Chapter 145 Getting on the Train
A few days later, Lin Yuanshu boarded a train bound for Xiangcheng. After meeting up with the other members of the schistosomiasis prevention medical team in Xiangcheng, they set off for the epidemic area.
Zhou Xiangyang boarded the train with Lin Yuanshu. After putting away his luggage, he couldn't help but remind him, "You must be careful when you go to the epidemic area. Don't walk in the dark at night, it's too dangerous. If you feel unwell, don't suffer in silence, report it immediately. Work is not as important as your health."
Lin Yuanshu nodded, deliberately making teasing remarks to ease Zhou Xiangyang's tension, "I will take good care of myself. I won't forget that you are still waiting for me to come home in Beijing! I promise to always remember that safety comes first and work comes second."
Hearing Lin Yuanshu say this, Zhou Xiangyang breathed a sigh of relief. He was quite worried that Lin Yuanshu would risk her life for work. Since she knew what she was doing, he didn't say anything more. In some ways, his wife was much more reliable than him.
Just as the two were reluctant to part, a newspaper staff member ran over, panting, and said, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu, hurry up and come with me. The deputy editor-in-chief wants to take a group photo, and you're the only one missing."
Lin Yuanshu subconsciously replied, "Okay, I'll go right away."
Zhou Xiangyang glanced at the luggage, frowned, and said, "You go ahead! I won't go. Anyway, it'll be in tomorrow's newspaper. I'll just stay here and guard the luggage to prevent it from being stolen because it's unattended."
There are quite a few pickpockets on the train. If the luggage gets lost, it won't be easy to find it again. He didn't want any unexpected situations to delay his wife's trip to the epidemic area.
Lin Yuanshu thought for a moment and tacitly approved of Zhou Xiangyang's actions. After all, this era was different from modern times, and there weren't as many surveillance videos. She followed behind the newspaper staff and left the train carriage.
The two arrived at the platform. Lin Yuanshu quickly walked to Director Cao's side and said apologetically, "I'm sorry I'm late. I've kept you waiting."
There were quite a few people in the group photo, including not only her and Director Cao, but also the Minister of Health, the head of the Schistosomiasis Prevention Committee, epidemic prevention personnel and instructors, and so on.
Director Cao waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile, "No need to apologize. After all, we didn't tell you the specific time for taking the group photo. These kinds of things are full of uncertainties, and it has nothing to do with you."
After the deputy editor-in-chief took the photos, everyone went about their own business; some were moving their luggage, while others were saying goodbye to their loved ones.
Director Huang and the Minister of Health pulled Lin Yuanshu aside and each gave her a few words of advice.
Qu Zhigang felt very uncomfortable seeing this scene. Both of them were researchers who had joined the schistosomiasis prevention medical team to work in the epidemic area, but he was completely ignored, while Lin Yuanshu was surrounded by a lot of people.
He had never liked Lin Yuanshu, not because of Lin Yuanshu's character or conduct, but because his superiors liked to compare him with his peers, and Lin Yuanshu was one of the best among them. So his superiors often compared him with Lin Yuanshu, and of course he couldn't compare to Lin Yuanshu. Over time, how could he possibly find Lin Yuanshu pleasing to the eye?
Seeing this, the director of the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine whispered a reminder: "You don't need to take Comrade Lin Yuanshu seriously. Focusing on completing your research on schistosomiasis is the right thing to do. Defeat her technically. As a researcher, you have to let your research results speak for themselves. There's no need to fight for short-term gains. Once you produce results, the Minister of Health and others will naturally take notice of you. Don't waste this hard-won opportunity."
He didn't want Qu Zhigang to focus on targeting Lin Yuanshu and neglect his work.
Originally, in Director Cao's schistosomiasis prevention medical team, only he and Lin Yuanshu came from Beijing. Not only could the two not help each other, but they also started fighting. This kind of behavior was simply hurting the enemy a thousand and themselves eight hundred, and would only make others laugh at them.
Qu Zhigang gave a wry smile. He had no choice but to ignore it. After all, if he started arguing with Lin Yuanshu, everyone would definitely side with Lin Yuanshu.
He said sullenly, "I understand."
The director of the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine had no other choice. After all, in terms of resume alone, Lin Yuanshu's resume was indeed stronger than Qu Zhigang's, and Lin Yuanshu's years of work experience were not as long as Qu Zhigang's. Anyone who saw it would say that his future was promising!
Unless Qu Zhigang can shine brightly in this epidemic relief work and completely outshine Lin Yuanshu.
Qu Zhigang felt there was no point in staying on the platform any longer. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind, so he simply boarded the train early and rested in his hard sleeper.
Lin Yuanshu didn't stay on the platform for long. She didn't like boarding the train right on time; she preferred to prepare in advance. After chatting with the head of the Schistosomiasis Prevention Committee for a few minutes, she boarded the train with the epidemic prevention personnel and instructors.
