Chapter 182: Results Verified!
On October 24th, it was drizzling.
Mist billowed at the confluence of rivers, the rain and mist were vast, and the line of sight was blocked in a rather unreal way.
“Teacher Tong, I’m done with the competition, it was just a formality,” Lu Cheng said to Tong Yuan’an as they walked out of the hotel’s main entrance and towards the parking lot, holding an umbrella.
【 Nerve Suturing Technique （ Proficient 10/10 ）】 Even with the nerve suturing techniques from Xiehe Hospital added, it wasn’t enough for Lu Cheng to stand out in such a competition.
Lu Cheng held his umbrella, while Tong Yuan’an took out his car keys, opened the driver’s side door, and squeezed in with an annoyed tone: “It’s fine, you already cheated and took first place in two events.”
“If you won one more, it would be easy for them to dissect you, as anesthesiologists and surgeons are readily available.”
Lu Cheng walked to the passenger seat and proactively opened the door: “Teacher Tong, for this competition, the prize money is calculated per event, right?”
As Lu Cheng got into the car, Tong Yuan’an’s chubby face twitched slightly: “Why are you still hung up on this issue?”
Chen Song is really not acting human, completely corrupting the child’s mind, only thinking about prize money.
“It’s mainly because I’m poor… Teacher Tong,” Lu Cheng said.
“The first prize for each event should be around thirty thousand yuan.”
“Are you treating us?” Tong Yuan’an asked with a smile as he fastened his seatbelt.
“Okay, Teacher Tong,” Lu Cheng replied obediently.
He wasn’t unaware of the weight of Teacher Cao from before, nor did he not know that the opportunity to dine with him was not easy to come by, but Lu Cheng didn’t want too much entanglement.
“Just kidding, Boss Tan is treating today, don’t worry about it.”
“Make sure you don’t just impulsively pay the bill later,” Tong Yuan’an quickly explained.
It was very clear that Lu Cheng truly hadn’t experienced much of the “world.”
It wasn’t that Lu Cheng completely didn’t understand his own “position,” but rather that Lu Cheng lacked such social experience.
While Tong Yuan’an was speaking, Lu Cheng’s phone rang.
Lu Cheng picked it up and saw it was the same missed call number again. After a slight hesitation, Lu Cheng decided to answer.
“Doctor Lu? I’m at the competition venue, we’re having some issues here and need you to come over,” a voice said.
“Given that the suturing technique you used in this competition is quite novel, the referee panel and other contestants have some doubts, thus you are required to come over,” said Professor Cao Qianwei on the phone.
The car hadn’t started yet, and Lu Cheng’s expression was a bit troubled: “Teacher Cao, do you think there’s a problem with the competition results?”
“It’s not that I think so, it’s that everyone thinks so. After all, this score is too outrageous.”
“Doctor Lu, where are you now? I can have someone pick you up,” Cao Qianwei’s tone was proactive.
“I’m downstairs, just about to go eat,” Lu Cheng gave a more justifiable reason.
At the same time, Lu Cheng turned on the speakerphone.
“Dinner can wait. Come up first, we need to handle this matter properly,” the voice continued.
“After we’re done, we can all go eat together without any problem,” Cao Qianwei’s voice was precisely delivered to Tong Yuan’an’s ears.
But Tong Yuan’an immediately spoke up without hesitation: “Lu Cheng, you don’t need to go. Let them doubt the results if they want, it doesn’t matter if the results are canceled.”
“Who is next to you?” Cao Qianwei’s tone instantly became angry.
“Hand Surgery, Tong Yuan’an.”
“Lu Cheng is a contestant, and his competition is over. Teacher, if you have doubts about his competition results, you can deem his results invalid.”
“Whoever has doubts should provide the proof,” Tong Yuan’an’s voice replied calmly.
Cao Qianwei immediately threw a heavy accusation: “You, from Hand Surgery, are interfering in our General Surgery matters?”
“Teacher, isn’t it inappropriate for you, a professor of surgery, to be so fixated on someone from our Orthopedics department?” Tong Yuan’an revealed his identity.
As expected, Tong Yuan’an’s words made the other party fall silent.
Why would someone from Hand Surgery perform suturing on parenchymal organs? And even create original suturing techniques for parenchymal organs?
