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

Chapter 247: Somewhat Famous!
"Xiao Lu, was that your girlfriend just now?" Yang Liping asked after Mu Nanshu left.

"You two are such a good-looking couple. You're a perfect match."

In Xiangzhou, "好乖" means beautiful, not personality.

Yang Liping is the head nurse of the emergency department and also an associate chief nurse. She is not very old, only forty years old. Although she is not well-maintained, she still has a very trendy style.

This makes Yang Jie's outfit look a bit outdated, but Yang Liping is a very, very nice person, which is why she is able to handle the position of head nurse in the emergency department.

Lu Cheng had just finished changing his clothes and was heading towards the emergency room when he heard this and nodded: "Head Nurse, do you think I only have talent? I think I'm handsome too!"

"Haha..." Yang Liping laughed, "Yes, yes, you two must be a handsome man and a beautiful woman!"

"Xiao Lu, if you hadn't said you had a girlfriend, your sister Yang would have had quite a few connections."

"Yeah, but Yang Jie didn't really understand you before, but she understands you now that she's seen your girlfriend."

The head nurse is in charge of general affairs for a department; her duties include, but are not limited to, arranging blind dates and acting as a matchmaker.

"Thank you for your kindness, head nurse and director. I feel quite regretful that I couldn't accept your offer, but my girlfriend and I have always been doing very well."

"Sister Yang, you're definitely not Director Tian giving some inappropriate advice, are you?" Lu Cheng joked.

Upon hearing this, Yang Liping's eyes flashed, and her tone became serious: "What? Tian Zhiliang did such a heartless thing?"

"I'll definitely give him a good scolding when he comes to work tomorrow."

"It's getting more and more unpromising."

As the saying goes, it's better to tear down ten temples than to break up a family.

Where can you break up a relationship?
"There's no need for that, Sister Yang. Director Tian was just joking."

"I'm going to go on duty now!" Lu Cheng pointed in the direction of the emergency room.

"Okay... go ahead and get busy." Yang Liping waved to Lu Cheng and then picked up her phone, clearly going to ask Tian Zhiliang some questions.

Lu Cheng didn't think there was anything wrong with him complaining like this. If Tian Zhiliang had only mentioned it once or twice, then he was joking.

Tian Zhiliang brought it up at least five or six times, and even if it was a joke, it went too far! Although he wasn't emotional, it was fine to resolve the issue by filing a small complaint.

Lu Cheng came to work, not to have a "blind date" with his superiors in the department.

Such matters should be resolved as soon as possible to avoid any misunderstandings later.

……

Time flies like water; in the blink of an eye, more than ten days have passed.

February 7th, the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, at 12:40 PM.

Lu Cheng and Mu Nanshu didn't go to the lab or go out to eat. After they finished making lunch, Lu Cheng started pushing Mu Nanshu's suitcase and makeup bag towards the door.

Mu Nanshu hesitated slightly as she stood at the door: "How about I stay with you for the New Year? You'll be all alone, and you won't even be able to order takeout."

Lu Cheng was rather unlucky. He had an emergency room night shift on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, a ward day shift on the 29th, and a ward night shift on the 30th. His ox and horse attributes were just at their peak.

This wasn't because anyone else was targeting Lu Cheng; it was just that Lu Cheng's shifts happened to fall to these few days.

"It's okay, you and Auntie have prepared so many dishes for me, I can just heat them up and eat them."

"Besides, the hospital will cover your meals if you're on duty during the Spring Festival, and the leaders will even give you red envelopes. You definitely need to go back and visit your aunt and uncle..."

Lu Cheng urged, "Go quickly, Uncle Mu and Auntie are waiting."

Mu Leng and Yan Sangyue decided to spend the Spring Festival in their hometown. Although their relationship with Uncle Mu Nanshu was not good, the old man was still alive after all!

Chinese New Year is about family reunion—reunion with the elderly and reunion with children.

"Oh well…"

"Will Uncle Lu and the others come to keep you company during the Chinese New Year?" Mu Nanshu asked again.

“They also need to go home. After I finish my shift on New Year’s Eve, I will drive back immediately to celebrate the first day of the Lunar New Year. That’s fine too.”

"The only downside is that we have to go back to work in the third year of junior high," Lu Cheng said.

"There's nothing I can do about being on duty," Mu Nanshu said before finally getting on the elevator with Lu Cheng.

After going downstairs, Lu Cheng personally drove Mu Nanshu to Mu Leng and Yan Sangyue, and watched them drive away before turning back.

Lu Cheng didn't rest for long before getting up again to call Lu Nan's family and Tian Hui.

Lu Nanjia and Tian Hui showed Lu Cheng their "murderous" achievements from the previous day.

In my hometown, there's a custom of killing chickens on the 28th of the lunar month, meaning that chickens are not allowed to be killed on that day. Lu Cheng is a member of the Tujia ethnic group, and the Tujia people celebrate the Lunar New Year a year earlier than other ethnic groups.

