CHAPTER 342: 318 BLOWER MOUSE

When Du Heng found the young man again with the medicine, he had already been moved to a ward by Yu Haiting and the others.

Lying in the sickbed, attached to an IV drip, he appeared weak and feeble.

Du Heng handed the powdered medicine to Yu Haiting. "This is a hemostatic medicine. When he starts to have a nosebleed, blow some of this powder into his nostrils to stop the bleeding."

Yu Haiting nodded, then passed the medicine to Xiao Li behind him. "Put it in the drawer of the patient’s bedside table."

He then turned back to Du Heng and said, "After you left, I asked him again. He said he hasn’t felt any discomfort so far."

Du Heng frowned slightly, then bent down, took the young man’s wrist, and performed a pulse diagnosis.

After checking his pulse, Du Heng’s frown deepened. "According to his pulse, he’s indeed just a bit weak, but this shouldn’t be the case. He couldn’t have lost so much blood for no reason, and for it not to stop."

He then asked Yu Haiting, "When will the blood test results be out?"

"They should be ready in twenty minutes."

"We must find out the cause; this situation is too dangerous. The acupuncture I perform isn’t always effective. As for the hemostatic powder I gave you, if the bleeding is too heavy, it will just get washed out and won’t work," Du Heng explained.

Just then, Xiao Li, who was standing behind them, chimed in carelessly, "If limbs suffer from ischemic necrosis, you can amputate them to save a life, but if it’s the head that’s ischemic, you can’t just cut it off, can you?"

Du Heng and Yu Haiting both glanced wordlessly at Xiao Li.

After waiting for some time, Du Heng and Yu Haiting finally received the test results. They both repeatedly reviewed the urine and blood test reports but found no abnormalities.

"Dean, it seems we can rule out any liver, kidney, or blood-related lesions."

"Then do you see any other possibilities? A simple hit from a basketball shouldn’t cause such persistent bleeding."

"Could this be due to congenitally thin nasal capillary walls?"

"Then he should have had nosebleeds before, right?"

Yu Haiting shook his head. "Not necessarily. He might have been well-protected as a child. As he grew older, his constitution would have strengthened, so unless his nose was deliberately struck with force, it’s quite possible he’s never had a nosebleed before."

After pondering a bit, Du Heng said, "Alright, as long as the most dangerous conditions are ruled out, that’s good. Once he wakes up after the IV drip, have a good talk with him and send him to the Second Affiliated Hospital of JZU. They’re quite good in this field."

「 」

It was Yu Haiting’s turn for duty starting this week, so after Du Heng finished speaking, he prepared to pack up and go home.

When he returned to his office, Dong Yuezhang and Jin Zan were long gone, presumably having left after drinking their medicine.

Du Heng tidied up his things and quickly headed home.

Regarding the house renovations, the initial plan was just to renovate the second floor.

But after looking at the first floor, which had only been given a coat of marsdenia-white paint, it appeared a bit out of sync with the renovated second floor, so they decided to overhaul it completely.

Du Heng himself hadn’t been home for several days, and when he returned now, it was a complete mess.

The hired workers had already left; only Du Ping was still tidying up. Seeing Du Heng return, Du Ping put down what he was holding, patted the dust off his hands and clothes, and walked out.

"What brings you back today?"

"I’m not on shift this week."

As the brothers walked next door, Du Ping said, "That’s good. You can get some proper rest at home then."

「 」

During dinner, his sister-in-law, Zhang Sumei, hesitated several times as if wanting to speak, but ultimately said nothing.

Seeing this, Du Heng asked, "Sister-in-law, if you have something to say, just say it."

Zhang Sumei put down her chopsticks, her expression serious. "Xiao Heng, what are you and Xiao Qiu actually thinking?"

"Thinking about what?"

"So, are you two getting married or not?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Since you’re getting married, you two should get a move on. Check with Xiao Qiu’s parents about their availability so your big brother and the others can meet them soon and settle this."

As Zhang Sumei spoke, a trace of indignation showed on her face. "Xiao Qiu is living with you now, but our families’ elders still haven’t met. You know how the women in our village gossip. This isn’t good for Xiao Qiu’s reputation. Besides, you’re a leader now too; it’s not good for your reputation either."

Du Ping, pausing with his chopsticks, agreed with Zhang Sumei. "Your sister-in-law is right. This matter can’t be dragged out any longer. Society may be different now, but people who gossip are still the same. You’re a leader, after all, and Xiao Qiu is a young woman. The more rumors there are, the more it will affect both of you."

His big brother and sister-in-law’s concerns were not unfounded. Du Heng also wanted to settle this matter quickly and live a peaceful life.

However, when it came to the parents meeting, the initiative wasn’t in their hands.

If Wang Shuqiu’s family didn’t agree to meet, it wouldn’t happen no matter what anyone said.

But there were some things Du Heng couldn’t tell his big brother and sister-in-law, so he could only say, "Alright, I’ll talk to Qiuqiu then and see what her parents think."

