Healing Doctor

Chapter 88: Record Broken!

"Ding-dong~"

In addition to the old man's enthusiastic invitation, Ji Xiang also heard the sound of a system task.

Nurses' competitions count?!

Ji Xiang was somewhat surprised.

Concentrating, Ji Xiang examined the system panel in the upper right corner of his field of vision.

[System Task: Grand Competition, Completion Rate 48%]

Task Rewards: Basic Rewards – 1 random basic attribute point, 3000 experience points, and 8 surgery points.

Mission accomplished?

In addition to 1 random base attribute point, there are also experience points and surgery points.

Ji Xiang was both surprised and delighted.

However, the next second he suddenly noticed that the mission was still ongoing and not yet fully completed.

He thought of the mission description.

Could we possibly climb to the next level? Is that what the system NPC meant by issuing the task?

Seeing Ji Xiang standing there in a daze, the old woman smiled knowingly.

Ji Xiang's condition was in line with her prediction.

Nurses have a tough time getting ahead; no matter how ambitious they are at the beginning, it all comes to nothing in the end.

Not having to work shifts has become the ultimate ideal for nurses without connections.

As for head nurses and nursing departments, those are all irrelevant.

The old man had promised Ji Xiang that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would promote him to head nurse of the ICU in three years. He didn't think it would be difficult, nor did he think Ji Xiang would refuse.

But for a junior nurse at the grassroots level, this opportunity was like a windfall.

Surprise, stunned silence, and complete disbelief are all to be expected.

"Young man, are you married?" the old man asked gently.

Seeing that the elderly man had already asked a substantive question, the head of the nursing department at the First Affiliated Hospital was quite envious and quickly said, "Ji Xiang, Old Wei is asking you a question!"

Ji Xiang looked up and glanced at the head of the nursing department.

She instinctively shivered.

A sharp pain shot through my sprained ankle.

"Teacher." Ji Xiang instantly figured out how to complete the task, and was in a great mood, with a wide smile on his lips.

The old man smiled, thinking that he was the discerning judge of talent who had found a fine horse.

"Thank you for your kind offer, but I'm not married yet, and I'm not going to the capital."

"You're welcome, you go home first..." the old man said, then suddenly froze.

She assumed that Ji Xiang would be polite first, then agree, and that it would be only natural for him to go to the capital with her after completing the formalities.

but!

What did I just hear?!

"What did you say?"

"Teacher, I can't go." Ji Xiang shrugged and spread his hands helplessly.

"Why?" The old man frowned at Ji Xiang. "Don't worry about the paperwork. If you can't get it done, I'll do it for you. Go to the capital, get a government job, and you can register your household there. You can also apply for talent introduction programs. I can apply to the hospital for all the preferential policies."

The old man was taken aback and lost his composure, rattling off a long list of conditions.

Ji Xiang was also helpless; he could feel the old man's deep concern.

"Teacher, I am a resident physician." Ji Xiang had no choice but to tell the truth.

……

……

Director Bai is one of the judges, which is why he came.

Ten years ago, there were very few neurosurgeons who could perform aneurysm surgeries; every single one of them was a top expert.

So when Director Bai sat here, no one said a word of objection.

"Director Bai, Zhao Tianjiao is that guy, right?"

A professor sitting next to Director Bai asked in a low voice.

Director Bai nodded demurely.

"It's a pity about Dean Zhao. He was such a good surgeon, but he wasted his talent by working in an administrative office. Unlike you, who went back to clinical surgery."

"Tianjiao is not bad either, I heard about him from Lao Deng," Director Bai said casually. "He has a solid foundation and is growing very fast."

"That's right, like father, like son."

With the sedan chair being carried by people, Dean Zhao even invited Director Bai, so he had to give them face, as long as the difference wasn't too outrageous.

The first place for an individual goes to the Second Affiliated Hospital, and the first place for a team goes to the First Affiliated Hospital. The cake has already been cut.

A young doctor walked onto the stage, bowed in respect, and began tying knots without saying a word of politeness.

