Chapter Summaries

After the holiday, Wang Dali took on the Artificial Heart project while also receiving responsibility for Bionic Microneedle and Ultrasonic Scalpel. As Kewei’s CMOS chips arrived, he and the engineers assembled three endoscope samples and began preliminary testing.

• Lu Tingfeng offered Wang Dali several new projects, and Wang Dali insisted on leading the Artificial Heart project despite its difficulty.
• Lu Tingfeng assigned Wang Dali the Bionic Microneedle and Ultrasonic Scalpel projects as well, while giving the remaining projects to Qi Liang.
• Wang Dali reviewed the Ultrasonic Scalpel materials and was amazed by the magnetostrictive material used in its transducer.
• Kewei’s CMOS chips arrived, and Wang Dali and the engineers began assembling endoscope samples.
• A few days later, the team completed three endoscope systems and started preliminary debugging and verification.

Wang Dali addressed the CMOS chip’s low yield and proposed an integrated minimally invasive surgery solution built around endoscopes, insufflators, and ultrasonic scalpels. Wei Kang approved the plan and authorized Wang Dali to lead the projects.

• Wang Dali rejected lowering the chip’s quality standards and proposed using underperforming but functional CMOS chips in lower-end products to reduce heat and improve utilization.
• Wang Dali presented a plan to combine the company’s Capsule Endoscope and Rigid Endoscope with other equipment into a complete minimally invasive surgery solution.
• Wang Dali identified the Insufflator, Flexible Endoscope, and Ultrasonic Scalpel as priorities, explaining how rare-earth giant magnetostrictive materials could improve the scalpel’s transducer.
• Wang Dali proposed a flexible ultrasonic scalpel that could replace electrosurgical knives in digestive endoscopic surgery, and the engineers added ideas including a Single-Port Surgical Connector.
• Wei Kang praised Wang Dali’s feasibility report, approved the Ultrasonic Scalpel project, and told the team to proceed with the Insufflator and Flexible Endoscope projects.

Wang Dali sought help from China Steel Research Institute to produce Sanqing’s new giant magnetostrictive alloy after civilian materials failed to meet the Ultrasonic Scalpel’s requirements. The alloy impressed the institute and drew attention from government and Navy officials, who sought Sanqing’s support for national defense and aerospace applications.

• Wang Dali rejected available magnetostrictive materials and decided Sanqing needed China Steel Research Institute’s help producing its new alloy.
• Feng Qihang initially doubted the alloy’s claimed performance, but Wang Dali presented Sanqing’s confidential technical documentation and convinced the institute the material was real.
• Feng Qihang praised the breakthrough and said he would report it to his superiors because it might involve classified information.
• Wang Guiqing told Wei Kang that China Steel Research Institute had reported Sanqing’s breakthrough to the higher-ups, and Ouyang Du from the Naval Equipment Research Institute asked about the material’s applications.
• Wei Kang agreed that Sanqing would support national defense and aerospace development, with its contribution depending on China Steel Group’s production capacity.

Three Purities finalized a state-backed patent licensing deal, while Wang Dali’s team perfected and tested their ultrasonic scalpel, demonstrating its precision on meat and bone. Their barbecue experiment was interrupted by Lu Tingfeng, who scolded them before tasting the lamb and letting them off with a warning.

• Three Purities agreed to license its new material patents to national institutions under confidentiality restrictions, while major domestic hospitals would prioritize its ultrasonic scalpels if they met national standards.
• Wang Dali’s R&D team tested the scalpel’s transducer and fixed handle overheating by adding automatic frequency tracking to maintain resonance.
• Wang Dali used the scalpel to slice lamb and cut bone, finding that adjustable frequency enabled precise soft-tissue cutting and clean bone severing, while excessive power pulverized bone and damaged surrounding tissue.
• Wang Dali and his colleagues turned the test into a barbecue, cooking meat with the scalpel’s mechanical and thermal effects.
• Lu Tingfeng arrived, berated the team for making a mess of the testing room, then tasted the lamb and told them to let it go this time.

Three Purities developed a portable Ultrasonic Scalpel and began work on Flexible Endoscopes after its Rigid Endoscope received registration approval. At Kun City First People's Hospital, doctors praised Three Purities' endoscopes during surgery, while Mindray representative Little Zhang left without securing procurement plans, and news of the new Rigid Endoscope reached Olympus.

• Wang Dali and his colleagues refined the Ultrasonic Scalpel, added multiple blade-head designs, and created a portable wireless model for emergency procedures.
• Wei Kang received the Rigid Endoscope registration certificate, sent sample sets to Kun City First People's Hospital, and started the Flexible Endoscope project.
• Peng Hai arrived at the hospital to repair a malfunctioning gastrointestinal endoscope while Little Zhang tried to learn about upcoming equipment purchases.
• Dr. He told Little Zhang that doctors had praised Three Purities' endoscopes, and Little Zhang watched Director Zhu perform gastric perforation surgery with one.
• The surgeons praised the new endoscope, while Little Zhang judged its image quality superior to Mindray's and failed to persuade Director Zhu to plan a purchase.
• News of Three Purities' Rigid Endoscope spread through the industry and alarmed Olympus.

Takeuchi Ichiro inspected Three Purities' endoscopes and concluded that their resemblance to Olympus products meant they posed little threat, while Li Ting learned how much Mindray's equipment lagged behind and decided to switch to Kewei's CMOS chips. The chapter left Mindray preparing to contact Kewei as Takeuchi remained confident that Olympus would keep its market dominance.

• Takeuchi Ichiro reviewed reports about Three Purities' endoscopes and planned a price war, believing Kewei's chip costs would disadvantage its rival.
• Takeuchi Ichiro visited Kun City First People's Hospital, observed a surgery using Three Purities' endoscope, and judged the product to be an imitation without a technological breakthrough.
• Takeuchi Ichiro told the sales director that Three Purities could not surpass Olympus by copying its designs and celebrated his confidence on the ride home.
• Li Ting examined Little Zhang and Peng Hai's reports and learned that Mindray's endoscopes had inferior imaging, lacked anti-fogging functions, and often broke down.
• Li Ting blamed Mindray's technical department and decided to use Kewei's CMOS chips in the company's next batch of endoscopes.

Wei Kang visited Three Purities’ Medical Equipment Department, where a rough endoscope model inspired him to suggest adding an ultrasonic probe. After Jian Lianyun heard about the company’s ultrasonic scalpel, she asked Wei Kang to show her its information.

• Kewei received new orders from Mindray, SonoScape, Aohua, and smaller medical equipment manufacturers, driving its stock to another daily limit; Wei Kang’s large stake had made him billions.
• Wei Kang reviewed Three Purities’ projects, then visited the Medical Equipment Department to inspect its ultrasonic scalpel and flexible endoscope samples.
• While Wang Dali demonstrated the endoscope, Wei Kang suggested adding an ultrasonic probe to detect lesions hidden beneath digestive tract tissue, and Wang Dali enthusiastically agreed to develop the idea.
• Wei Kang returned home, where Jian Lianyun asked about his work and showed interest in the ultrasonic scalpel; he explained its potential use in neurosurgery, and she demanded to see the information.

Jian Lianyun praised Three Purities’ flexible Ultrasonic Scalpel and explained that the Endoscope World Cup could give surgeons worldwide a chance to see the device used in practice. Wei Kang decided to pursue sponsorship, and the chapter ended with Lu Tingfeng preparing to secure Three Purities a place on the sponsor list.

• Jian Lianyun tested Three Purities’ flexible and rigid endoscopes, praised the flexible Ultrasonic Scalpel’s potential for Neurosurgery, and asked to use it once it received registration.
• Jian Lianyun explained that surgeons trusted instruments they had seen perform in real operations, then told Wei Kang about the influential Endoscope World Cup.
• Wei Kang decided Three Purities must sponsor the competition, and Jian Lianyun told him that this year’s event would be held in Sea City.
• Jian Lianyun warned Wei Kang that the competition would take place in July or August, and he promised to make sponsorship arrangements and prioritize development of a neuroendoscope.
• The next day, Wei Kang told Lu Tingfeng to secure Three Purities a place on the Endoscope World Cup sponsor list, and Lu Tingfeng recognized the opportunity’s value.