"Yes, you need to get on that. Xiao Qiu is a good girl—pretty, unpretentious, and good at dealing with people. I imagine her family isn’t too difficult to deal with. Let them state whatever requirements and conditions they have; as long as they’re reasonable, we can accept them."

His sister-in-law had just finished speaking when his big brother added, "Don’t worry about the betrothal gifts. I’m raising nearly forty sheep now, big and small, plus what you’ve saved. Even if they ask for 200,000 yuan in betrothal gifts, we can manage it."

Du Heng sighed quietly. This isn’t about betrothal gifts at all.

Knowing Wang Shuqiu’s personality, she probably wouldn’t even want a 20,000 yuan betrothal gift, let alone 200,000.

"Big Brother, Sister-in-law, I’ll discuss it with Xiao Qiu quickly, but it probably can’t happen very soon. You know their situation is different from ours. More than half of our land is fallow now, but they’re still farming all of theirs.

They’ve just started harvesting crops. After that, they’ll be digging up potatoes and picking corn. Plus, her family grows medicine ingredients, so they’ll be digging and stringing those up later. It’s unlikely we can arrange a meeting anytime soon."

Du Ping stared at Du Heng. "Meeting them would only take a day, and we’d be going to their place. How much could one day delay things? Or are you having second thoughts, kid?"

Seeing his big brother glaring, Du Heng quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no! If I had other ideas, why would I have brought Qiuqiu home to live with us?"

"Then what do you mean by dragging your feet like this? I told you about this last month, and still no news. What are you two playing at?"

As Du Ping spoke, he brought Wang Shuqiu into it as well.

Du Heng felt awful.

He felt like a mouse in a bellows, squeezed from both sides.

If he told his big brother and sister-in-law about Wang Shuqiu’s family situation, they would surely be upset, and their perception of Wang Shuqiu would inevitably change, no longer seeing her as perfect as they did now.

Du Heng himself was very clear about the situation on Wang Shuqiu’s side. The conflict between Wang Shuqiu and her mother, from the current looks of it, was temporarily irreconcilable.

Her mother was dead set on being a ’brother-doting demon,’ while Wang Shuqiu couldn’t stand her own maternal uncle and aunt.

Adding the recent incident with Zhao Xinyuan, they had completely fallen out and were ready for a bitter fight to the end.

In this situation, how could the parents possibly meet?

His mind raced as he carefully chose his words. "Hasn’t Qiuqiu gone on a trip? When she gets back, we’ll discuss this matter right away. That should be fine, right?"

"You’d better hurry. The longer this drags on, the more people will talk. Especially now that you’ve suddenly become the Dean of the Health Clinic. Plenty of people are jealous of our family’s sudden good fortune and are just waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves."

His big brother didn’t press further on the issue of the parents meeting. After saying his piece, he picked up his chopsticks again.

But his sister-in-law immediately followed up on her husband’s words. "Your big brother is right. Haven’t you seen those women in the village? They’re all smiles to your face, asking about you and Xiao Qiu, but behind your back, they start making snide remarks. Makes you want to slap them a couple of times."

His sister-in-law then started listing who had been saying what behind their backs.

Du Heng didn’t dare interrupt and ate with his head bowed. His big brother also ate in silence. For now, his sister-in-law held the floor.

Du Xuejing slowly sidled up to Du Heng and whispered, "Little Uncle, I want to go on a trip too."

Du Heng glanced at his sister-in-law, who was still venting, and whispered back, "A trip? You’d better get your driver’s license first. Besides, it’s your mom who won’t let you go; there’s nothing I can do."

"Little Uncle, I really can’t stand being at home anymore! I feel like my mom’s hit menopause early; she nags all day long. I can’t even sleep in a little. I have to get up when she gets up and go to bed when she goes to bed."

Du Xuejing looked truly aggrieved. Pouting, she picked at her food.

An idea sparked in Du Heng’s eyes. "How about this: when you get up during the day, come find me at the Health Clinic. I’ll arrange a place for you where you can start studying your university material in advance. You know, no matter the medical specialty, there’s a lot to learn. We happen to have some knowledgeable doctors at our clinic, so you can start with the basics."

Du Xuejing rolled her eyes, scoffing internally at Du Heng’s suggestion. "Never mind," she said aloud. "I’d rather stay home and listen to my mom nag."

With that, she picked up her bowl and slowly retreated, moving away from Du Heng.

She thought Du Heng was even more unreliable than her mother.

She had just finished the grueling senior third grade, and now he wanted her to study again? Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

Du Heng chuckled to himself. Heh, little rascal, as if I can’t handle you.

「 」

After dinner, Du Heng took Du Yi to the bedroom.

Ever since Du Yi had expressed his desire to learn from him, Du Heng had assigned him tasks, such as memorizing medical verses.

For now, the only requirement for Du Yi was to memorize them thoroughly; understanding the content could come later.