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

Chapter 216: All personal choices!

"Xiao Lu, Professor Du just left like that? What a great opportunity!" Tong Yuan'an's chubby upper body heaved up and down, his voice low.

Lu Cheng replied, "At least the two teachers weren't left hungry."

Tong Yuan'an was taken aback, his voice and face slightly distorted: "You want people to leave hungry?"

Lu Cheng smiled and said, "I can be very busy too."

"Teacher Tong, what are your plans for the future? Will you stay in Jilin City for a few more days? Or will you head back?"

"Why don't you wait for me to go back together? I might be a little late, I have to work tomorrow."

Tong Yuan'an shook his head: "I have to go back. If I don't go back, I don't know what kind of mess the family will make of."

"Can't you wait even a few hours, Teacher Tong?" Lu Cheng asked.

Tong Yuan'an said irritably, "I should have been able to leave my post directly like Chen Song, instead of taking it upon myself to extend the time I was sent to the countryside."

"Let's not talk about it anymore."

"By the way, Xiao Lu, Director Du Qiang is targeting you like this. Should I say a few words to him?"

"The fact that the two of you don't get along is ultimately not a good thing for the department."

From Tong Yuan'an's perspective, it was impossible to tell that Du Qiang was acting with Lu Cheng, so even Zhang Tiesheng and the others probably wouldn't be able to guess it.

"Forget it, Teacher Tong. Anyway, it's not long now. Just grit your teeth and it'll pass."

"I don't feel guilty at all about what Director Du did," Lu Cheng explained casually.

Tong Yuan'an sighed softly: "Your county hospital is really a tangled web of connections; I simply can't afford to mess with it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng knew that Tong Yuan'an had some private information. As he led Tong Yuan'an into the car and away from the high-speed rail station, Lu Cheng asked, "What instructions does Teacher Tong have this time?"

"It's that Peng Kun. Now Du Qiang doesn't want him anymore, and he can't stay in the first orthopedic ward either, so he's been forced to go to the second orthopedic ward."

"This is a little bit funny!"

Lu Cheng thought about it seriously for a moment and replied, "It shouldn't be so bad that I can't stay here, right?"

"Being stabbed in the back by one of their own people is giving Chen Song and his colleagues a headache. If Peng Kun can't prove the authenticity of the data in his paper, his submitted article and graduation thesis will be in trouble."

"It is estimated that they are all still being reworked."

"He hasn't been out of school for very long!"

During the graduation defense, the committee can only assess the quality of your thesis. It's difficult for them to determine whether the data in your thesis was actually generated by you.

If Xiang Kuihua truly possesses crucial and detailed evidence, and intends to punish Peng Kun, then no one can argue that Xiang Kuihua is wrong.

A master's thesis in a university should be a high-quality thesis produced by the student themselves; a diploma cannot be obtained by simply doing a mediocre job.

On the way, before Lu Cheng could ask any questions, his phone, which was connected to the car's Bluetooth, rang.

After seeing that the name on the passenger side was Professor Zhong Junyun, Tong Yuan'an's eyes darted around quickly, and he immediately suggested, "Xiao Lu, pull over, I'll excuse myself."

Lu Cheng answered the call directly with the steering wheel, his voice polite: "Hello, Teacher Zhong."

Zhong Junyun, who doesn't usually smack his lips, started by smacking his lips a few times: "Xiao Lu, are you busy? Your disappearance has been quite mysterious, you haven't contacted me for so long."

“Teacher Zhong, you know my situation. I’m currently traveling between Longxian County and Jishi City, and my shifts are very full.”

"Teacher Zhong, have you had lunch yet?"

"I just finished eating and went out for a walk. I thought it had been a long time since I heard you speak, so I called to ask how things were going."

Zhong Junyun continued, "So, Xiao Lu, have you made up your mind? When do you plan to come here?"

Zhong Junyun's tone, both intimate and domineering, as if he had discussed it with Lu Cheng for a long time and it was already decided, made Lu Cheng instantly think that he had completed some kind of shady deal with Zhong Junyun.

Hypocrisy and relative shamelessness should be basic characteristics of a mature adult, so Lu Cheng replied, "Teacher Zhong, I don't know. We agreed before that we would get promoted first."

