This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng sighed softly. ”Brother, it’s not that I don’t want to go back. I’d love to be sitting in a big chair, sipping tea in the air conditioning and reading a book, but I just can’t go back right now.”

Wu Buwei was quite surprised. ”Why not? You’re the Dean. Is there anyone in this hospital who dares to give you trouble?”

Du Heng led Wu Buwei into the shade of a tree and found a long bench for them to sit on. ”You know about the integration team matter. Right now, anyone who fancies themselves as having some status is trying to get to me to discuss cooperation.”

”They’re all camped out in my office as we speak, waiting for me to walk through the door.”

Wu Buwei pursed his lips and nodded. ”Yeah, that kind of thing is the worst.”

Seeing Wu Buwei’s understanding, Du Heng felt like he’d found someone to confide in. ”Let me tell you, the ones who come to discuss cooperation on behalf of their workplace aren’t the real problem. I can just keep dodging them, like I’m doing now.”

”But the ones who are really infuriating are those trying to shoehorn people in using personal connections.”

”They either show up at my door, call me directly, or try to pull strings through acquaintances. It’s driving me nuts.”

Wu Buwei pursed his lips again. ”Yeah, mixing personal favors with official business is a real pain.”

Du Heng looked up helplessly at the green leaves overhead. ”So, what am I supposed to do? I can’t go back to the office; if I do, I’ll be swamped with all these personal obligations.”

”My phone number of many years has basically become a dedicated work line, so I had to hand it over to my assistant. Now I’m even starting to push responsibilities onto my assistant. What else can I do?”

Wu Buwei suddenly tutted twice. ”Brother, there’s a good old saying: if you can’t afford to offend them, you can at least afford to hide from them.”

Du Heng paused, stunned for a moment. He then turned to Wu Buwei and asked, slightly puzzled, ”What do you mean?”

Wu Buwei adjusted his posture. ”The advancement of this project is now entirely in Mr. Li’s hands. As for the hospital’s preparations, we have other hospital leaders to help manage things, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

”Since these things are bothering you so much, just get away from it all. Out of sight, out of mind.”

Du Heng looked thoughtful, gently bouncing his crossed leg. ”That’s actually a pretty good idea. Mr. Li is thick-skinned and has enough standing in the Jianghu; he’s not afraid of this stuff.”

”The hospital side is only responsible for adjusting the wards and medical care staff; it doesn’t involve the actual content of the research project.”

”If it really comes down to it, they can just push all the blame onto me.”

”But I won’t be here! I’ll be ’out of town’.”

”Heh heh, not a bad plan.”

As he said this, Du Heng suddenly grew a bit pensive. ”But what excuse should I use? If I don’t have a plausible one, I’m afraid I’ll offend people. In that case, it might be better not to go at all.”

Wu Buwei’s mind was buzzing with ideas now. ”Aha!” he exclaimed, offering a suggestion. ”Isn’t it simple? Brother, don’t you have connections with Professor Lan in the Capital? Just say Professor Lan needs you for something, so you have to head to the Capital and enjoy yourself there for a bit.”

He laughed out loud. ”And didn’t you and Sister-in-law mention just yesterday that you wanted to take wedding photos? This is the perfect chance! Travel all over the country, hit up all the famous scenic spots for your photos.”

”You get to escape all this hassle, get your wedding photos done, and have your honeymoon too! It’s killing three birds with one stone.”

Wu Buwei chuckled, pleased with his own brilliance.

Du Heng felt his spirits lift as he listened, though a small hesitation remained. ”That sounds great, but... it’ll be a bit expensive, won’t it?”

”Are you short on money?” Wu Buwei asked with a grin.

The question made Du Heng pause. He suddenly realized that even though he wasn’t short on money anymore, he still clung to the frugal mindset from his past.

Buying cars and houses—these were tangible assets, things he could see and touch, necessities for ordinary people. He never felt a pinch spending money on those; sometimes, he even felt he hadn’t spent enough.

But when it came to spending money on intangible, spiritual enjoyment, he’d instinctively start weighing whether it was worth it, whether it was truly necessary.

He had thought this way of valuing things, this approach to spending, had changed. But now, he abruptly realized it hadn’t, not really.

To put it nicely, this mindset was thriftiness. To put it bluntly, it was being stingy and petty.

Du Heng believed thriftiness was important, but once material needs were met, one should also pursue spiritual enjoyment and growth.

”Alright, let’s do it as you say.” Du Heng, having thought it through, slapped his thigh as he made the decision. He was going to go out, have some fun, travel, and see the sights.

To hell with all these damn interpersonal relationships and social obligations!

However, given his current position and responsibilities, he couldn’t just take off on a whim. He had to make proper arrangements first.

So, after making his decision, Du Heng returned to the offices of Lu Guangying and the other hospital leaders to arrange a handover of his work.

Then, he went to the consultation room in the Chinese Medicine Department and called Doctor Ma, Xiao Li, and the others together.

”Alright everyone, here’s the situation,” Du Heng announced. ”Just focus on your respective duties and do your jobs well.”

”Dean, I’m not sure my work here will be manageable if you’re not around,” Xiao Li piped up, the first to object when he heard Du Heng was planning to travel.

He was currently responsible for over thirty pediatric patients with cerebral palsy, a condition he wasn’t yet equipped to manage entirely on his own.

Moreover, these patients had all come specifically for Du Heng. Now that Du Heng was just upping and leaving, how could Xiao Li not panic?

Before Xiao Li even finished speaking, Du Heng chuckled. ”The challenge with this disease isn’t in the syndrome differentiation, but in the variations of medication we use.”