CHAPTER 66: 066 PROGRESS ACCELERATES

As soon as Dean Song had spoken, both Wu Buwei and Ma Zichen were startled.

What did they just hear? An exceptional promotion to Deputy Director?

They both looked at Du Heng.

Even Du Heng himself found it unbelievable.

Du Heng wasn’t surprised at all that Dean Song knew about this. After all, Dean Song had been Li Qingde’s reliable "right-hand man" during his tenure and was implicitly trusted, so it was normal for him to be aware.

However, what wasn’t normal was why Dean Song would want to take the initiative in recommending him.

A thought struck Du Heng, and he immediately understood Dean Song’s intention. It was to curry favor with Du Heng and make him feel indebted. With the paper accepted, Li Qingde recommending Du Heng was a sure thing, highly likely to be approved. So, Dean Song must be thinking, ’Why can’t *I* be the one to recommend him?’ As Du Heng’s current supervisor, it would be perfectly logical for him, Song, to do so. Li Qingde was no longer Du Heng’s direct superior; a recommendation from him would seem out of place. How would the district leaders perceive that? Would they think he, Song, lacked judgment? Conversely, if *he* made the recommendation, wouldn’t the leaders see him as insightful and decisive, someone capable of identifying and promoting talent?

These were all Du Heng’s speculations and couldn’t be confirmed. But it was a bit unscrupulous of Dean Song to take such action right after Li Qingde’s departure yesterday. His previously virtuous image seemed to crumble a bit.

Unaware of what Du Heng was thinking, Dean Song chuckled when he saw Du Heng keeping silent. He continued, "Give it some thought. There’s no hurry. The registration for the Deputy Director exam doesn’t start until the 9th. We can discuss it further then."

Having finished speaking, he congratulated Du Heng once again and left cheerfully.

Only after Dean Song left did Wu Buwei and Ma Zichen recover from their shock. They hurried over to Du Heng. "Elder Brother, is what Dean Song said true?"

Du Heng nodded. "They do have that intention, but I don’t think it’s feasible. After all, I’ve only been an attending physician for two and a half years, so the probability of it happening isn’t high."

Du Heng had anticipated this all along. He himself felt that his chances were slim. He was willing to spend some money to get his paper accepted, primarily because he wanted to use it as a stepping stone to open the door to higher-level hospitals. As for the exceptional promotion to Deputy Director, he didn’t hold out much hope.

Wu Buwei and Ma Zichen didn’t quite know what to say, mainly because they had only just started their careers as doctors and weren’t fully aware of the professional ranking system within the Health Clinic.

Du Heng didn’t want to dwell on this issue. Seeing it was time to get off work, he quickly told them to pack up and head home.

Wang Shuqiu was increasingly settling into the role of a homemaker. By the time Du Heng got home, she had already prepared dinner.

For Du Heng, this was another warm dinner, and he was gradually growing more fond of this lifestyle. It was simple and comfortable.

"Honey," Du Heng began after dinner, breaking a nearly month-long silence on the topic, "didn’t we say we were going to visit your parents? It’s been almost a month, and you haven’t brought it up."

Wang Shuqiu, who was flipping through TV channels with the remote searching for a program she liked, looked delighted when Du Heng brought it up. "We’ve been busy with farm work lately, so we haven’t scheduled it. But we just talked about it today! We’re both off for the May 1st holiday, so it would be a perfect time to get together."

"Which day, exactly?"

"Someone in the village is getting married on the 3rd, and my parents have to help out. How about the 1st? Would that work for you?"

"Of course, that’s fine, absolutely fine," Du Heng said cheerfully. "By the way, what do your parents like? We should get something ready in the next couple of days."

Wang Shuqiu was genuinely warmed by Du Heng’s attitude. "You don’t need to buy anything."

"We can’t do that! We can’t go empty-handed; people would talk. How about this: let’s get some clothes for your mom, and some cigarettes and wine for your dad. What do you think?"

"Really, there’s no need. My parents work in the fields all day; Mom wouldn’t wear new clothes even if you bought them. And Dad doesn’t smoke, so cigarettes would go to waste."

Du Heng was at a loss. Her father didn’t seem to have any particular hobbies, making him hard to shop for. Scratching his head, he said, "Then what should we do? We definitely can’t go empty-handed. If worse comes to worst, I’ll just bring two sides of pork."

Wang Shuqiu playfully slapped Du Heng’s arm. "Stop joking. How about this: let’s not get anything for my parents, just a gift for my younger brother."

"You have a younger brother? How come you’ve never mentioned him?"

Wang Shuqiu’s face suddenly became unnatural, and her smile seemed a bit forced. "Why bring him up? It’s me you’re dating, not him."

Du Heng didn’t notice the change in Wang Shuqiu’s expression and, hearing her reply, thought nothing more of it.

"How old is your brother?"

"Twenty-two."

"Twenty-two, three years younger than you. Is he studying or working?"

Wang Shuqiu paused for a moment. "He’s at home."

"At home? Does he help your parents with the farm work?" Du Heng scratched his head. "What does he like?"

Wang Shuqiu suddenly shook her head. "Actually, never mind. Don’t buy him anything. Just some fruit or something would be fine."

What was she on about? Why the sudden change from buying him a gift to not buying one? Du Heng was a bit confused. Never mind, I’ll ask my elder brother and sister-in-law when I get home.

Wang Shuqiu didn’t seem to want to continue this topic and abruptly changed the subject. "Do you have any other plans for the May Day holiday?"

"I’ve arranged to visit a classmate’s clinic for a few days."

"Why are you going to the clinic?"

"I want to see how a clinic operates and check how many patients it gets."

Wang Shuqiu furrowed her brows, sat up straight, and asked, "Are you thinking of quitting your job to open your own clinic?"

"I’m considering it."

"Why?"

"The Health Clinic is too quiet; there are hardly any patients. Take today, for instance—not a single patient showed up."

Wang Shuqiu pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Du Heng noticed Wang Shuqiu’s dilemma and said, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you being so hesitant with me all of a sudden?"

Wang Shuqiu leaned closer to Du Heng and held his arm. "I’ll support you in whatever you decide. But when we visit my parents, please don’t mention anything about quitting your job. My family is sensitive about that sort of thing; they prefer people with stable jobs at established workplaces."

"I didn’t say I was quitting immediately. I just want to check things out first, learn what’s involved in running a clinic, and get a feel for it."

"No matter what, you absolutely cannot talk about quitting your job in front of my parents."

"Alright, alright, I promise I won’t say a word about it." Du Heng raised his hand in assurance. "Okay, now let’s talk about you. What are your plans for the holiday?"

"I haven’t decided."

"How about I arrange for you and your sister to go out somewhere?"

Wang Shuqiu was a bit tempted but quickly dismissed the idea. "No, I don’t have the money."

"Don’t worry about the cost; I’ll pay."

"No, let’s not. Your salary isn’t very high either."

"It’s enough for you to go out and enjoy yourself."

Wang Shuqiu still firmly shook her head. "No, it’s fine. Let’s save up for a car instead. Then we can move back to your family’s place, and we’d save on rent too. There will be many expenses after we get married."

Du Heng was struggling to keep up with Wang Shuqiu’s train of thought. How had the conversation suddenly jumped to marriage? She had asked to meet his parents at the start of the month, which Du Heng had already considered fast. Now, merely a month later, the topic had progressed to marriage. He couldn’t figure out if it was Wang Shuqiu herself who wanted to accelerate things, or if her family was pushing for it. Things were definitely moving faster and faster!