After saying goodbye to Tang Ping, he still turned back to the vegetable market to buy two pieces of pork with skin from the lady.
That lady was overjoyed.
"Young man, come often! Your wife is really beautiful and capable."
"..."
Li Jingsheng was speechless; heaven knows, he hasn't even married, where does the wife come from?
His girlfriend of several years broke up with him unexpectedly, making him view love with much indifference. He resigned to fate, maybe a new romance will begin when he meets a girl he clicks with.
But right now, he certainly won't consider this matter.
Love without a career often turns into a tragedy.
Back at the clinic, with the pork skin, there were now many types of surgical skills he could practice.
Cutting open the skin is one of the most basic surgical operational skills.
Instructional videos and books often show many residents, even those about to complete standardized training, easily making perfect incisions on patients' limbs, chest, and abdomen with a scalpel – something that makes Li Jingsheng very envious.
Never mind cutting on patients, he rarely even gets to sew skin.
Poor skills, slow operations, arrogance, lack of flattery towards supervising doctors – these are all reasons he doesn't get practice opportunities.
The harsh lessons of society are the best way for one to mature.
Looking back at his past self, Li Jingsheng feels he was particularly naïve and laughable.
Having no real skills, he still considered himself superior, discontent with everything.
After resigning from the hospital, he realized that nowhere comes with simple interpersonal relations.
These two pieces of pork cost over thirty yuan, they can't be wasted.
Having scored a 'big job' today, he dared to splurge once.
Incision skill isn't essential for a small clinic, but mastering it can be an almost monopolistic unique technique.
The larger clinic of Boss Zhao mostly infuses cold patients and sells health food and equipment to the elderly. For more serious wounds, Quick Recovery Clinic couldn't sew them up, let alone operate.
The clinic's own conditions also don't meet the requirements.
Establishing a surgical room isn't a small cost; equipping medical technical and laboratory services means it's not a clinic but a small hospital.
At least, it'd take a township health center or a somewhat larger community health service station to have such capability.
Li Jingsheng's goal isn't high, just enough earnings to let the clinic survive.
At this moment, using pork skin to practice incision is partly adhering to the principle of not wasting, and moreover thinking that once incision skills are mastered, he could handle small tasks like excising a lump or draining pus.
Small surgeries don't require a laminar flow operating room, just an ordinary one will do.
He can fully use the treatment room as a regular operating room.
Achieving strict aseptic requirements surely won't be possible, but doing minor surgeries doesn't require extremely stringent sterility.
Excising lumps, handling abscesses, for such a small clinic these are big tasks.
Mastering incision skills gives him the opportunity for such major work.
Once the knife position was marked on the pork skin, everything was ready.
Gripping the scalpel with his right hand, his gaze became sharper than ever, slicing into the marked position and dragging the blade across.
"When cutting open tissue, use the belly of the scalpel blade, making a cutting motion at an angle of 45° to the tissue plane."
"Maintain the blade perpendicular to the abdominal wall during the incision process to keep both edges symmetrical."
...
While slicing, he recalled anatomy essentials about epidermis incision.
Surgical cutting differs greatly from a cook cutting meat.
Cooks cut rapidly, often with one slice to the end.
But which surgeon dares such a method, it's not merely frightening but life-threatening.
Surgical anatomy is a meticulous task. Despite seemingly using power tools on patients' heads, and bone saws on patients' spines, it appears violent, yet that's just the surface appearance.
Take C-sections for example, any professional surgeon slices layer by layer like peeling an eggshell while cutting open the patient's abdomen.
Sequentially slicing open skin, subcutaneous tissue, fascia layers, rectus abdominis, peritoneum…
The rectus abdominis layer is usually spread apart rather than cut open.
Thus, one slice to the end is what cooks do, not surgeons operating.
Li Jingsheng studied incision skills, practiced previously.
Regrettably, due to lacking careful guidance from instructors, and not having enough practice opportunities, he couldn't afford much pork skin for practice, so his incision skills remained half-baked, not even reaching entry-level.
