Chapter 95: Slices of Ambition

“I’ve got plans. See you later, Dr. Lu!”

Qiao Yu, unwilling to get entangled further with Dr. Lu, waved goodbye and left with a charming back view.

“Sigh…” Dr. Lu shook his head helplessly and exhaled.

Seems that no matter how fancy his car is, winning Qiao Yu over isn’t easy!

“What are you staring at?”

Jin Mingxi appeared from behind and asked Zhou Can.

“Here you go!”

Zhou Can puckered his lips and pointed at Dr. Lu ahead.

Jin Mingxi glanced over and laughed, “Looks like Dr. Lu got rejected by Qiao Yu again. When it comes to men and women, it’s all about fate. I reckon he shouldn’t hang himself on one tree.”

At thirty-four, he was already considered a late bloomer.

Of course, maybe Dr. Lu was already married, just out to mess with a young lady. Or perhaps he was divorced.

Colleagues who aren’t particularly close usually don’t pry into each other’s private lives.

“Weren’t you supposed to be off to buy carrots for your scalpel training? Now you’re leaving?”

“Let’s go!”

The two headed toward the vegetable market together.

During an appendectomy today, Zhou Can clearly felt his surgical pace was too slow.

He was lightning-fast with simple debridement and suturing.

But the moment a more challenging procedure arose, his skills fell short.

Dr. Xu once said he had a natural talent for the Rapid Surgical Technique, so it was worth giving it a try.

At least he could practice the fundamentals of rapid cutting, speeding up his operations.

He noticed that while the experience system boosted his medical skills somewhat, aspects like his knife technique, surgical insights, and mental fortitude weren’t improved by the system.

Its biggest function seemed to be rapidly elevating Zhou Can’s medical level.

It felt a bit like those cultivation novels where a servant in the Qi Training stage masters alchemy and chugs pills every day. Whereas others would savor one pill a month, he was snacking on them.

His magical prowess soared with every pill until he reached the Core Formation stage.

But his actual combat ability was far weaker compared to those who painstakingly advanced to the Core Formation stage through trials and battles. Sure, using his power to bully cultivators in the Qi Training stage was a breeze.

Occasionally, even picking on someone in the Foundation Establishment stage was no big deal.

Power gains did have their uses, but other aspects lagged behind, creating a huge gap between him and true Core Formation experts.

That was simply the way things developed.

Zhou Can’s current situation was that his medical skills soared, but his other abilities couldn’t keep up.

Thankfully, he was aware of this issue and was brainstorming ways to fix it.

For instance, challenging tougher surgeries in the operating room, earnestly consulting his mentors, or even buying red carrots to practice his Rapid Surgical Technique.

Overall, having an experience system made him far better off than doctors without one.

He was growing at least ten times faster than his peers.

Other surgical trainees aiming to master an appendectomy would have to slog on for years before even earning a sliver of a chance. It takes over three years as an intern doctor to be considered a senior intern.

And that, too, only if you’re exceptionally talented.

For ordinary intern doctors like Dr. Lu and Dr. Lin, even longer years might not land them an opportunity.

Zhou Can could cover in one year what others take several years to achieve.

That was his advantage.

…

“Why take the back door?” Jin Mingxi asked curiously.

Normally, they all entered through the main front door.

But now, Zhou Can was leading him out the hospital’s back door.

“Weren’t we headed for the market? I remember there’s one about two hundred meters from the back exit,” said Zhou Can, a Tuyu Medical College alumnus who knew the area like the back of his hand.

The hospital parking lot’s exit was at the back door. Since around four or five in the morning, private cars had been lining up outside, waiting to enter.

Parking was extremely tight – once one car left, barely enough room remained for another.

However, hospital staff received perks.

One level of the underground garage was reserved exclusively for employees.

Zhou Can had never seen it, only hearing colleagues mention it.

Nearly all official staff shuttles and personal vehicles of hospital workers were parked there.

On normal days, hardly any doctors or nurses used the back entrance.

Too many vehicles made it unsafe.

“Look over there!”

Jin Mingxi pointed at a black sedan queued to leave the hospital.

The car’s front window was lowered, clearly revealing the driver’s compartment.

“Damn, isn’t that Dr. Lu?”

Zhou Can’s eyes lit up.

“Who would’ve thought Dr. Lu is loaded? He’s driving the latest Volkswagen Passat worth over 200,000.” Jin Mingxi expressed genuine surprise.

For lower-paid junior doctors, splurging on a car worth over 200,000 took years.

Especially in Tuyu’s Emergency Department where revenue generation was weak. Attending physicians and department heads might earn decently well.

But for intern doctors like Dr. Lu, income paled in comparison to specialists.

Many high-earning specialists in Tuyu frequently mocked emergency doctors as mere paupers.

Harsh as it sounded, it was an undeniable fact.

An average month’s performance bonus for a specialist was at least 8,000+, not to mention the 6,000+ from medications, aside from other hidden perks.

Either of those two major streams alone could keep the emergency department strapped.

That was one major reason why the Emergency Department couldn’t retain top doctors.

They already had fewer patients, and revenue from surgeries and drugs was dismal, so naturally salaries for doctors and nurses suffered.

Income was low, yet the workload in the Emergency Department was heavy.

They were busy from dawn till dusk.

Patients came and went in a dizzying cycle.

“How much do you think Dr. Lu makes in a month?” Zhou Can asked out of curiosity.

As a surgical trainee juggling work and studies, he only had a basic income, so he wasn’t too familiar with the earnings of full-fledged doctors.

Basic salary could be roughly estimated, though.

“It’s hard to say. Monthly income fluctuates and hidden earnings aren’t easily calculated. But judging from our Emergency Department’s situation, he probably barely makes over 10,000 a month,” Jin Mingxi estimated.

His estimate was likely accurate.

After all, he’d been an attending at County People’s Hospital for years and was on the brink of being promoted to Associate Senior.

He knew most of the money-making tricks.

“That day when Dr. Lu was late, whining and playing the poor guy act – you were there too. Tell me, did he really buy a house?”

Zhou Can was more curious about that.

“In this provincial capital, the cheapest housing is around 9,000 per square meter while upscale places approach 20,000. As a senior intern, it’s unlikely he’d pay full price for a house. But spending big on a fancy car and a hefty down payment on an apartment? That’s very likely. With a loan of 600,000-700,000 and a 30-year mortgage, his monthly payment would be just over 3,000, definitely under 4,000. At least 500,000 can be covered by his provident fund, so his repayment pressure isn’t too bad.”

Jin Mingxi crunched the numbers.

It was almost certain that Dr. Lu had already bought a house.

Never judge a book by its cover – he had really underestimated Dr. Lu.

Zhou Can had thought Dr. Lu wasn’t financially well off.

Who would’ve guessed he owned both a car and a house?

Even if the house was bought on a loan, it was still impressive.

These days, if your credentials aren’t stellar, the bank won’t lend you money.

The fact that Dr. Lu wasn’t that poor yet pleaded with Dr. Xu for leniency on a tardiness penalty by playing the poor card revealed his hypocrisy.

Zhou Can’s understanding of him deepened.

While they were talking, Dr. Lu waved at a rather attractive young woman.

The woman dashed over, exchanged a few words with Dr. Lu, then opened the car door and got in.

“This scumbag!”

Zhou Can couldn’t help but curse.

“Isn’t it normal for a man to be a bit fickle? Don’t take it so seriously,” Jin Mingxi chimed in from the side.

Zhou Can turned to look at him, his expression loaded with a meaningful scrutiny.

“Hey, why are you looking at me like that?”

Jin Mingxi, a bit flustered, couldn’t quite handle the gaze.

“Dr. Jin, you sure have a knack for defending scumbags. Could it be you and that classmate Yezi have something going on?”

Zhou Can teased, digging into his secret.

“Get out of here! What kind of logic is that? In today’s materialistic world, there are plenty of scumbags, but there are also many who remain faithful in love!”

Jin Mingxi’s face flushed with embarrassment and he averted his gaze, as he tried to cover up his true feelings.

His words, overtly self-justifying, were thought-provoking.

Zhou Can could only pray for his unseen sister-in-law, hoping that Jin Mingxi would someday hold onto love in this fickle world.

“You’re married. So, what do you think – is Dr. Lu actually married?”

Zhou Can changed the subject.

