This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

However, the two operating rooms on the fifth and sixth floors were not enough for the orthopedics department at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as they were in constant demand.

The hospitalization department was also overcrowded, with inpatients needing to queue up, as well as those awaiting surgery. Some critically ill patients, unable to wait any longer, had to stay in places like corridors or dressing rooms.

The level of busyness and congestion was comparable to that of Emergency Departments in some hospitals, or even worse.

Du Heng, as the Dean of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital, envied this scene, to the point of drooling.

But as a doctor, as a person, he was not willing to see such overcrowding.

Du Heng stepped out of the crowd and walked up the stairs.

The stairway was quiet and cool, but few family members chose to use it, and it had become a place for caregivers to catch their breath.

Some hid here to smoke, others were lost in thought, and some were making phone calls in hushed tones.

Occasionally, a doctor passing by would ignore a smoking family member, even though they knew smoking was prohibited in the building.

Du Heng did the same, catching just a glimpse of the smokers and subtly avoiding them as he passed by.

”Liu, yes, it’s me, my wife needs surgery, and I’m short of 20,000 yuan... Don’t worry, I understand everyone goes through rough times, thank you, Liu.”

After a moment of silence, a humble and pleading voice spoke again, ”Zhang, my wife’s surgery... Oh, I’m sorry to bother you, Zhang.”

Just as Du Heng reached the seventh floor and was about to step onto the eighth-floor stairs, he heard this repressed and humble voice.

He paused slightly, not wanting to startle the man with his sudden appearance.

After a brief wait, when there was no more sound from upstairs, Du Heng took another step up.

As soon as he turned the corner at the seventh floor, he saw the stairway door to the eighth floor and the man on the phone, whose suppressed sobs were now audible.

Du Heng felt a little awkward, watching the man who was looking down, fiddling with his mobile phone while crying softly. Du Heng didn’t know whether to advance or retreat.

The man suddenly sensed something, looked up, and his eyes met Du Heng’s, who was hesitating. The man quickly stifled his crying and looked down again, scrolling through his mobile phone.

Du Heng let out a soft breath. Since it’s come to this, there’s nothing to hesitate about. He walked straight forward, ignoring the man’s presence, and passed directly by him.

In the instant he passed, Du Heng glanced over and saw the man’s mobile phone screen clearly: it was the contacts interface.

It was full of phone numbers, yet he could no longer find a single one he could call.

Du Heng averted his gaze, opened the stairway door, and stepped out.

Crossing that threshold, Du Heng felt as if he had entered another world.

Before him lay a clean, bright, spacious, and quiet Land of Hope. Yet, just a door behind him, a man dared not even cry aloud in a dark, silent, and oppressive passageway.

Du Heng suddenly laughed at himself, feeling he’d become a bit melodramatic and sentimental.

He took a shallow breath to compose himself and walked towards Jin Zan’s office.

Jin Zan didn’t have a private office. Even their Director shared one with a Deputy Director. In the orthopedics department, every room was precious.

”There really are a lot of people in your hospital,” Du Heng remarked as he entered.

There were many people in the office, at least fifteen or sixteen by a quick count, including regular doctors and interns who looked noticeably more reserved.

And this is just the doctors on one floor, Du Heng thought. The Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital couldn’t even dream of comparing.

Although the office was crowded, Jin Zan’s bald head was too conspicuous, and Du Heng quickly found him. Conveniently, there was an empty seat next to Jin Zan. Du Heng pulled up a chair and sat down beside him.

Only when he got closer did Du Heng realize that this guy had become truly ’bald,’ without a single hair left on his head.

Jin Zan glanced back at Du Heng, then turned back to his computer. ”Wait a moment, let me finish typing up this disease record.” As he spoke, his hands resumed their rapid tapping on the keyboard.

Du Heng leaned back, looked at Jin Zan’s computer screen, and said, ”There are so many interns in your office, why don’t you let them write the medical records? It would be easier for you, and they could learn something too.”