This time, he strictly adhered to the tutorial, diligently recalling senior doctors' surgical processes, keeping his grip stable, and slicing layer by layer along the markers.
Once finished, it was unbearable to look at.
The incision edges were uneven, resembling a dog bite. Also, the grip strength was poorly controlled, some parts deep, some shallow.
It's said expert surgeons can discern the tissue they slice open with a scalpel by touch alone, even with closed eyes. When encountering vital tissues like blood vessels, nerves, ligaments, tendons, they promptly adjust strength to avoid injury.
Li Jingsheng remembered during anatomy classes, a balding elder with black-rimmed glasses demonstrated with a scalpel and book publicly.
Cutting precisely the pages desired.
That was truly impressive.
At the time, all medical students gazed fervently at the elder, reaching the peak of admiration.
Recalling that scene after many years post graduation, Li Jingsheng still feels passionately, considering the elder a monument in his mind.
"Professor Tang mentioned that every surgical virtuoso grows through countless trials. If one attempt fails, try ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times…"
Li Jingsheng fully embraced the spirit of Ah Q, comforting himself, marking a new incision line to try again.
Just when he was fully focused on practice, the glass door was pushed open, Tang Ping came in carrying a thermal food jar. Beside her was a little girl carved from jade.
With good genes from her parents, children generally turn out handsome or pretty.
Tang Ping is beautiful herself, naturally her daughter is also a full-fledged beauty.
"Boss, take a break and eat before continuing to practice!" She said with a smile.
"You really brought me food! Thank you! Thank you!"
Li Jingsheng quickly set aside the scalpel and put everything away.
Taking the food jar, he glanced at the timid little girl hiding behind Tang Ping, smiling, "Niuniu, thank you and your mom for bringing me delicious food. How about uncle buys you fruit next time?"
Doctors generally don't buy pastries or ice cream for kids because these often contain trans fats, the culprit for obesity, cardiovascular diseases, breast cancer, colon cancer.
Harmful with no benefits for kids and adults alike.
Furthermore, they metabolize very slowly in the body and pose great risks.
Fruits are seen as beneficial foods for enhancing health in doctors' views.
"Niuniu, greet people! Quickly call Uncle Li, he bought you apples last time, remember?" Tang Ping also bent down teaching her daughter to greet.
"Hello Uncle Li!"
The little girl clung to her mother's clothes, timidly called out.
"Oh! So well-behaved! Did you like the apples last time?"
Li Jingsheng liked children, seeing them as innocent and pure, possessing the world's purest hearts.
She gently shook her head.
"Then what do you like? Tell Uncle, he'll buy it for you!"
Li Jingsheng questioned.
"I want to eat KFC!" Speaking the words KFC seemed to remind her of delicious fried chicken legs and fries, secretly swallowing.
"Haha, you like that, okay, Uncle will buy it for you another day."
Li Jingsheng noticed many children love junk food because of its great taste.
"Don't listen to her, she pesters about KFC daily, those junk foods aren't healthy at all." Tang Ping laughed, telling Li Jingsheng. "Take your time eating, leave the thermal jar in the clinic, I'll pick it up after work tomorrow."
Afterwards, she led her daughter, saying "Say goodbye to Uncle Li!"
The girl was reticent, seemed a bit shy.
Nonetheless, she waved at Li Jingsheng.
Before leaving, her little eyes were full of expectancy. Li Jingsheng promised her KFC, she took it seriously.
So adults should never make hollow promises to children.
"Goodbye!"
Li Jingsheng waved to bid the mother and daughter farewell.
"Be careful on the road! Don't stay out too late."
The Old Street of South City area is quite mixed, with all kinds of people.
Though the security is quite good, and police patrol at night, being careful is always wise.
As Li Jingsheng ate, a quivering old lady pushed the door open, leaning heavily on a cane. She seemed to be gasping heavily, making "wheezing" sounds.