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

Chapter 179's name is on the list!
"Teacher Tong, I saw on the official website that there are more than 400 participants in this competition."

“If everyone participates in all the tracks, it might not be possible to finish the competition in two days,” Lu Cheng said to Tong Yuan’an, sitting opposite him, his tone sincere as he sought his advice.

Reality had already taught Lu Cheng many things, so he ignored the 'indifference' of others.

Indifference is expected, but kindness is a sign of goodwill.

Few strangers will be overly polite to you...

"Actually, it's like this: this provincial competition has a fixed best result, so it's in a salon format. If you're willing to participate, you can participate in the same track up to four times in principle."

"Many people are afraid of not performing well the first time, so they give themselves several more chances."

“Not everyone will participate in all tracks…” Tong Yuan’an replied.

Medical competitions differ from many other competitions; they are medical skills tests, and there is no such thing as cheating or hacking.

Or, to put it another way, if you can achieve a better therapeutic effect through cheating, then it's not cheating, it's the truth.

In clinical practice, if you can help patients recover better, then you're awesome...

"Among the four tracks, vascular suturing is the most popular and the main competitive direction in microsurgery. It has the most participants, and it is estimated that they can only participate a maximum of two times."

"Secondly, for example, tendon suturing, solid organ suturing, and nerve suturing, the number of people involved is relatively smaller."

"Because the value isn't that high, at least within the industry, many people don't recognize the value of these tracks..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng nodded: "Teacher Tong, is it possible that some people have never participated in a competition, while others have participated twice?"

"That's definitely impossible. Participants will sign in and register at the competition venue, and first-time participants will naturally have priority."

“You don’t need to worry about not being able to participate even once,” Tong Yuan’an said.

"The main purpose of skills competitions is not to compete for rankings, but to exchange and learn from each other, so that people in grassroots hospitals or prefecture-level city hospitals can have a general understanding of the upper limit of each technique."

"However, we dare not be careless, because there are many experts in prefecture-level city hospitals, and many dark horses may emerge."

"Doctors in teaching hospitals like ours have relatively less clinical experience, so it's hard to say that they can consistently outperform others in a single skill."

"You know, the most impressive thing about Xiangya Hospital is that the professors there have a higher overall level of expertise than the directors in prefecture-level city hospitals, not associate professors or attending physicians like us..."

Medicine is a profession that requires a long career to develop. Although Tong Yuan'an is an associate professor and associate chief physician, his career has not yet reached its peak.

A surgeon's peak years are between forty-five and fifty, a time when their energy, skill, theory, and practice all reach their zenith.

Before this age, there is still room for growth; after this age, physical strength and energy may not be able to keep up.

……

After returning from Professor Tong Yuan'an's room, Lu Cheng's expression was slightly forlorn.

While waiting for the elevator in the lobby, Lu Cheng looked out the window. The lights across the river were dazzling and beautiful, but this dazzling beauty had nothing to do with Lu Cheng.

Of course, Lu Cheng knew even better that this was just a microsurgery competition in Hunan Province; if he could go to the national competition, even fewer people would know him…

Go back to your room, take a shower, and go to sleep.

The next day, Lu Cheng got up at 6:30 in the morning. Lu Cheng did not send a message to Tong Yuan'an, who had said the night before that he had other things to do today.

Lu Cheng went down to the self-service restaurant to have breakfast by himself. After finishing breakfast, he didn't see anyone he knew. Lu Cheng then put on his identity badge and headed to the third floor.

The full name of this 'conference' is the Hunan Provincial Winter Microsurgery Exchange Conference and Microsurgery Young Physicians Skills Competition.

There are four floors in total. The fourth, fifth and sixth floors are academic conference halls, where academic conferences are held by leading figures, practitioners and graduate students in microsurgery.

The third floor is the competition venue, which is divided into four smaller venues: tendon suturing, nerve suturing, blood vessel suturing, and solid organ suturing.

There were staff members from the organizers responsible for registration, family members or young doctors watching the competition, and participants.