Without turning his head, Jin Zan replied, ”Don’t mention it. Last week, they wrote twenty-three disease records, and I had to rewrite all twenty-three. I even got scolded by the Director. Nevermind, I’ll just write them myself. After all, I was doing it all myself before they came. It won’t kill me.”

”You’re the only one? Aren’t there any resident doctors?”

”Don’t mention her; it makes me even angrier.” As Jin Zan spoke, his typing speed increased. ”As soon as she’s asked to do any work, she comes up with all sorts of discomforts. Just this afternoon, she said she felt dizzy and had a stomachache, so she went to the Gynecology Department to get an IV again.”

Du Heng chuckled. ”Gynecology Department? So, she’s a woman, huh? Did they assign you some VIP you have to coddle? You’re a Star Doctor in your department, and this is the treatment you get? Besides, you’re in orthopedics; can a female doctor handle it? It’s all about wielding blades and axes, which is very different from the gentleness and finesse of the Internal Medicine Department or other provincial specialties.”

Without stopping his typing, Jin Zan leaned slightly towards Du Heng and whispered, ”She’s from a powerful family, just bear with it. Once she loses interest, she’ll transfer to another department on her own. Or, after she’s had enough of the front line, she’ll transfer to a department like medical insurance or medical administration. Just ignore her.”

Du Heng couldn’t help but purse his lips. ”You’ve really got it rough.”

”Aren’t you in a similar situation?” Jin Zan smirked. ”I heard that recently, they’ve been fighting like dogs to get a spot on your project.”

Du Heng also laughed. ”You’re just spreading rumors. Don’t forget, the Director of your adult internal medicine department is also involved.”

”Hmph, can he control what happens in my orthopedics department?” Jin Zan shook his head disdainfully. ”His adult internal medicine department is nothing but a name now. If there’s no improvement soon, I estimate the people and the department itself will have to be split up further.”

Du Heng actually agreed with Jin Zan’s statement.

The internal medicine departments at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine were numerous and highly specialized. They weren’t much different from those in general comprehensive hospitals, except for the addition of the words ’traditional Chinese medicine’ to their names. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, on the other hand, handled everything, but its advantages weren’t obvious, and it had been squeezed by other, more specialized departments to the point where it could barely survive. Even now, Du Heng didn’t quite understand why they kept this adult internal medicine department. Wouldn’t it be better to split it entirely into smaller, specialized departments?

That was one incomprehensible point. Another, even more baffling, was the diagnostic process at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine: first a traditional Chinese medicine examination, then film scans and various tests—none were omitted. He couldn’t figure out if they were diagnosing with traditional Chinese medicine, Western medicine, or if they had forged some unknown path of integrating traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. However, one thing was very clear: the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was very wealthy, surpassed only by the Second Affiliated Hospital of JZU and the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital.

Seeing Du Heng silent, Jin Zan asked curiously, ”You still haven’t said, how’s your project going? Can you handle those old stubborn people?”

”You’d better hurry up and finish typing that disease record. Once you’re done with your things, I have things to attend to as well.”

”What things could you possibly have? I’ve already told my mother. She’s prepared dinner for you. You’re coming to my house tonight.”

Du Heng looked at Jin Zan speechlessly. ”You didn’t even discuss this with me! Couldn’t you have asked? I’m not prepared at all.”

Jin Zan quickly typed the last few characters, picked up the mouse and clicked a few more times, then shut down the system. ”Well, I’m telling you now, aren’t I? It’s just an invitation to dinner. Why are you being so hesitant about it now?”

Saying this, he stood up and even pulled Du Heng. ”Alright, come with me to see the patient I told you about. Let’s see if you have any solutions.”

Du Heng lightly slapped Jin Zan’s hand away. ”I’ll look at other patients for you, but if it’s the one you mentioned on the phone, you can get lost, as far away as possible.”