This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Just as everyone was frantically trying to come up with a solution, Du Heng spoke again.

”I’ll waive the fees for the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. You can send five people, and I’ll train them for free.”

”Really?”

The Director of Internal Medicine at the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital widened his eyes. Their hospital didn’t have much money to offer. As for connections, they barely had any with Du Heng. He had already been on the verge of giving up on this opportunity, so happiness had come quite unexpectedly.

”Why?”

Before the excitement from that quarter had even subsided, Director Nie, who was nearby, also widened his eyes. Fine, the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine helped him, and Director Ding is practically his superior. So, 50,000 yuan per spot? No problem, one has to consider personal connections. But what on earth is this Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital? What connection could they possibly have with Du Heng to warrant such favoritism?

This was the question on everyone’s mind, including the director of the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, who also wanted to voice those same three words.

Du Heng coughed lightly and said nonchalantly, ”The reason I’m offering this for free is, firstly, because the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, like the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital, is a city-managed institution. We’re kindred spirits in hardship, both relatively poor and lacking funds.

Secondly, it’s because the standard of the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital is appallingly low, so low it’s shocking and infuriating.”

That was like cursing a monk to his face! Was Du Heng being deliberately disrespectful? Or had he simply gone mad?

Once again, everyone was stunned by his words. This was far harsher than his refusal of Director Nie; this wasn’t just criticism, it was a downright insult.

For a moment, all eyes turned to the director of the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. They wanted to see how he would react to being insulted so directly. Would he angrily retort to Du Heng and then storm off?

The director of the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital wasn’t thinking that far ahead; his mind was momentarily blank.

One second he was elated and excited, thinking he’d lucked into a fantastic opportunity, and the next he was being openly berated. He hadn’t anticipated this at all, especially in such a formal setting where everyone maintained a dignified appearance.

Li Jianwei hadn’t expected it either. He couldn’t believe Du Heng would suddenly do such a thing. He quickly turned to Du Heng and whispered, ”What’s wrong with you? How could you say something like that? Apologize, quickly!”

But Du Heng stubbornly shook his head.

His grudge with the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital was unknown to everyone except Wu Buwei. Even the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital itself had no idea how they had offended Du Heng.

”You all might think I’ve gone too far,” Du Heng continued. ”My teacher also wants me to apologize, but I refuse. I believe what I said is justified. In fact, I should thank the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital for their level of incompetence.”

Du Heng took a deep breath. Today, he was going to lay bare his grievances with the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital for all to hear.

”You may not know how my stroke project grew to be so successful. After I’ve finished speaking, you’ll understand why I say I should be grateful for the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital’s ’help.’

Last year, I was just a TCM physician at a Township Health Center. Although I had gained some reputation in our township by then, it was mostly confined to the area, where I treated local patients suffering from paralysis or hemiplegia.”

Du Heng sighed. ”Our Township Health Center is much closer to the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital than to the Municipal First Hospital. Consequently, most of our local patients would go to the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital for treatment, which led to an overlap in our patient populations.

After I gained some fame, people from our township started coming to me. Many of these patients had been misdiagnosed, or had conditions as minor as slight facial paralysis or ’chicken-claw hands.’ In their cases, stroke medication had been misused. This negligence had callously turned people who could still walk into cases of paralysis or hemiplegia.

Around that time, I treated a journalist. He was grateful and published my story in the newspaper, and that’s how I became well-known. So, you see, without the patients ’created’ by the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and this project wouldn’t exist. Don’t you think I should be grateful to them?”

He might have let it slide, but thinking about the true origins of his fame made Du Heng’s anger flare up. ”After I became famous, the number of patients seeking my help increased dramatically, covering almost the entirety of Jinzhou.

At that time, we conducted some statistical analysis. About sixty-five percent of the patients we treated suffered from paralysis or hemiplegia caused by cerebral hemorrhage or other brain diseases. These patients, at the initial onset of their illness, were all sent to the Emergency Department and then transferred to the Neurology Department. Since these are Western medicine departments, we were powerless to help at that stage.

But the remaining thirty-five percent were all injuries caused by traditional Chinese medicine treatment.

Among these, patients from the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and the Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital were the most numerous, accounting for nearly seventy percent of this latter group.”

Du Heng stood up abruptly. These issues had been weighing on his mind for a long time. Left unsaid, they might have been overlooked, but once he started talking about them, the fire in his heart blazed.

”In terms of patient numbers, the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine accounted for slightly more, and the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital slightly fewer, but the reasons for their conditions were not entirely the same.

Patients present with numb hands due to stagnation of liver qi, and you treat it as a stroke. Patients exhibit speech difficulties due to hyperactive sovereign fire, and you still diagnose and treat it as a stroke.

I won’t go into all the other convoluted reasons. To sum it up, it’s incorrect syndrome differentiation and reckless misuse of stroke medication.”