Nevertheless, the man eventually showed some perceptiveness. Noticing Du Heng and Wu Buwei intended to let go, and his Wife looked ready for another round, he tactfully shut his mouth after a few brief comments.
Before Du Heng could say anything, Wu Buwei stepped forward to play the good guy. "This Patient, you shouldn’t be too emotional."
Then he turned to the man and said, "Sir, are your injuries okay? I’ll take you to Dr. Yu to have your wound disinfected, alright?"
The man wanted to speak again, but when he saw Du Heng also release his grip, he choked back his words. After a glance at his still furious Wife, he obediently followed Wu Buwei out.
As he left, it seemed he knew he’d lost face, so he covered his face with both hands, preventing anyone outside from seeing his sorry state.
When you see many Patients, you encounter all sorts of them.
But Du Heng had never before seen a husband publicly beaten .
Looking at this female Patient, Du Heng had one thought: She’s too fierce. He needed to speak with her properly; otherwise, if she started a fight with him, things would get ugly.
Then, whether he won or lost the fight, it would feel wrong.
Fortunately, just as Wu Buwei left, Li Nating came in. "Dean, we’re running out of sick beds. We can’t accept any more inpatients for now." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ noⅴelfire.net
The female Patient was the first to object, "Doctor, that won’t do! I was here yesterday, and I’m back again today. You can’t admit others and not me. You have to find a way!"
Du Heng was also in a dilemma. We can’t have Patients sleeping in the corridor because there are no sick beds, can we?
He thought for a moment and asked Li Nating, "Can we add another sick bed to each hospital room?" If that worked, they could add more than ten sick beds.
Li Nating considered the layout of the hospital rooms. Currently, each hospital room only had two sick beds, so they were quite spacious. Adding another wasn’t impossible, but the sick beds were in the warehouse in the old courtyard, and moving them over here would be a bit troublesome.
"Adding one more is possible, but the sick beds and other things are in the warehouse in the backyard. It’s a bit troublesome to move them."
"That’s alright. Go find logistics and have them all help."
"Okay, I’ll go arrange it now."
Li Nating agreed and hurried off. Du Heng turned to the female Patient and said, "Come back this afternoon. Our sick beds should be arranged by then, and we can admit you directly. How does that sound?"
The woman didn’t make a fuss and readily promised.
She promised so readily that Du Heng found it a bit surprising. She promised so quickly, he thought.
Given her earlier behavior, I thought she’d make a scene, Du Heng mused. But it seems all her ferocity is reserved for her husband.
After this small interlude, Du Heng resumed his work.
However, after this incident, he became much more cautious about admitting Patients. For those whose conditions weren’t too severe and who had some mobility, he had them take medicine home for self-Treatment.
However, many Patients with relatively severe conditions chose not to be hospitalized for various reasons. Some lived too far away, making care inconvenient. Others had family members busy with work, leaving no one to look after them during hospitalization. Still others, purely due to financial issues, opted to take medicine home to take themselves.
The Patients who came in droves today had all read the newspaper. Their illnesses were mostly clear-cut, so the Check-up was relatively simple.
However, no matter how simple, it couldn’t be rushed. And as noon approached, the crowd only grew larger.
Where are all these people coming from?
Du Heng’s mood had been fairly stable all day. Even when he saw the Old man who was in the terminal stage earlier, he had only sighed briefly.
But looking at the Patient before him now, his heart grew heavy.
It’s not for any other reason, he thought, this Patient is just too young. And she has a four-year-old Child.
Female, 28 years old, worked in a paint factory. Her lung cancer had progressed with unexpected speed, taking only three short years from diagnosis to the terminal stage.
This Patient had already undergone radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and even molecular targeted therapy. She had come to Du Heng after reading about Pei Jihua’s case in the newspaper, but Du Heng could only offer his apologies.
If only she had come earlier, he thought, I might have been able to find a way.
But now, after radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and molecular targeted therapy, her body is, so to speak, riddled with holes.
Severe illnesses require drastic medicine, but in her current state, her body couldn’t withstand even a single dose of medicine. If she took it, she might die on the spot, in agony.
The couple had come to Du Heng grasping at their last hope, but that ray of light ultimately couldn’t reach them.
Watching them leave, Du Heng could only sigh in resignation.
No matter how resigned he felt, Du Heng had dealt with at least two terminal Patients before; it wasn’t entirely unbearable for him. Wu Buwei, however, hadn’t encountered a single one.
Now, before the morning was even over, two people had been told their time was limited. Two Patients given a death sentence in one morning... The young man became quite withdrawn.
As a Doctor, working for a long time, seeing many Patients, one eventually encounters such situations. You have to learn to slowly accept them. In the future, when Wu Buwei treats Patients independently, he would inevitably face situations where people died under his care.
Du Heng sighed, gently patted Wu Buwei’s shoulder, then quickly composed himself and called towards the door, "Next!"
However, looking at the person before him, Du Heng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"Aunt Wang, what are you doing joining the crowd? Weren’t you just here last week?" Du Heng looked at the woman helplessly. She was from Zhonghu Town; her home was just diagonally across from the Health Clinic.
Every day after lunch, she would sit at the elementary school entrance playing cards, and she was always full of vigor. Her voice was loud, her pitch high; she was the most boisterous one there.
Aunt Wang plopped down on the stool, grinning. "I saw all these people queuing up yesterday, so I thought I’d come and see what’s what."
Du Heng was speechless. Well, she’s here now. I can’t just turn her away, can I?
He could only perform a pulse diagnosis and a Check-up.
"Aunt Wang, you’re in excellent health. Nothing wrong at all."
"Oh, thank you then!"
Aunt Wang chirped her thanks with a smile, patted her Butt, and left.
What on earth was that about? Du Heng wondered.
Du Heng considered. If Aunt Wang is here, then her group of friends must be too. And if this gaggle of old ladies is here, their old men are bound to be around as well.
With this thought, Du Heng didn’t immediately call for the next Patient, but instead followed Aunt Wang out of the room.
The Hall was still full of people, though it wasn’t quite as packed as before.
Du Heng climbed two steps up the stairs, positioning himself a bit higher to look out. Sure enough, amidst the dense crowd, he spotted many familiar faces.
Some had even been to the Health Clinic for a Check-up just one or Two weeks prior. They were mixed into the crowd, and there were quite a number of them.