After Wang Zhenzhen finished speaking, Du Heng turned his gaze to Yu Haiting, Wang Lili, and Old Cao.

"Old Yu, Lili, Old Cao, you three need to promptly arrange the duty rosters for your respective departments over the Chinese New Year period. Old Yu, you also need to find out how many of our currently hospitalized patients plan to go home for the New Year and how many will remain in the hospital. All of this needs to be tallied and scheduled properly."

Yu Haiting, Wang Lili, and Old Cao nodded in agreement.

Once all the arrangements were made, Du Heng shifted his attention to Lu Zhongjiang, his tone becoming leisurely. "Secretary, your party affairs work has been inadequate."

Du Heng didn’t explicitly state what party affairs work he was referring to, but everyone present knew. It seemed like he was talking about Lu Zhongjiang, but he was actually referring to Cui Guanghaia.

Though Old Lu knew Du Heng was really talking about someone else, he still felt a bit embarrassed. When Du Heng had left, he had entrusted Old Lu with all significant matters. Yet, only a month after Cui Guanghaia’s arrival, Old Lu had accomplished nothing and had been completely pushed aside by Cui. The fact that Cui Guanghaia could behave so arrogantly within a month was also partly due to Old Lu’s inaction. This also shed light on why Old Lu, despite working in the Bureau his entire life and being on the verge of retirement, was still just a minor section member.

As for Cui Guanghaia’s purpose in being there, Du Heng was perfectly clear. As long as it didn’t affect him or the development of the Health Clinic, Cui could do whatever he wanted. If a cart is moving forward, there will always be those who try to hitch a ride. That didn’t matter; it was a normal part of things. But again, it mustn’t affect Du Heng himself.

Old Lu blushed. If he still didn’t understand what Du Heng was implying, he risked being completely marginalized in any future developments. Even any last-minute perks he might have hoped for before retirement would also be scuttled by others.

"Dean, I have been somewhat negligent in my work recently."

"Recognizing shortcomings isn’t enough; you must correct them. We are in a period of rapid development. At such a time, not only must our development direction stay on course, but our ideological direction must not stray either."

Lu Zhongjiang nodded quickly, genuinely embarrassed to be lectured by someone so much younger.

That was enough said. Any more would be too blunt and risk an open fallout.

Seeing that Du Heng had no further instructions, everyone gradually rose and began to leave. Only Cui Guanghaia lingered, clearly reluctant to depart. Du Heng didn’t rush him, curious to see what else he might have to say.

After everyone else had left, Cui Guanghaia walked awkwardly to Du Heng’s office desk.

He finally understood: everyone here listened to Du Heng. The three most important departments were clear: Yu Haiting managed the doctors, and Wang Lili controlled the Nursing Department. As for Wang Zhenzhen, who handled the finances, Du Heng’s way of addressing her showed they were even closer. Never mind being the Executive Deputy; even if he were the actual Dean, in this atmosphere, he’d have to toe the line.

"Does Vice Dean Cui have something to discuss?"

Cui Guanghaia continued to smile awkwardly. "Dean, your earlier remarks were spot on. They were like a sudden enlightenment, a true eye-opener for me. Otherwise, I might have made a grave mistake."

Du Heng smiled. "These are extraordinary times, and we’re all working for the good of the Health Clinic. We all understand that."

Seeing Cui Guanghaia hesitate and not speak, Du Heng stood up. "If Vice Dean Cui has nothing else, perhaps you could help Old Cao with the hospital room renovation project. I have a lot on my plate in the front courtyard and can’t quite manage it all."

With that, he moved out from behind his office desk and prepared to leave. "Doctor Han said the patient with the skin ulceration is here. I’m going to check on the situation."

Cui Guanghaia inwardly sighed. Du Heng was obviously shunting him off to logistics. If he didn’t go, he’d have nothing to do. If he did go, he’d likely still have nothing to do. But that wasn’t the main point; he had stayed behind for another reason.

Seeing Du Heng about to leave, he hurriedly said, "Dean, I’ve already procured a batch of supplies. What do you think?"

Du Heng glanced at Cui Guanghaia with a meaningful look. "Dean Ruoge is very thoughtful and acts quickly. However, we won’t be needing them anymore. Please return them."

Du Heng refused to take the bait. No matter whose connections Cui had used or whose goods these were, Du Heng wasn’t going to be the one footing the bill. That was impossible.

Just as Cui Guanghaia was about to speak again, there was a knock on the office door, and Han Yujian walked in, bringing a gust of cold air with him.

Du Heng looked at Han Yujian, then at the unmelted snowflakes on his shoulder, and asked with a smile, "Old Han, is it snowing outside?"

Han Yujian nodded. "It’s starting to flurry."

"It’s good that it’s snowing. The air has been so dry recently, and we’ve seen a lot more people in the outpatient service with coughs and colds. The snow should alleviate that a bit."

Han Yujian strongly agreed with Du Heng’s point about the dry air but wasn’t entirely thrilled at the prospect of fewer patients. They, and a few others, were currently relying on this sudden surge of outpatients to make ends meet. Without them, their income would drop by more than half.

