After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

On the last day of the public notice period, the bulletin board of the Beicheng Military Region General Hospital was surrounded by people.

The examinees, doctors from various departments of the main hospital, their accompanying family members, and several representatives from various units carrying recommendation letters from the provincial department were all crammed into the open space under the No. 3 teaching building.

Everyone craned their necks, their eyes fixed on the second-floor stairwell.

It's been three days.

Number 071 has consistently held the top spot.

Ninety-two in theory, full marks in practice.

The moment the score was posted, the entire hospital was in an uproar. Graduates from military medical universities and prestigious universities in Beijing were all secretly speculating about who this student, number 071, was.

It was exactly 9:00 AM.

Footsteps came from the stairwell.

Zhou Hai strode down, holding the document stamped with a red seal. His face was flushed, and his steps were brisk, as if he had a bellyful of things to say.

Gu Yue followed behind him, holding a thick stack of numbered rosters in her arms.

The crowd fell silent.

"The first batch of twenty students admitted to the Huaxia Heart Cardiovascular Intervention Training Program has been finalized."

Zhou Hai walked to the bulletin board, his voice loud and clear.

"Now, we will announce the true identities of the admitted students according to their assigned numbers!"

A low murmur arose from the crowd.

Gu Yue opened the roster and read it aloud in a clear and crisp voice:

"First place, number 071."

Everyone perked up their ears.

"Liu Xiaohe, resident physician in general surgery at Changping County People's Hospital in southern Henan."

After he finished speaking, the scene fell into a deathly silence.

Two seconds later, the crowd erupted in chaos.

"County Hospital?"

"And she's a lesbian?"

"How is this possible? How can a resident doctor from a small county town outperform military medical universities and prestigious universities in Beijing?"

A young man with a school badge pinned to his chest blushed and couldn't help but take a step forward.

"Dean Zhou, is there a mistake in these results?"

His voice was loud and defiant.

"We're on the operating table with the surgeons every day, and she's just a doctor from a small county town; she probably hasn't even touched a thoracotomy saw! Why is she ranked first?"

Zhou Hai suddenly turned his head.

He stared at the young man, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"On what grounds?"

Zhou Hai shook the stamped document in his hand.

"Just look at how someone stitched three stitches into the inner membrane of a raw egg, and not a single drop of egg liquid leaked out!"

"Just look at how they held a mung bean up with hemostats for ten seconds, and the nylon suture didn't budge an inch!"

He took a step forward, his voice becoming even deeper.

"Don't you know how many points you got in the practical exam?"

The young man blushed to the roots of his neck, but remained stubborn.

"That doesn't prove anything. Clinical practice isn't a circus act!"

"Clinical practice is definitely not a circus act!"

Zhou Hai interrupted him, slamming his hand heavily on the blackboard next to him.

"But skill in hand-eye coordination doesn't lie!"

Zhou Hai pointed to the roster, explaining each word clearly.

"It's all clearly written in her self-report. To practice her skills, she peeled three thousand quail eggs and sewed twenty thousand grape skins!"

"Anyone here who disagrees, who has done this before, step forward now."

He looked around.

"I, Zhou Hai, am putting this out there today: whoever can demonstrate the same skill, I'll grant you special permission to join the class!"

The audience was silent.

The students from prestigious universities who had been shouting so loudly just moments before all lowered their heads, their faces burning hot.

On the periphery of the crowd.

Liu Xiaohe stood quietly, carrying the faded military green canvas bag.

She was short and thin, with her hair tied back with a black rubber band.

But she stood very straight.

The crowd spontaneously made way for her.

Liu Xiaohe walked up to Zhou Hai and bowed deeply.

"Good morning, Dean. This is Liu Xiaohe, number 071, reporting for duty."

As Zhou Hai looked at her, the anger in his eyes slowly dissipated, replaced by genuine appreciation.

"it is good."

He nodded.

"Those who got in through their own merit should stand tall like this."

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

The old clothing factory in Heping Lane.

A new wooden sign, white background with black lettering, has just been hung at the entrance of the courtyard.

Huaxia Heart Cardiovascular Intervention Training Course.

The paint wasn't completely dry yet.

Those words were painted by Lin Yi early in the morning with a bucket of paint. The strokes were neat and showed the earnestness of a young man.

Twenty admitted students entered the college one after another.

Upon opening the dormitory door, the expressions of the students from several major cities immediately changed.

Cement floor.

Whitewashed walls.

Metal frame bed.

Besides the bed and an old wooden table, there wasn't even a decent wardrobe in the room.

Chen Feng, a graduate of a prestigious university in Beijing, frowned and reached out to wipe the iron bed railing.

A layer of ash on the fingertips.

"Isn't this too rudimentary?"

He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Isn't everyone saying the Schroeder family donated a huge amount of foreign exchange? Such a big project, and they're making us live in this junkyard?"

A doctor in his thirties next to me put his luggage on the bed.

His name is Gao Yuan, and he is an attending physician from a major hospital in the provincial capital.

"It's good enough to have a roof over your head."

Gao Yuan patted the bed board.

"We're here to learn life-saving skills, not to stay in a guesthouse."

Chen Feng opened his mouth, but didn't say anything more.

Just then, Liu Xiaohe walked in carrying a canvas bag.

She didn't interrupt or look around.

I put down my bag, turned around and went to the sink to rinse a broom, then brought it back and started sweeping.

Under the bed, in the corner of the wall, behind the door.

She moved swiftly, rolling up her sleeves with lightning speed.

After sweeping the floor, I used a rag to wipe the table and the bed frame.

Chen Feng watched her busy herself, the words of disdain he had just uttered stuck in his throat, and he looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"squeak--"

Outside the gate, a military jeep suddenly braked.

Gu Zheng was wearing civilian clothes, his military boots crunching on the hard, dry mud.

