Chapter 32: Fortune Worth Tens of Millions

Some people just can't stand seeing you do better than them.

Seeing Zhou Can suddenly becoming so outstanding, while they couldn't even secure an internship at Tuya, it naturally left them seething with envy.

Regarding these envious folks, Zhou Can simply chose to ignore them.

The teachers had already congratulated him privately; of course, he had to show his gratitude!

"Sorry, I just finished surgery and finally had time to check my phone. Thanks to the meticulous teachings of several mentors, I've achieved what I have today. Thank you to all my classmates for your congratulations and encouragement. I will not forget my original intentions, and I'll work hard to improve my medical skills, striving to honor and add glory to class 512 together with my classmate Yang Chan."

After sending this message, he didn't bother with it anymore.

There were many other private messages waiting for his reply.

Those who sent him private messages were either family members or close classmates and friends.

"Ah Can, amazing! You actually got first place in Tuya's standardized training exam! When you come back to your hometown, remember to treat me!"

This message was from his childhood friend Cheng Dazhuang.

The two have been classmates all the way to high school and both loved medicine. Unfortunately, Cheng Dazhuang's college entrance exam score was slightly low, and he ended up at a regular medical university. Zhou Can was incredibly lucky to have just made the cut to get into Tuya Medical University.

It was considered a prestigious first-tier university.

After graduation, their fates were starkly different.

He successfully obtained an internship at Tuya Hospital and now even secured a position as a standardized training doctor there. His future looked very bright.

Cheng Dazhuang, having attended a regular university, apparently had to pull some strings to get into the local county People's Hospital.

It's estimated that he must have completed a year-long internship by now and is continuing his training at the hospital.

Though both are standardized training doctors, their status and standing are worlds apart.

Cheng Dazhuang was like a disciple of a minor sect. In contrast, Zhou Can was like a disciple of a prestigious sect.

The gap between the two would only continue to widen over time.

It might take Cheng Dazhuang ten years of hard work to become an attending physician, and his medical status and skills could still be inferior to a junior resident doctor at Tuya Hospital.

This is why countless people desperately try to get into a good school.

Zhou Can thought of his childhood friend and couldn't help but smile.

In a person's life, family, love, and friendship are all indispensable.

These are the most beautiful things.

"Hehe, surprised? Pleased? I lucked out on the exams. Speaking of treating, even if I were back in the hometown, you should be the one treating!"

After replying to his childhood friend's message, it was time for the private messages from some close classmates and friends who had sent their best wishes.

These people were really well-informed.

After quickly responding to each one, he opened the most important message.

It was from his mom.

"You little rascal, is work going smoothly? It's been so long since you asked for money from home, I just transferred 50,000 to you, eat well."

Zhou Can felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

His mom really cared about him.

His parents ran a food processing plant back in their hometown, specializing in deep processing of agricultural products. Thanks to their commitment to integrity and hard work, the business was quite prosperous. He wasn't sure of the exact annual income.

Zhou Can only knew that from childhood to adulthood, his parents had never shortchanged him in material terms.

However, unlike some parents who spoil their children excessively,

They've guided Zhou Can from a young age to have the right notion about money—reckless spending, drug abuse, gambling, showing off in luxury cars, flaunting wealth, and all such foolish acts were not part of Zhou Can's life.

The pocket money he received from his parents, other than occasionally treating friends to meals as part of normal social interaction, was mostly invested in stocks and study.

At ten years old, his parents gave him 500,000 yuan as a birthday gift.

And told him he could spend it however he liked.

As a result, Zhou Can bought Tencent stocks with it. Being a minor, he purchased it under his mom's information. The price was around 94 yuan per share at the time, totaling about 5300 shares.

On his 20th birthday, his parents generously gave him 1 million yuan as a birthday gift.

The same rule applied—it was up to him to spend it.

In reality, his parents were shrewd. They understood their child well and were confident in his decisions.

Additionally, now that he was of age, his mom suggested transferring the Tencent stocks purchased when he was 10 to his name.

By then, Zhou Can was already a university student with considerably broadened perspectives and horizons.

He felt that Tencent's stock had reached a high point and it was a good idea to cash out and invest in real estate.

So, he had his mom sell all 5300 shares of Tencent at 586 yuan per share. The total cashed in was more than 3.1 million.

A sixfold increase in ten years, it was a very successful investment.

Especially since he was only ten years old at the time.

Many kids that age hardly understand the concept of money beyond spending it in a small shop on snacks.

It can't be denied that if guided rightly, children of the wealthy have far greater insight, cognition, and outlook than those from poorer families.

Zhou Can was running on the shoulders of giants.

Later, with the more than 3 million made from selling stocks and the 1 million from his parents for his 20th birthday, after careful consideration, he pre-ordered four lake view apartments in the provincial capital city.

Among them was the Bajing Lake apartment complex, known for its remoteness and the absence of developed infrastructure, which had led to slow sales.

He bought four large apartments ranging from 121 to 142 square meters at an aggressive price of 6500 yuan per square meter—in cash, not on credit.

That year, he was just twenty years old.

The apartments were handed over in February this year, and Zhou Can had done some simple renovations.

Three of them were already rented out.

He planned to live in the remaining one.

The rent wasn't high, about 2000 yuan per month for each apartment.

But in total, it was more than 6000 yuan—equivalent to a month's salary for an ordinary worker.

The key was that the price of those four apartments had risen from the initial 6500 yuan per square meter to around 17000 yuan per square meter.

This was a real appreciation in value.

He didn't lack money now, nor did he plan to sell.

