This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

What is Li Jianwei’s relationship with me? He’s a student I brought in. But why go so far out of his way, having my own Secretary relay a message to me? It means one thing: he also doesn’t want to cooperate with that group anymore. However, at the time, likely in front of that Deputy Director of the Second Affiliated Hospital, he couldn’t refuse too obviously, so he took such a big detour. Li Jianwei was just using this method to express his support for me, his student.

Du Heng certainly understood. He immediately said to the Secretary, ”Let’s not meet. Besides, I have to go back to my family home on the mountain to visit my big brother and sister-in-law. I don’t have time.”

Given Du Heng’s earlier statement, the Secretary wasn’t surprised to hear this. He nodded and said, ”Alright. This afternoon, there’s another discussion meeting with other hospitals. I will convey your opinion, Dean, to Professor Li.”

”Thank you, Secretary,” Du Heng replied with a smile, then asked, ”By the way, Secretary, I didn’t get a chance to ask you yesterday, how is the group integration coming along?”

Upon hearing this question, a complex series of expressions flickered across the Secretary’s face before he finally said, ”Professor Li is in a bit of a dilemma right now.”

”What do you mean?”

”First, it’s the number of people. No one had an issue with that; they finally agreed on three people from each side.” The Secretary rubbed his hands together as he continued, ”What they can’t agree on is the publication aspect of this project. The Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine offered to sponsor the project with 200,000 yuan. In return, they want two first-author papers in core journals and four first-author papers in national-level general journals. The First Affiliated Hospital of JZU also proposed a 400,000 yuan sponsorship for four first-author papers in core journals, with no requirements mentioned for general journals. Municipal First Hospital will sponsor 150,000 yuan for one first-author paper in a core journal and four second-author papers in core journals.”

Du Heng suddenly clenched his jaw. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a brief pause, he said, ”An average of 100,000 yuan per first-author paper. They’re loaded.”

Suppressing the urge to curse, Du Heng said to the Secretary, ”I’ll have to trouble you again. Please ask my Teacher to speed up the progress. But as for this first-author, second-author business, just forget it. That’s not within the scope of our cooperation.”

Stunned by his words, the Secretary asked, ”Dean, what about the money?”

”What money?” Du Heng gritted his teeth in anger. ”The provincial government has already approved nearly a million yuan, and the city has also promised that as long as the project proceeds smoothly, they’ll directly send 500,000 yuan. And there are the rewards for achievements later on. Isn’t that all money? Why do they have to fixate on these paltry sums and make such a fuss?”

Seeing Du Heng getting agitated, the Secretary stopped speaking, simply said he understood, and turned to leave.

CLACK! Du Heng slammed the car door shut and angrily pounded his fists on the steering wheel. ”What kind of people are these? They want several first-author papers in core journals? Should I offer to get their papers published in The Lancet for them? What a bunch of bastards!”

Wu Shengnan, in the car, had heard the voices from outside. Seeing Du Heng so irate, she chuckled and said, ”Don’t get angry. If you let yourself get so worked up about this, you might explode your lung tube.”

”Just listen to the conditions these scoundrels are setting!” Du Heng ranted, his lip twitching as he swallowed back even harsher words. ”It’s practically saying outright, ’I’ll give you money, you get me a first-author paper. It doesn’t matter who writes it, just make him the first author.’ If that’s not being a bastard, what is? It’s truly disgusting.”

Wu Shengnan gently patted Du Heng’s arm and said with a smile, ”Isn’t this sort of thing normal? At least they’re giving you money. Some people don’t even offer money; they just change the first author’s name. What can you do then? My cousin, who was doing her Ph.D. in the south, wrote an SCI paper last year for her graduation. Her Mentor took it directly, replaced her name as first author with his own, and my cousin became the second author. Worse still, she was only a co-second author. And the person she was co-second author with was a guy who had just started his Master’s degree last year. Tell me, isn’t that infuriating? What’s even more infuriating is that the project my cousin was working on involved research for her Mentor’s company. They only gave her a 1,500 yuan monthly subsidy. She was basically doing free labor.”

”Academic rats! Robbers!” Du Heng angrily slammed the steering wheel again.

”Come on, what’s the use of getting angry? That’s just how things are.”

Du Heng grumbled, ”What’s the use? I’m not going to cooperate with them anymore.”

He started the car and said coldly, ”This was supposed to be a favor to them, a chance to share the credit. But now it’s as if I’m begging them, and they’re trying to buy me off. Do I look like I need their money? When I get back from the mountain, if they’re still acting like this, I’ll just pull the plug and walk away. They can go find someone else to ’play’ with. I’m done playing with them. And these are the people supposed to be inheriting tradition and promoting it? They’re a disgrace. No wonder the country has invested so much over the years, yet so few people have distinguished themselves, and the results are pitiful. It’s no wonder ordinary people don’t trust them, and they’re looked down upon by Western medicine. They only engage in this kind of bullshit!”

After venting his anger, he slammed on the accelerator and sped off.

However, Du Heng had one good trait: he never brought his bad moods home. So, when he saw Du Ping at home, a smile had already returned to his face.

”Big brother, I’ve been busy out and about recently and didn’t have a chance to ask, how’s the renovation of your new house coming along?” Du Heng asked casually while eating a piece of ice-cold watermelon his brother had taken from the refrigerator.

Du Ping also took a piece of watermelon, but it was so cold that he put it down after only half. Wiping the watermelon juice from his hands with a tissue, he said, ”The main parts are mostly done. The foreman said it should be fully renovated in another half a month.”