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

Chapter 236 Better Than Cheap!
Du Qiang had only scheduled one elective surgery, but coincidentally, just before the elective surgery patient was about to enter the operating room, an emergency patient with an acute splenic rupture arrived at the emergency department.

Lu Cheng and Du Qiang were in the office reviewing the CT scans of a patient scheduled for elective surgery when Zhang Tiesheng, who was on duty in the emergency room, reported the patient's condition. Du Qiang immediately decided to have Lu Cheng perform the emergency surgery first.

Previously, the department did not perform spleen-preserving surgery; only spleen removal was done without authorization. Now, the authorization procedures are complete, and Du Qiang himself has voluntarily revealed his werewolf identity and returned to the public eye, so he no longer avoids other matters.

Emergency surgery procedures are very quick. If there are no special surgical indications, such as rapid blood tests or electrocardiograms, the patient is taken to the operating room.

Hou Jiagui, the director of the anesthesiology department, happened to be on duty. When he saw that it was Du Qiang leading the team in, his tone became quite tense: "Director Du, Xiao Lu, have you guys studied the methods of Infernal Affairs?"

"A while ago, I thought you, Du Qiang, were about to have some good days ahead of you."

Du Qiang waved his hand helplessly: "Sigh, Lao Hou, I have no choice."

"We've already decided on the emergency department, and Lu Cheng is our superior. If any medical accidents happen in the future, we'll have to have someone to turn to for help."

"I had to carry a bundle of thorns on my back to apologize, and I even broke this whole bundle of bamboo whips before I finally got Lu Cheng's forgiveness."

"As the saying goes, no fight makes no friend, and it's better to mend the fence after the sheep are lost than to suffer the consequences of one's own actions."

"That's me."

Hou Jiagui had already anesthetized the patient, Zeng Huanqi was leading people to disinfect, and Lu Cheng and Du Qiang were getting dressed.

Hou Jiagui stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Du Qiang, slightly raising his chin, his gaze serious: "Guess whether I believe you or not?"

Du Qiang turned around, his gaze casual: "Guess what I'm guessing, or not?"

Hou Jiagui was certainly not there to hold Du Qiang accountable, nor did he have the authority to do so. He could only admit defeat: "Director Du's methods of winning people over are truly impressive."

"Little Lu, you'd better watch out for this cunning old fox," Hou Jiagui said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Du Qiang continued inscrutably, "Hey, Director Hou, do you think it's me winning people over or Xiao Lu?"

"Huh?" Du Qiang continued to lift his chin.

Hou Jiagui immediately took two steps back, looking at Lu Cheng with lingering fear in his eyes.

If all of this was really Lu Cheng's advice, then this young man is terrifying.

I'm not afraid of cunning old foxes being ruthless, but I'm even more afraid of cunning little foxes who live a long life.

Lu Cheng joked, "Director Du, you're damaging my reputation in public."

"You might have to see them in court."

Du Qiang immediately changed his tune: "Alright, let's put aside the court issue and get the stage up and running."

Hou Jiagui received no positive response and could only continue working, somewhat frustrated.

In the anesthesiology department of the county hospital, the associate chief physicians have no assistants and have to do everything themselves.

This patient is in the emergency room, and there are still many blood tests to be completed.

After the disinfection and draping were completed, Lu Cheng and Du Qiang took over the operating table, with Lu Cheng primarily in charge of the surgery.

Lu Cheng performed all the procedures, including opening the abdomen, exposing the spleen, stopping bleeding, cleaning the wound, and stopping bleeding, with Du Qiang assisting.

Although Lu Cheng has performed this type of surgery not many times, his level of proficiency is at the expert level, and his skill is truly admirable.

As Du Qiang watched, he 'hypocritically' sighed, "If I had known you had such good skills, I should have had you perform this kind of surgery in the department a long time ago."

When Lu Cheng heard Du Qiang's words, he was a little unsure what Du Qiang meant.

Lu Cheng really couldn't control someone who was too slick.

Lu Cheng simply stopped taking things he couldn't control to heart.

Hou Jiagui said, "Director Du, wasn't it you who was adamant about not allowing this to be carried out? Now you're bringing this up?"

"If only you had realized this sooner, you would have known that Dr. Lu was from our own hospital."

Du Qiang retorted, "Are you saying it's me who's preventing it from happening, or is it someone else?"

"If someone in the department has an accident, the leaders will also bear joint responsibility. Who do you think is the person in the emergency department who is clean and honest?"

Hou Jiagui immediately guessed that it was Huang Haibo from the internal medicine department, but Huang Haibo's record was so impressive that Hou Jiagui didn't dare to say a word about him.

Hou Jiagui also believed that Huang Haibo was the kind of person who was capable of doing these things.