Some matters people try hard to hide are best left unmentioned, even among close friends.

“Hard to say. It just feels like he’s a veteran when it comes to chasing women. Nowadays, many are just playing around and don’t rush into marriage. That woman who just got into his car is either a nurse or a doctor – she’s not a patient. And did you notice? After she got in, she sat in the front passenger seat with a very blatant smile. She and Dr. Lu have clearly known each other for a long time, perhaps even dating.”

Jin Mingxi offered his opinion.

“Haha, you married folk sure have sharp eyes. Can you really tell at a glance if someone’s in a relationship?”

Zhou Can gave him an appreciative thumbs-up.

At least, as someone who hadn’t experienced a proper relationship, he couldn’t tell by just a glance—unless Dr. Lu was seen hugging or holding hands with her.

After that, they left Dr. Lu’s drama behind and headed to the market where each bought fifty jin of red carrots.

The vegetable vendor, seeing the massive pile of carrots, assumed they ran a restaurant.

He even left a business card, promising bigger orders and door-to-door delivery next time.

This left the pair both amused and exasperated.

They hailed a cab and lugged the carrots back to their apartment.

“Wow, you guys planning a red carrot slicing contest?”

Fellow doctors in the same apartment building were stunned by the duo’s energetic display.

Such a huge sack of carrots – any ordinary surgeon would need at least ten to fifteen days of practice.

Back in the apartment, Zhou Can couldn’t wait to grab his scalpel and start slicing the carrots.

However, he soon found that using a narrow blade to quickly cut through thick red carrots wasn’t easy. Besides, traditional surgical scalpels came in various types.

It wasn’t possible to perfect just one method of a straight cut.

There were reverse cuts, cross cuts, and even dragging techniques.

The key was, even the simplest straight cut wasn’t working out for him.

It wasn’t due to a lack of skill but because the carrots were too thick and tough – far more challenging than human tissue, which is more pliable and tender.

He glanced over at Jin Mingxi’s progress.

His technique was much better.

Although his cutting speed wasn’t lightning-fast, his slices were precise.

“Whoa! Your cuts are impressive – every slice is almost uniform,” Zhou Can said as he picked up one of Jin Mingxi’s carrot slices for inspection. It was clear Jin Mingxi’s knife skills rivaled that of a top chef.

“Hehe, I used to help my family chop pig’s fodder every day when I was a kid. I guess that counts for something,” Jin Mingxi replied with a laugh.

Every experience in life adds up.

The knife skills he’d honed from childhood now proved invaluable.

“If your cuts aren’t coming out smooth, try cutting one carrot into four pieces. It might be easier to practice that way,” Jin Mingxi suggested.

Zhou Can fetched a fruit knife and cut a carrot in half, then practiced with his scalpel.

Sure enough, it became much smoother.

【Incision Experience +0.0001. +0.0001…】

Each slice added 0.0001 experience.

Thankfully, he didn’t need to rely on it for leveling up—otherwise, Zhou Can would have been in trouble.

His Incision Technique was at level four and needed more experience to upgrade. With each attempt only adding 0.0001, he’d have to slice a hundred million times to reach level five.

He joked that even if he practiced until the day he was in the coffin, he wouldn’t level up.

As Zhou Can repeated the exercise, his carrot slicing became more refined and quicker.

After all, he already had a solid foundation in level four Incision Technique.

He kept improving.

Jin Mingxi, hearing the rapid slicing sounds, stopped and looked over at Zhou Can.

“Monster!”

He couldn’t help but exclaim in exasperation.

Zhou Can’s progress made him feel utterly hopeless.

Compared to this prodigy, he doubted he’d ever catch up; eventually, Zhou Can would leave him far behind, disappearing at the end of his level.

Four hours later, Zhou Can had filled four large bags with sliced carrots.

He finally stopped his rapid cutting drills.

Mainly because his arms just couldn’t take it any longer.

Even though his physical endurance was outstanding, slicing carrots at high speed for so long wore him out.

Both arms ached terribly.

Notably, this was the first time he had balanced training between his left and right hands.

Although he’d occasionally worked on the coordination and strength of his left hand before, it could never compare to his dominant hand.

Dr. Xu had insisted that they practice with both hands, and he had taken that advice to heart.

