Chapter 50: A Swift Surgeon’s Day

“Smarty, you caught on already! The highest art is to see through without exposing it, got it?”

Zhou Can’s smooth spiel to the injured was instantly recognized as bogus by the professional medical staff.

So he simply admitted it outright.

“Hmph, if you want me to keep quiet, fine. The hush fee? A cup of bubble tea!”

The young nurse flashed a mischievous smile as she laid out her terms.

Zhou Can gave her an appraising glance.

In her early twenties, with fair skin and a pleasant look—not as stunning as Yang Chan, but still attractive.

After all, to work as a nurse at Tuyu Hospital, aside from some veteran staff, you needed at least a bachelor’s degree.

University here is practically a beauty boot camp.

Books make you glow.

After a few years of college, the girls typically undergo a complete transformation—upgrading their poise, figure, and style.

That’s a key reason why the campus is always brimming with stunning women.

Someone who started out with an 80-point look can easily soar to over 95 after a few years at university.

Meeting Zhou Can’s gaze, she boldly lifted her head to return his look.

This nurse was refreshingly bold.

“It’s nothing—a cup of bubble tea, right? Deal!”

Zhou Can agreed without hesitation.

“Hmph, I knew you wouldn’t dare refuse.”

She beamed with a victorious smile.

Zhou Can mused to himself, ‘Fame sure brings complications! Is this nurse flirting with me?’

Of course, maybe he was just reading too much into it.

After all, these nurses—married or not—are all remarkably shrewd.

Perhaps she saw his potential and wanted to secure a good connection early on,

ensuring some favor down the road.

Nothing more than that.

“Call in the next patient!” Zhou Can instructed the nurse.

Jin Mingxi, who had just completed his first surgery, noticed that Zhou Can had managed two surgeries in record time, and felt the pressure mounting.

He definitely didn’t want Dr. Xu thinking he was slacking off.

So he decided to quicken his pace.

“Next one!”

He joined in the call.

Zhou Can turned and caught his eye—the two exchanged a knowing smile as a spark of rivalry flickered between them.

They were ready to see who could treat more patients.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lu, assisting Dr. Xu, was sweating profusely. Watching Zhou Can and Jin Mingxi work so relentlessly, he muttered under his breath about their foolishness.

After all, residents don’t share in the department’s performance bonuses—why push so hard?

How can a sparrow comprehend the ambition of a swan?

While Dr. Lu spent his days idling, both Zhou Can and Jin Mingxi harbored lofty goals, creating a striking contrast in work ethic.

……

In one burst, Zhou Can treated thirteen patients, while Jin Mingxi attended to ten.

“Next one!”

Zhou Can was completely absorbed, riding the high of rapidly gaining experience.

The thrill of leveling up so fast was simply exhilarating.

“Dr. Zhou, there are no more level-one surgery patients outside! Tee hee!” a nurse giggled quietly.

“That fast? They’re all gone?”

Zhou Can, still hungry for more, had to reluctantly accept it.

“No matter how many patients there are, they can’t withstand you two ‘monsters’ cleaning them out!”

The nurse had witnessed firsthand how hard both Zhou Can and Jin Mingxi were working.

So much so that she used ‘monster’ as a term of praise.

“Dr. Zhou is the real monster. I’ve saved a few fewer patients than him—if anything, I’m just diligent,” Jin Mingxi laughed in response.

Compared to Zhou Can, Jin Mingxi, being older, simply wasn’t as nimble.

Plus, Zhou Can was boosted by an experience system that accelerated his progress.

Suturing, debridement, hemostasis, injections—his surgical skills were refining rapidly, and so was his speed. Quality improved hand in hand. Faster without sacrificing quality—that was the real terror.

At that moment, Zhou Can’s debridement technique had reached Level 2, matching a junior resident’s standard. His injection skill was at Level 2 (48/100).

If there were enough patients, he might even push his injection skill to Level 3 in one day.

