and his colleagues would do such a thing for money. Now, with this confirmation, he felt more at ease.

As a doctor, he feared two things: incompetent quacks gaining fame, and renowned hospitals lacking a conscience.

However, considering their patient volume, they truly had no need to earn such unscrupulous money.

”President Du, perhaps you’d like to examine this child as well? If you have a good remedy, we could try it for this child too?”

Du Heng shook his head. ”Director Mei, you’re too kind. Your treatment is excellent. It’s clear at a glance that the child’s lung development has been corrected, and her heart development is on the right track. I won’t interfere unnecessarily.”

For both doctors and patients, the biggest taboo is interfering midway through treatment. Each doctor has their own approach, which means different treatment methods and medications. As long as the condition is improving and the body is recovering, it’s best to continue the current treatment and not entertain other ideas. Changing course halfway is truly detrimental to everyone involved.

Mei Dong, of course, also understood this principle. His words were partly politeness and partly another test.

If Du Heng had actually taken him up on it, it would have shown him to be naive. Even if highly skilled, Mei Dong would have then thought twice about any medicine Du Heng might prescribe.

More likely, however, Mei Dong wouldn’t have taken Du Heng’s potential intervention seriously anyway.

Seeing Du Heng’s reaction, Mei Dong smiled and said no more, instead leading him directly to their intended patient.

”President Du, this was the child’s condition then. Today is the fourth day. The issue with abnormal muscle tone has eased somewhat, but the sucking reflex hasn’t changed. He still needs to be intubated for feeding; he has no sucking instinct at all.”

Du Heng examined the child before him.

A little boy. His symptoms overlapped by about 80% with the child Du Heng had previously treated.

Of these overlapping symptoms, some were relatively mild, while others were very severe. However, these weren’t the primary concerns.

The problem was that this child had experienced two convulsions just during this brief examination.

Furthermore, the continued absence of a sucking reflex meant that some damage, such as to his neuromuscular control, was now inevitable.

It was like the long-term effects often seen in children with cerebral palsy: an unsteady, leaning gait as they grew, and uncontrollable facial muscles.

The only uncertainty now was the extent of the damage to his intelligence.

However, with the success of the first treatment as a foundation, Du Heng was now very confident in his methods. He wouldn’t dare claim a complete cure, but he believed he could achieve maximum correction.

Although it had been four days for this child, the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital had administered drugs to support his brain nerve development, which had bought Du Heng some precious time.

Du Heng remained silent, examining the child once more, mentally adjusting his prescription. With the bonus from his previous Pharmaceutical Expertise, he could now identify and refine imperfections in the earlier medication.

Although Du Heng was already deep in thought about the treatment, the onlookers who had gathered were growing impatient.

Everyone in this ward, all the medical staff, knew the severity of cerebral hypoxia complications. Their greatest hope for this child was merely to lessen the severity of these complications as much as possible.

A complete cure? They hadn’t even dreamed of it.

But now, their esteemed director had brought in a young man who claimed he could cure this disease. Either the director had been duped, or the world had gone mad.

Seeing Du Heng remain silent and seemingly hesitant, someone finally couldn’t hold back. ”Putting on a mystical act. Who knows how he tricked the director.”

”Maybe the director didn’t arrange this. The family probably found some Jianghu Divine Doctor, and the director couldn’t refuse them, so he let him take a look.”

At this moment, a young, enthusiastic doctor standing nearby could no longer restrain himself. He shot a cold glare at the two gossiping individuals. ”Shut up, you two! Don’t embarrass yourselves with your shallow ignorance. This man is the dean of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital.”

”Hmph, the dean of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital? So what?”

In their eyes, frankly, the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital was no different from the ubiquitous clinics found on any roadside.

They were quite arrogant.