This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Moreover, you’ve been doing a great job lately, while I actually haven’t been doing much work. So, just continue working as you did before, do the necessary check-ups, and prescribe medication when needed.”

That is indeed how things have been done. Du Heng hadn’t misspoken.

However, Du Heng’s words weren’t comprehensive, and Xiao Li’s face fell. ”Dean, don’t flatter me; I know my own limitations. It’s true, as you said, I examine the patients, prescribe the medication, and perform the treatment. But every time I write a prescription, there’s either a medication error or a dosage mistake, forcing you to revise it every time.”

Xiao Li looked miserable and pitiful as he gazed at Du Heng. ”Without you at the helm, how could I dare to prescribe medication for children? No, you absolutely cannot just leave so nonchalantly now. If you leave, I’ll drop dead in minutes.”

Xiao Li’s exaggeration made the others burst into laughter; even Du Heng couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Alright, you’re being a bit too dramatic. Here’s what we’ll do: while I’m away, my mobile phone will be on twenty-four hours a day. Every morning and afternoon, we’ll pick two times to discuss the pediatric patients’ conditions and the prescriptions you’ve written. That should be okay, right?”

Xiao Li suddenly put on a feigned smile. ”Won’t that be too much trouble for you, Dean? You’re going on vacation. If I keep bothering you like this, your wife won’t have any objections, will she?”

Du Heng was so annoyed that he rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

Having arranged matters at the hospital, Du Heng was ready to leave immediately to find Wu Shengnan.

Just as he reached the ground floor, he saw the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital ambulance wailing as it entered the courtyard. The person who stepped out of the vehicle was, surprisingly, Mei Dong.

At this point, Du Heng couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen him and just get in his car and leave. He had to turn around, walk towards Mei Dong, and greet him loudly as he approached.

”Director Mei, what wind blew you here?”

Mei Dong followed the sound and looked over, chuckling as he approached Du Heng. ”What other wind could it be? Of course, it’s the veritable gale you are that brought me here!”

Du Heng looked at Mei Dong and then at the ambulance behind him. ”Director Mei, are you here to pick up the elder of the twins?”

”Yes.”

”Isn’t that a bit much? Since when does transferring a patient require a department head to personally show up?”

Mei Dong feigned a sigh. ”We were careless in our work and nearly made a huge mistake. Don’t we need to show our sincerity?”

Du Heng scoffed. ”If sincerity needs to be shown, it should be by the Obstetrics Department. What does it have to do with your Pediatric Intensive Care Unit? That elder twin wasn’t your department’s patient before.”

Hearing Du Heng expose his flimsy excuse, Mei Dong dropped the pretense and said cheerfully, ”Picking up the child is one aspect. The main reason I’m here is that I have something I want to discuss with you.”

”Let’s talk in the conference room then.”

Hearing it was about business again, Du Heng felt a headache coming on. He assumed Mei Dong was also here about the stroke team. If I had known this earlier, I shouldn’t have greeted him and just driven off. Now I’ve walked right into it. If I leave now, it would be too disrespectful to Mei Dong.

Mei Dong was puzzled why Du Heng didn’t take him to his office but instead to such a spacious conference room.

But this question was fleeting. After they sat down, he got straight to the point. ”President Du, our hospital wants to collaborate with you on a cerebral palsy research project.”

Cerebral palsy?

Du Heng was slightly surprised. But he immediately realized he had been mistaken earlier. How could someone who worked in Maternal and Child Health Care, and had never dealt with stroke patients, possibly discuss stroke research with him? Only a project on cerebral palsy in children would be truly suitable for both parties.

Snapping out of his momentary daze, Du Heng asked directly, ”How does your hospital envision this cooperation?”

Mei Dong didn’t beat around the bush and laid out his hospital’s bottom line. ”You can set whatever conditions you like; personnel, funding—it’s all negotiable. You can even be the sole project leader. There’s just one condition: the application must be submitted jointly by our two hospitals.”

