With the chatter over, Li Nating finished feeding the medicine as well. The two didn't wait any longer and started the acupuncture and massage therapy for the day.
Du Heng personally supervised the entire process, especially when administering the acupuncture needles. He didn't dare to lose focus for a moment, fearing that Wu Buwei would mistakenly apply too much or not enough force, causing the needle to go too deep or deviate, thus injuring the patient.
After all, Wu Buwei had been practicing on dummies for the past half a year, and this was his first time working on a real person.
Fortunately, Wu Buwei had put in some effort and was doing well, with only a few acupoints inaccurately located.
However, under Du Heng's guidance, Wu Buwei quickly grasped the key points.
By the later stages, Du Heng didn't need to give any more directions, and Wu Buwei carried out the work quite professionally.
Watching from behind, Du Heng couldn't help but think that the best and fastest way for a doctor to progress was through hands-on practice with real patients. Reading books and practicing alone can never leave as deep an impression as real-life practice. Hands-on practice is the best way for doctors to gain confidence!
Especially in traditional Chinese medicine, diseases may appear similar, but syndrome differentiation and medication vary.
As for accurately locating acupoints, the book might describe simple measurements like "two finger-widths up" or "one inch down." These descriptions seem straightforward. However, in reality, patients vary greatly in height, weight, and body shape. Finding acupoints based on the book alone could lead to many mistakes.
Now, with a patient to practice on, by the time they got to the cupping glass and moxibustion stage, Wu Buwei could locate acupoints without much guidance from Du Heng and could be accurate eight or nine times out of ten.
However, when it came to the final massage stage, Wu Buwei's inexperience was clearly evident.
His technique was not quite right, and his control of the pressure also needed improvement. Seeing the patient gritting their teeth and furrowing their brows, Du Heng knew the patient wasn't comfortable.
But considering Wu Buwei was the Dean's relative, it would only be right to use him as a training subject and make the most of the opportunity given by the Dean.
After nearly an hour of treatment, Wu Buwei was drenched in sweat.
It wasn't so much because of exhaustion but rather nervousness.
Watching him, Du Heng chuckled. "Buwei, tell me, how does it feel?"
Wu Buwei also laughed sheepishly. Wiping his sweat with a tissue he had prepared from his pocket, he reminisced about the procedure and said contentedly, "A bit tired, but it feels good. There's a great sense of accomplishment."
"It's good to have a sense of accomplishment. So, I'll leave tomorrow's treatment to you. What do you think?"
"Sure."
"Good. I won't come tomorrow then. Just follow the acupoints we used today. Remember, it's better to needle a little shallower than to be overambitious."
Wu Buwei hesitated. "Brother Du, you're not coming tomorrow?"
Du Heng nodded. "Yeah, I won't be here. You did a good job, so there won't be any problems."
"But... but... if you're not here, I'll feel a bit uneasy."
"That's okay. Just do it the same way as today. Tomorrow, I have to help the villagers, and I really don't have time. How about this: start a video call during the treatment, and I can watch you remotely."
"That would be better. If you're not watching, I really wouldn't have the confidence to do it."
Du Heng chuckled. After giving Li Nating some advice, he decided to leave.
After changing his clothes, he walked past the duty room but didn't even see a shadow of the Dean.
On duty? What a joke!
Du Heng shook his head, pretending not to have seen anything. He grabbed his bag and went outside to wait for a ride.
Just then, Du Heng's phone rang.
Seeing it was Wang Zhenzhen calling, Du Heng suddenly remembered he had promised her they would meet for dinner tonight.
"Xiao Du, are you ready? Let's set off now. By the time you get here, it should be about the right time. Make yourself look sharp; I've been praising you to my younger sister, saying you're as wonderful as a flower."
Du Heng felt a bit embarrassed but still said, "Wang, I'm really sorry. Something came up today, and I can't make it."
Wang Zhenzhen paused on the other end of the line but still asked warmly, "What's going on? Do you need my help?"
Du Heng quickly recounted the events of last night.
Wang Zhenzhen was a reasonable person. Although she wasn't happy about being stood up, she understood. Especially with two elderly people passing away overnight, it was a big deal no matter where it happened.
So, Wang Zhenzhen said, "Then you'd better go and help. We'll reschedule another time."
"I'm really sorry, Wang. Let's not just say 'another time.' How about next Monday night? I'll make the arrangements after work."
