Super Doctor - Chapter 165

“What? You want to recruit me for the Department of Abdominal Surgery?” Xu Ze stared in astonishment at Director Gu, who was clutching his arm tightly, and muttered in disbelief.

“Yes… young man, with your skills, you’re wasted here. Come with me to the Department of Abdominal Surgery…” Director Gu looked at Xu Ze with enthusiasm and urged, “If you join me, I guarantee you’ll become the second-most-skilled surgeon in abdominal surgery within two years. How about it?”

Faced with the single-minded determination of Director Gu, Xu Ze was both amused and exasperated, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately, someone stepped in to shield him. Director Qu suddenly slammed the table and glared at Director Gu, shouting angrily, “Gu Yiming, what do you mean by that? Is Xu Ze ‘wasted’ here? Is the Emergency Department a place where talent goes to waste? Am I, Qu Zhiyuan, some useless director who can’t nurture talent?”

“Uh…” Hearing Director Qu’s angry outburst, Director Gu finally snapped back to reality. In his excitement, he had forgotten that he was trying to poach someone right in front of his old friend—and that Old Qu was still in the room. Whether he could successfully recruit Xu Ze was one thing, but saying such things to someone’s face was bound to make Old Qu furious.

His face flushed with embarrassment, and he looked at Director Qu with an awkward smile. “Old Qu… don’t be angry, don’t be angry. You know how my mouth is… I speak without thinking…”

“Hmph…” Fortunately, Director Qu was well-acquainted with his old friend’s temperament and knew that Gu’s remark was unintentional. He snorted angrily but didn’t say anything else.

Seeing that his old friend was no longer furious, Director Gu turned back to Xu Ze with enthusiasm. “Xiao Xu… well… please seriously consider what I said. The Department of Abdominal Surgery offers great benefits… performing surgeries every day, high bonuses… If you come, I guarantee you won’t regret it…”

“Hmph… Old Gu, don’t even think about it. Xu Ze is staying with me—he’s not going anywhere. If you want to recruit him, come back in two years…” Director Qu stated matter-of-factly. Xu Ze still had two years left before graduation.

“Two years?” Director Gu widened his eyes and stared at Director Qu in disbelief. “Old Qu, the Emergency Department is a jack-of-all-trades. Look at you—Xiao Xu is such a talented young man, and you’re letting him rot in Internal Medicine? If you waste his talent here for two years, I’ll kill you, you old fool…”

“…” Looking at his agitated old friend, Director Qu chuckled dryly and motioned for Director Gu to calm down. “Don’t get worked up. Let me explain later… Come, come… let’s go to my office and talk…”

Watching Director Qu pull Director Gu into the adjacent office, Xu Ze finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Director Qu would handle the situation, but the memory of Director Gu’s persistence made him uneasy.

Meanwhile, Wu Yue, Qian Xuebin, and the others looked at Xu Ze with surprise and curiosity. They had no idea what Xu Ze had done to make Director Gu of the Department of Abdominal Surgery personally come to the Emergency Department to recruit him. It was truly enviable.

The Department of Abdominal Surgery was a highly sought-after place: it had a high patient volume, relatively straightforward surgeries, and offered both a relaxed workload and high income. Everyone wanted to work there.

As for Qian Xuebin, he had long given up on comparing himself to Xu Ze. In his eyes, Xu Ze was no longer on the same level as him. Some people were just built differently—Xu Ze was a freak of nature. If he continued to compare himself to Xu Ze, he’d only end up frustrating himself to death.

Seizing the opportunity while Director Gu was occupied, Xu quickly changed out of his work clothes and left for the day. If Director Gu returned, he might not be able to get away anytime soon.

Driving his car, Xu Ze remembered that he wanted to buy a piano and a guitar, so he headed straight to Bailian Plaza, hoping to find something he liked.

Zhiyin Music Store in Bailian was quite well-known in Star City. After asking for directions, Xu Ze found the store without much trouble. Stepping inside, he was impressed by the spacious interior, with walls adorned with various musical instruments.

From guitars and violins to pianos and saxophones… the store had everything.

Noticing Xu Ze’s purposeful gaze as he entered, the store owner quickly sized him up and realized he was there to make a purchase, not just browse. He immediately walked over and greeted him warmly. “Sir, what would you like to buy? I can help recommend something…”

Xu Ze smiled and said, “I’d like to buy a piano and a guitar. If you have any good violins, I’d like to see those too.”

The store owner was momentarily taken aback. He’d had customers buying instruments before, but rarely ones who wanted to buy several at once. However, he quickly collected himself—this was a substantial sale, and he was more than happy to help. “Of course! Our instruments are among the best in Star City. Let me show you a few… What’s your budget?”

“Hmm…” Xu Ze frowned thoughtfully. “Do you accept Bailian shopping cards here?”

