This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng felt the hand on his sleeve and turned to give Wu Shengnan a slight smile. He then walked over to the child, paying little attention to the child’s cheerful grandmother.

From a distance, the child appeared to have a white layer on his skin, with flakes falling from his turned-up sleeves.

As Du Heng approached, he gently brushed his hand over the child’s arm. Only then did he realize that it wasn’t a single layer of flaking skin, but two, or even three layers.

Du Heng also checked the inside of the child’s collar and found it was the same as the sleeves; his neck and chest were also entirely covered with this flaking skin.

Then he looked at the child’s face, which was red, flushed, and scattered with some faint erythema.

Seeing this, Du Heng already had a diagnosis in mind.

However, children’s issues are quite sensitive, and children are precious treasures at home. Du Heng didn’t want to jump to conclusions so easily, especially not to make the family think he had reached one effortlessly.

But since the patient was a toddler over two years old, Du Heng didn’t ask a series of questions as he normally would. Instead, he immediately began a hands-on examination.

Standing behind, the child’s grandmother and father curiously stretched their necks to watch. They were prepared for Du Heng to question them further and had already recalled every little detail about the child.

However, to their surprise, Du Heng did not ask them any questions about the child.

Du Heng clapped his hands, stood up, and looking at the child’s grandmother and father, asked, ”Who usually takes care of the child?”

”Me, me! I look after him during the day. At night, his parents take over.” The grandmother hurriedly pointed to herself, as if her ’credit’ would be snatched away if she were any slower.

Du Heng said softly, ”Oh. I figured it was you. Are you his paternal grandmother or maternal grandmother?”

”Paternal grandmother, I’m his paternal grandmother,” she replied quickly, then asked curiously, ”Doctor, how did you know it was me taking care of him?”

That’s right, it really is his paternal grandmother. Du Heng noticed that this child’s grandmother had a habit of repeating herself, with a strong tendency to emphasize her words.

Looking at the grandmother’s curious gaze, Du Heng reached out and pulled open the child’s collar, parting the layers with his fingers. ”Here, take a look. Only a paternal or maternal grandmother would dress a child like this.

If you told me his father or mother dressed him like this, I honestly wouldn’t believe it.

It’s only October now, still autumn. Even deep into the evening, the outside temperature is still over ten degrees Celsius. Look at what the child is wearing: the innermost layer is a thickened thermal undershirt, then a plush sweater, and on the very outside, you’ve put a jacket on him.”

Du Heng glanced at the Old Lady. ”Now look at what you’re wearing: a blouse and a jacket, both single-layered, breathable clothes. Tell me, why aren’t you dressed like the child?”

The Old Lady looked at her grandson, then back at Du Heng. She hadn’t expected Du Heng, while examining her grandson, to suddenly shift the focus to her.

And from Du Heng’s tone, it sounded as if the problem lay with her. For a moment, she could only stammer, ”I’d definitely be too hot if I wore that much.”

At this point, the child’s father, who was supporting him, spoke up, ”We’ve told my mother about this, but she doesn’t listen. She always says it’s better for the child to be a bit too warm than to get cold. Catching a cold is very troublesome and could harm the child’s brain, she says.

Sometimes, even if he doesn’t leave the house all day, she dresses him like this. When we tell her off, she’ll undress him a bit, but as soon as we leave for work, she immediately dresses him back up again.”

The Old Lady didn’t dare say anything to Du Heng, but hearing her own son seemingly stab her in the back, she immediately became indignant. ”What’s that? From what you’re saying, it sounds like I’m being blamed for taking care of your son?”

”Mom, why are you like this again? You know that’s not what I mean.” The man’s expression was tinged with helplessness; it seemed this wasn’t the first time the Old Lady had said such things.

Seeing the mother and son about to argue, Du Heng directly interjected, ”Alright, let’s get back to the child’s problem.”

As soon as the child was mentioned, both of them immediately looked back at Du Heng. The Old Lady, in particular, hurriedly asked, ”Doctor, what exactly... what exactly is wrong with the child?”

”He’s overheated.”

”Overheated?”

The Old Lady and her son exchanged a glance, the expressions in their eyes distinct from one another.

Before they could inquire further, the Pediatrics Department Director, who had been listening nearby, suddenly interjected, ”Dean, I previously considered that overheating might be the cause of the dry, flaking skin.

However, the child’s parents bathe him every one or two days, so his skin has been kept moist. They also use moisturizer. That doesn’t seem likely, does it?”

Du Heng turned to look at this newly promoted Pediatrics Department Director. The best of a mediocre bunch, huh? He couldn’t help but sigh internally. With this level of competence, no wonder the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital had so few patients before. This is unacceptable. It seems he really needs to be sent for further training.

Du Heng then said calmly, ”If external heat can’t cause the skin to dry and flake, what about internal heat?”

”Internal heat?” The Pediatrics Department Director blinked.

Du Heng ignored this new director of the Pediatrics Department and turned to the child’s father and grandmother, saying, ”I’ve seen quite a few cases where children get sick from being dressed too warmly.”