This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

But the old man next to him looked disdainful.

What a well-connected person, getting a third-class award and still sitting in the second row. He’s not embarrassed to build himself up like this, the old man thought, despising such opportunistic behavior.

They went on stage to accept the awards. There weren’t many people, just six. Each person had the opportunity to make a speech, but the content was largely the same—different words for the same old tune: thanking the leaders, the seniors, and their colleagues.

Back in his seat, Du Heng was all smiles, gazing at the large certificate in his hand, his grin stretching from ear to ear. As for the 1,000 yuan prize money, Du Heng didn’t give it much thought.

Just as Du Heng was beaming with joy, the old man beside him suddenly spoke, ”Young man, it feels great to receive an award, doesn’t it? But if it’s one you earned yourself, the feeling would be even better.”

Du Heng couldn’t hold back. ”Sir, I’m a doctor at the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital. If your hearing isn’t good, you can come find me. I’ll treat you for free.”

”What do you mean by that? How rude!” The old man was instantly displeased at Du Heng’s implication about his hearing.

At this moment, another person beside the old man quietly tugged his arm. ”Zhang, calm down. Didn’t you hear when they announced the names during the award presentation? He received the award in his personal capacity, not on behalf of his workplace.”

The old man snapped his head around to look at the other old man who had spoken.

”You, you’ve become muddled from all your years as a teacher, always wanting to lecture everyone. This young man received his *own* award, not one on behalf of his workplace.”

The old man’s face reddened slightly. ”Well, he still shouldn’t be sitting in the second row.”

”Why can’t you change that rotten habit of yours? Why can’t he sit in the second row? Who made that rule?”

”That... he’s too rude! I just said a few words to him, and he said I was deaf.”

”Why should he let you say anything? Are you his leader or his teacher? This young man has a good temper. If it were anyone else, they might have given you a couple of hard slaps.”

”He’d dare?!”

”You’re just too used to lecturing people, taking yourself too seriously. Alright, the second-class awards are about to be announced. Pay attention to the names.”

The old man was trembling with anger. He had lectured people his entire life, never expecting to be lectured by two people consecutively today. But as the names for the second-class awards began to be read from the stage, he had no choice but to swallow his indignation.

He was still struggling to catch his breath when Du Heng, who was beside him, stood up again.

The old man froze instantly.

”Skin Wound Scar Repair Cream, award recipient Du Heng, serving as Dean of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital.”

He won two awards, and one of them was a second-class award?

The old man’s eyes grew dry as he watched Du Heng’s figure. He didn’t even hear his own name and award-winning project being announced just moments later.

This time, not only was the old man dumbfounded, but Du Heng was as well.

He had thought this Scar Removal Ointment had been eliminated. He never expected... never expected it to win a second-class award.

He quickly recalled the reason.

That day, when he was filling out the forms, Wu Shengnan’s father seemed to have asked him about this Scar Removal Ointment, and he recalled saying something then.

At this moment, Chief Wang, who was sitting further back, was also shocked. ”Where did this young man spring from? Two awards in a row, and one is an individual second-class award! Remarkable.”

Director Li from the Construction Department, sitting next to him, smiled. ”You’re impressed too, aren’t you?”

”Of course.”

”He’s a student of Li Jianwei.”

”Li Jianwei’s...” Chief Wang snapped his head around, looking at Director Li in disbelief. ”You’re saying he’s Old Li’s student?”

”Yes, Old Li’s student. He’s also the Dean of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital, can treat cancer, is skilled in both internal medicine and surgery, and is an Internet Celebrity Doctor with five million online followers.”

Director Li found Chief Wang’s constipated expression hilarious.

In this society, who among those who make a name for themselves isn’t highly skilled? It’s just that some are the skilled ones themselves, while others merely wield those with skills. A section chief from sports looking down on a director from a Class A hospital—it’s quite laughable when you think about it. For someone like him to reach this position, his ancestors’ graves must have been hit by artillery shells for him to climb this high.

