This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Wu Shengnan’s father looked at Du Heng with a peculiar expression and asked softly, ”You said ninety-nine percent. What about the remaining one percent? Is it true that someone can actually diagnose it?”

”That remaining one percent isn’t diagnosed in the conventional sense; rather, it’s determined through a practitioner’s rich personal medical experience and comprehensive judgment.”

”What about you?”

After a brief pause, Du Heng looked into Wu Shengnan’s father’s eyes and said softly, ”If a patient presents with other significant symptoms, then combined with the pulse, I can generally confirm it. If it’s based solely on the pulse without significant pathological features, I can’t be 100% sure either.”

After hearing Du Heng’s words, Wu Shengnan’s father suddenly let out a long breath and said, ”That’s enough.”

Enough? What does he mean?

Du Heng was suddenly taken aback for a moment.

He couldn’t help but glance at his future father-in-law a few more times. Could it be that he himself felt unwell?

Just as Du Heng hesitated whether to ask him directly, Wu Shengnan’s father suddenly asked, ”If—I mean if—if it is diagnosed as a tumor, can you definitely cure it?”

Du Heng hurriedly shook his head; this was something he dared not promise recklessly. ”Uncle, it depends on the specific situation and location of the tumor. For example, cancer patients in the middle-late stage with poor physical condition often can’t withstand my Chinese herbal medicine; their bodies can’t handle it. There are also cases where people have multiple diseases, such as colon cancer coexisting with stomach ulcers. Chinese herbal medicine can’t treat them either. During the detoxification process to improve blood flow and remove toxins, the ulcerated area would also be irritated by the medicine, worsening its condition. Moreover, I have to point out that for some tumors, surgical treatment is much more effective than drug treatment. The recovery is better, the time is shorter, and the patient suffers less.”

Wu Shengnan’s father sat on his big chair, silent for a long time, and then asked many more questions about tumors.

Such questions greatly increased Du Heng’s doubts. He couldn’t help but wonder if someone in Wu Shengnan’s family, like the old man or her mother, had a problem.

However, recalling the dinner from two nights ago, Du Heng mentally reviewed everyone’s condition and found nothing amiss.

On the way back, Du Heng remained puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Wu Shengnan’s father would ask him such questions, as they seemed to have no relation to his scope of work.

If it wasn’t a family member and not work-related, could he be asking for a colleague? But upon further thought, that possibility didn’t hold up either. His colleagues were at the same level as him, or even higher. These individuals would have regular check-ups by experts from the Health Group, so it wouldn’t fall to his father-in-law to ask on their behalf.

If he couldn’t figure it out, he’d stop thinking about it. He couldn’t fathom the thoughts of people like that.

「The next day at work」

Du Heng put the matter behind him. First, he convened a meeting to delegate project tasks. He asked Doctor Ma to prepare the Chinese Medicine Department for patient intake and to actively coordinate with several other departments. He also arranged for Wu Buwei to sort out the disease records of the patients being transferred. This was to ensure they could receive treatment immediately after transfer, without any omissions or being left unattended.

Then Du Heng kept Director Zheng from the Hospital Office and Director Qiu behind, tasking them with reviewing the project agreement and handling the paperwork for the doctors participating in the project. He also assigned an additional task to Director Zheng: preparing for the project launch ceremony on Monday.

Finally, he mandated that everyone work overtime this week, without taking days off, to get all these tasks completed.

Once all matters were assigned, Du Heng took a deep breath. He then prepared to head to the Municipal Bureau to invite its leadership to the ceremony. When there were no plans for a ceremony, he hadn’t intended to do so. But now that a ceremony was being planned, and leaders from the Provincial Department were attending, he couldn’t overlook the leaders from the Municipal Bureau.

Regardless of anything else, his Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital was not a provincially-managed unit but a municipally-managed one through and through. For such a significant matter, if he offended his direct superiors, there would be no future for him... because that future would be filled with them making things endlessly difficult for him. This had nothing to do with fame.

