CHAPTER 165: 165 JIN ZAN VISITS

Du Heng thought about it for a while and said, "Let’s gather everyone’s opinions then. We’ll schedule the training for after winter begins. However, there’s something I need to trouble the Secretary with right away. Dr. Yu and I have prepared a manual on the use of common medications, based on prescribing patterns in our Health Clinic and the various villages. Could you help us get it printed?"

"How many copies do you need? Do I need to find someone to design the layout or something?"

"Let’s get it designed. It should look good—attractive, yet primarily concise and clear. I want to distribute these booklets not only to the village clinics but, if possible, to every household."

Lu Zhongjiang frowned a little. "Dean, if we distribute it to every household, the printing cost will be very high. Should we charge for them then?"

Du Heng shook his head. "Let’s not charge. This is a community service activity, and if we charge, the villagers definitely won’t want them."

"How thick is your booklet? I’m afraid the money our Health Clinic just earned probably isn’t enough for printing thousands of copies."

"You don’t need to worry about that. Just find someone to design the layout well and rearrange the content. Don’t use overly expensive paper, but not too cheap either."

"What about the money?" Lu Zhongjiang persisted with the financial question.

"I have a solution. First, I’ll ask for some funds from the Township Government, then get more from the Bureau. Finally, I’ll solicit donations from the factories in the township. However, you need to give me a sample as soon as possible. Otherwise, if I go in empty-handed, they’ll just kick me out."

Hearing Du Heng say this, Lu Zhongjiang felt relieved. As long as Health Clinic funds weren’t used, he would support whatever Du Heng wanted to do.

The two of them had been working together for about a month. Although they were still in the adjustment phase, their collaboration was quite amicable.

Lu Zhongjiang understood his role and didn’t contend for authority. Du Heng, in turn, treated his elder colleague with great respect and didn’t have that arrogant habit of bossing people around.

But on one point, their approaches differed: spending money.

Du Heng was frugal, but only externally. Internally, for the Health Clinic, he wasn’t stingy at all.

First, he wanted to buy instruments and equipment, like a decoction machine and a plastic sealing machine, insisting they were essential.

But Lu Zhongjiang firmly rejected the idea. The reason was that there weren’t many inpatients, and few people came to the Health Clinic specifically for decoctions. Their nurses and doctors provided more than adequate manpower, with plenty to spare. The machines would just sit there collecting dust and wouldn’t be of much use.

Du Heng didn’t argue, mainly because Lu Zhongjiang was right. But then Du Heng wanted to give the staff high bonuses, which irritated Lu Zhongjiang again.

These bonuses are so high this time. What if patient numbers drop next month, or the month after, and we can’t afford them? And what if the Health Clinic faces unexpected expenses? Will we be caught short again, like before?

Then, arguing from administrative and human resource perspectives, Lu Zhongjiang repeatedly reasoned with Du Heng, eventually convincing him to abandon the idea of high bonuses. In the end, other staff members received 300 yuan, while medical care staff received 500 yuan.

Actually, Lu Zhongjiang’s preference was not to give out any bonuses, but he couldn’t win the argument against Du Heng, so this was the compromise.

Currently, Du Heng managed the finances, but money seemed to burn a hole in his pocket; he was always eager to spend it. Lu Zhongjiang didn’t control the purse strings, but he supervised Du Heng’s spending, doing his best to curb Du Heng’s impulse to spend recklessly.

So when Du Heng said he wouldn’t use the Health Clinic’s money, Lu Zhongjiang was happy to let him proceed as he wished.

Moreover, when it came to getting things done locally, it wasn’t the leaders parachuted in or transferred from elsewhere who were most effective, but rather locals like Du Heng. As long as one was thick-skinned enough to go out and ask, they could usually secure at least something.

So, Lu Zhongjiang wasn’t surprised at all when Du Heng claimed he could secure the funds.

After discussing the matter, Lu Zhongjiang picked up his teacup and left.

Du Heng remained in his office, lost in thought for a long time. It wasn’t until he heard Lu Zhongjiang close the door and leave that he seemed to snap out of it, then rose and headed downstairs.

Wu Buwei had been very busy lately, juggling care for inpatients with intensive studying.

Especially since he was aiming for his general practice certification, the sheer volume of reading was overwhelming him.

"Senior Brother, regarding tonifying the righteous Qi and expelling pathogenic factors, how do I determine the priority and sequence?" Seeing Du Heng stroll into the office, Wu Buwei quickly asked, book in hand.

Du Heng glanced at the title of the book Wu Buwei was reading. "Don’t read this one. Go find ’Diagnosis and Treatment in Clinical Internal Medicine of Traditional Chinese Medicine’."

With that, he walked to a chair and sat down, then began to explain to Wu Buwei, "For deficiency syndromes caused by Qi Deficiency, tonifying the righteous Qi is sufficient. If pathogenic factors are strong and righteous Qi is not notably deficient, focus on expelling the pathogenic factors. If both righteous Qi is deficient and pathogenic factors are strong, then employ both methods. If pathogenic factors are overwhelmingly strong and righteous Qi is very weak, then prioritize expelling pathogenic factors before tonifying righteous Qi, and vice-versa."

"Of course, when prescribing medication, we must also consider factors like the patient’s age, gender, and constitution. For the same illness, medications used for adults may not be suitable for children or the elderly. Similarly, medications for men might not be suitable for women, especially during pregnancy, which requires meticulous consideration."

"Finally, there’s the issue of constitution. Individuals can be strong or weak; some tend towards heat patterns, others towards cold patterns. For instance, administering cold-natured medicine to a person with Yin excess would not only fail to treat the illness but would be no different from giving them poison."

"Currently, while many established formulas are available for selection when treating patients, one must adapt them according to the time, place, and individual—don’t be too rigid. Fully consider the patient’s actual circumstances; modify by reducing or removing ingredients as needed."

As Du Heng explained this to Wu Buwei, he also found himself thinking about Li Jianwei and Su Nan from the previous night.

Just as he was about to say more, there was a knock on the office door. A bald ’handsome man’ entered, followed by a woman with a gloomy expression who looked rather reluctant.

"Well, well, instructing your little disciple?"

"Nonsense. This is our Junior Brother, Wu Buwei." Du Heng stood up with a smile. "Buwei, this is Jin Zan, the Chinese Medicine Orthopedics expert I told you about. He’s proficient in massage, bone setting, bone joining, and surgery, and is a candidate for Director of their Department."

Wu Buwei, standing behind Du Heng, greeted him respectfully.

Jin Zan chuckled. "Don’t listen to his exaggerations. I’m just an ordinary doctor."

"Study on your own for a bit," Du Heng said to Wu Buwei. "Write down anything you don’t understand, and I’ll explain it when I have time."

"Okay, Senior Brother."

Du Heng walked over, patted Jin Zan on the shoulder, and guided him towards the door. "Come on, let’s go to my office and chat."

Noticing Jin Zan’s wife looked unhappy, Du Heng didn’t address her directly. Instead, he smiled at Jin Zan and said, "What took you so long? I was beginning to think you weren’t coming."

Jin Zan shot a quick glance at his wife out of the corner of his eye, then smiled. "Things have been a bit hectic these last few days. I had to get my work affairs in order before coming over."

"That makes sense."

As Du Heng led the way, he made small talk. "So, is your Department busy? How many patients do you see in a day?"

"Busy? Extremely. Especially in the outpatient service; that’s even more packed. And many people can’t even distinguish if it’s a bone issue, or a muscle or nerve problem. As long as an arm or leg hurts, they come to register at our Orthopedics Department."

"You guys must be swamped then, not just treating patients but also educating them."

"Tell me about it."