The Enhanced Doctor

(Thanks to my friends Lu Tiezhu and Ty~Wu for their monthly ticket encouragement)

"Ah, I just remembered! I brought you guys some food." After saying this, Qiaoqiao hurriedly ran out. Soon, she returned, carrying two large bags full of small boxes.

"A friend of mine opened a bakery today. I went to support her, so it looks like you're the lucky ones," Qiaoqiao said.

"Haha, then I won't hold back. It smells great, very creamy," Liu Banxia said, starting to take out the pastries.

There was quite an assortment of pastries, and they tasted good. These two large bags probably cost Qiaoqiao a lot. Things like this aren't cheap nowadays.

"How does it taste?" Qiaoqiao asked.

"They're pretty good, quite delicious. But why is there dog hair on this one? Did you come straight from home?" Liu Banxia casually remarked.

"Oh, shoot! I have to go. Tang Dou is still in the car, watching it," Qiaoqiao exclaimed, slapping her forehead. She uttered a quick word and then dashed off.

Liu Banxia didn't know what to say. He wondered if Tang Dou, by sticking with her, was at the peak of its canine life or at the start of its tribulations. Anyway, with this girl's current disposition, who knew who she would end up plaguing in the future.

"Teacher Liu, is this young lady your girlfriend?" Xu Yino asked while munching on a cake.

"Her? Spare me. I'm not even expecting my dream girl to have long, lustrous black hair. With Qiaoqiao, apart from being identifiable as female from a biological perspective, she's actually a great buddy to hang out with," Liu Banxia said with a straight face.

"It's a good thing Qiaoqiao didn't hear that, or she'd actually try to fight you," Liang Xiaolin said, laughing.

"Qiaoqiao has such a great personality. We've already planned to hang out with her during our next break. By the way, she's actually a year younger than me."

"Really? She's younger than you?" Liu Banxia asked in surprise.

Liang Xiaolin glared at him. "Are you saying Qiaoqiao looks old, or that I look old?"

Liu Banxia didn't dare say another word. Age was a forbidden topic for women. He could only hope Liang Xiaolin wouldn't secretly snitch on him; otherwise, Qiaoqiao would definitely charge back in.

Just then, Liu Banxia saw Zhou Shuwen walk over in his surgical scrubs and head straight into his own office.

"You guys keep an eye on things. I'm going to report to the director," Liu Banxia said, grabbing two boxes of pastries and scurrying in.

"Sigh, I've been here for so long, and today is only the fourth time I've seen our director," Huang Bo remarked.

"Be grateful. I heard the director is much stricter than Teacher Liu. Teacher Liu is already becoming my nightmare. Every time I finish debridement or suturing, I have to double-check everything," Xu Yino said.

"Teacher Wang, give us the scoop. Has Teacher Liu always been this strict? My suturing skills have improved a lot these past few days, but the pressure is immense."

"Shoutian, huh? Well... you shouldn't ask me. You should ask Doctor Liang and Qing Kewa." Wang Chao skillfully passed the buck.

"Dr. Liu is amazing," Qing Kewa said, while tasting the pastries one by one.

"Sigh... I get it. All you ever say is how amazing Teacher Liu is. Doctor Liang, was Teacher Liu this strict when he supervised you before? Did he really scold people?" Xu Yino then asked Liang Xiaolin.

Liang Xiaolin looked a bit dejected but still nodded. "I hadn't inserted a chest tube for a patient by myself before, and I was just a little too slow, so he got fierce with me."

"If you ask me, you all shouldn't indulge him," Wang Chao interjected. "He's very skilled, sure, but sometimes he's too erratic. You have to stand your ground."

"Doctor Liang, so how did you stand your ground?" Liu Yiqing chimed in.

Liang Xiaolin was taken aback. How had she stood her ground? It seemed like she was always being pushed around and had never managed to turn the tables.

"Actually, I also think Teacher Liu is really amazing. His being strict with us is to help us build a solid foundation," Su Wenhao chimed in, speaking up for a rare change.

"Sigh... You've been completely won over by Teacher Liu. Is it because Teacher Liu said your personality is very similar to Dr. Shi's, and that your future development will be like Dr. Shi's too?" Xu Yino asked teasingly.

Su Wenhao fell silent and focused on eating his pastry.

"It's true, Su's personality really is a lot like Dr. Shi's," Wang Chao said with a laugh.

"But you all are doing very well, much better than I was when I first started my residency. Su, even though I'm your mentor, you also need to keep an eye on Shoutian," Wang Chao added.

"Teacher Wang, why do so many people call Teacher Liu 'Shoutian'?" Xu Yino asked again.

"Haha, ask Doctor Liang. I'm going to see a patient. Those of you who are full can come over for debridement," Wang Chao said with a grin before slipping away.

Normally, the small group would have rushed over. But now, their interest in "Shoutian" was piqued, and even Su Wenhao was looking expectantly at Liang Xiaolin.