“Hehe, I’m just trying to save patients from disaster early! With no level-one cases left, giving Dr. Xu a hand is pretty sweet,” he remarked.

Zhou Can then moved toward the large operating table where Dr. Xu was positioned.

Dr. Lu gave him a mischievous glance.

“Our Emergency Department needs proactive doctors like you. Perfect timing—you cover for me as my assistant while I hit the restroom,” he said.

He’d been itching to slack off for a while.

Seeing Zhou Can’s eagerness, Dr. Lu practically hauled him over as extra muscle.

Dr. Xu remained silent.

After all, when nature calls and someone can cover, Dr. Lu’s excuse to go to the bathroom was irrefutable.

Zhou Can was glad for the chance to get some extra practice.

That lazy Dr. Lu was offloading his work onto him like handing over a pillow during a nap—and Zhou Can accepted it cheerfully, stepping in for the First Assistant.

This patient’s index finger was severed; the broken bone had already been fixed with a K-wire and the tendons sutured.

Zhou Can watched with a tinge of envy.

A finger replantation surgery was relatively low risk. Now, only the nerve, blood vessel, and skin suturing remained.

If he pushed a bit, maybe Dr. Xu would let him take over.

“Teacher, may I handle the suturing?”

Zhou Can mustered his courage and asked.

Dr. Xu looked up in surprise, “What did you just call me?”

“Teac—teacher!”

Zhou Can felt a bit embarrassed.

Back in the Emergency Department, Dr. Xu had once boldly stood up to Director Xie in defense of Zhou Can. From that moment, he regarded him as a teacher,

or more precisely, a mentor.

In the hospital, interns and residents often address senior doctors as ‘teacher’ out of respect.

It wasn’t entirely unusual.

That was just how things were.

Yet, Zhou Can rarely used that title, always feeling it was a bit awkward.

He preferred to call them by their actual titles,

like ‘Director So-and-So’ or ‘Dr. So-and-So.’

This time, calling Dr. Xu ‘teacher’ was heartfelt, filled with genuine emotion.

“My eyes are a bit fuzzy— you young folks are sharp. You handle the finishing touches,” Dr. Xu instructed.

To Zhou Can’s surprise, Dr. Xu actually agreed.

As for the claim about his fuzzy eyes, Zhou Can wasn’t buying it at all.

It was just a tactic when dealing with patients.

After all, everyone knew that inexperienced young doctors risked losing a finger if things went wrong.

Now that Dr. Xu claimed his eyes were fuzzy and only assigned the ‘cleanup’ to them, the patients had no objections.

Zhou Can was overjoyed, stepping up as the Chief Surgeon to perform vascular and nerve suturing.

Earlier that morning, he had reconnected two venous vessels for a patient whose legs had been run over.

It wasn’t perfect, but every suture held.

Now, the vessels in the severed finger were even finer—this included an artery—and there were nerves to suture as well.

The surgery was much more challenging than the venous suturing he’d done that morning.

That was why he was so excited.

If he succeeded this time, his surgical skills would take a huge leap forward.

Dr. Xu would entrust him with even more advanced tasks.

Under the microscope, he focused intently on suturing the tiny vessels.

For a finger replantation, at least one artery and two veins must be reconnected to establish proper blood circulation. Given how delicate the vessels were, the procedure was extremely challenging.

For now, Zhou Can’s suturing, debridement, and ligature techniques were still only at the resident level.

If he could upgrade them to Level 4, reaching the attending standard, then these surgeries would be rock-solid.

That’s why higher authorities strictly enforce surgical level requirements. Even senior residents can only lead level-one surgeries, though they may assist in level-two ones under supervision.

Note: assisting, not leading.

Of course, in real hospital operations, once a senior doctor feels his subordinate is capable, he gradually delegates more responsibility.

Guidance mostly means standing by to keep an eye on things.

Or reviewing the work after surgery.

There was still plenty of room to maneuver in this setup.

But the first blood vessel suturing didn’t go smoothly. Sweat began to bead on Zhou Can’s forehead as his tension mounted.