CHAPTER 206: 206 SEEKING HELP

This time, Du Heng hesitated. The terms were too generous, practically impossible to refuse. Moreover, it was a great honor for him.

He struggled inwardly for a long time.

Even though he was the Dean of the Health Clinic and could take a day off each week without anyone criticizing him, he knew he couldn’t operate that way. Besides, he had superiors to answer to.

"Director Xu, I greatly appreciate Director Li’s high regard for me, and I’m very inclined to accept this offer immediately. How about this: I’ll discuss it with my leader first and get his opinion," Du Heng proposed.

Xu Pinglin had anticipated this and responded, "Fine, we’re looking forward to your good news then."

Liu Shengnan also smiled and said, "I’m really looking forward to working together with Doctor Du."

Upon hearing Liu Shengnan’s words, Du Heng suddenly thought, if Liu Shengnan was the Director of the Neurosurgery Department at Provincial First Hospital, could they perform skull repair surgeries?

"Director Liu, can your department do skull repairs?"

Liu Shengnan smiled proudly, "Of course, and in Jinzhou, our department is the best for these kinds of surgeries."

Upon hearing this, Du Heng’s eyes lit up.

He immediately told Liu Shengnan about Zhao Qiang’s situation, then asked, "Director Liu, does your department have any subsidies or reductions for impoverished families?"

Liu Shengnan thought for a moment, then slowly said, "We’ve always had such policies, and they are measures targeting the entire province. In terms of fees, there are varying standards of reduction for impoverished families, including extremely impoverished households. The highest reduction can reach 80%."

Du Heng became somewhat excited. If there was an 80% reduction, then wouldn’t a cost of 150,000 yuan be covered with just 30,000 yuan?

"Director Liu, is it a total cost reduction?"

"Of course not. We can only reduce fees for specific projects—surgery, hospitalization, and nursing. Costs such as those for materials and medicine still have to be paid by the patient."

Noticing Du Heng’s disappointed expression, Liu Shengnan asked, "The patient you’re talking about, does he need a total fee reduction?"

Du Heng nodded. "His family situation is very particular. He’s currently living alone, and because of his skull defect, he’s essentially lost his ability to work. To put it bluntly, if he misses his subsistence allowance for even one month, he could starve to death at home."

Liu Shengnan also looked troubled. "Based on your description, he’s in critical condition and has already developed complications from his skull defect. So the total cost, even opting for the cheapest materials and domestic medicine, should be around 170,000 yuan."

Du Heng understood Liu Shengnan’s difficulty. "I’ll think of other ways."

Xu Pinglin suddenly said, "Doctor Du, for situations like the one you mentioned, there should be subsidies in your town, right? Also, you can try contacting the Civil Affairs Bureau; they have a Social Assistance Department that handles such matters. Not long ago, I had a patient in a similar situation who was an extremely impoverished household in his local county, and their local Social Assistance Department took care of some of the costs."

Afterward, Du Heng asked in detail about the reductions Provincial First Hospital could offer and the exact amounts, so he would have an accurate figure in mind when he went to speak with the town and district authorities.

Otherwise, if he went in making unsubstantiated claims, they wouldn’t even bother talking to him.

He felt optimistic about his plans that evening. The next day at work, after catching up on the meeting he had missed, checking on patients, and updating medical advice, he planned to take Zhao Qiang’s materials and head straight to the town, the bureau, and the Civil Affairs Bureau as soon as he was done with his duties at the Health Clinic.

After that brief encounter, Du Heng understood that Zhao Qiang was the kind of person who lacked a screw somewhere; he was easily swayed by others’ sweet talk and was quite emotional.

However, this man wasn’t lazy in the absolute sense.

Before his injury, he had a job and was willing to work for money.

Furthermore, during their conversation, he himself had said that if his illness could be cured, he would go to work and earn money to get married.

This meant that, fundamentally, he wasn’t the type to be lazy and freeload.

However, this personality trait of his became increasingly unbearable for those close to him; it felt as if everyone was expected to coddle and cater to him.

Professionally, one could help such a person, but getting too close was inadvisable. Too much proximity would inevitably lead to personal discomfort.

Treating him purely as an aid recipient was the best approach.

With this understanding, Du Heng was willing to make the extra effort to help wherever he could.

That was why he intended to visit various places to try and find solutions for him.

His intentions were good, and his plans were well-laid, but things didn’t always go according to plan. The moment he arrived at work in the morning, a phone call from An Chunhui summoned him to the bureau.

"Xiao Du, the Health Clinic did exceptionally well in handling the two incidents last week, and as Dean, your response was also very appropriate."

An Chunhui first praised Du Heng and his Health Clinic, then continued, "The final results are out; I’m just letting you know. Regarding the incident at the school, even though it had little to do with us and was handled well, I still got scolded."

Seeing Du Heng brace himself seriously for a reprimand, An Chunhui chuckled. "Rest assured, I won’t scold you. The scolding I received had nothing to do with you. Going forward, you need to reinforce health and safety education in schools, particularly those with canteens—they are the top priority."

Du Heng let out a sigh of relief. No scolding was fine. "Okay, leader, I’ll arrange it once I’m back."

An Chunhui nodded and continued, "The second issue is Hepatitis A. This caused quite a stir. There are 17 confirmed cases of infection among the kindergarten students, and now these parents have taken their complaints to the city authorities. Thankfully, the kindergarten is under the jurisdiction of Nanhu District and has little relation to us. However, since you were the first to discover and report it, journalists and TV station personnel may come to interview you. Be careful with your words then."

Du Heng nodded in agreement.

However, he had already decided that after finishing his work at the clinic, he would immediately head to the upper village. He still had two aid recipients to attend to.

He could just make himself scarce, and they could interview whoever they pleased.

If they weren’t afraid of the hardship and were willing to follow him to the upper village, he’d be quite happy for them to. They could capture the true situation in the rural areas and show everyone that not everybody was living a Xiao Kang life.

An Chunhui was about to add a few more points when Du Heng’s phone rang.

Du Heng stole a glance at the caller ID—it was Wang Zhenzhen—and immediately hung up.

But before he could put the phone in his pocket, it rang again. This time it was Lu Zhongjiang.

Just as he was about to hang up again, An Chunhui said, "Quickly answer that. It must be urgent if they’re calling you."

Du Heng apologized, picked up the call, and stepped out of the office.

"Dean, where are you? Why aren’t you at the clinic yet?" As soon as the call connected, Lu Zhongjiang’s anxious voice came through.