This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng wasn’t embarrassed by Wu Shengnan’s teasing. He just smiled gently. ”To be honest, it might not be too easy for you to transfer to the Capital. But if you want to move to the Department, I’m confident I can find a decent connection for you within two years. Besides, if it really doesn’t work out, I’ll go to my father-in-law. I refuse to believe he’d just stand by and watch his daughter’s family live apart like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.”

Hearing Du Heng’s shameless words, Wu Shengnan rolled her eyes so hard they might have spun a full 720 degrees, the whites of her eyes showing prominently.

”There’s another issue,” Wu Shengnan said, her expression growing serious. ”What about you? You still have two research projects. What will happen to them if you leave? Will you take them with you, or leave them here?”

”Leave them here.” Du Heng had thought this through clearly. ”Firstly, I don’t want to cause unnecessary disruption. That wouldn’t be good for the projects or the people involved. Secondly, I probably can’t take them with me, nor should I.”

Wu Shengnan understood Du Heng’s meaning. Her delicate eyebrows arched slightly. ”That’s true, unless you decide never to return to Jinzhou for the rest of your life. But can things really proceed without you here?”

Du Heng laughed, the hand resting on Wu Shengnan’s shoulder gently tapping. ”Well, to be honest, at this stage, my role isn’t that significant anymore. It’s not as crucial as people might imagine. Traditional Chinese medicine isn’t like other scientific experiments. It’s often like piercing a thin paper window. Once you establish the connection between the disease and the underlying theories, that’s the essence of it. It’s like the old saying: ’False teachings may fill ten thousand scrolls, but true transmission can be a single sentence.’ This is especially applicable to traditional Chinese medicine.”

As he said this, Du Heng felt a complex, hard-to-describe emotion.

It’s gratifying when the people you mentor make progress. But as time goes on, and you gradually become less essential, a sense of disparity can grow in your heart.

”Currently, both projects share a common challenge: medication.” Du Heng paused briefly before continuing, ”The application of Chinese herbal medicine can’t be standardized and quantified in the same way as Western medicine.”

At this point, Du Heng paused again, then rephrased after some thought, ”It’s not that it’s entirely impossible, just that it can’t be as precise. If it’s formulated as a single, fixed dosage, it will have varying efficacy in different patients. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes individualized treatment, taking into account individual differences. Chinese herbal medicines are typically composed of multiple herbs, combined according to the roles of ’king,’ ’minister,’ and ’adjuvant’ ingredients. Therefore, it can’t be like Western medicine, where a single drug allergy test allows for direct use. In a Chinese herbal medicine prescription, adding or removing even a single medicine ingredient can sometimes lead to vastly different outcomes.”

Wu Shengnan murmured softly, ”Ah. So, you can’t leave the projects at all, then? What was the point of saying so much?”

Du Heng shook his head with a smile. ”Just hear me out. After nearly half a year of exploration, both project teams have actually formulated a general framework for treating different types of diseases. Once the correct disease type is identified, using medication within this framework might yield faster results in some patients and slower results in others, but safety is definitely not an issue. What the project teams are doing now is determining the most appropriate medication dosages for the specific characteristics of each corresponding disease, supported by extensive experimental data. This process is the most tedious, time-consuming, yet critical part of the entire project. It cannot be skipped, and the data absolutely cannot be falsified. Setting the direction, finding viable paths, and summarizing methods—that’s my responsibility as the one in charge. But the verification process is their task. However, come to think of it, most scientific research processes seem to follow this pattern. So, don’t worry. The next stage is primarily about dedicating time and accumulating sufficient data to verify and validate the findings. There won’t be any problems.”

Wu Shengnan still asked skeptically, ”Those people you’re leading... are they really up to it?”

Du Heng laughed heartily. ”Sweetheart, you underestimate my colleagues too much. It’s true they might not have known much or weren’t proficient before. But these are individuals being groomed as future leaders by the Departments in major hospitals. Do you really think they’re subpar? They might lack many things, but they certainly don’t lack the ability to learn. Given the chance, these individuals will unleash their potential explosively. It’s definitely not something a person like me, who just got lucky, can compare with.”

Du Heng was sincere in this last statement; he knew his own actual capabilities. But when Wu Shengnan heard it, she merely thought her husband was being overly modest.

”Are they really as amazing as you say?”

”Absolutely. In fact, I’m probably understating it.”

”If they knew you were praising them this much, wouldn’t they be ecstatic?”

Du Heng feigned thoughtfulness for a moment, then nodded seriously. ”You know, that’s entirely possible. Over the past half a year, I haven’t praised them much at all. On the contrary, I’ve consistently and ruthlessly rejected their treatment plans, criticizing them harshly.”

Wu Shengnan looked at Du Heng’s smug expression and shot him a disdainful glance. ”Look at you, all puffed up with pride about your rejections and criticisms. As if you’re the only one who knows anything!”