This doctor is already middle-aged, and he's only just started practicing medicine.

Chapter 182 Results Verification!

On October 24th, a light drizzle fell.

At the confluence of the rivers, mist rises and rain falls, obscuring the view in a way that seems almost unreal.

"Teacher Tong, I'm done with the competition. It was just a formality." Lu Cheng reported as he and Tong Yuan'an walked out of the hotel's main entrance and headed towards the parking lot with their umbrellas.

[Nerve Suturing Technique (Proficient 10/10)] Even with the nerve suturing skills from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Lu Cheng still couldn't stand out in this competition.

Lu Cheng held up an umbrella, while Tong Yuan'an took out his car keys, opened the driver's side door, carefully squeezed in, and said irritably, "That's enough, you've already cheated and won first place on two tracks."

"If another flower blooms, it's easy for us to drag it over for dissection; anesthesiologists and surgeons are readily available."

Lu Cheng then walked to the passenger seat and opened the car door: "Teacher Tong, is the prize money for this competition calculated based on the track?"

After Lu Cheng got into the car, Tong Yuan'an's chubby face twitched slightly: "Why are you still dwelling on this issue?"

Chen Song is really a terrible person; he has completely distorted the child's thinking, making him only think about the bonus.

"It's mainly because we're poor...Teacher Tong," Lu Cheng said.

"The first prize for each track should be around 30,000 yuan."

"Are you treating us?" Tong Yuan'an asked with a smile, pulling on his seatbelt.

“Okay, Teacher Tong,” Lu Cheng replied politely.

He wasn't unaware of the importance of that Teacher Cao, nor was he unaware that the opportunity to dine with him was rare; it was just that Lu Cheng didn't want to get too involved.

"Just kidding, it's Mr. Tan's treat today, don't worry about it."

"Don't just pay without thinking later," Tong Yuan'an quickly explained.

One very obvious point is that Lu Cheng really hasn't seen much of the world.

It's not that Lu Cheng is completely unaware of his own 'positioning', but rather that he lacks this kind of social experience.

As Tong Yuan'an was speaking, Lu Cheng's phone rang.

Lu Cheng picked it up and saw that it was the same missed number calling again. After a slight hesitation, Lu Cheng still chose to answer.

"Dr. Lu? I'm at the competition venue, and we're having some issues. We need you to come over."

"Given the novel suturing technique you used in this competition, the judging panel and other participants have some doubts, so we request that you come over." Professor Cao Qianwei's voice came through the phone.

Before the car even started moving, Lu Cheng's expression was somewhat conflicted: "Teacher Cao, do you think there's a problem with the competition results?"

"It's not just my opinion, it's what everyone thinks, after all, this rating is just too outrageous."

"Dr. Lu, where are you now? I can have someone bring you here." Cao Qianwei's tone was proactive.

"I'm downstairs, about to go eat," Lu Cheng said, offering a plausible excuse.

At the same time, Lu Cheng turned on the loudspeaker.

"You can eat later, you should come up first. We need to take care of these issues first."

"Once we've finished dealing with things here, we can all go eat together, no problem." Cao Qianwei's voice reached Tong Yuan'an's ears precisely.

But Tong Yuan'an chimed in without hesitation: "Lu Cheng, you don't need to go. Let them question your grades as much as they want. It doesn't matter if the grades are canceled."

"Who's next to you?" Cao Qianwei's tone instantly turned angry.

"Hand Surgery, Tong Yuan'an."

“Lu Cheng is a contestant, and he has already finished his competition. If you have any questions about his results, you can declare them invalid.”

"Whoever has doubts must provide evidence," Tong Yuan'an replied in a steady and calm voice.

Cao Qianwei immediately threw a accusation at him: "You're a hand surgeon, what right do you have to interfere in our general surgery matters?"

“Teacher, as a surgeon, isn’t it inappropriate for you to keep targeting us orthopedic surgeons like this?” Tong Yuan’an revealed his identity.

As expected, Tong Yuan'an's words silenced the other party.

Why do hand surgeons know how to suture solid organs? And why can they even create their own suturing techniques for solid organs?
However, Lu Cheng's performance in the tendon suture track was also genuine, and no one questioned it; he was simply given a perfect score.

Cao Qianwei had considered that Lu Cheng was not a specialist in general surgery, but he did not expect that Lu Cheng would be taken away by the hand surgeons so early.

