Chapter 292 - 197: Good News Travels Fast

Chapter 292: Chapter 197: Good News Travels Fast

A moment of silence.

Jiang He: "Uh, Teacher, when you say I’ll be a judge... is it what I think it is?"

Yang Xu dropped the act, laying his cards on the table. "The provincial department’s exact words were, ’Our South China Region’s clinical skills competition produced someone like Jiang He, didn’t it?’ The higher-ups were thinking during a meeting, ’If this model can screen for such an exceptionally rare and top-tier talent like you, doesn’t that prove the competition’s selection mechanism is scientifically sound?’"

"So, the province is partnering with several top Medical Schools to expand this competition nationwide. The leadership wants to see if they can ride the momentum of a national competition to cultivate or discover a second Jiang He."

Jiang He: "..."

’Silence was his only refuge.’

For a moment, he had no idea how to even begin refuting that logic.

As Jiang He stood there speechless, the others beside him could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.

Actually, the provincial leadership’s idea wasn’t entirely without reason...

From a manager’s perspective, a good system can indeed produce good talent.

However, trying to replicate another Jiang He on a national scale was probably going to be a bit difficult.

No, forget the entire nation. Even if they expanded the search to the whole world...

...finding another twenty-one-year-old medical student with twenty years of top-tier surgical experience, who could suture blind with one hand, remove tumors with his eyes closed, and possessed a god-like perspective on future medical trends, was absolutely impossible.

Chen Hao slung an arm around Jiang He’s shoulder and said with a grin, "Hey, Old Jiang, we’re close enough to have shared a pair of pants! If you’re going to be a judge for the national competition, does that mean I can sign up and get a free pass all the way to the end?"

Standing nearby, Yi Xiangwan heard this and immediately started cursing, "HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT! Boss, I’m signing up too! Sign me up!"

"Get lost, get lost! He’s *my* Old Jiang. Don’t even try to get in on this. Go find your Brother Gu."

Gu Yizhou: "What the hell does it have to do with me?"

Yi Xiangwan: "See? He’s getting all worked up again."

Gu Yizhou: "?"

The group started shoving each other and horsing around.

Of course, they all knew it was just a joke.

With Jiang He’s rigorous attitude, cheating would be impossible. If anything, he’d probably be even stricter.

Yang Xu watched the young men clown around, letting them laugh for a moment before speaking. "Alright, alright, let’s be serious. The main reason the provincial department wants you to be a judge is to use you as a positive role model for publicity. In the last six months, you’ve had the LNR paper and the SAP. The higher-ups hope that you, as a young exemplar, can inspire medical students across the country."

"Besides, there will be clinical titans from all over the country at the competition. The department also wants to take the opportunity to introduce you to more people. Healthcare workers nationwide are one big family. In the future, if your projects need to be rolled out in other provinces and cities, everyone can help each other out where they can."

"Also, Academician Zheng from Capital City did in fact send word. He’s very keen on having a deeper academic discussion with you. I’m relaying his message verbatim. You can’t just refuse Academician Zheng, can you?"

After hearing all this, Jiang He mulled it over.

’Being a judge means I don’t have to be a contestant. I can just treat it as a networking opportunity. Doesn’t seem like a bad deal.’

’I can see who the champion is. If they look promising, I could even recruit them to my team.’

Finally, he nodded. "Alright. When is this competition?"

Yang Xu estimated the time. "After all the approvals and venue arrangements, it’ll probably be early next year."

Jiang He thought, ’Early 2009. That’s still a long way off.’

’The most pressing matters right now are the trip to Capital City at the end of the month and the data I still need to run in the lab.’

"Okay, we’ll talk about it when the time comes."

The meeting ended, and the group prepared to head back to Affiliated Hospital No. 1.

The saying goes that good news stays home, so why was this particular good news about Jiang He spreading like wildfire?

That afternoon, when Jiang He returned to Affiliated Hospital No. 1 after lunch, the way his colleagues greeted him along the way had already changed.

"Leader Jiang, you’re back."

"Hello, Leader Jiang."

"Leader!"

Everyone was cheerfully calling him "Leader Jiang."

And mind you, the official document jointly issued by the provincial department and the hospital hadn’t even been posted yet!

Jiang He wanted to complain inwardly, ’How did you all find out?’

Then Xiaomeng came up, even more excited, and said, "Leader Jiang! You’re back!"

Meng Shiyu felt he was incredibly lucky to have followed Jiang He from the very beginning.

Now, Jiang He had skipped past the residency stage and been promoted to an independent medical team leader, with the same benefits as an associate senior physician.

This meant Meng Shiyu had backed the right person. In this medical team, he would now be an undisputed core member of the inner circle!

"The official papers haven’t been issued yet," Jiang He said.

"It’s just a matter of a day or two, right? Hehe, Leader Jiang, I’ve already organized the medical records from this morning’s rounds for you to review."

"Alright."

Jiang He glanced at the medical records, preparing to do another round of checks himself.

At the nurses’ station not far away, Chen Jing saw Jiang He and immediately walked over, saying half-jokingly, "Ai, if I’d known Leader Jiang was going to be this successful, I would’ve latched onto this golden thigh for dear life back then. Now that you’ve made it big, I’d probably have to take a number and wait in line just to ask you out for a late-night snack."

A few young nurses nearby heard this and chuckled along.

In truth, if it weren’t for the ring Jiang He wore on his hand and the fact that he told everyone he met that he was in a relationship...

...he probably would have been completely swarmed by women throwing themselves at him by now.

The young nurses would never allow such an outstanding and handsome young doctor to remain single!

For reference, see Xu Chen:

Whenever Nurse Han Yuan is mentioned now, Xu Chen turns into a drooling, babbling mess...

Of course, people’s reactions to Jiang He’s promotion weren’t limited to just congratulations.

The other doctors in the department had their own mixed feelings.

A few people still held a grudge over Jiang He joining the Hepatobiliary Department and taking down Ma Huaide.

But Jiang He’s momentum was just too strong right now. Even if people had objections, they could only bottle them up. No one was willing to stick their neck out and court disaster at a time like this.

Troubling Jiang He now could be summed up in one phrase:

Making your bed next to a cesspool—courting death!

’Come to think of it, my 24/7 all-access pass for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), specially approved by Dean Chen, can now be honorably retired.’

’Now that I’ve evolved into an attending physician, I don’t need the pass for 24/7 access anymore.’

’I’ve really grown, huh?’

After checking on all his patients,

Jiang He remembered something.

Dean Zhang and Teacher Gu hadn’t attended the commendation ceremony today. They were at the hospital taking care of Jiaqi.

Jiaqi’s various inflammation markers had stabilized, and she was past the most dangerous period of vital sign fluctuations. She had been transferred from the ICU to a high-dependency ward.

As the surgeon in charge, Jiang He needed to check on the patient’s postoperative intestinal function recovery and the characteristics of the abdominal drainage fluid.

Jiang He arrived outside Zhang Jiaqi’s private room and peered inside through the glass window on the door.

Zhang Jiaqi was awake in the hospital bed, a nasogastric tube still in her nose, her face pale.

Dressed in a patient gown with her hair cut short, Jiaqi looked frail and thin.

To the left of the bed stood Zhang Sui.

To the right was Teacher Gu.

Normally, seeing their daughter pulled back from the brink of death should have created a warm, heartwarming scene of relief.

But what Jiang He saw through the glass was completely different.

The atmosphere in the room was terrible.

Zhang Sui’s hands were clenched into tight fists, his expression complex.

On the other side, Gu Qingyan stood with her arms crossed, her brows knitted tightly.

Lying between them, Zhang Jiaqi stared at the ceiling, completely ignoring the standoff between her parents.

Jiang He was a bit confused.

’Shouldn’t this couple be taking care of their daughter together right now? What’s this standoff about?’