But Lu Cheng’s results in the Tendon Suturing event were solid, with no one having any doubts, and he was awarded full marks straightforwardly.
Cao Qianwei had also considered that Lu Cheng was not a specialist in General Surgery, he just didn’t expect Lu Cheng to be taken away by someone from Hand Surgery so early.
Cao Qianwei said no more, and Lu Cheng didn’t know what to say in response for a moment.
He had no experience handling such matters, and to avoid saying more and making more mistakes, he simply remained silent.
“Doctor Lu, are you very familiar with Doctor Tong from Hand Surgery?” After a long pause, Cao Qianwei finally asked.
“Teacher Cao, Teacher Tong is a visiting professor from our hospital who has taught me a lot. He is currently still doing outreach at our unit,” Lu Cheng replied.
“Then you go ahead and be busy,” Cao Qianwei didn’t press the issue further.
Since Lu Cheng and Tong Yuan’an knew each other first, and Tong Yuan’an was currently at Lu Cheng’s unit, Cao Qianwei did not doubt Tong Yuan’an’s judgment.
In this situation, bullying wouldn’t work. If the big boss and president of Xiangya Hospital’s Orthopedics department were brought in, he wouldn’t gain any benefit and might even be ridiculed.
……
After hanging up the phone, Lu Cheng asked: “Teacher Tong, will they really cancel my competition results? That’s tens of thousands of yuan!”
“If they cancel it, I’ll personally make it up to you,” Tong Yuan’an’s tone suddenly became displeased.
“Teacher Tong, that’s not what I meant,” Lu Cheng quickly turned his head.
As he turned his head, he saw that the chubby Tong looked amiable, his face full of hidden calculations, and he had no idea what he was planning.
However, Lu Cheng was barefoot and not afraid of Tong Yuan’an selling him out.
“That Teacher is trying to manipulate you. Don’t pay attention to him. If you go through the Tendon Suturing event, you can enter the national competition.”
“If he cancels your results from the Xiang Province competition, and you achieve similar results in the national competition, your General Surgery peers nationwide will look very bad.”
“Unless you claim you didn’t participate in the Xiang Province competition, otherwise, they will be forever labeled as narrow-minded and suppressive of young talent.”
“Let’s not talk about this.” Tong Yuan’an glanced at his phone: “The location has been sent in the group chat, let’s go there first…”
……
“How is it, do you understand?” Cao Qianwei pressed the people who were currently cutting sutures.
“No, it’s difficult to reverse-engineer the actual suturing technique just by cutting the sutures. This is not one of our common techniques, it’s absolutely something new.”
“If he doesn’t come in person, we can’t deduce it,” a middle-aged man of the same age as Cao Qianwei shook his head.
“This guy, he’s not 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 do you mean ‘what we’re good for’? Your Xiangya Second Hospital was previously the counterpart support unit for Long County People’s Hospital, and you haven’t discovered anything in all these years.”
“Tong Yuan’an from our hospital’s Hand Surgery department? I don’t know him. Shall I give him a call?” another tall man said.
Currently gathered were professors from the General Surgery departments of the Second Hospital and Xiangya Hospital.
A new spleen suturing technique could potentially expand the indications for spleen preservation surgery, which could change and redefine many aspects of spleen preservation surgery.
Although both hospitals rarely dealt with emergency conditions involving parenchymal organs, everyone was keen on such innovative and pioneering work.
Cao Qianwei shook his head: “It’s useless, they’ve already contacted each other. I invited him in person and he refused. We’ve already lost the advantage of time.”
Cao Qianwei then brought the topic back to the professional aspect: “This suturing technique is truly skillful… This young man was able to create it originally, why did he end up working at a 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 we still giving him the results or not?” Cao Qianwei’s tone was not good.
In fact, besides him, everyone else’s main venue was the academic conference hall.
His presence at the competition venue was enough to hold weight.
The reason these people had come over now was that they smelled the scent of an original clinical research project.
The tall man said with annoyance: “You really dare not give it?”
“Didn’t you have doubts? You provide the proof,” Cao Qianwei smiled sinisterly.