Cao Qianwei remained silent, and Lu Cheng was unsure what to say in response.

Lacking experience in handling such matters, and to avoid saying anything that might lead to mistakes, he simply remained silent.

"Dr. Lu, are you very familiar with Dr. Tong from the hand surgery department?" After a long while, Cao Qianwei finally asked this question.

“Teacher Cao and Teacher Tong are our hospital’s rural support teachers. They taught me a lot. They are still working in our unit’s rural support program,” Lu Cheng said.

"Then you go ahead and get busy." Cao Qianwei didn't dwell on it any further.

Since Lu Cheng and Tong Yuan'an knew each other beforehand, and Tong Yuan'an was currently working at Lu Cheng's workplace, Cao Qianwei did not doubt Tong Yuan'an's foresight.

In this situation, bullying others with power is useless. If he manages to bring out the big boss and dean of the orthopedics department of Xiangya Hospital, he won't gain anything and might even be ridiculed.

……

After hanging up the phone, Lu Cheng asked, "Teacher Tong, they're not really going to cancel my competition results, are they? That's tens of thousands of yuan!"

"I'll give you my personal reimbursement if you cancel it, okay?" Tong Yuan'an's tone suddenly turned sour.

"Teacher Tong, that's not what I meant." Lu Cheng quickly turned his head away.

Turning his head, he noticed that Fatty Tong was all smiles, but his face was full of hidden schemes, and he had no idea what he was planning.

However, Lu Cheng had nothing to lose, so he wasn't afraid that Tong Yuan'an would sell him out.

"That teacher is trying to trick you. Ignore him and stick to the tendon repair track, then you can make it to the national competition."

“If he cancels your results in the Hunan Province competition, and you can still achieve the same results in the national competition, it will look very bad to their general surgery department in front of their colleagues across the country.”

"Unless you are convinced that you did not participate in the Hunan Province competition, they will never be able to shake off the labels of being petty and suppressing young people."

"Never mind that for now." Tong Yuan'an glanced at his phone. "The location has been sent to the group chat. Let's head over there first..."

……

"Well, have you figured it out yet?" Cao Qianwei pressed the people who were removing the stitches.

"No, it's difficult to deduce the actual suturing technique he used simply by removing the stitches. This isn't the kind of suturing technique we commonly see; it's something completely new."

“We can’t deduce anything if he doesn’t come in person,” a middle-aged man of the same age as Cao Qianwei said, shaking his head.

"Isn't this guy coming?"

Cao Qianwei: "He was taken away by Tong Yuan'an from your hospital's hand surgery department. I don't know what you're good for."

"What are we supposed to do with this? Your Xiangya No. 2 Hospital used to be the counterpart support unit of Longxian People's Hospital. We haven't noticed it all these years."

“Tong Yuan’an from our hospital’s hand surgery department? I don’t know him. Shall I give him a call?” said another tall man.

The people gathered here now are professors from the Department of General Surgery of the Second Hospital and Xiangya Hospital.

A new spleen suturing technique has the potential to expand the indications for spleen preservation surgery, which could potentially change and redefine many aspects of spleen preservation.

Although neither hospital deals with emergency cases involving solid organs very often, they still love doing this kind of pioneering and innovative work.

Cao Qianwei shook his head: "It's no use. They've already made contact. I invited him in person, but he refused. We've already lost the advantage in terms of time."

Cao Qianwei then steered the conversation back to professional matters: "This suturing technique is truly ingenious... This young man was able to create something original, so why did he end up working at the county hospital?"

The tall man was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Don't ask me why, I want to know why too."

"So, are you still going to give me the grades or not?" Cao Qianwei's tone wasn't very friendly.

Actually, apart from him, everyone else's main venue was the academic conference venue.

With him on the field, the competition is already quite significant.

The reason these people have all come over is because they've caught a whiff of the tangible scent of original clinical research.

The tall man said irritably, "You really dare not give it to me?"

"Didn't you say you had doubts? Then you provide the evidence." Cao Qianwei smiled somewhat sinisterly.

Lu Cheng's sewing project has already been dismantled. If the tall man insists that Lu Cheng did not achieve a good result, Lu Cheng will have no way to restore the dismantled project and will have to retake the exam.

"Nonsense!" Cao Qianwei's low-level tricks are absolutely doomed to fail.

