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

Chapter 214 Announcement of Good News and Joining the Group!
"Little Mu Mu, thank you for picking me up. I thought I was going to have to take a taxi to the hotel." Xie Yuan'an squinted her phoenix eyes, her voice arrogant yet slightly coquettish.

Mu Nanshu turned around in the passenger seat and said, "Sister Xie, if you hadn't sent me a message, I wouldn't have known you were coming to Ji City."

"If you're coming next time, you can let me know in advance."

After having dinner with Lu Cheng and Professor Chen Song, Mu Nanshu went to see a movie. After all, it was the weekend, and it was normal to watch a movie late at night on a weekend.

But halfway through the movie, Mu Nanshu received a message from Xie Yuan'an, who said she was almost there. The two left right after the movie started.

It wasn't easy for Xie Yuan'an to come to Jilin from Chengdu. She had to fly to Zhangjiakou and then take the high-speed train to Jilin, a journey that took nearly five hours.

"Have you eaten, Sister Xie?" Mu Nanshu asked.

"Not yet, I ate a piece of bread on the plane."

"You guys?" Xie Yuan'an clearly wanted to get something to eat.

Mu Nanshu said, "Lu Cheng, let's drive to Qianzhou for barbecue..."

Xie Yuan'an booked a hotel in the Economic Development Zone, which is not far from Qianzhou.

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng immediately turned the steering wheel to the left.

"Teacher Xie, why did you suddenly decide to come to Jilin City?" Lu Cheng asked as he drove.

Mu Nanshu pressed on, "Yes, Sister Xie, didn't you say before that you were going back to Han City with Professor Xie?"

Xie Yuan'an's face flushed slightly, but it wasn't noticeable in the darkness. Her voice was a little timid: "My dad arranged for me to come to Jishi first."

Having started, Xie Yuan'an regained her normal, generous expression and continued, "Lu Cheng, Xiao Mumu, you're not exactly outsiders anymore. Actually, my dad sent me here with a little ulterior motive."

“Before, although I learned suturing techniques from Lu Cheng, I never thought that these techniques would be so important in the future.”

"My dad just wanted me to be a slacker."

Mu Nanshu's expression stiffened slightly, but she smiled and said, "Professor Xie told you to come, so you came? Doesn't Professor Zhong care about you?"

Xie Yuan'an replied, "I also asked my dad this question, and he said he would talk to Professor Zhong about it."

"Let's keep the good stuff in the family!"

"Little Mumu, I actually feel bad too, suddenly getting in my way. But let me make it clear first, I'm just here to help, it doesn't matter whether I'm listed as a co-author on the paper or the research project."

Xie Yuan'an's shameless directness in stating her purpose left Mu Nanshu momentarily at a loss for how to react.

Lu Cheng said, "It's alright. I was originally planning to collaborate with Professor Xie on the tendon suturing technique anyway."

"Teacher Xie, there's something we need to clarify first: the spleen suturing technique was done by Teacher Chen and me together."

"As for nerve and blood vessel suturing techniques, that's something I did in collaboration with Professor Tong and Professor Tan from Xiangya Hospital."

Xie Yuan'an immediately replied, "It's okay, I'll do anything..."

"However, Lu Cheng, if I'm not participating in the project, could I learn the suturing techniques beforehand? I promise I won't share them!"

Xie Yuan'an's visit this time was not of her own volition, but rather an assignment given by Professor Xie Xiao.

Professor Xie Xiao meant that those who are near the water get the moon first.

You can skip the technical topics and not even put your name on the paper, but you must learn new and good techniques and not be ignorant of them.

Given the relationship between Xie Yuan'an and Mu Nanshu, it shouldn't be a big problem to have Lu Cheng teach them sewing techniques.

Currently, suturing techniques are only useful for single-item suturing, but functional reconstruction is definitely a comprehensive procedure, and it has not yet been defined. Everyone is expanding functional reconstruction techniques according to their own understanding and methods.

However, a widely accepted approach in the industry is to promote the expansion of functional reconstruction techniques using single-item suturing techniques.

“That’s definitely possible,” Lu Cheng readily agreed.

Before the competition, Xie Yuan'an, Tong Yuan'an, and others did not ask Lu Cheng what suturing techniques he wanted to learn, and Lu Cheng took care of who would represent them in the competition.

But that was before. During the dinner, Tong Yuan'an also mentioned learning tendon suturing techniques to lay the groundwork for the subsequent research and development of functional reconstruction surgery.

