Young faces flashed before her eyes, their clear eyes filled with longing for the future.
She suddenly remembered her grandmother talking about the Xiang family's uncles, who were also around the same age and had signed up to join the anti-Japanese war medical team without hesitation.
"Suffering is not the goal; saving lives is," she said softly, as if speaking to herself.
The next morning, Bai Yajing took the earliest bus to the provincial nursing college located in the suburbs.
The bus wasn't crowded. She sat by the window, gazing at the withered yellow fields flashing past. The approval document, tucked in her inner pocket, felt like a branding iron, making her restless and agitated.
The nursing school buildings appeared particularly solemn under the winter sun. Gray brick walls, red slogans, and a banner at the school gate that read "Heal the wounded and save lives, practice revolutionary humanitarianism" fluttered in the wind.
She was received by Li Jing, the director of the college's political education department, a serious-looking female cadre in her early thirties.
"Vice Dean Bai, I've long admired your name." Li Jing shook Bai Yajing's hand. "We often use the story of your Xiang family to educate our students."
Bai Yajing smiled slightly: "That's all in the past. I'm here today to ask for your assistance in selecting a group of outstanding students to support the frontier, with the rest going to military hospitals."
Li Jing's expression became complicated: "This... I'm afraid it won't be easy. Last time the Health Bureau came to recruit, the results were far from ideal."
Bai Yajing shook her head helplessly, so this matter ended up falling on her shoulders in the end!
"I've heard about it." She nodded. "So I'd like to try a different approach. Could you arrange for me to interact with the students face-to-face? Not a formal presentation, just a chat."
Li Jing hesitated for a moment: "It can be scheduled during the afternoon class meeting. However..." she lowered her voice, "Many parents have already expressed their wish that their children not be assigned to hardship areas."
Bai Yajing's heart sank, but she didn't show it on her face: "I understand the parents' concerns. But the people and soldiers on the border also need medical services; it's our responsibility."
At 3:30 p.m., the large classroom of the nursing school was filled with graduating students.
Bai Yajing stood on the podium, looking at the young faces below, some curious, some wary, and some clearly resistant.
"Students," her voice was soft but clear, "I know what you're thinking. The frontier is tough, the frontier is far, and you might not be able to go home for years."
The classroom fell silent, and everyone looked up at her.
"Decades ago, many of our predecessors were about your age and signed up to join the anti-Japanese battlefield medical teams." Her gaze became distant.
"My ancestors also left behind battlefield manuals from that time, and I still remember the diary written on the first page.
The description above depicts the scene of the first wounded soldier being carried in. He was a young soldier, not yet twenty years old, shot in the abdomen, his intestines spilling out.
Several gasps rang out in the classroom.
"At that time, our country's field hospitals were located in caves. There was no electricity, not enough medicine, and even clean water was scarce."
Bai Yajing's voice was calm yet firm. "That young soldier gripped my uncle's hand tightly and said, 'Doctor Xiang, I don't want to die. I want to go back and build a new China.'"
Bai Yajing paused for a moment, and the classroom fell silent.
"They tried everything to save him, but in the end... he still sacrificed himself." Her voice trembled slightly. "His last words were 'thank you.' Those two words made all the suffering and exhaustion worthwhile."
A girl sitting in the front row quietly wiped the corner of her eye.
"I'm not here to scare you." Bai Yajing looked around the classroom. "The frontier is indeed tough, but it's much better than the most difficult times before. Besides, the people there need us more."
A simple delivery or a routine injection might seem insignificant in the city, but in the border regions, it could mean the difference between life and death.
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