Jian Guohua arranged for Three Purities to have its equipment tested and considered as a sponsor for the Endoscope World Cup. At Kun City First People's Hospital, Director Wang used Three Purities' flexible Ultrasonic Scalpel to remove a huge throat cyst, leaving the device celebrated throughout the hospital.

• Jian Lianyun asked Jian Guohua to help Three Purities seek sponsorship for the Endoscope World Cup, and he agreed to approach Zhou Ruping.
• Jian Guohua persuaded Zhou Ruping to test Three Purities' endoscopic equipment and consider it for the competition.
• Dr. Huang told Dr. He and the other doctors about a patient with an egg-sized cyst blocking his throat, drawing them to the operating room.
• Director Wang created a safe surgical opening and used a flexible Ultrasonic Scalpel to remove the cyst intact.
• Dr. He, Dr. Huang, and the gathered doctors praised the device after the successful operation, and Three Purities' Ultrasonic Scalpel made a name for itself at the hospital.

He Shengcai lost his chance at promotion under Director Zhu, but Jian Lianyun arranged for him to train at Ruiji Hospital and compete in the Endoscope World Cup. After hearing He Shengcai’s suggestion, Huang Jiafu began considering medical aid work in Feizhou as a way to advance his career and escape his family’s pressure.

• He Shengcai learned Director Zhu had given the associate chief physician opening to Old Wang, while Huang Jiafu told him the hospital might split General Surgery into three departments.
• He Shengcai tried to earn a promotion by working overtime, but Director Zhu stopped him; another colleague later collapsed from overwork and received a specially approved promotion slot.
• He Shengcai visited Jian Lianyun to ask for help, and she offered to arrange two months of endoscopy training at Ruiji Hospital and entry into the Endoscope World Cup selection.
• He Shengcai obtained Director Zhu’s recommendation letter, though he had to pay for the training himself.
• Over dinner, Huang Jiafu complained about his father’s pressure to advance, and He Shengcai suggested that he volunteer for medical aid in Feizhou.

He Shengcai trained under Zhou Ruping at Ruiji Hospital, improving his endoscopic skills through intensive practice. After Zhou praised his ESD technique and recounted his own Endoscope World Cup experience, He Shengcai prepared for the upcoming selection round.

• Zhou Ruping led international trainees on rounds and explained endoscopic treatment for a 101-year-old man with Achalasia and a 25-day-old infant with Pyloric Stenosis.
• He Shengcai practiced ESD on pig stomachs each night and steadily improved during his training at Ruiji Hospital.
• Zhou Ruping tested He Shengcai’s ESD technique, praised his performance, and encouraged him to keep working hard.
• Zhou Ruping told He Shengcai how he competed in the Endoscope World Cup, stopped severe bleeding during POEM surgery, and earned international recognition for Chinese doctors.
• Zhou Ruping urged He Shengcai to prepare his surgical video for the selection round and give his best, and He Shengcai nodded in agreement.

He Shengcai performed an exceptionally difficult fourteen-centimeter esophageal ESD surgery, proving his skill and producing a strong surgical video for the competition. After seeing the prototype Three Purities equipment’s performance, Zhou Ruping resolved to get it into the Endoscope World Cup, and He Shengcai vowed to help him.

• He Shengcai was assigned to lead an ESD surgery for an elderly patient with circumferential early esophageal cancer spanning fourteen centimeters.
• He Shengcai used a Three Purities endoscope and Ultrasonic Scalpel to remove the lesion in a smooth, bloodless operation.
• Zhou Ruping praised He Shengcai’s performance and revealed that he had recorded the surgery as a competition video.
• He Shengcai explained how the Ultrasonic Scalpel reduced bleeding and tissue trauma compared with an electric scalpel.
• Zhou Ruping decided to use his influence to bring Three Purities equipment into the Endoscope World Cup.
• He Shengcai promised Zhou Ruping that he would not let him down.

