This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

With a good friend, a thousand cups of wine are not enough; with a kindred spirit, even ordinary tea has an extraordinary fragrance.

A middle-aged man and a young man—one practicing Western medicine, the other traditional Chinese medicine—spent the afternoon cheerfully chatting in the office. Drinking twelve-yuan bottled water from disposable cups, they were even more happily engrossed than in their previous conversation.

Two men on completely different paths in life, yet there was no sense of irrelevance or distance between them. Instead, they found camaraderie, a feeling of, ”I wish we had met sooner.”

Perhaps the phrase ”different paths leading to the same destination” could barely explain their current situation.

Contentedly, Director He watched Doctor Du (Du Heng) as he talked endlessly about strokes. Although there were many things Director He didn’t understand, with Doctor Du’s explanations, he found he could comprehend them clearly. This in itself was a remarkable thing, and even more remarkably, he found he could accept Doctor Du’s views.

”Doctor Du, would you be interested in cooperating with our department on a research project like this?” As the conversation drew to a close, Director He finally voiced the thought that had been on his mind for several days, unable to resist any longer.

Du Heng’s expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered and asked, ”How would you like to cooperate, Director He?”

Instead of immediately sharing his own ideas, Director He countered, ”Do you have any good ideas, Doctor Du?”

Du Heng chuckled. His mind raced as he slowly said, ”I am a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, and my research project in Jinzhou is purely within that field. Director He, you practice Western medicine, and your team is also primarily focused on Western medicine. I’m afraid the doctors here might not readily accept our treatment methods.”

It was amusing; just moments ago, they were like Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, kindred spirits who truly understood each other. Yet, as soon as the conversation turned to actual work, they reverted to being like two parallel lines, each focused on maximizing their own interests.

Director He understood Du Heng’s implication: it wasn’t just about acceptance, but rather that his team of Western Medicine Doctors might struggle to cooperate effectively with traditional Chinese medicine methods.

Because, at any given time, ideological differences often overshadow technical ones. Not every Western Medicine Doctor possessed the same level of understanding as Director He.

Integrating Chinese and Western medicine? Collaboration between them? Heh, it would be a blessing if Western Medicine Doctors didn’t openly look down on their TCM counterparts.

The sense of superiority among Western Medicine Doctors was particularly evident in provincial departments like theirs.

In short, Director He quickly grasped the crux of the matter.

Once he understood, he suddenly realized that the cooperation he had envisioned had many problematic aspects.

Just as he was wondering what to say next, Director He’s phone rang. After a series of ”mm-hmms” and ”ahs” into the receiver, he put down the mobile phone in his hand, his face a mask of astonishment, and stared blankly at Du Heng.

”What’s wrong, Director He?” Du Heng asked, his voice full of confusion.

Director He licked his lips and asked, his voice a little hoarse, ”Doctor Du, did you also provide treatment for Guan Bo?”

”This morning, I went to see Sir Zhang and happened to see Doctor Guan as well. I had an idea, Sir Zhang was very supportive, so I gave it a try.”

”Schizophrenia, and you cured it in a single day?” Director He swallowed hard again, looking at Du Heng with disbelief.

In just the span of a morning, while they were apart, Du Heng had quietly cured another patient—one with schizophrenia, a condition completely unrelated to stroke.

Divine Doctor? Isn’t this a bit too divine?

Du Heng didn’t pay much attention to Director He’s astonishment but caught the underlying meaning in his words. ”Director He, are you saying Doctor Guan has woken up?”

”Yes, Doctor Wang Qingpeng from the Chinese Medicine Department just called. He said the patient regained consciousness a little while ago and asked if you could go take a look.”

Du Heng immediately stood up and bid farewell to Director He. Since they hadn’t found a viable approach for their proposed collaboration, there was no point in discussing it further.

He hurried to the Chinese Medicine Department, where Wang Qingpeng was already waiting for him at the door of the hospital room.

”Doctor Du, you’re here.”

”What’s the patient’s current condition?”

”He has regained consciousness, but his mental state is very poor. He’s extremely listless and has moments of daze, as if his mind is completely blank.”

”That’s a normal reaction.” Du Heng nodded. ”Doctor Guan’s previous condition was a form of agitated mental illness, which is very damaging to the body. If he woke up and immediately acted like a normal person, that would be a major problem.”

”So, there’s nothing to worry about?”

”Correct. As long as he can understand what is being said, a temporary mental daze is not an issue. He just needs to continue with rest and treatment for relieving uneasiness of mind to recover.”

Wang Qingpeng sighed with relief. ”Then let’s go in and see him.”

As they entered the hospital room, Guan Bo’s parents were at the bedside, carefully watching their son on the sick bed. Guan Bo, in turn, gazed at his parents with a dazed expression.

When Du Heng approached, Guan Bo’s parents quickly made way. ”Doctor Du, please take a look. Our child seems to be awake, but it’s like he can’t remember things. Other than recognizing his father and me, he doesn’t know anything else we ask him. Doctor Du, could yesterday’s illness have damaged his brain?”

Du Heng first performed a check-up, then looked steadily into Guan Bo’s eyes and asked, ”Doctor Guan, do you remember me?”

From the moment Du Heng had approached his bedside, Guan Bo’s eyes had been fixed on him. When Du Heng asked the question, a flicker of confusion crossed Guan Bo’s face.

Then, he seemed to sink into a state of bewilderment, and judging by his complexion, he also appeared extremely tired.