After all, it's in the provincial capital, and the infrastructure around the apartments was gradually improving. The No. 6 subway line was even extending right to his doorstep, and the formerly stinky Bajing Lake, after treatment and reconstruction, had been completely transformed.

Zhou Can believed that the housing prices here would continue to rise. With the current prices, the value of his four properties was already around 9 million. If they increased further, they would surely exceed 10 million.

Aside from the aforementioned investments, he also spent a lot of pocket money on investing in himself.

Enrolling in martial arts school, specialty classes, and later during university, purchasing medical equipment, books, props, and so forth. These invisible soft investments were the most valuable.

They enabled him to stay a step ahead in the fierce competition.

"Thank you, mom, thank you, dad!"

Zhou Can knew that whether it was the pocket money mom transferred to him or the large cash gifts for his 10th and 20th birthdays, his father definitely knew about them.

But his father was strict on a daily basis and they rarely talked.

When they met, Zhou Can would call out 'Dad,' and his father would respond with a 'Hmm,' and that would be it.

Especially after Zhou Can entered high school, the father and son became even more distant.

"Stinky kid, leaving work so late, huh?"

Mom was actually still awake.

"Being a doctor is just like that, right? If patients come to seek medical advice, I can't just ignore them, can I?" Zhou Can chatted with his mom, feeling especially relaxed.

"I and your dad only have you as our child. You must look after your health, do you hear me?" The sternest thing his mom would say to him was stuff like this.

This was also why he could relax so much when talking with her.

"Got it! Why are you still up so late?"

"The factory got a big foreign trade order, and we've arranged to go to their company for a discussion tomorrow. There's a flight at two in the morning; I'm just sitting here doing nothing, browsing on my phone!"

Making money was actually quite tough for parents.

Like now, to secure that big foreign trade order, they had to take a nighttime flight.

But when giving their hard-earned money to their son, they wouldn't even blink an eye.

This was Chinese parental love for their children.

"Wow, our factory's products are actually being sold overseas, feels pretty impressive, huh!"

Zhou Can even added a big 'thumbs up' gesture after his remark.

"Haha, there's still a lot you don't know! If you hadn't insisted on going into medicine and had managed the factory instead, you would definitely have done even better. How about it, got a girlfriend yet? Your dad has mentioned it many times. It's okay if you don't want to take over the family business, but at least give him a few grandchildren so that someone can take over eventually."

While talking, mom had started pushing for marriage.

This was what Zhou Can found most troublesome.

He was only 24, what was the rush?

With his qualifications, finding a beautiful wife wouldn't be difficult, but it had to be someone he would spend his life with, so looks alone weren't enough, right?

When he met someone he liked, it would naturally work out.

"Mom, gotta go, my phone's battery is running low!"

Zhou Can quickly ended the chat.

"Stinky kid, you start playing dumb as soon as I mention a girlfriend. Don't be picky, bring someone home quickly!"

Mom kept on nagging, but Zhou Can acted as if he hadn't seen it.

Exiting WeChat, he noticed a message from the hospital.

It had been sent to his phone at four in the afternoon.

"Hello, according to hospital staff benefits, since you are now a Resident Doctor, you are entitled to improved accommodation. If willing, please collect your double room apartment access card from the logistical support department within a week. If you have questions, please contact 139... Chen Qin."

Previously, as an intern, he could only stay in a shared dormitory for eight people.

Now he had been promoted to Resident Doctor, his status elevated, akin to being a formal employee of the hospital, and his benefits had significantly improved.

He could move into a double room apartment.

Zhou Can had been there once before, it was up on a higher floor.

Equipped with an individual bathroom, air conditioning, and the interior decoration was much better than the dormitory. Typically, two Resident Doctors would share one room.

Given that most doctors need to work in shifts.

If one works night shift and the other early morning shift, they might not even see each other.

Compared to the dormitory, the double room apartment was much better in terms of personal privacy and noise disturbance.

Zhou Can decided to get the room card sorted when he went to work at the hospital tomorrow.

Pushing the door of the dormitory open, it was quiet inside.

He guessed that his roommates were probably already asleep.

He did not turn on the lights, but used his phone as a flashlight to navigate to his bed.

Suddenly, someone switched on the lights in the dormitory.

"Welcome back, hero of the 211! Welcome! Haha..."

His roommates weren't actually asleep; they had been waiting to celebrate for him.

Each of them smiling, they surrounded Zhou Can.

"Thanks, thanks brothers!"

Zhou Can was truly touched by them.

"We've already bought supper; we were just waiting for you, take your seat!"

Two square tables were pushed together, covered with over a dozen disposable food containers.

Upon opening them, the delicious aroma spread throughout the dormitory.

There were braised chicken feet, crayfish, grilled lamb skewers, cabbage, Filipino dishes, and more.

The food was still hot; his roommates really went to a lot of effort.

Three bottles of beer were laid out on the floor.

It looked like they were combining the victory celebration with a farewell meal.

"Gathering together is fate. Having lived together for a year, even if we're on different shifts and might not see each other for a month, the friendship among roommates is genuine. Here, I'll toast to everyone first, thankful that fate brought us together, allowed us to meet, and build deep bonds."

Gu Jie, with a father who was a leader, really showed no shortcomings as his son; his speaking skills were quite impressive.

He also always played the role of the big brother in dormitory 211.

Everyone grabbed a bottle of beer, not bothering with glasses.

They clinked bottles together.

Gu Jie's gaze fell on Zhou Can.

It was filled with blessings, and a touch of envy.

"You guy, you've kept your cards so close to your chest! Everyone thought you were of average ability, but you ended up scoring first in the Resident Doctor exams. You can't get away without downing a drink on your own today!"