Chapter 209: Lovably Bad!
Xie Yuan’an had already left the competition venue and went shopping with her best friend, so basically no one could reach her.
Moreover, Xie Yuan’an didn’t care. Anyway, she knew that if she absolutely had to participate, her father would definitely call.
As long as Xie Xiao hadn’t called, it proved that Xie Xiao could still handle the situation.
But while Xie Yuan’an had a full professor father to back her up, Hu Yi and others did not.
Therefore, after the Young Physician competition ended, although Hu Yi and others ‘reported back’ to Boss Tan Zhongyuan and other big bosses, they still received quite a few phone calls.
They were all inquiring about what was going on with Hu Yi and the others.
“Director Tan, another call is coming in, should I answer it or not?” Hu Yi was quite happy to have won first prize, but after the happiness faded, he felt like he was plagued by endless trouble, and the phone calls had barely stopped.
It was not surprising; Xie Yuan’an’s first place in tendon suturing and parenchymal organ suturing had nothing to do with hand surgery.
However, the new techniques for nerve and vascular suturing were related to functional reconstruction, the most cutting-edge field in hand surgery, which was a battlefield that all hospitals were competing for.
“Answer it, why wouldn’t you?”
Tan Zhongyuan said, “The caller might be a professor, are you going to act like a big shot?”
“There are many phone calls I must answer.”
Hu Yi, helpless, stepped away from the group to take the call.
Hu Yi put on his usual subservient expression: “Hello, Teacher.”
“You are Doctor Hu from Xiangya Hospital, right? I am Du Lianshan from Huashan Hospital. Is it convenient for you, Doctor Hu?” A kind middle-aged man’s voice came from the other end of the phone.
To be honest, Hu Yi only knew that Huashan Hospital had three or four departments for hand surgery, but he hadn’t really paid attention to who the professors were or how impressive they were.
He was just a junior attending physician and hadn’t even passed the associate professor level yet. Associate professors from other hospitals were the main contacts he truly interacted with.
There were many strong units in hand surgery nationwide, such as Jishuitan, Kyoto Third Hospital, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Huaxi Hospital, Xiehe Hospital…
Hu Yi really couldn’t keep track of them all.
“Hello, Professor Du, it is convenient for me right now. May I ask what instructions Teacher Du has?” Hu Yi’s voice was very polite.
“Doctor Hu, it’s like this. I heard from my student that you achieved very, very good results in the Young Physician competition. First, I must congratulate you.”
“Achieving good results in such a competition must not have been easy.”
“However, I seem to have heard that the suturing method you used, Doctor Hu, is different from ordinary vascular and nerve suturing methods? Do you have your own technique?” Du Lianshan asked somewhat indirectly.
Hu Yi said, “Teacher Du, are you also asking about this?”
“Well, you can’t really call it a technique, it’s a slight modification to the most basic simple interrupted suturing technique. It hasn’t formed a set technique yet.”
In the professional field, a technique is a standard surgical procedure, a technique is a standard suturing method.
Beyond that, it’s all basic skills.
A technique that is not recognized, a technique that cannot be replicated, cannot become a classic, nor can it be called a surgical procedure.
A surgical procedure that can be passed down must have a repeatable technique within it, something that can be learned.
“Doctor Hu, is it convenient to ask if this modification is primarily promoted by a professor or a doctor at your hospital?” Du Lianshan asked politely.
The question Du Lianshan was asking was the old question Hu Yi was familiar with.
Hu Yi said, “Professor Du, this modification of the suturing method was not actually done by someone from our hospital.”
“It was by one of our partners.”
Du Lianshan: “???”
“No, man,” Du Lianshan was truly dumbfounded and couldn’t maintain the composure expected of a middle-aged man, “Are you kidding me?”
“He didn’t participate himself, and his affiliated institution didn’t participate either, so he asked your Xiangya Hospital to make a name for itself?”
Du Lianshan’s strong reaction was due to the absurdity of this statement and also a bit of anger, feeling that the competition had been violently manipulated.
And it was the most violent manipulation, a ‘righteous manipulation’ that no one dared to question!
Hu Yi swallowed and said, “Teacher Du, this is the truth.”
Du Lianshan’s throat tightened: “Then which institution is it? I’m quite curious, they are so generous.”
“Huazhong, Xiehe Hospital,” Hu Yi replied.
Du Lianshan took the phone away from his ear and asked someone in the distance, “Didn’t you say earlier that Xiehe Hospital people won awards in the other two competition tracks?”
“But it seems to be only one person? Not multiple rankings.”
“Yes, Professor Du. We could have achieved good results in tendon suturing, but we were pushed to fourth place.” someone replied.
“Is that so? Then Professor Zhong’s calculation is quite ambitious,” Du Lianshan said with a playful tone after confirming.
Professor Zhong Junyun was a nationally renowned figure in hand surgery. Du Lianshan couldn’t understand the apparent blunder this time.
Hu Yi said, “Professor Du, I don’t understand your meaning either. Anyway, that teacher found us to collaborate, and we couldn’t refuse.”
“You’re collaborating too?”
“Don’t tell me you’re collaborating on a hand surgery research project,” Du Lianshan’s voice broke.
“Yes!” Hu Yi answered.
“Nerve and vascular suturing techniques?” Du Lianshan’s voice became increasingly sharp.
Hu Yi continued to repeat: “Yes.”
“Then your Xiangya is truly amazing!” Du Lianshan began to speak sarcastically, thinking that Xiangya Hospital had resorted to some underhanded tactics.
Hu Yi had heard such remarks before and replied cautiously, “Teacher Du, research project collaborations are very common.”
“You shouldn’t be so sensitive!”
“I’m sorry!” Du Lianshan apologized immediately.
Du Lianshan quickly asked, “May I ask the name of this expert from Xiehe Hospital?”
“Lu Cheng!” Hu Yi replied.
“Professor? Never heard of it, Associate Professor?” Du Lianshan jotted it down, planning to inquire later.
Hu Yi said, “Neither, he’s an attending physician, currently a doctor at Long County People’s Hospital.”
“What nonsense is this, are you messing with me?” Du Lianshan directly exploded in anger.
From Xiehe Hospital, not an associate professor.
An attending physician at Long County People’s Hospital.
What is it with Long County, Feng County, and seven or eight other counties?
“If Teacher Du knows better himself, then I won’t disturb your train of thought!” Hu Yi dared not curse or argue.
Of course, this sentence was even more unpleasant.
If you know everything, why are you asking me? You don’t believe me when I tell you the truth, why don’t you find out yourself?
Hu Yi chose to tell Du Lianshan so much, of course, to ‘return the favor’.
If it were another hospital, Hu Yi would have hung up long ago.
After a moment of silence, Du Lianshan said, “I apologize, I lost my composure just now. I promise you, Doctor Hu, that was the last time. I sincerely apologize to you now.”
“How did you get to know Doctor Lu?”
“A doctor from the county, who also has a connection with Xiehe Hospital, indeed it’s quite a long way around.”
Hu Yi then said, “Teacher Du, it was a coincidence.”
“Long County People’s Hospital is a remote mountainous county hospital that our unit is supporting. Lu Cheng is an employee there.”
“A teacher from our hospital went there for support and discovered Doctor Lu. At first, we wanted to recruit Teacher Lu to our hospital, but someone as talented as Teacher Lu already had his future decided.”
“So, we could only collaborate with him on research projects, and it was indeed Teacher Lu who taught us these suturing techniques.”
“If he’s from Xiehe Hospital, why would he teach you?” Du Lianshan asked.
Hu Yi did not answer directly, saying vaguely, “Teacher Du, we do not comment on matters concerning brother units. We only speak of facts and the current situation.”
“We are also grateful that you did not associate our unit’s label with me.”
Hu Yi was not being sarcastic, because Xiangya Hospital’s external reputation in recent years was much ‘better’ than Xiehe Hospital’s.
However, within the industry, not many people would label everyone because of the actions of a few.
Hu Yi didn’t ask why; if something happened, it was a fact.
“So, does that mean Doctor Hu has Doctor Lu’s contact information? Is it convenient to share it?” Du Lianshan asked.
“Teacher Du, actually… it’s not very convenient,” Hu Yi said.
“Teacher Lu didn’t even choose to participate in the competition because he didn’t want too much trouble. Otherwise, he could have won four awards.”
Hu Yi’s words had no logical flaws.
Du Lianshan continued, “Doctor Hu, could you be a bit more accommodating, or perhaps ask your Teacher Lu for his opinion?”
Hu Yi thought carefully before saying, “Teacher Du, there’s no need to ask, because Teacher Lu told us before the competition.”
“If he didn’t participate in the competition, all the competition results would be our own. If you hadn’t pressed for so much information, I wouldn’t have told you these details.”
“But honestly, the copyright and originality of these suturing techniques belong to Doctor Lu Cheng. We cannot take advantage of them and claim them as our own.”
Du Lianshan said, “Did you know that the other two suturing techniques were also taught by Lu Cheng to others?”
“Yes, we learned them together!” Hu Yi said.
“Then give me the phone number!” Du Lianshan commanded directly.
“I will take full responsibility for all consequences!”
“If he causes you any trouble, you come to me for compensation. If you suffer any losses, I will compensate you tenfold.”
Du Lianshan was very overbearing.
Hu Yi naturally wanted to give it to someone from Huashan Hospital.
After a few more polite words, Hu Yi “compromised.” This was because Lu Cheng hadn’t explicitly said not to leak his contact information.
He might not give it to other hospitals, but he had to give it to Huashan Hospital.
…
In the afternoon, Lu Cheng had lunch with Zhang Tiesheng, who was on the evening shift at the emergency clinic.
The emergency clinic didn’t have patients 24 hours a day, but they needed to be on standby.
Zhang Tiesheng asked at this moment, “Xiao Lu, is the taste of this Big Bowl Rice pretty good?”
“I think we can use it as a canteen for a while. Teacher Lu, you won’t be staying for long, so give us a chance.”
Lu Cheng was leaving, so he definitely needed to learn the techniques. If he couldn’t be paid, being more courteous in other aspects was fine.
“Thanks, Brother Zhang. If we’re eating together as a canteen, then let’s take turns treating each other, since we’re on duty together anyway,” Lu Cheng smiled.
“Lu Cheng, you’re not treating us like people, are you? When we ask you to learn from you, you won’t even provide meals?”
“You’ve always been a teacher who goes with the flow, right?” Zhang Tiesheng was very clever.
“We’re all brothers, aren’t we? Brother Zhang, do you have a problem with me, or were you lying before?” Lu Cheng had also learned Zhang Tiesheng’s tactics.
“Even brothers settle their accounts clearly, and besides, you are a teacher now,” Zhang Tiesheng continued to try.
Lu Cheng said, “Since even brothers settle accounts clearly, then there should be give and take.”
“I am not a teacher, there is no such saying!”
“Brother Zhang, you are my elder brother. If you want to lower your seniority, I absolutely cannot agree. We are all brothers.”
Zhang Tiesheng was ultimately trapped by his own tactics. Lu Cheng used his own methods to deal with him, surpassing him and leaving Zhang Tiesheng with no way out: “You damn it?!”
“See? Talking like this feels much more intimate,” Lu Cheng not only wasn’t angry at being scolded but even laughed.
Zhang Tiesheng sighed, his eyes darting around rapidly.
Lu Cheng’s phone rang just then.
The area code was from Magic City.
Lu Cheng didn’t think much of it and answered, “Hello.”
“Is this Doctor Lu Cheng? I am Du Lianshan from Huashan Hospital.” Du Lianshan’s voice was quite polite.
Lu Cheng’s expression became slightly stern. He picked up his lunchbox and went out. Only when he reached the doctor’s lounge did Lu Cheng answer the phone again.
Du Lianshan on the other end kept saying “hello, hello, hello” incessantly.
“Yes! I’m on duty, I just got back to the office. Please speak, Teacher,” Lu Cheng, although polite, sounded a bit stiff.
“You’ve finally got a signal back! I thought you had no signal.”
“You are Doctor Lu, right? I am Du Lianshan from Huashan Hospital, and I only heard of Doctor Lu’s name after going through some twists and turns in this National Microsurgery Skills Competition.”
“I was very impressed, and I called today out of admiration,” Du Lianshan, being an old hand, quickly changed the subject.
“Teacher, I don’t have any fame. You are too kind.”
“Is there something you need? I’m on duty. I’m eating,” Lu Cheng’s reply remained stiff.
He didn’t know why the other party got his phone number, but Lu Cheng hadn’t expected anyone from Huashan Hospital to contact him.
It was pointless.
Lu Cheng’s even stiffer reply made Du Lianshan choke up: “Doctor Lu, you’re eating right now, so how about you eat first?”
Lu Cheng: “Okay! Then I’ll hang up.”
This somewhat personal grievance or utter foolishness made Du Lianshan feel that Lu Cheng wasn’t respecting him much: “Doctor Lu?”
“I actually have something I need to discuss with you in detail.”
“Doctor Lu, you are a hand surgeon, right? The future development trend of our hand surgery.”
Lu Cheng interrupted: “I am not a hand surgeon, I am an emergency department doctor.”
“Cough cough cough!” Du Lianshan choked. “What is this nonsense?”
Lu Cheng said, “Teacher, I am saying I am an emergency department doctor, not a hand surgeon.”
“Therefore, what you are saying about the future development trend of hand surgery has little to do with me, and I don’t understand it. I can’t discuss it.”
“Did I offend you somehow? Or is there some misunderstanding between us?” Du Lianshan quickly asked.
If Lu Cheng didn’t have personal grudges, why would he be so distant?
Could he be a naturally aloof person?
That shouldn’t be the case!
“I haven’t offended you… and there are no misunderstandings,” Lu Cheng replied naturally.
“Then you?” Du Lianshan’s tone was conflicted.
“Teacher, I am an emergency department doctor. You want to discuss the future development trend of hand surgery with me, how can we talk about that?”
“Moreover, you are from Huashan Hospital, in Magic City, and I am thousands of miles away. Can we talk about anything?” Lu Cheng explained.
“Doctor Lu, didn’t you understand what I meant? You can be a hand surgeon!” Du Lianshan decided to be more explicit.
Lu Cheng: “Why should I become a hand surgeon? Does hand surgery provide me with food, or something?”
What provided Lu Cheng with food was hand surgery, hand surgery disease types, and patients, not hand surgery itself.
Du Lianshan finally showed a bit of personal temper: “Doctor Lu, if you speak like this, then we really have nothing to talk about.”
Lu Cheng’s tone remained calm: “I’m sorry, Teacher, I’m eating right now and I’m a bit hungry.”
“If you have other matters, please state them together. If not, I’d like to eat early and rest for a while.”
Du Lianshan’s deep breathing sound was quite piercing: “Doctor Lu, aren’t you a bit too aloof?”
“Even if we met by chance, you wouldn’t be so cold. Moreover, my looking for you is considered normal academic exchange.”
“You’re not showing any hospitality at all?”
Lu Cheng thought carefully and said, “Teacher Du, what you say makes sense.”
“But I know you, of course, you certainly don’t know me.”
“However, I don’t want you to know me right now. That’s the meaning. I’m being straightforward.”
Du Lianshan was defeated by Lu Cheng’s directness but also found the root of the problem: “So, there really is some misunderstanding between us.”
“When did I accidentally offend you?” Du Lianshan’s tone was conflicted.
“Teacher Du, you’re mistaken. There are no misunderstandings between us, nor is there anyone offending anyone.”
“Everything is very straightforward.”
Du Lianshan continued to press: “Doctor Lu, can you be more direct?”
Lu Cheng calmly said, “There’s nothing much to say! If I don’t want to know you, I don’t want to know you, why so many reasons?”
“I don’t lack anything right now.”
Du Lianshan: “Isn’t this going in circles?”
“I just feel that the misunderstanding between us isn’t so tight that it can’t be resolved?”
Lu Cheng said, “There are no misunderstandings, Teacher Du.”
“Really, it’s just that my current development direction and choice is the emergency department. If I need to collaborate with hand surgery colleagues, I have teachers I know.”
“As an emergency department doctor, I don’t need to collaborate with extremely, extremely specialized hand surgeons, do I?”
“Isn’t this a very practical problem?”
“I’m not developing towards hand surgery, and we’re so far apart, what can we talk about?”
“To put it more realistically, what benefit could I get?” Lu Cheng stated his words plainly and directly.
Du Lianshan was completely stunned by Lu Cheng’s words: “Then.”
“You!”
What benefit Lu Cheng could get, Du Lianshan really couldn’t answer, because in academia, no one discussed things this way.
Lu Cheng chuckled: “Isn’t that the point? If I need to ask for your help later, Teacher Du, you can ask me the same question and refuse me.”
“I only talk about practical matters. So please don’t mind me being a bit realistic, Teacher Du.”
“Okay, then I’ll hang up.” Du Lianshan no longer shamelessly continued to chat with Lu Cheng.
However, after hanging up the phone, Du Lianshan was utterly perplexed.
Do such frank people truly exist in this world, who would directly expose their innermost thoughts?
