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

Chapter 40 Bullying Others with Power?!
July 30th, Thursday, noon.

Longxian County, Yuelu Avenue, Chenfu Firewood Chicken, inside a Mongolian yurt-style private room!
The air conditioner's baffle creaked as the vents blew, and the free-range chicken, pork belly, and intestines in the pot tumbled and rolled in the boiling broth.

A wisp of smoke rose, filling the air with a fragrant aroma.

Lu Cheng enthusiastically poured out the Maotai he had specially bought, then bowed and handed it to Chen Song and Tong Yuan'an: "Teacher Tong, Teacher Chen, I hope you two enjoy yourselves today. Although there are only two bottles of this wine, we have plenty of local specialties from our hometown."

Two bottles of Maotai cost Lu Cheng over five thousand silver dollars; he simply couldn't afford to pay for more.

"That's enough, that's already very satisfying... This must be a genuine free-range chicken, otherwise it wouldn't have this aroma." Tong Yuan'an had a chubby face and plump fingers, making him look quite honest and approachable.

Chen Song crossed his arms over his chest and said seriously, "Old Tong, you're really not being fair!"

"Do you think it was easy for Director Xiang Daihong of the state hospital to go to the countryside for a promotion?"

"You squeezed it so tenderly and burst it?"

"Tsk tsk..."

Tong Yuan'an turned his big face, his round apple cheeks making him look adorably innocent: "How should I know... wasn't it all your fault?"

"Chen Song, you're such a jerk! You knew perfectly well that the People's Hospital had doctors working in rural areas in the orthopedics department, but you didn't even remind me?"

"Just to see me make a fool of myself?" Tong Yuan'an looked simple-minded, but his tone was anything but polite.

Tong Yuan'an, an associate professor in the Department of Hand Surgery at Xiangya Hospital, wouldn't consider much else in order to gain grassroots work experience for a promotion to full professor.

He called Longxian People's Hospital to inquire, as it had been arranged that the county hospital would send doctors to the countryside.

Tong Yuan'an said, "Never mind then, I'll go to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital."

Before the call had even ended, just a few minutes later, the People's Hospital called again to say it was okay...

There was nothing he could do. If Tong Yuan'an went to Xiangzhou People's Hospital, even the head of the hand surgery department would have no choice but to smile and beg for mercy.

Although Tong Yuan'an is only an associate chief physician, the gap between associate chief physicians may be greater than the gap between a layman and an associate chief physician.

Chen Song rolled his eyes: "Who are you? Tong Yuan'an from Xiangya Hospital, associate professor, the most capable associate professor of the younger generation of hand surgery in Hunan Province."

How was I supposed to know you were suddenly going to Longxian People's Hospital for a rural outreach program?

"I don't think this is the unit that Xiangya Hospital is paired with for assistance? What are you doing here?"

"Stealing the tower?"

"That's not fair of you. You're killing people just to steal the tower. You're ruining their future. It's like killing their parents."

The number of positions available for support and assistance to grassroots hospitals is limited. It's not a matter of just coming whenever you want. There's a specific quota, and once it's full, there are no more slots left.

The pairing assistance between Xiangya No. 2 Hospital and Longxian People's Hospital has been going on for many years. Chen Song never expected that Tong Yuan'an, who works at Xiangya Hospital, would suddenly come over.

Tong Yuan'an blushed and turned pale from being teased: "You just want to see me make a fool of myself."

Tong Yuan'an did not elaborate on the specific reasons at the moment.

Lu Cheng raised his glass and said, "Teacher Tong, let me toast you. Thank you for taking the time to guide me during my break."

"Use a smaller cup, Xiao Lu. Even though you brought the wine, you can't be so selfish as to think about drinking it all." Tong Yuan'an's intelligence was greater than his physique.

The suggestion to Lu Cheng to drink less could be made in such an elegant way.

Lu Cheng then switched to a small wine glass: "Teacher Tong, is this alright? Thank you so much for your guidance. It's thanks to your and Teacher Chen's meticulous instruction that I've made progress today..."

Lu Cheng's words made sense, and the logic was correct... so Chen Song and Tong Yuan'an both drank alcohol.

However, after putting down his wine glass, Tong Yuan'an said, "Guidance is one thing, but the practice is up to the individual. Your rapid progress is ultimately due to your own efforts."

"I'm not a new teacher. If my guidance had such miraculous effects, my students would have already beaten even the top hand surgeons to tears."

