A Smooth Path in Medicine

Chapter 2 A Headless Fly

Zhang Fan regretted it so much he wanted to slap himself. The job fair was over; he had to rely on himself.

Zhang Fan had never considered the path of postgraduate entrance exams. He was busy every day earning tuition and living expenses, barely passing all his subjects.

Coming from a small town, Zhang Fan's English was terrible. He always managed to pass English exams by passing notes between his roommates.

Plus, his younger sister was already in high school, and the college entrance exam was just around the corner. As her older brother, Zhang Fan had to think about his sister and his aging parents.

He rode his old, unwanted bicycle, searching for work all over the city. Top-tier hospitals were out of the question; without provincial connections, a college graduate like him couldn't even dream of it.

Public hospitals were hopeless too. Although there were entrance exams every year, for an academically weak student without connections, it was probably harder than winning the lottery.

His options were limited: he searched for small hospitals, community clinics, and private hospitals on the outskirts of the city.

Although Lanzhou is in the Northwest, it's still a provincial capital. Zhang Fan spent his days cycling through remote areas searching for a hospital, but he still hadn't found work.

The medical profession has a quasi-regular system: a medical practitioner's license. You can only take the exam a year after graduating from university, and practicing medicine without a license is illegal.

Private hospitals only hire licensed doctors who can immediately generate profits.

A recent college graduate, looking dusty and worn, more like a migrant worker than a doctor, unsurprisingly, was rejected by all.

Zhang Fan had no choice. To save every penny, he cycled all over the place, his appearance becoming somewhat less than ideal. The changing society left him feeling lost.

He left his dormitory before dawn and returned after dark every day. A week passed, and there was still no hope.

He couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and Zhang Fan, who wasn't fat to begin with, visibly developed prominent cheekbones.

Of the six people in the dorm, two had secured postgraduate admissions and had already gone on trips. The rest had either gone to meet friends or gone home. Zhang Fan was left alone.

Lying in bed that night, Zhang Fan thought about how he resented his school. "Why did NTN have to expand its enrollment? If you hadn't expanded enrollment back then, I wouldn't have been able to go to medical school. I could have worked for a few years and maybe even made a fortune."

Helpless, Zhang Fan was starting to complain. He could say he was unlucky, but some good things had happened to him.

Universities had expanded enrollment to attract more high-achieving students, and employment rate was the gold standard. If graduates were all unemployed, who would want to attend your school? So schools went to great lengths to find jobs for their students, regardless of the quality, as long as they got a job, that was considered employment.

2008 was a year of great joy and sorrow for China. First, there was the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, then the world-renowned Olympics.

A major event also occurred at the medical school in Gansu Province. In response to the national call, the province's only key university merged with its medical school, transforming a third-tier university into a 211 university.

In the first year after the merger, the university put considerable effort into improving the employment rate of the medical school. They couldn't let a third-tier university tarnish its 211 reputation, so they established a "University Graduates Supporting Western China" program.

Gansu Province is in the Northwest, but China has vast western regions. Being a 211 university, contacting county-level hospitals in remote areas shouldn't be a problem, instantly providing employment opportunities for hundreds of graduates.

Of course, Zhang Fan was among these hundreds. His class advisor gave him the employment agreement and the 2,000 yuan reward from the university for supporting western China.

Zhang Fan was completely bewildered. "They've just thrown me right at the border!" he thought.

The homeroom teacher had said that Zhang Fan didn't have to go, but this was his last chance; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to register for the medical licensing exam. It was a bit far, but the salary was high, and the school even provided a subsidy!

The teacher, with a mix of encouragement and scare tactics, got Zhang Fan to sign the papers. This was a serious assignment, and the first time the teacher had ever been so attentive to Zhang Fan.

Reluctantly, Zhang Fan had to go to the border region. He couldn't let his younger sister, who was a good student, suffer.

It was far, but at least he'd be a government employee from now on, a doctor!

With a job secured, Zhang Fan packed his bags and went home.

Zhang Fan's home wasn't far from the provincial capital, only a small county town about 100 kilometers away. But there was no highway, only a bumpy provincial road; the bus ride took about three hours, stopping and starting frequently, to get home.

After starting university, Zhang Fan was busy working and going home. Zhang Fan's parents were also helpless about his job. If he didn't go to the border region, he wouldn't have anywhere to work, but going there was too far—over 2,000 kilometers, almost reaching the neighboring country of Stan.

The agreement had already been signed. Zhang Fan had come to terms with it; after all, it was still Chinese territory, and he'd heard the place had beautiful scenery, known as the "Little Jiangnan of the Border Region." But deep down, he felt it was a bit of a loss.

He'd worked himself to the bone to get into a near-second-tier city, only to be assigned to a fifth-tier city in the border region right after graduation. If we were talking about investment, this was definitely a failed investment.

In the few days before leaving, Zhang Fan and his father went back to their hometown to pay respects at their ancestors' graves, helped with chores for a few days, and gave his younger sister 1,000 yuan.

Seeing the girl's teary eyes, Zhang Fan pinched his cheek. "Little crybaby, what's there to cry about? I'm going to work to earn money, not to go to war. You must focus on your studies and get into Tsinghua University. Don't end up like me, going to a third-tier university and not finding a good job."

"Then when are you coming back to see me and Mom and Dad? It's so far away, I don't want you to go," Zhang Jingshu asked, her voice trembling with tears, still clinging to her brother's arm like when she was little, asking with dependence.

"Oh, my silly girl, once I start working, I'll make tons of money. I can fly back and forth, I'll be back in two hours. Don't cry, I'm leaving now. You have to listen to Mom and Dad, don't let it interfere with your studies."

"I'm not silly, brother, I don't want the money, you're going so far away!"

"Take what I give you. You're all grown up now, be generous when you want to buy something, don't be so stingy. Don't you know your brother? Do you think I'm short of money? Okay, hurry up and put it in your pocket, or I'll get angry."

The train clattered westward with Zhang Fan.

In the western wilderness, without temperature, you can't tell winter from summer by sight. The vast Gobi Desert has no green at all; summer brings rain, winter brings snow, just one color—earthy yellow. Sitting there, Zhang Fan's buttocks were numb, and he had no interest in playing cards. His blank mind was filled with a mix of confusion and anticipation for the future. Slowly, the train went further and further away.

The train could only take Zhang Fan to the capital of the frontier. Zhang Fan was going to work in Quark County, which was not accessible by train and was over 600 kilometers from the border capital. He would have to take a sleeper bus overnight to get there.

(End of Chapter)