"Liu, do you have your mother's permission?" Bai Yajing asked softly.
Xiaofang bit her lip: "I haven't told her yet... but this is my decision. I studied nursing to help those who need it most."
Bai Yajing looked at the petite girl and finally nodded: "Okay. However, I suggest you go home tonight and have a good talk with your mother."
That afternoon, Bai Yajing was organizing registration materials in her temporary office when Li Jing hurriedly pushed the door open and came in.
"Vice Dean Bai, something's happened! Liu Xiaofang's mother has come to the school, vehemently opposing her daughter going to the border region, and she's causing a scene in the principal's office!"
Bai Yajing immediately stood up: "I'll go take a look."
Before I even reached the principal's office, I heard a woman's voice, trembling with sobs, coming from inside: "She's my only daughter! Her father passed away early, and I raised her alone, hoping she could stay by my side after graduation... Why did you send her to such a faraway place!"
Bai Yajing pushed open the door and saw a woman in her forties grabbing the principal's sleeve and crying. Liu Xiaofang stood to the side, her face pale.
"Comrade," Bai Yajing stepped forward, "I am Bai Yajing from the military hospital, and I'm in charge of this selection."
Liu's mother turned to her, her eyes filled with anger: "So it was you who tricked my daughter into going to the frontier?"
"Mom! That's not how it is!" Liu Xiaofang stamped her feet anxiously.
Bai Yajing shook her head slightly, signaling Xiaofang to calm down: "Big sister, please don't rush. Let's sit down and talk it over, okay?"
The principal seized the opportunity to slip away: "You two talk, I have another meeting." With that, he slipped out of the office.
Bai Yajing's lips twitched, and she secretly shook her head. This principal is too heartless!
However, he ignored him, poured a glass of water for Liu's mother, and patiently explained the importance of frontier medical work and the safeguards.
"That sounds nice!" Liu's mother said, wiping away her tears. "I just want to ask you one question, Vice Dean Bai: if you had a daughter, would you be willing to let her go?"
Bai Yajing was silent for a moment: "Big sister, my children are still very young, and they haven't asked me this question yet, so I know that no matter how I answer you, it will seem insincere."
But decades ago, my uncle's mother was asked the same question.
Silently, she took out the martyrs' certificates from the Xiang family to show her. Those sheets of paper, as light as feathers, seemed exceptionally heavy, representing vibrant lives.
She unbuttoned her sleeve, revealing a gruesome scar below her arm: "This was from the rescue efforts in Tangzhou. Even as I lay on that makeshift hospital bed, I never regretted my choice. Because I knew my work was meaningful."
"And... my third son has already started training with his great-grandfather, and when he comes of age he will... go to the battlefield!"
Liu's mother stared at the scar and the papers on the table that represented special meaning, and was speechless for a moment.
Not to mention that her son will be going to the battlefield in the future! That's much more dangerous than where her daughter is going!
"I will not force anyone to go to the frontier despite their family's difficulties," Bai Yajing continued. "But I want you to believe that we will take care of these children as if they were our own. Moreover, they will not stay there forever; they can usually be rotated back every two to three years."
After returning, they will be assigned to work in various municipal hospitals.
Finally, after Liu Xiaofang's insistence and Bai Yajing's assurances, Liu's mother reluctantly agreed. Before leaving, she held Bai Yajing's hand and said, "Vice Dean Bai, I'm entrusting Xiaofang to you. She's always been kind-hearted and can't bear to see others suffer..."
"Don't worry," Bai Yajing solemnly promised.
Back at the guesthouse that evening, she sat wearily on the edge of the bed. Snowflakes began to fall again outside the window, shimmering like countless silver flakes under the streetlights. She took out her diary and wrote down her experiences of the day.
"...Today I met many lovely young people, who reminded me of our predecessors. Conditions in the frontier are indeed harsh, but I believe these young women will grow into excellent nurses through hardship, just as our predecessors learned in the flames of war..."
She put down her pen and looked out at the night sky. Although the number of people wasn't enough, she had done her best. Next came the political review, physical examination, and short-term training. Time was tight, but she was confident she could complete the task.
For background checks, you can contact Xiao Che directly. The information he provides is detailed, accurate, and fast; no one is more suitable than him.
This is one of the reasons why the higher-ups assigned this task to her. Another reason is the Xiang family; she is a descendant of the Xiang family…
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