"Director Du, you specifically sent the two ladies away. Is there something you need to discuss with me in private?" Lu Cheng politely offered Du Qiang a cup of tea, placing it in front of him.

The voices of Aunt He Shanshan and Wei Cheng gradually faded into the distance but still lingered faintly in the ears.

The light in the doctor's lounge was slightly dim, but the window's glow perfectly outlined the faces of Lu Cheng and He Qiang, creating an elusive shadow.

Du Qiang had a standard square face, with his forehead and jaw almost equally wide, his features sharp but his expression solemn yet gentle: "Xiao Lu, you don't need to be nervous."

"Regarding the matter with Professor Chen and my child, I didn't have the courage to knock on the door myself—that's a failure on my part as a father—but I don't hold it against you for that."

"Your Aunt Wei is just a woman and might be a bit sentimental, perhaps confused at the moment. You don't need to worry about it."

Lu Cheng sat down and didn't reply, continuing to observe Du Qiang's expression thoughtfully.

"The main reason I'm here today is to thank you on behalf of my brother. If it weren't for you inviting Professor Chen Song, he might not have survived, and the situation wouldn't have improved as it has."

"Let's keep issues separate."

"Judging by your expression, I guess you already know what happened at the weekly hospital meeting," Du Qiang pointedly remarked.

Lu Cheng casually replied, "Director Lin mentioned it in the department, but these are matters for the directors to consider. I'm just a small doctor who does the tasks assigned to me, as instructed by my leaders."

"The directors and hospital management surely have their deliberations." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Lu Cheng's response was not particularly tight-lipped but didn't offend anyone or express discontent.

Du Qiang directly said, "Xiao Lu, you must be a smart person."

"Instead of having your Emergency Department's Director Lin give favors, why can't I be the nice guy myself?"

"To be honest, I wasn't aware of your connection with my brother Wei Ying before. If I had known earlier, we should have had a drink together long ago..."

Long County is neither large nor small, but two strangers could connect through two or three people.

Previously, Du Qiang certainly wouldn't have paid attention to an Emergency Department rookie, but with the Wei Ying connection, Du Qiang naturally did a background check on Lu Cheng.

"Director Du, actually it's my dad who knows Uncle Wei. They were friends before, and now my dad helps deliver goods for Uncle Wei..." Lu Cheng explained his relationship with Wei Ying without exaggeration.

This connection doesn't quite count as a true connection, but the relationship between Du Qiang and Wei Ying is indeed genuine 'emotion'!

Du Qiang nodded: "There's a saying that goes, 'Unfamiliarity breeds contempt,' but it doesn't necessarily mean you have to fight to know someone; it requires a certain opportunity to meet."

"You can call me Uncle Du; my intentions are clear."

"I want to take back some of the emergency surgeries from the General Surgery Department, not to do them within our department, but to give you the authority to assign these surgeries!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng's muscles tensed slightly: "That's inappropriate, Director Du."

Du Qiang waved his hand and said, "There's no such thing as appropriate or not. I also have my own requests."

"From your perspective, among those in General Surgery and those in your Emergency Department, who do you think has a better foundation for learning Spleen Preservation Surgery and Gallbladder Preservation Surgery?"

Lu Cheng fell silent, cautiously saying, "Director Du, if your department wants to learn surgeries, it should be through further training or having doctors from higher-level hospitals come to teach, right?"

"Units like Xiangya Hospital and Xiangya Second Hospital don't perform emergency Spleen Preservation Surgery; their General Surgery Departments mostly deal with tumors."

"Hospitals like the Provincial People's Hospital that do these surgeries don't have 'paired relationships' with us. We typically wouldn't go for further training at the Provincial People's Hospital."

"Moreover, going for further training is often just a superficial experience..."

"And the Xiangya Hospital surgeons doing Spleen Preservation Surgery won't come to our General Surgery Department. Do you understand the awkwardness of this?"

Long County People's Hospital is located in a remote county, which receives preferential policies and forms paired assistance relationships with Xiangya Second Hospital and Xiangya Hospital.

This is excellent and allows for the acquisition of many skills.

But the awkward point is the significant gap between the average level of the County Hospital and Xiangya Hospital. Even though the Xiangya Hospital doctors wish to pass down their skills, the opportunity isn't there.

Du Qiang continued, "Furthermore?"

"Field doctors generally have certain personalities, which I understand better than you. They often treat it as a holiday rather than genuinely engage in teaching."

Du Qiang finished, adding one more sentence: "Therefore, meeting someone like Professor Chen Song counts as an exception."

"Our department's current developmental focus is reluctantly on tumors, but it's a big leap… and it's not going well, requiring a lot of effort..."

"I've considered it for a long time, always hoping to gradually establish Spleen Preservation and Gallbladder Preservation Surgery within my term."

Lu Cheng asked confusedly, "Director Du, since your department has already started working on tumors, shouldn't you continue pursuing it?"

"Our county likely has numerous tumor patients related to General Surgery, right?"

Du Qiang replied, "It's not about the patient source..."

"Xiao Lu, you don't need to delve into the specific reasons now. I just need your clear response. We want to regain significant surgical permissions to master Spleen and Gallbladder Preservation Surgery."

"Xiao Lu, will you agree or not..."

With Du Qiang clearly stating his purpose, Lu Cheng found it awkward to respond directly.

This isn't something that can be easily brushed off.