But they also had themselves to blame for their lack of success. Li Jianwei and Zhou Yixian had been quite supportive, referring five patients with skin diseases within a month, but Han Yujian and his colleagues hadn’t managed to cure a single one. Consequently, Li Jianwei and Zhou Yixian had stopped sending referrals. Who could they blame but themselves? As for the four unresponsive cases, Du Heng had intervened a few days prior to prevent them from causing trouble.

Now, only this patient with signs of skin ulceration remained. He had family matters this week and couldn’t come, only managing to arrive today. However, the main reason for his visit today wasn’t to seek treatment but to cause problems.

When Cui Guanghaia saw someone enter, he knew he wouldn’t be able to discuss his matter further. He sighed inwardly and took his leave.

Once Cui Guanghaia was gone, Han Yujian said, "Dean, that Wang Wenlong has been waiting for a while. Could you please take a look at him?"

Du Heng had already been planning to find Han Yujian, so they headed over together. "Have you seen him? What’s Wang Wenlong’s condition now?"

Han Yujian thought for a moment. "He has far more small papules on his body than a week ago. The papules on his face and hands also show signs of scratching and damage, though these broken areas have formed scabs. Also, his palms show desquamation."

"What was your diagnosis for this Wang Wenlong?"

"Sweat spots, which Western medicine refers to as pityriasis rosea."

The two chatted as they walked, soon arriving at the office in the red-brick building.

Wang Wenlong, a man in his forties, was sitting on a stool, loudly berating two other doctors, who could only lower their heads and remain silent. There was no other reason for it: they had indeed made a mistake. When he first came, the papules on his face and body weren’t numerous, just mildly itchy. But after taking the medicine prescribed by Han Yujian, he was fine for the first two days. Then, on the fifth morning, his condition suddenly worsened, and his palms even began to show signs of desquamation and ulceration. How could they not be scolded for that? They hadn’t been physically assaulted only out of consideration for Li Jianwei, who had referred him.

Only when Du Heng entered did the two berated doctors, who hadn’t dared to lift their heads, quietly sigh in relief. After calling out "Dean," they quickly hid behind Du Heng.

When Wang Wenlong saw Du Heng enter, he was initially surprised by Du Heng’s youth. Then, he addressed him, "So you’re the Dean. Then tell me, what are we going to do about my current situation? Are we settling this privately, or should I go find somewhere to file a complaint against you?"

It sounded like he was offering two paths, but neither was good. However, Du Heng had been observing Wang Wenlong since he walked in, and coupled with what Han Yujian had said, he had a general idea of the situation. So, he paid no heed to Wang Wenlong’s words and said directly, "Mr. Wang, could you allow me to diagnose you first, and then we can discuss the subsequent matters?"

Wang Wenlong looked Du Heng up and down and said indifferently, "Fine. If you want to look, go ahead."

Red papules were visible all over his body; the scratched ones had formed scabs. However, the condition of Wang Wenlong’s hands was slightly more severe than Han Yujian had described. The skin on his palms showed not only desquamation but also damage, with the damaged, ulcerated areas appearing a dark red.

Next, Du Heng requested a physical examination. Wang Wenlong was cooperative, doing as Du Heng asked, unlike those who came specifically to make trouble. This allowed Du Heng to easily assess his pulse and tongue.

His pulse was slippery and rapid, and his tongue had a yellow, greasy coating.

With these two key pieces of information, Du Heng felt completely certain.

He then said nothing but found the disease record Han Yujian had written last time on his computer.

Diagnosis: Stagnation of damp-heat and wind-toxin. Treatment principle: Cool the blood, resolve stasis, clear dampness and heat. The house used was Du Heng’s basic prescription, with added sophora flavescens and atractylodes.

After reviewing this, Du Heng understood. Han Yujian’s house was prescribed for the right symptoms, but it wasn’t quite potent enough; the medicinal effect was a bit weak. However, this was definitely not the reason Wang Wenlong’s papules had worsened or why he had desquamation and ulceration. It had no connection whatsoever.

Du Heng once again scrutinized Wang Wenlong, which made Wang Wenlong visibly uncomfortable.

"Mr. Wang, do you enjoy drinking alcohol?"

"I don’t enjoy it, but I often have to drink for work," Wang Wenlong replied quite frankly, without any attempt to conceal anything.

Du Heng continued, "The day before your condition worsened, did you drink alcohol then too?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Wang Wenlong looked at Du Heng with considerable surprise but still answered truthfully, "I did. But I only had two glasses of beer, not a drop more."

Du Heng glanced at Han Yujian, then turned back to Wang Wenlong. "Did our doctor instruct you not to drink alcohol at that time?"

"He did. But it was only two glasses of beer! The alcohol in that was less than the smell of the alcohol cotton on your desk. What does it matter?"

Wang Wenlong seemed to think his drinking two glasses of beer was of no consequence.

But Du Heng shook his head. "Mr. Wang, the worsening of your condition, the desquamation and ulceration of your palms, is because of those two glasses of beer you drank. Our doctor warned you, but you didn’t listen. This blame cannot be placed on our doctor."

Hearing Du Heng say this, Han Yujian and the other two young doctors all breathed a sigh of relief. They then surreptitiously straightened their posture.

It wasn’t our fault, so why should we be afraid of you?