When Lu Cheng arrived on the third floor, hotel staff in the elevator lobby asked him if he needed directions.

Lu Cheng declined, because the signs were already very clear.

After a moment's thought, Lu Cheng decided to go to the tendon suturing competition first. No matter what, he would participate in the competition he was confident of winning first.

The competition venue wasn't large; it was a small academic lecture hall. The seats inside had been cleared out, but there were still a full twenty-five microscopes and operating tables set up!
In other words, it can accommodate twenty-five participants at a time.

By now, a long line had formed in front of the competition registration table, and Lu Cheng walked to the back of the crowd.

As he approached, Lu Cheng overheard the conversation of the people in front of him.

"I heard that Professor Tan and his team at Xiangya Hospital have developed a new tendon suturing technique that is better than the modified Tang method. So, isn't this tendon suturing competition just a way for Xiangya Hospital to fill out the numbers?"

"So what? Does this kind of competition have to be absolutely fair?"

"Neither the Second Hospital nor the Third Hospital dared to say anything. If you're so capable, why don't you go and develop your own new techniques?"

"Then let's focus on participation. I estimate that the tendon suture track will have the fewest participants, and people from the Second and Third Hospitals won't be coming. That way, they won't have bad results."

"Only twelve people made it to the semi-finals of this competition, with only three in each track."

"Should we take over Xiangya Hospital entirely?"

"That's not necessarily true. The Second Xiangya Hospital has a very strong ability to handle blood vessels. Officially, it's even stronger than Xiangya Hospital. That's the mainstream of competition in microsurgery."

"We're just here to observe, anyway..."

Lu Cheng listened and lined up at the same time, and the line moved forward very quickly.

At approximately 7:40, Lu Cheng signed his name.

Lu Cheng's competition number is 49, which means he is in the second round.

The tendon suture track race is held every hour, which means Lu Cheng only needs to arrive at 9:30 to wait for the race.

After joining the queue, Lu Cheng quickly went to the track for suturing solid organs to continue queuing...

The field of solid organ suturing is not exclusively for hand surgeons, but the waiting list is still quite long.

Most of the participants in the general surgery and microsurgery categories came here to compete or watch the competition.

When Lu Cheng received his number, it was already 142. The competition for the substantive organ suturing track was held in rounds of 30, which meant that Lu Cheng could only participate in the afternoon sessions...

It was already 8:35, so Lu Cheng went to the vascular suture track and the nerve suture track to get his number.

Many people have already signed up for both tracks in the previous period, so Lu Cheng's ranking is 215 and 228 respectively.
On the nerve suturing field, Lu Cheng quickly said, "Teacher, could you move me to the back of the line?"

"I also queued up at the vascular suturing station."

"The timing just happened to clash."

Many people participate in multiple tracks, and the graduate student in charge of registration was very polite: "Let me find it for you, how about 267? 267 is the last track this afternoon."

"Yes, teacher!" Lu Cheng addressed the other person politely, regardless of their age.

……

After obtaining four competition numbers, Lu Cheng rushed to the tendon suturing arena.

It was already 9:40, and the staff organizing the competition had begun to check the contestants' lines and prepare them for the competition.

Meanwhile, on the competition field, many people also finished their matches one after another, and their tendons were sent for testing to fix the test data and results.

At the very front of the lecture hall, everyone's rankings and scores were constantly flashing.

【05号谷彦霖：2mm裂隙抗张强度：38分。断裂抗张强度：37分。肌腱韧度：19分。总分：94分。】

【019号郭奇柏:2mm裂隙抗张强度：35分。断裂抗张强度：36分。肌腱韧度：18分。总分：89分。】

【04号罗元：2mm裂隙抗张强度：36分。断裂抗张强度：36分。肌腱韧度：17分。总分：89分。】

【…】

The second place quickly changed, with 91 points taking over.

But until the end of the first round of the tendon track competition, no one had surpassed the score of Gu Yanlin from Xiangya Hospital.