As they were talking, Cao Qianwei's phone rang.

Upon seeing the note, Cao Qianwei's scalp creased slightly, a bad premonition creeping over him.

Cao Qianwei answered the phone: "Director Xiang."

It is Xiang Dongshan from the Emergency Department of Xiangya No. 2 Hospital.

"Director Cao, don't bother asking around. This Lu Cheng is ours, and the research project is about to be delegated."

"Your baby's almost due, and you're only now thinking about going on blind dates? Isn't that way too late?" Xiang Dongshan's voice was cheerful.

Cao Qianwei's expression tightened instantly: "What do you mean?"

"The topic of spleen suturing techniques does not belong to hand surgery, nor will it be taken over by orthopedic surgeons. Our emergency surgery department is one with all other surgical departments."

"So it can be considered as being absorbed internally, albeit barely."

"Director Cao, your general surgery department is so large and powerful, please don't try to compete with our emergency department for these kinds of emergency cases."

“I saw you were doxxing people in the group. I know the details, so I'm letting you know in advance to save you from wasting your time and energy.”

“This Lu Cheng, besides Peking Union Medical College Hospital, is our emergency department’s first priority,” Xiang Dongshan said.

Cao Qianwei couldn't hold back and started yelling: "Fuck you!"

Although Xiang Dongshan was a loudmouth, he didn't use any vulgar language when he criticized people: "Director Cao, can you think before you speak?"

"It's okay if you don't know that Professor Zhang from our department is from Long County, but you can ask Lu Cheng..."

"I promise I won't call him. You'll know for sure if I'm telling the truth. As for the other thing? Never mind, I don't want to talk to you about it." Xiang Dongshan kept everyone in suspense.

"Explain yourself!" Cao Qianwei was in a particularly bad mood at this moment.

“I have a killer weapon here…hehehe…” Xiang Dongshan said.

Cao Qianwei pressed further: "Xiang Dongshan, explain more clearly."

"If you want to share the profits, then split the money among yourselves..." Xiang Dongshan said more directly.

Since the topic of money was involved, Cao Qianwei felt it was inconvenient to discuss it behind the scenes at the competition. He left with his phone in hand and walked into the fire escape.

"Go on, what kind of deadly weapon? What kind of money?"

"Giving some money means that we can work together to continue the research on spleen preservation surgery. There is a lot of room for this research now and in the future, and our emergency department can't handle it all."

"The big weapon isn't really a weapon. Here's what happened: the reason our department got to know Lu Cheng was because an associate professor from our department had gone to Longxian People's Hospital for a rural assignment."

“After my brother stayed in Long County for a while, he recommended Lu Cheng to me. It was only when I talked to our people that I learned Lu Cheng had a senior brother here,” Xiang Dongshan said. “Senior brother? Are you kidding me?”

"Xiang Dongshan, you're over fifty, not five years old." Cao Qianwei felt that Xiang Dongshan was mocking him.

"Yes, ordinary mentor-student relationships are useless, but what if I told you that this associate professor in our department graduated from Huashan Hospital?"

"What if I told you that Lu Cheng could have gotten into Huashan Hospital for graduate studies, but was rejected because his prospective professor passed away unexpectedly?"

"His senior brother, because of the unexpected death of his mentor, had no one to help him and could not stay in the hospital, so he ended up coming to me in desperation."

"What if I told you that Chen Song from our department was someone who begged Lu Cheng to take him under his wing?"

"You have to understand, back then, Lu Cheng was just a doctor in a small county hospital, nothing more."

"Is this relationship between fellow disciples significant enough?" Xiang Dongshan asked.

Cao Qianwei extracted many keywords.

A deceased master, a down-on-his-luck senior brother, a down-on-his-luck junior brother, a fallen sect—they band together for warmth.

But Cao Qianwei was puzzled: "Xiang Dongshan, with such a good social circle, how did you lose people?"

Lu Cheng formally told Cao Qianwei that his workplace was Huazhong Union Hospital, and asked if Xiang Dongshan was playing with snakeskin.

"It's all about choosing people based on their character, that's why I have so few traitors here," Xiang Dongshan said sarcastically.

Cao Qianwei got angry and asked, "Don't give me this nonsense. Xiang Dongshan, are you unable to hold people back, so you're just making up a high-sounding excuse for yourself?"