One aspect is the number of knots tied; another is that the knots cannot slip or become loose. Therefore, each doctor performs the procedure individually under the watchful eyes of more than a dozen pairs of eyes.

It was obvious that the young doctor was not emotionally stable; he slipped three times in one minute, and his total score was less than 90.

This is the norm. The judges didn't make any sarcastic remarks; they simply pointed out shortcomings and offered encouragement.

After seven or eight people, Zhao Tianjiao took the stage.

"Hello, esteemed reviewers. I am Zhao Tianjiao, a resident physician at the Second Affiliated Hospital. I look forward to your guidance."

Zhao Tianjiao's voice was full of energy, and he won everyone's favor as soon as he appeared.

Without much small talk, Zhao Tianjiao asked for Line 4 and practiced a couple of times to get used to the rhythm.

"Huh? Not bad!"

The professor next to Director Bai looked at Zhao Tianjiao's familiar feel and rhythm in the knots and said in surprise.

"Of course, as they say, like father, like son," Director Bai said with a smile.

"That technique truly has the flair of Dean Zhao back in the day," the professor said. "Speaking of which, Dean Zhao has held the knot-tying record in the provincial capital's major competitions for many years. So many young people have tried to break the record, making confident promises, but who has actually succeeded?"

"It also depends on talent."

"Hmm." The professor nodded. "Director Bai, there's no need to give prior notice."

Director Bai smiled. Dean Zhao was cautious in his actions. It concerned his son's future, so what was the big deal about saying a few words?

He also guessed another layer of meaning—Dean Zhao knew that his son was good at tying knots and had a delicate technique, so he came to show off.

Thinking about this, Director Bai felt a little disgusted.

Zhao Tianjiao contacted the timekeeper and started tying the knot after the countdown began.

1~2~3~

His hands were nimble and incredibly fast, leaving a faint afterimage.

It was fast, but every knot was tied perfectly. Even Director Bai, who was a neurosurgeon and meticulous in his surgeries, nodded in approval as he saw it.

58 ~

"Director Bai, I have a feeling that Xiao Zhao is going to break Lao Zhao's record."

"Possibly."

88 ~

There was still time, and Zhao Tianjiao's speed did not slow down or become disordered at all. Just like at the beginning, he maintained a steady speed, and each knot was still very strong.

118 ~

10 seconds left!

If Zhao Tianjiao hadn't tied the slip knot, the record held by Dean Zhao for over twenty years would have been broken.

The professors who had been notified in advance all looked at Zhao Tianjiao in surprise; no one had expected him to be able to do something like this.

Awesome, very much!

133!

Everyone held their breath.

The record is within reach!

Although time is running out, the competition between experts often hinges on the smallest of margins.

Given the remaining time, it's inevitable that Xiao Zhao will surpass Lao Zhao by a large margin. As long as he can tie knots steadily, it doesn't matter if his speed slows down. Just make sure he doesn't slip.

"Hoo~"

Applause erupted in the room when the record held by Dean Zhao was broken by his son.

Zhao Tianjiao visibly relaxed a little; his hand movements became slightly disordered. A second later, seeing a knot in the thread come undone, he gave up immediately.

"The time isn't up yet, but we've already broken the record, so let's leave it at that," Zhao Tianjiao said calmly as he stood up. "It'll also give future newcomers something to look forward to."

Director Bai shook his head helplessly at these words.

However, Zhao Tianjiao is young after all, so it's not a big deal for him to be a little arrogant.

When he finished tying the knot, thunderous applause erupted.

Zhao Tianjiao, with an air of pride, waved to the young doctors participating in the competition.

He then glanced at the professors present and, seeing the expectation in their eyes, became even more smug.

"Teacher, I'm done," Zhao Tianjiao said.

"Not bad, not bad!"

"Yes, that's impressive. You broke your record in just 57 seconds... Dean Zhao Jixiang's record, which has stood for over 20 years."

"The younger generation is truly formidable."

Amidst the numerous praises, Zhao Tianjiao remained unperturbed, believing excessive humility to be hypocrisy. He was already incredibly accomplished, having broken his own father's record; his father had been the most outstanding figure in the provincial capital's medical industry for generations!

none of them!

"I wonder how many years this record will stand," someone remarked.

This is a record for young people; hospital staff around 30 years old are too embarrassed to participate in competitions. It's estimated that this record can be maintained for at least 30 years.

Thinking about 30 years later, the man was somewhat dazed, envying Dean Zhao for having such a good son.

There are successors.

There are successors!

Amid the commotion, the hall door was pushed open, and a group of people walked in.

Director Bai, with his sharp eyes, spotted the old man in the middle.

He stood up immediately and walked over quickly.

"Professor Wei, you've arrived." Director Bai bowed and greeted him. "I'm the director of the Medical Affairs Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital. My surname is Bai. You can just call me Xiao Bai."

The old man simply responded, without even glancing at Director Bai, his eyes fixed on the competition venue.

"Mr. Wei, what's wrong with you...?" Director Shen asked in confusion. Normally, Mr. Wei was a veteran nurse and shouldn't be interested in doctors' competitions.

Moreover, this competition did not include emergency first aid such as chest compressions and artificial respiration with the assistance of medical staff. How could she have so much energy to come here and watch the excitement?

"Director Bai, Xiao Bai," said Old Wei.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" Director Bai said with a smile.

"Ji Xiang, are you one of yours?"

"..." Director Bai felt a pang of bitterness upon hearing what Old Wei said.

This kid must have gotten into some trouble that made Old Wei notice something amiss.

It's just a test for the nurses who didn't come. What's so difficult about it? How did this cause a problem?

Director Bai felt a surge of annoyance, and several plans for future torture of Ji Xiang flashed through his mind.

But he remained calm and smiled, saying, "Old Wei is one of our men."

"Is he really a resident physician?"

"Yes." Director Bai remained calm even in the face of important matters. "This morning, a nurse suddenly developed a high fever that wouldn't go down and was on an IV drip. We were short-staffed and didn't have a suitable replacement at the moment, so we arranged for him to fill in."

"That's true." The old man snorted.

"Mr. Wei, he's young. If he offends you in any way, please forgive him."

"I wanted to recruit him to our hospital, but he refused. Let's see how good his medical skills are. If they're just average, such a promising talent should come back to Beijing with me and work as a nurse."

What?

Director Bai thinks he has a hearing problem and wants to take Ji Xiang back to the capital to work as a nurse...

Director Bai never dreamed of such a bizarre and extraordinary thing.

"Old Wei, he's not a nursing professional."

"You could be my graduate student, and in three years you'd be a nurse." The old man stared intently at the competition field, where another young doctor was skillfully tying knots.

The timer has ended; 98 times in one minute.

"Ji Xiang, why don't you give it a try?" Old Wei patted Ji Xiang's arm. "If you can't tie 140 knots in a minute, you won't have a future as a doctor. You should come back to the capital with me."

That's what I meant...

The professors who were serving as judges were quite speechless.

Tying knots quickly is the most basic requirement. Once surgery begins, no one will use the number of knots tied per minute as a standard for evaluating a doctor.

The procedure requires that all sutures be tied securely to prevent slippage that could cause the sutures to come loose when ligating blood vessels, leading to secondary massive bleeding.

Nobody cares how fast or slow it is.

If you can't tie 140 knots in a minute, you don't deserve to be a doctor. If we're going by that standard, all the professors here would have to change careers.

Dean Zhao's record, which he had held for over twenty years, was just broken by Zhao Tianjiao, and it didn't even reach 140.

The old man is really...

"98 knots, including 2 slip knots," commented a professor observing the event. "Next up, Ji Xiang from the Second Affiliated Hospital."

"Keep it up, young man," Old Wei encouraged Ji Xiang.

However, no one present believed that the old man really wanted Ji Xiang to be able to tie 140 surgical knots per minute.

Moreover, Ji Xiang probably couldn't untie that many knots. The record of the provincial medical skills competition is there for over 20 years and no one has been able to break it.

Countless eyes fell on Ji Xiang.

(End of this chapter)