CHAPTER 67: 067 INVENTORY OF FAMILY ASSETS

When they left in the morning, the rain that had been falling for seven days finally stopped, but the morning glow was as if stained with blood, an unsettling red.

The two agreed that Du Heng would not come home after work; Wang Shuqiu would come to find him directly. After the gathering, they would go home together.

Since Wang Shuqiu had brought up meeting the parents, Du Heng couldn’t play dumb. He would take her home to meet his older brother and sister-in-law, and also ask them what he should prepare for visiting her family.

It took forty minutes on the road, and Du Heng made it to the Health Clinic just in time to clock in.

At this moment, he seriously considered buying a car. If he had a car, he could definitely get to the Health Clinic within half an hour. Waiting for the bus and the ride itself took about the same amount of time. If he had a car, even if he went home at night, it would only take a little over twenty minutes to get to the Health Clinic. Wang Shuqiu could drive herself to school in about twenty minutes. That would be an hour in total, just twenty minutes more than commuting from the rented house. Right, that’s the plan.

18,000 yuan in February, 55,000 yuan in March, totaling over 73,000 yuan. Daily expenses plus dating for two months cost over 3,000 yuan. He gave 20,000 yuan to Li Qingde and 10,000 yuan to his sister-in-law, leaving 40,000 yuan.

Du Heng looked at his recorded expenses of over 3,000 yuan and felt it was a bit too little. As far as he knew, Wu Buwei alone spent more than 3,000 yuan each month. Adding his girlfriend’s expenses, it was probably at least 5,000 yuan, and this was when Wu Buwei’s salary was only two thousand yuan. Having spent only 3,000 yuan in two months, Du Heng wondered if he was being too stingy. Moreover, that 3,000-plus yuan also included money for his niece, Du Xuejing. True, he’d been busy visiting villages in March with few chances to spend, and he hadn’t officially been with Wang Shuqiu then. But they were together for all of April.

But thinking about it, Wang Shuqiu had never made any demands since they officially got together. Even when Du Heng himself suggested eating out, Wang Shuqiu would refuse, insisting they cook at home. It made sense that she was so frugal; if she wasn’t, something would feel off.

Enough thinking. He’d buy a car after meeting her parents, then take her shopping. Du Heng had also noticed that the girl didn’t have many clothes, her cosmetics weren’t very expensive, and she only owned a few pairs of shoes. Considering her profession, this was understandable. But she earned over four thousand yuan a month, yet lived in such a place. And everything else aside, her cosmetics were so cheap; that wasn’t typical for a young woman. Anyway, he felt she wasn’t just being thrifty; she seemed a bit hard up. This was just Du Heng’s subjective feeling, and it was something he didn’t feel comfortable asking about. If he asked, she might think he was after her salary. He’d wait for a suitable opportunity. For now, he’d focus on what car to buy.

He’d just calculated he had 40,000 yuan left. Adding the 54,000 yuan expected today, Du Heng was suddenly stunned. ****, he hadn’t paid attention, and in just two months, he’d saved up 100,000 yuan?!!! Well, that was excellent. He could buy a new car now.

Having made up his mind, Du Heng started browsing for cars online. Suddenly, he remembered he’d forgotten something and hurriedly took out his phone to make a call.

"Director Li, congratulations, congratulations."

"Congratulations to you too, Xiao Du. I heard from my daughter that your thesis has been published?"

"Yes, it just arrived in my hands when I left work yesterday."

"That’s good. I knew you could do it."

"It’s mostly thanks to Director Li’s help."

"Don’t be so polite with me. After the May 1st holiday, I’ll submit the report for your transfer. You must agree to it."

"Definitely. But I have to tell you something: yesterday after work, Dean Song also proposed to recommend me for the Deputy Director selection."

Li Qingde on the other end of the phone suddenly went silent. If not for the sound of breathing, Du Heng would have thought Li Qingde had hung up. Du Heng didn’t rush to speak; he was just informing Li Qingde of the news.

He could imagine Li Qingde’s reaction, though. When Li Qingde was in charge, Song had practically been his lackey. He wouldn’t have expected Song to resort to such dirty tricks to steal his achievements the moment he left. That would surely infuriate Li Qingde.

After a long pause, Li Qingde said leisurely, "It’s fine. When I get back from the holiday, I’ll recommend you, and then we’ll finalize your transfer as soon as possible. Don’t worry about him."

"All right, Director Li, I’ll wait for your news."

After hanging up, Du Heng sat on his chair in silence for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. He found it quite amusing. Neither of them was a good person in the traditional sense, but overall, Li Qingde seemed much better. To put it frankly, Li Qingde was a villain true to his nature. Song had initially come across as a kindly old man, but the moment he became Dean, he changed his tune so quickly. Du Heng couldn’t help but look down on him for it.

All morning, no patients came, and no one dropped by to chat with Du Heng. Even Wu Buwei and Ma Zichen seemed to have been spurred by yesterday’s events; they stayed in the practice room all morning. This gave Du Heng time to focus on choosing a car.

Of course, with a budget under 100,000 yuan, the range of choices wasn’t vast. Still, it was the first time Du Heng would be spending so much money, so his hesitation and indecision were understandable.

At noon, Wang Zhenzhen took the initiative to find him. "Xiao Heng, let’s go to the Police station Canteen for lunch."

Du Heng turned off his computer and stood up to leave. "What’s up? Does the Police station Canteen have something good today?"

"I heard it’s big pork knuckle. And Gong has something to discuss with you."

"If Gong was looking for me, he could have just called."

At the Police station, Gong Daoyang had dished out three servings of Meal and brought them to his office. Du Heng glanced over and saw massive pork knuckles and fried chicken; it was about as greasy as it could get. The noodles were even drenched in oil.

"Gong, your meals here are too extravagant! Can you really handle eating like this every day?"

Gong Daoyang chuckled. "It’s not that good every day. Just for today."

During a pause in eating, Gong Daoyang suddenly said, "My wife and I are thinking of having a second child. I just wanted to ask you, does the medicine you had me take last time affect pregnancy?"

Du Heng swallowed the mouthful of Meal. "Are you still taking that medicine?"

"I stopped about half a month ago. It’s okay, right?"

"Oh, no problem."

"What about my health?"

"You’re in good health. It’s just neurasthenia; it won’t affect you two having a child."

After finishing their Meal and exchanging a few more words with Gong Daoyang, Du Heng excused himself and went to chat with his high school classmates who worked at the Police station.

This was also why Du Heng was reluctant to resign. Everyone knew the term "hometown network." Du Heng, in his current position, was essentially part of this hometown network. There weren’t many institutions in the town: the Town Government, the Health Clinic, the Police station, the Agricultural Bank, and the various schools. In any of these workplaces, Du Heng could find one or two classmates or someone he was connected to through relatives or acquaintances. Getting things done was incredibly convenient. Once he resigned and left the Health Clinic system, these conveniences would disappear. Moreover, this would also affect his big brother’s family; things wouldn’t be as convenient for them either. So, if he did well after resigning, all would be fine. But if he didn’t, things could get difficult. Connections—sometimes they’re more important than money!