Job Change

After learning that Meng Zheng was young and had no idea about his future career, and that Ye Min and his wife did not want to plan for his future too early and therefore did not plan to start training their child to study medicine now, although Mr. Dong felt it was a pity, he did not say much. After all, he was just an outsider who could give suggestions but could not make decisions for his parents.

What’s more, Ye Min and his wife’s considerations are not unreasonable. Although from his perspective, they see a potential medical student, but from the perspective of parents, they see the child’s future.

After thinking it over, Mr. Dong quickly put the matter aside and his attitude towards Meng Zheng did not change. After all, from the very beginning, he liked this child's personality.

As Meng Zheng reported to the health station week after week, the year 1972 passed quickly. The troops, including many units stationed there, had a holiday on New Year's Day. However, the health station was on a holiday, so Ye Min worked as usual that day.

There were few people visiting the clinic on the first day of the new year. Ye Min was not very busy that day and managed to get through the last two hours of the morning.

At lunch time, Ye Min saw Mr. Dong carrying a lunch box and preparing to go to the division cafeteria to get food. After thinking about it, he stopped him and said, "Meng Zheng's father is on vacation today and cooked at home. Do you want to come to my house for lunch?"

"No……"

Just as Mr. Dong was about to refuse by waving his hands, Yao Lin came over and also wanted to invite Mr. Dong to his home for dinner.

Ye Min was a subordinate and was young, so Mr. Dong could have rejected her directly. However, it was not easy to reject Yao Lin, the director of the health institute, and he hesitated for a moment.

But of the two, he was more familiar with Ye Min. Although he saw Yao Lin quite often, they basically talked about business. He was even less familiar with his family, so it must be very awkward to think about going to his house for dinner.

Comparatively speaking, it would be better to go to Ye Min's house. Not to mention Meng Zheng, he has also met Meng Cheng several times, so he can be considered to be acquainted with him.

Thinking of this, Mr. Dong said, "I have already promised Xiaoye that I will go to her house for dinner."

Yao Lin has a good personality and is not a mean person, so Ye Min is not afraid of offending him. Upon hearing this, he nodded and said, "Yes, I have already made an appointment with Mr. Dong. Director, would you like to make an appointment with Mr. Dong another day?"

Yao Lin was not angry after being politely declined. He invited Mr. Dong to his home for dinner because he took into consideration that Mr. Dong had no children and was sent down to Pingcheng, where he didn't know anyone. It was okay on normal days, but on a day of reunion like New Year's Day, he couldn't help feeling lonely.

Since Mr. Dong had a place to go, Yao Lin didn't say anything more. He told the two of them that he would see them in the afternoon and left.

After Yao Lin left, Mr. Dong did not change his mind and go to the cafeteria. Instead, he put down his lunch box and followed Ye Min to the family compound.

Old Dong also lived in the family compound, but not in a single-family house. Instead, she lived in a dormitory behind the Women's Federation office building.

The dormitory is a two-story building made of red bricks with more than ten rooms. In addition to the non-military nurses in the health center, there are also soldiers who did not choose to return home after retirement and were arranged by the army to work in subordinate units.

Because there weren't many people, everyone lived in fairly spacious rooms, mostly two people to a room, with a few living alone, and Mr. Dong was one of the latter.

After arriving at the family compound, Mr. Dong said he had to go back to put something away and suggested that Ye Min go home first while he went back to her house. Ye Min asked, "Do you know where I live?"

Mr. Dong said, "I think I know. If I can't find it, I'll ask someone."

Today was a holiday, and the compound was much busier than usual. Even at lunchtime, there were many people walking on the road. There was no need to worry that Mr. Dong would not be able to find someone to ask for directions, so Ye Min did not object and said, "Okay, I'll go back and tell them, and you can put your things away and come over early."

After the two separated, Ye Min went home. She walked at a moderate pace and it took her three or four minutes to see her house.

Her yard was also busier than usual. Ding Yang was also taking a day off today, so the couple came over and played in the yard with Meng Zheng and his sister.

Ye Min greeted them and went into the kitchen. Meng Cheng, who was busy at the stove, heard the noise, turned around and said, "This is the only dish left. It's ready to be cooked. Go wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Ye Min hummed, but did not leave. Instead, she walked to the stove and asked, "How many dishes did you cook?"

"Braised fish, steamed spareribs with rice flour, black chopped vegetables, and bone soup," Meng Cheng listed them out to her one by one, "and two plates of vegetables. We've had enough."

Ye Min said, "I've invited Mr. Dong over."

Meng Cheng was stunned at first, but soon thought of Mr. Dong's situation and was no longer surprised. He said, "Adding Mr. Dong should be enough. If you are worried, I will make another plate of scrambled eggs with green peppers."

"Okay." Ye Min nodded and took the initiative to process the green peppers.

Scrambled eggs with green peppers are easy to make. Just prepare the ingredients and it only takes a few minutes.

When Mr. Dong came over, the last dish had just been taken out of the pot. Ye Min happened to see him when she was carrying the dishes out. She quickly led him into the main room and said, "Please sit down first. The food is ready. Bring it over and we can start eating." She also gave Qian Xiaoyun and his wife a brief introduction to Mr. Dong.

Ding Yang and Qian Xiaoyun were both familiar with Mr. Dong. Firstly, Mr. Dong was an excellent doctor and his reputation spread throughout the place of residence soon after he started working. Secondly, Ye Min worked under Mr. Dong and often heard her mention him.

Ding Yang has a warm personality and soon started chatting with Mr. Dong after saying hello. By the time the food was served, the two were already chatting like old friends.

Compared to Ding Yang, Meng Cheng seemed much more taciturn, but he just spoke little, not that he couldn't speak. What he said was quite meaningful, so the three of them had a good chat at the table and even drank some wine.

However, Mr. Dong had to go to work in the afternoon, so he didn't dare drink too much. The wine only covered the bottom of the glass, and each time he drank, it only touched his lips.

After the meal, Meng Cheng and Ding Yang were both tipsy, but Mr. Dong was still sober. However, he was in high spirits. He pulled Meng Zheng over and praised him from head to toe. He also spoke the truth to Ye Min, saying, "You are a good talent. Work hard and study hard. One day you will be able to stand on your own."

Ye Min was very happy. She knew that Mr. Dong was a down-to-earth person who always said what he meant. His words to her showed that he had already accepted her in his heart.

Although she had a family background in learning Tangtou Gejue, having learned it from her mother when she was three or four years old, her journey was not smooth. She went around in circles until she was 25 years old before she could barely get the hang of this industry.

As a senior in the industry, Mr. Dong’s recognition means a lot to her.

But Ye Min also knew that it would be difficult to meet Mr. Dong’s expectation that she could “stand on her own feet”. The Chinese medicine industry does not require such high academic qualifications. Even if one has not studied related majors, it is enough to have inherited the knowledge from a master.

But she has nothing, so until today, she still hasn't been able to officially start from the same starting point as the average person. She still has a long way to go before she can stand on her own.

After thinking this through, Ye Min did not lose heart. She believed that one day she would be able to cross that line and reach the starting point.

This day came much earlier than Ye Min had imagined, and this opportunity was given to her by Mr. Dong.

…

It was the first day of work after the New Year. Because the military wife who was in charge of cleaning had not yet gone to work, Ye Min arrived at the clinic about ten minutes earlier than usual.

When Dr. Dong came to work, she had just finished sweeping the floor and wiping the desk, rolled up her sleeves and was about to go out with a half-basin of dirty water. Seeing her like this, Dr. Dong swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue, paused and said, "Come back to the clinic to find me when you're done."

As soon as Ye Min heard it, she knew that Mr. Dong wanted to see her about something, so she quickly agreed, took the dirty water and hurried to the bathroom, poured out the water, rinsed the basin clean, then put soap on her hands and returned to the clinic.

After entering the clinic, Ye Min went straight to Mr. Dong and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Dong, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"It's nothing serious," said Mr. Dong, who was sitting behind the desk. He raised his head and motioned Ye Min to sit down. "Director Yao talked to me about your situation yesterday. Although you didn't graduate from a related major, there are more ways to enter our industry than just going to school. You have a family of scholars, and you know as much theoretical knowledge as others. You also studied with me for three months. Now all you need to do is practice it yourself."

Ye Min held her breath: "What do you mean?"

"After discussing with Director Yao, I decided to arrange an assessment for you. Once you pass, you will be transferred to become an intern and start seeing patients."

Because of excitement, Ye Min's face instantly turned red, and her eyes became particularly bright: "Really?"

Mr. Dong asked with a smile: "How can I lie to you about such an important matter? This assessment is divided into two parts: theory and practice. The questions will not be too easy..."

Ye Min quickly said: "Don't worry, I will definitely pass the test!"

"So confident?"

