Chapter 27: On Resentment (Seeking Collections, Seeking Follows)

Li Yuanpei and Fang Ziye hesitated for a few seconds, then accepted without ceremony, though Li Yuanpei felt the beauty before him looked somewhat unfamiliar, yet he knew she must be a new eight-year program doctoral student the teacher had taken in: "Should I call you Junior Sister Luo or Senior Sister Luo?"

"Senior Brother Li, Senior Brother Fang, you both enrolled earlier than me." Luo Tingzhu withdrew a duck claw and put it back into her snack pack.

"Thanks, Junior Sister Luo." Fang Ziye waved the snack in his hand, looking somewhat dazed.

Luo Tingzhu joked upon hearing this: "Actually, counting it up, I'll be in the same graduating class as both senior brothers, so you'll have to go easy on me then."

Luo Tingzhu's tone carried a hint of sly playfulness.

But everyone knew this was a joke.

Luo Tingzhu is in the eight-year program, currently in her fifth academic year, with three years until doctoral graduation; when the time comes to stay at the hospital and find a job, if I go easy on you, what will become of me?

Naturally, neither Li Yuanpei nor Fang Ziye took such a joke seriously; Fang Ziye even told Li Yuanpei: "Brother Pei, you must absolutely not be fooled by Junior Sister Luo's appearance — right now in the training room, besides Senior Brother Sun and Senior Brother Dai who can be said to steadily suppress her, the rest of us can only admire from afar."

"We can only watch their backs."

Dai Yinsheng and Sun Shaoqing are both third-year professional doctorate students, steady and solid, having climbed up from the five-year program through six years of clinical immersion and long years in the training room. Yet even so, Liu Zhengjun, also a third-year doctoral senior brother, might not necessarily dare claim he can definitely outperform Luo Tingzhu.

One can see just how exceptional Luo Tingzhu's talent is.

"Then we're done for; we might as well go job hunting early." Li Yuanpei shrugged.

But Luo Tingzhu shook her head vigorously: "Senior Brother Li, that's being a bit too modest; you're not unaware of the predicament we eight-year program students face."

"Although eight years gets you bachelor's, master's, and doctorate in one go, the three missing years happen to be exactly the time stripped away from our research output."

"No time to enter the lab at all; clinical work is just a cursory glance; every academic year carries heavy coursework, making it impossible to do any good research."

"The papers I've published are all reviews, still not meeting doctoral graduation requirements. And to enter a lab? Some basics aren't enough."

"Even after graduation, it's still an academic PhD, and standardized training is still required."

"Every 'one-step' advantage eventually has to be paid back." Luo Tingzhu finished with a bitter smile, thought a moment, then pulled two small breads from her canvas bag and asked Fang Ziye and Li Yuanpei if they wanted any.

Both shook their heads this time.

"Junior Sister Luo, hearing you put it that way, the eight-year program seems to be at a disadvantage?" Li Yuanpei invited Luo Tingzhu to sit beside Fang Ziye's operating station while asking in a low voice.

"Can't say it's a disadvantage; graduating earlier means earning a salary earlier. Second, we have more time to enter a postdoctoral mobile station early, buffer the job-hunting period, and accumulate some research basic skills."

"After all, at Zhongnan Hospital, you must prepare every step well before you can endure; otherwise, even if you secure a National Natural Science Foundation Youth Fund or General Project, if you can't even complete the project, what use is it?"

Luo Tingzhu sighed again: "So I can only practice operations first, then start from scratch on the research side."

"I estimate my job-hunting time will be staggered from both senior brothers'."

Luo Tingzhu's words were very real; the eight-year program indeed faces such a predicament.

On one hand, thicker books than the five-year program; on the other, within eight years one must meet doctoral graduation standards; on yet another, face job-hunting pressure early.

And during the doctorate, when others' research output exceeds yours, you hold no great advantage; you absolutely must enter a postdoctoral mobile station and honestly do research for a period.

"Why did Junior Sister Luo think of coming to Trauma Surgery? I recall you eight-year program students can freely choose specialties?" Fang Ziye asked.

The Trauma Surgery subspecialty is not a good department.

Within Orthopedics, both Sports Medicine and Joint Surgery are more effortless and less exhausting than Trauma Surgery.

"Because Trauma Surgery is relatively easiest to find a job in?"

"Joint Surgery belongs to the Orthopedic Aristocrat departments; to stay at the hospital, the retention standards and research output are at least half higher than Trauma Surgery."

"Sports Medicine papers are hard to produce; unless you specialize in Sports Medicine and research Bone Tumors, research and specialty are completely separate." Luo Tingzhu answered very realistically.

Indeed, among Orthopedics' subspecialties, Joint Surgery is the relatively highest-earning, talent-packed, cutthroat to the point of cramping; anyone even remotely connected to Orthopedics wants to go to Joint Surgery.

The few chatted for a while longer.

Fang Ziye truly had to go to the department, so he stood up and took his leave first.

Luo Tingzhu continued probing Li Yuanpei about precautions for Trauma Surgery master's and doctoral students, and what could be done.

Walking out of the training room, Fang Ziye froze for a moment, as if seeing a lofty white swan suddenly tainted by mortal dust, an unapproachable ice-queen academic genius who actually wasn't as high-and-mighty as he'd imagined.

But this genuine side instead made Fang Ziye feel this new Trauma Surgery doctoral junior sister was even more real.

Top-tier teaching hospitals lack talent most, but not ordinary talent.

Everyone faces corresponding pressure.

But life has few shortcuts; studying is the only one, the fastest shortcut.

Until the next day.

When Li Yuanpei finished group training and returned to the department, Fang Ziye learned that yesterday's Luo Tingzhu had inquired of them because she wanted to enter the lab for basic experiments.

Otherwise, with her current paper direction and quality, she basically has no thesis-type papers, mostly tool-based analytical articles, which would absolutely hold no advantage in future job hunting.

Fang Ziye sighed: "Brother Pei, I told you, right? In front of a true academic genius, what are we?"

"Junior Sister Luo already has four SCIs, surpassing our master's-stage benchmark for the First Training Room with ease, yet remains far-sighted and still crazily competing."

"Sigh, truly people compared to people make you want to die, goods compared to goods make you want to throw them away."

"What else?" Li Yuanpei looked at Fang Ziye, his eyes holding a touch of envy, yet limited.

"Anyway, Brother Ye, you've achieved transcendence in the short term, at least no longer needing to worry too much about study opportunities. My side hasn't even a clue yet."

"Also don't know what kind of talent that guy really is."

"If he's at a level similar to Junior Sister Luo, I might as well wash up and sleep early."

"Right, Brother Ye. Are you applying for Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Fudan University doctoral assessments?" Li Yuanpei asked.

"Is registration starting already? I thought it was mid-October?" Fang Ziye was startled, hurriedly checking his memo.

Before getting a definite answer from Teacher Deng about staying at this hospital for a doctorate, every opportunity must not be wasted; an all-or-nothing gamble disregarding consequences is not what a mature adult should do.

"Not yet, just asking casually." Li Yuanpei's gaze turned faintly resentful at this.

(Chapter End)