Upon hearing “shopping cards,” the store owner hesitated. Most shopping cards were worth a few thousand or maybe ten thousand yuan at most, which wouldn’t be enough for a high-quality instrument, let alone a piano. Still, he nodded. “Yes… we accept them.”

“Great! Then show me the best ones you have!” Relieved, Xu Ze knew his card should cover the expenses.

“The best?” The store owner was stunned. The top-tier instruments for all three categories would cost around two hundred thousand yuan…

Before the owner could respond, a middle-aged woman with an elegant demeanor who was browsing in the store chuckled lightly and said, “Manager Zhang, why not recommend the ‘Red Cotton’ series to him? Red Cotton guitars and violins are quite good… and reasonably priced.”

“Red Cotton?” The owner thought for a moment and smiled. “Not a bad suggestion. Red Cotton is a decent brand.”

He then turned to Xu Ze and said, “Sure, sir. Please follow me…”

Xu Ze didn’t comment on their conversation and simply followed the owner with a smile.

The owner walked over to a row of guitars, looked around, and then turned to Xu Ze. “Are you looking for an acoustic or electric guitar? Folk or classical?”

“An acoustic folk guitar,” Xu Ze replied. He wasn’t planning to play rock music, so an electric guitar was unnecessary.

The owner nodded, took down a wooden guitar, and handed it to Xu Ze. “This is a Red Cotton D21. It’s one of the best models from Red Cotton… and the price is reasonable.”

Xu Ze nodded, took the guitar, and strummed it a few times. He tested the tuning and listened to the sound quality but soon frowned. The guitar was decent, but it didn’t quite meet his expectations—it felt inferior to the ones he’d tried in the virtual space.

Shaking his head, he handed the guitar back and said honestly, “Do you have anything better? This one isn’t quite there.”

“Not good enough?” The owner watched Xu Ze’s skillful handling and recognized him as an experienced player. After a moment’s thought, he walked over to another set of guitars, selected one, and brought it over with a smile. “Gibson… I think you’ll like this one.”

Xu Ze took the guitar, strummed it a few times, and found it satisfactory. He then lightly plucked the strings and began playing “Hotel California.”

As Xu Ze’s fingers moved, cheerful guitar music instantly filled the store, attracting the attention of several other customers browsing nearby. Even the middle-aged woman from earlier looked over in surprise.

After playing half the song, Xu Ze was relatively pleased with the guitar but still looked at the owner expectantly. “Do you have anything even better?”

“Even better?” Having heard Xu Ze’s rendition of “Hotel California,” the owner no longer underestimated him. Anyone who could play at that level had the right to try the best—and most expensive—guitar in the store, whether they ended up buying it or not.

He walked into the inner room of the store, carefully brought out a guitar, and handed it to Xu Ze with a confident smile. “This is our store’s treasure. Please give it a try…”

Seeing the owner’s confident expression, Xu Ze smiled and nodded. He took the guitar, strummed it lightly a few times, and felt the pure, soul-stirring quality of its sound. Delighted, he immediately said, “Perfect! I’ll take this one!”

“You don’t want to try it further?” The owner was stunned that Xu Ze had made up his mind so quickly.

“No need… When buying an instrument, it’s all about the vibe,” Xu Ze said with a smile.

“Ah… alright!” The owner nodded in a daze. His store’s treasure had been claimed without any effort—it was almost too easy.

Xu Ze smiled and said, “Now, let’s take a look at the violins.”

Seeing how confidently Xu Ze had made his decision without even asking about the price, the owner didn’t bother showing him the Red Cotton violins. Instead, he directly brought out three violins from the inner room and placed them in front of Xu Ze. “These three violins were handcrafted by the renowned Master Wang from Lexian Workshop. Their tops are made from imported European spruce that has been naturally dried for fifty years, and the backs are made from high-quality maple wood that has been naturally dried for over twenty years. The wood grain is straight and free of scars… The strings are imported Dominant strings, and the bridges are French De Luxe bridges. The craftsmanship is absolutely top-notch… Master Wang’s work is guaranteed to be flawless in tone, quality, and tuning.”

Looking at the three violins, Xu Ze nodded with a smile. Zhiyin Music Store had a good reputation in Star City, and the owner was known for being fair and honest. He smiled and said, “I’m not very knowledgeable about violins. Please pick one for me.”

Hearing this, the owner was initially surprised but then smiled. Customers like this were the best—they didn’t pretend to know everything about things they were unfamiliar with.

The owner nodded, put away the two violins on the sides, and kept the one in the middle. He said to Xu Ze with a smile, “You’ll definitely be satisfied with this violin.”

“Great! I’ll take it.” Seeing the confidence in the owner’s eyes, Xu Ze smiled and nodded.

Watching Xu Ze buy the violin without even asking about the price, the middle-aged woman who had been observing them felt a twinge of envy and sighed to herself, “Does this young man have so much money? He actually bought that violin…”