Chapter 130: A Test of Talent and Fate

“Zhou, in the past two months of your internship in Orthopedics, your performance has been outstanding. Today, you even prevented a potential surgical failure and accident. As encouragement, I’ll give you more opportunities and guidance in surgeries. Moreover, I’ll report to the department that you’ll receive an excellent evaluation at the end of your training,” the director announced.

These were all real benefits.

Hearing this, Zhou Can repeatedly expressed his gratitude, while the other two trainees looked on with envy.

They, however, knew that this extra reward was something Zhou Can had earned through his strength and hard work, a result of fair competition.

The two of them accepted it wholeheartedly.

At that moment, a nurse rushed in.

“Chief Resident Shen, two policemen are here asking for our department head.”

“Director You is in a meeting. I’ll handle it!”

Hospitals are special places.

When incidents occur, there is usually prior communication with the department or hospital leadership before any action is taken.

“Greetings, officers! May I ask what matter brings you to see our department head?”

Chief Resident Shen exuded authority, his tone and expression remarkably calm.

Clearly, he had dealt with many such situations before.

Hospitals are never tranquil; various incidents happen frequently that require police intervention.

“Who reported the incident?”

“I did!”

Zhou Can stepped forward.

“After our investigation, the patient with a left foot injury you mentioned is very likely connected to a case of theft at a mobile phone store. Where is the patient now?”

“Bed 77!”

Zhou Can was taken aback that the patient had indeed committed a crime.

Chief Resident Shen led the two policemen directly to bed 77.

Mr. Zhao in the bed turned pale, his eyes filled with panic.

Mr. Zhao’s elderly father looked bewildered, not understanding why the police had suddenly come for him.

“You know why we’re here, don’t you?”

“Yes!”

Mr. Zhao, his face ashen, nodded dejectedly.

“Consider this an official verbal summons. Come with us to the station for questioning.”

Knowing that he could not evade the law, Mr. Zhao no longer offered any futile excuses.

“Son, what on earth did you do?”

His elderly father looked at him with a mix of heartbreak and anger.

“Dad, I’m so sorry. You’ve always wanted me to bring a wife home, but I have no special skills, little education, and only low-paying grueling jobs. Whenever I go on blind dates, the moment the girls hear about my job and income, they immediately leave. It’s not just one; they’re all the same. I know they despise my poor job and lack of money.”

Mr. Zhao also knew that once he was in prison, it would be nearly impossible to share his true feelings with his father.

“A colleague once whispered that if you pretended to be wealthy, you could get a girlfriend. Not long ago, I posed as a rich second-generation man and finally got a girlfriend. Once we started dating, I went all out to maintain the facade—taking her to upscale hotels, buying expensive clothes and cosmetics.”

One lie only leads to another.

Without real talent, pretending to be well-off will eventually be exposed.

Mr. Zhao had dug himself into a pit, and once he jumped in, there was no escape. His path inevitably led to crime.

“My monthly salary is less than 3,000. After deducting living expenses, I can’t even afford a five-star hotel treat. With her birthday just two days away, in my dire financial state, I resorted to theft. There’s a mobile phone store I visited once that stocks many high-end phones. If I could sneak in, I’d easily score a huge sum of money.”

“After secretly surveying the place, I discovered the store was equipped with multiple surveillance cameras. I knew I couldn’t break in by force. Desperate for a solution, I noticed that behind the store’s sign there was a ventilation duct. Taking a chance, I climbed in through it, found the power source for the cameras and switched it off. Then I entered the store through the ceiling.”

“I stole over a hundred phones in total. However, on my way out, I unfortunately injured my foot. For the first few days, the pain was so intense that I couldn’t go to the hospital, knowing the police would be on the lookout for a thief. After dragging on for about seven to eight days, the pain became unbearable and I feared permanent damage. With my girlfriend’s birthday approaching, I finally mustered the courage to seek treatment.”

Mr. Zhao might be the unluckiest thief in the world.

In an effort to maintain his glamorous ‘rich kid’ persona, he was willing to trample on the law.

“Officer, I have one request. Please don’t tell my girlfriend about this. This is my first theft—I promise that once I get out of prison, I won’t ever do this again.”

Even now, his primary concern was still preserving the perfect image in his girlfriend’s eyes.

“According to regulations, we only notify your next of kin. Your girlfriend isn’t classified as such, so we won’t inform her.”

The police, while adhering to the law, managed to show a humane side.

Perhaps they also believed that this petty thief wasn’t beyond redemption.

They aimed to salvage him as much as possible.

“Dad, once I’m out, I promise I’ll return to the countryside, work hard even if it’s just odd jobs, and take proper care of you,” he said, looking at his elderly father.

Mr. Zhao glanced at his father.

“You… you silly boy, you’re so clueless!” His father was moved to tears by anger.

Seeing his son’s colossal mistake, his heart was in agony.

Yet, there was nothing he could do to help him.

“Alright, come with us to the station! Do you really think you can leave now?” The policemen, pleased with having solved a case of in-store theft, prepared to take him in for further questioning, retrieve the stolen goods, and hand him over to the prosecution.

After the thief was sent out of the ward, the two officers were already waiting for him.

“Wait a minute!”

Chief Resident Shen turned to the officers and said earnestly, “The patient’s left calcaneus is severely fractured and has already begun to show signs of aseptic necrosis. If we can’t operate immediately, his leg may end up permanently disabled.”

This bone injury simply couldn’t be delayed any longer.

“Is there any way we can have him undergo surgery first, rest for a few days, and once his leg has stabilized a bit, then take him to the station?”

Doctors always prioritize the patient’s well-being.

A doctor’s heart is with his patients.

If Chief Resident Shen didn’t plead on behalf of this thief, his life would be ruined forever.

“Let’s report this to our superiors first.”

The officers didn’t dare to act on their own.

After reporting and seeking instructions, they agreed to perform the surgery before any legal action.

Mr. Zhao felt deeply moved by the care and kindness shown by the doctors and police, his voice nearly choked with emotion.

This was, in a way, a form of rescue.

It was far more effective than transformation through labor reform.

They believed that once this thief served his time, he would truly reform and never return to a life of crime.

……

The thief’s surgery was a great success.

Zhou Can participated throughout the operation, even taking on some surgical tasks.

Chief Resident Shen truly kept his promise by giving Zhou Can more opportunities for surgical training and patiently explaining any doubts.

After the thief was discharged from the ward, the two police officers were already waiting outside.

They planned to interrogate him further and recover the stolen goods for the victims.

Once the thief was released from the hospital, he would face legal consequences.

Zhou Can felt he had done something extremely meaningful.

Chief Resident Shen, busy as always, left right after the surgery.

Shortly afterward, Dr. Shan led them to a vastly inferior operating room compared to the hundred-level one.

Today, our country’s best operating room is the hundred-level laminar flow operating room.

In such an operating room, airborne dust particles are filtered, preventing bacteria from hitching a ride and effectively controlling infections.

Not only does it greatly benefit patients by preventing wound infections, it also protects doctors and nurses from getting infected.

It also provides an optimal temperature and humidity environment to minimize tissue damage during surgery.

Its method of disinfection is completely different from the traditional spraying of disinfectants.

It is self-disinfecting, eliminating the need for chemical or physical disinfection methods.

However, this operating room is extremely expensive, with very high requirements in every aspect and high maintenance costs.

Even a top provincial tertiary hospital like Tuyu can’t equip all its operating rooms with hundred-level standards. The entire Orthopedics Department has only two such rooms.

Typically, only surgeries led by deputy directors or directors as primary surgeons use them.

Of course, if the attending doctors really need to perform a surgery as primary surgeons, they can apply to the hospital.

……

The day passed in the blink of an eye.

Near the end of the shift, Zhou Can received a notice to go to the department head’s office in the Surgical Building.

He wondered if it was because he had helped the police catch a thief today and the hospital was going to reward him.

After pondering it over, that seemed to be the only possibility.

Not daring to slack off, he hurried to the Surgical Department Head’s office.

He knocked on the door.

“Come in!”

A deep, authoritative voice greeted him from inside.

Zhou Can pushed the door open and saw that the office was simply arranged, with file cabinets full of documents and materials.

Director Xie, not very tall but very sturdy, sat behind a large desk working.

There was no secretary present.

