opportunity

Because there were few job opportunities in the army and it would take at least one or two years to get a transfer, Qian Xiaoyun was eager to leave Jiangcheng, so she didn't even think about it. She sold her job before getting the marriage certificate and planned to wait for job opportunities in the army.

But it was not possible to find a job immediately after joining the army. Pingcheng was not a big city, and Donghe County was not even ranked high in the city. So even though Hongqi Commune was among the top three economically in the county because of the army stationed there, it did not have many state-owned factories, and the total number of employees was not as many as the machine tool factory where Ye Min worked before joining the army.

Although the local revolutionary committee of Hongqi Commune and the heads of various state-owned enterprises had reached a consensus with the troops to set aside some places in the few remaining state-owned factories to accommodate military wives.

But the commune set up these factories for the benefit of local people. No matter how great the soldiers were, their wives were from other places. Moreover, the husbands of the wives who could follow the army were of high rank and their family conditions were better than most local people. There were too many quotas for the wives of the wives of the soldiers, and the local people were bound to have opinions, so each unit only had two or three quotas.

Of course, in addition to these two or three quotas, military wives can also take part in the recruitment examinations of various units and get a job after passing them.

But… at that time, workers in state-owned enterprises had iron rice bowls. As long as they had no ideological problems and did not make any principled mistakes at work, they would not be fired. Even if they were too old to work and there was no one to take over at home, there were still many people lining up to buy jobs.

Moreover, if these state-owned units were really short of people, the state would not have organized people to go to the countryside, especially since there were only a few state-owned factories in Hongqi Commune, with many people but few positions, and it might not even be possible to hold a recruitment exam in a year.

In addition, some units run by the military also recruit military wives, such as military primary schools, nursery classes, supply and marketing cooperatives, guesthouses, etc.

However, these units only have a double-digit number of primary school employees, and many units have only two or three people. Moreover, for military wives who have already joined the army, there will be few changes unless their husbands change jobs, transfer or retire.

So although Qian Xiaoyun had a high level of education, it was not easy for her to find a job in a short period of time. However, she was not in a hurry. On the night of the wedding, Ding Yang handed over all her savings.

Ding Yang is different from Meng Cheng. He never went to military school. He enlisted in the army when he graduated from junior high school and stayed in the army for several years. Because of his outstanding abilities and meritorious service, he was arranged to study in the military school after being promoted.

Because he was a conscripted soldier when he first joined the army, he had no salary, but an allowance, which was not much each month, just enough for his own expenses. So until he graduated from the military academy, Ding Yang did not save any money.

However, after graduating from the military academy, he had a considerable salary. After deducting the betrothal gift to Qian Xiaoyun, the money for buying the three-turn-one-ring and the wedding, he still had a little over two thousand left.

In addition, Qian Xiaoyun had a lot of savings of her own. She graduated from a technical secondary school in the summer of 1966 and had been working for seven years. Her salary had increased from over 30 years ago to around 45 or 46 years before she got married.

Both her parents are working, and there is only one sister in the family. Her sister and her husband are both working, so the conditions are quite good and she does not need her help.

Although my workplace is far from home, the benefits are very good. I have double rooms for accommodation and I can eat in the cafeteria, which is cheap and tastes good. Even if I need to buy my own clothes and shoes, I can save 200 to 300 yuan a year after the salary increase.

Adding the betrothal gift from Ding Yang and the dowry her parents gave her before the marriage, she had more than two thousand in savings.

Adding up the savings from both places, she has more than 4,000 yuan in her hands. In addition, they have no children, so as long as she doesn't spend lavishly, Ding Yang can save at least two-thirds of her monthly salary.

Without financial pressure, Qian Xiaoyun was certainly not in a hurry to find a job. She had started working in a steel factory right after graduating from technical secondary school, and had been working there for seven years. She had not taken any leave except for visiting Ye Min. She was indeed tired and wanted to rest for a while.

But she is used to being busy, and it would be boring if she has nothing to do when she is free.

Although she had spent almost two months in the army in the middle of the year and the period before getting the marriage certificate, she had something on her mind when she came to visit Ye Min before, and apart from a few dates with Ding Yang, she rarely went out.