By this time, Lu Cheng’s suturing work had already been dismantled. If this tall man insisted that Lu Cheng had no results, Lu Cheng wouldn’t be able to restore the dismantled work and would have to re-examine.
“Nonsense!” Cao Qianwei’s low-level trick would absolutely not work.
As they spoke, Cao Qianwei’s phone rang.
Cao Qianwei glanced at the caller ID, and his scalp tingled slightly, a bad premonition.
Cao Qianwei answered: “Director Xiang.”
It was Xiang Dongshan from the Emergency Department of Xiangya Second Hospital.
“Director Cao, stop wasting your time and energy investigating. This Lu Cheng is ours, and the research project is almost ready to be handed down.”
“The child is about to be born, and you’re thinking of a blind date now? Isn’t it too late?” Xiang Dongshan’s voice was hearty.
Cao Qianwei’s expression tightened instantly: “What do you mean?”
“The spleen suturing technique research project does not belong to Hand Surgery, nor will it be snatched by Orthopedics. Our Emergency Surgery is one with all surgical departments.”
“So it’s somewhat of an internal matter.”
“Director Cao, your General Surgery department is large and influential, so please don’t compete with our Emergency Department for these emergency conditions.”
“I saw you inquiring about him in the group chat. I know the specific situation, so I’m telling you in advance to avoid you wasting more energy and effort.”
“This Lu Cheng, apart from Xiehe Hospital, our Emergency Department is his first priority,” Xiang Dongshan said.
Cao Qianwei couldn’t help but blurt out: “Get lost, damn it.”
Although Xiang Dongshan was a big talker, he didn’t use profanity when scolding: “Director Cao, can you use your brain before you speak?”
“It’s okay if you don’t know that our department’s Professor Zhang is from Long County, but you can ask Lu Cheng…”
“I guarantee I won’t call him. You can ask him if it’s true or not. Also? Forget it, I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Xiang Dongshan was being coy.
“Explain it clearly!” Cao Qianwei was extremely displeased at this moment.
“I have a trump card here… Hehehe…” Xiang Dongshan said.
Cao Qianwei continued to press: “Xiang Dongshan, explain it more clearly.”
“If you want a share, give some money…” 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 venue. He took his phone and left, walking into the fire escape.
“You continue, what’s the trump card? What money?”
“Giving some money means we’ll work on the spleen preservation surgery research project together. This project has considerable current and future potential, and our Emergency Department can’t consume it all.”
“The trump card isn’t really a trump card. The thing is, our department’s connection with Lu Cheng stems from a former associate professor who went to Long County People’s Hospital for outreach.”
“After my brother stayed in Long County for a while, he recommended Lu Cheng to me. When I talked with our people, I realized that Lu Cheng also had a senior brother here,” Xiang Dongshan said.
“Senior brother? Are you kidding me?”
“Xiang Dongshan, you’re over fifty, not over five.” Cao Qianwei thought Xiang Dongshan was taunting him.
“Yes, normally a senior-junior relationship is useless, but what if I tell you that the associate professor from our department graduated from Huashan Hospital?”
“What if I tell you that Lu Cheng could have gone to Huashan Hospital for graduate studies, but because his pre-arranged mentor unexpectedly passed away, he was rejected?”
“And this senior brother of his, also due to the unexpected death of his mentor, had no support and couldn’t stay at the hospital, eventually ending up in a sorry state here?”
“What if I tell you that Chen Song from our department is the one who asked a few times to take Lu Cheng along?”
“At that time, Lu Cheng was still just a doctor in a small county hospital, nothing more.”
“Is this senior-junior relationship significant enough?” Xiang Dongshan asked.
Cao Qianwei extracted many keywords.
Deceased mentor, struggling senior brother, struggling junior brother, struggling faction, banding together for warmth.
But Cao Qianwei was very confused: “Xiang Dongshan, with such a good network, you let him slip away?”
Lu Cheng had formally told him that his work unit was Huazhong Xiehe Hospital. Was Xiang Dongshan talking nonsense?
“I choose people based on their heart, that’s why there are few traitors here,” Xiang Dongshan said sarcastically.
Cao Qianwei became angry and asked: “Stop with all this irrelevant talk, Xiang Dongshan, are you unable to keep the person, so you’re finding a high-sounding excuse?”