After settling things with Wang Zhenzhen, Du Heng managed to catch a ride home.
However, upon returning home and hearing the distant sound of chanting prayers, Du Heng lost any desire to sleep. He changed his clothes and went back to help out.
By noon, there really wasn't much work to do.
A group of people sat together, picking vegetables and gossiping.
When everyone learned that Du Heng had been present when the two elders passed away last night, they couldn't help but ask for details. However, Du Heng was unwilling to talk, particularly because both elders had passed away while he was there. Although it wasn't his fault, the experience left him feeling very uneasy.
Seeing that Du Heng didn't want to talk, the others didn't insist and started discussing other things.
Somehow, the conversation turned to the topic of getting married.
This was another sore point for Du Heng.
The people around him were all his age. Only he had attended university and had a formal job. The others had either dropped out of elementary school or hadn't finished middle school, and none of them had particularly good jobs.
But the frustrating thing was, every single one of them had a wife, and their children were already in kindergarten. Some who had acted faster even had children in elementary school.
Du Heng felt embarrassed and resentful. He kept his head down, focused on picking his vegetables, and tried his best not to join their conversation.
But someone, lacking tact, just wouldn't leave him alone.
For example, a paternal cousin who was often away from home leaned in and said, "Xiao Heng, my wife's younger sister is divorced and has a daughter. She's pretty, and so is her daughter. How about I introduce you?"
Du Heng wasn't sure if this cousin was genuinely trying to help or just deliberately trying to annoy him. Either way, he found it quite offensive. Recalling past incidents, Du Heng figured his cousin was up to no good.
Before Du Heng could say anything, the cousin, noticing Du Heng's displeased expression, continued, "If you don't want the child, the child doesn't have to come with her. My wife's younger sister is still young, just turned 26 this year, and she's quite good-looking. Her only problem was her poor taste in men. The man she married was a gambler and a drinker, so they couldn't make it work and divorced. Rest assured, it's not my wife's younger sister's fault; she's a practical woman, good for settling down with."
Du Heng felt truly disgusted. Seeing his cousin was still talking, Du Heng cut in directly, "Oh, so can your wife's younger sister still have children?"
"Of course, she can. Definitely."
"Oh, does she want betrothal gifts?"
"She said her last man was unreliable, so this time she wants 200,000 yuan, just for some security."
Du Heng almost laughed out loud. Is she plated in gold or wearing silver, asking for 200,000 yuan just like that? Is she selling flesh? Even a Filet steak isn't that expensive!
"That's understandable. After all, she's been divorced, so she has experience. It makes sense she'd be more expensive than a first-timer," Du Heng quipped sarcastically, not caring if his cousin understood, and continued to ask, "So, is there a dowry?"
"I didn't ask about that."
"Oh, so what does your wife's younger sister do for a living? How much does she earn a month?"
"She doesn't have a job. My wife's younger sister is beautiful. Her ex-husband didn't trust her to go out to work, so he had her stay at home."
Stay at home? To do what, breed maggots?
Du Heng chuckled. "Staying at home all the time isn't good; one's mind can get rusty after a while. So, what's her education level? What can she do?"
"I think she finished middle school. But she's really beautiful; finding a job would be easy for her."
"How is she with housework? You know, my job requires me to be on duty, and I have a lot of night shifts. I need someone at home who can help with chores. But you just said your wife's younger sister stayed at home all the time before, so her housekeeping skills should be pretty good, right?"
"Ah, my wife's younger sister is the youngest in her family, so she never really did any work growing up. When she got married, her husband thought she was too beautiful and didn't want her doing chores. Besides, if she marries you, it's to live a life with you and have your children. Why are you so focused on her doing chores?"
Du Heng almost burst out laughing. This cousin of his, if he wasn't saying this stuff intentionally, then he definitely had a screw loose. Now he understood; this guy was just as rotten as ever.
"Good point. So, does your wife cook at home?"
"Yes, she does."
"Does she do the laundry and sweep the floors?"
"Of course, she does."
"So you feel sorry for your wife's younger sister and don't want her doing chores because she's beautiful, yet you let your own wife do them. Cousin, that's not very decent of you."
The cousin hadn't expected to be caught in his own words and hurriedly replied, "The thing is, my wife's younger sister *is* beautiful. If my wife were as beautiful, I definitely wouldn't make her do these things either!"
Looking at this shameless cousin, Du Heng decided he wouldn't bother saving his face any longer.