Du Heng was a little incredulous, looking back and forth at the child several times. "This child is also taking Chinese herbal medicine? What is it treating?"

Seeing Du Heng’s astonished expression, the child’s father suddenly felt uneasy.

Du Heng’s reputation was intimidating. Not only was he the Dean of the hospital, but he was also an expert in the Provincial Expert Database.

He himself had seen many TCM doctors. Those of Du Heng’s caliber were usually very difficult to get an appointment with. Even if one managed to secure a spot, the doctors were typically old and frail, unlike the youthful Du Heng.

He stuttered for a moment. "Back then, the child often vomited after eating. I took him to a doctor, who said he was a bit weak and prescribed some Chinese herbal medicine for him."

"Is he still taking it?"

"He’s still taking it. When we went a month ago, the doctor told us to continue, saying his condition needed slow regulation."

Du Heng sucked in a sharp breath through gritted teeth. "Stop it. You say this child is weak? He’s already over forty pounds! Look at the rolls of fat on his arms—they look like stacked tires! And his cheeks, they’re practically drooping to the floor. Weak? Where is he weak? That’s nonsense!"

The child’s father was now caught in a dilemma. One doctor had said to continue the medicine, and now this one said to stop. He was utterly confused.

"Doctor, my child doesn’t move much. After eating, he just sits or lies down. If he walks a lot, he still vomits." The child’s father looked carefully at Du Heng. "The doctor there said he was too weak. Can he really stop taking the medicine?"

"Oh, for goodness sake." Du Heng was somewhat speechless. "Didn’t I just tell you? When raising children, be a little less indulgent, and always leave them wanting a little more at mealtimes.

This child has no problem at all. Just feed him a little less each time. Don’t stuff him, and see if he still vomits.

To say he’s weak with a build like this... I really don’t know what you’re thinking."

The child’s father hesitated. "That doctor said he’s ’pudgy from weakness.’"

Gao Qin, who was standing nearby, couldn’t stand it any longer. "A two-year-old being ’pudgy from weakness’? Where did that come from? Pinch the flesh on his arm. Is it firm or not?

If he were truly ’pudgy from weakness,’ he’d have other symptoms. His physical constitution and immunity would be particularly poor.

Let me ask you a question: does your child often catch colds and fevers?"

Gao Qin’s words made the child’s father pause. "No, not really. Other than this skin chapping and the vomiting, he hasn’t been sick at all in over a year."

Gao Qin looked at the child’s father and grandmother speechlessly, sharing Du Heng’s sentiment. There was truly nothing more to say. Caring for a child could muddle one’s judgment, but it was rare to see someone lose their bearings so completely without reason.

"Alright, hurry and go back," Du Heng said, no longer wanting to talk.

But the boy’s father still had an unanswered question. "Doctor, he’s been taking this medicine for so long. Will there be any problem?"

"Medicine for treating weakness usually isn’t harmful. Besides, the child isn’t actually weak. Taking it for a long time might just make him ’heaty’ and rather uncomfortable."

With that, the child’s issue was completely resolved.

Watching the pediatrician escort the family out, Du Heng could finally attend to his own affairs.

Gao Qin smiled embarrassedly at Wu Shengnan. "I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, Leader Wu."

Upon hearing Gao Qin’s polite words, Wu Shengnan immediately returned to her proper demeanor and replied with a smile, "Director Gao, please don’t call me that; it feels a bit formal. You can just call me Shengnan, or Little Wu is fine too."

Gao Qin smiled again, glanced at Du Heng standing beside her, and then looked back at Wu Shengnan. "Alright then. Since I’m a few years older, I’ll call you Shengnan."

Once they were seated, Gao Qin began entering Wu Shengnan’s information and then ordered the standard prenatal examination procedures for this stage of pregnancy.

The previous state of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital could be summed up in one word: deserted. For such a large hospital, the daily patient count was just over two hundred.

But things had improved significantly. Patients and their families could now be seen everywhere, seeking treatment. Compared to before, there was a bit more vitality and much less of its former desolation.

It was strange; once a hospital became deserted, it somehow felt gloomy, regardless of its size or modernity. Truly odd.

Although there were more people around these days, the Inspection Department wasn’t busy enough to have a queue. So, when Du Heng and Wu Shengnan arrived and handed in their form, the door to the B-Ultrasound room opened for them immediately.

The initial tests were few, and the process was swift.

However, whenever the Inspection Department staff saw it was Du Heng and his wife, they invariably slowed down considerably, which inadvertently cost Du Heng more time.

"One, two, three..."

The soft sound of someone counting drifted to his ears. Du Heng, walking ahead, had just hung up his phone. He turned to look at Wu Shengnan, who was holding up three fingers, gesturing a length.

Du Heng was curious. Seeing her walking so absent-mindedly, he stopped to wait. "What are you measuring there?"

Wu Shengnan’s eyes widened in childlike amazement. She wiggled three fingers in front of Du Heng’s face. "Husband, is our baby really this big already?"

With her mouth slightly agape, Wu Shengnan kept waving her three fingers in front of Du Heng. He couldn’t help but laugh.

"Yes, at two months, that’s about the size."