This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Chasing patients for payment should be the nurse's job, but since Wang Zhenzhen had come to Du Heng, he couldn't pass the buck any further. He had to go upstairs with the bill and call the two brothers down.

On his way back to his office, Du Heng bumped into Zhang Jinlian again.

This time, Du Heng didn't back down, giving her a meaningful smile.

Zhang Jinlian also smiled, looking utterly smug, and even greeted Du Heng, a rare occurrence, "Good morning, Doctor Du."

"Morning."

Both of them lost their smiles as they parted ways.

Just as Du Heng walked to the pharmacy to get the medicine, Wang Zhenzhen from the registration office across the hall called out to him, "Xiao Heng, a call just came from the Bureau. They want you to go over there immediately."

"They want me to go?" Du Heng was a little surprised.

"Yes, Director An is looking for you, right away. I just tried calling your phone, but you didn't answer."

Phone? Du Heng touched his pocket; it wasn't there. He must have left it in his office.

Normally, if the Bureau called for a meeting or something, Li Qingde was the first choice. If Li Qingde was unavailable, it would be Song, and then there was Wang Zhenzhen, the accountant who also handled the registration office. When did it become his turn, a peripheral figure like him?

"Don't just stand there, hurry up. They sounded quite urgent on the phone."

"Okay, I'll make some arrangements and go."

Du Heng thought for a moment, then went to the backyard and called over Wu Buwei, who was cleaning the placenta hominis.

Looking at Wu Buwei's somewhat pale face, Du Heng inwardly sighed. It's over. This kid probably won't make much progress in surgery in this lifetime. If cleaning placenta hominis made him like this, what would happen if he had to cut open human tissue and examine it? Wouldn't he vomit himself to death on the operating table?

"Buwei, come to my office for a moment." Du Heng called out when he was still three or four steps away, glanced at him, then turned back to his office.

"Senior Brother, what's up?" Wu Buwei walked in, gently shaking his hands, which looked freshly washed.

Du Heng glanced at his hands for a couple of seconds, then pushed the three prescriptions on the desk towards him. "These are Li Qiuhua's prescriptions. Later, you'll need to oversee the decoction of the medicine and make sure she takes it. I have to go out for something urgent and can't manage it myself."

"Alright, leave it to me."

"Come here, I'll explain how to administer them." Du Heng separated each prescription. "Look, I've written everything clearly on them, but I'll remind you again: you absolutely must not mix up the order."

"What kind of prescriptions are these?"

"All three are formulas modified from the Zhongjing Prescription. When you have free time today, you can study them and try to understand them yourself. If there's anything you don't get, I'll explain it when I get back. Now, listen carefully."

With that, Du Heng pointed to the first prescription. "Add 2000 milliliters of cold water, soak for 1 hour, then simmer until 450 milliliters remain. To be taken in three doses daily."

Then he pointed to the second prescription. "This one is to be ground into powder. Take it one hour after the first prescription. Twice a day, with an interval of no less than ten hours, 3 grams each time, washed down with warm yellow wine."

Wu Buwei looked at the dense list of medicinal ingredients on the second prescription, and his head started to ache a little.

Du Heng paid him no mind and pointed to the third prescription. "This one is also to be ground into powder, but divided into 20 packets. One packet in the morning and one in the evening, also with warm yellow wine. Got all that?"

Wu Buwei nodded, then pointed to the third prescription and asked, "Senior Brother, what's the use of these blast-fried pangolin scales?"

"The blast-fried pangolin scales, paired with musk, act to penetrate and break through, reaching everywhere. They expel filth, resolve turbidity, and guide all the medicines directly into the lung orifices to clear damp phlegm and dead blood." Du Heng paused, then continued, "The combination of these medicines should have the effect of repairing and activating damaged lung lesions. However, we still need to see the results, so pay close attention and don't make any mistakes."

After speaking, Du Heng took off his white gown, tidied his hair in the mirror, and started to walk out, paying Wu Buwei no further attention.

However, halfway out, he turned back. "Buwei, let me borrow your car."

Wu Buwei handed Du Heng the car keys and went to get the medicine with the prescriptions.

The Pharmacy Doctor looked at the three prescriptions in his hand and remarked with a sigh, "Dr. Wu, your Senior Brother is really bold with his prescriptions. Look, 90 grams of aconite alone, and with so many other medicines, the total is definitely over a kilogram."

Wu Buwei felt a little proud. Who was Du Heng? That was his own direct Senior Brother, taught by the same homeroom teacher. Du Heng's skill reflected well on him, his junior fellow apprentice. "What's wrong with a lot? Didn't the patient revive?"

"I'm not saying anything. I'm just asking, aren't you afraid using such large doses of aconite and ephedra?"

"Not afraid, exactly, but a little concerned."

The Pharmacy Doctor shook his head. "I'm truly afraid. If I hadn't seen that consent form, and if the patient hadn't shown improvement by the second day, I would never have dared to prepare the subsequent medicine for you."

Wu Buwei chuckled. "So now you dare to prepare it?"

"Doctor Du is amazing. The patient is alive, so what's there to be afraid of preparing?"

The Pharmacy Doctor chuckled and continued to look at the list. "Oh dear, we don't have blast-fried pangolin scales here."

Wu Buwei was stunned. What now? They don't have it? He had specifically asked Du Heng just now; blast-fried pangolin scales had to be paired with musk to achieve the effect of penetrating, breaking through, expelling filth, and resolving turbidity. If they didn't have it, would this medicine be useless?

"How can we not have it here?"

"Blast-fried pangolin scales are processed from the scales of the pangolin. On June 5, 2020, the pangolin was upgraded to a National Class I Protected Wildlife. Would you dare catch one to remove its scales? Moreover, in the latest edition of the 'Pharmacopoeia,' pangolins and three other such ingredients are no longer listed."

The Pharmacy Doctor sighed. "This medicinal ingredient is probably going to disappear. What's available now is just existing stock, and I estimate the quantity isn't large. I heard some people are researching using pig's hoof nails to replace the effects of pangolin scales, but I don't know if that's true."

"Brother, let's not get sidetracked. What do we do now? My Senior Brother entrusted this task to me." Wu Buwei was a physician; he wasn't concerned about whether the medicine still existed, only about what to do in the current situation.

The Pharmacy Doctor, though also called 'doctor,' held a Pharmacist Qualification. Their concerns were more about whether new drugs were available, which ones had been phased out, and which combinations would cause problems.

"You prepare the first two prescriptions first. As for the blast-fried pangolin scales, I'll go ask around and see if someone can spare some for us."

"Brother, I'm sorry to trouble you. You absolutely must find it; Li Qiuhua's life depends on you!"

"You little rascal, don't try to flatter me. This stuff is used up bit by bit, becoming rarer. Everyone treasures what they have."

"Brother, you'll definitely succeed. If Li Qiuhua is cured, half the credit will be yours."

The Pharmacy Doctor chuckled. "You kid, you really know how to talk."

After saying this, they began to dispense the first two prescriptions. Once they were prepared according to Du Heng's instructions, the Pharmacy Doctor called over another young girl who had just started her shift, gave her a few instructions, and also left with his bag.