Even the head of the Surgical Department worked alone.

In this regard, the hospital differed from other institutions—only the director had an assistant.

And that assistant wasn’t exactly equivalent to a secretary.

It was more like a secretary-general.

Because the assistant’s status was almost equal to that of the deputy directors.

Everyone who had seen the assistant knew that sometimes the assistant was even more imposing than the director. Many decisions were executed by the assistant in person.

Zhou Can was currently undergoing training in Orthopedics and would later rotate in several surgical departments.

Essentially, he was just milling about on Director Xie’s turf.

“Director Xie, you wanted to see me?”

Zhou Can remembered his previous conflict with Director Xie in the Emergency Department.

It wasn’t a huge quarrel, but both had exchanged harsh words.

Later, Director Xie had repeatedly suppressed the Emergency Department, which left Zhou Can with no good impression of him.

But appearances had to be maintained; respect was still required.

A trainee in front of a head of department must remain low-key and endure hardship in silence.

“Sit!”

Director Xie looked up at him with a strangely complex expression.

This trainee was different from the others.

Originally, Director Xie had the chance to pick Zhou Can first.

But he chose Du Leng, who had higher qualifications.

He might not regret it, but losing a potential genius surely left him with some regret.

“In the blink of an eye, you must be nearing six months of training at Tuyu, right?”

There was a faint note of concern and an unprecedentedly amiable tone in Director Xie’s voice.

“Only seventeen days left until six months,” Zhou Can replied cautiously.

Director Xie motioned for him to come over; it wasn’t small talk.

He wasn’t yet sure of the intention.

“Well, your performance in both the Emergency Department and Orthopedics has been remarkable! Nowadays, it’s rare to see such a practical young man,” he said.

Director Xie got up and personally poured him a cup of tea.

A shiver ran up Zhou Can’s spine.

The gap in their status was simply too great.

The more courteous Director Xie was, the more uneasy Zhou Can felt.

He quickly stood up and took the tea with both hands.

“Thank you!”

He dared not sit again.

“Haha, here you needn’t be so formal. Sit down!”

Director Xie laughed and patted him on the shoulder, urging him to take a seat.

Since Director Xie was considerably shorter than Zhou Can, he had to raise his arm to do so.

“Have you thought about your future plans?”

“What do you mean?”

“For example, which department do you plan to work in after your training? What will be your primary focus?”

Director Xie asked with a smile.

It was the face of a mentor caring for his protégé.

But Zhou Can knew all too well that Director Xie turned on people as quickly as he could smile for personal gain.

He had seen Director Xie’s true colors more than once.

“After training, where can I go? Won’t I just return to the Emergency Department? My focus has always been on preparing for work there,” Zhou Can replied.

Originally selected by the Emergency Department, his fortunes had changed thanks to his later outstanding performance.

Both Director Lou and Dr. Xu supported him immensely, hoping that one day he would lead the Emergency Department to greatness.

Thus, once he completed his training, he was slated to return to the Emergency Department.

In other top-tier hospitals, even Tuyu’s affiliated hospitals, the Emergency Department develops much better than the main hospital’s.

The main hospital’s Emergency Department was constrained by the fierce competition of departmental interests, leading to its stunted growth.

Take last time for example—when Zhou Can performed a few extra surgeries in the Emergency Department, Director Xie immediately scrambled to suppress it.

In such an environment, how could the Emergency Department ever thrive?

There was a severe shortage of talent, inadequate revenue, and the department’s facilities lagged far behind specialty departments—like a feudal country a century behind, battling a developed nation armed with aircraft and artillery.

Not to mention winning seemed out of the question.

Survival itself depended solely on upper-level regulations.

Larger hospitals must establish an Emergency Center.

“With your talent, staying in the Emergency Department is a waste. I heard from Chief Resident Shen that you have excellent diagnostic skills in both surgery and other areas. Have you ever considered a career in Surgery?”

Director Xie had taken a long detour just to recruit him.

It was clear that Zhou Can’s exceptional performance in Orthopedics had caught Director Xie’s attention, especially today when he discovered that the thief’s calcaneus was undergoing aseptic necrosis—a detail even Chief Resident Shen had missed.

Such talent was truly dazzling.