Chapter 24: Chapter 24: This Is Professionalism

When Su Tang woke up the next day, the space beside her was already empty.

Only a slight indentation in the pillow and the faint, crisp scent of Lu Xiao remained.

She sat up and touched her face. It was a little hot.

Su Tang took a deep breath and gave a somewhat helpless smile.

’A modern woman like me, getting flustered by a pure, innocent young man. How embarrassing.’

She feigned composure and shook her head, pushing aside those flirtatious thoughts.

Today was her first official day as a medical intern. She couldn’t be late.

After washing up, Su Tang changed into a plaid shirt and straight-leg pants.

She deftly braided her jet-black hair into two pigtails. The person in the mirror had clear eyes, filled with a resilient, unyielding spirit.

She recalled Lu Xiao’s assessment of her and smiled.

’A paper tiger? Even a paper tiger has to be able to bite!’

Breakfast was the usual congee and coarse grain steamed buns from the canteen, left on the table.

Lu Xiao was nowhere to be seen, probably out for morning exercises.

Su Tang finished eating quickly, cleared the dishes, took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

The family dependents’ courtyard was already bustling with activity—people taking their children to the nursery, others carrying washbasins to the laundry room.

When a few of the wives saw Su Tang, they greeted her warmly.

“Doctor Su, off to work?”

The first to speak was Zhang Cui, her voice full of pride.

“My, Sister Su is looking sharp today!”

Su Tang paused and responded with a smile.

Zhang Cui was also heading out. She came over, linked arms with Su Tang, and lowered her voice with a touch of excitement.

“Sister, was everything okay last night? Did Brother Lu… say anything?”

She winked, her face a picture of gossip.

Su Tang’s face flushed slightly as she changed the subject. “What could he say? By the way, ma’am, I wanted to ask you about someone. What kind of person is Director Yuan Danqin from our hospital’s pharmacy?”

She wasn’t familiar with the situation in the Northwest, but ’know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated’. Su Tang decided to get the lay of the land from Zhang Cui first.

Zhang Cui pursed her lips. “Yuan Danqin? Hah. She’s an old-timer. Been in charge of the pharmacy for over ten years and hates anyone messing with her turf.”

“She’s not a bad person at heart, just a bit… old-fashioned? And she likes to take small advantages.”

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Who knows where the pharmacy’s reported losses end up? Everyone knows but no one says anything. You’re new, sister, so don’t get on her bad side.”

Su Tang now had a clearer picture. She nodded. “Thanks for the heads-up, ma’am. I’ll remember that.”

The two of them walked to the street corner and parted ways. Su Tang continued alone toward the division hospital at the other end of the military camp.

The early morning Northwest wind was cool, its briskness refreshing against her face.

She clenched her fists, giving herself a silent pep talk.

’What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like I haven’t done this back in the modern era. Nothing can stop me.’

The pharmacy was in the innermost room on the hospital’s first floor. A unique smell, a mixture of disinfectant and Western medicine powder, washed over her.

’This familiar smell… it’s like coming home.’

Rows of dark brown medicine cabinets lined the walls, their glass doors revealing shelves crammed with brown glass bottles and paper bags of various sizes.

Inside, a woman in her forties wearing a white lab coat was busy at work. She had slightly high cheekbones and lips pressed into a thin, severe line.

She was clacking away on an abacus, checking it against a ledger.

This must be the pharmacy director who loved taking small advantages, Yuan Danqin, the one Zhang Cui had mentioned.

“Good morning, Director Yuan. I’m the new medical intern, Su Tang. I’m here to report for duty.”

Su Tang’s attitude was very respectful, and her smile was gentle, completely devoid of aggression.

Yuan Danqin didn’t even lift her eyelids, just grunted in acknowledgement.

The woman’s fingers continued to fly across the abacus beads, only stopping after a good while.

She slowly raised her eyes, her critical gaze sweeping over Su Tang.

Especially when she saw her overly pretty face, which carried the air of a pampered young lady, an almost imperceptible flash of contempt crossed her eyes.

“Ah, Xiao Su. The hospital director already told me about you.”