It was a solid foundation for becoming a renowned surgeon someday.

Zhou Can squatted down to inspect the bags of carrot slices.

The first bag was the worst.

At the start, mistakes were inevitable.

The slices were uneven, and some required two cuts to be fully sliced through.

The second bag showed marked improvement, and the third was even better.

By the time he reached the last bag, the slices were impressively even – a mere whisper of difference in thickness, with clean, smooth cuts.

His improvement was undeniable.

Jin Mingxi came over to inspect his work and was amazed.

“You’re an absolute prodigy. Living with you really crushes my confidence,” Jin Mingxi said dejectedly.

“Don’t get too cocky! My carrot slices still can’t match yours by a long shot. Don’t think I don’t notice,” Zhou Can retorted. He knew that trying to surpass Jin Mingxi’s knife skills, honed over many years, in just one day was unrealistic.

He was fully aware of that.

“From now on, I can’t call you Mingxi anymore. I’ll have to call you Old Jin.”

“Why?”

Jin Mingxi looked at him in confusion.

“Really want to know?”

Zhou Can grabbed a handful of his carrot slices and compared them with Old Jin’s, scrutinizing for differences to improve.

“Nonsense! Just tell me already!”

Jin Mingxi hated when he was left hanging.

“Isn’t there that old TV character – Wang Jin the smooth talker from a 90s drama? The guy riding a bicycle with a big, gold front tooth?”

“I’m not that smooth talker! Call me Old Jin if you must!”

Jin Mingxi bristled at being tagged as a smooth talker; he just couldn’t accept it.

With a sullen face he protested,

“Protests are useless. Comrade Old Jin, it’s nearly nine tonight. We should settle dinner soon.”

Zhou Can hoisted two large bags of carrots and headed for the door.

The path to surgical mastery was arduous, laden with sweat and hardship that few outsiders ever witnessed.

Yet it was also filled with joy.

Every improvement in his skills boosted his confidence when facing high-difficulty surgeries on the operating table.

Years of relentless practice made that one moment on stage all the more brilliant!

The two were so engrossed in practicing the Rapid Surgical Technique that they even missed dinner, despite it being almost nine.

…

After disposing of the trash, they found that the hospital cafeteria was surely closed by now.

Zhou Can treated Jin Mingxi to dinner at a well-reviewed restaurant – costing over a hundred, which was far pricier than the hospital but the food was worth it.

After dinner, back in the dorm, Zhou Can resumed practicing Grasping Technique and Implantation Technique.

Meanwhile, Jin Mingxi sat with a medical book, reading.

Between the two, young Zhou Can’s drive was clearly more evident.

While practicing Grasping and Implantation Techniques, Zhou Can recalled Dr. Xu’s advice about training both hands. He attempted to use his left hand to operate the long forceps.

First, he used his right hand to pick up a dry soy bean and then tried to transfer it to his left hand with the forceps.

His first attempt failed.

The second try also failed.

…

On his twenty-first attempt, he finally succeeded. His left hand skillfully controlled the forceps to secure the soybean without dropping it.

【Congratulations! You have acquired the advanced Transfer Technique. In surgical procedures, you can now use instruments to pass vascular stents, metal rings, bite nails, bone nails, and other devices, or even human tissues, achieving hand-to-hand or reverse traction maneuvers.】

【Transfer Technique Experience +0.1】

Zhou Can broke into a joyful smile.

He had merely planned to test his left-hand agility, only to unexpectedly gain a new advanced medical skill.

In minimally invasive surgery, the transfer maneuver is frequently used.

Yet very few doctors can master it.

Just like his earlier attempt that required 21 tries to successfully transfer a soy bean.

He checked his medical skill attributes.

【Transfer Technique Level 1 | Current Experience 0.1/10. Intern level.】

Unlike other skills that start at the intern level, this was a brand-new Level 1 skill.

Zhou Can would need to steadily improve it.

Each successful soybean transfer added 0.1 experience—a pace that wasn’t too slow.

Initially, the low success rate meant over twenty attempts were needed for one successful transfer, slowing the upgrade process.

So Zhou Can decided to boost his skill level.

At 0.1 per transfer, 100 transfers would yield 10 experience points.

By tonight, reaching Level 2 was well within reach.