Hearing Mei Dong’s straightforward proposal, Du Heng fell into deep thought.

Seeing Du Heng silent, Mei Dong didn’t press him but sat quietly, waiting for him to speak.

After a good while, Du Heng suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question. ”Director Mei, I’d like to send some doctors from our Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital to your hospital for a period of advanced training. I was wondering if such an opportunity might exist?”

Mei Dong’s face twitched.

The Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital was indeed a designated advanced training unit for lower-level maternal and child health care stations, serving the entire province. However, when this task fell to individual departments, they weren’t usually very enthusiastic. The reason was that doctors from lower-level hospitals often had subpar skills, insufficient qualifications, and problematic professional attitudes. But even so, the training had to be done; this task couldn’t be skipped. It was part of the professional guidance provided by higher-level units, a mandatory duty.

However, there were always certain requirements and limitations regarding the number of trainees, duration, departments, and so on.

Now that Du Heng mentioned ”some doctors” from the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Mei Dong knew this ”some” was definitely not the ”some” usually referred to in the context of advanced training.

Mei Dong, still holding onto a sliver of hope, asked, ”President Du, do you mean you want your doctors to come and ’help out’ in my Pediatric Intensive Care Unit?”

Hearing Mei Dong use the very modest term ”help out,” Du Heng smiled. ”Ever since I witnessed the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit under Director Mei’s management, I knew your department was a must-visit. But our Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital has a weak foundation. We’d like our doctors to go to the Gynecology Department, the Gynecological Oncology Department, and the Obstetrics Department as well, to let them witness the diagnostic standards and surgical capabilities of the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital.”

Mei Dong felt as if a lump was caught in his throat. After listening to Du Heng, he suddenly understood why the dean of his own Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital had such a devious mind. Just listen to what Du Heng said! He wanted to send people for comprehensive training—not just diagnosis and treatment, but also surgical methods for certain diseases. His scheming was too ruthless, too devious! This was completely turning the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital into a training base for his Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital! Were all leaders this devious?

Mei Dong hesitated. Although he had just said Du Heng could name any conditions, he really didn’t dare to agree to this one.

Just as he was wavering, Du Heng suddenly said, ”Actually, Director Mei, I need to go to the Capital tomorrow for some business. How about we discuss this matter when I get back?”

Hearing this, Mei Dong immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ”Alright, then let’s discuss it in detail when President Du returns.”

Du Heng grinned. ”Then it’s settled, Director Mei. When I return, we’ll sit down and discuss it.”

Mei Dong also agreed cheerfully. This way, he could go back and report the matter to their dean, and they would have time to discuss it.

”Well, I won’t disturb you any longer, President Du. I should hurry and pick up the child to check on them.”

Du Heng didn’t try to detain him and stood up to see Mei Dong out.

However, as they reached the doorway, Du Heng put on an expression as if suddenly remembering something. ”Oh, I forgot to mention, Director Mei, our hospital officially initiated a project yesterday. We’ve begun preparations for the research project application on cerebral palsy in children. Deputy Dean Qiao is in charge of the specifics, and our Deputy Dean Qiao has always been very efficient. I just wonder how far the project application will have progressed by the time I get back.”

Mei Dong looked at Du Heng, stunned.

An ”F” word almost escaped his lips.

Then, with a look of disbelief and uncertainty, he asked Du Heng, ”President Du, surely you can’t be joking about this.”

Du Heng exclaimed, ”Oh, Director Mei, how could I possibly joke about something as serious as applying for a research project?”

Mei Dong stared at Du Heng with gritted teeth for a long moment, then suddenly reached out and pushed Du Heng back into the room.

Du Heng feigned surprise. ”Director Mei, what are you doing?”

”Wait, I’m calling our dean right now.”

”Oh, there’s no hurry. We can certainly talk when I get back. I’m not in a rush.” Du Heng chuckled as he looked at Mei Dong, but his body yielded to Mei Dong’s push and settled back into the chair he had just vacated.