If the New Year is celebrated on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, the Tujia people celebrate it on the 29th, and if the New Year is celebrated on the 29th, it lasts until the 28th.

This year there is a Lunar New Year's Eve.

"Mom, can you finish all this? You didn't even leave any for me. I've told you so many times, freshly killed and cooked chicken tastes better."

"How much can you eat during the New Year?" Lu Cheng joked.

"You still have food to eat, your grandma is taking care of you! She's especially happy this year."

"Did your mother go out to play cards again?" Tian Hui asked Lu Nanjia.

Lu Nanjia was peeling garlic: "Sigh, I heard from them that my mom goes out to play cards every day now. But actually, she doesn't go out to play cards; she just goes out to make a name for herself."

"I just want to hear others say that his son Lu Cheng is successful."

Just like you.

Tian Hui raised her voice: "What? Say that again?"

"Don't think I don't know what you've been doing on that street where you sell vegetables. For the past month, what have you been doing carrying your vegetables around every day? Isn't it just to show off to people?"

“I know all that,” Lu Nanjia began to complain.

Tian Hui's face flushed, and she asked anxiously, "Me?"

"Those are all questions asked by other people."

Lu Nanjia continued to use the opportunity to complain: "You don't carry the load yourself, so why do other people have to stop doing business and come to you for help?"

Tian Hui couldn't argue with Lu Nanjia. Since she was in the wrong, she resorted to personal attacks: "Unlike you, you don't say a word outside, you're so honest that anyone can bully you."

Lu Nanjia said, "Being honest and upright doesn't mean you'll be bullied. Why be so cunning?"

"Why is my business slightly better than others when I'm hauling goods? You only see the effort I put in, right?"

Lu Cheng could tell that the reason Lu Nanjia was talking so much today was because he was also a bit excited. Otherwise, Lu Nanjia would never have dared to confront Tian Hui head-on in the past.

As the saying goes, the younger generation compares themselves to their fathers, while the older generation compares themselves to their sons.

At Lu Nanjia Tian Hui's age, if the children in the family are successful, they bring pride to the family when they go out.

In my rural hometown, being successful doesn't mean being wealthy, being obedient, or having a stable job. That's considered a good life.

If you can really get a high-ranking position in the civil service system, it's not just about being glamorous; it's about having a "big family" where relatives can practically knock on your door!
In ordinary rural areas, there aren't many people who earn more than 10,000 yuan a month.

"Second brother, sister-in-law," Lu Nanyong called out.

Lu Nanjia and Tian Hui quickly stood up, their expressions slightly restrained: "Nanyong, Suqin, you're back too?"

Aunt Yao Suqin quickly said, "Second brother, sister-in-law, please sit down. You don't need to stand up." "Do we still need to peel garlic?"

As they were talking, Yao Suqin saw Lu Cheng on Tian Hui's phone and said with a smile, "Lu Cheng, when are you going to get your vacation? You've gone to the prefecture, aren't you going to come home for the New Year?"

“Auntie, you have to work during the New Year too? I just came here this month, and the shifts are already scheduled. I definitely can’t get time off.”

"Unlike you, whose winter and summer vacations are always packed?" Lu Cheng asked.

My aunt, Yao Suqin, is a junior high school teacher. She and Lu Nanyong are a fairly typical doctor-teacher family. Apart from being a bit busy, they don't have any major health problems.

"Teachers' winter and summer vacations are like a lifeline. Kids these days are getting harder and harder to manage. If there were no winter and summer vacations, I would definitely be sent to a mental hospital."

"They're not like your generation of kids anymore."

Yao Suqin continued, "Sister-in-law, shall we go and cut some cabbage?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Hui immediately apologized, saying, "I told your second brother that I was going to go and cut some back, but I forgot about it in the blink of an eye."

"Suqin, you just arrived. You warm yourself by the fire, I'll do it."

Yao Suqin said, "Sister-in-law, let's go together. I'm also planning to get some pickled cabbage; I'll cut a lot more."

The two then decided to go out.

Yao Suqin and Tian Hui's relationship as sisters-in-law wasn't exactly close, but there weren't any major problems.

The main reason is that Yao Suqin rarely interacts with Tian Hui, and in most cases, the two don't have much to argue about.

After Tian Hui and Yao Suqin left, Lu Nanyong asked, "Lu Cheng, the work atmosphere at the State People's Hospital must be quite stressful, right?"

"It's not as leisurely as it is in our county."

Lu Cheng said, "Uncle, it's actually not bad. The emergency surgery department where I work is easier than the one in the county."

Lu Nanyong was somewhat surprised: "Is it any easier now?"

"Yes, the emergency department here doesn't perform surgery, it only does resuscitation. If the patient survives, they are sent to the operating room or a specialist department. If they don't survive, we say goodbye to the patient and their family."

"Our workload in emergency surgery is much less than that in internal medicine."

"Uncle, how are you? Have you been promoted to associate senior professional title?"

Lu Nanyong rubbed his eyes, glanced at Yao Suqin who had already walked away, and joked, "If your uncle had been more sensible back then and listened to the leader's instructions, he probably would have been promoted to associate professor a long time ago."

