Chapter 115 David Du

Evan struggles to answer Professor He's invitation.

Evan's brow tightened.

He didn't want to go to the provincial hospital. As Professor He had said, hospitals had rules and procedures. He wouldn't be free to do whatever he wanted.

Take today's patient. In the provincial capital, Evan wouldn't have been able to save him. The pharmacy would have refused to dispense his prescription. There would have been no way to give the patient that medicine.

Even if he asked a hospital leader to sign off on it, would anyone agree?

The bigger the hospital, the more seriously it took its rules, and the less willing it would be to let a doctor break them.

He would have had to watch the patient get worse, even though he had the ability to save him.

At the provincial Chinese medicine hospital, he would no longer have to worry about the risks of practicing medicine. It would be much harder for anyone to harm him. With Professor He's connections and his own ability, he might soon begin to make a name for himself.

Before long, he could rise to associate chief physician, then chief physician. He might even teach at a university, as Professor He did. His future would be bright.^[1]

But that… wasn't what Evan wanted at all.

And for his own reasons, he didn't want to leave…

He wanted to turn Professor He down. But the professor had quietly done so much for him. The refusal was on his lips, yet he couldn't bring himself to say it.

“Um… Dr. Xu? Are you leaving?”

Just as Evan was at a loss, a voice came from behind the flower bed.

He and Professor He both started. Neither had expected anyone to be back there.

“Who are you?” Professor He got to his feet and looked over.

“Me.” A young man emerged.

Professor He peered at him in the light. He looked familiar.

“Alex?” Evan was surprised too.

Professor He remembered him now. “What are you doing hiding back there?”

Alex gave a couple of awkward chuckles and scratched his head. “I-I was just passing by…”

Professor He clearly didn't believe him. “What did you hear?” he asked with a frown.

“I'd just come to find Dr. Xu. Then I heard you asking him to go to the provincial Chinese medicine hospital.”

Professor He's frown deepened.

Evan frowned too. “Did you need something?”

Alex hurried out from behind the flower bed and jogged up to him. His nerves made him rush, and his face was going red.

“Yes, yes, I did. I wanted to say… I'd really like to learn medicine from you. I wondered if there might be a chance…”

Evan froze for a moment.

So did Professor He.

“From me?” Evan asked, puzzled.

Alex nodded rapidly.

“If you learn to prescribe the way I do, aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?”

Then Evan himself paused. When he had asked to become Dr. Li's disciple, Dr. Li had put the very same question to him.

“I am, actually,” Alex said honestly. “Who wouldn't be? But I'm more afraid of not being able to get my patients well.”

He scratched his head again.

“My teacher went to Beijing to become someone's apprentice. He was willing to give everything up and start again because he wanted to be a good doctor. But I don't think he's as lucky as I am. I really, really want to study with you.^[2]

“What happened today really affected me. If we'd put our reputations first and been too afraid to prescribe, that patient would have been finished. Whatever else happens, I think treating patients and saving lives should come first for a doctor.”

Evan and Professor He exchanged a surprised look.

“You…” Evan began.

Alex hurried on before he could finish.

“Dr. Xu, I know I don't have much ability. Maybe I'm not good enough. Y-you don't have to turn me down right away. Um… Director Du wanted to see you. That's why I came. Just… wait a moment. I'll go and tell him.”

Red with embarrassment, he hurried away again.

Evan and Professor He were left looking at each other once more.

They didn't have long to wait in the courtyard. Soon a group hurried out of the hospital building, led by David Du, the deputy director responsible for Chinese medicine. Behind him came a group of young Chinese medicine doctors.

Du was still young—he had only just turned forty. He wasn't overweight, though his face was full, and he favored square-framed glasses.

He approached briskly, smiling and calling out while he was still some way off.

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“Professor He! I've been busy all day and only just found a moment. Please forgive me for not welcoming you properly.”

“No need for that, Director Du.” Professor He shook his hand.

Only then did Du turn to Evan. Even though he'd already read about him, seeing that young face still surprised him a little.

“Dr. Xu, I've heard so much about you. At last we meet in person!” He laughed.

“You're too kind.” Evan shook his hand too.

Evan looked past Director Du. The young doctors behind him were watching him with such eager intensity that he was taken aback.

“First, I must thank you both,” Du continued. “Thank you for all your hard work on the consultation. The patient's condition is under control now. With more medicine over the next little while, he should improve a great deal.

“It's wonderful news for his family. For our hospital too. It also demonstrates the strengths of Chinese medicine in treating critically ill patients.”

Evan and Professor He exchanged a glance. They were both waiting for him to get to the point.

After these pleasantries, Director Du looked from one to the other.

“I hear Dr. Xu is going to the provincial Chinese medicine hospital?” he asked cautiously.

“Well…” Evan didn't know how to answer.

Professor He's frown deepened. “Director Du, just say what's on your mind.”

“Well, I don't think Dr. Xu needs to rush a decision about his career. This is… something that deserves careful thought.

“A large hospital has its advantages, of course. But there are drawbacks too. For those of us practicing Chinese medicine, especially, there are all sorts of restrictions. That's why so many skilled senior Chinese medicine doctors have left large hospitals to open clinics of their own.”

