This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng chuckled softly. ”I’ve said my piece. Those willing to participate in this project can contact my teacher, Professor Li Jianwei.”

”I object.”

The moment Du Heng finished speaking, Director Nie from the First Affiliated Hospital of JZU shot to his feet, his face a frosty mask as he stared at Du Heng.

”President Du, I object to your arrangement,” Director Nie said coldly. ”This decision is too absurd. One hundred fifty thousand yuan just to train one doctor? Don’t you think that’s excessive? Ultimately, we should all discuss this and reach a collective decision.”

”Director Nie, is it? You may have misunderstood what I just said. The project is mine, the prescription is mine, and the treatment plan is also mine. Since they are mine, why should you all get to decide? Therefore, your objection is invalid, and frankly, I don’t care to hear your dissenting opinions.”

Du Heng calmly continued, ”Those are my terms. If you still wish to participate, contact my teacher. If not, the door is behind you.”

Director Nie, practically fuming from Du Heng’s words, retorted angrily, ”We’ve been painstakingly discussing this for over ten days, and you decide everything with a single sentence? Don’t you owe us an explanation?”

”Explanation?” Du Heng scoffed. ”Director Nie, it seems you’ve misunderstood. Why should I give you an explanation?

First, when this project was established, your First Affiliated Hospital of JZU did not participate.

Second, the reason we’re having this discussion now is that I want to thank the teams and individuals who helped this project in its early stages. I want to ensure that those who contributed are rewarded.

Third, this project is already mature. What I need now is a large amount of experimental data to support the arguments in my thesis.

Fourth, my goal is to systematize, modularize, and proceduralize this treatment process, making it a straightforward, traceable approach to a common ailment.”

After speaking, he looked seriously at Director Nie. ”Tell me, on what grounds do I owe you an explanation?”

Director Nie’s face flushed crimson and the veins on his neck bulged, yet he couldn’t find a single word of rebuttal. He was so furious he nearly rolled his eyes back, but he was utterly helpless and could only glare at Du Heng.

This scene served as an instant warning to those present who had little actual connection to Du Heng: don’t be impulsive. Impulsiveness easily leads to losing face, and Director Nie was the perfect cautionary tale.

At this point, the Director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine spoke up, his demeanor calm and composed. ”Xiao Du, your idea is excellent. It’s a fine continuation of our school’s esteemed traditions. I am very gratified and happy.”

”Thank you for your praise, Mr. Ding. This is what I should do.” Du Heng looked at Director Ding and smiled. ”They say, ’When poor, cultivate oneself; when prosperous, benefit the world.’ While I haven’t reached the stage of benefiting the world, I’m still willing to do what I can to help traditional Chinese medicine advance.”

Such lofty words made Director Ding smile even more, and he once again expressed his appreciation for Du Heng. ”I am glad that Xiao Du has this understanding. You bring honor to our school. As a teacher at the school, I certainly support your decision.”

His tone then shifted abruptly. ”However, Xiao Du, you also know our hospital bears the school’s teaching responsibilities, and the pressure is quite significant.”

Before Director Ding could finish, Du Heng seized the opportunity during the pause and said directly, ”Mr. Ding, that’s my oversight. I didn’t consider it thoroughly. How about this: for any doctor who graduated from our school and is currently employed at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the training fee will be reduced by 100,000 yuan, making it just 50,000 yuan.”

Fifty thousand yuan? Still charging money? And it has to be a graduate from our own school? Was everything he just said pointless then?

He knew better than anyone how many graduates from their own school were in his Traditional Chinese Medicine Internal Medicine Department—only one from each age cohort.

Sending a resident doctor for training would be pointless, as they likely couldn’t keep up with Du Heng’s pace.

Sending a Deputy Director would be too humiliating, and sending the Director himself was out of the question.

So, sending attending physicians for training was the most cost-effective option. They had a good foundation and experience, and they could be put to use immediately after the project ended.

But in the end, not only would they have to spend money, but there was only one candidate who met the criteria. For everyone else, it was still 150,000 yuan. You might as well be robbing people!

