Chapter 93 - 78: Appreciation Banquet

Chapter 93: Chapter 78: Appreciation BanquetLuan Yuchuan had arrived early, looking healthy, as if he had completely recovered.

When Xu Chunliang and the others entered the room, Luan Yuchuan was chatting with his old friend, Su Yunquan, the Director of Cardiology at the Provincial People’s Hospital. That day, Luan Yuchuan had suffered from acute myocardial infarction leading to cardiogenic shock on the high-speed train. Fortunately, the three of them had saved him from the brink of death.

After the high-speed train arrived at Nanjiangnan Station, Luan Yuchuan was urgently sent to Pingjiang Province People’s Hospital, where Su Yunquan personally treated him. An angiography revealed a 90% blockage in the circumflex artery of Luan Yuchuan’s coronary artery. Su Yunquan suggested a stent implantation, but Luan Yuchuan was very resistant to this option and even hesitant about balloon angioplasty. Nobody knew what he was really afraid of.

Due to the timely rescue on the train, Luan Yuchuan’s myocardial damage was not severe, and his heart function indicators were relatively good. Su Yunquan agreed to try conservative thrombolytic therapy first, hoping to persuade Luan Yuchuan to accept interventional treatment to permanently resolve his heart issue.

Luan Yuchuan’s condition was not suitable for discharge, but he insisted on leaving the hospital. Su Yunquan couldn’t sway him and had to complete the discharge procedures. He accompanied Luan Yuchuan to the dinner mainly because he was concerned about his health, and he also wanted to meet Xu Chunliang to understand the method he used to revive Luan Yuchuan.

In fact, before this, Su Yunquan had already asked Xu Donglai about the details of the rescue that day. Even Xu Donglai, who was there, couldn’t quite explain it as traditional Chinese medicine was not his area of expertise.

Luan Yuchuan stood up to greet them, shaking hands with Xu Donglai and Xu Chunliang in turn. He treated them all equally, for he himself couldn’t quite figure out who exactly had saved his life.

Xu Donglai and Su Yunquan already knew each other. They both worked in the medical system in Nanjiang, each at top-tier comprehensive hospitals, but since they specialized in different areas, they seldom interacted.

Su Yunquan proactively extended his hand to Xu Chunliang: "Are you Dr. Xu?"

Xu Chunliang smiled and shook his hand: "Just call me Xiaoxu. I’m not a doctor."

Everyone present thought he was being modest. Luan Yuchuan added: "One doesn’t have to work in a hospital to be called a doctor. I’ve heard that brilliant traditional Chinese medicine practitioners are found among the people." He said this because Xu Chunliang mentioned he came from Huichun Hall, leading Luan Yuchuan to believe he was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

Xu Chunliang didn’t explain further. Hearing Luan Yuchuan speak with a strong and full voice, it seemed he had recovered well.

Luan Yuchuan asked Mo Han to contact Li Jia Kuan to see when he would arrive, so they could determine when to serve the dishes.

Li Jia Kuan arrived at seven in the evening, brought by his son, although his son left once they reached the place; young people have their own social engagements.

Having been caught in the rain today, Li Jia Kuan’s sparse hair clung to his scalp, resembling black ink streaks on a smooth egg shell. Xu Chunliang found it rather amusing and couldn’t understand why Li Jia Kuan treasured these few strands of hair so much. This hairstyle had no aesthetic appeal; he might as well have gone bald.

Luan Yuchuan warmly shook hands with Li Jia Kuan as well, as they were all his lifesavers. Regardless of one’s wealth or status, one should have a grateful heart.

It was Li Jia Kuan’s first time in such a setting, and he seemed a bit nervous. Seeing so many people waiting for him made him feel uneasy, so he kept explaining that he had accompanied his son to look at houses today.

While Li Jia Kuan said this without much thought, Luan Yuchuan asked with interest where he had looked at houses.

Li Jia Kuan truthfully replied that it was Linjiang Garden in Jiangbei. They had already paid the deposit and would soon sign the contract.

Luan Yuchuan said to Mo Han, "Xiaohan, give President Jiang a call later and ask him to give Dr. Li a discount."

Li Jia Kuan hurriedly said there was no need to bother, but Luan Yuchuan insisted it was no trouble, as it was just business. Li Jia Kuan would soon understand the real significance of this discount.

Among the guests tonight, only Su Yunquan had been to Wangjiang Building before; for everyone else, it was their first time witnessing such luxury. Even the well-traveled Xu Donglai was astonished. Besides the array of exquisite delicacies, the choice of alcohol was telling—50-year-old Moutai, each kilogram costing over 40,000 yuan, and red wine from Chateau Haut-Brion, each bottle nearly 20,000 yuan.

Xu Chunliang, not well-versed in current alcoholic beverages, only knew that tonight’s Moutai tasted excellent and was certainly expensive. Everything before him testified to Luan Yuchuan’s wealth.

Being friends with Luan Yuchuan, Su Yunquan was accustomed to such scenes and was composed about it. Although Xu Donglai and his wife hadn’t experienced such lavish hospitality before, they were worldly enough to behave and converse elegantly.

Xu Chunliang, having faced countless life and death situations, was long unfazed by upheavals.

Only Li Jia Kuan was truly overwhelmed by the scene before him. Coming from a county-level city like Gusu, he had never encountered anything like this. In such a setting, he hardly dared to speak, treading cautiously at every step. There were things that he had never seen or tasted before. Afraid of being ridiculed, he just observed how others were eating to follow suit.

Luan Yuchuan initially intended to seat the three lifesavers at the main seats, but Xu Donglai firmly refused, suggesting they be seated according to age.

Thus, 55-year-old Luan Yuchuan took the chief seat, followed by Su Yunquan, then Li Jia Kuan, and finally Xu Donglai and his wife.

According to this arrangement, Xu Chunliang naturally ended up at the end, while Mo Han invited him to sit first and took the last seat herself.

Chunliang didn’t hold back either. After sitting down, he said, "Miss Mo, you’re younger than me."

Mo Han replied, "I’m three years older than Mr. Xu."

Luan Yuchuan laughed and said, "Dr. Xu, asking a girl’s age is a big no-no, but Mo Han can really hold her liquor. You should be careful."

Su Yunquan was originally prepared to stop Luan Yuchuan from drinking, but Luan Yuchuan cherished his life. Having just had a brush with death, he didn’t dare to drink now, and everyone understood.

As an old friend of Luan Yuchuan, Su Yunquan became his full representative tonight. Su Yunquan could hold his liquor well and was also good at creating a lively atmosphere.

In the medical system, anyone who reaches his position not only needs excellent professional skills but also must possess certain social skills. Public, overt Chinese social culture is mostly about drinking culture, while the hidden, unspoken aspects are too numerous to mention.

Li Jia Kuan relaxed after drinking a pot of liquor. He was someone who blushed easily with alcohol, with a tolerance of about half a kilo.

Su Yunquan said, "Director Li, I heard you are also an experienced traditional Chinese medicine doctor."

Li Jia Kuan nodded, "I’ve worked for thirty years. Our Gusu is a county-level city with a small population and few patients. Our Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital has even fewer patients, so I haven’t seen many cases. It’s embarrassing; my skills have improved too slowly." Ever since witnessing Xu Chunliang’s acupuncture, Li Jia Kuan felt ashamed, believing his own capabilities were insignificant.

Xu Donglai said, "Old Li, you’re being too modest."

"It’s not modesty; it’s reality. If I had switched to Western medicine back then, my income would definitely be higher. Not to mention you guys in the big cities, even rural people no longer trust traditional Chinese medicine," Li Jia Kuan was stating facts.

Su Yunquan nodded, "There are indeed some conditions that traditional Chinese medicine can’t resolve."

"Director Su, which conditions can’t traditional Chinese medicine solve?" Xu Chunliang didn’t like hearing this.

Su Yunquan knew this statement had upset the young man. He smiled, "Xiaoxu, I don’t mean to look down on traditional Chinese medicine. Both have their strengths, but Western medicine covers a wider range and has clearer classifications. I can’t say Western medicine is always better for internal diseases, but for surgical cases, Western medicine excels. You can’t deny that, right?"

Xu Chunliang said, "In setting bones, scraping bones, and treating injuries, traditional Chinese medicine is no less effective than Western medicine."

"But it depends on the situation. When it comes to comminuted fractures, even a master in traditional Chinese medicine is at a loss." Su Yunquan was not trying to argue with the young man but stating facts. Medicine is rigorous and cannot be taken lightly.

Xu Chunliang thought to himself, those who are helpless are incompetent doctors.

Mo Han, who hadn’t spoken for a while, said, "I think so too. Take the most common gallstones, for instance; surgical treatment is still the first choice."

Li Jia Kuan said, "Traditional Chinese medicine has some effect on stones under five millimeters, but for those over ten millimeters, surgical treatment should be the first choice."

"The principle of surgical treatment in Western medicine is nothing more than subtraction. They believe that cutting off the diseased part of the body solves the problem once and for all. Patients are grateful to the doctors for saving their lives, but every inch of one’s body, inherited from one’s parents, is not redundant. If there is a glimmer of hope, who would willingly sacrifice a limb to survive?" Xu Chunliang still stuck to his viewpoint.

Xu Donglai also joined the discussion, "But some diseases truly can’t be cured by internal methods. Take gallstones as an example; if the stone becomes too large and causes impaction, leading to bile duct obstruction, traditional Chinese medicine is also powerless, right?"

Xu Chunliang said, "You can use stone-crushing techniques."o mistakenly believe it was the acupuncture that revived him.

Su Yunquan thought to himself that Xu Chunliang was probably not just impulsive. Being able to say something so lacking in medical common sense proved that he was likely a quack, somewhat like the people who claimed eggplants could cure all diseases.

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