Chapter 80

"Oh, damn!"

In the carriage on the way back, Pick looked at his good friend's face, which had always been like a blooming flower, and slammed the carriage door in frustration, shouting in great pain: "John, damn it, are you in love at first sight?"

"At first sight?"

Turning his head to look at his friend, John laughed again.

---

When John revealed that his family's business was the bicycles that had been popular in Europe and America over the past two years, and that he wanted to find a partner in Berlin just like the factory in London, Mrs. Bristow was surprised and immediately offered to help. She also warmly invited John to visit her home the following weekend. It was clear that Mrs. Bristow was very interested in the bicycle factory. If Mr. Bristow had not been absent from the ball, the noblewoman would have probably patted her chest and guaranteed that she could help John.

However...

Compared to Mrs. Bristow's half-promise, John seemed even more pleased about being invited to the Bristow family's home. From the moment he left the ball, the beautiful Miss Anna Bristow had taken up residence in his mind. Recalling their dance together, John would often chuckle to himself.

At first sight?

Perhaps...

As an "adult," John had never believed in love at first sight before. He only thought it was a natural mutual attraction between men and women, and even if they could maintain a long-term relationship, it was just good luck to find someone suitable. Even today, John did not think it was necessarily love at first sight. Perhaps he just had a special fondness for the beautiful Anna and looked forward to further interaction.

"Is it a hormone issue?"

While chatting casually with Pick, John secretly pondered his own behavior. Being interested in a girl under twenty was something he had never thought possible before. After much consideration, he could only attribute it to the fact that his body had entered puberty, with hormones surging.

Amidst Pick's envious and jealous complaints, John returned home.

Although it was already quite late, the diligent butler was still waiting for him. After opening the door, he immediately brought hot water for John to wash up.

"Mr. Elbert."

While drying his hands with a towel, John smiled and said, "I ordered a microscope today. It will be delivered to the house tomorrow afternoon. Please help me pay the balance when it arrives..."

"A microscope? How much is the balance?"

Hearing this, Hans clearly showed a curious expression. He had certainly heard of microscopes, but had never seen one, so he was very curious when he heard that John had bought one.

"About a thousand dollars."

Without any change in expression, John said a number that made Hans's face change drastically, almost jumping up!

"Sir..."

After a moment of shock, Hans hurriedly opened his mouth to say something, but John waved his hand to stop him, "Mr. Elbert, I know the microscope is quite expensive, but please understand that it is very important to me! Extremely important! In the coming period, it will be one of my most important research tools, so please make sure to have the cash ready, okay?"

"Yes... sir."

After much hesitation, Hans finally swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. After all, he was just a butler. Although he was entrusted by old Hunterlar to take care of John, he had no authority to interfere in most matters. At least as long as it did not affect John's studies, the money they brought to Europe could be freely used by this young man!

With the microscope issue resolved, John nodded in satisfaction and went upstairs to rest.

The following week passed quietly and uneventfully. Of course, this was how John saw it, but others saw it differently. Starting this week, Professor Bergmann began to assess John's studies.

Such a short time certainly would not warrant a special set of exam questions. In fact, Professor Bergmann chose a more direct and effective method: he asked the associate professors and teaching assistants in the medical school to personally assess John! The format included both Q&A and practical operations, and the content covered basic courses such as anatomy and physiology, as well as clinical knowledge like internal medicine and diagnosis, all of which were essential before studying surgery.

Of course, these topics were simple for John. After a full year of preparation, he could easily have obtained a doctoral degree. However, it was better to be low-key, and John wanted his career to have as little "legendary" color as possible.

It must be said that the teachers at the University of Berlin were highly skilled and dedicated. After a whole week, John had only completed the assessment for one-third of the subjects!

In addition to theoretical assessments, there were also practical operations. Whether on the dissection table or in the physiology laboratory, John calmly completed the experiments under the surprised gazes of many associate professors and teaching assistants, calmly explaining his efforts. Although the experimental methods and equipment were different from the future and were rudimentary to the point of being laughable, after understanding the basic principles, it was no big deal for John, who had studied for eight years and was a surgeon in his previous life...

---

"Did I hear that you are conducting a comprehensive assessment of John Hunterlar?"

That afternoon, Mr. Vogel walked into Bergmann's office and asked directly. He had heard this news from a friend and could not resist his curiosity.

Looking up from a pile of manuscripts, Bergmann blinked and smiled, nodding, "Yes, I even specially requested the help of many colleagues... How did you find out?"

Without answering Bergmann's question, Mr. Vogel sat down in the chair opposite him and asked curiously, "Is this young man really so outstanding that it's worth you putting in so much effort?"

"Absolutely worth it!"

Without hesitation, Bergmann nodded.

If John had just been diligent enough to complete all his courses in his first year of university, Bergmann would certainly value him, but not to this extent. After all, most Americans who came to the University of Berlin for medical training already had a considerable amount of prior study, basically qualifying them to practice medicine in the United States. Many young doctors with aspirations knew that American medicine was relatively backward, so they came to Europe for more rigorous training. Therefore, when John spoke with Bergmann, he vaguely indicated that he already knew a lot before coming to Berlin.

So, a "genius" like John was not uncommon at the University of Berlin.

What Bergmann actually valued was John's completely different way of thinking, especially his understanding and thoughts on the field of surgery, which was the most important thing to Bergmann. In his view, a weak foundation could be rebuilt, and insufficient skills could be trained, but a deep understanding and mastery of surgery could likely determine a student's future achievements! Moreover, John was only "19" years old and had almost no medical practice experience, yet he had such an understanding, which was enough to make Bergmann delighted.

Mr. Vogel was not a professor of surgery, so he might not fully understand, but as an equally excellent teacher, he could understand Professor Bergmann's thoughts. Therefore, he did not say much more, but smiled with a hint of regret, "What a pity, this young man is also very talented in bacteriology... What a pity! Well, how is his assessment going?"

"Very excellent, extremely excellent!"

Speaking of John's performance, Professor Bergmann smiled again, nodding in satisfaction, "This young man is really outstanding. Apart from a few minor errors on some individual questions, there are no significant omissions. If we only consider the subjects that have already been assessed, I believe he could graduate from the medical school!"

"Really?"

Hearing Professor Bergmann's evaluation of John, Mr. Vogel was greatly surprised!

First, he nodded solemnly, then Bergmann said excitedly, "And what impressed me most is that these colleagues, following my advice, asked him about some new knowledge that has been verified or published in the past two to three years, and this young man answered fluently... Ha ha, I guess you are not the first to be surprised, and you certainly won't be the last!"

"Is that so?"

Slowly closing his mouth, which had suddenly opened wide, Mr. Vogel murmured softly. Suddenly, he felt a strong sense of loss, as if he was about to miss the most important thing in his life...