Chapter 798: Need a PhD? A Simple Task

Bai Chuzhang and Dean Shen's party boarded the plane to the United States.

Bai Chuzhang understood Ji Xiang's intention; he would never refuse such an upright and honorable matter.

Although Bai Chuzhang was not interested in the NBA, Dean Shen was a loyal fan of Yao. After Yao retired, he had followed the games for a few years, especially with the miraculous emergence of Huzi Deng.

It would be an exaggeration to call him a "bandwagon fan," but Dean Shen would absolutely not refuse to come to the United States to watch the NBA Finals.

Furthermore!

This year's Finals were full of legendary status.

It was another Huanglü Dazhan, and the leader of the Lakers was Wembanyama, the "sickly" player abandoned by the Green Celtics a few months ago; all of this was full of hype.

Although the Lakers had lost the first two games and the possibility of winning the championship this year was not high, yet

Huanglü Dazhan, revenge, the return of the king.

Bai Chuzhang knew that behind these words that made one's blood boil, one person could not be avoided—Ji Xiang.

Without Ji Xiang, there would be no Wembanyama as he was today.

Although Bai Chuzhang could not understand the game either, he knew that all of this was Ji Xiang's credit.

The only thing that made Bai Chuzhang dissatisfied but had to be done was that the person responsible for translation work and arranging all matters in the United States was Lin Jiuze.

That was a man who would make one feel dizzy and dazzled just by looking at him, even if one only looked at him out of the corner of their eye.

This was just the beginning; the journey to the United States was long, and there would be suffering, which Bai Chuzhang knew very well.

Next, there was still the World Cup in a few months.

Neymar had already sent Ji Xiang tickets for the Brazil Team, and the tickets were locked in a cabinet at Bai Chuzhang's home, treasured with great care.

This year was a big year for sports; he would be accompanying Dean Shen everywhere to watch games, and it would be as enjoyable as it could possibly be!

It was a real pity about Xiao Ji, who always said he could not go abroad.

If he could come, it would be great to just throw Lin Jiuze at home to do chores; Bai Chuzhang occasionally had thoughts like that.

Chatting with Ji Xiang was always better than chatting with Lin Jiuze.

Relatively speaking, Lin Jiuze was just a piece of wood, and a piece of wood that made people feel dizzy and dazzled just looking at him.

Moreover, Ji Xiang's English level was very high; Bai Chuzhang firmly believed he could handle this job.

What a pity.

"Dean Shen, since we've just arrived, should we go to a bar for a bit to adjust to the jet lag?"

After getting off the plane, Bai Chuzhang asked.

"No need." Dean Shen smiled. "At my age, I feel uncomfortable in my heart just entering bars or karaoke halls. Let's just watch the ball games properly and not go to those kinds of places. If something happens and I have to be carried out, it won't sound good."

"Alright." Bai Chuzhang smiled. "The private lives of many American basketball players are quite chaotic."

"Oh?"

"They add tomato juice to the condoms they use, otherwise, if they hit the mark, the child support payments later will be quite high. For example, Howard, who earned a lot of money back in the day, but has so many children he's almost bankrupt."

"Hahaha." Dean Shen knew this meme and laughed loudly.

"Another example is during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Jimmy Butler went to a nightclub and battled with a waitress for 6 hours, and in the end, the waitress had no choice but to ask for leave to rest at home."

"I know about this too; I always feel that either it's a natural gift or they've taken drugs."

In order to have common topics with Dean Shen, Bai Chuzhang had recently learned a lot of related gossip.

There were even more similar things about Huzi Deng, but since Dean Shen was a fan of Huzi Deng, he couldn't say it.

"There must be a natural gift, otherwise why would Ibaka's nickname be 'Er Ba Ka'? Speaking of taking drugs, some hospitals really go too far. Especially those bastards in the Pharmacy, messing around with everything."

Dean Shen smiled slightly.

There were many such legends; a relatively famous one was a few years ago when a Vice President in charge of medicine at a large Grade A Tertiary Hospital was at the ripe old age of 60... cough cough cough.

Besides that, there were many things that couldn't be said, similar to paid WeChat groups and so on.

The only common point was that in every scandal, there were people from the Pharmacy Department or Pharmacy.

How good it would be if they could put their minds to the right things.

"Xiao Bai, the hospital is researching, and your chances of being promoted to Vice President this year are extremely high. I have a mind to hand the pharmacy sector over to you; you must strictly control it."

Bai Chuzhang was a direct subordinate and was tactful in doing things; Dean Shen told him the good news with a straight face as if he were reprimanding him.

"Dean Shen, don't worry." Bai Chuzhang didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it directly.

"Not drinking is fine too. A while ago, a professor from the Respiratory Medicine Department invited me to dinner and brought two graduate students. Those two got drunk after a few bottles of beer and insisted they were Apple phones and needed to be charged because their battery was exhausted."

"..."

"Sigh, it's embarrassing. I threw the menu on her and said it was wireless charging, and only then did it get better."

"Oh? Is that a charging meme?" Dean Shen looked at Bai Chuzhang with deep eyes.

Bai Chuzhang was slightly startled, then smiled bashfully, "If it's playing with memes, that's even worse; it's very troublesome."

The two were chatting casually when Lin Jiuze looked into the distance and saw Dr. Merz at the arrival gate.

"Dr. Lin!" Dr. Merz waved enthusiastically to signal.

Lin Jiuze noticed that in just a few short months, before Wembanyama's playoffs were even over, Dr. Merz seemed to have aged more than ten years.

"Merz, hello." Lin Jiuze appeared with the posture of a winner, and he hadn't even done anything yet, but he could crush Dr. Merz; he couldn't describe how good it felt inside.

"Lin, when are you coming back?" Dr. Merz was slightly embarrassed, but since he had come, he bit the bullet and asked.

"I don't know." Lin Jiuze smiled. "It's possible I won't come back, ever."

"!!!"

"You know, there have been a lot of surgeries on that side recently, and I'm afraid there won't be as many surgeries after I return." Lin Jiuze continued to twist the knife. "For example, Tom, when he left, he gave me a football, saying it was the first football of his life, and invited me to this year's Super Bowl."

"!!!" Dr. Merz was surprised.

Although the Super Bowl ticket was not a burden to him, the ticket Tom gave must be with the team!

Dr. Merz's eyes were a little red.

"Tom is truly confident, at least more confident than I am. I don't think he will necessarily lead the team back to the Super Bowl at his age."

Dr. Merz gave a helpless, bitter smile.

It has recently become a trend for top-tier athletes to go to the Second Affiliated Hospital for surgery, and the person who connects them is Lin Jiuze.

If it were him, he certainly wouldn't come back either.

Although Dr. Merz didn't know how much money Lin Jiuze could make, it certainly wouldn't be a small amount.

Dr. Merz hesitated for a moment; there were some things he didn't feel comfortable saying out loud.

Lin Jiuze knew Dr. Merz's inner thoughts very well. He patted Dr. Merz on the shoulder, "Have there been very few surgeries lately? I mean the kind that doesn't involve insurance companies."

Dr. Merz sighed.

"You've seen the surgery; it can be performed at any time. Dr. Ji Xiang won't mind," Lin Jiuze teased.

"Lin, I didn't understand how Ji performed the surgery," Dr. Merz said truthfully.

Hearing Dr. Merz say this, Lin Jiuze was even more pleased.

"Including all the articles published by Dr. Ji Xiang, I've read them I don't know how many times, but damn it, I still don't know where the key points of the surgery are."

"I don't know either."

"..." Dr. Merz stared blankly at Lin Jiuze.

"So, what is the point of me coming back? Staring at scans on a screen for a month isn't as good as performing one surgery," Lin Jiuze said.

Dr. Merz felt a bit dazed.

He roughly knew how much money could be made from looking at scans; Lin Jiuze's statement was a bit exaggerated, but Dr. Merz couldn't help but believe it.

Although a single surgery fee is extremely high, taking Wembanyama as an example, not to mention honor and the spirit of sports competition, just the max contract alone earns him a fortune.

Lin Jiuze chatted with Dr. Merz for a few sentences and then walked straight toward Tang Chenghua.

"Teacher, I'm back."

Tang Chenghua was all smiles and very satisfied.

"This is Dean Shen Zihua, the Dean of the Second Affiliated Hospital. This is..." Lin Jiuze began to introduce the group to Tang Chenghua.

Tang Chenghua shook hands and exchanged greetings with the people from the Second Affiliated Hospital, saying some lukewarm things; he was neither too enthusiastic nor cold.

Dean Shen, on the other hand, was quite excited.

After arranging their accommodation, they rushed to the arena early the next day.

"Staples Center is also known as the Stapler," Lin Jiuze said, leading Dean Shen and Bai Chuzhang to the arena to introduce it to their group. "Because the original sponsor sold stationery, it got this nickname."

Stapler Arena, how strange, thought Bai Chuzhang, looking around.

The arena, which could hold 20,000 people, looked... just so-so; it was still much smaller compared to the Bird's Nest, which could hold 91,000 people.

"This is the home court for many teams and has also hosted a great many concerts, including the Grammys, Michael Jackson's memorial concert, and so on."

While introducing, Lin Jiuze led everyone to the front row.

Bai Chuzhang had thought the VIP tickets Wembanyama gave them would be in a luxury box, but he didn't expect to be sitting right at the courtside.

Two steps forward and one could enter the court; the viewing angle was indescribably good.

Bai Chuzhang even felt that once the game started, he would be able to smell the sweat and hormones coming from the players.

"The tickets here were booked long ago," Lin Jiuze said with a smile. "You can't buy them just because you have money. Because Wembanyama is the hero of Luo Shan Ji this year, he wanted to invite the most distinguished guests, so the guests who originally booked these seats gave up their tickets to us."

"!!!" Dean Shen savored Lin Jiuze's words, feeling deeply moved.

Hero.

The most distinguished guests.

These few terms had profound meanings, making one inexplicably secrete Epinephrine.

It was a pity that Ji Xiang didn't come. If he had been willing to come watch the game together, Wembanyama would probably have been quite excited.

"The effect of the surgery is particularly good, and it's as if Wembanyama has been blessed; not only has his basic athletic ability fully recovered, but even beyond the evaluations, all the experts feel that Wembanyama has... upgraded."

Lin Jiuze used the word "upgraded" to express his meaning, and Bai Chuzhang understood instantly.

That surgery could make an athlete upgrade was undoubtedly a joke.

Yet, in the deepest part of his heart, Bai Chuzhang believed this statement without hesitation.

Because not only Wembanyama, but Zhao Dali and Neymar, or the washed-up stars of the football league, had all been far from their peak after N surgeries, but after Ji Xiang performed the surgeries, they regained their vitality.

The current Zhao Dali has already become the largest crater on the Blue Moon.

Wembanyama led a bunch of Undrafted Players into the NBA Finals, and because of this legend, he attracted countless people's attention, and the ratings also hit a new high for the NBA.

"Is that person who looks like a eunuch the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver?" Dean Shen asked in Bai Chuzhang's ear.

His voice was kept extremely low, but Lin Jiuze heard it very clearly.

"It is said that Adam Silver is ill and has been injecting hormones for years, so he looks like a eunuch," Lin Jiuze said with a smile.

"..." Dean Shen was speechless.

"He's actually ill?!" Bai Chuzhang was surprised. "I felt something was wrong with him the first time I saw him. By the way, I remember there's a conspiracy theory about lizard people in the United States; looking at him, he's a bit like Elon Musk."

"Bai Chuzhang is an expert in this area, but his illness cannot be cured; he can only endure it," Lin Jiuze said simply, then began to introduce Staples Center to everyone again.

The fans entered the arena one after another.

A sound wave like a mountain collapse or a tsunami rose up, echoing throughout the entire Staples Center.

It was like a nightclub.

"If it were the Kings Team's home court, there would be cowbell sounds everywhere; I wouldn't be able to accept that at all," Lin Jiuze laughed.

"Are there any traditions here?"

"Nothing special, but..."

As they chatted, 30 minutes later, the 20,000-seat Staples Center was packed, and the noise was like a tide.

Dean Shen was quite happy; after all, sitting in such a close position to watch the game was indeed a treat.

Besides, this time is different from an ordinary match.

Wembanyama came to the Second Affiliated Hospital for surgery, and Dean Shen even led people to take a look in a proper manner and had contact with his management team.

Does that count as an acquaintance?

No, that counts as a Family Member.

Being familiar with both the Patient and the Family Member, the feeling of watching the game is naturally different.

But Bai Chuzhang felt a bit uncomfortable; he likes soccer, and his thoughts had already flown to the World Cup arena.

If Neymar could lead the team to lift the trophy this year and fulfill his long-cherished wish of many years, how wonderful that would be.

As the athletes appeared one by one and the DJ shouted out exciting names, the fans at the scene became increasingly excited.

As the name of Victor Wembanyama was drawn out and shouted last, the entire stadium instantly boiled over.

Infected by the emotion, Dean Shen stood up subconsciously and looked back at the player tunnel.

A black figure jogged out and high-fived every player.

Wembanyama!

It really is him!

The difference between watching a live broadcast and watching the game in person was immediately apparent.

A surge of hot blood rushed up, and a sense of pride and self-esteem rose in Dean Shen's heart.

This is a Patient our hospital operated on!

He recovered as before in an extremely short time and has already led a group of Undrafted Players into the finals!

Although the surgery was not performed by Dean Shen, he was still overwhelmed with excitement.

A long time later, when the game started, Dean Shen slowly sat down.

"Xiao Bai."

"Dean Shen, watch your blood pressure," Bai Chuzhang reminded with a chuckle.

"I am indeed old," Dean Shen sighed, "Speaking of which, Ji Xiang's application for the Outstanding Youth Fund is a bit difficult; it definitely won't work this year, what a pity."

"It's the red line of having a doctoral degree or a senior professional title, right?" Bai Chuzhang had studied this deeply, and he also felt that this red line was completely insurmountable.

It's not that it can't be done, it's just that it's easy to be criticized.

If one were to be truly serious, if both sides tore off their masks during the review and it was brought up by others, Ji Xiang would be criticized for a long time if he didn't have enough leverage to push back.

That would be counterproductive instead.

"Wait a year, this year I..."

"The domestic Outstanding Youth Fund selection?" Tang Chenghua took over the conversation.

"Yes, Professor Tang," Bai Chuzhang smiled, "Xiao Ji is still too young."

"I can do it!" Dr. Merz's reaction was relatively slow because he needed a translation. It wasn't until a few sentences were spoken that he said excitedly.

"Can do what?"

"Harvard Medical School, I am a Doctoral Supervisor!" Dr. Merz said excitedly, "2 months! I can let Dr. Ji Xiang graduate!! Just a doctoral degree, it doesn't count for anything at all."

"!!!"

"!!!"

Dean Shen and Bai Chuzhang were stunned for a moment; even the expression of Bai Chuzhang, who usually kept his emotions hidden, changed.

They had never thought there was such a path.

The path dependency in the country created a blind spot in their thinking.

Although the Second Affiliated Hospital has many Experts and professors who can take on doctoral students, one still has to save face when selecting for the Outstanding Youth Fund; otherwise, if opponents really catch the flaw, things will become complicated.

But!

What if it were a doctorate from Harvard Medical School?

Bai Chuzhang suddenly became excited.

But the next second, Tang Chenghua retorted unhappily, "Dr. Merz, please mind your status."

"Tang! I am a doctoral supervisor!!" Dr. Merz widened his eyes, almost shouting at Tang Chenghua.

"I am one too, and Dr. Ji Xiang's doctoral qualifications have never been a problem. Besides, my student, Lin, is already the head of the research group; when is it your turn to become Dr. Ji Xiang's teacher?"

Dr. Merz was bluntly rebuffed and was flushed with frustration.

Although he didn't understand what the Outstanding Youth Fund was, it sounded like it was very important to Dr. Ji Xiang.

This is a huge opportunity!!

Dr. Merz had long since knelt; he had been rubbed into the ground by the young Great Demon King at the Second Affiliated Hospital, his defense +1, and his worldview had changed accordingly.

Coupled with the assessments of Wembanyama and other top athletes by numerous professional teams after returning, Dr. Merz knew that Ji Xiang's surgery was just something he couldn't understand in his haste.

Such a huge top-tier market, he must not give up; at the very least, he must not give up easily—Dr. Merz had long had this thought in his heart.

Finally having a chance to gain Dr. Ji Xiang's favor, although the approval time had passed and it was very difficult to graduate with a doctorate in just 2 months, Dr. Merz didn't care at all.

He hadn't expected Tang Chenghua to jump out at this moment.

"Tang!" Dr. Merz clenched his fists and roared angrily, "You are a doctor in the Radiology Department, the damn Radiology Department, which doesn't belong to Clinical medicine at all; AI intelligence will be able to replace all of you within 2 years!"

Saying this, Dr. Merz glared viciously at Tang Chenghua, "All of you, not a single one left!"

"Dr. Ji Xiang is an Expert in Sports Medicine, what right do you have to compete with me!"

Tang Chenghua curled his lip, "What right? Do you think if I let Lin Jiuze make a call right now, who would Dr. Ji Xiang choose?!"

"Bang~"

Dr. Merz, as if having lost his mind, swung his fist and smashed it into the corner of Tang Chenghua's eye.

Lin Jiuze was startled for a moment, then lifted his foot and kicked Dr. Merz away, hurriedly checking Tang Chenghua's injuries.

Dean Shen and Bai Chuzhang were listening to the translator translate the dispute between Dr. Merz and Tang Chenghua into Chinese when the two of them had already started fighting.

How disgraceful, truly disgraceful!

Dean Shen wanted to go break up the fight, but was pulled aside by Bai Chuzhang.

"Dean Shen, about Xiao Ji's matter..."

Dean Shen hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Indeed, I previously thought I was doing Xiao Ji a huge favor, but looking at it now, he doesn't need it at all."

"Dean Shen, we must seize the time," Bai Chuzhang whispered a reminder.

Dean Shen stared intently at Dr. Merz and Tang Chenghua, who were throwing punches and kicks in such a "disgraceful" manner, like two shrews, feeling both amused and annoyed.

But this scene, especially with the Staples Center as the backdrop, made him drift into deep thought.

"Xiao Ji is usually very loyal; he has rotated through two departments in the hospital, but the person he has the best relationship with is Meng Qingfei from the Emergency Department."

"Oh?"

"I was thinking of reporting to you recently to seek Meng Qingfei's opinion and see what his vision for the future is."

Bai Chuzhang watched as the fight was broken up; he didn't care at all who won or lost, but rather took this opportunity to say everything he needed to say.

"Fine, you handle it."

"I will contact Dr. Ji Xiang and tell him about the situation here," Bai Chuzhang said cautiously, "I still lean more towards Professor Tang Chenghua; after all, he is of Chinese descent, and Professor Lin Jiuze has already been working at our hospital for a long time."

"Mm, go ahead and do it," Dean Shen pondered.

But in just a split second, Dean Shen felt his hand go a bit numb.

Giving benefits to young doctors and nominating them for the Outstanding Youth Fund was, in Dean Shen's view, a favor bestowed by him as a leader.

But looking at it now...

Two experts from Massachusetts General Hospital and Doctoral Supervisors from Harvard Medical School were actually disregarding their image and coming to blows.

Damn it!

How could it be so absurd?!

Dr. Merz had already been pulled away by security personnel and was nearly kicked out of the Staples Center.

If not for the fact that he was familiar with the Lakers' team doctor.

Dr. Merz was still saying threatening things to Tang Chenghua, but he had already gradually lost hope.

Dr. Merz knew clearly in his heart what Dr. Ji Xiang's attitude toward him was. Damn Tang; if it weren't for him, he would definitely have been able to gain some favor with Dr. Ji Xiang.

At the very least, turning from hatred to friendliness would have been good.

Damn it!

The game had already started.

Dr. Merz looked blankly at Wembanyama's massive body performing movements completely inconsistent with his physique, from the outside to the inside, capable of everything and everywhere, just like a superman.

He felt no excitement or agitation, but rather fell into confusion.

As time passed, Wembanyama seemed to improve every single day. The French teenager before his eyes was completely different from when he had just returned to the court a few months ago, having undergone a complete transformation.

As a top Sports Medicine expert, Dr. Merz knew very well what all of this meant.

What a pity.

The game was still ongoing, and the sound waves at the venue were higher than the last.

Yet the people sitting courtside watching the game all had their own thoughts, and no one cared about the game.

Bai Chuzhang returned in a hurry; there wasn't a quiet place in the Staples Center, so he searched for a long time before finding a spot to call Ji Xiang and secure Ji Xiang's opinion.

After returning, before Bai Chuzhang could speak to Dean Shen, a black shadow rushed straight toward Bai Chuzhang.