"You actually have confidence in me, right?" Ye Min did not answer, but asked, "You taught me. If you thought I didn't meet the standards, you would definitely not agree to arrange this test. Since you arranged it, it means you think I have the ability to pass it."

Master Dong snorted, "You are not my disciple. Even if you fail the test, it has nothing to do with me."

Ye Ming had already experienced the duplicity of Master Dong, so he nodded without feeling hurt. He smiled and said, "Although you are unwilling to accept me as your apprentice, in my heart, you have long been my master."

Mr. Dong's face was slightly stiff, and he didn't say a word in the end. He said unhappily: "The test is scheduled for next Monday. You should prepare well in the next few days. If you fail the test, don't say it was me who taught you."

"clear!"

…

Although things had not yet been finalized, Ye Min still told Meng Cheng the good news after returning home at noon.

He was also very happy after hearing this and asked, "Do you need to prepare well during this period of time?"

"Of course!" Ye Min said without hesitation, "I was just thinking about discussing this with you. Can you bring Zheng Zheng to sleep with you these few days? I'll sleep in the second bedroom so it's more convenient for me to read."

Although Meng Cheng was prepared to eat vegetarian food this week, the smile on his face froze when he heard Ye Min say this.

However, he could understand Ye Min's concerns. Although An An's sleeping time was basically synchronized with theirs now, she still had to take two naps during the day and would occasionally wake up at night.

After An An woke up in the middle of the night, although he was able to take on the task of coaxing the young lady, the room was so small and Ye Min was not a deep sleeper, so she would inevitably be woken up at night.

Moreover, An An needs someone to play with her when she is awake, otherwise she will cry. If she stays in the master bedroom, it will be difficult for her to have a quiet environment to review before going to bed.

Meng Cheng sighed and said, "Okay, just this week."

"Just this week."

After the two of them agreed, Ye Min told Meng Zheng about changing rooms. As for the reason for changing rooms, she didn't explain it clearly, just that she wanted to read.

She thought it was just a small matter and Meng Zheng would not have any opinion after hearing it, but she did not expect that his face changed drastically after hearing it and asked: "Mom, did you quarrel with Dad?"

Ye Min didn't quite understand and asked, "How do you know that I had a fight with your father?"

Meng Zheng asked as a matter of course: "Why do you sleep separately if you didn't quarrel?"

"Didn't I just tell you? I can't read peacefully in the master bedroom, so I changed rooms with you."

Meng Zheng said in a faint voice: "Every time Xiaomei's parents quarrel, they will tell her that they can't sleep well together, so they have to sleep separately." After saying that, he spread out his hands and made an expression that said "I've seen through you."

Ye Min's lips twitched slightly: "You think too much, we didn't quarrel."

"Really?" Meng Zheng looked suspicious.

"Of course."

Meng Zheng looked at his mother, then at his father, shrugged and said reluctantly: "Okay, I believe you didn't quarrel."

Ye Min: “…”

…

Being misunderstood as a quarrel actually has its advantages. Although Meng Zheng has always been a sensible child in the eyes of the military families in the compound, it is inevitable that children will not make trouble. Even he will cause trouble every now and then.

Recently, because of a misunderstanding that they had a quarrel, Meng Zheng has been much more well-behaved. After school, he no longer runs around with his friends, but goes straight to the Ding family to see his sister.

He helps to serve dishes and rice when eating, and doesn’t need anyone to urge him to take a bath. He is so well behaved!

Ye Min's heart softened when she saw this, and she wanted to explain to him the quarrel and misunderstanding. But when she thought that it would be difficult for the child to change his mind, she suppressed the thought.

It is better to review well. After all, after the test is over, she will ask Meng Zheng to change rooms back, and any misunderstandings will be naturally resolved.

With the quiet environment created by the father and son, Ye Min has been reviewing very smoothly these days. Although she couldn't go through all the medical books and notes because the test had no scope and focus and the review time was short, she was full of confidence on the day of the test.

As Mr. Dong said, the assessment is divided into two parts: theory and practice.

The assessment method for the theory is a written test. The test paper is composed of questions by Dr. Dong, Yao Lin and two other Chinese medicine doctors from the Joint Health Institute, and then compiled by Yao Lin. There is no multiple-choice filling in the whole paper, and the questions are not easy, and there are many traps.

Fortunately, Mr. Dong and the others knew that it would take a long time to complete this test, so they gave us ample time, about two and a half hours.

Ye Min spent two hours answering the questions, and the remaining half an hour checking the paper, revising some of the arguments that were not rigorous enough, and then handed in the paper.

