Chapter Thirty-Four: Examinations—An Age in Which Every Advancement Required a Test

The reason Zou Pingshan stumbled at the county hospital was not because Batu was more capable than him, nor because Shi Lei had set him up. It was because he lacked professional experience and his approach was too detached. Batu had climbed step-by-step from a rural doctor to the president of the county hospital, while Shi Lei had worked at the Quark County Hospital from his youth into middle age. One understood management better, and the other was well-connected. Relying on his powerful background and his status as an internal medicine expert, Zou acted with undue haste. That was why he suffered and fell. Managing a hospital is vastly different from managing a single department.

After Zhang Fan returned, he did not hold a grudge against Zou Pingshan; it was meaningless. A week later, Zhang Fan and his colleagues set off for the city for their exams. They no longer had a car, as it had been taken away ever since Batu was arrested. The exam was held at a high school. Chen Qifa was nervous to the point of collapse. In previous years, he had no hope and didn't care, but this year was different. Thanks to Zhang Fan's month-long intensive training, he felt he had a real chance. He followed Zhang Fan everywhere, repeating the same refrain: "Do you think the questions will be hard this year? Will I be able to pass?"

Zhang Fan understood him well and offered constant comfort. "Old Chen, you'll be absolutely fine. Don't worry. Just take your time answering; you'll definitely pass this year." When the exam began, the first morning was basic knowledge, which wasn't much of an issue since Zhang Fan had helped him bridge those gaps over the year. The afternoon session on internal medicine was also fine; the questions were straightforward. The next morning, he walked out of the surgery exam having nearly aced it. The afternoon session on gynecology and pediatrics was slightly more difficult, but still manageable.

"I passed! I passed this year!" After the exam, in the hotel room, Old Chen grabbed Zhang Fan's arm and wept like a child. Decades of frustration were finally being released. "I passed, I definitely passed. From now on, I'm a certified doctor." Zhang Fan felt deeply for Old Chen; seeing him like this reminded him of the desperation he felt when looking for a job after graduation.

Li Liang and Li Hui also did quite well and were likely to pass. Wang Sha had failed the skills portion, so she couldn't take the written exam. After the group met up, Old Chen said, "Dinner is on me tonight. Nobody fight me on this; I really need to thank Teacher Zhang properly." The four of them walked to the restaurant with their arms around each other. Since Old Chen earned more than the others, they felt no guilt about letting him pay. During dinner, Li Hui asked, "Director Zhang, now that the exams are over—and you certainly have no worries—where do you plan to go next? Don't say you're staying at the county hospital, or I'll throw a bowl at you."

"Although the exams are over, the results won't be out until December, and I won't get the certificate until next year. I can't resign immediately. I'll see if there are any city-level recruitment exams coming up; if there are, I'll take them. If not, I'll wait until after the New Year. What about you guys?"

"Same here, that’s my plan too. If there's a recruitment exam, Wang Sha and I will take it. There's no future at the county hospital," Li Hui said.

"Brother Zhang, I'll go wherever you go. You have to take me with you," Li Liang said bluntly.

"Brother, you give me too much credit."

"It's good to be young. You all should go out and explore. In the county, the next twenty years of your lives will look just like mine now," Chen Qifa said, lacking the energy to venture out himself.

The system required an upgrade, which meant going to a major hospital; the county hospital was a dead end. It wasn't realistic to move to another city before the certificates were issued. His younger sister was in her second year of high school and would be a senior next year; he needed a steady monthly income, or else losing his job would be a catastrophe for her education. Since the medical malpractice incident, Zou Pingshan could no longer handle the pressure. He wasn't young anymore, and he was truly afraid. The amateurs in the surgical department were terrifyingly incompetent. Surgery was under Shi Lei's authority, and internal medicine was under Director Feng of the First Internal Medicine Department, while Zou remained in overall charge.

Shi Lei was much more cunning. He accepted responsibility for surgery without issue, but he made sure he had the final say on drug procurement and medical equipment. Little by little, he began to chip away at the walls of authority. He mimicked Batu’s management style: if you want to control the surgical department, you first have to appease the people who do the actual work. Chen Qifa was a small-minded man, but if you paid him extra overtime, he’d work faster than a dog. For Zhang Fan, he had to make a heavy investment; not only was his technique superb, but he also had connections with city and county leaders. The First Surgical Department followed the same logic. As for Nur and Tursun, he simply ignored them—they couldn't do anything, so why bother with them?

There was still no verdict on Batu's case, but he had long been prepared. His son held Kazakh citizenship, and just when the head of the Health Bureau couldn't help him anymore, he sent his son to Kazakhstan. Batu didn't have many assets in his own name. He admitted to taking kickbacks from CT scans, but denied everything else. The county hospital building had been constructed years ago; the people involved had long since retired or vanished. The county wanted to dig up higher-level officials, but Batu kept his mouth shut. No matter how they pressed, they couldn't find anything beyond the CT kickbacks.

Medical disputes didn't affect ordinary hospital staff much—it was just part of the job. But for Zou Pingshan, the impact was immense. He not only became more restrained but also grew timid. He wanted to coast to retirement in this position, and if anything went wrong now, he would have no way out. His insomnia grew worse; he often woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, constantly feeling as if his phone were ringing.

Shi Lei, meanwhile, was riding high. On his recommendation, the on-call fees for doctors and nurses were increased, and a night meal allowance was added. The hospital staff’s opinion of him improved steadily. He knew his clinical skills were lacking, so he left professional matters to the professionals. Old Nur’s retirement report was approved, and Shi Lei took over the Second Surgical Department. Tursun didn't want the job, and Shi Lei didn't want him to have it either. Ideally, Old Chen would have taken it, but he lacked the certificate. Privately, Shi Lei promised Old Chen that as soon as his certificate arrived, he would hand the Second Surgical Department over to him. As for Zhang Fan, Shi Lei knew he couldn't keep him, so he was content to maintain a good personal relationship.

In October of that year, the frontier region organized its largest recruitment exam. Although Zhang Fan and his colleagues were considered to be there to support the West, they were technically not on the official payroll, unlike Li Liang and Yang Chengming. Once the licensing exams concluded and the recruitment registration opened, Gao Shijun called Zhang Fan: "Stop wasting your time at the county hospital. I've set everything up for you. Register for the Trauma Orthopedics Department at the City Hospital. It’s tailored specifically for you." Gao Shijun had put a lot of effort into getting Zhang Fan into his department.

When a department needed staff, they would set criteria and report them to the hospital, which would then report to the Health Bureau. Anyone meeting the criteria could apply. The conditions Gao set meant that in Chasu City, almost no one except Zhang Fan could qualify. First, graduation from a 211 medical university; second, male, unmarried; third, more than five months of advanced training in a top-tier hospital's surgical department; fourth, participation in national support programs. These settings raised the bar by several notches. And they were only hiring one person. Old Gao was worried that some high-flyer might edge Zhang Fan out, so he made the requirements harsh. Even if your father was a big shot, you couldn't register if you didn't meet the criteria!

Old Gao’s department director had retired, and after several rounds of competition, Gao was currently the acting director, in charge of daily operations. He had his own vision: his current protégés couldn't yet stand on their own. He needed to cultivate a powerful subordinate to work alongside him.