This Doctor Is Too Wealthy-Chapter 671: Hurry up and ask for money.

However, the audience below the stage was not happy about Du Heng leaving.

They had been told there would be interaction. How could Du Heng just leave? Moreover, it wasn't just that man who had a sick family member; many of them also had patients at home. After listening to Du Heng's introduction and his self-demonstration, they now had many questions and wanted answers from him.

Were they going to let him go? Of course not.

The first to act was the gentleman who had asked the question earlier. Seeing Du Heng turn to leave the stage, the man rushed to his side and grabbed his arm.

Then, his voice trembling, he said, "President Du, since you've already diagnosed my father-in-law's problem, could you please go to the trouble of writing a prescription for him? If my father-in-law gets better—no, no, no—as long as he can manage his daily life, our whole family will present a silk banner to you. Please."

Looking at the man's agitated state and hearing his trembling voice, one could imagine the hardship he had endured during the six months his father-in-law had been paralyzed. However, as the saying goes, 'Even the most filial son's devotion wanes at the bedside of a chronically ill parent.' This is especially true for family members caring for those who are fully paralyzed and unable to manage their own care, as it severely tests their patience. If the family's income is above average, hiring a caregiver and spending more money might not feel like a significant burden. But for families with average or below-average income, especially with no extra help available, life becomes incredibly difficult.

"Sir, if your description of the patient's condition just now was accurate, then the diagnosis is most likely correct." Du Heng sensed the man's agitation and quickly took his hand to help calm him. "But to prescribe medicine for the patient," he explained, "we still need to conduct further detailed examinations. Then, based on the patient's current situation and overall physical condition, we can prescribe medication that will be most effective. Moreover, based on my experience over the past year, if acupuncture treatment and massage are added to the Decoction medicine, the patient can typically manage their own bodily functions within a month. Within three months, they can resume normal daily activities. But if you rely solely on medication, the recovery process will take twice as long, and the results won't be as good."

The man calmed down somewhat, but after hearing Du Heng's words, another important question arose. "President Du," he asked, "does this treatment cost a lot? My wife and I are both only children, so we have no one else to help with care. For over six months now, my wife has had to quit her job to look after him at home. My own parents are also in poor health and require ongoing medication, so I'm..."

Du Heng gently patted the man's hand. "You can go to the Provincial First Hospital's Chinese Medicine Department, the Chinese Medicine Hospital's First Department, or the Municipal First Hospital's Chinese Medicine Department. And... you can also come directly to the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital to find me. I suggest direct hospital admission, as the reimbursement ratio will be higher. The initial cost will be around 8,000 to 15,000 yuan, and the cost during the recovery period will be about the same."

"Thirty thousand yuan?" The man hesitated.

This hesitation made it clear to Du Heng that the man's family was likely facing financial difficulties.

As Du Heng wondered how to help the man, an idea suddenly struck him. Didn't he have a provincial research project on stroke? There was still 5,000 yuan in the project account. It wasn't much, but it could offer some assistance. If he could provide a little extra help indirectly, it should be manageable.

Thinking of his provincial research project, Du Heng also remembered his recently published paper.

Since the paper was published in a core journal, could he request more funding this year? Yes, this couldn't be delayed. He had published the paper under the name of the Provincial Department; surely they couldn't just reap the benefits of his work without contributing something, right?

"Sir, I have a research project on stroke. If you agree to have your father-in-law participate in some aspects of our research, his treatment costs could be reduced or even fully covered."

Was there really such a good deal?

As soon as Du Heng finished speaking, a smile spread across the man's face, but he quickly asked with concern, "Is this research safe?"

Du Heng chuckled. "While we call it research, it's more of a formality in this context. We've successfully treated over a thousand similar cases. Wouldn't you say that's safe?"

The man's face lit up with joy. "President Du, I'm willing! Our whole family is willing! I'll go back today and bring my father-in-law to see you."

"For this, you can't come to me directly," Du Heng quickly explained. "You need to go to the Provincial First Hospital's Chinese Medicine Department. The research project is based there, so you can only access this benefit by going to their hospital."

But the man looked troubled again. "President Du, I really just want you to oversee my father-in-law's care."

Du Heng chuckled. "Don't worry. The Department Director of the Chinese Medicine Department at Provincial First Hospital is my Teacher, and I'm also an external Deputy Director there. Going to them is the same as coming to me."

"Really?"

"Truly."

After calming the man, Du Heng found himself surrounded by a dense crowd. The scene had descended into noisy chaos. No matter how the staff tried to intervene, these elderly men and women, who had been gathered from the park, simply wouldn't listen. Du Heng couldn't bear the atmosphere. The elderly men and women were all speaking at once, and he couldn't get them to quiet down.

With no other option, Du Heng had to push his way out of the crowd and make a quick exit.

Back in the car with Director Zheng, Du Heng immediately addressed the matter he'd thought of earlier, asking Director Zheng to negotiate with the TV station. This issue needed a proper resolution, and he expected an explanation.

After that, they didn't go back to the hospital but drove directly to Provincial First Hospital.

"Teacher, have you applied for this year's funding yet?" Du Heng burst into Li Jianwei's office, asking anxiously. He was worried that if the application was late again this year, he'd end up with only a few thousand yuan, just like last year.

Li Jianwei looked up from his computer, glanced at Du Heng in confusion, and then said, "I'm working on it right now. The report is almost ready. I'll print it out later for you to sign, then the hospital can stamp it, and it'll be done. Oh, what made you ask about this? You've never seemed interested in funding issues before."

Du Heng ignored Li Jianwei's question, pulled up a chair, and sat beside him. "Teacher, why are you only applying now? Don't let them fob me off with just a few thousand yuan again."

Li Jianwei rolled his eyes. "I was waiting for your paper to be published. Once it's out, my report will carry more weight, and the funding should start at 100,000 yuan. Without this paper, the approved funding would only be tens of thousands of yuan, which isn't even enough for subsidies for our research group."

That made sense.

But Du Heng was still dissatisfied. "Teacher, did I hear you correctly?"

"What do you think you misheard?"

"You said you want to use the funding for subsidies for the research group?"

"Yes."

Which research group? And why should they get subsidies?

Li Jianwei looked at Du Heng, a smirk playing on his lips.

Du Heng was baffled. "Teacher, what are you smirking about?"

"What am I smirking about?" Li Jianwei scoffed. "Where do you think the data for your research project came from? Isn't the stroke team collecting data for you? Aren't they contributing to this research group? Since they've contributed, why shouldn't they receive subsidies?"

Du Heng blinked, momentarily speechless. "Teacher, Wu Buwei and the Health Clinic provided 80% of the data for my paper. The remaining 20% came from our Provincial First Hospital, the Chinese Medicine Hospital, and the Municipal First Hospital. And..."

Li Jianwei's expression turned grim. "And what?"

Du Heng pursed his lips. "And of that 20%, the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine provided most of the useful data."

Hearing Du Heng meticulously lay out the data sources, Li Jianwei's gaze turned sharp. "So, what are you implying?"

Du Heng chuckled. "Well, if our research group is getting subsidies, shouldn't the other contributing hospitals also receive some? Especially the Health Clinic—they should probably get the largest share, shouldn't they?"