The questions were corrected on the spot by two Chinese medicine practitioners who participated in setting the test papers. One of them, whose surname was Zhao, looked up at Ye Min several times while correcting the test paper, his eyes full of surprise.

When he first learned that Ye Min was going to change her job, he was surprised but not that surprised.

She was not surprised because although Ye Min and Master Dong were not in the title of master and apprentice, everyone knew that Master Dong treated her as his apprentice and taught her without reservation.

Traditional Chinese medicine is not like Western medicine. If the latter wants to enter a hospital, they can only take the entrance exam to a medical university, but the former can still be passed down from master to master. Although Mr. Dong is now in a bad state, he is a master of traditional Chinese medicine. There will always be a day when he will be free from poverty. It will not be too difficult for his disciples to enter the hospital.

He was surprised because he thought Ye Min would study with Master Dong for several years, and it would be too ridiculous to become a master in three months even if Ye Min had a foundation.

It was not until he was marking the test papers that he realized this was no joke and that Ye Min really had the ability.

Although he was one of the test setters, he was not sure he could get full marks on the test paper even if he took it himself. For many of the questions set by Mr. Dong and Yao Lin, he might make mistakes when answering them if he did not have a summary of the answers.

If Ye Min only answered the difficult questions posed by Professor Dong correctly, Military Doctor Zhao might have suspected that there was something fishy going on, but she also answered all the questions posed by Yao Lin correctly.

Yao Lin is the director of the Health Institute, so it is impossible for him to reveal the test questions to Ye Min, so she really knows all the questions on this test paper.

After grading the test papers, Dr. Zhao calculated that Ye Min scored 98 points.

In fact, she could have been given full marks, but she changed some of her answers during the review and made alterations on the paper. After hesitating, Dr. Zhao still deducted two points from her paper score.

After Mr. Dong received the test paper and scanned it, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the points they deducted. However, Yao Lin felt that the two points deducted were quite reasonable. If he were to mark this test paper, he could find three or four more points to deduct.

After the theory test, the practical test begins.

The practical assessment process was very simple. Yao Lin found ten patients and asked Ye Min to diagnose them, determine what diseases they had, and then prescribe appropriate prescriptions.

None of the ten patients have complicated diseases, but two or three of them may have interfering factors due to their physical constitution or other diseases.

What Ye Min needs to do is to eliminate interfering factors and get the final result.

The process sounds simple, but it is not easy to answer all the questions correctly, especially for inexperienced Chinese medicine practitioners, who can easily make incorrect diagnosis due to interfering factors.

Although Ye Min had treated patients before joining the army, they were all minor problems. After becoming Dong's assistant, she saw many difficult and complicated cases, but she was just a bystander and had never seen patients, so this assessment was not easy for her.

Fortunately, there was no time limit for the assessment, so she could think slowly, remove distractions, and analyze to reach a final conclusion.

Ye Min treated the first nine patients relatively smoothly, until the last one when he slowed down.

The last patient suffered from vertigo. There are many common diseases that can cause vertigo, such as brain diseases, ear diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc. However, these diseases are usually accompanied by other symptoms or only occur in certain environments. [1]

For example, nausea, vomiting, and nystagmus may be caused by otogenic vertigo; dizziness that worsens when you are emotionally excited may be due to high blood pressure; and dizziness while riding in a boat or car is more likely to be caused by motion sickness. [2]

The last patient gave incoherent answers. One second he said he had all kinds of symptoms, and the next second he changed his words and said he was fine. Ye Min couldn't help but suspect that he was not sick at all and was just there to mess things up.

But since it was an assessment, Ye Min didn't dare to make a hasty judgment. After a long pause, he said, "You probably feel dizzy because of lack of sleep. I suggest you go back and have a good sleep. Going to bed early and getting up early is good for your physical and mental health."

Hearing Ye Min's words, the patient, who had just felt dizzy and uncomfortable, raised his hand and touched his nose uncomfortably, then looked at Yao Lin.

Ye Min saw the clue from his movements and looked at Yao Lin, a guess gradually forming in his mind: "Could it be..."

"Ahem." Yao Lin coughed twice and said righteously, "This is also a nuisance."

Mr. Dong snorted coldly: "Is a sleep-deprived person worth watching for so long?"

Ye Min didn't like what she heard. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes observation, auscultation, questioning and palpation. If the patient doesn't tell the truth, her judgment will definitely be affected! But people have to bow their heads under the eaves. Ye Min didn't say anything in the end, but just asked: "Director, Mr. Dong, do I pass the assessment?"

