CHAPTER 340: 316 GINGIVAL HEMORRHAGE

"President Du, I’m here to present you with a silk banner." As soon as Jin Zan saw Du Heng, he shouted, a teasing smile plastered on his face.

This sudden shout startled everyone, who had been immersed in happiness, and they all raised their heads in surprise.

What in the world is happening today? It was one thing after another.

Lu Zhongjiang, who was chatting with Yu Haiting, looked even more surprised. For a moment, he wondered if Du Heng had arranged this flurry of silk banner deliveries; otherwise, it was too much of a coincidence. But then, remembering the silk banners already in Du Heng’s cabinet, he dismissed the idea as impossible.

"Let’s go check it out." Lu Zhongjiang stopped chatting with Yu Haiting and turned to leave the Western Medicine General Clinic. Yu Haiting and Xiao Li, also surprised, exchanged a glance and hurriedly followed.

Given their relationship, Jin Zan presenting a silk banner was bound to be a bit awkward for Du Heng. When he saw the words on the banner, an indescribable feeling welled up inside him.

"Guanyin of Child Delivery."

He had no idea what this rascal was thinking. It wasn’t entirely bad; after all, the four words implied he was a "Bodhisattva," which was high praise. If he were a woman, it would have been fine. But he was a man, and Guanyin was commonly perceived as female. So, being gifted a "female Bodhisattva" banner just didn’t sit right with him.

"Stop shouting and get out of here," Du Heng urged. He quickly walked up to Jin Zan, reaching out to take the silk banner.

Jin Zan dodged with a sly smile, raising his hand to avoid Du Heng’s grasp. "What’s wrong with you? I’m here to give you a banner, why are you trying to snatch it? I want to take a photo with you."

Hearing footsteps approaching in the corridor, Du Heng grew anxious. "Stop fooling around! Put that thing away, quickly!"

If his colleagues saw those four words and word got out that he was a "female Bodhisattva," life would become unbearable.

Du Heng reached for the banner again. He couldn’t tell if Jin Zan was being deliberately mischievous or genuinely wanted a photo, but Jin Zan kept it out of his reach, hand held high.

"Guanyin of Child Delivery! That’s such high praise. Why aren’t you more appreciative?"

"Just shut up!" Du Heng snapped.

While they were struggling, Jin Zan finally noticed the red paper announcement on the door and the other silk banner prominently displayed in the hall. He then feigned anger. "Aha! So someone else already gave you one, and now you’re looking down on mine, is that it? I need to find someone to set things straight! Why should my banner be treated differently? This is discrimination!"

Du Heng was about to be driven mad by this bald-headed man, but physically, he was no match for Jin Zan, who spent his days sawing bones. He gave up, staring at Jin Zan in exasperation. "Alright, you win."

Just as he said that, Lu Zhongjiang and the others arrived. When Lu Zhongjiang saw the silk banner in Jin Zan’s hand and the four words written on it, he couldn’t help but laugh.

This definitely wasn’t orchestrated by Du Heng. No male doctor would want a banner calling himself "Guanyin of Child Delivery."

Smiling, he strode towards Jin Zan with an outstretched hand. "Hello, I am Lu Zhongjiang, the Secretary of the Health Clinic. Thank you so much for acknowledging our work."

Among those present, besides Du Heng, Wu Buwei also knew Jin Zan and was aware of his relationship with Du Heng. When Wu Buwei saw the words on the silk banner, he tittered, understanding the private joke. Noticing the puzzled expressions on Yu Haiting and Xiao Li’s faces, he quietly explained the connection between Du Heng and Jin Zan, and the reason behind Jin Zan’s choice of those four particular words.

Hearing the laughter behind him, Du Heng shot Wu Buwei a glare. He then looked helplessly at Lu Zhongjiang and Jin Zan, who were now shaking hands.

After Jin Zan’s theatrical display, Lu Zhongjiang "criticized" Du Heng a few times before insisting that Du Heng and Jin Zan pose for a photo together, holding the silk banner. Immediately afterward, he recalled the logistics team, who had just left, and had them hang the "Guanyin of Child Delivery" banner right in the middle of the three banners.

Du Heng stared at the red banner hanging overhead, the small joy he had felt earlier completely gone.

Jin Zan slung an arm around Du Heng’s shoulder. "Happy? Surprised?"

I really want to kill this scoundrel! Du Heng thought, but one look at Jin Zan’s robust physique made him helplessly abandon the idea.

He shrugged off Jin Zan’s overly friendly arm and started walking towards his office in the backyard. "Happy? I’ll be happy once I’ve beaten you to death."

Jin Zan, unfazed, just chuckled and quickly followed Du Heng.

"So, is your wife pregnant?" Du Heng asked as they walked.

"She is. The check-up results are back."

"That’s great. As I mentioned about your wife’s condition, the first two months are crucial. As long as the pregnancy is stable during this period, and the fetus is well-established, there shouldn’t be any major problems later on."

This time, Jin Zan’s smile was genuine. He reached out and patted Du Heng’s shoulder again. "She’s already taken leave. She’ll rest and recuperate at home for two months, and then we’ll see if she should go back to work. Oh, and my mom came over. She’s been ecstatic these past few days. Whatever my wife says, my mom agrees. She’s even banished me to the sofa for the past week!"

Du Heng brushed Jin Zan’s arm off again; skin-to-skin contact felt too hot, honestly. "Serves you right."

"Hehe, thanks, brother."

"This is how you thank me? ’Female Bodhisattva’... I can’t stand even thinking about it. And you even put my name on it! You’re making me furious!"

Jin Zan said solemnly, "How crude. I didn’t expect you, Du Heng, to be such a crude person. How can this be the ’Female Bodhisattva’ that common people talk about? You are a true Bodhisattva!"

Du Heng waved his hand dismissively. "Just tell me why you’re really here."

"Old Dong said he wanted to treat us to dinner, and I wanted to treat you too, so we decided to come together."

"You want to treat me to dinner?" Du Heng asked, surprised.

"Of course! For such a joyous occasion, a single silk banner isn’t enough to express my gratitude. I absolutely have to treat you." Jin Zan chuckled. "But not today; Old Dong is treating us. By the way, hurry up and get ready. We should go."

Du Heng shook his head. "Go where? Let’s just wait here."

With that, he picked up the phone and called Dong Yuezhang. After a brief conversation, Du Heng hung up and said to Jin Zan, "Alright, we’ll wait a bit. He’ll come over after work."

Jin Zan looked a little puzzled. "After work? Isn’t his workplace too far from here?"

"Not far at all. He works right next door."

As they spoke, Du Heng poured Jin Zan a cup of water. "Plain water for you. Giving you tea would be a waste."

Jin Zan’s attention, however, wasn’t on the water. The words "next door" had piqued his curiosity. He quickly leaned forward. "Quick, tell me what’s going on."

While the two were chatting in the office, Dong Yuezhang walked into the backyard, clutching his jaw. He spotted the nameplate on Du Heng’s door and pushed it open to enter.

"HISS... Ma Ti’er! Quick, take a look and give me some medicine to reduce this internal heat!" Dong Yuezhang exclaimed as soon as he entered.

Du Heng and Jin Zan immediately stood up. "What happened? Did someone beat you up?" Jin Zan asked.

"Beat me up? Nonsense!" Dong Yuezhang retorted. "It’s gingival hemorrhage. I’ve been suffering from excessive internal heat for days."

"But you looked fine when you got out of the car this morning. How did it get so bad in just one day?" Jin Zan pressed. "Tell the truth, did those folks at the Township Government do something to aggravate you?"

Dong Yuezhang pushed Jin Zan further into the room and plopped down on the sofa. "Stop imagining things. It has nothing to do with them. HISS... You guys have no idea. I almost lost my position a few days ago. All this stress and anxiety caused this flare-up of internal heat."

This wasn’t something Jin Zan could help with, so Du Heng walked over to Dong Yuezhang. "Open your mouth, let me see."

"Ah..." After Du Heng finished his examination, Dong Yuezhang clutched his cheek again. "My skills have really deteriorated. At first, it was just a toothache, so I bought some anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers. The toothache went away, but then my gums started bleeding."

Jin Zan chimed in, "Skills? You? Among the four of us, you’re the least skilled. Besides, you graduated with a degree in traditional Chinese medicine and yet you prescribed Western medicine for yourself. That’s ’skilled’ alright!"

Du Heng ignored their bickering and patted Dong Yuezhang’s arm. "If your mouth hurts, don’t talk so much. Give me your wrist."

He took Dong Yuezhang’s wrist. After feeling his pulse, which was a rapid pulse string, Du Heng had a good idea of the situation.

"This gum bleeding isn’t a recent problem, is it?"

"HISS... It’s been over two months. It started right after that meal we had together. But back then, it would only last a day or two, and some medicine to reduce internal heat would clear it up. This time, though, it’s been several days, and no medicine seems to work."

Du Heng released Dong Yuezhang’s hand. "So you’ve just been self-medicating all this time? No matter how important your position is, you still need to see a doctor when you’re sick."

"I did go to the hospital. They prescribed some anti-inflammatory drugs, along with a bunch of Vitamin 123 and so on, but nothing worked. The gingival hemorrhage just hasn’t stopped."

"Red tongue, white coating, a rapid pulse string. Based on these, what do you think your problem is?"

"Excessive internal heat?" Dong Yuezhang guessed tentatively.

Du Heng rolled his eyes. "Heat where, specifically?"

"In the gums? Or maybe the entire oral cavity?"

"Brilliant. You’ve really forgotten everything your teachers taught you. It’s a good thing you switched careers; you’d starve as a doctor. Bleeding gums don’t automatically mean the problem is in your mouth, you know."

Du Heng stood up, walked over to his desk, and began writing a prescription. "Your condition is called gingival hemorrhage. Do you even remember what that is?"

Dong Yuezhang shook his head. Jin Zan also shook his head.

It had been seven or eight years since graduation; they had long forgotten much of what they’d learned.

"Gingival hemorrhage, also known as dental sores, is a condition primarily characterized by bleeding from the gums and the crevices between teeth. It’s often caused by an upsurge of stomach heat scorching the blood network, or by kidney yin deficiency leading to an internal stirring of deficient fire, which then forces the blood to flow erratically. The development of gingival hemorrhage is most closely related to the stomach, large intestine, and kidney, with stomach heat and kidney deficiency being the primary pathogenesis."

Du Heng looked at the two men before him and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for their university professors. He shook his head and continued his explanation. "Clinically, there are two main types of gingival hemorrhage. The first is stomach heat-induced gingival bleeding. This type usually involves a larger amount of bright red blood, accompanied by red and swollen gums, bad breath, dry mouth with a desire to drink, headaches, and constipation."

"The second type is yin deficiency-induced gingival bleeding. With this type, the bleeding is less profuse, the blood is a darker shade, and it’s often accompanied by loose or floating teeth, dizziness, tinnitus, and soreness in the lower back and loins."

Seeing Dong Yuezhang’s pained expression, Du Heng felt a flicker of playfulness. "Old Dong, I’ve explained it all quite clearly. Why don’t you try writing a prescription for yourself now?"