He also regretted speaking too hastily, so readily supporting Du Heng’s decision. He hadn’t expected this young man to be so unyielding, leaving him in an awkward position due to his own words, struggling to save face.

However, since things had come to this, Director Ding could only continue along the same lines, ”Well then, Xiao Du, you’ll need to put more effort into the thesis matter.”

Du Heng nodded seriously. ”Don’t worry, Mr. Ding. I will certainly enforce strict requirements, provide meticulous guidance, and strive for the completion of multiple high-quality core publications. I absolutely will not tolerate any slackening of effort or attempts to muddle through on their part.”

Is that what I meant?

It was unclear whether Du Heng was feigning ignorance or genuinely confused. Seeing Du Heng’s response, Director Ding could only state his point more clearly, ”Xiao Du, you also need to write a thesis yourself, don’t you?”

”Yes, Mr. Ding. I plan to complete my Master’s graduation thesis by the end of this year and my Ph.D. graduation thesis by the end of next year.”

As soon as Du Heng finished, Li Jianwei immediately added, ”This year’s Master’s thesis, write it to a high standard, and you need to publish several more. Next month, I’m preparing to have you register for next year’s Senior professional title. Your qualifications for an exceptional promotion are sufficient.”

For a moment, everyone present looked at Du Heng with envy.

Among these people, with the possible exception of Director Nie, who hadn’t dedicated ten to twenty years to achieve their current positions?

Who among them hadn’t fought tooth and nail for thesis authorship slots and employment quotas?

But look at Du Heng: after laying the foundation for six years, he advanced one step each year. In just eight years, he had accomplished what took them nearly twenty years of effort. How could they not be envious?

But witnessing his accomplishments and knowing he had a mentor who wasn’t greedy for his thesis authorship slots, they found it hard even to be truly envious. They could only watch helplessly, practically drooling.

Director Ding stared at the mentor and disciple in surprise. Their answers had completely shut down what he had intended to say.

If he wanted to make any further requests, the words simply wouldn’t come out.

Seeing Director Ding choked into silence, Du Heng spoke again. ”Thank you for the reminder just now, Mr. Ding. In that case, let’s extend the same terms to the Municipal First Hospital. After all, they contributed significantly to the development of the Zhonghu Health Center and this project in the initial stages.”

The Director from the Municipal First Hospital smiled and nodded. They hadn’t invested much money initially, so 50,000 yuan per training slot was something they could accept, even if it meant gritting their teeth.

Actually, he was more interested in having Du Heng train a few doctors skilled in emergency treatment, as Du Heng’s emergency skills were renowned at the Municipal First Hospital.

Hearing Du Heng start to offer slots at 50,000 yuan each, the others present began to feel anxious.

Spending over 100,000 yuan to secure a core first-author paper and train a few doctors in the process was perfectly acceptable to them.

A publication not only adds to the author’s credentials but also to the reputation of the hospital where the doctor-writer is employed, which is very useful during evaluations and rankings.

So, spending money on publications was acceptable.

But now, according to Du Heng, the money would only cover doctor training, and at a cost of 150,000 yuan per person, this was simply unacceptable.

Moreover, Du Heng had also made it very clear: the project was his, and he wasn’t short of money. Right now, there was really nothing they could do about Du Heng.

The First Affiliated Hospital of JZU was formidable, weren’t they? Yet Du Heng had rebuffed them on the spot, essentially telling them to take it or leave it; he didn’t care.

And Director Ding from the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine? He was, after all, a teacher from Du Heng’s own school, arguably a superior. Yet, if one listened to Du Heng’s words—though tactfully phrased—they clearly constituted a rebuttal.

Realizing this, everyone began to feel troubled.

Should they give up? This ’meat’ was too tempting. If they didn’t take a bite, others certainly would.

But to take it meant a 150,000 yuan training fee per person, with no guarantee of a publication. Who could stomach that?

If the money benefited the collective, it would be one thing. But if it only guaranteed the training of a single individual, that would cause an uproar.