Chapter 1667: Chapter 1209: Letter of Recomndation (Part 2)
Milton hugged August: “Do you have a surgery today? If so, I’ll wait for you; if not, let’s go drink so beer together. We must have a blast today for our friendship.”
“No surgery today, but is there nothing wrong with you? Have you really co all the way just to drink with ?” August definitely doesn’t believe this old fox; he surely has sothing to ask, and judging by his deanor, it’s probably not a small matter.
August actually wanted to see what Milton was up to, so he said, “Alright, old friend, for friendship, we must have a good drink. I haven’t drunk with you in ages.”
“There’s no surgery tomorrow, right? I rember tomorrow’s not your surgery day.”
“You have an excellent mory—indeed, tomorrow’s not my surgery day, so it doesn’t matter how much we drink tonight.”
“That’s great, old friend.”
“How about coming to my place? We can grill at and drink beer together.”
“Sounds good to .”
The two ca out of the elevator shoulder to shoulder.
August drove Milton to his villa in the suburbs. Eating grilled at and drinking beer on the villa’s lawn is a delightful affair; the weather is good today, no chance of rain.
August’s ho is staffed with servants and a chef, who’ve prepared everything under his instructions; now it’s just August and Milton on the lawn.
Their relationship is both rivalrous and friendly—they’re adversaries and yet admire each other. They t at an academic conference when they were young and ford a deep academic friendship thereafter, often discussing academic issues through email and phone calls. Sotis they’d argue and shout at each other, even swearing.
At conferences, they appear more as neses, frequently banging on tables over debates. But this doesn’t stop them from drinking beer together.
German dark beer wafts with a strong burnt aroma; their cups clink together as they discuss the issues they’ve argued about since their youth and who turned out to be right or wrong.
Without realizing it, it’s deep into the night, and they are surrounded by boxes upon boxes of empty bottles, with the scent of grilled at wafting in the air.
August burps, drunkenly, “Bro, tell , what do you need from ? We’ve had a good beer session today; I’ll see if I can help you.”
“Today, just drinking, no business. It’s all for our friendship—nothing is more important than that.”
“Cut the crap; you Brits shouldn’t be so fake. As we say in China, speak your mind and relieve yourself, because once I sober up, I might not agree to anything you say. If you want to say sothing, say it while I’m still tipsy.”
“Oh, actually, it’s nothing much. It’s like this: I’ve treated a thirty-sothing male osteosarcoma patient. The primary site is on the spine, tastasized to the left femur… He’s now gone to China’s Sanbo Hospital, and he really wants Professor Yang to be his attending surgeon. He’s eager to participate in Professor Yang’s K Therapy clinical trial. But this requires a special recomndation letter, as you know… There aren’t many doctors worldwide who can write this letter, and I’ve heard you might be one of them. So, could you help and write a recomndation letter for my patient?”
“Is that it? Nothing else? Speak now if there’s more; I remind you again, if you ntion anything after I sober up, I’ll refuse.”
“Yes, just this—wondering if it’s convenient for you.”
“Alright, brother, I knew you needed sothing from . You didn’t have to drink so much beer with ; you could have straightforwardly told when we t today, and I would have agreed. You Brits love beating around the bush, unlike us Germans who are direct—you’re sly, deceitful, duplicitous, insincere. That’s the hallmark of Brits.”
“Yes, you’re absolutely right. I also think Brits have many bad habits; I’m even ashad of being British.”
“You should be ashad. Look at us Germans—so candid, honest, straightforward, consistent in speech and action.”
“Yes, brother, actually I have German blood; my great-great-grandfather, I think, ca from Germany, allegedly crossing the English Channel on a wooden boat.”
“Sa goes for you. If you had just said it when we t earlier, instead of drinking into the night before finally getting to the point.”
“Yes, brother, I got so excited seeing you that I forgot, and it just ca to mind now.”
“Alright, seeing as we’ve had a great drinking session, I’ll agree to it.”
“You agree?”
“Of course. Send the patient’s detailed information first thing tomorrow, and I’ll write a recomndation email for Professor Yang. Honestly, no need to drink so much beer.”
“Do you really agree with no strings attached?”
“No strings attached; I’ve agreed. You truly didn’t need to drink with .”
“No, I wanted to; I truly wanted to drink with you. We’ve been rivals for over twenty years. As European Spinal Surgery Association chairn, we practically alternated tenures. Today I realize, without you, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have.”
“Sa here, without you as my rival, I wouldn’t have my achievents today. Thinking back to our argunts, I feel I should apologize—I shouldn’t have shouted so loudly, banged tables, or cursed at you—it was so rude and overbearing.”
“I shouldn’t have mocked you, constantly sneering at you. So of your new thods are indeed right, but I kept ridiculing you.”
“By the way, how’s your Chinese? If your language skills are up to par, I could recomnd you to join our association.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll surpass you once I join?”
“In Europe, after defeating you, I felt very lonely and lost. So after much thought, I realized I had to raise your level. Otherwise, without a rival, life truly becos unbearable.”
This pair of rivals actually chatted through the night, leaving the lawn covered in beer bottles. Fortunately, August has no surgery the next day; he already inford his colleagues, so being late is no issue.
—
August kept his promise; he wrote a recomndation letter for Adams.
Yang Ping received this recomndation and plans to include Adams in the clinical trial.
This pair of rivals actually chatted through the night, leaving the lawn covered in beer bottles. Fortunately, August has no surgery the next day; he already inford his colleagues, so being late is no issue.
—
August kept his promise; he wrote a recomndation letter for Adams.
Yang Ping received this recomndation and plans to include Adams in the clinical trial.
This pair of rivals actually chatted through the night, leaving the lawn covered in beer bottles. Fortunately, August has no surgery the next day; he already inford his colleagues, so being late is no issue.
—
August kept his promise; he wrote a recomndation letter for Adams.
Yang Ping received this recomndation and plans to include Adams in the clinical trial.
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