This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

After sitting back down, Du Heng immediately continued, ”But if Director Mei or your hospital feels it’s too difficult, don’t force it. The priority of a hospital is to treat and save people, and we don’t want our training to interfere with your work.”

Mei Dong’s eyes widened in anger at Du Heng’s words.

But before he could express his anger, Du Heng dealt another blow.

”This time I went to the Capital to visit Professor Lan at Good Friend Hospital. Their Pediatrics Department is not bad, and I asked Professor Lan to help me with a referral. Maybe I can find a chance for further training there.”

Du Heng grinned at Mei Dong and, after a slight pause, continued, ”I also have a good relationship with Director Li at the Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine First Affiliated Hospital. I can ask him to help arrange some opportunities for the Gynecology Department, and it shouldn’t be a big problem. Director Mei, maybe we shouldn’t bother your hospital?”

Mei Dong took a few deep breaths, trying hard to restrain himself from swearing, then said, ”President Du, wait here for a moment. I’ll go to the restroom, and I’ll be right back. When I return, we can discuss the matter further.”

Du Heng grinned, ”Do you know where the restroom is, Director Mei? Should I show you the way?”

Mei Dong extended a hand. ”No need to bother, President Du. I saw the restroom when I came in.”

”Heh heh, then I won’t disturb you, Director Mei. Please, go ahead.”

Looking at Du Heng’s cheerful expression, Mei Dong felt a sharp pang of frustration.

In a split second, as he turned around, he suddenly thought that his female dean was quite lovable. At least more lovable than Du Heng.

Whether he was lovable or not, Du Heng didn’t know. He just watched Mei Dong leave with his cell phone, then crossed his legs, a smile of assured victory on his face.

Behind the smile, though, was a hint of annoyance. He had been muddle-headed. With so many people interested in stroke research, the topic of cerebral palsy in children must also be a piece of ’fat meat’ in some people’s eyes. How could he have been so muddle-headed as to not consider this issue and forget such a big boss as Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital? This was inexcusable! He really needed to conduct a serious self-criticism. However, regarding his impromptu reaction just now, Du Heng felt that he deserved at least ninety points, if not a perfect score. He’d handled that perfectly!

As Du Heng engaged in this bout of self-criticism mixed with self-congratulation, Mei Dong, who had gone out, took a rather long time on the phone, almost ten minutes.

But Du Heng wasn’t in a hurry, not at all.

However, when Mei Dong returned after the phone call, his forehead was slightly sweaty, showing that the call had been difficult.

”Whew.” After coming in, Mei Dong exhaled deeply and then said, ”President Du, I just spoke with our dean, who supports your proposal. Supporting the development of lower-level hospitals is an indisputable responsibility for our hospital. So, our dean decided to provide five training places for your hospital.”

Du Heng grinned broadly, then immediately looked troubled. ”Five seems a bit too few. Director Mei, you may not know this, but we have very few deputy senior doctors in our hospital, only one in each department. Senior doctors are even fewer, and some department directors are even appointed from deputy seniors. Five spots are just a drop in the bucket.”

As soon as Du Heng’s expression changed, Mei Dong felt a thud in his heart. After hearing Du Heng’s blunt words, he knew he needed to increase his offer.

”How about this, I’ll add three more spots to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, making a total of eight spots, and you can pick from the other departments. What do you think, President Du?” Mei Dong gritted his teeth and added more to the offer, experiencing Du Heng’s appetite firsthand.

But he never expected that Du Heng wasn’t just after these few spots. During the time Mei Dong was on the phone, Du Heng had also been refining his sudden idea.

”Thank you, Director Mei and your hospital for your support.” Du Heng smiled again, a smile that made Mei Dong a bit uneasy. He continued, ”Director Mei, I’ve met many doctors at Provincial First Hospital who came for training, and those departments treated them like laborers. Some have even been training for half a year and still do the same work as a resident doctor, like ward rounds or writing disease records. They haven’t even seen the techniques they’re supposed to learn. As for performing surgery, they might not even know where the operating room door is. They say they’re here for advanced training, but they’re completely treated as errand boys, as laborers.”

With wide eyes, Du Heng stared at Mei Dong. ”Director Mei, your hospital doesn’t have such a tradition, does it?”

It wasn’t that Du Heng was making things up, but it wasn’t as exaggerated as he portrayed. Whether doctors from the county level can learn real skills and abilities during their training depends on three factors.

First, the ability of the trainee doctors themselves. This ability includes two aspects: one is their professional ability, whether they can keep up with the work efficiency of the training department. If they have a good foundation and are willing to learn, someone might be willing to teach and give them opportunities. If their foundation is weak, they may have to spend their days doing miscellaneous tasks. Second, it depends on their interpersonal skills, or emotional intelligence. If they can’t even handle the interpersonal relationships within the department, nobody will be willing to teach them. In fact, some people might even try underhanded tactics to force them out.

The second factor is the leader of the department. If the leader is willing to help trainee doctors, the abilities mentioned earlier, along with the attitudes of the other doctors in the department, won’t be an issue.

