This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

After a busy day at the Health Clinic, Du Heng and Wang Shuqiu returned to the mountain after work.

Today, Du Xuejing’s college entrance examination results came out: 584 points.

An extremely good score. It was nearly 70 points higher than Du Heng’s score back then. That’s why he could only attend Jinzhou’s Traditional Chinese Medicine University, which required just over 480 points.

Du Xuejing’s score was also a big surprise to everyone.

You should know that this little girl’s scores were very unstable during her usual tests; she could score as low as four hundred eighty or ninety, or as high as five hundred forty or fifty. But now she scored a 584—an absolute pleasant surprise.

With Du Xuejing’s score, Du Heng felt that Du Ping should take the whole family to pay respects to their ancestors; this success was surely due to their ancestral blessings.

At dinner that night, the whole family was in a cheerful mood, already discussing which school Du Xuejing should attend and what major she should choose.

After all, with a score of 584, there were many options.

Her big brother, Du Ping, and sister-in-law, Zhang Sumei, though not highly educated, both had their own ideas.

Du Ping said, ”I think it’s better for Tingting to study medicine.”

This suggestion happened to coincide with Du Xuejing’s own preference, as she most wanted to attend a medical college.

Du Ping continued, ”Here’s my thinking. Xiao Heng is doing very well now, and his future prospects are even brighter. So, if Tingting studies medicine and becomes a doctor, Xiao Heng can help her get started, and her job prospects should be secure.”

His considerations were good, but his sister-in-law strongly disagreed, ”Being a doctor is not a good idea.”

At that, the whole family looked at Zhang Sumei in surprise.

Zhang Sumei, feeling a surge of palpitations under their gazes, quickly said, ”I misspoke. I didn’t mean that being a doctor isn’t good; I meant that it’s not good for Tingting, as a girl, to be a doctor.”

Du Xuejing pouted at her mother, ”What’s wrong with being a doctor? Saving lives, healing the injured, and being called a White Angel. And look at my Little Uncle; he’s greeted with smiles and respect everywhere he goes. How can that be a bad thing?”

Zhang Sumei glared at Du Xuejing, ”You think you can compare yourself to your Little Uncle? Aren’t you ashamed?”

”Why can’t I compare? My Little Uncle barely scored over five hundred in the college entrance examination, while I’m close to six hundred.”

A proud Du Xuejing made Du Heng cough twice uncomfortably.

”You cheeky girl, you actually have the nerve to say that! When your Little Uncle was in school, he had a living allowance of 30 yuan a week, and that had to include his transportation fare. But you? Even 100 yuan a week isn’t enough. And don’t think I don’t know about the extra money your Little Uncle secretly gave you. With so much money spent on you, if you hadn’t done well on the test, would you even have the face to come back?”

Wang Shuqiu looked amusedly at Du Heng, not expecting him to have had only 30 yuan a week when he was at school. But what she didn’t know was that when he was in university, his weekly living allowance was still only 45 yuan.

Du Heng laughed and said, ”Alright, Sister-in-law, you can’t compare my school days with Tingting’s. When I was in school, a bowl of beef noodles was 2 yuan; now it’s 8 yuan. Back then, a plate of fried noodles was 3 yuan, and they even added a fried egg. Now, fried noodles are 13 yuan, and there’s no egg. It’s not comparable at all.”

Du Xuejing quickly steered the conversation back, ”I just want to go to medical school.”

”You should go to a normal university; I think being a teacher is better. Look at your little aunt. She clocks out on time every day, doesn’t have to work overtime, and gets weekends and holidays off. She also has two long breaks during the winter and summer. As a girl, this is the best kind of job.”

Pointing to Du Heng, Zhang Sumei continued, ”Just look at your Little Uncle. Though he’s a Dean now, has he had any rest these past two months? He’s on call at night and works overtime during holidays. When he finally has some time off, he gets called away to treat some patient, and who knows where or when. Do you think you, as a young girl, could bear such hardships?”

Although Zhang Sumei’s words about teachers were based on some truth, it was a classic case of seeing the thief feasting but not the thief being punished—they only saw the benefits of the job, not the challenges.

It’s true that teachers have various holidays and can often keep regular hours, but this regular schedule mostly applies to elementary and middle school teachers; high school teachers rarely enjoy such treatment.

As for elementary school teachers, what Zhang Sumei said was partly accurate. However, teachers also need to go home and grade homework and write lesson plans after work. And because everyone assumes elementary school teachers have it easy, they are often burdened with various activities, participating in all sorts of events arranged by the community or the bureau.

Idle? How could that be possible?

Furthermore, elementary school teachers have a major nemesis: parents who coddle their children excessively. You can’t criticize or discipline the students; even a slightly raised voice can lead to complaints of verbal abuse. Just dealing with these parents is enough to ensure elementary school teachers are never relaxed.

The only exception would be a ’Buddhist-style’ teacher. Such a teacher would lack a sense of mission in educating the next generation. They would allow their students to do whatever they want and wouldn’t worry about communication with parents. At that point, this teacher would truly be relaxed—remarkably so.

Of course, Zhang Sumei’s suggestion was for her daughter’s own good; after all, having one doctor in the family, Du Heng, was enough. For her daughter, being able to take it easy and be happy was best.

With two differing opinions in the family, Du Xuejing playfully tugged on Wang Shuqiu’s arm. ”Little aunt, please help me persuade them.”

Wang Shuqiu smiled gently. ”If you ask me, I also agree with your mother’s opinion. Being a teacher is quite good. Besides, you’ve seen your Little Uncle’s current state. We don’t know what he’s like at work, so let’s not talk about that. Let’s just talk about after he comes home from work. When have you ever seen your Little Uncle sleeping soundly through the night or spending all night playing on his phone?”

Du Xuejing paused, feeling like she had chosen the wrong person to ask for help. Just as she was about to switch targets, Wang Shuqiu continued, ”He reads and studies every day. His books are often as thick as three or four fingers, or they are obscure and difficult old texts. Do you think you have the perseverance to continue such high-intensity learning after starting work?”

Du Xuejing was stunned. As Wang Shuqiu spoke, she recalled the cabinet full of books in Du Heng’s room in the adjacent courtyard. She remembered how, every weekend or every evening after Du Heng came home, he would be engrossed in a thick volume, turning page after page.

This made her hesitate, and she looked at Du Heng, her eyes filled with confusion.

Du Heng smiled helplessly at his niece. He didn’t want to study so much; in fact, he didn’t really have to anymore. But the classics of traditional Chinese medicine were as vast as the ocean, and the notes of every renowned practitioner were a priceless treasure. How could he not study them? Moreover, just as stones from other mountains could be used to polish jade, learning more about Western medicine also enhanced his own skills and showed respect for his patients’ lives. In this profession, one had to learn as long as one lived.