Chapter 55: I Cultivated A Dad?!
“Did all our hard work just prove that we’re the less skilled ones?” Tong Yuan’an’s face gradually turned pale.
Lu Cheng, standing nearby, swallowed hard and thought carefully, then offered advice: “Teacher Tong, could it be that the difference in proficiency levels is causing the data to be different?”
Tong Yuan’an’s tone was cold: “Absolutely impossible. Being unskilled is being unskilled… it has nothing to do with proficiency.”
“At least not with your proficiency, you’ve only just started learning…” Tong Yuan’an softened his tone, then quietly began measuring again.
The more he measured, the more silent Tong Yuan’an’s expression became, the atmosphere becoming terrifyingly stiff…
Seeing Tong Yuan’an like this, Lu Cheng didn’t feel he could say anything more.
Now there’s a big problem—
Lu Cheng didn’t know the proficiency of the suturing technique Tong Yuan’an mastered, and similarly, Tong Yuan’an didn’t know his own proficiency level.
“Teacher Tong?” Lu Cheng asked.
“It’s nothing, Xiao Lu, you can go back now. I need to be alone for a bit to think about where this suturing technique is lacking. It’s not your fault…” Tong Yuan’an forced a very reluctant smile, appearing polite.
Tong Yuan’an had already asked him to leave, so Lu Cheng could only head back.
…
Inside Gaojiapo Residential Area, in the study.
After Lu Cheng took a slow sip of his black coffee, he saw Mu Nanshu’s reply: “Book Bag, are you free now? I have something I’d like to ask your advice on.”
“If I want to find an article by a Professor Tajima from the Island Country, how should I search for it?”
“I searched online but couldn’t find the target literature.”
Book Bag was a nickname Lu Cheng gave Mu Nanshu when they were children; this nickname was only used by Lu Cheng. Mu Nanshu’s parents called her Nannan.
Mu Nanshu’s schoolbag was very large and heavy when she was a child.
Mu Nanshu expressed difficulty: “Tajima is a surname from the Island Country. With only this limited keyword, it will be very difficult to find the target literature.”
“Are there any other keywords?”
Lu Cheng said: “Tajima, tendon suturing method. That’s all the information I currently have.”
“I used PubMed and Geen Academic. Is it possible I need to use other websites, or perhaps a VPN?”
Academic VPNs have dedicated nodes.
“I’ll try first…” Mu Nanshu replied.
Lu Cheng replied: “Then thank you. Are you off today? Why don’t you send me your address, and I’ll treat you to a milk tea remotely?”
“You’re surely not afraid of me showing up at your door.”
Mu Nanshu didn’t stand on ceremony with Lu Cheng at all; she directly sent him the details of the residential area, building, unit, and floor she had bought.
Mu Nanshu’s phone number had been exchanged last time, so she didn’t send it to Lu Cheng.
Mu Nanshu had professionally pursued master’s and doctoral degrees, so her ability to find literature was stronger than Lu Cheng’s. About half an hour later, she found the literature Lu Cheng was looking for—
“See if this is the one. It was published in January this year.” Mu Nanshu took a photo, which also included the ‘Youlan Latte’ from Cha Yan Yue Se milk tea that Lu Cheng had recommended to her.
Mu Nanshu said: “Next time you can try Fengqi Lvgui or Matcha Puti.”
“Okay, I’ll take a look.” Lu Cheng chose to download the literature after Mu Nanshu sent it.
“Are you planning to write a meta-analysis with this paper?” Mu Nanshu asked.
Lu Cheng, while reading the abstract, explained his situation with Tong Yuan’an to her, of course also mentioning the Jin Xia suturing technique and the Tang method.
Mu Nanshu looked at it, hesitated for nearly five minutes, then replied: “Lu Cheng, I think you should not get involved in such an ineffective research project.”
“Because generally speaking, professors who can originally create techniques superior to common operational methods are considered world-class top professors.”
“According to what you’ve said, for so many years in China, only Professor Tang Jinbo’s ‘Tang Method’ has emerged in suturing techniques. In that case, the superiority of the ‘Tajima Suturing Technique’ might not be something Professor Tan at Xiangya Hospital can easily overturn.”
“I’m not trying to boost others and dampen our own spirits. I’m just giving you honest advice. If you want to undertake a research project, I suggest you start with meta-analysis and system analysis as an entry point,” Mu Nanshu gave detailed advice.
“It’s not me writing the paper; it’s Professor Tong and the others who need to write it. For my promotion, I need to publish a paper, and publishing in provincial-level core journals is enough…”
“Book Bag, wait a moment, I need to record some data,” Lu Cheng said.
Mu Nanshu finished reading and hesitated for a while before saying: “For research papers, if there’s an opportunity, it’s still worth getting involved with.”
“Some things can only help you cross the threshold, but if you want to do better within that realm, you have to follow the mainstream rules.”
Lu Cheng was registering data, so casually, he let slip: “The ‘Ladder to the Azure Clouds’ you sent me now, I can’t even find a way in. Talking about these things is too far off.”
After sending the message, Lu Cheng continued to register data.
Lu Cheng had a good memory, and some data was verifiable. So after sending the message, he registered the complete data:
【 2mm gap tensile strength: Tong Method: 108.40±7.52N; Tajima Method: 105.40±9.32N; Modified Tang Method: 100.30±8.20 N; Modified Jin Xia Method; 62.6±7.4 N】
【 Burst tensile strength: Tong Method: 166.31±11.50 N; Tajima Method: 163.23±10.32N; Modified Tang Method: 150.25±10.50 N; Modified Jin Xia Method: 125.3±11.5 N】
【 Tendon toughness: Tong Method: 14.21±1.34N/mm; Tajima Method: 13.9±1.57N/mm; Modified Tang Method: 12.55±1.25 N/mm; Modified Jin Xia Method: 8.3±1.8 N/mm】
The table made it clear—the Tong Method was slightly superior to the Tajima suturing technique in the paper.
Therefore, Lu Cheng immediately sent this paper and the data in the table to Tong Yuan’an.
About ten minutes later, Tong Yuan’an sent a soul-searching question: “Why is the Tajima method in the paper inferior to your Tajima method?”
How could Lu Cheng answer such a question? “I don’t know, Teacher Tong.”
Tong Yuan’an sat cross-legged; he actually thought of a possibility: Lu Cheng’s proficiency was too high, so high that he could use his proficiency to achieve a comeback.
Suturing techniques are one thing, but different levels of proficiency lead to different effects for each technique.
It’s not that the modified Tang Method is absolutely superior to the Jin Xia suturing technique. If a newly learned Tang Method is compared to a master performing the Jin Xia suturing technique, it’s like an egg hitting a rock.
“Can you retract it?” Tong Yuan’an scratched his scalp with his chubby hand, his scalp going numb.
He had only focused on urging Lu Cheng to push forward, forgetting about balance.
What if, Tong Yuan’an mused, what if Lu Cheng was truly, incredibly talented, capable of learning a theoretical technique to an extent the original creator couldn’t even perform.
That is to say, what is rumored to be at the level of ‘within theory, outside of operation’….
Did I just spur on a ‘god-tier’ talent?
Retract it?
Lu Cheng tried, but his proficiency couldn’t produce a minus sign.
Lu Cheng also scratched his head: “Teacher Tong, is such a thing even possible?”
Tong Yuan’an’s large, round face grew rounder, and he suddenly didn’t know what to do.
