This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Ignoring the agitated Cui Ying, Du Heng turned to Qiu Pingzhen. ”Has Dr. Cui had any complaints before?”

Qiu Pingzhen adjusted his glasses and glanced at Cui Ying before answering, ”She has had thirteen complaints before, all about arguing with patients.”

Du Heng let out an ”Oh.” ”Compile the information, and we’ll discuss it at the meeting next Monday.”

”Discuss what?” Qiu Pingzhen was puzzled, unable to follow Du Heng’s train of thought.

”What do you think?” Du Heng asked, casting a cold glance at Qiu Pingzhen.

That look sent shivers down Qiu Pingzhen’s spine. He hadn’t expected Du Heng to be so direct. Cui Ying had merely talked back to him, and he was already thinking of getting rid of her.

”Dean,” Qiu Pingzhen hesitated for a moment but, for some reason, still said in front of the patient, ”Dr. Cui is Director Liu’s wife’s sister.”

Director Liu... Currently, the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital had no Dean with the surname Liu. Only the former Dean had that surname.

Du Heng looked at Qiu Pingzhen, his eyes narrowing slightly as he said indifferently, ”Seeing how cautious you are, I thought she was your sister-in-law, Director Qiu.”

Qiu Pingzhen forced a smile, not daring to continue the conversation with Du Heng.

Cui Ying, however, was completely furious. She pointed at Du Heng and shouted, ”What do you want, Du?”

What a shrew, Du Heng thought, his anger flaring.

”Director Qiu, you’re not doing a very good job as the Medical Affairs Director if you can’t even manage one doctor. By the way, where have our security guards been all this time? Are they all in the office having tea? Inform them that each security guard is to be fined 100 yuan, and they are to submit the fine to the finance department by this afternoon.”

Qiu Pingzhen had never imagined the fire would spread to him. He quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Seeing Cui Ying about to speak again, he shot her a warning look, urging her not to add fuel to the fire.

Cui Ying, actually somewhat intimidated by Du Heng by this point, took the cue and quickly backed down.

Du Heng ignored them and turned to the patient and her companion, speaking sincerely, ”I apologize. We have management issues. I am the Dean of the hospital, and on behalf of the hospital, I sincerely apologize to both of you.”

The patient and the woman beside her seemed like the type who wouldn’t argue and had gentle personalities. Consequently, upon hearing Du Heng’s apology, they didn’t make a fuss as they had before. However, the patient pointed at Cui Ying and said, ”I want her to apologize. She didn’t cure my illness—in fact, it got worse. She needs to compensate me.”

Just as Cui Ying, who had been momentarily subdued by Du Heng, heard the demand for compensation, she flared up again. ”I’ll compensate you...”

Du Heng immediately shot her a cold look, scaring her into swallowing the rest of her words.

”Regarding compensation,” Du Heng said to the patient, ”that can only be determined after a proper examination and confirmation. We can’t just decide on compensation because you demand it.”

”Last time I came, I said it was a minor inflammation down there. But after using the medicine she prescribed, it’s now painful and itchy, and in some places, the skin is even broken. What’s there to check? It’s clearly her fault.”

”Don’t worry, we’ll conduct an examination first. If it is indeed our doctor’s fault, I won’t be biased. I will ensure you receive a satisfactory resolution.”

Perhaps it was Du Heng’s earlier attitude or his sincerity, but the patient and her companion eventually agreed to his request.

Du Heng then had the patient sit down and took a seat next to her. ”Place your hand flat on the table; I’ll take your pulse.”

The patient placed her hand on the table and asked suspiciously, ”Are you a traditional Chinese medicine doctor?”

Du Heng smiled. ”Is that surprising? Please stick out your tongue so I can take a look.”

After the initial examination, Du Heng said to the patient, ”Your vaginal discharge is black and has a slight odor.”

The patient’s eyes lit up. ”Yes, it used to be white, and there wasn’t much of it. But about three months ago, it suddenly turned black. When I came for a check-up last week, I was told there was inflammation.”

Du Heng nodded. ”You’ve had a constant, dull pain in your lower abdomen, a sharp, cutting pain when you urinate, and there’s swelling down there, right?”

”Yes, yes, Doctor, you’re absolutely right! I’m even afraid to go to the bathroom now.”

”You’re afraid to go to the bathroom, so you try not to drink water. Yet, you often feel thirsty and crave water, preferably ice-cold water or cold drinks, to feel comfortable.”

The patient’s eyes widened in amazement.

Some of that information Du Heng might have gotten from her disease record. But these latter things... no doctor here had asked about them, and she hadn’t mentioned them.

”Doctor, what exactly is wrong with me? Is there a way to treat it?”

”It’s simple; not a big problem. Your condition is due to excessive stomach heat. This heat combines with the fire from your Life Gate, bladder, and Triple Burner, scorching the fluids until they dry up and turn black like charcoal. Have you seen other traditional Chinese medicine practitioners before?”

”Yes.”

”And what did they say?”

”They said I had too much internal cold and needed treatment to expel dampness and drive out cold.”

Du Heng shook his head and continued, ”While you were taking the medicine from our doctor here, were you also continuing to take the previous Chinese herbal medicine?”

The patient paused, stunned. ”Yes. I came here for the inflammation, not the black discharge. Of course, I took them together.”

”In that case, you really can’t blame our doctor. Your illness is a transformation of extreme heat, not a syndrome of cold. The entire approach was wrong. How could the illness possibly get better? It would only get worse.”

At this point, Cui Ying, standing behind Du Heng, said smugly, ”See? I told you it wasn’t my fault! Why should I apologize? Why should I compensate?”

Seeing Du Heng’s cold glance, Qiu Pingzhen quickly whispered to her, ”Can you please say a little less? Just shut up.”

Cui Ying also saw Du Heng’s gaze and could only sulkily close her mouth again.

The patient wanted to retort, but at this moment, she was more concerned about her own condition. The thought of what happened each time she urinated made her shudder.

”Doctor, what should I do now? Can my condition still be treated?” After Du Heng’s series of questions and answers, she had begun to trust him completely.

Du Heng’s lips curved slightly into a warm smile. ”Your condition involves fire knotted in the lower body that doesn’t flare upwards. The treatment method, therefore, is primarily to clear this fire. Once the fire and heat recede, the dampness will resolve on its own, and the symptoms we just discussed will naturally fade. However, you were previously taking medicine to expel dampness and drive out cold. Expelling dampness isn’t the issue, but driving out cold in your case was like pouring oil on a fire. Therefore, the formula I prescribe this time will need to be a bit stronger. Can you accept that?”

”Yes, I can definitely accept it! As long as it cures my problem, I’ll accept anything.”

Du Heng then turned to Cui Ying, who was standing nearby. ”Get me a pen and a prescription paper.”

”Oh.” Cui Ying quickly fetched the items for Du Heng, her attitude a complete 180-degree turn from before. This change was driven partly by intimidation and partly by astonishment at his medical skill.

Now, all that remained was the final step: to see if Du Heng’s prescription would actually work.

Just as Cui Ying was thinking this, Du Heng, who had taken the pen and was about to write, said, ”I will prescribe six daily doses of Li Huo Tang. You will take one daily dose, split into two servings—one in the morning and one in the evening. As long as you take it according to my instructions, I can guarantee this: with the first day’s dose, the pain during urination will stop, and it will become smooth. With the second day’s dose, the black discharge will turn white. With the third, the white discharge will also lessen. After three more days’ doses, you will be completely cured.”

Du Heng felt a bit helpless. He was afraid the woman would bring up the complaint and compensation again, so he had to offer her the strongest possible assurance. He hadn’t done something like this since he first received the system last year.

I can’t believe it, he thought. A new official’s three fires haven’t even been lit yet, and I’ve already broken a personal rule.

Damn it all! What kind of situation is this?

This guarantee settled the woman’s heart, but she still asked doubtfully, ”Doctor, can it really work that fast?”

”Have you heard the saying, ’A single spark can start a prairie fire’?”

”Yes, I have. But what does that have to do with your prescription, Doctor?”

”It’s the same principle as a fire department fighting a fire. They must act swiftly to extinguish it in one go. If they are too slow, the fire will spread, burn endlessly, and might even grow stronger the more they try to put it out.”

Du Heng had thrown caution to the wind now, hoping to impress upon the patient the image of a master physician. ”I use a combination of cold-natured medicinals like Coptis, Gypsum, Gardenia, and Anemarrhena, introduced along with Rhubarb. This will swiftly sweep away the fire. Furthermore, we leverage the potent and rapid dampness-dispelling properties of Wang Buliuxing and Liu Jinu, so neither dampness nor heat has a chance to linger. Then, we add sojutsu var to fortify the Spleen (Earth element), Poria to leach out dampness, and Plantago to promote urination. In this way, the fire recedes, beneficial fluids are restored, and the condition will be cured.”