As for the third reason, it all depends on their original hospital and whether they have strong enough connections.

If they enter the training program through official channels, whether they can learn something depends on the above factors, and there is no room to choose the department they want. But if they have connections, like in the case of Du Heng and Mei Dong, everything will be arranged in advance, so they are truly there for advanced training, not just to be used as laborers.

Doesn’t Mei Dong know what Du Heng is worried about? Of course, he knows.

Moreover, in his current Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, there is such a trainee doctor who, for some reasons, is really being used as cheap labor. Their status is even lower than that of the department’s intern nurses. That trainee doctor can be ordered around by anyone and dares not to complain.

Now, although Du Heng was speaking with a smile, it was clear that he wanted a clear commitment from Mei Dong.

”President Du, are you kidding? We would never do such a thing.” Mei Dong spoke with utmost seriousness, emphatically assuring Du Heng.

Du Heng also laughed. ”Since Director Mei has given me so much face, I can’t help but give Director Mei some face as well. How about I call Vice Dean Qiao here, and you can negotiate with him?”

Mei Dong was stunned. ”You won’t participate?”

”I won’t participate because I’m not familiar with project applications and don’t want to give confusing orders.” Du Heng looked at Mei Dong and laughed, but the laughter seemed a bit fake.

Mei Dong immediately became unhappy. If Du Heng, the main party and decision-maker, left, the conditions they had just agreed upon could be jeopardized. After all, Du Heng was proving to be so shrewd, and Mei Dong didn’t believe that Du Heng’s colleagues were all a bunch of saints.

”President Du, don’t go! Without your participation, I have no confidence in this.”

Du Heng feigned difficulty. ”As you can see, I will be leaving tomorrow, so I can’t participate in this.”

Although the exact departure time had not been set, he had to make this excuse; he had to let others bleed the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital a bit. The foundation of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital is too weak, and any little bit they could get from the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital would be like a hundred-year-old ginseng for them.

Mei Dong became anxious and directly blocked Du Heng. ”In that case, let’s discuss the framework today. Even if it’s just signing a preliminary agreement, that would work.”

Du Heng looked at the situation and also feigned helplessness. After thinking for a moment, he said, ”How about this: I’ll call over the people responsible on my side, clarify everything in front of you, Director Mei, and then let you talk to them directly. I don’t really understand the details of frameworks and agreements. Can you discuss them thoroughly yourselves?”

Without waiting for Mei Dong’s response, he started making calls.

In a short while, Lu Guangying, Vice Dean Qiao, and Gao Qin were called over. Then, he narrated to them the matters he had just discussed with Mei Dong. Especially regarding sending doctors for training, Du Heng made it very clear in front of Mei Dong. He also instructed Gao Qin to think carefully about what techniques and surgeries they needed to learn and to write them clearly into the agreement.

Since things were out in the open, Du Heng decided to drop the subtle tactics. He opted to be blunt first and courteous later, laying everything out on the table to prevent any misunderstandings or guesswork.

After everything was made clear, he left the meeting room despite Mei Dong’s attempts to stop him.

The reason he had to leave was, one, he truly didn’t understand the ins and outs of these matters. Second, he was a bit of a soft touch when it came to personal interactions. He was fine when things were lighthearted, but when it came to serious negotiations over details, his tendency to be swayed by personal feelings might lead him to compromise his own interests. If it only concerned his own interests, he wouldn’t mind conceding a little. But this concerned the hospital’s interests, so he couldn’t afford to make foolish decisions just to save face.

Leaving the hospital, Du Heng didn’t care about the situation in the meeting room and drove straight to Wu Shengnan’s workplace.

”Nannan, are we leaving tomorrow?”

As soon as they met, Wu Shengnan was completely confused by Du Heng. ”Leave? Where to?”

”Didn’t you say you wanted to go out of town to take wedding photos? Let’s go tomorrow.”

”Are you crazy? I haven’t asked for leave yet, and I haven’t made arrangements with the wedding photography crew.”

”Then you go ask for leave now. I believe your leaders won’t give you a hard time. Plus, you are only responsible for your team’s internal work; there’s nothing to hand over.”

Du Heng gave Wu Shengnan a suggestion that left her speechless, but it seemed feasible.

Wu Shengnan was tempted but still hesitated. ”But I haven’t communicated with the wedding photo staff yet. I don’t know if they have time.”

Du Heng declared magnanimously, ”If they have time, they’ll come with us. If they don’t, we can just find a local photography studio wherever we go. It will be even easier.”

As Du Heng’s words fell, Wu Shengnan finally made up her mind. ”Then I’ll go ask for leave now.”

Just as Du Heng had anticipated, Wu Shengnan asked, and her leave was approved immediately.

Returning home, Du Heng started packing, while Wu Shengnan busily booked plane tickets without wasting a moment.

When everyone else was getting ready for work the next day, Du Heng and Wu Shengnan were already flying amidst the blue sky and white clouds.