Chapter 100: The Steady Climb

Opening the door for Su Qianqian in the middle of the night didn’t cause a ripple in Zhou Can’s life.

Legend has it that after a hero saves a damsel in distress, romance ensues—but that never happened.

He remained just an ordinary trainee doctor in the Emergency Department.

Each day, aside from relentlessly honing his medical skills, he spent hours studying.

Compared to those who spent their days in debauchery or scheming for quick cash, he was a true anomaly.

He liked money, but his passion for medicine surpassed all else.

Nearly all his energy was poured into mastering the medical arts.

His improvement was unmistakable.

During the residency exam, Jin Mingxi—whose surgical prowess once trumped his—was now trailing far behind. Zhou Can had already begun to grasp the basics of Rapid Knife Fundamentals, edging towards modest success.

Meanwhile, Jin Mingxi still spent his days delicately twirling a single hair, his arms slightly raised as he sat as motionless as a meditating monk.

Such meditative practice was maddeningly torturous.

His progress was agonizingly slow.

It would take at least one or two years to begin understanding the basics and three to five years to reach a modest level.

Yet Jin Mingxi genuinely enjoyed this method of practice.

Every day after work, he would sit there, unmoving, for hours on end.

He could practice for several hours at a stretch.

He looked utterly entranced—as if possessed.

It seemed Dr. Xu was right; he was built for the steady path.

Not only had Zhou Can outpaced Jin Mingxi in basic surgical training, his performance in the operating room also left Jin Mingxi far behind.

Currently, due to that mishap, Jin Mingxi was still serving his punishment by having his independent surgical privileges revoked.

Every day, he was confined to being Dr. Xu’s assistant.

Dr. Xu only assigned him simple tasks like hook suturing and minor procedures, steering him clear of higher-risk operations.

No one knew how long this punishment would last.

After all, how much could one’s skills improve from only doing minor procedures?

At best, it merely broadened his experience a little.

By contrast, Zhou Can was getting two or three secondary surgeries daily and even several primary surgical opportunities.

Such a high volume of surgeries was nearly on par with a full-fledged attending physician.

Zhou Can’s surgical skills were advancing by leaps and bounds.

Coupled with the medical experience system’s support, his progress was nothing short of astounding.

It was no wonder that Jin Mingxi was left in the dust, completely outclassed in every regard.

Not only Jin Mingxi, but even senior residents Dr. Lu and Dr. Lin had been surpassed by him.

They, too, had fallen behind Zhou Can.

Perhaps only Dr. Cui, whose abilities nearly reached that of an attending, could match him.

……

It was Friday—almost the end of the week.

Time really did fly.

Zhou Can stuck by Dr. Xu; if Dr. Xu didn’t take time off, neither could his team.

Interns and residents were hardly ever allowed a break—as long as the supervising doctor worked, no one else could take off.

Dr. Xu often got just a day off a month, sometimes none at all, and both Zhou Can and Jin Mingxi had to follow suit.

This was partly due to the staffing shortages in the Emergency Department Operating Room.

There were only two attending physicians assigned to the operating room.

If one went on leave, the other might have to cover two consecutive shifts.

Moreover, Dr. Xu handled the early shift—the busiest period in the Emergency Department Operating Room.

Many unexpected emergency surgeries were beyond Dr. Fu’s capacity to manage.

To keep the operating room running smoothly, Dr. Xu minimized any leave as much as possible.

Zhou Can strode into the Emergency Department as usual.

“Good morning, Dr. Zhou!”

“Morning!”

“Dr. Zhou, you look exceptionally handsome today!”

“Haha, I’d be remiss if I didn’t compliment you on your beauty!”

All along the way, doctors and nurses cheerfully greeted Zhou Can.

Now, nearly everyone in the department knew that Zhou Can excelled in the operating room.

They figured that if they didn’t cozy up to him while he was still a trainee, they might never get the chance later.

Ye Tingting swayed over, her graceful figure catching everyone’s eye.

“Good morning, Sister Ye!”

Zhou Can greeted her with a warm smile.

It was clear he was considerably more enthusiastic with her than with the other nurses.

The reason was simple.

Zhou Can was naturally closer to her, and after his recent mishap that made other nurses shun him, Ye Tingting didn’t avoid him.

So it was only natural for him to return the favor.

It’s a basic human principle: treat me well, and I will treat you in kind.

“Let me tell you something,” Ye Tingting whispered.

