Chapter 523: The Measure of Skill

No one realized Zhou Can was relying on his incredibly keen tactile feedback to search for the best spot to tie off the vessel.

Deputy Director Lu’s blood vessels were in terrible condition.

He was just over fifty yet his vessels were like those of a frail old grandmother in her eighties or nineties. Clearly, Lu hadn’t taken good care of his body.

As a doctor—especially a cardiothoracic surgeon—he knew well how you’re supposed to maintain healthy vessels.

But for a surgeon in the operating room, missing meals, holding it in, struggling not to drink water, pulling all-nighters—just about every bad lifestyle habit is the norm.

It’s not that he didn’t want to take care of himself, but work and the demands of learning left him no choice.

Once you start a patient’s surgery, you can’t leave until it’s finished.

No matter how tough it gets, you have to grit your teeth and push through.

To write research papers and conduct studies, you can only carve out time after work, working overtime late into the night.

Back when Deputy Director Lu was still at Tuyu, he was already fifty and still stuck at the associate chief physician level. His colleagues one after another surpassed him, moving up while he remained behind.

The bitterness and pressure of that must’ve been hard to imagine.

To earn a full chief physician title, he had to work overtime writing high-quality papers—not that it was as easy as putting pen to paper. That meant endless experiments, research, statistics, combing through resources, and day after day of studying medicine just to have a shot at a truly good paper.

All that meant he barely spared a thought for his health.

Maybe even he never expected his blood vessels would age so rapidly, like an old man’s.

“Found it.”

A hint of joy flashed across Zhou Can’s face.

After painstakingly feeling along the vessels, he finally located a section that was slightly less fragile than the rest.

He quickly tied off the vessel at that point.

In his movements, he was cautious and precise.

He gradually tightened, feeling the feedback at his fingertips and judging how much force the vessel could handle.

This super-sensitive tactile feedback was something he’d only acquired after his Injection Technique and Device Implantation reached level six.

Did other doctors possess this kind of keen feedback? Zhou Can truly didn’t know.

From what he recalled, the first time any surgical skill hit level six, the tactile sense from surgical tools became much sharper. When his Incision Technique caught up to six, the sensation improved dramatically again.

Every time another surgical skill upgraded to six, the sensation he received from his tools made another noticeable leap.

By now, his tactile feedback had grown almost legendary.

Right then, finding a tougher segment of blood vessel relied entirely on his tactile sense. Judging just how much pressure to use tying off the vessel did too.

As he tightened the ligature to a certain point, using both his tool and the suture thread he could clearly sense the vessel was at its absolute limit.

He stopped right away, tied off securely, and fixed the knot.

[Ligature Technique XP +1. Completed an extremely difficult ligature: reward +1000 XP.]

His Ligature Technique inched much closer to level six.

It was just a bit over a hundred XP from ranking up.

If luck held, he might even break through on this very surgery.

“Whoa, look at the monitor—the bleeding’s stopped!”

“That’s some serious skill.”

“He’s really impressive.”

Exclamations of amazement rippled through the room. No one expected Zhou Can’s endoscopic surgery skills to outmatch even Director Tang.

Even the assistant chief physicians from Provincial People’s Hospital couldn’t keep up with him.

“Deservedly one of Tuyu’s most promising young doctors. Outstanding, truly outstanding,” declared Director Gou Qiong, giving Zhou Can a big thumbs up.

Not that it was a shining moment for all.

After all, Zhou Can had succeeded at stopping the bleeding where other medical assistants had failed.

“You flatter me,” Zhou Can replied politely.

Once he’d stopped the bleeding, he stepped aside, returning the assisting position to Director Tang.

After witnessing Zhou Can’s skill, Director Tang’s attitude became much warmer.

Even the look in his eyes changed completely.

Yet Director Xiang Fei could only sigh inwardly. The Provincial People’s Hospital was supposed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Tuyu hospital—so how could they fail to produce even a single standout?

The doctors there just kept getting overshadowed by Zhou Can. Where would they ever put their pride?

Ru Yaji and Pang Houzhong, standing behind Xiang Fei, felt a swirl of emotion.

Only now did they truly realize: Zhou Can’s stellar work in the ICU had just been one facet of his abilities. Not only was his diagnostic acumen top-tier, his surgical skills were downright frightening.

