This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

”Did you really bring him to me?” Wei Kaida looked at Du Yi, Du Heng’s nephew, his face a mask of astonishment.

Du Heng chuckled. ”Of course! My nephew truly has your kind of talent for this. I plan to use our traditional teaching methods with him, and right now, you’re his best first teacher.”

Hearing Du Heng’s flattery, Wei Kaida shot him a disdainful look. ”Find a seat yourself.” He then turned, walked into the inner room, and quickly returned with a bottle of water and a bottle of soda.

”You’re the most skilled among us,” Wei Kaida said, sitting down opposite Du Heng. He reached out and pulled the adorably clueless Du Yi into his embrace. ”Wouldn’t it be better for the child if you taught him? Besides, he’s still so young. Can’t you wait until he’s a bit older to talk about this?”

Du Yi glanced cautiously at Du Heng. Seeing his uncle smiling at him, he didn’t resist Wei Kaida’s action and snuggled obediently into his arms.

”Well, how should I put this?” Du Heng mused. ”This little rascal is usually quite mischievous and full of beans, enough to give anyone a headache. But he has one redeeming quality: he can actually sit still and focus. Last year, just to see what would happen, I gave him a copy of the ”Medical Three-Character Classic” and ”Decoctions in Rhymes.” Now, a year later, he’s surprisingly memorized all twenty-four sections of the ”Medical Three-Character Classic”.”

A smile never left Du Heng’s face as he spoke. ”You know, my job has kept me quite busy since last year, so I’ve rarely had time to supervise him. Plus, he has his own schooling and homework. So, the fact that he managed to memorize the entire text truly amazes me. What’s really impressive is that he figured out many unfamiliar characters by looking them up in the dictionary himself.”

After sharing this, Du Heng’s face beamed with even more pride as he said to Wei Kaida, ”And you know what? He remembers every part I’ve explained to him crystal clear, and he can even understand some of the simpler concepts on his own. So, tell me, for a child like him, is it really too early to start learning now?”

There was a large age gap between Du Xuejing and Du Yi. Similarly, there was a vast difference in their aptitude for traditional Chinese medicine, though this difference was the inverse of their age gap. Ever since Du Xuejing began her internship at the Health Clinic last winter vacation, the feedback Du Heng received was that the girl was diligent, but her talent in medicine was merely average. Simply put, she was much like his younger self—someone who had to put in painstaking effort to see results. But Du Yi had been a pleasant surprise for Du Heng; the child truly had a gift for understanding traditional Chinese medicine.

Since he has such talent, and I have the resources now, why not start cultivating it early?

Hearing Du Heng’s words, Wei Kaida tilted his head slightly, his gaze lingering on Du Yi in his arms for a few extra moments. Du Yi, in turn, met his gaze with an innocent and adorably clueless expression, wondering why this uncle was looking at him so intently.

Wei Kaida chuckled softly and asked, ”Your name is Du Yi, right?”

”Yes, I’m Du Yi, and I’m seven years old.”

”Your Little Uncle says you’re good at reciting from memory. Mind if I test you?”

”The book my Little Uncle asked me to memorize?”

”Of course.”

”Then go ahead and ask.”

Wei Kaida thought for a moment, then suddenly realized his memory of the ”Medical Three-Character Classic” was hazy; he actually didn’t know its specific contents. He could only turn a helpless, pleading gaze towards Du Heng.

How awkward.

Du Heng’s mouth twitched. He prompted, ”Of all illnesses, stroke is chief.”

”Of all illnesses, stroke is chief. Sudden onset, accessible from all directions. Closure and prolapse, fundamentally different. Expel the evil and open the closure, prolong life. Stabilize qi and rescue from collapse, the merit of ginseng and aconite...” Du Heng had barely uttered the first line when Du Yi’s clear, childish voice chimed in, continuing the recitation.

After Du Yi recited two sections flawlessly, without a single stutter, Du Heng stopped him. He then looked at Wei Kaida and said, ”This kid, reciting his school lessons is like pulling teeth for him. But this medical text? Nobody pushed him, and he memorized it to this extent. He must be genuinely interested to do that.”

However, no matter what Du Heng said, Wei Kaida paid him no mind. Instead, he leaned in and asked Du Yi a few questions in a low voice. Although Du Yi’s answers weren’t very precise and sounded a bit childish, they were clearly the product of his own thinking.

A smile in his eyes, Wei Kaida looked at Du Yi, quite satisfied with his performance. ”Alright, back to my earlier question. Among us, aside from Old Dong, my skill level is probably the lowest, and yours is the highest. Why don’t you take him under your wing personally?”

”You know very well why,” Du Heng said seriously. ”Jin and I both work at the hospital. How could we possibly have time to have a child with us there? Aside from the sheer inconvenience, we simply don’t have the time to teach him anything. But you’re different. You’re your own boss here. If a child sits beside you while you’re seeing patients, no one will bat an eye. Plus, you have more free time. You’re studying yourself right now, so you’ll have opportunities to explain things to him.”

Wei Kaida had mostly been thinking aloud with his earlier question. After hearing Du Heng’s explanation, he mulled it over for a moment then said, ”Alright, you can leave him with me to learn. Though my skills are inferior to yours, since he’ll be under my care, I get to decide how he’s taught.”

To this condition, Du Heng naturally agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

Actually, among the four of them, if one had to single out who possessed the best medical foundation and innate talent, it would undoubtedly be Wei Kaida. However, his past personality and habits, compounded by his family’s indulgence, had become impediments to his further progress.