A large truck was following behind him.

Several engineering soldiers jumped off the vehicle nimbly and began moving things into the yard.

Enameled basins, military blankets, thermos flasks, washstands, and bundles of newly made wooden planks.

Gu Zheng walked to the center of the courtyard, a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth.

His gaze swept across the faces of the group of students who were peering in.

"Does anyone complain about the conditions?"

The courtyard fell silent.

Chen Feng shrank back and didn't dare to say a word.

Gu Zheng took the cigarette out of his mouth and casually snapped it in half.

Listen carefully.

"This is a training course, not a retirement home for veterans."

He pointed to the road outside the courtyard gate.

"That road leads straight to the train station. If you think it's too hard, too tiring, or the house is too run-down, come now. I'll reimburse your ticket."

"Those who remain, keep your mouths shut."

Gu Zheng snorted coldly and waved his hand.

"Move things."

The engineers immediately distributed bedding, enamel basins, and thermos flasks to the troops.

The items aren't expensive, but they're all practical.

The new cotton quilt is thick, the thermos is obviously brand new, and the enamel basin still has a shiny white edge.

The person who was complaining about the shabby house just now was too embarrassed to say anything now.

It was six o'clock in the evening, and it was getting dark.

The hospital's canteen's logistics vehicle drove into the courtyard and unloaded two large iron pots.

A pot of stewed cabbage, pork, and glass noodles.

A pot of steaming hot pork rib noodle soup.

Twenty fried eggs, golden brown and oozing oil, lay neatly on top of the noodles.

Twenty trainees, carrying aluminum lunchboxes, squatted under the eaves and ate heartily.

The noodles were piping hot, and the slices of meat were thick.

One bite and my stomach felt warm.

All the nitpicking and complaints from the daytime were completely suppressed by the hot soup and rice.

As they were eating, they heard footsteps coming from the courtyard gate.

Everyone looked up.

Ye Zhen, wearing a white lab coat and holding a dark blue hardcover attendance book, walked into the courtyard.

She didn't speak immediately.

He first looked at the pot, then at the students squatting under the eaves.

"Finish your meal."

Ye Zhen spoke, her voice calm and even.

"We'll take attendance after everyone's had their fill."

The group of people who were about to put down their lunchboxes were taken aback.

Ten minutes later.

Twenty people wiped their mouths clean and stood in two neat rows.

Ye Zhen then opened the roster.

Her gaze swept across everyone's face.

"Number 015, Gao Yuan."

In the back row, a 36-year-old man who was somewhat overweight immediately stood up straight.

He was the attending physician at a major hospital in the provincial capital, the oldest and most senior doctor present.

Before he came, he still held onto the airs of a key member of the department.

But when Ye Zhen called him out like that, his back involuntarily tensed up.

Those thoughts of seniority-based ranking suddenly faded away.

He responded loudly:

"Here we are, Teacher Ye!"

Ye Zhen glanced at him and put a checkmark next to his name.

"You have ample clinical experience, which is an advantage."

Gao Yuan was taken aback.

Unexpectedly, Ye Zhen's first words were not a reprimand, but an affirmation.

Ye Zhen continued:

"But interventional therapy is not the same as traditional open-chest surgery. You have to relearn everything: feel, vision, and judgment. If you let go of your old habits, you'll learn much faster."

Gao Yuan's throat tightened, and he immediately stood up straighter.

"yes!"

Ye Zhen continued calling out names.

"Number 071, Liu Xiaohe."

Liu Xiaohe took half a step forward.

"Here we are, Teacher Ye!"

His voice was clear and crisp, and his eyes were resolute.

Ye Zhen looked at her.

"Your steady hands are the result of hard work."

Liu Xiaohe's eyes lit up slightly.

Ye Zhen's tone remained calm.

"But once you've entered this door, being number one only represents yesterday. Whether you can stand on the operating table tomorrow depends on how much you practice today."

Liu Xiaohe nodded vigorously.

"Got it!"

I clicked on each name one by one.

Ye Zhen did not give a long speech.

She only said a word or two to each person.

Some people are strong in theory but weak in practice.

Some people are good at what they do, but their foundation is not solid.

Some people are young and energetic, but their eyes are unfocused.

She didn't speak harshly, but every word she said hit the nail on the head.

The twenty people listened and grew quieter.

They finally understood that Ye Zhen was not heartless.

She really did take a look at everyone's exam papers, operation records, and registration self-introductions.

After taking attendance, Ye Zhen closed the roster.

"I will accept the title of 'teacher'."

The courtyard was so quiet that only the sound of the night wind brushing against the wooden sign could be heard.

Ye Zhen slowly said:

"But let me make my point clear first."

"Within these walls, age, workplace, gender, and even the recommendation letters behind each person are irrelevant."

"Only technical skills matter here."

She paused, her voice softening slightly.

"It's not because I like to make things difficult for people."

"Because the children lying on the operating table in the future won't care where you come from or who introduced you."

"They'll only entrust their lives to you."

The expressions on the twenty people's faces gradually changed.

The tension that Gu Zheng had just instilled in me slowly transformed into something else, something heavy.

Ye Zhen looked at them.

"The fact that you were able to get in shows that you are already better than many others."

"But starting tonight, all past achievements are reset to zero."

"I will teach you the best techniques and hold you to the highest standards."

"If you can't endure hardship, you can leave."

"If you want to stay, you need to toughen your hands, harden your heart, and guard your conscience."

She looked up at the new wooden sign at the entrance of the courtyard, which still smelled of paint.

The heart of China.

The four characters stood out quietly in the twilight.

Ye Zhen looked at everyone again.

"I don't want twenty people who are good at taking exams."

"What I need are twenty people who can pull Chinese children back from the brink of death in the future."