Compared to emergency surgery, elective surgery requires a higher level of precision and a more meticulous surgical procedure.

Emergency surgery and examinations cannot be completed, so everything must be done on a case-by-case basis, and treatment can only be carried out according to principles.

Unlike elective surgery, all the examinations were completed beforehand. Therefore, Lu Cheng was able to explain all the surgical steps to Du Qiang before the surgery, including the general framework of the preoperative surgery, which was consistent with the actual operation.

Of course, it's impossible to be precise down to the centimeter or millimeter; the specific details of the actual operation still depend on improvisation during the surgery.

Even so, observing this elective surgery is more beneficial for Du Qiang to understand the surgical process itself.

Zeng Huanqi was also in the assistant's seat, watching Lu Cheng's operations carefully and attentively.

While finding it hard to believe, he also asked with a smile, "Xiao Lu, I asked Brother Zhang a few days ago, with your amazing skills, why doesn't he want to learn?"

Zhang Tiesheng had "dreams," and if one still harbors dreams, one is generally not guided by the ultimate goal.

What we learn are methods and fundamental skills, not specific surgical procedures.

Lu Cheng said, "Brother Zhang may have other things to do, I don't know. Anyway, whether it's Brother Zeng or Director Du, I'm willing to communicate and discuss with you and learn from each other."

Before Du Qiang could correct the problem in Lu Cheng's words, he was still savoring the experience of the surgery, marveling at it: "This surgical procedure was so precise and ingenious, truly amazing!"

Zeng Huanqi nodded repeatedly: "It looks comfortable, but thinking about it makes me feel very complicated and incredible..."

Of course, neither Du Qiang nor Zeng Huanqi's praise stirred any emotion in Lu Cheng's heart.

Du Qiang's so-called ingenuity, and Zeng Huanqi's so-called complexity and unbelievability, do not actually fully encompass the completeness of the operation.

If Du Qiang and Zeng Huanqi both think it's nothing special, then Professor Chen Song is out of his mind, lacks common sense, and has no discernment.

It was just something I expected.

Du Qiang and Lu Cheng stepped down, while Zeng Huanqi was responsible for transferring the patient from the operating room back to the ward.

……

When Du Qiang and Lu Cheng came out of the operating room, they ran into Dr. Luo, the executive deputy chief physician of the orthopedics department.

Executive Director Luo said, "Director Du."

Then, when he saw Lu Cheng, he was somewhat surprised and speechless for a moment.

What Du Qiang does in the department is not made public or publicized.

Du Qiang was just doing his job, not trying to show off his 'methods' or 'silver coin' attributes.

Du Qiang knew Lu Cheng well, so he knew about the little grudge between him and Executive Director Luo a long time ago. Although he didn't know if Lu Cheng had resolved the grudge between the two, he still politely said, "Director Luo, let me formally introduce you."

"This is Dr. Lu Cheng, an expert I invited from the State People's Hospital to perform a consultation surgery."

Executive Director Luo and Lu Cheng were old acquaintances, as Lu Cheng had spent more than four years in the orthopedics department. His eyes widened, his pupils contracted, and his expression was slightly astonished.

It was clearly the expert Du Qiang had mentioned, which made him feel rather uncomfortable.

Lu Cheng gave Du Qiang a reproachful look, then immediately said, "Director Luo, good afternoon."

After the two surgeries were completed, it was already 2:30 p.m.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Du Qiang should give him a red envelope for the consultation fee, and then they'll have a simple meal before Lu Cheng sets off for Ji City.

"Hello to you too." After regaining his senses, Director Luo shook his head. "No, Lu Cheng?"

"This is what you are doing?"

Lu Cheng smiled and flicked his nose: "I'm going back to my hometown for a visit at Director Du's invitation."

Executive Director Luo had simply not taken Lu Cheng seriously before, not that he didn't consider Lu Cheng a "person of importance." After getting to know Lu Cheng, he also found a relatively better solution.

Even Executive Director Luo wanted to bring Lu Cheng back to the orthopedics department, but Lu Cheng refused.

Executive Director Luo is not in the wrong mind. After a little thought, he understood the love-hate relationship between Du Qiang and Lu Cheng.

But everyone here is a seasoned fox, which is why Executive Director Luo thought the script between Lu Cheng and Du Qiang was flawless.

Du Qiang's son is in jail. No matter how wicked Du Qiang is, he wouldn't use his own son as a pawn, would he?
However, if we really look at it, whether Du Qiang's son gets in or not has nothing to do with Lu Cheng; it wasn't Lu Cheng who did the dirty work.

Therefore, Du Qiang is actually quite shrewd, making use of capable people without being bound by the 'grudges' he understands in reality.

