"Mom, didn't you often say Lu Cheng is a decent person and not lacking ambition? Aren't these two points enough?"

"Your standards are really harsh." Mu Nanshu emphasized the word "harsh."

Mu Nanshu's father, Mu Leng, suddenly chimed in: "Let her have her own thoughts. Why are you interfering so much?"

"We've watched Xiao Lu grow up; his character surely isn't an issue. If Xiao Shu hadn't invited him to Shanghai, Xiao Lu's starting point could have been questionable."

"Besides, if Xiao Shu really ends up with Xiao Lu, you won't even have to worry about vetting the family. Isn't that great?"

Mu Nanshu's mother, Yan Sangyue, glanced at Mu Leng: "I'm not worried about other things. I'm just afraid that once Xiao Shu is married, her spending habits could clash with Old Lu's family, and she'd suffer in silence..."

"Being friends is one thing; spending habits are another, right?"

"Don't you understand Old Lu and Old Tian?" countered Yan Sangyue.

These words silenced both Mu Leng and Mu Nanshu because they had nothing to say.

...

Lu Cheng arrived at the emergency department, where the late-shift Zeng Huanqi was cheerfully explaining to a patient, "Sure, if you think you should go to orthopedics, you can request to go there."

"But I must say, there's no guarantee that the quality of surgery there will be better than what Dr. Lu can provide." Zeng Huanqi was clear, yet left room for choice.

"What do you mean by 'no guarantee that Dr. Lu's surgery will be better?' The patient, a woman in her thirties, frowned while enduring pain.

"Just what the words say."

"This surgery is done by both our emergency and orthopedic departments, but Dr. Lu here performs it regularly, while orthopedics does it selectively!"

"Didn't you ask the doctor on duty? They're not handling it, so I'm saying even if you go to orthopedics, Dr. Lu might still have a better quality of surgery."

"We're all colleagues, and I won't put one down to lift another; just stating the facts." Zeng Huanqi turned and saw Lu Cheng.

He said, "Dr. Lu is here..."

"Dr. Lu..." The young couple looked at Lu Cheng following Zeng Huanqi's comment, surprised but saying nothing more.

Though Lu Cheng looked young, his demeanor was mature and composed.

"Dr. Zeng, have they not signed yet?" Lu Cheng approached and asked Zeng Huanqi with a smile.

Zeng Huanqi nodded, "The couple is still hesitating. They said they consulted friends, who mentioned this issue is under orthopedics... But our hospital's orthopedic department isn't doing tendons now... so they're still wavering."

The young woman's husband spoke, "Dr. Lu, how high is the success rate of my wife's surgery? My friend said her condition is quite complicated."

"If there's any carelessness, the postoperative recovery might be poor. Is that true?"

Lu Cheng glanced over and quickly identified the injury as flexor tendon injury in area three: "After a tendon rupture, it's easy to encounter certain complications."

"Such as re-ruptures, tendon adhesions, among others—common complications we've genuinely encountered in clinical practice. Of course, there are rare ones too..."

The young man furrowed his brows and cautiously asked, "Dr. Lu, in my wife's case, wouldn't it be better to go to State Hospital?"

"But we're worried it might take too long, and if we transfer there, the tendon could necrose and waste time."

In modern society, with advanced internet communication, any symptom can be searched, and the average person can roughly understand the risks involved.

Lu Cheng replied, "If you want to transfer to a higher-level hospital, it would certainly be better."

"Dr. Zeng, does she have vascular damage?" Lu Cheng asked Zeng Huanqi.

Seeing Zeng Huanqi shake his head, Lu Cheng continued, "Since there's no vascular damage, it's a scheduled surgery; you still have time to rush from Long County to State People's Hospital."

"Of course, if you choose to have the surgery at our hospital, you won't have to travel around." Lu Cheng didn't solely advise a referral.

The young man smiled and continued to probe, "Dr. Lu, you haven't answered my question yet: would it be better to go to State Hospital?"

Lu Cheng was already avoiding the question because it involved colleagues from other hospitals, making it hard for him to answer.

Lu Cheng didn't overdo self-effacement: "It should be about the same..."

The young woman instantly became conflicted, "About the same? Then why is there such a price difference?"

This sentence revealed that they had already inquired about State People's Hospital.

The young man pursed his lips and looked at Lu Cheng complexly, then moved closer to him: "Dr. Lu, my wife is already a bit torn... What I mean is..."

With this statement from the young man, Lu Cheng understood their 'conflict,' the husband wanting a better hospital, while the woman worried about costs.

"The hospital tier and technical level at State Hospital are higher and overall better than ours, so the fees are higher. This is unified pricing by medical institutions, not set by hospitals themselves."

"If you want a transfer, arrange the transport yourself as soon as possible and hurry over; scheduled surgeries shouldn't be delayed."

At this point, Tian Zhuang, on duty outside, ran in.

Tian Zhuang directly walked in with the medical record and opened without reservation: "Dr. Lu, a patient came to the office brought by respiratory physician Han Rong."