Before getting the marriage certificate, Ding Yang was busy with the renovation of the house. Although he hired someone to do the work, he couldn't keep an eye on it all the time. They lived in the house together, so Qian Xiaoyun wanted to contribute more and spent all his time on this matter.

So until the wedding banquet, she didn't have much contact with the military wives in the compound. Although it would be fine to get familiar with them slowly after marriage, she couldn't go around looking for people to chat with every day.

That's just not the case with her.

So before the wedding was even over for three days, Qian Xiaoyun came to Ye Min and offered to help take care of An An.

Ye Min was a little hesitant at first. Although she handed An An to Qian Xiaoyun without much hesitation when he came to the army in June and offered to take care of An An, things have changed now.

Firstly, Qian Xiaoyun was living and eating at Ye Min's house at the time, so finding something for her to do would actually reduce her psychological pressure; secondly, Ye Min also hoped that An An could distract Qian Xiaoyun so that she would not always be immersed in the pain of the past.

Now Qian Xiaoyun has moved on from the past and started a new life. She takes care of An An purely to help.

Although they have a good relationship and Qian Xiaoyun is the godmother of the two children and has always been very good to the siblings, but does it seem a bit shameless to just leave the children to her care?

Knowing her friend's thoughts, Qian Xiaoyun was not very happy. She said that Ye Min was treating her as an outsider.

When she decided to sell her job at the steel mill and follow Ding Yang, whom she had only known for three months, to the army, some relatives and friends who were unaware of the situation whispered behind her back that she was crazy.

They believe that "rely on the mountain and the mountain will fall; rely on people and people will run away". She clearly has her own abilities, but she insists on relying on a man. Sooner or later, she will suffer.

But Qian Xiaoyun never doubted her decision. In the eyes of outsiders, she was well educated and had a respectable job. Even though she had some "disgraceful" things in the past, she still lived a good life, which was enviable.

But only she herself knows that if she continues to stay in Jiangcheng, her life will really be ruined.

She had her moments of high spirits and thought her future was full of hope, but ever since Technician Jiang started pestering her, she began to fear what people said, dared not look people in the eye, and became timid.

After leaving Jiangcheng with Ding Yang, she felt that the sky had turned blue, the wind had become lighter, and her once gloomy life had gradually become brighter.

She knew that no matter what the future held, she would not regret her decision.

Because of this, she has always been grateful to Ye Min. If it weren't for her good friend's invitation, she wouldn't have come to the army, wouldn't have met Ding Yang, and wouldn't have had a bright future again.

Of course, she was willing to help take care of An An, not only out of gratitude, but also because she was the godmother of Meng Zheng and his sister.

She loves these two kids so she's willing to spend time taking care of them, it's that simple.

Qian Xiaoyun said so, so Ye Min naturally would not be hypocritical anymore. Moreover, although the work in the pharmacy was easy, as An An grew up day by day, she would be awake for longer and longer periods of time during the day. Even with Feng Aiyun's help, there would be times when she could not take care of her daughter.

Qian Xiaoyun's willingness to help take care of An An can indeed relieve a lot of her burden.

Ye Min did not let Qian Xiaoyun work for nothing. The two of them agreed that Qian Xiaoyun's lunch expenses would be paid by her family in the future.

Although Qian Xiaoyun had a small appetite, a lunch would not cost much, but it was still a gesture. In fact, Ye Min was willing to pay for her three meals, but she refused to agree, and the price of this meal was the result of bargaining.

As for paying the money monthly, Ye Minti didn't even dare to mention it, otherwise Qian Xiaoyun might really get angry.

So for the next period of time, Ye Min and Meng Cheng would go to Ding Yang's house every day before work. After handing An An to Qian Xiaoyun, the two men went to the military camp together, while she went to the division headquarters health center.

At noon, Meng Cheng and his partner couldn't come back, and Meng Zheng's seedling class also provided meals, while Ye Min went to Ding's house to eat. Sometimes Qian Xiaoyun would cook and she would pay for the dishes. If Qian Xiaoyun was too lazy to cook, Ye Min would bring food back from the cafeteria.