"Hello, Dr. Lu." As the director of the orthopedics department of the county hospital, Luo Changsheng could naturally ignore Lu Cheng, but Lu Cheng could also ignore him now.

At least, Executive Director Luo couldn't directly influence Lu Cheng's normal work and personnel authority, since Executive Director Luo wasn't Lu Cheng's director.

"I have another consultation to attend to, I'll go take a look first." Executive Director Luo did have an urgent consultation.

As a new leader, he dared not be too eccentric and fail to attend urgent consultations.

In fact, it wasn't until he became a director that he realized just how heavy the pressure was.

……

As Du Qiang drove Lu Cheng away from the hospital, he said, "Actually, Lu, it would be a good option for you to go back to the orthopedics department with Executive Director Luo."

With no outsiders present, Lu Cheng spoke frankly.

Du Qiang is a villain, a truly villainous man, because he told his parents, uncle, and Wei Ying everything he had done.

Lu Cheng then said, "Uncle Du, there are plenty of good choices in this world."

"Going to Xiangya No. 2 Hospital with Professor Chen Song, or pursuing a doctorate at Xiangya Hospital with Professor Tong Yuan'an, are both good choices." "But I have my own plans and destination!"

Du Qiang knew about Lu Cheng's situation: "Indeed, they were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were little."

"Your relationship with Xiao Mu is quite enviable. It's wonderful."

"Um, you should also remember to urge your Uncle Du to let Professor Chen come down as soon as possible, so that we can start the project regularly and I can learn some technology through this project."

"If I could give a keynote speech at a provincial academic conference even once, my job at the hospital would be much easier."

Du Qiang had his own purposes and ideas.

In Du Qiang's view, Chen Song's animal experiment project doesn't need to be too detailed; the important thing is to move the project to Longxian People's Hospital as soon as possible.

The benefits Du Qiang received were only a small part of the clinical research project.

“Okay, I’ll tell Professor Chen. Uncle Du,” Lu Cheng replied.

"Don't complain about the small amount," Du Qiang said.

Lu Cheng laughed and said, "No, Uncle Du, you've given me quite a lot."

Two surgeries, 1400 yuan, 400 yuan for travel expenses. That's equivalent to 500 yuan per surgery.

Compared to a top-notch surgeon's consultation, even rotten vegetables are not worth as much.

But for Lu Cheng, that was actually quite a lot, because under normal circumstances, what qualifications does an attending physician have to perform consultation surgeries?

If Du Qiang doesn't make an appointment with him, no one at other hospitals will recognize you, Lu Cheng.

He had earned some extra money: "It's alright, Uncle Du, you can just give me some travel expenses."

"The patient pays the bill, so there should still be a service fee; otherwise, it wouldn't be fair."

"It's only fair that we allocate the funds; you're not trying to save me money."

"For a few hundred more dollars, an organ can be saved; plenty of people would do this kind of business."

"What would you like to eat later, Xiao Lu?"

Lu Cheng said, "Uncle Du, what I mean is, I won't eat after this time, I'll rush back to have dinner with my wife."

"It's perfect timing, Uncle Du, you can take a rest too. I've known the senior colleagues in the department for a long time."

"You're being too polite; it makes me feel distant."

"Next time I come, I think we should chip in and order some dishes and a big bowl of rice. The restaurant across from the station will be fine."

That was a restaurant Lu Cheng loved to eat at. He had eaten there many times with Chen Song and indeed thought the food was quite good.

That restaurant's large bowl of rice wasn't cheap, but it tasted good.

"That?"

"We'll see." Du Qiang originally wanted to say it wasn't suitable, but seeing Lu Cheng's expression, which showed he really wanted that flavor, he didn't want to argue.

Lu Cheng came from Long County, and he knew the local cuisine best, so we could treat him a little differently.

……

When Lu Cheng got off the highway, he found that the 400 yuan travel expenses were not enough. After paying for the round-trip highway tolls, fuel, and boxed meals, he even had to pay 30 yuan out of his surgery fees.

But it doesn’t matter.

Just then, Mu Nanshu finished her shift at the lab as usual, and Lu Cheng waited for her in the parking lot outside the lab.

"Come on, get in the car," Lu Cheng said with a smile.

Mu Nanshu naturally walked to the passenger seat. As soon as she got in the car, her tired look immediately disappeared: "Xiangming Pickled Vegetables? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"If I had known, I wouldn't have drunk that milk tea this afternoon."

"Why did you say it was a surprise? You sit here and eat. We're going to your parents' house. My mom bought some nice things at the market yesterday," Lu Cheng said.

Actually, it's just livestock products that Zhang Tiesheng got his hands on; these things are hard to buy.

Mu Leng might be able to find a place to buy it, but it would take a lot of time and effort, or require favors.