Liang Xiaolin felt quite troubled, not knowing what to say. After all, she had caused a misunderstanding regarding "Shoutian" before.

"Well, people who are close to him sometimes call him by his nickname. It's not that important. I have to get back to work too." After saying this, Liang Xiaolin also slipped away.

Xu Yino blinked. She felt there was definitely something more to it. Otherwise, why would Teacher Wang always try to push the question onto Doctor Liang?

While they were still gossiping about Liu Banxia, Liu Banxia himself was somewhat apprehensively observing Zhou Shuwen.

Zhou Shuwen always had a stern expression, making it difficult to discern his mood. However, having interacted with him for a while now, Liu Banxia could clearly sense that Zhou Shuwen was very fatigued and angry.

"Why are you always staring at me? Once I finish signing these documents, I have to get back to the operating room," Zhou Shuwen said while looking at the documents he was signing.

"Director, I've heard some talk. Are there quite a few people intending to resign from our hospital this year?" Liu Banxia asked tentatively.

Zhou Shuwen glanced at him and nodded. "There are some every year; this year is normal too. Is there anything else?"

Liu Banxia gritted his teeth. "Director, seeing you and Dr. Shi working so hard, doing one surgery after another, never resting before ten at night... Could you give me a chance to earn some extra money? Let me perform more surgeries."

"Don't worry, the Emergency Department is fine. With Dr. Wei around, any situation can be handled. I'm now capable of performing appendectomies, cholecystectomies, hernia repairs, gastrointestinal-related surgeries, and some simple liver surgeries."

He said this, gritting his teeth, having truly made up his mind. After chatting with Wang Chao and Wei Yuan today, he sensed that some of the current problems the hospital was facing might be indirectly related to him.

Both Shi Lei and Zhou Shuwen were his benefactors. Without them, even if he had the System, would it have been enough? Who would have given him the chance to operate?

The medical profession is very particular. It's not like being a chef; if your food is good, you can make a fortune whether you work in a grand hotel or run a small eatery. Can a doctor do that? Surgery requires qualifications. Which hospital would dare to rashly let you take the lead in an operation?

Zhou Shuwen put down his pen and smiled. "Quite capable. You can perform so many surgeries now."

"Director, it's really just these few types. There are still some surgeries I haven't encountered, but I'm confident with these ones," Liu Banxia said, a bit embarrassed.

"Is it because the recent program report has made you feel burdened?" Zhou Shuwen asked.

Liu Banxia hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Being exceptionally allowed to stay at the hospital and then appearing on such a prominent program must have made some people uncomfortable."

"Director, just assign me some surgeries. I can really do them. Plus, my surgical speed isn't slow. If you assign me some, I can also earn a bit more in wages."

"Making you the focus of the program was indeed a last-minute adjustment, but it also served as good publicity for our hospital. It lets the outside world know that in our hospital, as long as you have talent, seniority can be set aside," Zhou Shuwen said.

"Overall, there has indeed been an increase in patients needing surgery this month. Plus, some people are using this as leverage to try and renegotiate their contracts, so our making some temporary changes to lead surgeon assignments is somewhat related."

"Otherwise, I would have thought of asking you to do some as well. But with the program being filmed here these past few days, it wasn't convenient to just pull you over directly."

"Organize things yourself, assemble a team, and start operating this afternoon. Two appendectomies, one cholecystectomy. Tomorrow morning, we'll schedule a hepatic cyst resection for you. Prepare well; I won't have time to supervise you."

"Thank you, Director! I'll go prepare right away," Liu Banxia replied joyfully.

Zhou Shuwen smiled and nodded, then returned to reviewing the documents requiring his signature.

In truth, both of them knew that Liu Banxia saying he wanted to do more surgeries to earn more money was just a pretext. The real reason he volunteered was to help share the burden for Zhou Shuwen and Shi Lei.

How much could one earn from a single surgery in a hospital like this? Performing ten surgeries wouldn't even earn as much as doing one freelance surgery at another hospital. The commission was generally around 7%, and that still had to be split with the entire operating room team.

Even though the cost of living in Binhai City was slightly higher, and the surgical fees at a tertiary hospital were also a bit more than at local hospitals, there were limits. Performing just a few more scheduled surgeries wouldn't necessarily lead to a significant improvement in Liu Banxia's surgical skills.

Therefore, Zhou Shuwen was very pleased with Liu Banxia's offer. He hadn't become arrogant; he was still considerate of him and Shi Lei. This disciple was a good find.

This was currently a critical period for the hospital. He understood the desires of those in the Department of General Surgery who were hoping for salary increases and promotions. However, with too many contenders and too few opportunities, and considering the overall management and operations of the hospital, it was indeed necessary to maintain some control.

Not to mention, there were others behind the scenes waiting to see him and Chen Zhenxing make fools of themselves over this matter. Whether they liked it or not, they had to persevere.