This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Xu Pinglin casually touched his teacup with one hand. ”What are you planning now? You can’t keep things hanging indefinitely, right?”

”My teacher asked me to start working in the outpatient service of the Chinese Medicine Department the day after tomorrow.”

”That’s fine. After all, you’re still in the Chinese Medicine Department and are also the externally-employed Deputy Director of my Digestion Department 1. As long as you continue your professional practice, this working relationship can always exist.”

As Xu Pinglin spoke, his eyes glinted. ”How about this? Considering you’re feeling stifled now, why don’t you just quit and become the Deputy Director in my Digestion Department 1? I can arrange a hospital-employed position for you. If you want an authorized job, I’ll talk to Li about it. With your current reputation, I believe the hospital will definitely consider it.”

Du Heng felt stirred. This proposal didn’t seem like a bad solution at the moment.

But when he thought of Zhonghu Health Center, a strong sense of reluctance welled within him. That was a situation he had painstakingly built up. He had just begun to serve the local ordinary people, helping them with their practical problems. To leave now... he couldn’t bear to, and he felt both reluctant and unwilling to accept it.

He gave a bitter smile and said, ”Let’s keep things as they are for now. Once things at the Bureau stabilize, I believe a solution will present itself soon.”

Xu Pinglin also smiled. ”Alright, you make the decision. However, since you’re going to see patients in the Chinese Medicine Department, how about helping out in my Digestion Department 1 for a day or two each week as well?”

Xu Pinglin wasn’t in a rush. Everyone was still young, and there were plenty of opportunities. Last year, he couldn’t win against Li Jianwei, but in the end, hadn’t Du Heng still become an externally employed physician in his department? So, there was no need to rush. Haste makes waste; it was best to take things slowly.

Upon hearing Xu Pinglin’s request, Du Heng laughed. ”How could that possibly work? If I see patients in the Chinese Medicine Department one day and in Digestion Department 1 the next, I’d be inundated with complaints. No, no, that won’t do. Besides, I’m a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, and when I’m on outpatient service, I rarely order check-ups. However, most people who come to Digestion Department 1 are there specifically for check-ups. If not, they would have gone directly to the Chinese Medicine Department. So, I’d better just stick to seeing patients in the Chinese Medicine Department.”

Xu Pinglin had only been making a casual suggestion. Seeing Du Heng’s refusal, he let the matter drop, especially since their employment contract didn’t stipulate outpatient service duties.

Time flew by as they chatted happily in the office about patients and their conditions. More than an hour passed quickly, and it was almost time to get off work.

Just then, Gu Ping rushed in. ”Director, Mr. Du, the patient has had a bowel movement.”

Du Heng was delighted and quickly asked, ”What was it like?”

”Extremely dark and foul-smelling, viscous and unformed. Moreover, there were three roundworms, each about five centimeters long, and another one exceeding twenty centimeters.”

Gu Ping answered Du Heng’s question very quickly, trying to minimize the discomfort his answer might cause.

There really was so much, and it was truly disgusting.

Du Heng stood up, gestured to Gu Ping, and they headed towards the hospital room. ”Let’s go take a look.”

When they arrived at the hospital room, the patient was able to lie flat comfortably, no longer exhibiting the intense pain from before.

Du Heng asked, ”Are you in pain now?”

”It still hurts a little here, a sort of throbbing pain, but it’s much milder now.”

”Has your fever gone down? Do you still feel hot?”

”I don’t think so anymore.”

Du Heng performed a pulse diagnosis again; the patient’s pulse had also recovered significantly.

”Alright, continue taking the previous prescription. Don’t stop. You’ll be better soon.”

”Thank you, Doctor.”

Du Heng smiled and left the hospital room with Gu Ping. ”Tell Doctor Zhou he can remove the mirabilite. The rest of the original prescription remains unchanged.”

Gu Ping nodded, indicating he had taken note. ”Mr. Du, what are the key points to be aware of when treating this type of condition?”

”First, use acupuncture and bloodletting. This is the quickest way to alleviate pain, stop vomiting, and reduce high fever. It’s crucial that this achieves an immediate and decisive effect against the disease’s momentum, clearing obstacles for syndrome differentiation and medication. Otherwise, it will significantly interfere with the subsequent use of medication.”

Recalling the treatment process, Du Heng slowly explained to Gu Ping, ”When using Prescriptions, the first point is to achieve a clear syndrome differentiation. Act decisively when the opportunity arises; do not hesitate. Acute abdominal conditions like this develop very rapidly. Every second you hesitate increases the patient’s danger.

Secondly, it’s the same old point we always discuss: you must pay attention to the dosage. You can’t just increase the dosage because the patient has an acute abdominal condition, thinking you’ll achieve rapid results. That’s highly impractical.”

Gu Ping carefully committed Du Heng’s words to memory and then asked, ”Mr. Du, the prescription you used today—can it be used universally for similar symptoms encountered in the future?”

Du Heng paused in his stride, contemplated for a moment, then said, ”Diseases diagnosed by Western medicine, such as acute cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, biliary colic, and acute pancreatitis, often present with traditional Chinese medicine patterns like intense heat in the triple burner, abdominal fullness with dryness and hardness, or heat-bind in the chest. Using Major Bupleurum Decoction as the core formula in such cases is, I believe, a viable approach.”

Gu Ping also halted, thought for a moment, and said, ”Then, the added medicinals like black plum, Sichuan pepper, coptis, asarum, and mirabilite—were those specifically for treating the roundworm infestation?”

”Yes, this is recorded in the *Golden Chamber* concerning roundworm reversal. You can use it with confidence. However, if you encounter such a disease pattern again, in addition to these medicine ingredients, it’s best to add honey as a guide to achieve the optimal therapeutic effect.”