After get off work in the afternoon, the couple went to Ding's house to pick up their child.

Half a month passed by in a dull manner. One day, Ye Min had just changed her clothes and walked into the pharmacy at the health center when she heard Feng Aiyun say, "Director Yao just came and told you to go to his office when you have time."

"Director?" Ye Min was slightly stunned. "Did he tell me what he wanted to see me about?"

"No."

Ye Min said "oh", closed the drawer, thought for a moment and said, "Then should I go there now?"

In the morning, not many people came to get medicine. Feng Aiyun nodded indifferently: "Okay."

…

The clinic is not big. Not counting the inpatient department at the back, it only has two floors in total.

The pharmacy where Ye Min worked was on the first floor, at the entrance, with the registration window opposite. The director's office was on the far right of the second floor, so she went straight upstairs after leaving the office.

Arriving at the director's office, she raised her hand and knocked twice. When she heard the director Yao Lin's voice, she turned the door and walked in and said, "Director, I heard from Xiao Feng that you have something to talk to me about?"

Yao Lin, who was sitting behind his desk, was flipping through a document in his hand. When he heard the voice, he raised his head and said, "Xiao Ye, yes, I have something to talk to you about."

As he spoke, he closed the file, walked around the desk and went to the closet by the window, and asked in a warm tone, "Would you like some tea?"

"I can do anything." Ye Min said quickly.

Yao Lin opened the tea can, put some tea into the enamel cup, poured in hot water, walked to the sofa, placed a cup in front of himself, and handed another cup to Ye Min.

Ye Min took it with both hands and said, "Thank you."

Yao Lin nodded lightly, opened the lid of the enamel cup, blew on it, looked up and smiled: "Don't be too nervous, sit down." He pointed to the single sofa next to him.

Ye Min sat on the sofa holding the enamel cup, lowered her head and waited for Yao Lin to speak.

Yao Lin was not a leader who liked to keep people in suspense. Not long after Ye Min sat down, he asked, "You have been working in our clinic for a year and a half, right?"

Ye Min replied, "I came with the army in April last year and entered the health center in early May. It has been almost a year and a half."

"Not short anymore," Yao Lin took a sip of tea, closed the lid of the enamel cup and placed it on the tea table, and asked casually, "Do you have any plans for the future?"

Ye Min was not sure what he wanted to say, so she asked hesitantly, "What do you mean?"

Yao Lin smiled and said, "You can tell me whatever you think."

She saw that he looked amiable. Although Ye Min had not dealt with Yao Lin many times in the past year and a half, she had a general idea of ​​what kind of person he was through the few conversations they had and the comments of his colleagues in the institute.

Although Yao Lin is a military doctor, he is also a soldier. He has the qualities that most soldiers have: he is direct and doesn't like to beat around the bush when speaking or doing things.

If he was looking for trouble with her, his attitude would not be so gentle. In this case... Ye Min mustered up the courage to test him again: "Then I can speak freely?"

Wow! It seems like there are a lot of ideas here.

Yao Lin raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "You are welcome to speak freely."

Ye Min began to say: "My mother is actually also a Chinese medicine practitioner. Influenced by her, I have dreamed of becoming a doctor since I was young."

"Um."

"But I had a fever during the junior high school entrance exam and didn't perform well, so I failed to get into high school. Because of some family reasons, I didn't repeat my studies, but went straight to work. When I first started working, I worked in a workshop. The unit I worked for at the time was a machine tool factory, so even female workers did physical work. At that time, I was very tired every day. When I got home from work, I just wanted to lie on the bed and didn't want to do anything."

Yao Lin thought for a moment: "And then?"

"I was confused for about half a year. After slowly adapting to the workshop work, I began to think about the future. Frontline work is glorious, and I am not afraid of hardship, but I still want to be a doctor." Ye Min recalled the past and said, "But it is difficult."

There were many barefoot doctors at that time, especially in recent years. Some people went to the health center to study for a few days, and without even memorizing a few commonly used medicines, they dared to treat patients with a copy of the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual".