"Then find a teacher to help you improve your academic qualifications."

Zhong Junyun then got to the point: "I've thought about this matter carefully, Xiao Lu. Have you ever considered transferring to our Hubei Province system first?"

"Then you can take a temporary position at a hospital in Enshi or some other prefecture-level city."

"It won't affect your promotion, and you can even start research-related work in advance."

"As for me, I've already discussed it with Xiao Han. From now on, our development direction can be based on your opinion, Xiao Lu."

"We are all part of a team."

Tong Yuan'an looked extremely surprised. He happened to be one of the people in the know, otherwise he would never have understood the coded language in Zhong Junyun's words.

Um what?
The competition just ended yesterday, and Zhong Junyun is already doing sit-ups on other people's bodies.

Is this the real "Brother Advance and Retreat"?
Lu Cheng replied without hesitation, "Teacher Zhong, then you're not quite right. Didn't we already agree on this before?"

"I am very grateful to Professor Zhong for your guidance and support, but I will most likely be working in the emergency department in the future."

Zhong Junyun was really direct: "Since you said you wanted to thank me, is it just a verbal thank you?"

"Or do you think that giving Xie Xiao's family some gifts is enough to repay my favor?"

Even fathers and sons keep clear accounts, right? You didn't ask for my opinion on this, did you?

Zhong Junyun had gathered information very thoroughly this time, and he knew that Lu Cheng had given the topic of tendon suturing to Xie Yuan'an.

Zhong Junyun, however, did not agree with any of this.

Lu Cheng thought for a while before saying, "Teacher Zhong, I still think that after so much hard work and struggle, I have finally found what I am interested in."

"You haven't really gotten to the basics of orthopedics, so you haven't found your niche, have you?" Zhong Junyun interrupted.

"How about this, Xiao Lu, why don't you come over and try it out first, and then make a decision, okay?"

Zhong Junyun's words were somewhat unscrupulous.

Lu Cheng replied decisively, "I don't think so!"

Zhong Junyun was in a very good mood this time: "Xiao Lu, you're being a bit petty and impulsive. What happened before was just a small misunderstanding."

"I haven't made a complete decision yet either, and you're just hearing it from others, right?"

"Could it be that you believed whatever Wang Zhe from Professor Xie Xiao's group said?"

"That's not good."

Tong Yuan'an was getting restless and almost started yelling at someone, but since Lu Cheng hadn't told Zhong Junyun that there were other people around, Tong Yuan'an suppressed his emotions.

Lu Cheng asked, "Teacher Zhong? What Wang Zhe?"

Zhong Junyun said, "Xiao Lu, we've already said all this, why are you pretending to be confused?"

"Director Tan of Xiangya Hospital is also a shrewd man. I can determine what he does by either asking around or reviewing his actions."

Tong Yuan'an dared not move.

Wang Zhe's background is something that big bosses like Zhong Junyun know very well.

Tan Zhongyuan's underhanded tactics are certainly not a secret.

Tan Zhongyuan dared to do this because he wasn't afraid of Professor Zhong Junyun asking around.

You announced it in the department, so why can't Wang Zhe announce it to the public?

This isn't some closely guarded secret.

If Wang Zhe leaked unpublished suturing techniques from the hospital, you can hold him accountable, but that's just a matter of personnel arrangements for the research project; you can't target Wang Zhe specifically.

In Lu Cheng's view, Zhong Junyun's words were not wrong. Tan Zhongyuan was also a cunning old fox with ill intentions, and it was a desperate attempt to salvage the situation.

His meaning was to make Lu Cheng give up on Xiehe.

Lu Cheng replied, "Teacher Zhong, I don't know what Director Tan did either. The truth of the matter will not be obscured or distorted by actual retelling."

"Just like many of the basic rules of scientific research that I've recently come to know, the conclusions of a research paper should not be wrong in direction because of the duplication by another team."

Experiments that cannot be replicated are not recognized by the scientific community.

Without embellishment, the relayed information won't affect your decision, right?

Zhong Junyun finally took a few deep breaths and said, "Xiao Lu, how about I apologize to you? I actually fell for their tricks too."

Lu Cheng quickly said, "Teacher Zhong, you flatter me."

Zhong Junyun said, "Don't interrupt me yet, let me tell you. Guess who recommended Han Luoning to me?"

"That's right, it's Liu Huanglong from Zhongnan Hospital."

"I only just realized now what Liu Huanglong's real intention was in recommending Han Luoning to me instead of poaching her for himself!" The amount of information involved was enormous, and Tong Yuan'an, being an outsider, was completely baffled.

He knew nothing about any underhanded tactics or Liu Huanglong.

Lu Cheng, however, understood Professor Zhong Junyun's words.

But this question is worth exploring in depth. For example, why did Liu Huanglong want Lu Cheng to "break ties" with Professor Zhong? Why did he send Han Luoning along?

However, Lu Cheng didn't need to dwell on it so much. What did it have to do with him? "Teacher Zhong, your words are a bit too biased."

Zhong Junyun is a very mature professor and also a very mature leader. He started by reasoning based on the outcome: "Now I ask you, if Zhongnan Hospital gives you a reason why you absolutely must go to Zhongnan Hospital, would you go?"

"I won't go!"

"They won't have any reason for me to insist on going." Lu Cheng laughed at himself.

"Teacher Zhong, you're overthinking it. I'm not that important to them, that they would go to such lengths for me?"

Zhong Junyun said, "It didn't exist before, but it does now."

"Because you currently have enough basic parameters!"

Lu Cheng was slightly puzzled: "Basic parameters?"

Zhong Junyun said, "Let's set aside morality, law, and integrity for now. The basic parameters of a scientific researcher are nothing more than these."

"First and foremost, it's about knowledge reserves, continuous learning ability, and an interdisciplinary perspective. In our system, knowledge reserves are relatively worthless, while continuous learning ability and an interdisciplinary perspective are much more valuable."

"Although it's impossible to quantify at the moment, I'll cautiously give you a relatively comprehensive score. Out of ten, your knowledge reserves would be 4 points, your continuous learning ability would be 9 points, and your interdisciplinary perspective would be full marks."

"More importantly, it's your innovative thinking! That's the most crucial thing."

"If the maximum score for interdisciplinary perspective is 10, then innovative thinking can account for at least 50 points. You can score above 45."

"Just looking at these few individual sections, your overall score is already very high."

These are just the phenomena explained by Professor Zhong Junyun; he did not give the reasons why Lu Cheng had no choice but to go to Zhongnan Hospital.

Lu Cheng smiled and said, "Teacher Zhong, even so, whether I go or not is my personal choice."

"If you're worried about that, I really don't think it's necessary."

Zhong Junyun sighed: "If you insist, then so be it."

"However, I still sincerely invite you to consider the suggestion I gave you before. If you come to Hubei Province in advance, you can truly achieve the best of both worlds and focus on improving your skills in all aspects."

Lu Cheng said calmly, "Teacher Zhong, I've never gotten the best of everything along the way. So I think people shouldn't pursue perfection."

"As long as things are relatively acceptable and there's a path to take, you can settle down and get things done."

"If you strive for perfection in everything, life will be too tiring."

"Just because it's not the best solution doesn't mean it should belong to me, Lu Cheng."

This has always been Lu Cheng's established worldview; he has always thought this way and acted this way.

For example, Lu Cheng neither participates in the competition nor tries to claim the prize money he wants.

For example, even though Lu Cheng knew that Zhong Junyun was an absolute big shot by his side, and that even Professor Du Lianshan, whom he had met today, was not as helpful as Professor Zhong Junyun, Lu Cheng was still unwilling to become "goods"!
Zhong Junyun suddenly tore off his "outer garment": "Lu Cheng, are you thinking that if someone ignores you now, they'll be begging for your attention later?"

Lu Cheng replied without hesitation, "Teacher Zhong, that's impossible. I might have had such arrogant thoughts in the past, but why would I think like that now?"

"Then what about you?" Zhong Junyun hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Lu Cheng said, "Teacher Zhong, whether you like it or not, all the education I received, whether in school or outside of school—"

When a person can't rely on others, they can only rely on themselves.