"Xiao Lu, why don't you..."

Chen Songyi coughed and said, "Little Tong, this is the rule of the game." Chen Songyi is also an associate professor and associate chief physician, and he is worthy of your title as an associate professor at Xiangya Hospital. When everyone is excellent, your bullying tactics will not work.

Tong Yuan'an unabashedly grabbed Lu Cheng's hand and turned it inside out a few times: "He is indeed a good prospect for hand surgery."

Chen Song tightened his throat and asked in return, "Tong Yuan'an, is it possible that Xiao Lu just happened to have studied tendon suturing first, and that he is also very talented in general surgery?"

“If it weren’t for the county hospital, Xiao Lu would only be able to have tendon repairs done, and he wouldn’t even need hand surgery now.”

Chen Song still remembered when he first arrived, he wanted to guide Lu Cheng in performing an appendectomy. But before he even entered the operating room, Zeng Huanqi had already started the surgery, tightly controlling all the learning materials and resources…

Tong Yuan'an also took the high ground to speak: "Xiao Lu is from our orthopedics department. What do you, a nobody from the emergency department, know?"

“That was before!” Chen Song emphasized.

"Now, Lu Cheng is a full-fledged emergency room doctor, on the payroll, and a licensed surgeon! He's my student."

"Even if we gave you orthopedics a chance, you wouldn't be any good at it?"

"Is it my fault?"

"What? You think you're so great just because you can replant a severed finger?"

How many people have died from having a finger severed?

"Do you know how to perform surgery for abdominal aortic dissection? How many people have died from abdominal aortic dissection?" Chen Song raised his chin.

Looking at Chen Song and Tong Yuan'an, Lu Cheng wondered to himself, "Are these two really friends?"
Are all conversations between true friends this sharp and cutting?

Every cut pierces the heart of the opponent.

Seeing that Tong Yuan'an was speechless after his retort, Chen Song, in a victorious manner, steered the conversation back on track, flicking his chin with his thumb: "So, what brings you to the countryside?"

"I'll do whatever you want!" Tong Yuan'an said with a broad smile.

"Xiao Lu, let's go, leave the wine for him."

"Settle the bill for the drinks later! We'll leave the food for you." Chen Song completely ignored Tong Yuan'an's cryptic remarks.

Tong Yuan'an said, "Chen Song, do you know how old we are? Hey, the whole world revolves around you. You, Chen Song, can get promoted, but I, Tong Yuan'an, can't. You're amazing, you're incredible! You're the best in the world."

Tong Yuan'an gave a thumbs-up without moving an inch.

Chen Song sat down again: "That's it? So you didn't go to Fengxian People's Hospital, which you were previously paired with for assistance?"

Chen Song laughed: "Tong Yuan'an, you're amazing, you even disregard hospital policies..."

Tong Yuan'an knew he couldn't play games with Chen Song, so he simply cut to the chase: "Fine, let's be honest. I came to Longxian People's Hospital to ask your student Lu Cheng for a favor."

Chen Song clearly understood his position: "How can I help? By providing manpower or labor? Labor is fine, but manpower is not."

"To put it simply, there are currently three main approaches in the field of tendon suturing: the Kessler approach, the Tang approach, and the Tsushita approach. Each is operating independently, and none of them can convince the others."

"But just two years ago, Dr. Tajima improved the Tsushita suture technique. According to their description, the Tajima suture technique, which was improved from the original Tsushita suture technique, has the potential to dominate the field of tendon suturing and even surpass the Tang method..."

"This matter is only known to a very narrow group of people, and we in the industry are definitely not convinced. So Director Tan from our department also participated in the improvement of tendon suturing based on the Tang method."

“What we’re missing now is a ‘player’ who can quickly learn the Tajima stitching technique…” Tong Yuan’an’s gaze turned to Lu Cheng.

Chen Song wasn't so easily fooled, and questioned, "You're not good enough?"

Tong Yuan'an's chubby face widened in surprise: "Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

"Anyway, the situation is that I'm already here. I just hope that Lu Cheng will not only learn this Tajima suture technique, but also learn it well and master it, and then serve as a control group."

“It’s not honorable to talk about this kind of thing, and other people in the industry don’t understand the true relationship between us and our friendly countries, so we have to take action ourselves.”

"Xiao Lu, would you be willing?"

(End of this chapter)