Chapter 56: Senior Sister

Jia Suyue and Zhang Fan walked one behind the other, separated by a shoulder's width. Walking along the path, Zhang Fan was well aware that a woman like this was currently out of his league. After all, marrying meant having a provider to afford food and clothing. If you could not even sustain someone else's standard of living, on what grounds could you pursue her? Would pursuing her be solely to elevate your own standard of living?

"Do you doctors all have germophobia?" The girl's tone was less than pleasant. She was also feeling helpless; she had wanted to go home long ago, but if she went back now, her mother would nag her to death. Yet this doctor was a total mute—you say nothing, and he says nothing in return.

Zhang Fan felt quite gloomy. He wished he could just hurry back and be done with it, but he could not leave first. Hearing her question, he replied, "More or less." And that was the end of it.

"Are you guys busy at work?" This time her tone softened slightly. She could see that this man was not a clingy pest, nor was he the type to put on a sweet face and chase after her family background. A large part of her irritation vanished.

Zhang Fan said, "Quite busy."

"Do you always talk this little?" Jia Suyue turned her head to look at Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan felt a bit awkward. He raised his head for a second, then lowered it and said, "It's alright."

"Ha. You're so funny." Jia Suyue realized that Zhang Fan was blushing. After strolling together for over half an hour, they parted ways, and Zhang Fan felt as relieved as if a heavy burden had been lifted. When Jia Suyue arrived home, her mother had already been waiting on the sofa for a long time. Seeing her daughter return, she eagerly asked, "How was it? How did it go? The young man seems like a good person. Miao Juan said he's a backbone physician at the hospital, has a very bright future, and is also quite steady."

"We'll see. Are you really in such a hurry to marry me off?! I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to rest for a bit." With that, she walked into her bedroom. Her mother chased after her, saying, "Let me tell you, don't go bringing home some pretty boy, because I certainly won't approve!"

Zhang Fan finished his rotation in the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, and the Medical Affairs Office assigned him to the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery. The Thyroid and Breast Surgery department was the only one in the hospital with female surgeons. It rarely had emergency cases, the surgeries were relatively short, and female patients made up the vast majority. The department had one director, two associate chief physicians, three attending physicians, and resident doctors were routinely sent there to rotate.

The director was a woman in her fifties, quite famous in the field of thyroid and breast surgery in the frontier region. Among the two associate chief physicians, one was male and the other female, while the three attending physicians consisted of two women and one man. The male doctors in the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery lived rather miserably; combined with the nurses, the department was almost entirely a woman's world. Whenever a male doctor raised his voice even slightly, he would be universally condemned by all the women in the department. Zhang Fan and Wang Zipeng went to the department together, and the moment Wang Zipeng saw he was rotating with Zhang Fan, he even considered applying for internal medicine instead.

Director Li Qiuhua arranged for Zhang Fan to shadow Su Jing, a female attending physician in her thirties. Wang Zipeng was assigned to follow Zhou Guohua, a male attending physician. After the morning meeting, Su Jing led Zhang Fan on ward rounds. Almost all of her patients were breast-related cases. Leaving the ward, Su Jing asked Zhang Fan, "I heard you're also an alumnus of Su Da?"

Zhang Fan looked surprised and replied, "Yes, are you as well?" Su Jing smiled charmingly and said, "I am too. I'm five years ahead of you; I'm your senior sister. You're amazing, actually scoring over five hundred on the exams—everyone was completely astonished. I was so happy when I found out, too. I've been busy and kept meaning to find a time to invite you out for a meal, and then you ended up in our department. I'll treat you to dinner after work."

"Really? Oh! I've finally run into one of my own. I thought I was the only person from Su Da in this entire hospital. Did Senior Sister also come to support the western frontier?"

"No, my family is right here; I came right back after graduation. I heard from the surgical staff that your surgical skills are exceptionally impressive, Junior Brother. You've really brought honor to our school."

"Hehe, Senior Sister is making me blush." Meeting an alumna thousands of miles away made both Zhang Fan and Su Jing genuinely happy. The Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery was somewhat more leisurely compared to other departments, but getting into it without connections was simply out of the question; the department in every hospital was a haven for people with influential ties.

Su Jing was very warm toward Zhang Fan and took him out to lunch at noon. During the meal, Su Jing asked, "Which department are you planning to enter?" Zhang Fan thought about it while eating and replied, "I haven't decided yet, but the probability of Orthopedics is highest, because when I took the civil service exams for recruitment, I entered through Orthopedics."

Su Jing said in astonishment, "Really? Was that position custom-tailored for you back then? Junior Brother, you're truly extraordinary." Zhang Fan smiled and said, "Not really. At the time, nobody at the county hospital wanted to go for advanced training, so they just sent me."

"That's still impressive. Getting Orthopedics to specifically tailor a slot for you is quite a feat." The two of them chatted as they ate.

In the afternoon, there was a breast cyst surgery. Zhang Fan washed his hands and put on disinfectant. Breast cysts carried a risk of turning malignant; though very small, it was best to remove them once discovered, and larger breasts were more prone to developing cysts. The surgery was very simple: make a small incision, remove the cyst, clear out the lining, and it was done. Su Jing also wanted to test Zhang Fan's skill, so she let him act as the primary surgeon. It was a straightforward operation, and in less than ten minutes, Zhang Fan had excised the cyst and completed the suturing. Zhang Fan sutured exceptionally well, leaving an incision that was barely visible.

Su Jing said in amazement, "Zhang Fan, your skills are truly formidable. Even I couldn't sew an incision like this. Your hands are so deft; this practically counts as cosmetic suturing—we should charge an extra surgical fee!" She laughed at her own remark.

The department had plenty of surgeries, and since Zhang Fan performed very well, Su Jing handed all of her patients' procedures over to him. During lunch, Zhang Fan ran into Li辉 (Li Hui), who flashed a wicked smile and asked, "Little virgin, cutting open lumps all day—how does it feel?"

"Get lost. You left me hanging for half the night; you really weren't playing fair." Zhang Fan was referring to the night the exam scores were released.

"Hehe, I saved the thrill of opening the treasure chest for you. Aren't you going to thank me? Weren't you thrilled the moment you opened it yourself?"

"Yeah." Zhang Fan was indeed thrilled.

"Going home for the New Year?" Li Hui's home was also in Su Province.

"I want to, but I couldn't get a ticket. Are you going home?"

"Sigh! We came together last year, but this year I'm going back alone."

"Who's to blame? You only have yourself to blame for not cherishing it," Zhang Fan said.

Ever since he began practicing medicine, Zhang Fan had rarely written many medical records, but once he arrived at the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, that changed. His mentor was his senior sister, so the two spoke freely. Su Jing told Zhang Fan, "Since you've entered the medical profession, you have to manage patients. We'll split the hospital beds evenly between us. You will independently manage your patients, and a portion of the commission will go to you as well." Su Jing was sincerely mentoring Zhang Fan, hoping to help him grow rapidly.

For a novice doctor, independently managing beds was the fastest way to improve. "Thank you, Senior Sister. You can keep the commission; just letting me manage the beds is already great."

"Don't worry about it, this is what you deserve. Your income isn't high right now; once your license arrives and you complete your registration, it will be fine. Many people will be seeking you out then." She winked as she finished speaking. Managing patients in the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery was quite simple. Generally, it involved making preparations before surgery, changing medications afterward, and prescribing blood-activating and stasis-dissolving agents. Chemotherapy patients were slightly more troublesome, requiring careful monitoring of lab values such as white blood cell counts.