However, these barefoot doctors are basically in rural areas where medical resources are scarce. Ordinary hospitals in cities require not only doctors but also nurses to be graduates of health schools.

Only the requirements in the health rooms of state-owned factories are lower. Nurses are basically only required to know prescription words, and even injection can be learned on the spot.

Ye Min couldn't become a doctor, so she could only settle for the next best job and compete for a job as a nurse.

She was actually quite good at her job as a nurse. When she decided to join the army, her colleagues in the machine tool factory's bathroom were reluctant to let her go, because they might not be able to hire another person so easily.

After arriving at the hospital, she was not assigned to a department but was assigned to the pharmacy. However, she always worked diligently and responsibly and was often praised by the head nurse.

Although there is no hope for promotion, the salary in the pharmacy is not low and the work is not too busy, so she can take care of her children after work. If she works in the department, she may not have time to look after her children because she has to walk around every day.

Logically, she should be very satisfied with her current life. After all, there is a difference between dreams and reality, and not everyone can do what they want.

But as a viewer on the bullet screen said, if a person has no dreams, what is the difference between him and salted fish?

She is a person who may never be able to lie down and be a salted fish.

She still wants to be a doctor, like her mother.

Normally, Ye Min is not a person who loses her sense of propriety and would not reveal her innermost feelings to others at inappropriate times. However, perhaps because she had been suppressing her feelings for too long, she was unable to control herself when facing the gentle Yao Lin.

Only after she spilled out all her thoughts did she realize that she might have said too much. She became anxious, "Director Yao, I..."

Seeing her worry, Yao Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry. I asked you these questions because there is an opportunity now, but I need to know what you think in your heart."

After quickly understanding what he meant, Ye Min couldn't help but widen her eyes: "What do you mean?"

As if he could see what Ye Min was thinking, Yao Lin said, "There are currently no places for further studies at the Military Medical School."

"oh."

Ye Min's heart instantly calmed down, but she was not too disappointed.

Not to mention Pingcheng, even Yun Province doesn't have a military medical school. If she is recommended to go to university, it means she will have to go to another place. If she is unmarried and childless now, she will definitely choose to go to university without hesitation, but she has a family and her little daughter is only half a year old. Even if the opportunity is in front of her, it is difficult for her to put down her family and go to study.

Ye Min calmly asked, "What do you mean?"

"At the beginning of next month, an old Chinese medicine doctor will come to the health center to work. I need to arrange an assistant for him." Yao Lin said, "The assistant's job is simple, arranging the call number and helping during the treatment process. These things can be done by ordinary nurses, but I hope that this person can do more than just these things. Do you understand?"

Although Yao Lin did not say who the new Chinese medicine practitioner would be, there were not many Chinese medicine practitioners in the health center, but there were two or three of them, all of whom graduated from military medical schools.

However, in the military, the role of traditional Chinese medicine is very limited. Although the military's supplies are tight, they have general Western medicine. They are enough to treat common colds and fevers, but amputated limbs that require surgery are more of a Western medicine job.

The most common work done by the several Chinese medicine doctors there every day is to give massages to soldiers who have sprained their muscles during training.

It is not true that this job does not require any technical skills, but it also does not require high medical skills. Therefore, the situation of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in the institute is actually quite embarrassing.

Although the army intends to expand the clinic into a hospital, it has just been built, renovated and staffed, so it will not open until at least May or June next year.

If the other party was just an ordinary Chinese medicine practitioner, Yao Lin would not be so anxious to hire him, nor would he specially arrange an assistant for him.

You know, other doctors in the emergency department don’t have any other assistants.

Ye Min's eyes gradually lit up, and he straightened his back and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely learn well from him."

Although Yao Lin was busy, there were only so many people in the clinic, and he had a general idea of ​​how everyone worked. Moreover, before looking for Ye Min, he not only looked up her information, but also consulted the head nurse to understand her situation, and believed in her ability to do the job.

But the old Chinese medicine doctor who was about to take up the post was really difficult to deal with, so Yao Lin was not completely relieved and said, "It's useless to just shout slogans. You must also have the determination to overcome all difficulties and never give up."