"Now, I'll have to wait until two years before I retire."

Lu Nanjia coughed and said sternly, "You're just ungrateful. Suqin is so good; she manages the children at home so well!"

"Brother, yes, yes." Lu Nanyong knew he couldn't explain the ins and outs of the Lu Nan family, so he didn't say anything more.

Both Lu Nanyong and Lu Nanjia's fathers died early. Lu Nanyong's current achievements are inseparable from the fact that Lu Nanjia supported his education back then. Lu Nanyong is the most successful of his generation.

His family did everything they could to support him.

“But I estimate that Xiao Lu will be promoted to associate senior level before me. After all, he has grassroots work experience and was selected to work in a prefecture-level city hospital.” Lu Nanyong quickly changed the subject.

"Uncle, not necessarily. But there's a chance."

Lu Cheng smiled and said, "A few days ago, our Director Xiao privately contacted me and said that the hospital leaders were thinking of giving me a little more responsibility."

"Add a burden? What burden?" Lu Nanyong asked as he peeled garlic and threw the outer skins into the fire pit.

"This allows me, like several other associate professors, to take patients into the operating room and routinely perform emergency surgeries."

"The compensation and benefits will also be improved a bit. It's already been implemented this month, and I've checked my surgical authorization," Lu Cheng said.

"The procedures were just completed the day before yesterday."

Lu Nanyong said, "As long as the medical affairs department and the hospital have filed a record, that's fine. If there's no record or you haven't submitted any forms, it's best not to do anything reckless."

"You don't need your uncle to lecture you on how bad the current medical environment is. You can see it yourself just by watching the news."

"We don't need to cause trouble."

"But, would anyone else in your hospital do the same? According to the current medical salary system, this is practically a raise for you, isn't it?"

Lu Cheng replied, "Uncle, it's not like I only got a raise without increasing my workload. All things considered, whether it's the associate professors in our department or the associate professors in the college, we can all eat a little more together."

The more emergency surgeries are performed, the more the associate senior physicians directly involved on duty, the associate senior physicians in the emergency department, and the on-duty doctors can have their workload increased, which is part of their performance evaluation.

Comparatively speaking, patients also benefited, and hospitals gained a good reputation, resulting in a win-win situation.

The reason why Lu Cheng wasn't given this authority before was that Xiao Zhaoxi didn't want to make a fuss, lest it cause problems.

Now that it can no longer be concealed, Xiao Zhaoxi can consider taking a relaxed approach, but he cannot interfere with the hospital leadership's arrangements.

"That's fine."

"You're doing better and better. Thinking about it, your uncle was short-sighted."

"If you had given in to my scolding back then, who knows what would have happened now?" Lu Nanyong said with a self-reproachful laugh.

"Your uncle is getting old; his thinking is too rigid."

Lu Nanjia chuckled, "You're not old either, you're doing this for Lu Cheng's own good."

Lu Cheng also said, "Uncle, I made this choice after careful consideration. I also carefully considered your advice. It wasn't a rash decision."

"When everything is stable, if everything remains unchanged, then the result will always be the same."

"The changes in my transfer from orthopedics to emergency medicine were not significant, and I was able to handle the outcome, which gave me a chance."

"Moreover, you helped a lot during this process, Uncle."

Lu Nanyong introduced Lu Cheng to the old traditional Chinese medicine doctor at the TCM hospital, whose manual reduction techniques were of great help to Lu Cheng and helped him get started in the emergency department of Longxian People's Hospital.

Ultimately, this forced Xiang Kuihua, an orthopedic surgeon, to go outside to learn manual reduction techniques!
"By the way, Xiao Lu, you're not the least senior person in your department, are you?" Lu Nanyong asked again.

"No, that's not it. My advantage is my age. There are still people younger than me."

"Of course, there are some people with intermediate professional titles who are a little older than me. But they haven't been to the countryside yet; the emergency department receives preferential treatment within the hospital!"

"Based on the current trend, I should have a chance to be promoted this year. Originally, I was supposed to wait for five years."

"Okay, that's good. Do a good job."

Lu Nanyong smiled enigmatically: "Your ideas go beyond the present. How much hardship you'll have to endure is up to you to decide."

"Your uncle is just a junior attending physician at the county hospital, and he can no longer help you."

"I really can't help anymore." Lu Nanyong's voice was tinged with bitterness.

When Lu Cheng was still in the orthopedics department, he could still think of going to drink with clients to ask for an opportunity. Now that Lu Cheng has gone to the state people's hospital, it's not something a junior attending physician like him can interfere with.

Just then, Lu Cheng's phone rang.

Lu Cheng quickly said, "Uncle, Dad, I got a call. Let's talk again tonight or tomorrow."

"Okay, you can hang up now."

“Let’s get together again when we get back, and I’ll have a couple of drinks with you,” Lu Nanyong said.

　P.S.: Lu Cheng's grandfather has passed away. There was a typo in the earlier chapters, which has been corrected.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)