Chapter 44

Gu Houyi and Xu Chunliang's encounter was purely coincidental. As they passed by Luji Oil-Scalded Duck, Gu Houyi joined the queue, and Xu Chunliang happened to be there as well. When he was about to leave, he noticed Gu Houyi standing at the end of the line.

Xu Chunliang came to buy braised dishes because he was too lazy to cook. The old man had gone to Haizhou, the clinic was temporarily closed, and he had given Aunt Lin a holiday. Xu Chunliang planned to buy some dishes and drink alone. He never expected to run into Dean Gu Houyi in such a setting.

Before he could speak, Gu Houyi had already greeted him, "Xiao Xu, are you buying food too?"

Xu Chunliang nodded and said, "Dean Gu, are you buying food too?"

"It's been a long time since I've had their duck."

The shop owner announced that the oil-scalded ducks were sold out. The business had always been good, and Gu Houyi shook his head. He usually liked their oil-scalded ducks, and with them sold out, he naturally lost interest in queuing.

Xu Chunliang noticed Gu Houyi's disappointment and directly handed him the half duck he was holding, "Dean Gu, you take it home."

"What will you eat if you give it to me?"

"It's fine. My grandfather isn't home today, and I'm alone. I can just eat somewhere else."

"Alone, huh? Come to my place."

Xu Chunliang said, "No trouble, really."

"What's the trouble? I'm alone today too. You bring the food, I'll provide the wine, and we can have a drink together."

Under normal circumstances, Gu Houyi wouldn't have the mood to drink with a junior doctor who had just joined the hospital, but today was different. Not only because Xu Chunliang had cured him, but also because he really wanted to find someone to drink and chat with.

Gu Houyi lived in Riverside Garden, just across the street. With the dean's sincere invitation, Xu Chunliang couldn't refuse. He thought Gu Houyi wanted to thank him for his help today.

Following Gu Houyi to his home, Xu Chunliang found the environment much simpler than he had imagined.

It was a three-bedroom, two-living room apartment, decorated over a decade ago. However, the place was clean and tidy. Gu Houyi's wife, Xie Mei, was a professor of Chinese at Dongzhou Normal University, and she was away at a conference in the provincial capital.

Gu Houyi had a son and a daughter, both working in the provincial capital. Many people of his age had similar family situations.

Gu Houyi asked Xu Chunliang to sit down and went to open two packs of Xingdesheng peanuts. He had always been well taken care of by his wife and couldn't cook at all.

Xu Chunliang had bought half a duck, duck wings, and a duck head, which was enough for a drinking session. He didn't want to watch the dean busy, so he offered to help plate the food.

Seeing how efficient he was, Gu Houyi turned to brew a pot of Longjing tea and opened a bottle of Lǐbīn Máo Tái.

"Xiao Xu, you're in for a treat. Try the wine my son sent me," Gu Houyi said, with a double meaning. One was to show his respect for the guest, and the other was to indicate that the wine was a gift from his son, with no corrupt intentions, as he had become increasingly cautious due to recent events.

"Good wine," Xu Chunliang said, pouring the wine for Gu Houyi first.

Gu Houyi raised his glass and then remembered something, "Xiao Xu, can I drink in my condition today?"

Xu Chunliang smiled, "Don't worry, no problem at all."

Gu Houyi found it strange that he trusted a young man without a medical license more than his own department heads. He raised his glass and clinked it with Xu Chunliang's, "Thanks for today."

"Dean Gu, we agreed not to mention it. As a leader, you shouldn't go back on your word."

Gu Houyi laughed heartily, "Alright, no mention. It's all in the wine." He drank it in one gulp.

Xu Chunliang also finished his glass. The wine was smooth and rich, with a thick sauce aroma. Since coming to this world, he had accompanied his grandfather in drinking many times, and the best wine he had tasted was Feitian Máo Tái. Lǐbīn Máo Tái was clearly a notch above.

"Xiao Xu, how many years have you studied Traditional Chinese Medicine?"

Faced with this question, he couldn't answer truthfully. Xu Chunliang said, "I've been with my grandfather since I was a child. I started recognizing Chinese herbs at three and learned the human meridians and acupoints by five. Due to constant exposure, I became very interested in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Because of my deep interest, I invested most of my energy into it, even neglecting my studies."

Gu Houyi knew he only had a high school education. When he had insisted on bringing Xu Chunliang into Changxing Hospital and securing a position for him, it wasn't because of his talent but because of the land of Huichuntang.

Xu Chunliang was one of the few compromises in Gu Houyi's management career. Because of today's events, he began to reflect on the current medical system. In the medical field, academic qualifications were a crucial standard for evaluating a person's level. Only when qualifications were equal would their diagnostic skills be considered.

At one time, the emphasis on academic qualifications had excluded many excellent undergraduate students. Talent was important in any industry. Being good at studying and exams didn't mean one could excel in the field, hence the saying "high scores, low ability."

As the dean, Gu Houyi was well aware of the high-qualified talents the hospital had introduced in recent years. A surgical doctor with a Ph.D. couldn't even perform a simple hernia operation. Times had changed. In the 1990s, there were several experienced surgeons who could perform surgeries from head to toe. The hospital's conditions were poor, and the average educational level of doctors was low.

Many low-qualified surgeons were jokingly called "knife craftsmen." They might not have been as theoretically knowledgeable as today's Ph.D. and master's students, but in terms of surgical skills, the latter couldn't catch up.

The same was true for internal medicine. In the past, an internist with a stethoscope and a tongue depressor could diagnose 90% of internal medicine cases. Now, the internists in the outpatient department would first write a thick stack of examination and test orders.

Gu Houyi wasn't against this practice. With the hospital being market-driven and the continuous strengthening of drug supervision, most drugs were included in centralized procurement. Examination fees were a major source of profit for the hospital. High-tech and modern medical examination equipment indeed helped doctors diagnose more accurately, but everything had two sides. The more advanced the examination equipment became, the more dependent doctors became on auxiliary tests.

Gu Houyi often thought that if the current experts at Changxing were placed in the 1990s, few would be able to diagnose patients. If they were transported back to ancient times, probably only the doctors in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department would be able to diagnose, and even the department head, Zhu Mingyuan, had questionable diagnostic skills, as Gu Houyi had personally verified.

Xu Chunliang raised his glass to Gu Houyi again, and Gu Houyi snapped back to reality. He drank a glass of wine and said, "Xiao Xu, your Traditional Chinese Medicine skills are already quite advanced."

"Dean Gu, you flatter me. I still have some self-awareness. I've only learned a bit of acupuncture and massage from my grandfather. I'm still far from proficient in prescribing medicine."

Gu Houyi looked at him appreciatively. This young man was good, neither arrogant nor humble. Despite his exceptional acupuncture skills, he remained modest and low-key. It was a pity he didn't have a medical license; otherwise, he could have been arranged to work in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department.

"Have you ever thought about returning to clinical practice?"