Cao Qianwei had been upset about the issue of traitors for many years, and very few people dared to bring it up recently.
Xiang Dongshan was one of the few people in the Second Hospital who was unafraid of speaking out.
“I actually wanted to use emotional blackmail, but he was unwilling, so I respected his wishes.”
“Cao Qianwei, I’m just discussing this matter factually. I can guarantee that this research project can be kept. Just tell me, are you giving the money or not?” Xiang Dongshan’s voice was calm.
Cao Qianwei remained silent.
Xiang Dongshan then said: “In the adult world, there is no right or wrong, and things are not so absolute.”
“Instead, I think Xiao Pang handled it quite well. Senior and junior brothers don’t necessarily have to work in the same unit; mutual support is key.”
“There is no love or hate without reason. Aren’t you looking for Lu Cheng?”
“If you are willing, I will arrange for him to meet you tomorrow afternoon. If you don’t agree, then don’t come. We both know the importance and weight of this research project.”
“But we haven’t exposed this relationship yet, precisely because we want to connect with him sincerely, not just superficially.”
Cao Qianwei seemed to understand Xiang Dongshan’s meaning: an associate professor from the Emergency Department had gone to Long County People’s Hospital for outreach and treated Lu Cheng better than Tong Yuan’an from Xiangya Hospital.
There were reasons behind it…
“You should secure the person first before saying anything else,” Cao Qianwei replied irritably.
……
“Your results are finalized.” As Tong Yuan’an and Lu Cheng were about to enter the private room, a good friend of Tong Yuan’an from General Surgery sent a screenshot of the results.
Lu Cheng’s score had exceeded the perfect score, ranking first in the Parenchymal Organ Suturing event. This meant Lu Cheng had secured the thirty thousand yuan.
“Thank you, Teacher Tong. Anyway, if I don’t take this money, someone else will,” Lu Cheng said gratefully and pragmatically.
“Xiao Lu, I might have to tell you some things you won’t want to hear later…” Tong Yuan’an’s expression was a bit conflicted.
Lu Cheng looked at Tong Yuan’an with a slight frown.
Tong Yuan’an said: “But, as I was driving here, I decided that I won’t take you into the private room just yet.”
“I’ll give you a heads-up beforehand. After you hear it, if you’re willing to go in, you go in.”
“If you’re not willing to go in, I’ll risk this strong physique of mine and block this situation for you today.”
“So that you don’t lose your composure and say the wrong thing or make a decision against your will.”
“The Professor Zhong you agreed with at Xiehe Hospital views you as a ‘gu-worm’…”
Lu Cheng’s expression slowly stiffened.
After Tong Yuan’an finished explaining, he summarized: “Essentially, the decision has been made at Xiehe Hospital that the priority person to be cultivated in Hand Surgery is Han Luoning.”
“For you, the current decision is for you to become his assistant, and in the future, to assist him in refining Functional Reconstruction.”
“This matter has been decided.”
Lu Cheng fell silent upon hearing this.
Lu Cheng didn’t suspect Tong Yuan’an of deliberately framing Professor Zhong Junyun, because Professor Zhong Junyun was inherently a “snobbish” person, and he had already experienced a setback in Hanshi City before.
After a long silence, Lu Cheng finally said: “Teacher Tong, I don’t know if what you’re saying is true yet, so I can’t make a judgment.”
“Until Professor Zhong personally tells me about this, I will pretend to know nothing.”
Tong Yuan’an asked again: “And if you find out later that this is the truth, what will you choose?”
Lu Cheng fell silent again.
Lu Cheng’s silence this time was not followed by a response.
After a while, Tong Yuan’an asked again: “Are you still going to the dinner then?”
“Yes, Teacher Tong,” Lu Cheng nodded.
Then Lu Cheng followed Tong Yuan’an into the private room…
Hanshi City, a certain laboratory.
Xie Yuan’an and Mu Nanshu lay down on the spacious sofa in the laboratory director’s office after finishing their experiment.
“So tired!”
“Thank you, Xiao Mu Mu. If you hadn’t come, I estimate it would have taken at least several times longer,” Xie Yuan’an closed her eyes, looking completely exhausted, her chest rising and falling gently.