“Go on!”

Puzzled by her secretive tone, Zhou Can asked what was going on.

She glanced around to ensure they were alone before lowering her voice: “Qiao Yu was bullied yesterday!”

“Who did it?”

Anger surged in Zhou Can instantly.

Qiao Yu was such a kind soul—no one had the right to bully her.

“She simply requested the head nurse assign her to an early shift every week—a completely reasonable request. But Nurse Tian Tian and Nurse Pan Xinyao opposed it, and in the end the head nurse had no choice but to refuse her. I’m not telling you this to stir up trouble; I suspect Qiao Yu wanted the early shift so she could work with you in surgery.”

“I saw her leave the nurse’s office with red, puffy eyes yesterday. You should try to comfort her.”

Had it not been for her close relationship with Zhou Can, Ye Tingting wouldn’t have confided in him.

“Alright, thanks for sharing such important news.”

Zhou Can had long harbored a dislike for Nurse Tian Tian.

Now that he learned Tian Tian and Nurse Pan Xinyao were bullying Qiao Yu, his anger burned even brighter.

Not everyone was lucky enough to have a mentor like Dr. Xu to guide them.

Not everyone was as fortunate to benefit from a medical experience system like he did.

Qiao Yu was indeed talented.

But as a trainee nurse, she simply couldn’t stand up to two seasoned nurses.

To be realistic: had Zhou Can not crossed paths with benefactors like Dr. Xu, Director Lou, or Director Zhu, even the most mediocre resident could have crushed him.

The hospital hierarchy was as rigid as, if not more than, any corporate structure.

Zhou Can didn’t call or text Qiao Yu.

At that moment, reaching out wouldn’t have been appropriate.

She was a proud girl; being bullied would hurt her pride and self-esteem deeply.

The wisest course of action was to pretend ignorance.

Let her save face.

But don’t think Zhou Can would simply let it pass.

He would find a way to solve it as soon as possible.

Nurses, like doctors, only needed to prove themselves through academic or surgical achievements to climb the ladder.

Zhou Can’s solution was simple: help boost her status.

Then she could regain her footing on her own.

That would be a hundred times better than a simple phone call of comfort.

Zhou Can entered the Operating Room where Dr. Xu, Dr. Lu, and Jin Mingxi were already gathered.

Speaking of Dr. Lu, his recent transformation had been quite remarkable.

Regardless of the quality of his surgeries, his attitude was spot on. Every day he operated at full throttle, with fewer and fewer late arrivals.

It was hard to see any trace of his old laziness.

“Alright, everyone’s here. As per routine, Zhou and Dr. Lu will operate independently while Jin Mingxi assists me. Also, call in two instrument nurses.”

Dr. Xu swiftly set the plan in motion.

Poor Jin Mingxi could only watch enviously as Zhou and Dr. Lu performed surgery without him.

Soon, two instrument nurses walked in.

Li Shishi and Nurse Tian Tian.

“Good morning, Dr. Zhou! You look extra special today! Teehee!”

Nurse Tian Tian beamed happily and made a beeline for him.

“Shishi, you know Dr. Zhou and I have been partners forever—don’t even try to steal him away!”

That scheming girl was way too full of herself.

Little did she know that Zhou Can was utterly fed up with her.

But for now, he’d tolerate her; when the time was right, he’d set things straight.

In that moment, Zhou Can demonstrated remarkable composure.

“Let’s start the surgery!”

With a blank expression, he adopted a cool, detached demeanor much like Dr. Xu’s.

Before long, the patient who needed surgery was wheeled into the room. Zhou Can’s first case was a finger replantation.

Tuyu Hospital was renowned, and in a bustling city of over eight million, emergency surgeries ran non-stop.

The Emergency Department operated around the clock.

Performing a finger replantation solo was a first for Zhou Can.

In the past, under a teacher’s guidance, he had assisted in most such procedures without a single failure.

This time, Dr. Xu had assigned the patient to him directly—likely to test his skill in reconnecting broken bones.

It was the one part of finger replantation he had yet to perform himself.

“How long has the finger been severed?”

“About an hour, doctor. Do you think my finger can still be saved?”

The patient winced, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

The severed finger had already been attended to by the Emergency Department’s intake team and nurses—it was simply cooled and stored.

This helped slow down tissue death.

Generally speaking, the less time that elapses before replantation, the better.

In theory, if it exceeds six to eight hours, salvaging it becomes unlikely; under poor conditions, the window narrows even more.

“Don’t worry. We’ll do our utmost with the replantation. Its success depends on several factors: a smooth surgery, proper blood flow, and diligent postoperative care. We perform these surgeries frequently and boast high success rates. With your cooperation, the outcome will be even better.”

After over a month in the OR, Zhou Can had finally picked up the essential skill of ‘doctoring’—a way to reassure patients with his persuasive talk.

It was one of the must-have skills when dealing with patients.

“Rest assured, I’ll cooperate fully.”

Convinced by his assurances, the patient cooperated like an angel.

Nearby, Nurse Tian Tian chatted casually with Li Shishi and Dr. Lu.

“Anesthetic!”

Zhou Can had to remind her.

Then she began preparing the local anesthetic.

Typically, ropivacaine is the local anesthetic of choice. A single dose shouldn’t exceed 3mg/kg, and even for a 500-pound person, it must not surpass 200mg.

It needs to be diluted with saline before use.

These preparations were handled by the instrument nurse.

For major surgeries, a Attending Nurse would also verify the equipment.

However, major surgeries usually involved spinal or general anesthesia, so the local anesthetic was rarely used.

For this case, Zhou Can planned to perform a brachial plexus nerve block.

This method usually yields excellent results.

Its effect lasts for over four hours.

That duration was more than enough for his speedy finger replantation.

Finally, Nurse Tian Tian finished preparing the anesthetic and handed it to Zhou Can.

After successfully anesthetizing the patient’s left hand, he proceeded to the next step.

Debridement.

This procedure was considered second-tier among residents.

Progress was slow, but it couldn’t be avoided.

A single patient could only provide one or two debridement experience points, and not every case required it.

The severed finger had a neat, clean cut, favoring the surgery.

That played to his advantage.

It’s worth noting that debridement for a severed finger wasn’t as casual as it seemed; in a top-tier hospital like theirs, it was often performed under a microscope to avoid inadvertently removing vital blood vessels and nerves.

Debridement involved both the residual severed end and the detached segment.

The most challenging aspect was bone debridement.

Even with a neat cut, approximately 0.5cm of the bone end had to be excised to ensure successful reattachment.

With debridement complete, the real test was about to begin.

Bone fixation.

Based on the patient’s condition, Zhou Can decided to use a stainless steel needle to align the medullary cavities of the severed finger.

Dr. Xu came over and stood by to supervise and guide him.

He was worried that Zhou Can might mess up the procedure.

“Get the needle for reattaching the finger’s bone!”

Zhou Can felt a surge of exasperation.

That clumsy Nurse Tian Tian was as dumb as a pig—beyond the standard surgical supplies, she needed constant reminders for everything.

Her need for prompting seriously delayed the procedure.

In the OR, probably only Dr. Xu had the right to scold her.

Zhou Can wasn’t in a position to do so.

Seniority-wise, she was older than him.

“What size needle should we use?”

Nurse Tian Tian asked.

“1mm.”

Zhou Can nearly wanted to call her a pig—such a basic question shouldn’t need asking.

If Qiao Yu were the instrument nurse, everything would have been ready long ago.

One really wondered where Nurse Tian Tian’s priorities lay.

If she wasn’t interested in the surgery, she could forgo being an instrument nurse.

By the time she finally prepared the needle, Zhou Can was growing impatient; even Dr. Xu looked frustrated.

“Nurse Tian Tian, next time be sure to prepare in advance, or you’ll seriously delay the surgery.”

Uttering that in front of the patient was about as much as giving her a reality check.

“Alright, alright! It’s just that this patient was the first in the OR, so the prep wasn’t as thorough.” She mumbled, promising to do better next time.

Taking the needle, Zhou Can carefully secured the medullary cavities of the severed finger.

He had observed Dr. Xu perform this procedure several times and had learned all the key techniques.

Normally, such orthopedic skills were only mastered during a rotation in Orthopedics.

A good mentor could indeed boost a trainee’s learning efficiency several times over.

Step by step, he meticulously reattached the severed finger to its residual segment.

After a thorough check, everything was confirmed to be in place.

【Congratulations, you have acquired the Bone Fixation Technique. It can be used to reconnect broken bones.】

【Bone Fixation Technique – Current XP: Level 1/10. Below internship standard.】

He felt frustrated—how was his XP so low?

Fortunately, the patient’s finger reattachment was successful.