Zhou Ruping joined the international judging panel to choose China’s Endoscope World Cup representative, and the judges watched three Chinese surgical videos. The third video revealed Sanqing Group’s flexible Ultrasonic Scalpel and endoscope, leaving the experts eager to try the new equipment as they prepared to vote.

• The judges selected Dr. Castille to represent Eagle Country after praising his fast, low-bleeding ESD surgery.
• Zhou Ruping introduced China’s three candidates, and the judges watched a G-POEM procedure and a NOTES surgery, criticizing the latter’s wound closure.
• The judges watched a circumferential ESD for a fourteen-centimeter esophageal lesion and learned that the contestant had studied under Zhou Ruping for less than two months.
• The judges discovered that the contestant had used a flexible Ultrasonic Scalpel and endoscope produced by Sanqing Group, not Johnson & Johnson.
• Zhou Ruping said Sanqing would sponsor the competition, and the experts eagerly anticipated trying its equipment before the judges fell silent after the video ended.

He Shengcai’s surgery earned him the sole domestic place in the Endoscope World Cup offline competition, though Zhou Ruping worried about his chances against international experts. He Shengcai celebrated, began intensive training, and learned that Huang Jiafu’s medical-aid trip to Feizhou would overlap with the competition.

• The experts debated Three Purities’ Ultrasonic Scalpel and voted overwhelmingly for the third contestant, He Shengcai, to represent the country in the offline competition.
• Zhou Ruping told He Shengcai he had qualified and extended his training at Ruiji Hospital by a month so he could prepare for the competition.
• He Shengcai called his family to share the news, then told Director Zhu he would remain at Ruiji Hospital; Director Zhu angrily hung up when he refused to return as planned.
• He Shengcai tried to tell Jian Lianyun the news, but she did not answer, so he sent her a message thanking her.
• He Shengcai called Huang Jiafu, who shared that he would join a medical-aid team to Feizhou; He Shengcai revealed that he would compete in the Endoscope World Cup during the same period.

The surgical video of He Shengcai drew international attention to his skills and to the new ultrasonic scalpel, prompting Johnson & Johnson to investigate its source. At Kun City First People's Hospital, Director Fang rejected Director Zhu's staffing plan and assigned He Shengcai to General Surgery Department Three.

• Doctors worldwide praised He Shengcai's surgery, while Chinese viewers debated his identity and learned the ultrasonic scalpel was a Three Purities prototype.
• President Gray learned that Johnson & Johnson had no such device and ordered the company to find its manufacturer, but its China-region president knew nothing about it.
• Director Zhu submitted a staffing chart that gave General Surgery Department One most of the experienced doctors and placed the residents in the other departments.
• Director Fang accused Director Zhu of deliberately arranging the staffing unfairly and ordered him to replace Old Wang and revise the chart.
• Director Fang assigned Huang Jiafu to General Surgery Department Two and He Shengcai to General Surgery Department Three, noting that He Shengcai had earned Professor Zhou's support at Ruiji Hospital.

Zhou Ruping arranged for international experts Marshall and Francis to train He Shengcai while they tested Three Purities' equipment. At the Endoscope World Cup, He Shengcai completed a twelve-minute operation and advanced to the finals as the morning champion.

• Zhou Ruping showed Marshall and Francis He Shengcai performing a single-port laparoscopic Pancreaticoduodenectomy, which they praised for its precision and use of the Ultrasonic Scalpel.
• Zhou Ruping arranged for Francis to perform a NOSES procedure and for Marshall to assist He Shengcai in his next operation, then had both experts train He Shengcai for a week.
• International experts continued visiting Ruiji Hospital to test Three Purities' equipment, and Zhou Ruping put them to work treating patients.
• The International Digestive Endoscopy Conference opened in Sea City, and He Shengcai competed at Huashan Hospital with a Submucosal Tunneling Endoscopic Resection.
• He Shengcai completed the procedure in twelve minutes without bleeding or visible signs of nervousness, earning the morning champion title and a place in the finals.

