CHAPTER 138: I THINK THE 138TH SELF-RIGHTEOUS

Actually, buying things for Wang Shuqiu’s family was the most challenging task.

The elderly couple, though one was quiet and the other a bit of a soft touch, were fundamentally honest farmers. Besides working and eating, her father-in-law had no other hobbies. Her mother-in-law was the same; aside from earning money for her younger brother, she had no other particular interests.

As for Zhao Xinfang, just buying a carton of cigarettes to take back would suffice.

Du Heng and Wang Shuqiu were in a bind: she urged him not to buy anything, while he didn’t know what to get. Pressed by her, Du Heng eventually went to the supermarket and bought all sorts of chicken, duck, fish, and meat, then added three bags of fruit, stuffing the trunk full.

I’m not short on money now, so why agonize over it? Du Heng thought. Buying food and drinks to take back can’t be wrong.

Wang Shuqiu, on one hand, winced at the expense and grumbled about Du Heng’s extravagance; on the other, she beamed with delight at the car full of goods.

So conflicted! she thought.

"Are you really not letting me go with you?" Du Heng asked.

"No need. This time, I’m going to have a serious talk with my mom. If she still doesn’t listen, I’ll sever our mother-daughter relationship. I’ve had enough."

Du Heng stroked his chin. "Severing ties is a bit extreme. Why don’t you just push for your brother and your mother to formally divide the family assets? Once the land, house, and everything are split, your mother will be powerless to interfere even if she wants to."

Wang Shuqiu shot Du Heng an annoyed glare. "That’s even more ruthless than me severing ties! Alright, I’m leaving. If I delay any longer, I won’t make it back tonight. By the way, you still haven’t told me why you wanted me to rush back."

As Wang Shuqiu said this, her eyes sparkled.

Looking at her expression, Du Heng instantly recognized the look: Her heart was practically bursting with excitement.

Du Heng smiled, stood up, and patted the car. "I’ll take you to a banquet tomorrow."

"A banquet?"

"Yeah, don’t you like banquets?"

Wang Shuqiu’s mouth fell open. "...I like them." With that, she immediately started the car. After driving about a meter, she stopped, stuck her head out, and asked, "Are you really not going out today?"

"No, I’ll go back to sleep after you leave."

"Bye, see you tonight!"

"Be careful on the road."

Watching the car drive away, Du Heng slowly walked back, his hands clasped behind him.

I’ve got it figured out, he mused. When I get back, I’ll sleep. Then, this afternoon, I’ll watch a video of Wu Buwei performing acupuncture on patients. When Wang Shuqiu returns in the evening, her mood will probably be terrible, so I’ll take her to a movie and then for a nice dinner. Because, most likely, things won’t work out with her mother. Her mother’s habits and mindset, ingrained over forty or fifty years—how could they be easily corrected or changed?

He scrolled through his mobile phone until noon, then Du Heng took out the meal Wang Shuqiu had prepared, planning to eat before taking a nap.

But before he could take more than a few bites, his phone rang.

It was Xu Pinglin.

"Doctor Du, can you come to our hospital right now?"

"What’s wrong, Director Xu?"

Xu Pinglin sighed on the other end of the line. "Chai Yi, the patient you wrote a prescription for yesterday—his stomach is swollen again."

"What?" Du Heng’s chopsticks clattered to the table.

Before they had gone to dinner yesterday, the patient had been breathing smoothly. When dinner ended, Du Heng had specifically called to check, and the patient’s bloating had significantly eased, and he had even started to pass gas slowly.

How could his stomach swell up again overnight? "Director Xu, did you ask what happened?"

"I just got the call and I’m heading to the hospital now. Since you were the one who successfully treated him, I thought you should come take a look too."

"Alright, I’ll leave immediately. I’m not far; I’ll be there soon."

After hanging up, Du Heng quickly shoveled down a few more mouthfuls of rice, finished his bowl, grabbed his phone and keys, and headed out.

Just this morning, I told Wang Shuqiu I wasn’t going out, he thought ruefully. I didn’t expect to break my word so quickly.

He met up with Xu Pinglin at the hospital, and the two went to the hospital room together.

During the check-up, they found the patient’s lower abdomen was swollen again, and his stomach was RUMBLING ceaselessly.

The patient and his family looked extremely worried. "Doctor, what’s wrong with my dad?"

Xu Pinglin comforted the family. "Try not to worry. Let us examine him first."

Then, looking at Du Heng, he asked, "Doctor Du, what do you make of this?"

Du Heng turned to Doctor Hou, who was standing nearby. "Did the patient take his medicine this morning?"

"Yes, the one from the prescription you wrote last night."

"Did he take any other medicines?"

Doctor Hou shook his head. "No, the prescription you wrote was very effective, so I didn’t give him anything else. I was planning to wait until he felt a bit better, then order an X-ray before deciding on further treatment."

As they spoke, the patient’s stomach RUMBLED audibly a few more times.

Du Heng noticed a teacup on the patient’s bedside table. He reached out and touched it; it was cold.

Looking at the family members, he asked, "Has your father eaten?"

"Yes, I brought him noodles from home."

"Did he eat anything else?"

The daughter glanced at Chai Yi. "My dad said his stomach wasn’t bloated anymore and he wanted some fruit, so I went downstairs and bought him some apricots and strawberries."

"How much did he eat?"

"Two apricots and maybe seven or eight strawberries."

Du Heng was exasperated. "I believe I told you last night not to let him eat any raw or cold food. Why didn’t you listen?" Pointing to the large teacup on the bedside table, he asked, "Did he drink this black tea?"

"He had a few sips."

Just as Du Heng was about to speak, Chai Yi, lying in bed, spoke up. "Doctor, I really felt much better, and I had a good appetite. I only ate two apricots and seven strawberries. Surely that couldn’t have caused this, right? And about the black tea, everyone says black tea is warming in nature, so that should be fine too, shouldn’t it?"

Du Heng was speechless. Xu Pinglin was speechless. Even Doctor Hou was speechless.

Doctor Hou, in fact, was now a little annoyed. Because of the patient’s non-compliance, he might end up getting criticized by Director Xu.

Du Heng and Xu Pinglin exchanged a look, both clearly thinking the same thing: This is exhausting.

There are so many patients these days who pick up strange bits of information from who knows where. Some try to direct their treatment, and others are just overly self-assured. They’d rather trust answers they found online than listen to their doctor’s instructions. If you’re so capable, why not treat yourselves? Why come to the hospital? Even when they do come, they could at least listen, but no, they insist on making things difficult for the doctors.

"I don’t know if you’ve heard this saying," Du Heng said, addressing Chai Yi. "’Peaches fill you up, apricots harm you, and under a plum tree, you’ll find a dead man.’ Even healthy people shouldn’t eat too many apricots, let alone someone with a weak stomach like yours. Also, black tea is neither hot-natured nor cold-natured; this type of tea is warm-natured. If you had been drinking hot tea, I wouldn’t say anything. But I just checked, and your cup has no warmth at all; that was cold tea you drank. What does that have to do with the nature of black tea?"

Since it wasn’t his patient, Du Heng didn’t say much more. He sighed and stepped back behind Xu Pinglin.

Xu Pinglin also didn’t say much, only gently advising the patient to take the medicine on time and pay close attention to his diet.

When they reached the office, Xu Pinglin asked Du Heng, "Doctor Du, what should we do in this situation? Will continuing with the Center-Supplementing Qi-Boosting Decoction still be effective?"

"He consumed raw and cold food, which damaged the yang qi of his Spleen and Stomach. He needs to have the cold expelled and his system warmed quickly. If we delay too long, it will be just like yesterday, only more troublesome."

"What medicine should we use then?"

Du Heng thought for a moment. "Dried ginger, processed rhubarb, costus, bupleurum... and add a piece of red ginseng. Just like yesterday, have it broken into small pieces for him to swallow."

Given the successful medical record from the previous day, neither Xu Pinglin nor Doctor Hou hesitated when Du Heng proposed the new prescription, and it was quickly written out.

They found Dr. Gu, got his signature, and immediately took the prescription to the pharmacy.