With this understanding, Du Heng knew he had to personally go and invite the leaders of the Municipal Bureau. Moreover, they had provided funding for the project. While not a large sum, it was enough for the doctors participating in the project to be well-off for a period.

But just as he was about to get up, he saw Vice Dean Qiao still there, showing no intention of leaving. So, he took the initiative to ask, ”Is there something else, Vice Dean Qiao?”

”Yes, a big deal.”

Now Du Heng’s interest was piqued. He had just spoken with Vice Dean Qiao a couple of days prior, and he was very curious as to what major issue this could be, what kind of major issue it could possibly be.

Seeing Du Heng sit up straight, Vice Dean Qiao also became serious. ”Dean, do you remember the matter concerning the Zhonghu Health Center?”

Du Heng was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead hard. He just knew he’d forgotten something important, but amidst all the hustle and bustle, it had slipped his mind. Deputy Dean Qiao’s reminder finally brought it back: yes, there was still the unresolved issue of the health center. And the matter of the health center, truth be told, had always been a thorn in his side—not a major one, but a persistent source of unease.

”Yes, I remember that. How are your discussions with them progressing?” Du Heng asked hurriedly.

Deputy Dean Qiao coughed softly and then said, ”When this task was first assigned to me, I contacted the Zhonghu Health Center. Your intention, Dean, is to help the Zhonghu Health Center improve through this project. However, you’re aware of the health center’s situation; it’s not an issue that can be resolved merely by training one or two doctors.”

Du Heng frowned as well. This issue was also a headache for him. Its foundation is too weak, and it lacks any specialty to speak of. Any assistance would be but a drop in the bucket, and rapid improvement in the short term is simply not feasible.

Deputy Dean Qiao paused for a breath before continuing, ”I met with the leadership of the health center twice, but we couldn’t arrive at a satisfactory outcome. However, our dealings with the Zhonghu Health Center came to the attention of the Zhonghu District Bureau, and the district leadership proactively contacted us. After several discussions, they proposed a solution that I think is quite good.”

Du Heng’s eyes brightened slightly. ”What solution?”

”Establish a branch,” Deputy Dean Qiao said with a pleased smile.

”A branch?” Du Heng frowned in confusion.

”Yes, a branch,” Deputy Dean Qiao said with a smile. ”To turn the Zhonghu Health Center into a branch of our Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital.”

”Was it the district that proposed this?” Du Heng still looked incredulous.

”Indeed, it was their initiative to propose this solution. Because the Zhonghu Health Center is a district-affiliated unit, the district’s approval is all that’s needed.” Seeing Du Heng’s doubt, Deputy Dean Qiao quickly explained, ”I’ve also discussed this plan with the city leadership. Big Leader was very much in favor of this plan. He said it would not only expand the influence of our Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital but also tangibly aid medical services in mountainous areas. It’s a triple-win situation. Furthermore, Big Leader also provided guidance regarding our recent plans. He stated that our hospital, regardless of other factors, is a Maternal and Child Health Specialized Hospital. Our primary responsibility must remain focused on safeguarding the health of women and children. Big Leader suggested that if the Zhonghu Health Center becomes our branch, we can gradually transfer the stroke research to the branch. This way, it wouldn’t affect our hospital’s primary responsibilities and would also help the health center develop rapidly. Moreover, the health center already had the foundation you established there. It’s just that in the four months since your departure, they lacked a guiding hand, which is why they suddenly veered off the fast track. Now, with you returning to take the helm, the health center will undoubtedly get back on the right track.”

Du Heng let out a long breath.

He suddenly found the world rather amusing. It was like a large circle, always leading back to the origin after much meandering. In an instant, the ’stone’ that had been weighing on his heart vanished. Four months ago, he had left in disgrace. Four months later, he surprisingly had the chance to return with his head held high.