He Shengcai won the morning competition with a swift operation using Three Purities equipment, then faced the defending champion Castile in the final with a complex POEM plus STESD surgery. After He Shengcai completed the operation despite an arterial bleed, Castile doubted he could defeat him.

• He Shengcai won the morning competition, drawing cheers and attention to Three Purities equipment from Takeuchi Ichiro and Gray.
• Zhou Ruping warned He Shengcai that Castile was a highly skilled former champion and said he had arranged a difficult operation for the final.
• He Shengcai began a combined POEM and STESD surgery on a patient with achalasia and two esophageal diverticula.
• He Shengcai used the Ultrasonic Scalpel to complete the first-stage myotomy and stop a sudden arterial bleed.
• He Shengcai removed both diverticula, closed the wounds with titanium clips, and completed the surgery in forty-five minutes.
• After the patient woke and gave a thumbs-up, Castile admitted he had never expected to face such a formidable opponent.

He Shengcai won China’s first Endoscope World Cup championship and credited his teacher, Jian Lianyun, Sanqing Group, and his hospital in his acceptance speech. Back in Kun City, hospital leaders planned to promote him and create an endoscopy center for him, while Director Zhu learned of his triumph and realized his own position was in danger.

• The conference announced China’s first-place finish, and He Shengcai accepted the championship award amid cheers, thanking Professor Zhou Ruping, Dr. Jian Lianyun, Sanqing Group, and Kun City First People's Hospital.
• He Shengcai said an ordinary attending physician could succeed when given an opportunity, inspiring doctors in the audience, while Castile decided to apply for the next training program at his hospital.
• After the ceremony, reporters and hospitals crowded around He Shengcai with questions and recruitment offers.
• Director Fang learned that He Shengcai had won the championship, then agreed to promote him and establish an endoscopy center with him as director.
• Director Zhu discovered that He Shengcai had become champion and was set to lead the new center, and he nearly fainted after realizing he had previously told him not to return.

At the Digestive Endoscopy Conference, Three Purities’ equipment drew widespread attention after He Shengcai’s Endoscope World Cup victory. Wei Kang discussed the company’s growing orders and explained that its low prices were intended to bring advanced endoscopic care to county hospitals.

• Castile tried Three Purities’ endoscopic system, praised its ease of use, and left the crowded booth after a fan teased him about losing to He Shengcai.
• Lu Tingfeng told Wei Kang that the championship publicity had brought Three Purities many inquiries, preliminary hospital agreements, and orders from abroad.
• Wei Kang instructed Lu Tingfeng to prepare for a major order from Kun City First People's Hospital and said he would offer the hospital a discount.
• Wei Kang rejected inflated accessory pricing and explained that affordable equipment could help spread minimally invasive surgery and early cancer detection to county hospitals.
• Lu Tingfeng agreed to focus on selling Three Purities’ systems to county hospitals, while Wei Kang reaffirmed the company’s mission to expand access to medical care.

Three Purities’ success in Kun City opened the way for a sixteen-province centralized procurement drive to pressure Ultrasonic Scalpel prices, while Wei Kang celebrated his farm’s first free-range chickens at home. The chapter ended with Jian Lianyun killing both chickens in one clean stroke and asking Wei Kang to help pluck them.

• Three Purities won a twenty-million order from Kun City First People's Hospital, prompting hospitals to seek its affordable, high-performing Ultrasonic Scalpels.
• Wang Guiqing and Elder Tan discussed how Three Purities could break the multinational manufacturers’ hold on the market and strengthen bargaining power in the upcoming sixteen-province procurement.
• Elder Tan explained that Three Purities’ limited production capacity meant foreign manufacturers would still be included, though domestic products would receive most of the purchases.
• On July 30, sixteen provinces released a three-year volume-based procurement plan for Ultrasonic Scalpels and blades, setting off expectations of a major price war.
• Wei Kang brought home two free-range chickens from his farm but admitted he did not know how to slaughter them.
• Jian Lianyun killed both chickens cleanly and called Wei Kang into the kitchen to help pluck them.