top student at medical school

May 16th, Saturday, 10:20 AM.

After Fang Ziye took Xiyan back home from downstairs, he said goodbye in a low voice, "Baby, why don't you go play with Mommy? Daddy is going to have tea with your Grandpa Chen Fang."

Years have passed, and Associate Professor Chen Fang is no longer the young man in his thirties; he is now forty-five years old, ten years older than Fang Ziye and forty-three years older than Fang Xiyan.

In terms of seniority, Fang Ziye could respectfully address Chen Fang as his senior master.

Chen Fang's "mistake" this time is not a simple medical accident or medical dispute, but a fundamental error, and he will inevitably have to leave.

"Daddy, I want to go too! I want to go see Grandpa Chen Fang! Can you take me with you? I'll be very good!" Fang Xiyan said confidently.

"You're so obedient, my foot!" Fang Ziye's face hardened. "Go find your mother and grandmother to play."

Fang Xiyan, a two-year-old child, has lied to Fang Ziye and Luo Tingzhu more than ten times by saying that he will be very well-behaved. This time, Fang Ziye went to see Chen Fang, not for a casual "chat session"!
Luo Tingzhu had already gone to work. There were two rather complicated surgeries scheduled at the sanatorium today, and anesthesia was a hassle. Luo Tingzhu didn't feel comfortable leaving it to her subordinates, so she went there herself.

Upon hearing the voices of the father and daughter, Min Limin came out of the room and clapped her hands: "Xiyan, come here quickly, Grandma will take you to the amusement park."

Fang Xiyan immediately let go of Fang Ziye's hand: "Daddy, I don't want to go with you anymore. I miss Grandma."

Amusement Castle is not a simple amusement park, but a large amusement castle. Even with a membership, the entrance ticket costs several hundred yuan. The toys and games inside are exceptionally abundant, and there are many older brothers and sisters there.

Fang Xiyan, who is at an age where she likes to play with older children, immediately started to whine and beg when she heard that they were going to the amusement park: "Grandma, Grandma, when are we leaving..."

"Grandma, remember to bring your warm water bottle... and my cookies..."

Fang Xiyan's voice is cute, soft, and warm. After all, when she encounters something she likes, she can instantly transform from a spoiled brat into a sweet and gentle girl, which is Fang Xiyan's favorite trick.

Fang Ziye said, "Mom, don't spoil Xiyan. Taking her to amusement parks all the time is a bit extravagant."

Min Limin said, "Xiyan rarely throws tantrums. She's so well-behaved, of course her grandmother will spoil her."

"Daddy and Mommy are both stingy." Fang Xiyan found a backer and started complaining.

Fang Ziye said, "That's right, Mom and Dad are stingy. They didn't bring the amusement park home intact. The castle in Grandpa's house was built for you by someone else."

"Go find someone else, Dad's gone..."

Children are naturally playful, and as long as Fang Xiyan doesn't throw a tantrum, he's practically the emperor of the family.

The apartments in the residential complex were too cramped, so Fang Nan and his group lived in a villa that they managed, one floor of which had been renovated.

However, it can't compare to the rides in the amusement park. Fang Xiyan loves to play them, but he gets tired of them sometimes.

Moreover, Fang Xiyan knew very well that once she went to her grandparents' house, she would not see her parents for a long time, at least seven or eight hours.

In her understanding, she might think that she was being punished because she had fun at her grandfather's house, but it's different when she goes to the amusement park, where her parents usually get off work quickly...

Inside a teahouse near Han Street, soothing music soothes the soul.

After the master tea master brewed the finest Longjing tea, he closed the wooden lattice door, leaving Fang Ziye and Chen Fang sitting facing each other.

Chen Fang spoke first, frankly: "Ziye, I'm sorry, Teacher Chen's matter has put you in a difficult position."

Fang Ziye's expression was conflicted, and his tone was bitter: "Teacher Chen...actually, I also made many mistakes."

Chen Fang has truly entered middle age; her temper has become more gentle, and her personality has become much more composed.

Chen Fang chuckled: "Ziye, you didn't do anything wrong. Some choices were my own, not because you held a knife to my throat."

Fang Ziye offered his suggestion again: "Teacher Chen, let's just discuss this. Please don't get angry and leave. How about you just take a detour around Han City and come back?"

It's fair to say that Chen Fang's current skills, experience, vision, and theoretical understanding have reached a level of consummate mastery, and she is currently at the peak of her surgical proficiency.