The tendon suturing competition uses a scoring system: 40 points each for the tensile strength of a 2mm tear and the tensile strength at break, and 20 points for tendon toughness. The total score is 100.

The ranking is based on the final total score.

It's possible that different intervals have their own scoring standards, and Lu Cheng wasn't very familiar with the specific details.

"Is Lu Cheng here, number 049?" As Lu Cheng was checking the results, a staff member came to check the list of attendees for the second round.

"Yes, teacher." Lu Cheng took out his identity badge.

"Let me see your ID card..." The person who came was a graduate student who looked very young, probably only twenty-four or twenty-five years old.

Lu Cheng handed his ID card to the other person, who checked his name and ID number but didn't pay attention to anything else.

In this kind of competition, there is no need for someone to substitute for you, and it doesn't affect your future. If it is discovered, both the substitute and the person being substituted will be killed.

After several graduate students and doctoral students checked off the names of the participants, a senior doctor from Xiangya No. 2 Hospital began to announce the rules: "Each tendon suturing operation is timed for one hour."

"The total number of tendon sutures to be completed must be three or more. If the required number of procedures cannot be completed, no points will be awarded."

"But more is not necessarily better. In the end, we look at the average value of the data. Slow and steady wins the race. We recommend that we only suture three tendons."

"If you have any unused tendon sutures that you don't want included in the scoring, remember to discard them promptly."

"It is permissible to reset scores to zero, but in principle, one cannot abandon the competition halfway through."

"There are no other special precautions. After this match, our staff will have ten minutes to clean the table and set up the venue for the next round of matches."

"Those who need to go to the toilet, hurry up and go. We're all men, and we're all around the same age, so those who know, know. In principle, going to the toilet is not allowed during the competition," the teacher from Xiangya No. 2 Hospital joked.

The people in line all laughed.

Someone else raised their hand and took over the joke: "No bathroom breaks allowed, but can we shoot?"

Someone from Xiangya No. 2 Hospital asked, "Wang Long? Do you want me to do a live stream for you? It would be best if your kid could see it."

It is clear that the two know each other.

The hand surgery community is not small, but the community within the province is not that large.

Wang Long, being a tough guy, wasn't embarrassed at all. He simply shook his head: "Then forget it. But if Teacher Lu wants to see it, then..."

"Get out!" Teacher Lu shouted.

"Seriously, all of you! This is a competition, a competition, understand? This isn't your operating room."

Wang Long said, "Sigh, there's no director or big boss here..."

A graduate student next to Professor Lu reported, "Brother Lu, Professor Su Delin is here." The person called Brother Lu quickly turned his head, looked in the direction of Professor Su Delin, and then jogged over.

Then, Professor Su Delin whispered a few words to Teacher Lu, and the person called Teacher Lu immediately began to scan the contestants with his eyes.

"Okay, Professor Su. If any of the grades are far beyond the syllabus, I will report it to you immediately," Teacher Lu quickly replied.

"Yes, this was explained by Director Tan from Xiangya Hospital. Please make sure there are no mishaps, or you will mistake it for cheating or that the equipment is broken and reset your score to zero."

Su Delin confessed: "If this becomes a laughing stock, it will truly be a laughing stock."

"Who is it?" Lu Bin asked Professor Su Delin.

"Director Tan didn't say it explicitly." Su Delin shook his head: "No matter who it is, just remember this. Once this person appears, just give them full marks according to the rules."

"Director Tan specifically recommended him, so it shouldn't be fake."

"That's strange..." Sudelin hurriedly left.

He was afraid of making a fool of himself. The organizer this time was Xiangya No. 2 Hospital. If the people found it unbelievable when measuring the data and reset the score to zero, that would be no fun.

Professor Tan from Xiangya Hospital was quite considerate; he had given prior notice and didn't want to make a fool of himself.

Unable to hear Su Delin and Lu Bin's conversation, Lu Cheng could only wait quietly.

Soon, Lu Cheng and the others entered the field in an orderly fashion and found their respective control panels.

Lu Cheng's number is 049, and his control panel number is 24.
On the table were five large pig trotters, all of them hind trotters, with thick tendons, which looked very appetizing.

The Second Xiangya Hospital specifically sought out these materials to prepare for these competitions, which shows they put a lot of effort into it.

There were no signs of freezing, so it must have been thawed beforehand, as all the water stains were wiped clean.

……

The match itself was unremarkable; no one had time to watch the other players' plays, and the spectators didn't offer any commentary.

Which formal exams have commentators?

If you interrupt someone else's match, what if a player on the field jumps out and tells you to shut up? How would you face anyone then?

Fifty minutes later, Lu Cheng finished sewing up the three pig trotters and ended the operation.

Several players finished their actions before Lu Cheng, and even more players finished slower than him.

As soon as Lu Cheng left the workbench, staff immediately took the pig's trotters he had prepared on a plate and took them away for precise testing.

After leaving the field, Lu Cheng went straight to the restroom to wash his hands.

The process was supposed to be quick, but when Lu Cheng went out, he found that his name had been put on the sign.

“049陆成：2mm裂隙抗张强度：40分。断裂抗张强度：40分。肌腱韧度：20分。总分：100分。”

"Who is this Lu Cheng? How did he get a perfect score?"

"These results are so fake! Is Xiangya No. 2 Hospital no longer even bothering to put on an act?"

"Do you know Dr. Lu Cheng from Xiangya No. 2 Hospital? He dares to label a score of 100?"

"I've never heard of it..."

Lu Cheng's name was not only displayed on the screen, but also mentioned by others.

Lu Cheng sniffed, looked at his grades, and wasn't particularly surprised.

If the competition is indeed scoring based on the highest available data, then it would be reasonable for someone whose operating skills exceeded the modified Tang method to get a perfect score.

"No, this Lu Cheng isn't from Xiangya No. 2 Hospital." Suddenly, a voice from the crowd pierced Lu Cheng's ears.

The person who spoke did not have a high-pitched voice.

Of course, what caught Lu Cheng's attention wasn't his first sentence, but the following one: "Xiang Daihong, do you know this Lu Cheng?"

“I don’t know him, but I’ve heard of him. I can’t say for sure if it’s him. He works at the Longxian People’s Hospital in Xiangzhou,” Xiang Daihong replied.

"They must just have the same name."

“The Li Hui on the list isn’t me.” The other person’s tone was amused.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence of names." Xiang Daihong's voice was lost in the crowd.

Lu Cheng looked in the direction of the voice and found that Xiang Daihong looked very tall and strong, much taller than anyone else Lu Cheng had ever seen.

He's more of a boxer than a hand surgeon.

Lu Cheng was slightly taken aback for a moment, then silently withdrew from the crowd.

The results are already out, so there's no need to wait and see what happens next.

Even if he gets ten more perfect scores, the organizers will still find a way to get him to participate in the national semi-finals.

Once this score is achieved, the account is basically stuck.

Lu Cheng had just left the tendon suture arena when his phone rang.

Lu Cheng picked it up and looked at the note. It was none other than Associate Professor Huang Jun from Xiangya No. 2 Hospital, with whom he had exchanged contact information yesterday.

Lu Cheng hesitated for five seconds before answering the call, his calm expression turning amiable: "Teacher Huang."

"Was it you who had your tendon stitched up on the field? Xiao Lu? You've been hiding this well, haven't you?" Huang Jun's tone was somewhat horrified.

Full score!

It's a score that no teacher would dare to easily award, even for elementary school exams; teachers would hesitate.

Let alone a medical skills competition?

"Oh? Teacher Huang, are you at the competition venue too? I'm about to go back to my room to rest; my matches are all in the afternoon," Lu Cheng replied with a smile.

"So that's what Tong Yuan'an meant yesterday. I really didn't realize it! Dr. Lu, congratulations."

"If your results are real, our province is practically guaranteed a spot in the national competition this time," Huang Jun said with a fawning smile.

“Teacher Huang, I also took a shortcut,” Lu Cheng replied.

Huang Jun said, "This is not a shortcut. Although Director Tan of Xiangya Hospital has also developed tendon suturing techniques, they dare not give themselves a perfect score."

"Could you tell me where you learned this technique?"

"Several of our PhD students also want to participate in the competition. Is there any chance of them succeeding by cramming at the last minute?"

"I didn't learn it," Lu Cheng replied after thinking for a moment.

"Uh~~~" Huang Jun's throat was instantly choked.

Lu Cheng didn't say anything either.

Lu Cheng knew that in such a setting, if you wanted to hide your true abilities, you could hide your current identity in your coffin.

Only big bosses have the right to hide their talents; everyone else can only obediently "smile"!
Don't mention the saying "good wine needs no bush".

"Dr. Lu, I'm really surprised that you're talking to me like that." Huang Jun's voice was filled with respect.

Whether Lu Cheng was bragging or something else, Huang Jun couldn't prove it.

If you can't disprove what someone says, then take it as true for now.

The ability to create an original sewing technique that surpasses all existing sewing techniques deserves respect.

Without this rule, Huang Jun would never have had a chance to rise in his life.

"Teacher Huang, I was just lucky." Lu Cheng felt quite refreshed at the moment.

Lu Cheng even suspected that Tong Yuan'an had deliberately set up that trap for him yesterday, just to make him feel more at ease now.

After all, the thrill without any build-up is truly unpleasant.

"Congratulations, Dr. Lu. I hope you can continue to perform steadily in the national competition and let our Hunan hand surgery team shine in front of our fellow hand surgeons across the country." Huang Jun did not mention the matter of learning from Lu Cheng.

This is an original technique by Lu Cheng, one I've never heard of before, which proves that Lu Cheng is planning something big.

Clinical practice doesn't allow for showing off skills, but competitions do.

During a competition, you can do whatever you want, no matter how extreme your actions are, because a competition is a stage for showing off your skills.

"..."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Cheng's expression remained calm.

Although Lu Cheng's phone didn't ring repeatedly, several people who had added him as a friend last night sent him messages of greeting.

The main task is to determine Lu Cheng's true identity.

Besides Dr. Zhou Jian from Xiangya Third Hospital and the people from Xiangya Hospital...

The people at Xiangya Hospital all knew about Lu Cheng's situation, so they weren't surprised by his results.

Unlike the people from the Second Hospital, their coldness towards Lu Cheng stemmed from the fact that Lu Cheng was not considered "one of their own".

After this collaboration with Tong Yuan'an ends, Lu Cheng will go to a sister unit in a brother province, and this sister unit is ranked higher than Xiangya Hospital.

Therefore, they cannot be too 'enthusiastic' towards Lu Cheng, lest Lu Cheng feel that they are too 'snobbish'!
Of course, the fat man Tong Yuan'an called Lu Cheng immediately.

"Why was your phone busy just now?" Tong Yuan'an asked calmly.

"Oh, Teacher Tong, it's Teacher Huang calling," Lu Cheng replied.

"Wow, he moved so fast! It's a pity I didn't see him!"

"But even if you see him, it's useless. With his face, no one would know whether he washes it or not. You can't even see his eyes if he doesn't have eye boogers."

"When is your next match?" Tong Yuan'an asked.

Lu Cheng replied, "It's already afternoon, Teacher Tong, and there are still too many participants."

Tong Yuanan said, "Never mind, no matter what, you're definitely going to get the spot in the tendon suture track."

"This was expected, wasn't it?"

Lu Cheng remained silent for a moment, then said, "Probably, if there are no unexpected circumstances."

"Xiao Lu, the kind of accident you're thinking of is impossible. Hunan Province also has its pride. As long as it can bring honor to the whole province, no one can touch it!" Tong Yuan'an said magnanimously.

(End of this chapter)