"Of course I do." Ye Min said immediately, but then he came to his senses and asked hesitantly, "But Director, can I ask who this new old man is?"

Yao Lin hadn't been hiding this from Ye Min, and said, "His surname is Dong. He was demoted from the capital to Hongqi Commune because he offended a talented person. Old Dong's medical skills are impeccable and are ranked among the best in the country, but he has a rather strange personality and is unwilling to accept apprentices. So remember to be careful when you are with him. It would be best if you can become his apprentice, but if you can't, don't annoy him."

Although Mr. Dong was in a bad state for the time being, Yao Lin knew that he was a man of real ability, so as soon as he received the news, he personally went to the farm where Mr. Dong was, hoping to invite him to come out of retirement.

Considering that although Mr. Dong was demoted to Donghe County, he has the ability and will return to the capital sooner or later, and the local health center may not be able to keep him by then.

So after Mr. Dong softened his attitude and expressed his willingness to come to the health center for consultation, Yao Lin immediately told him that several Chinese medicine practitioners at the health center lacked experience and hoped to be his assistants and receive his guidance.

Who would have thought that after hearing this, Mr. Dong's face changed drastically and he kicked him out directly.

Yao Lin was confused at first, but after asking around, he found out that Master Dong was demoted not only because he had offended someone, but also because after he was accused, his carefully trained apprentice not only quickly distanced himself from him, but also took advantage of his misfortune to stab him.

His suggestion just touched Mr. Dong's sore spot.

Although Mr. Dong finally agreed to come and see patients, he said before nodding that he would not accept apprentices or teach new people, and would only treat patients.

Mr. Dong had no choice but to agree and give up the plan of arranging doctors in the institute to learn from Mr. Dong. However, after thinking about it, he still didn't want to give up this opportunity, so he asked Mr. Dong to arrange a nurse to assist him.

The candidate for this nurse was decided by Yao Lin after going through the personal information of his subordinates and considering it over and over again.

He knew that it would be difficult to persuade Mr. Dong to change his mind by assigning an ordinary nurse to his side. Although Ye Min did not graduate from a regular college, she had a family background in traditional Chinese medicine and was devoted to it, so she might be able to persuade Mr. Dong.

Taking a step back, even if Ye Min failed to impress Master Dong and get him to accept her as his apprentice, with her basic knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, she could learn a few things from Master Dong by following him.

Although Ye Min didn't know the intricacies of the matter, when he heard that Master Dong was unwilling to accept an apprentice, he guessed that there must be a story behind it and said, "Don't worry, Director Yao, after Master Dong comes, I will definitely perform well, listen more, watch more, do more, and talk less and cause less trouble."

This came out smoothly, and Yao Lin's eyes were slightly stained with smiles, and he praised: "The young man is teachable."

…

On the way back from get off work, Ye Min mentioned the job change to Meng Cheng.

However, she did not tell Meng Cheng about Yao Lin's hint of becoming his disciple or stealing his skills. After all, she hadn't even met Mr. Dong yet, and the matter was still unsettled. It would be too unstable to shout it all out.

However, Meng Cheng was more informed than she was. He had heard everything Yao Lin hadn't said. After a little thought, he knew what Yao Lin was planning and said, "This is a great opportunity for you. You should seize it."

Ye Min was not stupid. She became suspicious when she heard him say that and asked, "Do you know something?"

"I can't talk about the inside story, but I do know why Master Dong doesn't accept any disciples."

Ye Min quickly asked: "Why?"

Meng Cheng did not hide anything and told Ye Min the reasons and consequences of Mr. Dong's demotion in a few words. After hearing this, Ye Min frowned and thought: "It seems that the situation I will face after changing my job is not optimistic."

Meng Cheng said directly: "If the situation is optimistic, Director Yao will definitely not arrange you to be an assistant."

"Too."

What Yao Lin most wants to train is definitely the military doctors in the institute. Firstly, she has no military status, and secondly, she is not a doctor. If Master Dong is willing to accept an apprentice, the job of assistant will definitely not be hers.

Since she was so lucky, she had nothing to complain about even if the situation was not optimistic.

It's always better to have an opportunity than no opportunity, so just go for it.