Epidemic prevention personnel and instructors also go to the epidemic area, but they are responsible for different tasks. Lin Yuanshu's schistosomiasis prevention medical team is mainly responsible for researching more effective treatment methods and drugs, and conducting pathological analysis of samples.
The epidemic prevention personnel are mainly responsible for snail eradication and health education, explaining to farmers the dangers of schistosomiasis and how to avoid contracting the disease.
The instructor is responsible for the ideological and political work of the schistosomiasis prevention medical team.
Apart from Lin Yuanshu, there is only one female member among the epidemic prevention personnel; the rest are all male.
Because there were many people, they lived in two adjacent cubicles, and Lin Yuanshu and the female comrade were arranged to be together.
After seeing Lin Yuanshu return to his cubicle, Zhou Xiangyang solemnly said, "Take care."
He then reluctantly got off the train and didn't leave the platform until the train had driven away.
In the cubicle, Liu Lan gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Your husband really does have a nose and eyes."
Lin Yuanshu paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "If my husband knew that you were praising him like that, Sister Liu, he would be very happy."
Looking at Lin Yuanshu's sincere eyes, Liu Lan said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm not very educated and not good at speaking. I often offend people because of this. If I've done anything wrong, just tell me directly."
Lin Yuanshu nodded and said softly, "Brother, don't talk about me, I'm not very educated either."
She wanted to get closer to Liu Lan because she knew Liu Lan would be working in an area prone to snail infestation, and she needed Liu Lan to help her collect data.
Liu Lan said incredulously, "You're a researcher, how could you be uneducated!"
Lin Yuanshu sighed, looking helpless, and said, "I didn't even go to university..."
While Liu Lan was shocked, she admired Lin Yuanshu even more. How could someone without formal education become a researcher? The two quickly started chatting and laughing together.
When Qu Zhigang saw that Director Cao was in the same cubicle as him, while Lin Yuanshu was in another cubicle, he couldn't help but feel secretly delighted. His chance to build a good relationship with Director Cao had come.
As long as he builds a good relationship with Director Cao, he will definitely have more opportunities to showcase his talents in the schistosomiasis prevention medical team.
Although Lin Yuanshu was more capable than him at work, she was not as fortunate as him.
As for the others, they were not from the research institute and could not speak to Director Cao. Only he had a closer relationship with Director Cao.
Along the way, Qu Zhigang tried to please Director Cao, taking care of his every need, and making an effort to find topics to chat with him. The relationship between the two became better and better.
Qu Zhigang was carrying his boxed lunch back to his cubicle when he happened to run into Lin Yuanshu, who was coming out of his cubicle to use the restroom.
He revealed a smug expression, holding up the lunchbox and showing off: "This is Director Cao's lunchbox. I was just about to deliver it to him. Actually, Director Cao is a pretty easy person to talk to. It's a pity you're not in the same cubicle as us, otherwise Director Cao and I could discuss our views on schistosomiasis with you."
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Yes! It's a pity. You can discuss it. Taking the train is tiring, and I don't have that much energy to discuss work-related matters on the train."
She admired Qu Zhigang for having the energy. In those days, it would take almost a day to travel from Beijing to Xiangcheng by train. She just wanted to rest and chat, and didn't want to use her brain.
Of course, she didn't want to share a cubicle with Director Cao either. It wasn't that she disliked Director Cao, but rather that she didn't want to spend so much time with her superior.
In this process, you have to be careful about your words and actions, pay attention to the leader's movements, and not say anything carelessly. It's really exhausting.
She felt that getting too close to the boss wasn't a good thing; it was better to keep a moderate distance. She never tried to curry favor with the boss.
After hearing Lin Yuanshu's words, Qu Zhigang suddenly felt that being in the same cubicle as Director Cao wasn't so good after all. He forced himself to save face and said, "I don't feel tired at all. On the contrary, I feel very happy. It's my blessing to be able to learn new knowledge and chat with such a capable leader as Director Cao."
Lin Yuanshu nodded in agreement, saying, "It's good that you're blessed. If I were to receive this good fortune, I wouldn't be able to handle it."
Qu Zhigang: "..."
Some people boast for a long time, only to find they've only brought loneliness. Lin Yuanshu doesn't care about such things at all. Once he gets along well with Director Cao, Lin Yuanshu will definitely regret his choice today.
The next day, newspapers in Beijing reported on Director Cao's formation of a schistosomiasis prevention medical team and its deployment to the epidemic area, briefly describing the team members and their roles.
When Aunt Wei saw the contents of the newspaper, she couldn't help but exclaim, "My goodness! Comrade Lin Yuanshu has gone to the epidemic area!"
Grandpa Wei quickly snatched the newspaper and read it word for word. He exclaimed, "It's really true! This is such a joyous occasion! I never expected Old Zhou to be so composed now. He hasn't revealed a single word about such a big event."
Aunt Wei rolled her eyes and sneered, "What do you mean by keeping your composure? They must not know about this yet, otherwise they would have already been bragging about it. I'm going to tell them this good news."
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