System Came When the Doctor was Thirty

Chapter 425: Chapter 232: A Familiar ’Old Acquaintance’?

"Oh, has Dr. Lu Cheng from the State Hospital arrived already? My apologies for being a bit late."

As Du Qiang walked in while taking off his down jacket, he chuckled softly: "I’ll definitely have to take a penalty drink for this later."

Seeing Du Qiang enter, Lu Cheng and a few others stood up. Lu Cheng said, "Director Du, please don’t tease me. A sheep in wolf’s clothing is still just a little lamb."

Zhang Tiesheng, Du Daihua, and Tian Zhuang also greeted Director Du with varying expressions.

It’s likely that apart from Zhang Tiesheng, both Du Daihua and Tian Zhuang were flustered by Du Qiang’s antics.

The ones on duty today are Zeng Huanqi and Han Xiaoping, so they won’t get to enjoy the feast!

"Everyone, take a seat. Our task today is to accompany the expert from the State Hospital!" Du Qiang continued, then after putting down his coat, looked at Tian Zhuang:

"Tian Zhuang, no photos allowed, delete them!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Zhuang immediately withdrew his hand, then sheepishly started deleting the photos.

After Du Qiang sat down, Lu Cheng said, "Director Du, I have a message from Professor Chen Song for you first. Professor Chen might be a few days late in coming down."

Du Qiang’s expression turned serious: "Naturally, both you and Professor Chen Song are rare and precious experts in our department, so of course, your schedules are prioritized."

"Zhang Tiesheng, so how about it? Have you now realized the level of skill of Dr. Lu? He’s much more advanced than I am, isn’t he?"

Zhang Tiesheng’s dark circles seemed even worse lately, but he still looked scholarly. He adjusted his black-framed glasses, blinking rapidly: "Xiao Lu’s antics are imperceptible to the nose."

Indeed, Professor Chen Song left the Long County People’s Hospital, which was determined over the eleven-day holiday.

But even Zhang Tiesheng and others didn’t expect that instead of returning to Xiangya Second Hospital after his rural stint, Chen Song was coaxed by Lu Cheng to Ji City.

Honestly, who would think of such a thing?

Even if it weren’t for this instance where Professor Chen Song actively contacted the Long County People’s Hospital, or say, Lu Cheng explaining the situation to Du Qiang, no one would imagine that Lu Cheng would ’keep’ Chen Song around!

Lu Cheng and Chen Song’s collaboration on a project, not only was it away from people’s sight, but also beyond their expectations.

No matter how you look at it, Lu Cheng is just a doctor from the county hospital, yet he retained a deputy professor, a prospective full professor, from the top teaching hospital in the province to work on a project? Isn’t there a bit of a mix-up in status here?

Of course, that’s all speculation now; everyone has confirmed it, leaving only shock.

"Brother Zhang, Director Du, since things weren’t settled before, I didn’t dare say anything to avoid misunderstandings."

"Actually, it’s Teacher Chen who put in a lot of effort to help me soar. If you guys keep spreading rumors like this, that’s really turning it on me."

"After Professor Chen comes down again, you big brothers won’t poke fun at me, will you?" Lu Cheng joked, laying out the logic.

It’s true that Chen Song is working on a project with Lu Cheng, but if people keep talking like that, Chen Song might not feel too happy.

"See, being an expert makes a difference. These phrases like ’turning it on me’ and ’poking fun’ don’t seem like words from our Long County," Du Qiang quipped with social grace.

Zhang Tiesheng smoothly added, "Hey, Director Du, the expert is synchronizing with the provincial, city, and national bigwigs, so it’s necessary to learn some slang and colloquial expressions for smooth communication."

"We don’t have to learn that, though."

"I’m not very educated, but Expert Lu Cheng is impressive." Zhang Tiesheng playfully gestured and shouted slogans.

Their Tai Chi exchange left Du Daihua and Tian Zhuang bewildered.

Du Daihua was slightly better, but Tian Zhuang was completely at a loss.

He knew they were joking, but couldn’t quite figure out what the joke was about.

After some small talk, Du Qiang began: "Xiao Lu, getting back to business, how do you find the State Hospital? Much more formal than our little hospital, isn’t it?"

Lu Cheng smiled and nodded at his words: "It is indeed much more formal, except the pressure during emergencies is greater, but nothing else is uncomfortable."

"Exactly, the State People’s Hospital is a top-tier hospital. Its performance, departmental divisions, and systems are all highly mature. Even in the emergency department, things are more finely divided."

"There are even specialized emergency clinics, like the Gastroenterology Emergency, Neurosurgery Emergency, unlike our small county hospitals that handle things in bits and pieces..."

As Du Qiang spoke, he glanced at Lu Cheng: "You seem to have gained some weight."

Lu Cheng nodded, "Yes, my father-in-law invites me for drinks every day, so I’ve gotten a bit chubbier."

Outside of on-call duties at the State People’s Hospital, there’s little to worry about. Lu Cheng either orders takeout in the experiment room or drinks with Mu Leng; how could he not gain weight?

Xiao Zhaoxi’s requirement for emergency surgeons was not to take emergency cases into the operating room.

Emergency surgeons are meant to handle prompt emergencies and timely rescue.

If a patient can’t be saved in the rescue room, it’s fate; if they can’t be saved in the operating room, it’s the specialist doctor’s business.

All systems align with the specialized treatment guidelines and processes of top-tier hospitals.

Zhang Tiesheng was surprised: "The emergency surgery department at the State People’s Hospital is so comfortable?"

"The former surgery director got booted out of the department for meddling too much."

Du Qiang spoke in a haunting tone: "If it were me, I wouldn’t choose to do anything that even slightly exceeds the limit."