Mu Nanshu’s chest heaved much more voluptuously than Xie Yuan’an’s: “We’re friends, and you helped me a lot before.”
“You have to buy me milk tea later.”
“Consider it done, Xiao Mu Mu. You can have as many cups as you want,” Xie Yuan’an generously agreed.
After speaking, Xie Yuan’an suddenly opened her eyes and turned her head: “Xiao Mu Mu, I have some news that might not be very good.”
“Can you keep it to yourself for now?”
Mu Nanshu lazily turned halfway, raising her right arm to stretch: “Go ahead.”
“We have a young and highly skilled individual named Han Luoning join our department, someone with exceptional talent.”
“Professor Zhong plans to train him to become the discipline leader of Hand Surgery.”
“However, it doesn’t mean they are discarding Lu Cheng. His intention is just for Lu Cheng to cooperate with Han Luoning in the future and jointly delve into Functional Reconstruction.”
Mu Nanshu sat up abruptly and gave Xie Yuan’an a deep, piercing look.
“Don’t look at me, my dad doesn’t have much say in this kind of thing,” Xie Yuan’an, already slender, arched her eyebrows in a somewhat guilty manner.
“It’s at least three to five years before Professor Zhong retires.”
Mu Nanshu’s expression softened, and she said indifferently: “Has it already been decided?”
Xie Yuan’an knew Mu Nanshu’s tone was off, but she still nodded normally: “This Han Luoning’s clinical talent is truly excellent. In less than two years, he has already improved the optimized nerve suturing technique in our department.”
“Nerve suturing has always been an area of excellence and key development for Xiehe Hospital, and it is also a core surgical procedure for Functional Reconstruction.”
“Therefore, from the perspective of Hand Surgery development, Han Luoning’s current clinical talent and ability are indeed more suited for our department!”
“However, I must mention that my dad did propose forming a dual-core team of Lu Cheng and Han Luoning.”
“But Professor Zhong’s intention is that the department’s strength should be consolidated.”
Mu Nanshu stood up directly: “I’m going to ask!”
“Xiao Mu Mu, don’t! If you go, I’ll be exposed!” Xie Yuan’an quickly stood up to stop her.
Mu Nanshu said: “I won’t tell on you. You’re not the only one who knows about this.”
Mu Nanshu left.
Xie Yuan’an chased for a while, but when she couldn’t persuade Mu Nanshu, she could only return.
Indeed, Xie Yuan’an was not the only one who knew about this; most people in Hand Surgery were aware of it.
……
“Xiao Mu, why are you back?” Mu Nanshu couldn’t find Professor Zhong Junyun, so she had to call him.
“Xie Yuan’an asked me to come back and help with something. Teacher Zhong, when I was in the lab, I heard some rumors. Is this true?” Mu Nanshu asked.
“What do you mean rumors?” Professor Zhong Junyun still had a smile on his face.
After listening, Mu Nanshu was silent for a moment, then asked directly: “Professor Zhong, how do you plan to place Lu Cheng?”
“I still value Lu Cheng highly. The development of a team is not about individual heroism, but about teamwork among multiple people.”
“Both Lu Cheng and Han Luoning are partners to each other, complementing each other.”
“How big a research project can one person accomplish?” Zhong Junyun’s tone was quite amiable.
“Research projects are for treating patients, not for personal glory, aren’t they?”
In saying this, Mu Nanshu was no match for Zhong Junyun. However, Mu Nanshu didn’t retort: “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 in his heart.”
“He is a pure doctor and scholar, and I see this very clearly.”
Mu Nanshu said: “Yes, Teacher Zhong, you are absolutely right about this, especially right. Therefore, your words will surely allow Lu Cheng to make the correct decision.”
Mu Nanshu’s tone was sharp and had a hidden meaning.
Zhong Junyun couldn’t fully grasp it at first, but he still said: “Cooperation and mutual benefit are 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 textbook of medicine already provides the answer for priority.”
“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 illness.”
“I just hope that Teacher Zhong, you can remember your words today and not interfere with Lu Cheng’s other decisions in the future,” Mu Nanshu said.
“From my perspective as a medical practitioner, whether Functional Reconstruction surgery is performed well or not is less of a priority than saving more patients’ lives.”
