After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The shrill ring of the phone echoed through the spacious office. Lin Weiguo didn't answer immediately, but let it ring three times. This was a habit he had developed over the years in officialdom: he couldn't answer the phone too quickly, or he would appear unreliable and not busy enough.

When the fourth ring sounded, he cleared his throat, adjusted his posture so that his back was fully against the back of the leather chair, and then slowly reached out and picked up the receiver.

"Hello, this is Lin Weiguo, the vice president of the Beicheng Military Region General Hospital." He spoke with a controlled tone, his voice deep and clear, exuding the authority and composure of someone who had held a high position for many years.

A slightly hurried but polite voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello, Vice President Lin! This is Zhao Guangping from the Provincial People's Hospital."

Lin Weiguo quickly ran through the name in his mind. The Provincial People's Hospital was a top-tier tertiary hospital in the region, no less large or prestigious than their Beicheng General Hospital. This Dean Zhao Guangping was also a leading expert in cardiac surgery in the country, and the two had met a few times when attending meetings at the Ministry of Health.

The two hospitals occasionally overlap in academic exchanges and resource allocation, but they don't talk on the phone very often.

"Oh, it's Dean Zhao. Hello, hello." Lin Weiguo's facial muscles relaxed, and he adopted a familiar tone. "Dean Zhao, what brings you here to call me personally today? What instructions do you have?"

"I dare not presume to give instructions, and I apologize for disturbing Vice President Lin's work." Zhao Guangping's voice was filled with barely suppressed enthusiasm, and one could even hear him rubbing his hands together on the other end of the phone. "It's like this, our hospital's Party Committee held a special meeting this morning. Everyone carefully studied the People's Daily report about Dr. Ye Zhen's surgery at your hospital, and also asked people to pull strings and obtained some internal information and postoperative data about that surgery from Beijing."

Lin Weiguo's grip on the receiver tightened. He hadn't expected that what Zhou Hai had said was actually true. The major local hospitals were indeed paying attention to this matter, and acting so quickly, even obtaining internal information.

Zhao Guangping continued, his speech quickening: "The approach and technique of that surgery were simply groundbreaking! Several of our hospital's veteran cardiac surgeons, who have dedicated their lives to the field, were full of praise and admiration after seeing it. We'd like to know if Dr. Ye Zhen, the lead surgeon, is currently at the hospital? Our Provincial People's Hospital is planning to select five young, key cardiac surgeons to undergo three months of advanced training under Dr. Ye at your main hospital. Rest assured, we will cover all their food, lodging, and travel expenses; we will not cause any trouble for your hospital. We just want them to be able to observe and learn at the operating table, and assist with the procedures."

Zhao Guangping's tone was extremely sincere, even bordering on pleading. For the president of a major provincial hospital, this was an incredibly humble stance.

Lin Weiguo felt a throbbing pain in his temples. Five key cardiac surgeons? And they wanted to come and observe and learn?

Ye Zhen is currently in Qingyun County, a dilapidated place that can't even find a sterile operating room. Every day she faces rural patients with headaches and fevers. What can she show them?

Moreover, he had just characterized Ye Zhen as a young doctor who needed to be sent to the grassroots level to "temper her character." If he were to agree to the provincial People's Hospital's request for further training and transfer Ye Zhen back now, wouldn't that be a public slap in his own face? Would he still have any authority as the vice president? Who would respect him at the main hospital in the future?

Lin Weiguo's mind raced as he considered his options. He absolutely couldn't let Zhao Guangping know that Ye Zhen had been ousted by him.

He leaned back, habitually adopting an official tone, his voice carrying a hint of earnestness: "Dean Zhao, regarding the matter of sending people for further training, I think we should postpone it for a while."

Zhao Guangping on the other end of the phone paused for a moment: "Hold on? Vice President Lin, is there something wrong with the conditions we proposed? If you feel the cost is insufficient, we can discuss it further, and we can even provide a batch of medical equipment as a token of our sincerity in this exchange..."

"It's not about the cost." Lin Weiguo interrupted him, his tone becoming more serious, as if instructing a subordinate who didn't know the rules. "Dean Zhao, you are also a hospital administrator, and you've mentored so many students; you should understand our rules for training cadres. Comrade Ye Zhen has indeed made some achievements in surgery, which the hospital acknowledges. However, she is still too young, only in her early twenties at most, and her experience is still limited."