"My self-awareness is that I am the kind of person who cannot rely on others. I don't have that foundation, so I have to base everything I do on this assumption."

"No matter who it is, no matter what promises they make to me, or what kind of temptations they offer, I passively develop the idea that it is impossible."

"This instinct, whether it has a reason or is a coincidence, is quite accurate."

Lu Cheng opened his heart.

Has Lu Cheng received any 'promises'? He's received far too many.

A particularly important point was that when he was preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam, Mu Nanshu gave him feedback that the teachers at Huashan Hospital had already agreed to his application.

As a result, it fell through.

Secondly, after returning to Zhongnan Hospital, the teachers were all on stage inviting me!

As a result, it was ignored again.

After Lu Cheng went to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, how beautiful was the future that Professor Zhong Junyun had envisioned!

As a result, without anyone noticing, Lu Cheng became a basic element of participation, and without Lu Cheng's knowledge, he became a member of the team.

Lu Cheng did not mean that he had to become the project leader. Even in the current research team, Lu Cheng was only one of the participants.

But at least treat me like a human being, right?

If Professor Zhong Junyun had discussed things with Lu Cheng for a few minutes or made a few phone calls to inform him, and Lu Cheng had chosen to refuse, it could have been considered that Lu Cheng was arrogant.

You didn't even notify me, so do you even take me seriously?
Even petty thugs won't have a 'boss' come up to them and say, 'From now on, you're following him.'

“Lu Cheng, let me tell you, the techniques you’ve mastered are extremely advanced for hand surgery.” Zhong Junyun tried to reason with him.

Lu Cheng interrupted softly: "Teacher Zhong, I didn't know before, and my perspective was relatively limited, so I mostly just listened."

"But now, I understand my own worth and the relative appearance of medicine. Medicine is not just hand surgery."

"My understanding tells me that if I go into hand surgery, I can advance the development of hand surgery, which would also be extremely beneficial to me personally."

"But for me personally, I can still have a pretty good career path in the emergency department, and I should also be able to make some progress in general surgery."

"So, the question comes back to the point: since both paths are easy to take, I have the right to choose based on my personal preference, right?"

"The screws on both sides are the same, not a single type, so you can't go wrong with any of them."

"Besides, I might have misunderstood my own abilities; I'm not actually that important!"

"These are all personal choices."

Professor Zhong Junyun fell silent, and the silence lasted for a while.

Seeing that Professor Zhong Junyun remained silent, Lu Cheng continued, "Professor Zhong, no matter what, you have helped me, that is an established fact."

"Actually, in any case, you didn't do anything to cause me any real harm, and that's an established fact."

"So, in conclusion, I must thank you."

Zhong Junyun suddenly said, "Is this how you express your gratitude to me?"

Lu Cheng said, "Teacher, I don't know if you still remember some of the things I told you before."

"Some things can be done and thought, but cannot be said."

“I can’t tell you directly that the techniques I created are even better than the techniques you value, and that you’ve made the wrong choice.”

“I wouldn’t say that now, because only after the comparison is made can it be considered an established fact that cannot be refuted.”

"But, Professor Zhong, your kindness to me is something that no other hospital can replace, isn't it?"

"Therefore, Professor Zhong, you can obtain any basic research data and related materials you want, and you won't lag behind any other team!~"

"This is not a guarantee, but something I'm doing."

Zhong Junyun understood Lu Cheng's meaning, but his tone remained low: "Then I want your person more now. Can you give that to me now?"

This time, Lu Cheng remained silent for a long time.

Lu Cheng said, "Teacher Zhong, whether or not to give it to someone is a personal choice."

"Some things can be undone, there's a certain margin for error, but some things can't be undone."

"My personality has become ingrained! I'm sorry."

The objective fact is that Zhong Junyun did not harm Lu Cheng; in fact, he helped Lu Cheng. This is an established fact.

Even if Zhong Junyun had considered using Lu Cheng as material, it was just a thought.

Discuss the deeds but not the heart.

Ideas can collide, and once an idea collides with another idea, the real world cannot influence that collision; nothing can.

Ideas are invisible, and results are invisible.

(End of this chapter)