Being over forty is the prime of a surgeon's life.

Peng Long left many years ago. If Chen Fang leaves as well, there will be a gap in the number of associate professors of the same age as Chen Fang in the department.

Han Yuanxiao and Deng Yong are getting old and will eventually retire. Chen Fang will have to take over a group in the future.

“Ziye, I know what you mean, but your teacher Chen doesn’t want to do this.”

"No matter what has happened, our relationship remains the same as before. You are Ziye, Professor Fang, and I will always consider myself your Teacher Chen."

Chen Fang said, "I'm not Liu Huanglong. I haven't helped you much in the past, so I can't bring myself to fawn over you and cause you trouble."

“In recent years, you have taken on almost half of the teaching tasks in the department, and at least half, or even more, of the master’s and doctoral students under you.”

"We are all teachers, and we all know how difficult it is to take care of students and how meticulous the things that need to be handled are."

"Similarly, I'm not Professor Han. Just think of yourself as Teacher Chen, who has her own pride but lacks the ability to back it up." Chen Fang didn't wallow in self-pity, and her gaze towards Fang Ziye wasn't reproachful.

Was Fang Ziye wrong?

What's wrong with that?

Fang Ziye is, after all, just one person. He has to undertake important national-level research projects, play the game with other top professors to help Zhongnan Hospital's orthopedics department gain a foothold, and mentor a group of students. He didn't even push his own students to stay in the hospital.

Chen Fang is a teacher, how could she go to Fang Ziye and cause him more trouble?

Yuan Weihong, Fang Ziye's mentor, never intended to do such a thing.

Fang Ziye said decisively, "Teacher Chen, this time I can't just blindly follow your orders. You can have your pride, and I can have my own ideas."

"Teacher Chen, as I said, your matter is not small, but it's not that extreme!"

"No matter where you go, Professor Chen, you will return to Central South University in a few years. Our Department of Trauma Surgery will still need you."

Chen Fang said, "The death of a patient in a clinical trial isn't a big deal, is it?"

Fang Ziye said, "Then we must also distinguish the root cause of the patient's death. The patient's cause of death was arrhythmia. While the clinical drugs you are using certainly have the risk of causing arrhythmia, the patient's poor condition is the root cause."

"He was originally a patient with hepatorenal syndrome... He came for surgery in order to improve his quality of life..."

Chen Fang interrupted, "But the family won't accept it, will they?"

Fang Ziye said, "If the family doesn't approve, and the leaders don't approve, then let's solve the problem. There's no need to punish the person who caused the problem."

"But I need to be sure of one thing, Teacher Chen, tell me the truth, did you take the money?"

Fang Ziye's clinical research is in full swing. Too many pharmaceutical companies are coming to him to do clinical research, not only providing funding for the clinical research, but also offering huge amounts of 'improper labor fees'!
Drugs and medical devices are the core products of pharmaceutical companies. Once approved, they can be put on the market and generate revenue. The company's public relations and R&D departments will do everything they can to get their drugs approved. Spending money is one of the methods they use.

Chen Fang said firmly, "How could I possibly take the money? All my income is tax-deductible. I've never won at mahjong! I don't even like playing cards."

Before conducting clinical trials, Chen Fang also conducted background checks and had her students carefully study the background, ingredients, and possible complications of the drug.

It's not one of those "defective products" that were just randomly put together!
However, Chen Fang made the same mistake that Ni Yaoping and others in the hand surgery department had made before: she was too hasty and did not wait for the procedures to be completed.

However, unlike Ni Yaoping and others, Chen Fang did not take any money, so the nature of her actions was not considered particularly egregious.

“Teacher Chen, if you say you didn’t take the money, then I’ll believe you.”

"Then trust me this once, settle down in Han City first, and come back in a few years."

“You should know our department’s situation very well. Currently, we are still short of a senior-level professor leading a team. Rather than looking outside, we should look to our own people,” Fang Ziye said.

Currently, there are several subgroups within trauma surgery.

There are three groups in the ward: the trauma center, the trauma surgery group in the new hospital area, and the trauma surgery group.

However, there are only two chief physicians with senior professional titles.

Although Yuan Weihong and Fang Ziye can fill the vacancy of a full professor, there is still a vacancy. At the trauma center, the deputy professor is currently leading the team to keep things running, which is still not a particularly formal position...