Professor He looked at him. There was something odd about where this was going.

Du continued. “And for someone as gifted as Dr. Xu, with his approach to prescribing and treating patients, wouldn't going to a big hospital be like tying a dragon down with ropes? That would be a shame.”

Evan looked at the deputy director too.

Professor He's brow tightened further. “Director Du. Please get to the point.”

Du chuckled.

“I'd like Dr. Xu to stay here in our county. Our Chinese medicine hospital intends to bring him into our specialists' clinic on the terms we offer an outside specialist.”^[3]

“What?” Evan was startled.

Even Professor He was taken aback. “With the way Evan prescribes, aren't you afraid of taking responsibility?”

Du smiled.

“Actually, I've known about Dr. Xu since his first consultation here. Admittedly, his prescribing is rather bold. But the results are excellent.

“Case after case has demonstrated your ability.

“A hospital should put treating patients first. Chinese medicine, in particular, should be making the most of its strengths. That's something the country has been encouraging too.

“And Guangdong has Chinese medicine ICUs. If they can do it, why can't we? So, Dr. Xu, don't decide so quickly. I just wanted to let you know what we're thinking. Give me a few days to put the arrangements in place.”^[4]

Evan and Professor He exchanged a look. Only now did they realize how much this deputy director had in mind.

One of the young doctors behind Du suddenly spoke up.

“Dr. Xu, are you leaving? We were just talking about how much we'd like to learn from you.”

Evan was taken aback.

“Me too.”

“We all want to learn from you.”

“Dr. Xu, didn't you tell us to study with experienced Chinese medicine doctors who know what they're doing? If we don't learn enough, how can we treat patients and save lives? We wouldn't be able to save someone like today's patient.”

“Exactly. We want you to keep teaching us how to identify patterns and choose medicines. We want to become real Chinese medicine doctors who can treat people too.”^[5]

“Dr. Xu, are you really leaving?”

The young doctors all directed their questions at Evan.

He looked at those young faces, so full of life, and was stunned.

At that moment, the system, silent for so long, finally stirred.

Beep… System update complete.

Reviving Chinese medicine takes more than publicity. More importantly, it requires training a group of true Chinese medicine doctors with both the skill and the courage to treat illness, allowing Chinese medicine to fulfill its role and realize its strengths in treating disease.

Task: The Inheritor is to train a group of true Chinese medicine doctors with both the skill and the courage to treat illness.

Reward: Clinical mentorship or the clinical training room.

Reader Notes

Reader Notes

1. ↩︎ Medical ranks and hospital posts. Associate chief physician and chief physician are senior professional ranks in China's medical system. They describe a doctor's professional standing; they do not automatically mean deputy head or head of a department. A hospital deputy director, such as Du, holds an administrative post, while university teaching is another role again. Evan is imagining a possible career here, rather than receiving any of these appointments. Source: Hubei Department of Human Resources and Social Security — Medical professional qualifications, chapter 1, article 2 (in Chinese).
2. ↩︎ Learning under a medical mentor. A doctor who already practices can still become another doctor's apprentice. This learning centers on the mentor's clinical reasoning, experience, and methods; it need not mean starting a medical degree again. Modern Chinese medicine mentorship provisions describe supervised practice, study, and clinical notes. They offer background for the relationship, without establishing that Alex's teacher or Alex is enrolled in that particular scheme. Evan has not yet accepted Alex as a student. Source: National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine — Clinical mentorship provisions, articles 3, 6, and 15–16 (in Chinese).
3. ↩︎ The specialists' clinic. Mingyi guan, literally a “hall of renowned physicians,” can refer to an outpatient service bringing together experienced doctors. For example, a university-affiliated Chinese medicine hospital describes its mingyi guan as an outpatient department combining clinical work, teaching, and research. “Outside specialist” describes Du's proposed recruitment arrangement, rather than a new professional rank. His offer is still being arranged; no salary, contract, or completed appointment is specified. Sources: Second Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine — Mingyi Guan introduction (in Chinese); Shaanxi Normal University Hospital — Visiting specialists and outpatient clinics (in Chinese).
4. ↩︎ Chinese medicine and intensive care. ICU means intensive care unit. Such units exist in Chinese medicine hospitals as well as other hospitals. A real example in Guangdong, Guangzhou's Chinese medicine hospital, describes combining Chinese and Western medicine with monitoring and life-support equipment. This gives institutional context to Du's comparison. It does not identify which unit he has in mind or establish that a particular herbal prescription works in critical illness. His assessment of Evan's results remains part of the dialogue. Source: Guangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine — Intensive Care Department introduction (in Chinese).
5. ↩︎ Pattern differentiation. In Chinese medicine, a pattern summarizes the traditional interpretation of a patient's condition at a particular stage. Pattern differentiation means analyzing clinical information to identify that pattern and guide treatment. A pattern is distinct from an individual symptom and from a biomedical disease name. The young doctors are asking to learn this reasoning and its connection to prescribing; they are not reporting a new examination or diagnosis here. Source: WHO — International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Chinese Medicine, entries 546–552, printed pp. 49–50.