Chapter 26: ‘ladder To The Azure Clouds’!
Lu Cheng still had a car, but his family’s house was less than 500 meters from Feng County People’s Hospital, so an electric scooter was enough for everything.
Parking the car at the hospital might mean no parking space, so Lu Cheng often used his electric scooter for travel.
Everyone ordered a cup of coffee, Han Jingyi also sat closer, and after chatting for a while, Lu Cheng went back to get his car to pick someone up and drop them off…
“I’ll take you to a teppanyaki place that’s a bit out of the way but has a very authentic taste. The good teppanyaki places in the county town are no longer on Chaoyang Road, but over in Tuchengba…” Lu Cheng, after taking Mu Nanshu to drop Han Jingyi back in Feng County, turned on the navigation.
Mu Nanshu softly “mm-hmm”-ed, appearing quite ‘aloof’!
Feng County is really close to Long County; Lu Cheng only drove for about thirty minutes, crossing from Feng County to the county towns of Feng County and Long County, arriving at the “outskirts” of Long County.
After they parked and sat down, Lu Cheng said, “This was newly built around 20 years ago. It’s a subsidized residential area, public rental housing. It was originally planned to be converted into a market, as you know, the market over by Er Xiao was too small and chaotic.”
“But then, for some reason, it stopped, and only this shell remained. I ordered beef, green beans, scrambled eggs with chives, and crispy pork. See if you want to add anything…”
“Add yellow throat and squid too, that should be plenty and we won’t finish it.” Perhaps it was the allure of gourmet food that brought this foodie, Mu Nanshu, to life.
“Uncle Mu, are you in Jishi City or Long County now? Where will you be staying later?” Lu Cheng asked.
Mu Nanshu replied, “At Chengxin Plaza. I have a house there too. Can you give me a ride later…”
Chengxin Plaza is a residential area by the river where Long County and Feng County meet, with a nice environment. “Chengxin Plaza is great, with a first-tier river view.”
“How is your work going? It should be okay, right?” Mu Nanshu asked with a smile.
Lu Cheng rolled his eyes, “Okay? It’s hell. The relationships in this small county town are making my head spin. If I told you I haven’t formally performed a Level 2 Surgery yet, would you believe me?”
Mu Nanshu was a medical student, so Lu Cheng didn’t need to explain what a Level 2 Surgery was. “We’re out for dinner, let’s not talk about these things… You haven’t been to the prefecture-level city or the county, so don’t worry about these things in the future…”
“What you all will have to compete on in the future isn’t interpersonal relationships, but absolute hard strength.”
“I heard that at your Xiehe, they have almost no requirements for newly appointed doctorates? But if you don’t get a national general project within five years, your contract is automatically terminated?”
Teaching hospitals are even harder to navigate than county hospitals. Many top teaching hospitals operate on a “publish or perish” basis!
The so-called ‘national general project’ refers to a project from the National Natural Science Foundation General Project, a very difficult type of project to secure. If you can’t get one, you’ll be terminated. It’s all about earning a living through strength, that’s the harsh reality.
“There is such a contract. If I can’t make it in the future, I might end up at a county hospital too,” Mu Nanshu said with a smile.
“That’s impossible. With your academic qualifications, you could easily get a position at a provincial-level hospital, let alone a ministry-affiliated one. And I believe you’ll do very well even in a highly competitive environment…”
“In the future, I’ll be able to brag that Professor Mu Nanshu of Huazhong Xiehe Hospital is my old classmate and a good friend!~”
“If you say that to people, how many people can have such a topic of conversation as me?” Lu Cheng said enthusiastically, giving a thumbs-up, his emotions naturally soaring.
Lu Cheng was genuinely happy for Mu Nanshu’s current job opportunity.
Mu Nanshu suddenly said, “Lu Cheng, do you know that every top hospital has its own unique ‘Ladder to the Azure Clouds’? Both in scientific research and clinical practice.”
“If you can cross over, you can bypass all academic qualifications…”
Lu Cheng interrupted with a smile, “Little sister.”
“That kind of ‘Ladder to the Azure Clouds’ in top hospitals is for the most elite professors; it’s just a carrot dangled for ordinary people, to motivate them to be laborers.”
“If I had that ability, I would have taken off through the normal channels long ago.”
“The most important thing for a person is self-awareness. Look at me, I’m the best example of lacking self-awareness.”
“If I had gotten into Zhongnan Hospital for my Master’s back then, who would have given me trouble?” Lu Cheng was boasting to maintain the atmosphere between them and prevent it from becoming too gloomy.
Mu Nanshu explained with a hint of guilt, “I didn’t expect back then that a Master’s degree in Orthopedics at Huashan Hospital would be so competitive, requiring published papers as well.”
Lu Cheng’s decision to pursue a Master’s at Huashan Hospital was something they had discussed privately. Lu Cheng’s grades weren’t a case of aiming too high; he just hadn’t understood the ‘operating rules’ of others.
Mu Nanshu’s family had some money, but that amount was not even a drop in the bucket in Magic City. How much could Mu Nanshu understand the operating rules of the lowest rungs?
Mu Nanshu was also young back then; how much more insight could she have had than Lu Cheng?
Lu Cheng laughed, “I’m very grateful for my old classmate’s loyalty. I decided not to pursue the Master’s at Huashan Hospital and even funded my own studies abroad in a fit of pique.”
“All of this back and forth cost me money I could never earn in a lifetime…” Lu Cheng clicked his tongue.
It wasn’t that Lu Cheng only realized how hard it was to earn money after he started working, but at his current salary level, he truly might never earn the amount Mu Nanshu spent on seven years of studying abroad.
Finding a job after a Master’s or Doctorate from Fuda University was also quite good; it was highly sought after in China. If Mu Nanshu played it normally, securing a funded overseas study opportunity wouldn’t be particularly difficult, and it would also meet the requirement of top teaching hospitals for candidates with ‘overseas experience’.
“When I come to Hanshi City to play in the future, can I find you, my old classmate? I might even be able to be your tour guide.”
“After starting work, there won’t be much time for sightseeing,” Lu Cheng asked, making small talk, his gaze becoming a little more complex.
After Mu Nanshu’s parents’ business took off, Lu Cheng hadn’t felt a “class difference” between them. But now, even with a ‘panel’ in front of him, Lu Cheng didn’t dare to ‘expect’ or ‘promise’ anything.
After all, Lu Cheng knew that he was no longer a young man with a vast future that he could ‘pre-emptively spend’!
“Of course,” Mu Nanshu readily agreed.
…
After dinner, Lu Cheng drove Mu Nanshu back to Chengxin Plaza Residential Area and the underground parking garage.
Mu Nanshu invited Lu Cheng upstairs to sit for a while. It wasn’t until 4:30 PM, when Mu Nanshu’s parents were about to return from Jishi City to Long County, that Lu Cheng drove back.
However, as soon as Lu Cheng got into his car, his mobile phone vibrated. It was a message from Mu Nanshu’s chat window, with whom he hadn’t been in contact for a long time.
It was a file, titled ‘Huazhong Xiehe Hospital Special Talent Introduction…’.
Lu Cheng didn’t open it immediately. He could guess the requirements were unattainable without even looking.
Strictly in terms of clinical practice, it might at least require performing surgeries that even professors at Xiehe Hospital couldn’t do.
The current Lu Cheng was just a junior doctor at a county hospital; even for disease types like Tendon Injury, people were competing for them.
“Ultimately, I’ve passed the age of dreaming and chasing ideals,” Lu Cheng hung up his phone and murmured softly.
