This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

In the meeting room, after Director Nie’s initial ’reminder,’ the others could no longer hold back. They all began to offer their own well-intentioned ’reminders.’ Some said the atmosphere at JZU Second Hospital was poor and that its attitude towards traditional Chinese medicine was problematic. Others mentioned how one bad apple spoils the bunch, and so on.

The more they talked, the more intense their words became. They even vented all the ’grievances’ they had just suffered from Du Heng onto the second affiliated hospital of JZU.

Seeing the agitated crowd, Li Jianwei, who had only spoken one sentence, could no longer get a word in. He leaned back slightly, yielding the floor.

One of his favorite things to do now was to act like a detached sage, observing from the sidelines and witnessing scenes he had never encountered before.

However, just as he was starting to feel smug, he suddenly realized that rascal Du Heng had slipped away. That rascal is too cunning; he just ups and runs!

As soon as Du Heng left the meeting room, he let out a breath of relief and immediately chuckled to himself.

The events in the meeting room weren’t exactly satisfying, but it was enough.

Who were those people across from him?

They could be considered core figures in the Jinzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Circle. Perhaps confronting one individually wouldn’t be a big problem, but offending the whole group would be a huge issue.

He couldn’t, for the sake of a temporary verbal victory, create unseen obstacles and resistance for himself, Li Jianwei, or even Li Jianwei’s school. These obstacles and resistance might not even be resolved by Zhuo Mingde’s intervention.

So, it was enough to vent the frustration in his heart and feel a little better. To feel completely at ease, he still needed to wait and work hard.

The other thing was, he had snuck out before Li Jianwei could react. Otherwise, thinking about what Li Jianwei had said before, it would probably make his scalp numb again.

Actually, it was his own fault. For that little bit of fame, he had agreed to Li Jianwei and the school’s offer but hadn’t fulfilled his responsibilities properly. It was only logical that Li Jianwei would discipline him.

Sigh, but the school had been quite decent. For an entire semester, they hadn’t given him any trouble; they truly gave him a lot of face.

Next semester, definitely next semester, I must fulfill my duties properly. I can’t keep being so sneaky and shirking my responsibilities.

”Hey, Jin, what made you call? Aren’t you in surgery today?” Du Heng, elated by his successful escape, answered the phone. ”You’ve got to be kidding me. If the patient doesn’t get it, surely you do? Besides, your hospital has plenty of TCM doctors. What are you asking me for?”

He paused. ”Alright, alright, hang on. I’ll head over now. I’m at the Provincial First Hospital right now, so it’s not too far from you.”

The entrance of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital was always quiet, with only a few people around, making it very peaceful. Its inner courtyard was also exceptionally quiet, similar to a sanatorium. In contrast, the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was bustling and crowded right from its entrance.

Even inside, there was a constant flow of hurried people crisscrossing paths.

The resting area between the Department of Surgical Inpatient, Department of Internal Medicine Inpatient, and Department of Orthopedics Inpatient was a place shaded by lush green trees. The trees were tall and majestic, their canopies spreading out like large open umbrellas overhead. The intertwining branches of several large trees blocked the sun’s scorching rays, dappling the light and bringing a rare, refreshing coolness to this green space in the summer heat.

The logistics at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine were very thoughtful. Many long benches were placed under the trees, with garbage cans nearby. If one looked closely, they would find a place to sit and rest in any shaded area.

Yet, even with so many seats provided, as Du Heng passed by, he still saw many people sitting on the steps, in corners, or leaning against the walls.

Some were in small groups, talking amongst themselves—some loudly, others in hushed tones.

Others were alone: some sat on the steps, smoking in silence; some stared blankly at the surrounding crowd; others were on their mobile phones, their voices fluctuating between loud and soft, sometimes even choked with sobs as they spoke to unknown callers.

Du Heng had arrived at an inconvenient time. It was just before six o’clock, precisely when family members were getting meals and friends and relatives were visiting patients. The flow of people was surprisingly large.

Walking slowly, Du Heng made his way through the intersecting streams of people and entered the Department of Orthopedics Inpatient.

At the elevator bank, where six elevators operated simultaneously, the queue of people filled the entire area, chaotically crammed together.

And whether an elevator was going up or down, it stopped for a long time on each floor. Just going from the thirteenth floor down to the eighth took a full five minutes.

Du Heng stood at the back of the crowd, watched silently for a few seconds, then decided to take the stairs instead of competing with these anxious, frustrated family members for a precious spot in the elevator.

In just that short moment, Du Heng, who had been at the back of the line, found himself squeezed into the middle. His chest was pressed against the person in front, and his back against the person behind. His thin shirt couldn’t even block the hot breath of the person behind him on his shoulder blades.

Glancing around, he spotted the stairwell entrance. Du Heng quickly squeezed out of the crowd and stepped inside. The coolness of the stairwell enveloped him, and he instantly felt much more relaxed.

At the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Orthopedics Inpatient Department was structured as follows: the first floor housed the inpatient settlement Hall and part of the Inspection Department; the second floor held display rooms; the third floor contained the Archives; the fourth floor had rehabilitation rooms; the fifth and sixth floors were operating rooms. The inpatient wards themselves began on the seventh floor.