"Passed."

Although she passed the assessment, Ye Min was still young and lacked experience, so both Mr. Dong and Yao Lin were not confident in letting her take charge of the company right away.

Therefore, even if she changed her job, she still had to serve as Dong's assistant. Before moving to the newly built hospital, she would need to use the clinic with Dong, and her desk would still be the same one she was using now.

Ye Min was not stupid. She knew that it was Yao Lin and Elder Dong who were taking care of her. She asked Elder Dong, "If I encounter a disease that I am unsure about in the future, can I ask you?"

Taking this into consideration, Dr. Dong made the decision to allow Ye Min to receive treatment right under his nose.

Doctors are different from other professions. In other professions, if a mistake is made, what is damaged may be just one thing, and what is affected may be just the individual's salary. But if a doctor makes a mistake in diagnosis, what is in danger may be a person, and the fate of a family is affected.

Although letting Ye Min be independent is a sign of respect, it can also be irresponsible. Just as she said, although Master Dong refused to accept her as his apprentice, he had already regarded her as his apprentice in his heart, so naturally he would not do such an irresponsible thing.

With him watching, if Ye Min makes a mistake in diagnosing the disease, it can be corrected in time to avoid making a big mistake.

But in response to Ye Min's question, Mr. Dong just said coldly: "Unless it is a difficult or complicated case, don't come to ask me."

Although Ye Min and Mr. Dong have not known each other for a long time, she already knows this old man who has a hard mouth but a soft heart very well. She knows that he never says no and that no matter how harsh his words may be, they are acceptable.

Ye Min was relieved when he said that, and said with a smile: "Okay."

…

Although he passed the assessment, Ye Min still had to take an exam at the Health Bureau before officially changing his job.

In the 1970s, due to the shortage of medical resources, the standard of medical practice was not as high as it was later. Although county-level and above hospitals had high requirements and would rather be short of staff than recruit people randomly, county-level hospitals and lower-level health clinics and medical stations were allowed to accept medical school graduates as interns.

In rural areas, barefoot doctors who have only received short-term training have become the main force of the cooperative medical and health service network.

Because the health center was under the jurisdiction of the military region, its recruitment standards were higher than those of ordinary health stations, but not too strict. After all, the Hongqi Commune was too remote, and the military doctors assigned there either had dreams or had no connections at all. There was really nothing they could do.

Under such circumstances, even if the military region wanted to raise the recruitment standards, it would not be easy, so several doctors in the health center were assigned directly after graduation.

However, the military region leaders still attach great importance to medical care. After much negotiation, they finally decided to build a new hospital last year. After the hospital is completed, the army will arrange a group of military doctors to come, and Pingcheng City and Donghe County will also provide assistance.

By then, the hospital's recruitment standards will probably be raised.

Now the hospital has not been completed and the standards have not been raised, so there is still time for Ye Min to make some progress in changing her job from a nurse to a doctor.

But before that, Ye Min had to get a barefoot doctor's certificate first.

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the management of doctors was actually quite chaotic. From the Ministry of Health to the county government, there were many types of medical certificates issued. The issuance standards were also relatively loose. At that time, as long as the submitted documents were correct, basically everyone who was practicing medicine could get a certificate.

Mr. Dong’s professional certificate was issued by the Ministry of Health at the beginning of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

However, in the 1960s and 1970s, it was not so easy to obtain a medical license. Apart from the practicing certificate that only medical school graduates could obtain, there were also barefoot doctor certificates issued in various places.

The scope of use of the practicing certificate is wide. Basically, as long as you have the certificate, you can practice medicine anywhere, but the corresponding requirements are also high. The barefoot doctor certificate can only be used to practice medicine in the place where the certificate is issued, but the requirements for obtaining the certificate are lower. You only need a junior high school or high school degree and can master basic medical knowledge.

Oh, one more thing, you can’t apply for the barefoot doctor certificate by yourself, you need to submit the information from your brigade, so not everyone can be a barefoot doctor, you have to be recommended by the brigade.

Ye Min used to have a city hukou, so she couldn't take the barefoot doctor certificate exam. But now that she's in the army, this is much easier, and Yao Lin got her a place to take the exam.

There is no fixed time for the exam, you can take it at any time. The content is not difficult for Ye Min. Ye Min passed the exam in one try and got the certificate soon.

With the certificate, Ye Min was qualified to practice medicine. With the guarantee of Yao Lin and Mr. Dong, she successfully changed her job and became an intern doctor after the new week.