Not just any surgical skill, either—his endoscopic skills were on another level.

A single word rang in both their minds—

“Genius!”

The gap between Zhou Can and the rest was so vast, they could only look up in awe.

Both were experts in diagnosing and rescuing critical care patients. As for surgery—their knowledge was nonexistent.

“Let’s get started repairing that blood vessel!”

Anesthesiologist Director Ming Xin gave Zhou Can a long, thoughtful look, seeing the truth of this young man’s skills.

Still, what mattered most to her was the patient’s safety.

She had to urge the lead surgeons to pick up their pace.

Her three students were just as impressed by Zhou Can now. Their respect for his skill had grown, and their eyes shone with admiration.

To be so young and yet this skilled—good luck finding someone like that in the entire Provincial People’s Hospital.

Their opinion of Tuyu Hospital only rose.

Repairing the blood vessel began.

Director Gou Qiong from the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery showed everyone the true meaning of ‘slow and steady wins the race.’

His repairs went at a pace that almost made people lose patience entirely.

“Director Gou, can you go any faster? The patient won’t last much longer at this rate. If the procedure drags on, we’ll be forced to stop at laparoscopic surgery only.”

Anesthesiologist Ming Xin was finally out of patience. She spoke up to hurry them along.

Normally, anesthesiologists kept their distance and would never disturb the surgeons at work.

Especially in the OR, the lead surgeon’s word is law. Most of the time, anesthesia supports whatever the lead needs, serving as right hand and support staff.

If you picture them as a married couple, anesthesia is the caring spouse supporting the lead’s every move.

“I’d love to go faster! But these hardened blood vessels are nearly impossible to suture cleanly.”

Director Gou Qiong grimaced. With veins as bad as these, even his current tempo was fast.

Any other procedure, he’d be working twice as slow.

“Want me to help suture some sections?”

Zhou Can couldn’t bear to waste his earlier efforts, so he stepped up.

When it comes to surgical speed, only he and Dr. Xu at Tuyu can claim the title of king.

“Dr. Zhou, you can do endoscopic vessel anastomosis too?” Director Gou asked, taken aback.

“I’ve done it a few times here and there.”

Of course, Zhou Can was being modest.

His vessel anastomosis skills rivaled the best senior surgeons.

“Director Tang, let him try.”

Director Gou gave the word, and Director Tang had no objections.

He gladly stepped aside.

With the assisting arm switched, Zhou Can and Director Gou started anastomosing the ruptured blood vessel together.

Zhou Can quickly debrided the torn section and stitched it up at a stunning speed.

If the two of them raced like the tortoise and the hare, Zhou Can was definitely the hare dashing ahead.

He slowed down when it was time to tie the knot.

These fragile vessels meant tying off took true finesse. Pull too hard and they’d tear. Tie too loosely and the suturing would fail.

Even level five Anastomosis Technique, equal to an excellent associate chief physician, still wasn’t quite at the top.

After a struggle, he finally secured the first knot.

[Ligature Technique XP +1. Pulled off a difficult vascular knot: reward +100 XP.]

[Congratulations! Ligature Technique advanced to level six. Current XP: 1 / Chief Physician – Entry Level. Now able to tie knots even in ultra-fragile tissue or extremely tight and complex spaces. Vascular ligation has reached a sublime art… ]

Right at that crucial moment, he broke through to level six on Ligature Technique.

Talk about perfect timing.

At level six, you could tie a knot on delicate tofu and not break it, all while keeping it strong and snug.

Lu’s blood vessels were so poor that tying a knot during anastomosis had been a huge challenge for Zhou Can.

Now that he’d hit level six, his knot-tying skills had risen sharply, making it much easier to suture blood vessels even in tricky spots.

He tried suturing and then tying another knot.

This time it all flowed together effortlessly—what a feeling. The hang-ups from before were completely gone.

His surgery speed only climbed from there.

Whenever he tied off on fragile vessels, he could clearly feel the tension and brittleness in each one.

“Ahem… You young folks have nimble hands—better let you do all the suturing! I’ll assist you,” Director Gou said, seeing Zhou Can had already handled the hardest sections.

And the quality was top-notch.

In fact, it was noticeably better than even Director Gou, the experienced veteran.

Director Gou felt his cheeks burn a little. The river’s waves keep coming—a new wave always overtakes the old.

