Chapter 110: Chapter 108: Hospital Assessment

Lu Xiao stopped short, the tips of his ears quietly turning red, but he stubbornly refused to admit it. “What nonsense are you talking about? I was just maintaining family harmony.”

Su Tang held back a laugh and deliberately leaned close to his ear. “Oh? Then why is Deputy Commander Lu blushing?”

Her warm breath tickled his ear, and Lu Xiao’s body stiffened. He grabbed her hand and began striding forward.

“Walk faster. If we dawdle any longer, there won’t be any food left at the cafeteria.”

Watching his slightly rushed retreat, Su Tang’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.

’This man, he’s so easy to tease.’

’But it was also fun. He only cared so much because of me.’

Early the next morning, the two of them took a military vehicle to the hospital on Lu Xiao’s base.

The vehicle swayed and bounced for over three hours before they finally arrived.

The hospital was situated halfway up a mountain. Its red brick walls were faded, and a wooden sign reading “Military Region Hospital” hung by the entrance. It looked a bit grander than the last place Su Tang had worked, but the equipment didn’t seem much newer.

In fact, Su Tang felt this hospital wasn’t even as good as her previous workplace.

But she wanted to be with Lu Xiao and no longer live apart, so this was a hurdle she had to overcome.

The exam was scheduled for the afternoon, so Lu Xiao first took her to the hospital dormitory to get settled. He explained that the hospital had specially arranged these accommodations for the exam candidates.

Though it was called a dormitory, it was really just a small, ten-square-meter room containing a wooden plank bed, a desk with peeling paint, and a three-legged wooden cabinet in the corner. Fortunately, it was relatively clean.

Lu Xiao touched the flaking plaster on the wall and frowned.

Su Tang, however, didn’t mind. She put down her luggage and looked around. “It’s nice. Very clean.”

She took a cloth from her bag and, in a few quick motions, wiped the desk until it shone. “You go on and get to your work. I’ll be fine preparing on my own.”

Lu Xiao wanted to say something more, but he glanced at the time and realized he had to go.

He had no choice but to tell her not to be nervous before rushing out.

The afternoon exam was divided into a written portion and a practical skills portion.

The written test covered basic theories, which was child’s play for Su Tang with her eight years of clinical experience.

She wrote swiftly, turning in her paper in less than half an hour, which made the elderly doctor proctoring the exam stare wide-eyed.

The practical test involved suturing a wound on a medical mannequin.

The hands of the other candidates beside her were shaking as they held their needles, but Su Tang was perfectly calm.

She remembered the modern sterile procedures she had learned, first swabbing the area around the wound three times with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. Then, using forceps that had been boiled, she handled the needle and thread with an incredible deftness.

Her stitches were fine and even, with almost perfect spacing, causing the observing doctors to nod repeatedly in approval.

The chief examiner, Director Zhang, a man in his fifties, peered through his reading glasses to examine her work for a long time. Finally, he looked up. “Where did you learn this suturing technique?”

Su Tang leaned closer and said softly, “I learned it abroad.”

Director Zhang didn’t press further, simply nodding. “Not bad. You’re better than many of the young doctors here.”

After the exam, Su Tang let out a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to look for Lu Xiao, she noticed two young women in white coats huddled together not far away, whispering and periodically glancing in her direction.

“Did you hear? That woman is Deputy Commander Lu’s partner. She only got to take this exam through connections.”

“Look at her, so fair-skinned and delicate. Does she look like someone who can treat patients? She’s probably just here to coast.”

Their voices were just loud enough for Su Tang to hear.

Her brow furrowed slightly, but she ignored them and turned back toward the dormitory.

’Targeted the moment I arrived. Looks like the days ahead won’t be peaceful.’

Sure enough, when the results came out the next day, Su Tang had placed first. Yet, she received no notice to report for duty.

Lu Xiao went to ask Director Zhang about the situation, and he didn’t look pleased when he returned.

“What’s wrong?”

Su Tang handed him a glass of water.

Lu Xiao took a sip, his voice heavy. “Someone is claiming your qualifications are insufficient and your previous employment records are incomplete. They want another review.”

Su Tang froze for a moment, then immediately understood.

’This wasn’t about a review. It was obvious someone didn’t want her to stay. She’d heard before arriving that the surgery department was looking for a lead surgeon. It seemed someone had already marked her as a competitor.’

“Don’t worry.”

Lu Xiao squeezed her hand. “I’ll go speak with the hospital director. I’m sure it will be fine.”

Su Tang shook her head. “No, don’t. Cream always rises to the top. The more they try to stop me, the more determined I am to stay.”

A flash of determination crossed her eyes. ’I endured eight years of hardship in the modern world; am I supposed to be afraid of a small obstacle like this?’

Just as she said that, Director Zhang pushed the door open, a file in his hand. “You’re Su Tang, right? The hospital director saw your scores. He said you can report to the surgery department to begin a one-month probationary period.”

Su Tang’s eyes lit up. Just as she was about to thank him, Director Zhang sighed. “But you know things here at the hospital are complicated, and some people love to gossip. Just try to put up with it.”

Su Tang nodded. “I understand. Thank you, Director.”

After Director Zhang left, Lu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. “See? I told you it would be fine.”

Su Tang smiled, but she knew this was only the beginning.

’Still, she’d been through this kind of ordeal when she first arrived in the Northwest. What was this in comparison?’

She straightened her white coat and headed for the surgery department.

The two women from the previous day looked at her, their eyes filled with surprise and indignation. Su Tang stood tall and walked right past them without a single glance.

’No matter how many obstacles they threw her way, she was confident she could establish a firm footing here.’

’After all, her skills weren’t just for show.’

When Su Tang reported to the surgery department, the head nurse led her to the nurses’ station and pointed to a dust-covered desk in the corner. “Doctor Su, you can work here for now.”

A sneer immediately came from nearby. It was one of the women who had been gossiping about her yesterday; her name tag read “Li Min.”

“Director Zhang really does favor his connections. She gets a desk the moment she arrives, while we had to stand in the hallway for half a month when we first started.”

The other one, named Zhao Xue, chimed in, “Exactly. What’s the use of being good at suturing? I bet she has zero actual clinical experience.”

Su Tang didn’t respond. As she picked up a rag to wipe her desk, the head nurse suddenly piped up as if remembering something. “Oh, right, Doctor Su. The instruments for the day haven’t been sterilized yet. Why don’t you go take care of that?”

The surgery department’s sterilization room was at the end of the hall. It was dark and damp, its iron shelves piled high with blood-stained needles and forceps.

Su Tang frowned. ’This was a nurse’s job, yet they had dumped it on her, a doctor.’

She had just put on her gloves when Li Min came in carrying a tray. “Working hard, Doctor Su? While you’re at it, could you please sterilize these scalpels we just used? We need them for an appendectomy this afternoon.”

The blades on the tray were still stained with blood, clearly left uncleaned on purpose.

Su Tang stared at the tray for two seconds, then, without a word, picked up the disinfectant and began to meticulously wipe the instruments.

She knew they were deliberately trying to put her in her place.

She had already experienced this sort of thing when she first arrived in the Northwest to work at the hospital, so this was nothing she couldn’t handle.

She wasn’t the type to admit defeat.

If she could handle those people before, she could do it again now.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep