Chapter 803: Praise

Chapter 803: Chapter 803: Praise

"Oh, so this is Dr. Li Xu?"

A man in his early thirties stood up. He was Qu Wenxuan from the City Second Hospital’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Department. "I heard you held a public lecture at Feng City Medical College a few days ago. Man, even the aisles were packed. The rumors about your miraculous ability to recite the *Inner Jing* backward have spread like wildfire."

"You flatter me, Director Qu. It was just everyone showing their support," Li Xu replied modestly.

"It’s no exaggeration." A valiant-looking female doctor walked over. She was Gu Yingyin from the City Children’s Hospital, her eyes filled with curiosity. "Director Liang has extremely high standards. If he was willing to clear out the grand lecture hall for you, Dean Li, you must have real skills."

Immediately after, Zhu Gaoyuan from the City Tumor Hospital also leaned in.

Facing these renowned young elites, Li Xu’s expression remained calm and composed. He found that their medical skills were indeed quite good; through simple exchanges, he could feel their solid theoretical foundations.

"Ju Jiahong is really putting on airs. He’s still not here at this hour."

Meanwhile, in the lounge on the hotel’s second floor, a group of young talents had gathered in twos and threes. The service here was excellent. Several attendants in matching uniforms moved quietly among them, ready to refill the tea for these future "great national doctors" at any moment.

"He is Director Ju, after all." An associate chief physician in his early thirties took a sip of his Wuyi Dahongpao tea. Although his tone was somewhat teasing, the envy in his eyes couldn’t be hidden. "Even though we’re all from the same generation, and some of us are even older than Director Ju, his resume speaks for itself. The gap is truly quite significant. In Feng City’s traditional Chinese medicine circles, going back thirty years and looking ahead another thirty, he’s probably the only one who could secure a full senior title before the age of forty."

The crowd fell silent for a moment. Who among them wasn’t a key trainee at their respective hospitals? Yet, in the face of Ju Jiahong’s meteoric, practically flawless career progression, they all felt somewhat inadequate.

About a quarter of an hour later, the lounge’s heavy doors were pushed open once again.

"Good morning, everyone. Apologies for the wait," a clear and steady voice rang out.

Everyone turned toward the sound to see that Ju Jiahong had finally arrived. Behind him were several core members of Renmin Hospital’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, including Liu Haohui.

For today’s exchange meeting, four siblings from the Liu family—a prominent medical clan in Feng City—had shown up. Excluding Liu Haofei, who was still in his internship period, Liu Haodong, Liu Haixue, Liu Haohui, and their cousin Liu Min were all present.

Ju Jiahong wore a dark gray jacket with subtle patterns today, making him look all the more refined and scholarly. His height wasn’t particularly outstanding among the male doctors, standing at about one point seven-three meters, but he made up for it with a perfectly upright posture. His eyes conveyed a tranquility and confidence that ordinary people could hardly achieve.

It was a unique aura that only belonged to someone who had stood firmly at the pinnacle since childhood and had never tasted defeat.

"Good morning, Director Ju."

The doctors, who had been sitting or standing around, rose to their feet and greeted him warmly. In Feng City, even if they had private complaints about Ju Jiahong’s arrogance, hardly anyone could afford to put on airs in front of him openly.

"Thank you all for taking the time to attend this exchange meeting." Ju Jiahong gave a slight nod, politely returning their greetings.

His gaze swept slowly across the crowd before inevitably settling on an unfamiliar, youthful face. That person was, naturally, Li Xu.

Ju Jiahong’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly. He realized that Li Xu was even younger than he had expected. Although everyone present was referred to as a "young doctor," traditional Chinese medicine took a long time to master. Most of them were around thirty-five years old. Even the few genius Ph.D. holders were nearing thirty after years of grinding at the hospital. But Li Xu’s face made him look twenty-five or twenty-six at most. Sitting there, he looked like a college student who had wandered into the wrong room.

However, Ju Jiahong merely took a second glance and didn’t make any public comments. Instead, he announced, "It’s about time. Let’s head to the conference room next door."

The conference room was arranged with a strong academic atmosphere. Exquisite nameplates were placed on the massive, hollow square conference table. Everyone took their seats according to the nameplates. Li Xu found that his seat was arranged toward the back on the outer ring, while the seats of Liu Haixue, Gu Yingyin, Qu Wenxuan, and others were in the core of the inner ring.

This seating arrangement was clearly based on professional titles and the influence of their respective institutions.

Besides this group of young professionals, two middle-aged men in their fifties were seated at the head of the conference table. One of them had a dignified expression; he was Dong Yongnian, the Vice President of the Feng City Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. The other wore glasses; he was Hao Xiangchen, the Secretary-General.

After taking his seat, Ju Jiahong first nodded to the two seniors before making the introductions. "This exchange meeting is hosted by the Feng City Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and organized by Renmin Hospital. We are highly honored to have President Dong and Secretary-General Hao take time out of their busy schedules to oversee this meeting."

The crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.

Dong Yongnian raised a hand to press down the applause and spoke with a smile, "I am very glad to see so many young, vibrant faces. Young doctors are the future hope of traditional Chinese medicine. On one hand, this exchange meeting serves as a platform for everyone to learn from each other and make mutual progress. On the other hand, I also want to take this opportunity to gauge the foundations of our young doctors in Feng City and see your actual clinical levels, so that the Association can provide better support in our subsequent policies."

At this point, Dong Yongnian turned to look at Ju Jiahong, his eyes full of admiration. "Director Ju has always been the standard-bearer for our young doctors in Feng City, and he is also the president of our Youth Traditional Chinese Medicine Society. Old Hao and I came here today mainly to lend an ear. Director Ju will continue to host the upcoming agenda."

These words undoubtedly elevated Ju Jiahong to an extremely high position. Some of those in the room who were unaware of the inside story began to secretly speculate. With Ju Jiahong being so high-profile this time, was he making a push for an even higher-level honor?

Meanwhile, Liu Haodong and the others looked toward Li Xu on the outer ring with amused expressions. They knew very well that this wasn’t about farming reputation. This was clearly the "Saint Heir" sensing the presence of a "Divine Dragon" and eagerly seeking to establish his territory through an academic dialogue.

"Thank you for your trust, President Dong." Ju Jiahong took over the conversation with a composed expression. "Let’s keep this meeting somewhat casual. We’ll divide it into two segments: the first is academic discussion, and the second is the exchange of clinical experience. Please don’t feel any pressure. Speak your mind freely. The progress of traditional Chinese medicine is often found in rigorous debate."

Ju Jiahong paused. His gaze swept across the room before resting firmly on Liu Haixue in the inner ring.

"Director Liu, you’re an outstanding young talent from the Affiliated Hospital. How about you kick things off for us?"

Liu Haixue didn’t decline. He cleared his throat and said, "Then I’ll break the ice by offering a humble thought to spark our discussion. Let me bring up a topic that has been quite controversial in our clinical practice over recent years—the use of toxic traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. This applies especially to Aconite, which is known as the ’number one herb for emergency resuscitation and restoring yang.’"