Compared to Zhou Can, he just looked like part of the older generation, slow and outdone.

Letting Zhou Can finish all the vessel repairs was clearly the best choice.

After all, everyone shared a single goal: do everything possible to save the patient.

And this abdominal surgery was only the beginning—the real challenge would be the intracranial endoscopic surgery coming up.

“Wow… That anastomosis speed and skill, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Which Tuyu doctor trained such a monster of a successor? Tuyu’s rise is unstoppable now.”

Wu Yongming was a neurosurgery specialist who prided himself on his own surgical chops.

But after seeing Zhou Can’s string of operations, surprise gave way to a deep sense of helplessness.

Coming face-to-face with the skills of Tuyu’s new generation, he realized you wouldn’t find another young doctor at Provincial People’s Hospital who could match Zhou Can.

Even stretching the bar up to forty-year-olds, there wasn’t anyone close.

As for the older doctors in their fifties and sixties? Forget it.

Their potential, stamina—none of that could match a skilled young man.

“Today I truly understand what it means to always be someone better out there. The skills I took pride in are nothing in front of him,” Ru Yaji thought, watching Zhou Can work as if touched by the divine.

Her sense of pride was in pieces.

Compared to Zhou Can, she could only grasp the meaning of the word ‘gap.’

Pang Houzhong next to her looked just as defeated as a rooster after losing a fight.

“Back in the ICU, I thought I could keep up with him. Now? He could flatten me with just a finger,” Pang Houzhong muttered bitterly.

Sure, his field was critical care, not surgery. But in his heart he knew—surgical prowess overshadowed diagnostic and emergency skills in terms of value.

And it was the more sought-after talent.

If Zhou Can were working at Provincial People’s Hospital, his status and future would eclipse Pang Houzhong’s in an instant.

“Now that you’ve seen the gap, today’s surgical observation wasn’t wasted. Keep watching. It’s not a bad thing to have a gap—it’s only bad if you sit content, proud of tiny achievements while you miss the bigger picture.”

Seeing his two apprentices defeated, Director Xiang Fei was actually glad.

Young people’s mistakes usually start with pride and not knowing how to evaluate themselves correctly.

Maybe they had a bit of talent, but they walked around like they ruled the world.

This experience would help them see themselves more clearly—a great thing.

Humility is what leads to improvement.

Talent and fundamentals alone aren’t enough.

By now, Zhou Can had finished anastomosing the whole vessel. He handled everything—venting air, clearing clots—every detail was perfect.

His meticulous work and high standards even the chief surgeons couldn’t help but praise privately.

As for the other doctors and nurses, anyone with eyes now truly admired Zhou Can’s surgical skills.

“Director Gou, all done with the anastomosis. Please check it over. If there’s no issue, I’ll start the blood flow test.”

Reporting to Director Gou after surgery was both a sign of respect and a way to save face for the older doctor.

Even if Zhou Can hadn’t reported and just proceeded, Director Gou wouldn’t have said a word.

Still, a little professional courtesy made Director Gou beam with satisfaction.

“Excellent work—release the tied-off vessel and check the blood flow!”

Director Gou gave the order.

His voice was gentle, and he looked at Zhou Can with clear fondness.

There isn’t a chief doctor out there who doesn’t like a skilled, polite young colleague.

Zhou Can carefully loosened the ligature.

Don’t be fooled by the slip knot—it still took considerable skill to untie. He didn’t dare let Director Tang or anyone else try, not with the risk of tearing the vessel and delaying treatment.

Once released, bright red blood surged into the repaired vessel and spread rapidly to the end, restoring circulation.

“Great, no leaks, no ruptures—it passed the test.”

Suturing together such ‘tofu-like’ vessels was already no small feat.

Passing the blood flow test was like a shoddily built high-rise surviving an earthquake.

Lu’s overall blood vessels were all in poor shape. No matter how good the doctor, all they could do was repair and patch what was left—no one could replace them all.

If Lu survived the ordeal, Zhou Can would definitely urge him to take better care of himself and stop pushing the edge.

“With skills like this, why were you hiding them? You should’ve stepped in sooner. When it’s about saving lives, drop the formalities.”

Director Ming Xin scolded Zhou Can, glaring with exasperation.

She’d been anxious and pacing the whole time—he really had waited until the last minute to step up. It was enough to drive her mad.