The technique originated with Lu Cheng, so Lu Cheng will definitely teach it to the people at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. The hand surgery departments of the two hospitals are on a relatively equal starting line. Who can run faster and farther depends on their own abilities.

……

A barbecue stall in Qianzhou was packed with customers.

When Lu Cheng and his group arrived, they had to wait for five minutes before they were finally able to sit down.

While Lu Cheng was ordering, Xie Yuan'an was sharing her "certificate" with Mu Nanshu.

The hard-shell certificate with gold trim, along with a special trophy for first prize, is engraved with the inscription "First Prize in the First National Youth Microsurgical Skills Competition (Tendon Suturing, Solid Organ Suturing)".

The awarding organizations were the China Workers' Technical Association, the China Medical Association, and the China Hand Surgery Society.

Its gold content is extremely high.

When Xie Yuan'an shared with Mu Nanshu, her eyes were fixed on Lu Cheng, because Xie Yuan'an knew that Lu Cheng wanted to participate in the competition to win prize money.

Lu Cheng's family was of modest means, so he needed to earn money honestly through other means.

This is a national competition, and the first prize in a single track is as high as 120,000 yuan.

Xie Yuan'an then said, "Teacher Lu, I won the honor in this competition. How about I give you the prize money as a token of my apprenticeship?"

"For me, the benefits of this medal are far greater than the prize money."

If a first-prize medal in a national competition could be bought for 120,000 yuan, there would be long queues outside the organizer's office long ago.

“That won’t do!” Lu Cheng shook his head, then stood up: “If you don’t order, I’ll go and give you the order slips.”

After Lu Cheng got up, Xie Yuan'an whispered, "Your husband is quite concerned about saving face."

Mu Nanshu packed away Xie Yuan'an's certificates and medals: "It's not that he's concerned about saving face, it's that he shouldn't have taken this money."

"It has to be half and half, definitely half and half. What do you think, Mumu?"

“If I were to change it to a gift, there would be an extra step in the process, and you know my personality.”

"You should understand the value of these two things now."

"More importantly, my overall score and potential in our department have improved by at least this much." Xie Yuan'an covered his face with his palm and raised it above his head!

The most important basic skill in hand surgery is suturing, but in actual clinical practice, the most basic suturing technique is rarely used in surgery; various "techniques" are still mixed in.

If you really have no other skills, you can only make do with simple intermittent stitching.

"Don't ask me. This matter requires Lu Cheng's consent." Mu Nanshu wouldn't accept such a thing.

"Do you think he'll agree?" Xie Yuan'an was really embarrassed.

Mu Nanshu shook his head: "Probably not."

Xie Yuan'an: "That settles it then."

"This money is ill-gotten gains to me. If it weren't for Lu Cheng, it wouldn't belong to me. If Lu Cheng goes to participate in the competition, this money will all belong to Lu Cheng."

Mu Nanshu: "Is it useless for you to tell me these principles?"

Lu Cheng returned and asked, "Teacher Xie, would you like something to drink? I just checked, and they have beer, yogurt, and coconut milk over there."

"I want a bottle of coconut milk."

"Lu Cheng, I want to discuss something with you." Xie Yuan'an directly stated her thoughts.

Lu Cheng's expression changed from serious to amused, and he leaned back in his chair: "Teacher Xie, you're not treating me like a human being."

Am I really that kind of person who's obsessed with money?

Xie Yuan'an hurriedly waved her hands and shook her head vigorously: "No, no, that's not what I meant."

"They originally belonged to you; I just took them for you."

Lu Cheng said, "If I didn't participate in the competition, then it doesn't belong to me, and therefore the idea that it originally belonged to me doesn't apply."

"I also received a bonus when I was in the provincial capital."

Xie Yuan'an suddenly realized and said, "Oh, right, the prize money from the provincial competition should also be given to you."

Lu Cheng joked, pointing outside casually, "Then don't give it to me, just go back. We have nothing to discuss regarding cooperation."

This is a bug. If it's possible to make money this way, Lu Cheng could train a large number of first-prize winners in provincial competitions and then make a fortune from the prize money.

That would change your personality. Although it wouldn't affect your ability to make money, it would definitely ruin your character.

"Then? But..." Xie Yuan'an hadn't considered the issue of bonus distribution before; she just wanted to win the award to increase her overall score when applying for professional titles.

"Teacher Xie, there's no 'but' about it."

"Let's talk about tomorrow's tasks. Since you also want to join our team, Teacher Xie, you have the right to know about the problems our team is currently facing."

"It's like this..." Lu Cheng then explained the matter of Zhang Xibei's arrival.

After listening to Lu Cheng's concerns, Xie Yuan'an said, "That's no problem. I think it's easy to solve. My dad's lab has a lot of vacant research consultant positions. They post job openings every year, but they can't seem to find anyone."

"And it's a government-affiliated position."

Upon hearing this, Mu Nanshu looked down at the instep of her foot, and at that moment she felt a little inferior.

However, Mu Nanshu did not doubt Xie Yuan'an's statement.

Lu Cheng retorted without even thinking: "Does anyone with a master's degree just get into this position in your dad's lab?"

Xie Yuan'an looked slightly surprised: "That won't work. He's only a master's student, right? A master's degree won't do; a doctorate would be more feasible."

However, after Xie Yuan'an finished speaking, she thought about it seriously: "Actually, it's not that a master's degree is absolutely unacceptable. If he has a lot of papers, it's negotiable."

Mu Nanshu laughed: "Sister Xie, please don't offer any suggestions."

If Zhang Xibei had produced a lot of academic papers, he wouldn't have gone back to his hometown.

Xie Yuan'an then fell silent, but was also seriously considering the question.

Of course, it's hard to understand such a question before meeting Zhang Xibei.

After chatting casually for a while, the topic shifted from Xie Yuan'an to the "outer field" of the national competition.

“Lu Cheng, my dad told me that he leaked your personal information to a few people, but only a few, no more than five.”

"My dad asked me to explain this to you." Xie Yuan'an's tone was quite formal. After speaking, she picked up the butter and started eating it.

The grilled butter and ham sausages in Jilin City are absolutely delicious.

"Yes, I have received quite a few calls recently, but there were far fewer today. It's okay."

“I didn’t tell you that it was absolutely forbidden to leak this, and I never intended to keep it a secret.”

"Anyway, I already know the route in my head," Lu Cheng replied nonchalantly.

Xie Yuan'an threw away the two skewers: "Lu Cheng, are you really going to the emergency room?"

Is there any room for negotiation?

“My dad said that he just doesn’t reserve a spot, which doesn’t mean he can’t bring people.” Xie Yuan’an’s tone was serious, and it was unclear whether he was conveying Professor Xie Xiao’s or Professor Zhong Junyun’s meaning.

Lu Cheng glanced at Xie Yuan'an, shook his head, and said in a desolate tone, "Professor Xie has been kind to me. I don't want to mix colleagues and colleagues from the same department with him anymore. I'm even a little scared now."

"Well, you don't know, but when I was attending a training course in Wuhan, the teachers from Zhongnan Hospital also contacted me."

Xie Yuan'an certainly knew about these things; Xie Xiao had told her, "But haven't all those issues been resolved?"

Lu Cheng then preemptively warned: "My future superiors and I won't have much personal relationship; it will just be a working relationship."

"Returning a favor is fine, and parting ways won't be too difficult either."

"Once you become superiors and subordinates, conflicts of interest are inevitable."

Having gone through so much, Lu Cheng naturally understood one thing: even if you're made of iron, how many nails can you hammer?
Interpersonal relationships are important, but for someone without a background who wants to build their own network, the most important thing is to be strong enough that no one can do anything about it.

That way, you won't become a pawn or a discarded piece.

Otherwise, they will all just be pawns on the chessboard, the kind that can be discarded at will.

Xie Yuan'an, who was well protected by Xie Xiao, didn't think about many things that deeply: "But Lu Cheng, wouldn't it be more beneficial for your development to have a good teacher guiding you?"

Lu Cheng then said directly, "Xie Yuan'an, how can you be so sure that Teacher Xie Xiao is a good teacher to me?"

"From my perspective, what's the difference between him and Professor Zhong Junyun?"

Xie Yuan'an fell silent upon hearing this.

For a long time afterward, Xie Yuan'an didn't return to that topic. She simply shifted the conversation to the real project, and even told Mu Nanshu and Lu Cheng about her plans to return to Han City to finish up her previous research projects...

The next day, Monday.

The sky was clear, the sun was shining brightly, and the warm sun was not scorching.

In a duck shop, Lu Cheng held up a wine glass and said with a big smile, "Brother Zhang, thank you so much for staying and helping us. Really, our team really needs you right now."

"I'd like to propose a toast to you!"

Zhang Xibei sat diagonally opposite Lu Cheng. He was not tall, only about 1.7 meters, with a red face and dark skin. He was a typical Northwesterner, with a broad but not tall build.

Zhang Xibei has thick skin and thick lips. His expression seems difficult to change with his emotions. He has a deep voice and sighed, "Dr. Lu, to be honest, I really can't stay at my current workplace anymore."

"That's why I agreed."

"I don't ask for anything else, just having a job and enough to eat is enough."

Lu Cheng downed his drink in one gulp, and Zhang Xibei followed suit. Mu Nanshu and Xie Yuan'an also each had a beer.

The conversation and cooperation with Zhang Xibei went surprisingly smoothly.

After putting down his wine glass, Lu Cheng asked, "Brother Zhang, if I may be so bold as to ask one more question, when we met last time, you mentioned that your aunt and uncle hoped you could stay."

"Do your uncle and aunt know about your trip to Hunan Province this time?"

Zhang Xibei nodded: "Of course I know."

"I'm a pretty honest person, so please don't laugh at me for telling a joke. Well, I'm not exactly young anymore, and I went on a blind date once before."

"I was scammed. All the money I saved from my previous job was taken away as dowry."

"So, my parents don't pressure me anymore."

Zhang Xibei only told a small part of the story, but Lu Cheng could still understand what Zhang Xibei had gone through.

Zhang Xibei is two years older than Lu Cheng, and he is thirty-two years old this year.

Working in a city-level hospital pays well, and savings aren't exactly meager. But to be unmarried at this age is practically a crime.

Zhang Xibei probably figured it out and agreed to the blind date arranged by his family.

After the blind date was almost over, the rest of the arrangements were made by the parents, including the bride price and the engagement.

The fact that Zhang Xibei's parents committed marriage fraud is something they probably never expected. The person has run away, so what's the point of getting the money back?

Moreover, Zhang Xibei was already feeling somewhat depressed and unsuccessful, so he simply couldn't be bothered to think about this matter.

Moreover, because of this incident, Zhang Xibei was unhappy at work and, not wanting to become a laughing stock in his workplace, simply resigned without notice.

"Brother Zhang, when you go on blind dates, it's definitely a mixed bag. Did you suffer a lot of losses?" Lu Cheng pressed.

"It's not that much, but it's embarrassing and ridiculous."

After saying that, Zhang Xibei added, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Anyway, you all know my current situation. Right now, I just want to come out and find a job."

"Just to relax and clear my head."

"The reason I chose to come and see you is that I'm going to Zhangshi and Fengxian to relax and take a walk."

"Xiangzhou is very close to Zhangshi and Fengxian. You came to see me before, so I need to give you some feedback."

Mu Nanshu casually asked, "Brother Zhang, with your strong abilities, haven't you ever collaborated with other professors before?"

"We've collaborated before, and it's all thanks to our director. I was just doing the work."

“We had a falling out. The director has been targeting me in every way. He wants me to be his slave, but he doesn’t have the ability or resources to do so,” Zhang Xibei said very frankly.

“I’m sorry, Brother Zhang, I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just that our team can’t offer you a very high salary right now,” Mu Nanshu said.

"How much money can you make in a month?" Zhang Xibei asked directly.

"Maybe, for now, it'll be five or six thousand?" Mu Nanshu said.

“That’s enough. I was put in an administrative position by my director at the hospital, and I’m not even getting this much pay.” Zhang Xibei smiled broadly.

Zhang Xibei's reply left Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu completely bewildered.

No, really?
Five or six thousand? Zhang Xibei is a senior attending physician!

However, considering the prices and basic cost of living in Shaanxi Province, Zhang Xibei's salary is considered relatively high there.

"Brother Zhang, what are your plans for the future? Are you just going to Zhangshi and Feng County for a visit?" Lu Cheng asked.

Zhang Xibei nodded: "Yes, let's take a look around first. It won't be long. We'll come back to work later."

"I don't care when I come back or when you pay me my salary."

Xie Yuan'an looked at Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu with suspicion, as if to say that they hadn't even tested his abilities before agreeing to the proposal. Wasn't that a bit hasty?

However, since neither Lu Cheng nor Mu Nanshu mentioned it, she simply didn't bring it up either.

(End of this chapter)