System Came When the Doctor was Thirty

Animal Experiment Center, inside the operating room.

The shadowless lamp was moved away, the power switched off, and the bright light in front of them tightened a little.

After finishing the current procedure, Dong Liumeng forced down his excitement and walked to stand behind Qu Daowen, helping him loosen his collar.

Dong Liumeng’s voice was genial: ”Teacher Qu, are you really going back next month?”

”It’s about time I did.” Qu Daowen nodded.

Qu Daowen deftly unfastened the disposable sterile surgical gown, tossed it into the trash, then turned back to glance at the rabbit that had just undergone surgery.

Qu Daowen’s voice floated: ”But you don’t have to rush off…”

Dong Liumeng said, ”Teacher Qu, I was planning to stay on for a few more months.”

”Setting aside all those clinical maneuvers, just this laparoscopic spleen repair—being able to get to your current level in two months’ time…”

”These animal models have been a huge help.”

Dong Liumeng’s tone was conflicted: ”Teacher Qu, do you think it’s appropriate for me to keep taking the money now?”

”The department has so many attendings who only take a one-sided salary, and yet I’m the only one who?”

Qu Daowen didn’t really know how to answer this question of Dong Liumeng’s.

Strictly speaking, what Dong Liumeng could do wasn’t even on par with newcomers like Chen Song and the others, but on paper he was an expert invited to the State People’s Hospital from the Provincial People’s Hospital.

”Take what you’re supposed to. It’s the hospital paying, they’re not going to miss your three melons and two dates.”

”Of course, if you have other ideas, you can go talk to Director Lu, discuss it. That’s your young folks’ business.”

”I’m getting on in years, can’t work the angles anymore, and I don’t have the mind for this kind of thing.”

Qu Daowen certainly knew that Dong Liumeng also wanted to get in on the project.

Even though Qu Daowen was an associate professor at the Provincial People’s Hospital, he still had promotion pressure hanging over him.

If he wanted to move up, purely learning technique, just repeating other people’s surgical skills, made it very hard to progress.

Padding his record with more project experience, deeply participating in a brand‑new project from scratch—that could make Dong Liumeng’s CV look a lot, lot better.

”Okay, I’ll go talk to Director Lu privately.”

”Sometimes I feel completely shameless.” After peeling off his gloves, Dong Liumeng rubbed his own chin, squeezing the flesh on his chin into four sharp creases.

Being a support expert sent down, getting hospital subsidies, having access to new techniques to learn, and still wanting to ride along on the papers.

Even he felt he was being way too shameless.

But if he really thought it through: if he didn’t have the status of a support expert, he literally wouldn’t have the right even to know this project was underway.

Wouldn’t know these new techniques had been brought down and implemented at Xiangzhou People’s Hospital.

...

Ji City, outside a big private room in a farmhouse restaurant.

Two servers were chatting at the door: ”So many people, all men, and they don’t drink at all. I really don’t get what’s going through their heads.”

”Shh…” The older young woman made a hush gesture. ”Keep your voice down. Is this something you should be saying?”

The younger server said, ”Sister Wang, come on, I mean, speaking logically.”

”There are at least fifteen or sixteen people in there, and they’re only asking for bottled water and soft drinks, yogurt.”

”And they only call for them a few bottles at a time.”

”They’ve been eating for almost four hours now…”

”No idea what they’re talking about, and they’ve even set up a projector, putting on this really serious act…”

Selling more alcohol meant more commission—that was a rule the boss had set.

At first, she thought they’d landed a big table. If she could push the alcohol on her list, the commission would be huge.

But after a few hours, not a drop of alcohol had been touched inside, they hadn’t even opened a single bottle of beer.

And they were taking forever to eat.

They’d added alcohol to the hotpot stove four times already, and the air‑conditioning had been running nonstop…

”Still, none of that is yours to comment on. This private room booking was personally cleared by the boss over the phone.”

”Quit complaining!”

”If you don’t want to stay up here, go downstairs and help out…” the older server said.

Right then, the door to the private room swung open.

A young man opened the door from inside: ”Sister, could you first bring in five cases of beer, chilled.”

”Do you need baijiu?” The younger server hurriedly asked when she heard that.

”No baijiu, thanks.” Zhang Zixu waved his hand and politely declined.

The younger server said, ”We also have infused liquor here…”

”Don’t need that either, just beer… Sorry to trouble you…” Zhang Zixu closed the door himself.

...

Inside the private room.

Xie Xiao led the applause, tone kind: ”Xiao Lu, sometimes I really wonder if your brain circuits are wired differently from normal people.”

”I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to open it up and take a look.”

Qu Daowen glanced at Xie Xiao, smiling: ”Professor Xie is ruthless… already thinking about cracking open his skull.”

”Professor Qu, when you talk and think, do you always just squeeze straight into the bull’s horn?” Xie Xiao looked at Qu Daowen with a half‑smile, her hands clasped together.

Qu Daowen froze for a moment: ”Professor Xie, you misunderstood.”

”I’m clumsy with words, can’t express myself smoothly. Please don’t take it to heart—later I’ll punish myself with a drink to apologize.”

Xie Xiao was right beside Lu Cheng, and Lu Cheng could tell she hadn’t picked up on Qu Daowen’s joke:

”Professor Xie, when Professor Qu cracks jokes, this is actually considered pretty straightforward.”

”Please don’t misunderstand.”

Xie Xiao’s mouth parted slightly: ”Is this how you people ’drive the car’ in normal conversation? Not even trying to be subtle?”

Did ”open up the skull” really just mean literally opening the skull?

And not some veiled hint that she was out to make Lu Cheng suffer a brain injury?

”Sometimes it gets even more direct.”

”Professor Xie, this is a regional cultural difference. Our folks in Xiangzhou are a bit more rough‑and‑ready…”

”Anyway, the formal part of the discussion is over. From here on out, it’s all just for fun. Nobody needs to take anything to heart.”

”Just listen for a laugh.” Lu Cheng hurriedly set the tone.