Hearing Du Heng's words, which were teasing yet serious, Du Xuejing sighed inwardly, but clinging to a sliver of hope, she carefully asked, "Little Uncle, what do you mean?"

Du Heng smiled. "Tomorrow, you have one day for leisure. In the evening, I'll take you back up the Mountain. We'll stay at home for a day, and then on Sunday afternoon, we'll come down early. You'll get the house where we live settled, and I'll take Xiao Yi to register for a tutoring class.

"From Monday onwards, you will accompany me to the Hospital to work, right up until your school starts.

"Moreover, I have to tell you something: this Vacation, you will have no salary and no rewards.

"At the same time, I will arrange a supervising Teacher for you. How much that Teacher can teach you, and how much you can learn, will depend on your own abilities."

"What?!" Du Xuejing was suddenly dumbfounded. It felt like she'd playfully head-butted a goat, only to be viciously rammed by it in return, leaving her mind completely blank. It took her a good while to say, "Little Uncle, my friend is still here."

"You don't need to worry about Gu Ya. Considering her current condition, it's not suitable for her to go out. She needs to rest quietly and recuperate for at least three weeks."

As he said this, Du Heng turned his gaze to Gu Ya. "After you start taking the medicine, your body will experience some lack of strength for a period, and considering you're already so emaciated, it's best for you to rest at home.

"Once you've regained some strength, if you're not in a hurry to go back, you can also come to the Hospital with Tingting to study."

"Thank you, Uncle," Gu Ya replied with a smile, glancing back at Du Xuejing, who looked utterly dejected.

Du Xuejing said very reluctantly, "Little Uncle, will I get any time to rest then?"

"Of course. There will be an assessment once a week. As long as you pass, you can enjoy the weekend like everyone else," Du Heng said, the corners of his mouth lifting into a slight arc. "If you don't pass, then you'll just have to stay obediently at the Hospital. You'll study what you need to study and help out where you're needed."

"There's an exam too?" Du Xuejing couldn't hold it together any longer. "Then how will it be conducted? Who will test me?"

"Of course, the Teacher I find for you will test you. What you'll be tested on, and whether you pass or fail, is all up to him," Du Heng said, smiling at Du Xuejing. "So, whether you can have a comfortable Vacation really depends on your own abilities."

After saying this, Du Heng left the sighing Du Xuejing and returned home. The next morning, he went to the hotel again to pick up the two girls and take them to the Hospital.

Once at the Hospital, after all the initial paperwork was completed and the disease record and prescription were ready, Du Heng looked at Gu Ya and asked, "Gu Ya, I already explained your situation to you Last night. You don't need to be hospitalized; you can recuperate peacefully at home.

"Now, I have a question: do you want to take the prescription and go home for Treatment, or would you prefer for me to treat you here?"

Gu Ya's hesitation was obvious, but Du Xuejing immediately interjected, "Xiaoya, get treated here! My Little Uncle can monitor your condition at any time. If you go back home, there's no Doctor as skilled as my Little Uncle there."

No sooner had Du Xuejing finished speaking than Du Heng shot his niece a stern look. "Tingting, don't talk nonsense."

Having been told off, Du Xuejing stuck her tongue out at her Little Uncle, then continued to persuade Gu Ya, "Xiaoya, I'm serious. Once you've mostly recovered, come and study with me. Keep me company; I'll be so bored by myself. Please?"

Seeing Du Xuejing's persistence, Gu Ya agreed.

"I'll prescribe three days' worth of medicine first and have the Hospital decoct it for you. For now, you two go have fun. You need to be back before five in the evening. We'll go back up the Mountain together."

"Okay, Little Uncle!" Du Xuejing exclaimed, practically jumping up. She eagerly pulled Gu Ya towards the exit. "Bye, Little Uncle!"

Watching Du Xuejing, who couldn't wait to leave, Du Heng hurriedly said, "Go get the medicine first, then go play."

"Got it, Little Uncle!" Her voice drifted back as Du Xuejing had already dragged Gu Ya out the door.

This girl. Du Heng shook his head, feeling quite helpless.

But he only sighed briefly before lowering his head and starting his work.

Now, every morning, he had to review the previous day's Treatment reports submitted by the two Project teams, as well as the current day's medical advice schedule. Even if he couldn't know every detail like the back of his hand, he at least needed to have a clear grasp of the basic progress.

He couldn't be scolding the Pediatrics Department one day, only for his own Project to run into problems the next. That would be truly embarrassing.

While Du Heng was busy in his office reviewing the status of the two Projects, the outpatient service of the Chinese Medicine Department was also bustling with a lively stream of people.

It was just that, unlike other Departments, the outpatient service of the Chinese Medicine Department still primarily served Elderly People. This was the foundation Du Heng had laid over the previous two months.

Moreover, due to the lifestyle characteristics of Elderly People, if their Treatment was effective, word-of-mouth would spread rapidly within their community. Among younger people, however, the concept of 'word-of-mouth' rarely factored into seeking medical treatment anymore.

This was the current situation. It had started with Elderly People from a few nearby residential areas and slowly expanded to more distant communities. Furthermore, this scope was still continuing to grow.

And as Du Heng consciously and gradually withdrew from providing outpatient Treatment, this increasingly bountiful fruit was smoothly picked by Doctor Ma. Besides, the health problems of Elderly People were generally quite similar; although there might be slight differences, their fundamental root causes remained largely the same.