Cao Qianwei had been furious about the traitor for years, and recently few people dared to mention it.

Inside the Second Hospital, Xiang Dongshan was one of the few who wasn't afraid of trouble.

“I actually wanted to use emotional appeal, but he didn’t want to, so I respected his wishes.”

“Cao Qianwei, I’m just stating the facts! I can guarantee this project will continue. Just tell me whether you’re going to pay or not, and that’s it.” Xiang Dongshan’s voice was calm.

Cao Qianwei remained silent.

Xiang Dongshan said, "In the adult world, there is no right or wrong, and nothing is absolute."

"On the contrary, I think Xiao Pang handled it quite well. Fellow students don't necessarily have to squeeze into the same unit. They should help each other out when they can."

"There's no such thing as love or hate without a reason. Aren't you looking for Lu Cheng?"

“If you’re willing, I’ll arrange for him to meet you tomorrow afternoon. If you don’t agree, then don’t come. We all know the importance and significance of this topic.”

"But we haven't broken off this relationship yet, precisely because we want to connect with them on a deeper level, rather than just casually exchanging pleasantries."

Cao Qianwei roughly understood what Xiang Dongshan meant: an associate professor from the emergency department had gone to Longxian People's Hospital to work in the countryside, and he treated Lu Cheng better than Tong Yuan'an from Xiangya Hospital.

There are reasons behind this...

"You should finalize the appointment first," Cao Qianwei replied irritably.

……

"Your grades have been finalized." As Tong Yuan'an and Lu Cheng were about to enter the private room, a screenshot of Tong Yuan'an's grades was sent to him by a good friend from the general surgery department.

Lu Cheng's score has exceeded the maximum score, ranking first in the solid organ suturing track. In other words, Lu Cheng has secured the 30,000 yuan.

"Thank you, Teacher Tong. Anyway, if I don't take this money, someone else will," Lu Cheng said with a rather snobbish tone.

"Xiao Lu, I might tell you something you don't want to hear later..." Tong Yuan'an's expression was slightly conflicted.

Lu Cheng looked at Tong Yuan'an with a slightly puzzled expression.

Tong Yuan'an said, "However, when I was driving here, I decided that I should not take you into the private room yet."

"I'll give you a heads-up beforehand. After you hear this, if you're willing to go in, then go ahead."

"If you don't want to go in, I'll risk all my muscles to save you from today's troubles."

"So that you won't lose your composure, say the wrong thing, or make a decision against your conscience."

"The Professor Zhong you arranged with at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, he sees you as a 'poisonous insect'..."

Lu Cheng's expression slowly stiffened.

After giving a brief overview, Tong Yuan'an summarized: "The gist of it is that Peking Union Medical College Hospital has now decided that Han Luoning is the person they will prioritize for training in hand surgery."

"As for you, their current decision is to make you his assistant, so that you can help him improve his functional reconstruction technique in the future."

"This matter has been finalized."

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng fell silent.

Lu Cheng did not suspect that Tong Yuan'an was deliberately framing Professor Zhong Junyun, because Professor Zhong Junyun was a 'snobbish' person. He had done sit-ups once before when he was in Han City.

After a long silence, Lu Cheng said, "Teacher Tong, I don't know whether what you said is true or false yet, so I can't make a conclusion."

"Before Teacher Zhong told me about this in person, I pretended that I knew nothing about it."

Tong Yuan'an then asked, "What if you find out later that this is true? What will you choose?"

Lu Cheng fell silent again.

Lu Cheng remained silent this time and did not reply.

After a while, Tong Yuan'an asked again, "Are you still going in to eat?"

“Yes, Teacher Tong.” Lu Cheng nodded.

Then Lu Cheng followed Tong Yuan'an into the private room...

A laboratory in Han City.

After finishing their experiment, Xie Yuan'an and Mu Nanshu lay down on the large sofa in the director's office of the laboratory.

"I'm so tired!"

"Thank you, Mu Mu. If you hadn't come, I estimate it would have taken several times longer." Xie Yuan'an closed her eyes, lying there as if she were about to die, her chest rising and falling gently.

Mu Nanshu's expression was much more voluptuous than Xie Yuan'an's: "We're friends, and you've helped me a lot before."

"You have to buy me milk tea later."