Lu Cheng had already done a lot of favors for his parents, so of course he would want to bring them something too.

"What?" Mu Nanshu asked curiously.

“The giant salamander is from a legitimately farmed species,” Lu Cheng said.

"It's not cheap, is it? My parents might scold you later." Mu Nanshu was actually a little tempted.

This stuff is really good; the texture is tender, soft, and smooth, with a natural fragrance.

"Hey, your uncles and aunts might tell you about other things that are easy to buy, but they definitely won't tell you about things that are hard to come by."

"I didn't buy rice to mix into the meals," Lu Cheng laughed.

If Lu Cheng brought rice or ordinary wine to Mu Nanshu's house for dinner, Mu Leng and Yan Sangyue might think that Lu Cheng was looking down on them or being extravagant because he was poor.

But what if Lu Cheng tried the 'Old Tree' Da Hong Pao, a wine from the Imperial Tribute?"
All they can say is that you're sensible, okay?

……

When Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu arrived home, Mu Leng and Yan Sangyue were sitting and chatting, without the TV on.

Mu Leng and Yan Sangyue have almost retired from the company. Now they are discussing whether to start a small business again, otherwise they are bored every day.

It was still early, but when Yan Sangyue saw Lu Cheng arrive, she got up and went to the kitchen.

"Hey, Lu, where did you get this?" Yan Sangyue was pleasantly surprised when she saw what was in Lu Cheng's waterproof box.

“A friend brought them over. We had a meal and still had some left over, so I spent the money to buy four,” Lu Cheng quickly said.

"But Auntie, I don't know how to cook it, but I can help you gut the fish..."

"Then you don't need to lift a finger."

"Mu Leng, Lu Cheng got two farmed giant salamanders!" Yan Sanyue said.

Mu perked up: "Then let's have a couple of drinks."

"You always have to get two drinks with everything." Yan Sangyue immediately became displeased.

Then Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu started to help, but after chopping the vegetables, they went out to rest.

Mu Leng went to the balcony to answer the phone and said, "Work? I've already retired from it? Yes, only the shares are still there, but I can ask around for you."

"Good good."

"Dad? Who is that?" Mu Nanshu was emptying the kimchi from the takeout bag and putting it on a plate.

Mu Leng and Yan Sangyue are both quite open-minded and don't think that eating kimchi is absolutely unhealthy. As long as they don't eat it every day, they won't say anything and will try it themselves.

“Your Aunt Mu Ningning.”

He said that Zhifei had failed in his business outside and was unemployed when he came back, so he asked me to find him a job.

“But I reckon this kid won’t stay idle. If he wants to find a job, he’ll probably come directly to me. He wouldn’t be interested in a fixed-location job,” Mu Leng said.

Lu Cheng looked at Mu Nanshu with a half-smile.

Mu Nanshu's expression changed slightly: "Dad, didn't you tell me before that Aunt Ningning's cousin opened a shop in Shenzhen and that business was pretty good?"

"It was good at first, and they even opened a branch."

“In recent years, the economy has been declining, business has been difficult, and he was insolvent. Now he only owes 80,000, so he is lucky.”

"Your Aunt Mu Ningning came back after patching up the hole, I heard she's only been back for less than a week!"

Lu Cheng said, "Uncle, I saw him yesterday when I was watching a movie with my parents."

“This Hong Zhifei sells balloons outside the movie theater and resells them after buying movie tickets.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Leng's eyes flashed: "He's a troublemaker too. But this kid does have some business acumen, he's just a bit too ambitious."

“He had worked at my company before, but he felt there was not much he could do, so he resigned and left.”

After Mu Leng finished speaking, he saw Lu Cheng mention Lu Nan's family and immediately slapped his forehead: "Oh, right, your dad's birthday is coming up soon."

"Perfect timing, I have a few bottles of good wine here."

Mu Leng stood up and called out to the kitchen, "Wife, Lao Lu's birthday is coming up soon. Shall we go back to Long County and freeload off him?"

Yan Sangyue yelled, "You're just a drunkard! All you ever do is figure out how to drink! You used to like it even more when there were social engagements, didn't you?"

Mu said coldly, "Didn't the doctor say there's nothing wrong? But you can't smoke or drink alcohol anymore?"

“We’ll control the amount. Let’s do it together. I’ll ask Sister Hui to find you some mahjong partners later.”

Yan Sangyue was silent for a moment, then stubbornly said, "I went to celebrate Lu Nan's birthday, not to drink or play mahjong."

"Yeah, right, it's a birthday." Mu sneered.

Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu just smiled and remained silent.

Which elderly couple doesn't bicker and argue? Actually, they've long since come to terms with each other's personalities and know exactly how to handle each other.

(End of this chapter)