Even though Nie Xuehua has already been promoted to associate chief physician, she still needs many years of honing her skills to grow into a more accomplished professional.

Even if Lan Tianluo is very talented, it will take him another seven or eight years to reach the level and experience of a mature chief physician.

Now that Chen Fang is a ready-made, experienced hand, Fang Ziye certainly wouldn't let her go.

“Teacher Chen, I admit that I didn’t think things through before. I even brought a lot of people from other subspecialties, but I really didn’t consider it in such detail,” Fang Ziye continued to explain to Chen Fang.

Chen Fang said, "Ziye, do you really want to single-handedly carry the entire college on your own?"

"That's impossible!"

"Everyone has their own destiny and fate. If the opportunity is not right, no amount of help will help. You still need to have strong personal abilities."

"Actually, leaving isn't a bad idea. My original ability was only suited to the platform of a top-tier hospital with a teaching function. I couldn't squeeze into a place like Zhongnan Hospital now."

"Of course, I'm not blaming you for making the platform so successful. On the contrary, I'm very happy and have even dreamed of seeing it like this."

"While I offer my blessings, whether I can actually stay here is another matter entirely."

“I am just a surgeon, a very simple and pure surgeon. I can’t be as good at both scientific research and professional skills as Yuan Weihong, and I can’t possibly be like you, Ziye, who can do both.”

"What's the point of fighting tooth and nail for a spot outside your own circle if you're not really part of it?"

"I plan to go to Jiangxi Province, which is a more comfortable platform and a place where I can stay comfortably."

“Ziye, don’t you often tell your students that they have self-awareness? This is your self-awareness, Teacher Chen.” Chen Fang’s tone and manner were certain.

Personnel changes are a perfectly normal thing.

Chen Fang has been at Zhongnan Hospital for so many years and has witnessed all the changes in the hospital and its departments. If things could really improve together, he wouldn't need to resort to such extreme measures.

It is precisely because there is no way for the water to rise naturally that his boat can go out into the storm to catch big fish.

If the boat capsizes, you have to accept your fate.

"Teacher Chen? Have you made a firm decision, with no room for negotiation?" Fang Ziye asked.

“Yes!” Chen Fang nodded: “Squeezing in here is too tiring, it’s not suitable for my easygoing nature.”

"I only know how to perform some common surgeries, so I'll just do these."

"The breakthroughs in scientific research, teaching, and new treatment methods for specific diseases are not suitable for me. I have tried, and I do not regret it."

“My wife and children have already gone to Jiangxi Province, and I can’t go back.”

"I came to see you today to say goodbye. Thank you, Ziye, for showing me what a top-notch teaching and research platform looks like."

"But my connection with this platform is just that—a connection." Chen Fang is no child; approaching fifty, he has his own understanding and insights into the world.

As the platform improves, some users will inevitably fall short in their capabilities.

They either live a very difficult life, like ants, or they take a risky path, even resorting to crooked means.

Chen Fang was just an 'ordinary person' who couldn't withstand the pressure but didn't want to ask for help!
"Then, Teacher Chen, I wish you a bright future." Hearing this, Fang Ziye stopped trying to persuade him.

"That's right. When we go back to Han City, we can still drink together. And when you come to Jiangxi Province, we can still drink together."

“With today’s advanced transportation, it only takes a few hours to go back and forth,” Chen Fang said.

"But it's like this, Ziye, I still have a few students here who I want to hand over to you. Currently..." Chen Fang's master's and doctoral degrees are from Han City University, so she definitely can't take them out.

"No problem, Teacher Chen."

"My master, me, and Brother Nie Xuehua will all treat them well."

After Chen Fang left, his students would change to master's and doctoral supervisors, and changing supervisors within sub-specialties was the most common thing.

"I'm relieved to hear you say that, Ziye."

"To borrow your words, I wish you a bright future, Ziye, and I wish the department continued prosperity..."

"The better the department develops in the future, the more confident I will be," Chen Fang said with emotion, raising her teacup and drinking another cup with Fang Ziye.

But that's only for this one cup.

Next, Chen Fang explained to Fang Ziye in detail the aptitudes, talents, strengths, and temperaments of her students.

He meticulously analyzed his students for Fang Ziye.

He didn't want to beg Fang Ziye for another chance at a better future, given his age. His students, however, were young and could pursue a better future under Fang Ziye's guidance. (End of Chapter)