As if that wasn’t enough, Director Li, wanting to twist the knife, placed his phone in front of Chief Wang. It was open to Du Heng’s online encyclopedia entry.

Meanwhile, in the audience, the Big Leader from the Health Department was also applauding with satisfaction. This year’s performance across the province had been poor, with many awards left vacant. Their Health System had fared even worse; if not for Du Heng’s two awards, they would have been utterly humiliated. Now, with a second-class and a third-class award, they had at least saved face.

”Are you familiar with this young man?” the Big Leader asked his deputy in a low voice, still clapping.

”I looked into his materials during the second review, so I’m relatively familiar with him.”

”Give me a brief summary.”

”Du Heng, 30 years old, holds a Deputy Director Title. In April, he was appointed Dean of the Zhonghu Town Health Clinic, and was later transferred to become the Dean of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital.”

The Big Leader’s clapping hands stilled. ”That’s quite a jump in ranks.”

”I checked. Someone at the provincial level put in a word for him.”

”Anything else?”

”He’s quite famous online now, very well-known. There’s some skepticism in online discussions about him, but also a lot of praise. And besides these two awards, he also has three core papers published and one provincial-level research project.”

The deputy paused for a moment. ”There’s one more piece of news, though I can’t confirm if it’s true or false. It’s said he has a collaborative project with Professor Lan Changhua from the Capital, related to tumors.”

The Big Leader smiled, watching the award recipients on stage for a good while before remarking, ”It would be a waste to use such talent in this way. You should pay more attention to him from now on.”

”Understood.”

”Also, our province has applied to the Department for research projects for three consecutive years, and all were rejected. This Du Heng seems quite capable. Let him try this year, see if he can secure a provincial level project. Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to answer for it.”

”I will make the arrangements.”

Du Heng’s mouth was a little sore from smiling so much, but holding the two red certificates, he couldn’t help but beam.

With a second-class award, he could do many things now. For example, apply for his master’s degree graduation at the end of the year, and register for the senior professional title assessment at year’s end, and so on.

Back in his seat, Du Heng glanced at the old man next to him, who was still scowling, and gave him a wide, toothy grin. Then, he began to admire his certificates, furtively taking a photo with his phone to post on his Ins.

He had to show off, absolutely.

And as he was reveling in his success, the old man beside him, catching that toothy grin, suddenly felt dizzy, his blood pressure shooting up. The startled old man quickly closed his eyes and began to take deep breaths, right there in his seat.

For the remainder of the event, Du Heng didn’t look to either side. He would occasionally pull out his phone, hiding it beneath the table to secretly reply to messages, his two rows of marsdenia-white teeth constantly on display.

After the ceremony, Du Heng intended to grab his certificates and make a quick exit, but he was called over by the Big Leader from the front row. The leader engaged him in warm conversation for a good while before finally letting him leave.

He then met up with an equally beaming Li Jianwei, and they walked out together.

Once they met, Li Jianwei took Du Heng’s two certificates and examined them repeatedly, over and over, truly seeming as if he couldn’t bear to part with them.

”A second-class award! I never expected it to be a second-class award! Wonderful! This is great. Things will be much easier to arrange for you now.”

Du Heng watched Li Jianwei’s hands incessantly rubbing the certificates, his heart aching at the treatment they were receiving. He wanted to tell him to stop but felt too embarrassed. So, while keeping an eye on Li Jianwei’s hands, he asked, ”Teacher, what things will be easier to arrange?”

”Getting you into the Provincial Expert Database, and a council member position in the Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. But the most crucial thing is to see if we can get you into the Health Group.”

”Can it be done?”

Li Jianwei sighed suddenly and reluctantly handed the certificates back to Du Heng. ”It’s hard to say. Those organizations are full of stubborn old codgers. They don’t just look at your abilities; they scrutinize your seniority, your age... Anyway, they’re very troublesome.”