Upon hearing that Du Heng was leaving, Zuo Liangliang immediately became displeased.
He put down the items in his hand, asked the people waiting in line to go home, and then said to Du Heng, "Doctor Du, don’t go back tonight. Stay at my house. Everything has been prepared, and the bed was already heated. You can stay without worry."
Du Heng politely declined. He felt it wouldn’t be right to impose on Zuo Liangliang further, especially after Zuo Liangliang had helped him all day.
At this moment, Wu Buwei spoke up, "Senior Brother, let’s just stay here. I’m exhausted today, and my head is starting to get foggy. If we stay, we can start earlier tomorrow, don’t you think?"
Hearing this, Zuo Liangliang immediately chimed in, insisting Du Heng stay and not return home.
Du Heng considered. It would take at least an hour to descend the mountain, and even longer since it was dark. The journey back and forth would take them well over an hour, possibly two. Then they’d have to rush back up the mountain the next morning; it really wasn’t worth the effort. Seeing how exhausted Wu Buwei looked—the lad was clearly worn out—Du Heng, swallowing his pride, agreed to stay.
Since they decided to stay, time was no longer an issue.
After dinner, Du Heng took out the personnel files and found several names he had marked. "Mr. Zuo, these are the two I picked out today. When you have time, please find their children and have them take their parents to a Grade 3A hospital for a checkup."
Zuo Liangliang took the files, glanced at them, and his brow furrowed deeply. "Zhang Yongfa? Isn’t his stomach just bothering him? What’s wrong?"
Du Heng sighed. "I hope my judgment is wrong. However, during the consultation, the symptoms he described are consistent with gastric cancer as defined by Western medicine. He has a fifteen-year history of ulcers, accompanied by loss of appetite, indigestion or stomach pain after eating even small amounts, belching, emaciation, and multiple episodes of hematemesis. These symptoms closely match the Western medical diagnosis for gastric cancer."
Du Heng took a deep breath. "His pulse is deep and rapid, his tongue has a black coating, and he has strong halitosis. As the old saying goes, ’With stomach qi, one lives; without stomach qi, one dies.’ His stomach qi is severely depleted, almost non-existent. From any diagnostic perspective, Zhang Yongfa’s situation is not good."
Zuo Liangliang was inclined to trust Du Heng’s judgment. Firstly, Du Heng’s performance earlier that day had greatly impressed him. Secondly, he himself had long harbored suspicions about Zhang Yongfa’s condition.
Zhang Yongfa had been obtaining medication for stomachaches and indigestion from him for many years. Zuo Liangliang had also treated him on several occasions when he vomited blood.
He had advised Zhang Yongfa to go to the hospital, but the man consistently refused.
Years ago, with three children in school, he hadn’t dared to go to the hospital due to the expense.
Once his children graduated, his two sons needed money to buy houses and get married, making him even more reluctant to seek hospital treatment.
And so, time passed, and his illness was neglected until its current severe state.
"Alright then, I’ll call his eldest son later."
Zuo Liangliang sighed again, then pointed to another name. "And what about Madame You Ying? Don’t tell me she has cancer too?"
Speaking of this one, Du Heng seemed a bit more relaxed. "This old lady doesn’t have cancer. It’s heart yang deficiency: she experiences palpitations and shortness of breath, her mouth and tongue have a purplish hue, her tongue body is pale with a white coating, and her pulse is large but weak. She should go to a major hospital to have her heart examined."
Zuo Liangliang nodded; this sounded relatively more straightforward. "Alright, you two get some rest. I’ll go make those calls."
"No rush, Mr. Zuo. There’s one more thing."
"It’s : I’ve written many prescriptions today, and there will be more tomorrow. I suspect the current stock of medicine in your cabinet might not be enough. It would be good to call and arrange for a delivery tomorrow."
Zuo Liangliang chuckled at this. His income would increase significantly from this, all thanks to Du Heng. "Okay, I’ll include that in my calls later."
After Zuo Liangliang left, Wu Buwei finally voiced the question that had been weighing on his mind. "Senior Brother, the cancer and the heart yang deficiency you mentioned—can’t you treat them?"
Du Heng stood up and did some stretches on the floor. "I can, but I still advise them to go to a major hospital."
"For these two conditions, if confirmed, surgery is the best option. We have to admit that sometimes, traditional Chinese medicine is outperformed by Western medicine. Take the old lady, for example. Her condition is very likely coronary artery stenosis. Getting a heart stent would be quicker and safer than traditional Chinese medicine treatment."
Du Heng slowly continued his stretches, then added after taking a breath, "We are doctors. We should offer patients the most appropriate treatment, not dismiss Western medical treatments simply because we’ve studied traditional Chinese medicine."
Wu Buwei looked somewhat unconvinced. "Senior Brother, that’s easy to say. But nowadays, many Western doctors would rather let a patient die under their care than recommend traditional Chinese medicine. Or, they only recommend trying traditional Chinese medicine when the patient is deemed hopeless, essentially asking TCM to perform miracles on a dying patient. Isn’t that just making TCM the scapegoat?"
"Such situations do exist, and quite frequently. There are two main reasons. Firstly, some TCM doctors themselves aren’t up to par, so one can’t blame Western doctors for looking down on them. Secondly, many Western doctors have no understanding of traditional Chinese medicine at all. Due to the widespread use of advanced equipment, many Western practitioners no longer perform even basic physical examinations—a fundamental skill for doctors. How then can you expect them to trust your ’Inspection, Auscultation, Inquiry, and Palpation’—four diagnostic methods they may perceive as lacking a ’scientific’ basis?"
Du Heng’s words clearly disheartened Wu Buwei. "So, is there no future for traditional Chinese medicine then?"
"That’s not necessarily true. The fundamental difference between TCM and Western medicine lies in their treatment philosophies. However, the methods, like surgery, can be used by both. Previously, surgery was considered exclusive to Western medicine. But in recent years, an increasing number of TCM doctors are taking up the scalpel, and some have become exceptionally skilled surgeons."
"Of course. I have a classmate, who is also your senior brother, who specialized in Traditional Chinese Medicine Orthopedics after graduation. He’s now performing orthopedic surgeries with incredible skill. I’ll introduce you when I get the chance."
"Why haven’t you ever mentioned him before, Senior Brother?"
Du Heng chuckled. "Back then, I was just idling away my time at the local Health Clinic, while he was already a rising star at a major Grade 3A hospital. We were in completely different worlds."
With that, Du Heng, also feeling tired, went straight to the bed to sleep. "Alright, you can either read for a while or go to sleep."
"I’ll read for a bit. Reading helps me fall asleep."
Du Heng paid Wu Buwei no more mind. He lay down on the bed, took out his phone, which he hadn’t checked all day, intending to browse for a bit before sleeping.
However, as soon as he turned on his phone, he saw a somewhat surprising message.
Wang Shuqiu: "What are you doing? Are you busy?"
A message from Wang Shuqiu? That was indeed a bit unexpected. Given the impression they both had from their last meeting, neither seemed interested in the other. So why would she message him now? It was rather strange!
Du Heng had a very clear perception of himself. At twenty-seven, a village doctor with no money, no house, and no car—he possessed nothing that could possibly attract Wang Shuqiu. And Wang Shuqiu, considering her workplace, her figure and appearance, or her age, would surely not be interested in someone like him.