As Lin Weiguo spoke, he tapped the table lightly with his fingers, seemingly quite satisfied with his explanation: "According to the strict regulations of our Beicheng General Hospital for training young cadres, we must not allow a young doctor like her, who has just emerged as a promising talent, to become arrogant or complacent. She must first be sent down to the grassroots level, to the most difficult places, to be tempered for a period of time, to hone her character, and to let her know how difficult it is for ordinary people to see a doctor. Only in this way can she shoulder important responsibilities in the future."

He paused, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and continued, "So, the institute has already arranged for her to go to the county hospital to support its construction. Once she finishes her grassroots training and her ideological awareness has improved, she'll return to the institute, and we'll hold another meeting to specifically discuss sending someone for further training. Do you think this arrangement is reasonable?"

There was a deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

There was no agreement, no polite formalities. The previous enthusiasm and earnestness had vanished without a trace.

Lin Weiguo could only hear heavy breathing coming from the receiver, clearly hitting his eardrums along the telephone line.

"Dean Zhao?" Lin Weiguo frowned and called out tentatively.

"Inexperienced?" Zhao Guangping's voice rang out again, this time devoid of any politeness, cold and piercing, filled with undisguised anger. "Lin Weiguo, what kind of international joke are you playing on me!"

Lin Weiguo's ears went numb from the sudden roar. He instinctively moved the receiver further away, his face darkening. "Comrade Zhao Guangping, please watch your tone. We are discussing work."

"Discuss my ass!" Zhao Guangping completely erupted, cursing without restraint. Years of self-control vanished in that moment. "That heart surgery was a blind vascular suturing performed through a tiny incision using minimally invasive techniques! You can't find another person in the country with that ability to accurately sense the bifurcation of blood vessels amidst the blood and gore! Even top experts from Germany admitted that their country's medical standards don't reach that level of precision! You call a surgeon capable of performing world-class, highly complex surgeries 'inexperienced'? You call that 'some achievement'?"

Zhao Guangping's voice grew louder and louder, so loud that the lid of the teacup on Lin Weiguo's desk made a slight clinking sound.

"Your rules at the North City General Hospital are really something! Even a national treasure like her, what kind of ridiculous rules are you using to block her!"

Lin Weiguo was so angry that his face turned ashen, and the veins on the back of his hand holding the receiver bulged. When had he, a vice dean, ever been insulted like this?

"Zhao Guangping, don't be unreasonable! This is an internal personnel arrangement of our main hospital. It's not your place to interfere!" Lin Weiguo tried to overpower the other party with his voice.

But Zhao Guangping didn't give him a chance to interrupt, continuing his rapid-fire barrage of words, each one hitting Lin Weiguo where it hurt: "Personnel arrangements? I think it's your hospital's management that's narrow-minded, jealous of talent, and intolerant of truly capable people! Sending a surgical genius who can create miracles under the operating lights down to a county hospital to hone his skills? How could you even think of that! You're wasting a talent! It's a crime against the medical profession!"

Zhao Guangping took a deep breath, his tone filled with disdain and anger: "Lin Weiguo, I'm putting my words here today. This surgical genius, a once-in-a-century talent, is not being used by your Beicheng General Hospital; plenty of places are scrambling to have her! If you don't want her, our Provincial People's Hospital will! We'll set up a dedicated cardiovascular intervention center for her, equipped with the best equipment and the best team! I refuse to believe that with her abilities, she won't have trouble finding a place to showcase her talents!"

"You..." Lin Weiguo managed to utter a single word before his throat tightened, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"Consider this phone call a waste of time. We, the Provincial People's Hospital, are not getting involved in this mess at your North City General Hospital. We'll see!"

"Snapped!"

A loud bang came from the receiver, making Lin Weiguo's eardrums ache.

Zhao Guangping slammed down the phone.

Immediately afterwards, a monotonous and jarring "beep-beep-" busy tone came from the receiver.

Lin Weiguo's face turned pale, and the veins on the back of his hand holding the receiver bulged. He never expected that the director of a provincial people's hospital would abandon even the most basic polite words for the sake of Ye Zhen and directly point his finger at him and curse.

He slammed the receiver back onto the landline, his chest heaving violently.

Before he could even catch his breath, the phone on the table rang shrilly again. The noise was incredibly irritating. Lin Weiguo stared at the constantly vibrating phone, a layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead.