About a thousand meters from Donghua Hospital, hidden in a large residential area, there's a small restaurant with only two storefronts. Lin Jie spent a great deal of effort to find this place, and it took him nearly twenty minutes just to find a spot to park.

In this room, decorated rather elegantly, Lin Jie saw Chen Shi and Tao Taqing, both leisurely drinking tea.

Even before he sat down, he couldn't help but voice his complaint: "Are we underground party members rendezvousing, or plotting illegal activities? Do we really need to meet in such a secluded spot?"

Tao Taqing chuckled softly, poured a cup of tea for Lin Jie, and said, "Lin Jie, true delicacies are found in the bustling places!"

"This little restaurant may look unassuming, but it serves some flavorful dishes. It was tough to find such a good place to eat!"

Lin Jie sat down, took a sip of tea, and said, "You mentioned on the phone yesterday that the project might not be going smoothly. What did you mean?"

Tao Taqing frowned slightly and nodded, saying, "To ensure our project passes the hospital's review smoothly, I spoke privately with a few people over the past two days, and the feedback is rather concerning."

"Someone secretly told me last night that a certain person is conspiring to take down my project!"

"Why?" Lin Jie couldn't help but ask.

Chen Shi interjected casually, "Where there are people, there are conflicts. Especially given how sensitive old Tao's position is."

Tao Taqing nodded lightly and said, "Perhaps someone thinks I'm trying to leverage this project to gain capital and covet the position of the chief director. Certain people don't want a strong competitor to emerge, so they're planning to nip the project in the bud."

Lin Jie didn't know what to say. Damn office politics.

He turned his gaze to Chen Shi and asked, "Then how about having the project initiated by Professor Chen?"

Chen Shi replied slowly, "It's possible, but from submitting the project application, to getting it approved by the school, then further approval from relevant departments, it would take at least half a year."

"Moreover, the school's financial review process is strict. Funding would be difficult to maneuver, you understand."

Lin Jie felt a bit frustrated, and frankly said, "My intent was simply to repair that girl's face and mend her imperfections. Yet you two have complicated things and caused numerous issues."

"How about going back to the simplest approach and finding a way to perform the surgery on that girl privately?"

Seeing Lin Jie getting impatient, Tao Taqing smiled conciliatorily and said, "Lin Jie, Lin Jie, don't rush."

"I didn't say there's no way to resolve this. I haven't been the deputy dean for nothing over the years."

Lin Jie frowned, a bit displeased, and said, "Then hurry up and tell me. Are you trying to keep me hanging?"

Chen Shi looked at Tao Taqing and laughed, "Old Tao, am I right? Lin Jie's temper is no small matter."

"I told you long ago, it's best to address issues directly rather than beat around the bush showcasing your accomplishments and difficulties."

Tao Taqing smiled helplessly and advised, "Lin Jie, you need to change your temper a bit. Otherwise, you'll suffer when you really enter society."

"In my early years, I too was reckless..."

"Dean Tao!"

Lin Jie interrupted him unceremoniously.

Having absorbed Shen Lanruo's knowledge, and inheriting some of her arrogance, he said proudly, "Do you think I really need to pander to others?"

Tao Taqing paused, stopping his barrage of advice forcefully.

Indeed, with Lin Jie's unparalleled medical skills, does he need to cater to others? It's others who need to cater to him.

The most typical example is himself and old Chen.

Old Chen is famous for being proud and self-appreciating, and he himself is the deputy dean of a major hospital, and an expert-level physician.

You could say, given their current status and medical skills, doing things at will might be exaggerated, but they don't need to care about anyone else's opinions.

Yet now, both he and old Chen, two over fifty-year-old men, are cautiously speaking with Lin Jie, fearing he might be displeased.

For the first time, realizing so clearly Lin Jie's status and their relationships, Tao Taqing took a deep breath, adjusting his emotions, and said meaningfully, "Indeed, you have this capital!"

When Lin Jie said that, he realized he had overplayed his arrogance a bit, at least for now. Without a medical license, he still needed the support of the two in front of him.

He stood up, held the teapot, earnestly poured tea for Chen Shi and Tao Taqing, and apologized, "That remark was me being youthful and overly proud; please don't mind!"

Tao Taqing glanced at Chen Shi, who was showing a satisfied expression, shook his head with a smile, and the trace of displeasure in his heart dissipated, saying, "Lin Jie, what you said earlier wasn't wrong!"

"You really don't need to cater to anyone! It's my old way of judging people that missed seeing the big difference between you and the younger me."

He paused and said, "I'll just get straight to the point. To get this project approved swiftly, without wrangling and wasting time with those people, I've decided to make some concessions."

Lin Jie asked curiously, "How will you concede?"

Tao Taqing said seriously, "I'll fund the project myself at first, and once there are actual results, the hospital's research fund will allocate the corresponding expenses."

"The main reason these people are hindering the project is simply because the core of the project is facial plastic surgery."

"And with me and old Chen leading the project—one from ENT, the other from general surgery—it seems a bit inappropriate, like we're after funding fraudulently!"

"Once results come out, let's see if they still have anything to say!"

Tao Taqing seemed to envision his opponents looking incredulous and admiring upon seeing the project's results, feeling somewhat aspirational and triumphant.

"In fact, our expertise is quite suitable for this project topic!"

Chen Shi said leisurely, "Old Tao's specialty is in ENT, naturally he's quite in-depth with facial muscles. And my general surgery, my understanding of the full body's muscles is extensive too."

Lin Jie suddenly realized that old Chen's thick-skin was quite impressive.

As for the food from the unassuming little restaurant, Lin Jie did not find it exceptionally delicious, only that the taste was fairly good.

After the meal, the three went to Donghua Hospital and met Zhuang Shilei, who had been waiting at the hospital with her family, in Tao Taqing's office.

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