Yuan Danqin drew out her words, calling her Xiao Su, and pointed a finger at a pile of dust-covered cardboard boxes in the corner.

“There. First, sort out those expired medicines, register them in the logbook, and get them ready for disposal. Be quick about it. Don’t waste time.”

Her tone was filled with obvious impatience and disdain.

One look at the pile of boxes and it was clear they had been sitting there for a long time. The dust was thick enough to write in.

Su Tang knew in her heart this was a power play, a way to put the “paratrooper” in her place.

It was also a way to sideline her with the most trivial, unskilled work possible.

It wasn’t that Su Tang didn’t have a temper, she just felt that confronting her directly was unnecessary and would only give others a reason to criticize her.

She understood the principle of avoiding a direct confrontation.

She put on a perfect smile, one with a hint of a newcomer’s naivete. “Okay, Director. I’ll get right on it.”

Her tone was meek, without a trace of complaint.

Su Tang rolled up her sleeves, found a rag and a basin of water, and began meticulously cleaning up the pile of junk.

She didn’t complain or try to show off. She simply cleaned the dust with extreme seriousness.

She took out the expired medicines box by box, bottle by bottle, sorted them, and carefully checked the labels and batch numbers.

Then, in a tattered logbook that Yuan Danqin had tossed over, she recorded each item one by one in clear, neat handwriting.

Medicine name, specifications, quantity, production date, expiration date.

Yuan Danqin watched her with a cold eye, initially with the smug satisfaction of someone watching a good show.

But gradually, she discovered that this so-called pampered young lady worked with surprising efficiency.

Her movements were fast but not chaotic, and her record-keeping was almost excessively clear. That beautiful fountain penmanship even made Yuan Danqin feel a little inadequate.

Moreover, Su Tang showed no dissatisfaction or grievance the entire time, remaining as calm as if she were performing a perfectly ordinary part of her job.

Yuan Danqin’s sense of superiority slowly deflated like a punctured balloon, replaced by a strange sense of irritation.

She slammed the ledger shut and got up to go to the storeroom.

Su Tang kept her head down and worked hard, but the corner of her mouth curved in a nearly imperceptible smile.

Yuan Danqin’s so-called power play was, for Su Tang, a perfect opportunity to demonstrate her ability and attitude.

The ones observing her weren’t just Yuan Danqin, but also the hospital director and the heads of various departments, who were likely watching from the shadows.

At noon, Su Tang had a simple meal in the hospital canteen and went back to continue organizing.

Perhaps Yuan Danqin herself felt a bit embarrassed, so she had Su Tang go to the internal medicine outpatient clinic to assist a young physician, Doctor Wang.

Doctor Wang was quite young, with a baby face. He seemed a little nervous, getting flustered whenever there were too many patients.

The clinic was packed with people, a chaotic mix of coughing and children crying.

A peasant woman carrying a child rushed in anxiously. “Doctor! Doctor! Please, look at my baby! He’s burning up, and he’s twitching!”

The child was about two or three years old, his little face flushed red and his breathing rapid.

His body was wracked by intermittent, mild convulsions, and his eyes were unfocused. It was clearly a febrile seizure.

Doctor Wang panicked at the sight, fumbling for a tongue depressor. “Quick! Hold him down, don’t let him bite his tongue! Get a towel!”

He tried to pry open the child’s mouth, but the boy’s jaw was clenched tight, and he was surprisingly strong.

The situation was critical. Su Tang strode forward.

She didn’t try to force the child’s mouth open. Instead, she quickly placed him on his side on the examination bed and unbuttoned his collar to keep his airway clear.

“Quick! Go to the pharmacy and get 10ml of 10% chloral hydrate solution. Dilute it with an equal amount of saline solution and prepare for a retention enema! Also, bring alcohol and warm water for physical cooling!”

Her voice was calm, carrying a doctor’s unique authority, and it instantly stabilized the chaotic scene.

A nurse subconsciously responded and ran off.

“Doctor Wang, don’t panic. Stay calm.”

Su Tang even took a moment to reassure the frightened Doctor Wang.

’Sigh. He’s just too young. He gets scared the moment a patient raises their voice.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep