Chapter 908: [908] Boss does not allow desertion on the battlefield Chapter 908: [908] Boss does not allow desertion on the battlefield The child’s blood pressure had dropped further, and was now being barely maintained with transfusions and medication.

Doctor Zhou, a licensed physician, had to take on the role of First Assistant until other doctors from the department returned. Upon seeing the patient, his mind went blank; he had never experienced performing surgery on such a small child.

Noticing his inaction as she was about to scrub in, Nie Jiamin quickly turned to Xie Wanying and called out, “Yingying.”

For some reason, Teacher Nie had started calling her by her nickname.

“Yes, Teacher Nie, I’m coming,” Xie Wanying instantly understood her mentor’s command and stepped forward to replace Doctor Zhou in disinfecting the child’s surgical area. Having operated on Xiao Yazhi before, she remembered similar procedures and performed the task with familiarity.

Doctor Zhou finally snapped back to reality and helped her spread out the sterile drapes.

Garbed in surgical attire, Nie Jiamin entered the operating room and took the Chief Surgeon’s position. Pressed for time and not fluent in Chinese, he gestured to the nurse and blurted out a random phrase: “Scalple.”

What on earth was this new doctor saying? The nurse froze, staring blankly.

Doctor Zhou shivered with apprehension; if the Boss started throwing English at him in the middle of a surgery, would he be able to keep up? He was just a small-town hospital doctor with no real chance to practice English conversation before. Maybe he could handle reading an English paper, but speak it fluently? That was out of his league.

“Teacher Nie wants a scalpel,” Xie Wanying, seeing that the nurse and Doctor Zhou were motionless, hurriedly stepped in and informed the nurse. Her only delay was caused by waiting for Teacher Nie’s gesturing to make his need obvious, but evidently, the nurse had been thrown off by the English first.

Handing over the scalpel to the Chief Surgeon, the nurse’s heart was filled with trepidation; she lacked confidence. She was only diploma-educated and not proficient in English.

Doctor Zhou stealthily glanced at Xie Wanying, signaling: Let’s switch places.

Xie Wanying questioned: ?

Doctor Zhou: I’m afraid it’ll be like the blind leading the blind with him; if we don’t switch, I’m worried about communication.

He feared it would be the same even when other doctors from his department returned; there was no one at the county hospital who could converse fluently in English with a foreigner.

It wasn’t up to her to decide whether they should switch places, the Chief Surgeon needed to make that call. Xie Wanying’s eyes communicated this message to Doctor Zhou.

“You two, switch places,” Nie Jiamin’s voice came from beneath his surgical mask.

The others detected the dullness in his tone, clearly disappointed.

Doctor Zhou instantly regretted holding back. Had he known, he wouldn’t have hesitated; fearing criticism before it happened wasn’t going to help him learn anything from the Boss. Now he was missing this valuable learning opportunity, which he had given away due to his own retreat.

“Switch,” Nie Jiamin commanded, whether regretful or not, he urged them on.

At any other time, it might be okay, but hesitating at the operating table earned one the risk of being kicked out by him.

Even the Boss had a temper. Teacher Nie was clearly angry now.

Doctor Zhou had no choice but to switch places with Xie Wanying, positioning himself at the Second Assistant’s spot.

Stepping up, Xie Wanying once again took on the role of First Assistant in a crisis. The first time serving as the First Assistant in an infant surgery, she tensed up, remembering what the textbooks said, that surgeries on infants and adults were largely similar.

There was only one thing she needed to do: be cautious and follow the teacher’s instructions.

“Gauze,” she commanded the nurse, and after receiving the gauze, she stood ready.

Glancing up, Nie Jiamin sharply surveyed the position of her hands. Seeming satisfied and expectant of her correct technique, he used a pen grip to make an incision in the child’s skin with the scalpel.