Chapter 281 Time Flies

"Then let's make up an excuse and go report later!"

"No, that won't work. It will leave a bad impression. I'll report for duty in three days. Don't worry, I won't stay at school; I'll stay at home!"

"Won't your body take a toll from all this running around?" Bai Ye asked with some concern.

"Hehe, this young lady is in excellent physical condition. If you don't believe me, let's give it a try!"

"Let's give it a try!" With that, he grinned mischievously and suddenly...

Three days later, at Jiangxi Medical University, Yunxia, ​​having completed the registration process, arrived at the conference room. After greeting several people and exchanging contact information, she chose a corner seat to sit down.

A short while later, the supervisor came in and was furious to see that only 11 people had come. He first gave a long scolding, and then assigned tasks to the newly arrived graduate students. Yunxia and a boy wearing glasses were assigned the task of visiting elderly people in the countryside who were taking medicine packets.

Clutching the measuring device, he remained lost in thought for a long time, wondering if changing his supervisor at Jiangxi Medical University would be feasible.

Perhaps overwhelmed by his shock, the bespectacled man shook his head and added, "Don't even think of any tricks. Professor Li is a notorious devil at the school. Despite being one of the top traditional Chinese medicine doctors in the country, he has an exceptionally fiery temper. If you don't do the follow-up work properly, you'll be in for a scolding. Let's each take turns asking around in one village; that way we'll be more efficient."

In the past, when I was making health tea, I did similar follow-up visits, but back then it was just a matter of paying money and having someone else do the legwork. Now it's different; I have to do everything myself.

The day after returning home, Yunxia went to the countryside with large bags and thick documents. She asked around and found elderly people who had taken the medicine packets. She recorded various data in detail and judged whether the feedback from the elderly people was adulterated by asking their family members and neighbors.

Believe it or not, sometimes you can actually spot something fishy. For example, an old lady had tuberculosis, which caused swollen lymph nodes. She said the medication wasn't working, but according to her neighbors, they hadn't seen any medicine residue in her backyard for a long time.

Yunxia decided to return again. Ignoring the old lady and her daughter-in-law's objections, she found the moldy and damp Chinese medicine packet under the wheat cabinet. She scolded them harshly, saying that good medicine tastes bitter and that not taking it would be tantamount to harming people's lives. The daughter-in-law was stunned and said that she would never stop taking the medicine in the future. The old lady pouted and looked unconvinced.

“The medicine is bitter. If you don’t drink it, your mouth and stomach may feel better, but your tuberculosis will get worse. Your daughter-in-law will have to take care of you, and your son who works away from home will have to worry about you. You won’t be able to eat, sleep, or work with peace of mind. Why bother?”

The old lady's expression suddenly changed when her son was mentioned. She slapped her thigh and repeatedly promised that she would definitely take her medicine properly. Seeing this, Yunxia was a little relieved. After giving her a few instructions, she took her briefcase and went to the next store.

After a whole month of hard work, she finally gathered all the materials and handed them to the professor in his office. He was holding a thermos and looking Yunxia up at him.

"You've been in the countryside for over a month, and you haven't gotten any tan or lost weight. Could it be that you've hired someone to do your work?"

"How could that be? Every single word on the follow-up form was written by me. My tan is natural; if you don't believe me, you can send someone to the countryside to ask!"

The professor didn't answer. He put on his reading glasses and carefully examined the follow-up form for more than half an hour. Finally, he turned his head and said coldly, "It barely meets the requirements. You can go back now. The research group meeting is in three days. Don't be late."

"Yes, Professor!"

After coming out, Yunxia pounded her calves, thinking to herself that Professor Li's temper was really strange. After pounding for a while, she saw a dark-skinned young man walking towards her. For some reason, she felt that he looked a little familiar.

"Yunxia, ​​don't you recognize me? I'm He Ming, we're on the same team!"

"He Ming, why are you so tanned?" Anyone who didn't know better would think you went to work in a coal mine in the west!

"Don't even mention it. After going to the countryside, I was exposed to the sun and rain every day, and I didn't get enough to eat or sleep. I not only got several shades darker, but I also lost a lot of weight. Alas, it's a pity that the follow-up report I wrote still didn't satisfy the professor. So, I have to go back to the countryside again in a while."

"Going again? School has already started, classes begin next week, and you're still going to the countryside?"

"Sigh, there's nothing I can do. The tasks assigned by the supervisor are the most important. Hey, didn't your follow-up form get rejected?"

Yun Xia smiled awkwardly, then shook her head. "No, the professor said it was barely passing!"

Upon hearing this, He Ming grasped at a straw and said anxiously, "That's great, Yunxia, ​​can you help me look at the follow-up report? I really can't find the missing points, and the professor won't point them out. I've been so worried that I haven't slept all night."

Hey young man, you need to have some ambition! Even though Professor Li is scary, you can't be a pushover!

Didn't you ask the professor directly?

"I asked him, but he wouldn't tell me and just glared at me, leaving me with the words 'You're hopeless.' Yunxia, ​​I really have no other choice, please help me!"

"Well, I can't guarantee that everything I say is correct. I can only tell you my approach to follow-up calls. As for your follow-up forms, I won't look at them. Otherwise, if the professor sees that our formats are the same, he'll definitely... well, we'll get a lot of criticism!"

"Okay, go ahead, I'll remember!"

"Dosage of the medicine packet, specific steps for decocting the medicine, storage environment, analysis of the dregs, and the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine..."

Yun Xia spoke at length, and He Ming's brows furrowed more and more as he listened!

"I think I know where the difference between us lies now. You only passed because you followed up in such detail, while I... probably didn't even get 10 points. Thanks, I have to hurry up and go to the countryside!"

After saying that, he left in a hurry. Yun Xia shook her head helplessly, thinking to herself that she would probably encounter such chaotic scenes often in her future graduate studies!

Sure enough, her words came true. During her three years as a graduate student, she did all kinds of dirty, tiring, hard, and disgusting work. Fortunately, she was clever enough to get a passing grade on every task. He Ming, on the other hand, was miserable. He worked himself to the bone and only got a "do it again" as a reward.

Three years later, He Ming held his master's degree certificate, lay on the edge of the flower bed and wept bitterly, lamenting how difficult those three years had been!

"Alright, stop crying. If people see you, they'll think I bullied you." Yun Xia, who was also relieved after receiving her degree certificate, twitched her lips slightly as she comforted her.

"Three years, a full three years. Do you know how I got through it? I was treated like a beast of burden, sometimes even a slave. Waaah, I'm leaving Jiangcheng. I'm leaving tonight and never coming back."

Wow, young man, you've got guts!

"Professor Li is quite kind and generous; he hasn't held back at all. Over the past three years, he's taught us a lot. Besides, no one in our group has had any problems; we all successfully obtained our master's degrees. Alright, men, what kind of behavior is this, crying and whining? Quickly blow your nose!"

"Hmph, of course you would say that. You are Professor Li's prized student. At such a young age, you are already working at Anhe Hospital, and your papers are frequent entries in the Jiangcheng Daily."