CHAPTER 339: 315 GOOD THINGS COME IN PAIRS

The arrival of Li Qiuhua and her son greatly surprised Du Heng. Especially seeing what they were carrying, his heart stirred slightly.

As a doctor, who doesn’t want to be recognized by their patients? Living in this world, besides pursuing material life, a sense of professional achievement and spiritual satisfaction are also essential. Especially for Du Heng now, who no longer had to worry about material life. To say that he didn’t have a spiritual pursuit or desire a sense of professional achievement would be self-deception.

Li Qiuhua’s son was crying out loudly, so people like Yu Haiting and Wu Buwei from the office all ran out. When they saw the silk banner and the large red paper, their emotions were hard to describe.

Qian Lizhen looked indifferent. She knew that with her career path, she would likely never receive those two items in her lifetime, so she merely watched out of curiosity.

Yu Haiting, on the other hand, was envious from the bottom of his heart. He had the education and the ability; if not for certain limitations, if he could have had a larger stage, he would have long since received that bright red banner.

Huo Yinhua, however, gazed jealously at Du Heng and the silk banner. Before receiving disciplinary action, while still working at the Provincial Women and Children’s Hospital, she had been just a step away from this small banner that represented recognition and fame. If she had succeeded then, she would have gained both fame and fortune. But unfortunately, she failed, so it could only be deemed a medical accident.

Only two people were genuinely happy for Du Heng: Wu Buwei and Wang Zhenzhen. They sincerely felt happy for him.

Wu Buwei was very perceptive; seeing Li Qiuhua tightly clasping Du Heng’s hand, he proactively stepped forward to take the silk banner. Meanwhile, Wang Zhenzhen immediately returned to the registration office, fetched a bottle of glue, and began looking for a place to post their Health Clinic’s first-ever thank-you letter. Such a wonderful thing had to be posted in the most conspicuous place, where everyone could see it, whether they were inpatients or just passing by outside.

In such a situation, Xiao Li was also a perceptive person. Seeing that Wu Buwei and Wang Zhenzhen had already found their tasks, his eyes darted around, and he immediately ran towards the backyard.

While Du Heng was still talking to Li Qiuhua, Xiao Li and Lu Zhongjiang entered through the back door. And Lu Zhongjiang’s arrival demonstrated the value of a seasoned veteran; he rescued the flustered Du Heng.

Then, the whole affair of presenting the silk banner and thank-you letter entered the normal flow of events. Du Heng, along with Li Qiuhua and her son, took pictures holding the silk banner that read "Miraculous healing, noble medical ethics." Then, all the medical staff took a group photo together, marking a perfect end to the event.

However, they hadn’t dispersed yet when a car pulled up at the Health Clinic entrance, and a man came in carrying another dark red silk banner. Du Heng’s good mood immediately vanished, replaced by anxiety as he turned his gaze towards Lu Zhongjiang.

Today’s events were too coincidental, so coincidental that Du Heng couldn’t help but suspect Lu Zhongjiang had arranged it. He had just asked about silk banners in the office, and then Li Qiuhua arrived to deliver one. Before Li Qiuhua had even left, another person came in with a silk banner. This was almost identical to Li Qingde’s methods back then, except without the gongs, drums, and firecrackers. This couldn’t help but make Du Heng’s heart pound.

Du Heng recognized the man who entered; he was the husband of the woman who had a difficult labor last Monday. At this moment, he held a silk banner embroidered with "Unrivaled medical skills saving those in peril; White Angel’s sacred hands delivering new life," and walked straight towards the people in the hall who hadn’t yet dispersed.

Seeing the silk banner in the man’s hand, everyone else became even more excited, except for Du Heng. Especially Huo Yinhua and the nurses; they were so happy they almost cried out.

Only one person seemed to spoil the atmosphere: Qian Lizhen. One silk banner, especially one for Du Heng, didn’t bother her; she treated it as an exciting event to watch and didn’t mind basking in the reflected glory. But seeing the second silk banner being brought in, and then looking at the words on it, she immediately felt a sense of imbalance. Now, even the nurses had a silk banner, while she truly could only share in the reflected glory. Moreover, Huo Yinhua had joined at the same time as her. But looking at the words on the banner, Huo Yinhua must have a share of the credit for this one. Instantly, her interest in watching the excitement vanished, replaced by envy and jealousy.

As for Huo Yinhua, the jealousy on her face had long vanished without a trace; she was smiling so widely her back molars were visible. A moment ago, she was still jealous of Du Heng, but now, she was filled with nothing but joy.

As for Yu Haiting, all that remained for him was bitterness. If he had been the one to go that day, then he would definitely have a share of the credit for this silk banner.

Regardless of the medical staff’s various feelings on site, the man holding the silk banner went directly to Du Heng’s side. "Doctor Du, thank you all. I don’t know how to express my gratitude, so I can only use this silk banner to thank everyone for their help. Thank you." With that, he bowed deeply to Du Heng and the others.

Lu Zhongjiang quietly asked Du Heng beside him, "Whose patient is this? What’s going on?"

Du Heng glanced at Lu Zhongjiang with some hesitation and said in an equally soft voice, "You don’t know?"

Lu Zhongjiang looked puzzled. "What would I know? I’ve never seen this person before; he shouldn’t have been hospitalized in our clinic, right? But looking at the words on it, could it be the family from the difficult labor case you all handled last week?"

Hearing Lu Zhongjiang’s equally puzzled words, Du Heng nodded, half-believing and half-doubting. Seeing the man bowing at this moment, he couldn’t bother with verifying things with Lu Zhongjiang and quickly reached out to help the man up. "Why did you come today?"

"My wife and child were discharged from the hospital today. My wife said we must thank you for saving their lives. I know you can’t accept gifts, so I prepared this silk banner. This silk banner was actually ordered last week. Today, we happened to be passing by on our way home, so I brought it in directly." The man smiled happily and spoke with great sincerity. He pointed to the car outside. "My wife and child are in the car right now, but..." He paused, his eyes glancing at Du Heng’s lips where the marks from the faded blisters remained, then continued carefully, "but she’s observing her confinement period now, so we didn’t have her come in."

Feeling the man’s gaze on him, Du Heng unconsciously touched his own mouth. Last week, the blisters on his mouth had truly embarrassed him. Although no one asked anything, from the way they kept looking at his lips, Du Heng knew what they were thinking. Fortunately, when he went to the Provincial First Hospital for consultations, he wore a mask the entire time. By the time he went to the Criminal Police Team, the blisters had already subsided, leaving only patches of dry skin.

After touching his mouth, Du Heng asked somewhat abruptly, "You prepared the silk banner that long ago?"

"Yes, I had them start preparing it last week. Although those shops that make silk banners have ready-made ones, their quality isn’t good, and they’ve been sitting around for a long time. I didn’t like any of them, so I had them make a new one."

"That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much for your recognition."

After hearing the man’s words, Du Heng’s anxious heart relaxed a little. If today’s events were truly orchestrated by Lu Zhongjiang, Du Heng was prepared to show his displeasure. This wouldn’t be a commendation; it would be an insult.

Lu Zhongjiang, finding joy once again, organized everyone to take photos. On a whim, he also pulled in Li Qiuhua, who hadn’t left yet, and they took another picture. However, this time, when they took the photo, Du Heng gave the center spot to Wang Lili and the group of nurses.

To be honest, when Li Qiuhua was hospitalized, the most exhausted were not Du Heng and Wu Buwei, but Wang Lili and Li Nating. At that time, Du Heng and Wu Buwei could still take turns sleeping. But those two hadn’t closed their eyes for a whole night, and the next day they still had to continuously look after the patient and decoct medicine. Fortunately, there were no other inpatients at that time; otherwise, those two would have been worked to death.

In this difficult labor rescue, Wang Lili and Wei Wen also put in a great deal of effort. Especially Wei Wen; at the time, she was completely drenched in amniotic fluid and bloody water. So, letting the nurses take the center spot was perfectly appropriate. "White Angel’s sacred hands delivering new life"—this was the best praise for them.

Of course, with the arrival of these two silk banners, their salaries this month would increase by three to four hundred yuan.

After twenty minutes of hustle and bustle, this joyous event at the Health Clinic finally drew to a close. Everyone composed themselves and continued with the work that had been interrupted.

"Dean, what should we do with these two silk banners?" Lu Zhongjiang asked the question that was on everyone’s mind, especially Huo Yinhua and the nurses.

They all knew that Du Heng had several silk banners tucked away in his cabinet. Although they didn’t know why Du Heng didn’t hang them up, they were afraid he wouldn’t allow these to be hung either, so they all looked at Du Heng with concern.

"Hang them up. Find a conspicuous place in the hall to display them," Du Heng said with a light laugh.

"Great!" Wang Lili and Wei Wen shouted the loudest.

Then, everyone got busy with their work, while those tasked with hanging the silk banners got to it. However, everyone was quite excited, especially those connected to these two silk banners; they were all excitedly taking out their mobile phones to post on their ins. If they didn’t show off a bit, they felt like they would suffocate.

Du Heng remained relatively calm, but he still went in and out of his office several times. Whenever he entered or exited, he would, intentionally or unintentionally, glance at the red color in that conspicuous spot.

Nearing the end of the workday, as Du Heng was preparing to go home, he suddenly received a call from Jin Zan. Jin Zan didn’t say much, just asked him to wait for him in the hall. Du Heng was puzzled but went to the hall anyway.

But when he saw Jin Zan entering with a silk banner in his hand, Du Heng felt as if he were floating. Today was too surreal. When they didn’t come, not a single one arrived; when they did come, they all flocked together. However, Jin Zan’s arrival also completely dispelled Du Heng’s suspicion that Lu Zhongjiang had orchestrated things. He knew his own brother’s character better than anyone. However, looking at the words on the silk banner in Jin Zan’s hand, Du Heng felt his facial skin twitch, and he instantly became uneasy.