"Leave it to me, Mu Mu. Drink as many cups as you want." Xie Yuan'an generously offered to take care of it.

After saying that, Xie Yuan'an suddenly opened her eyes, turned her head and said, "Little Mu Mu, I have some news to tell you that may not be so good."

"Can you find out secretly first?"

Mu Nanshu lazily turned half her body, raising her right arm and stretching it out. "You say it."

"A young, highly skilled expert named Han Luoning has joined our department. He's an exceptionally talented expert."

"Professor Zhong intends to train him to become a leading figure in hand surgery."

"But he didn't mean to abandon Lu Cheng. He just meant that Lu Cheng would cooperate with Han Luoning in the future to further develop functional reconstruction techniques."

Mu Nanshu sat up abruptly and glared at Xie Yuan'an.

"Don't look at me like that. My dad can't say anything about this kind of thing." Xie Yuan'an was already petite, and her arched eyebrows twitched, making her look a little guilty.

"It will be at least three to five years before Professor Zhong retires."

Mu Nanshu's expression suddenly changed, and she asked blankly, "Have you made up your mind?"

Xie Yuan'an knew that Mu Nanshu's tone was off, but she still nodded normally: "Han Luoning's clinical talent is really good. He improved our department's optimized nerve suturing technique in less than two years."

"Nerve suturing has always been a strength and key development area of ​​Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and it is also the core surgical technique for functional reconstruction."

"Therefore, from the perspective of the development of hand surgery, Han Luoning's current clinical talent and clinical ability are more suitable for our department!"

"But I'll say something: my dad did mention that Lu Cheng and Han Luoning should form a dual-core team."

"But Professor Zhong means that the department's resources should be put into one direction."

Mu Nanshu immediately stood up: "I'll go ask!"

"Little Mu Mu, please don't go! If you go, won't I be exposed?" Xie Yuan'an quickly stood up to stop him.

Mu Nanshu said, "I won't tell you. You're not the only one who knows about this."

Mu Nanshu left.

Xie Yuan'an chased after Mu Nanshu for a while, but failed to persuade him, so she had no choice but to return.

Xie Yuan'an was indeed not the only one who knew about this; almost everyone in the hand surgery department was aware of it.

……

"Xiao Mu, why are you back?" Mu Nanshu couldn't find Professor Zhong Junyun, so she could only communicate by phone.

"Xie Yuan'an asked me to come back and help out, Professor Zhong. When I was in the lab, I heard some rumors. Are they true?" Mu Nanshu asked.

"What do you mean by gossip?" Professor Zhong Junyun asked with a smile.

After listening, Mu Nanshu remained silent for a moment before asking directly, "Professor Zhong, what are your plans for settling Lu Cheng?"

"I still value Lu Cheng highly. The development of a team is not about individual heroism, but about teamwork among many people."

"Both Lu Cheng and Han Luoning are partners who complement each other."

"How big of a project can one person accomplish?" Zhong Junyun asked in a very kind tone.

"The purpose of conducting research is to treat patients, not to glorify oneself, isn't it?"

How could Mu Nanshu possibly be a match for Zhong Junyun when he said such things? Mu Nanshu didn't refute him: "Okay, thank you for your guidance, Teacher Zhong."

Zhong Junyun said, "Xiao Mu, you don't need to get involved in this matter. Xiao Lu has his own judgment."

“I can see that he is a pure doctor and scholar.”

Mu Nanshu said, "Yes, Teacher Zhong, you are absolutely right about that. So your words will definitely help Lu Cheng make the right choice."

Mu Nanshu's tone was sharp, and his words seemed to have a hidden meaning.

Zhong Junyun couldn't quite grasp it either, but he still said, "Cooperation and win-win is the general trend of development. Xiao Mu, you are a professional researcher, you should understand this very well, right?"

Mu Nanshu said, "Cooperation is necessary, but the priority should be given to certain options, and medical textbooks have already provided the answer."

"Thank you, Professor Zhong."

"What do you mean by that?" Zhong Junyun's words finally carried a hint of displeasure.

"Save lives first, then treat illnesses."

"I only hope that you, Teacher Zhong, will remember what you said today and not interfere with Lu Cheng's other choices in the future," Mu Nanshu said.

"From my perspective as a medical professional, the priority of whether the functional reconstruction surgery is performed well is not as important as saving more patients' lives."

(End of this chapter)