Chapter 290: Besieged City (Requesting Subscription)

Fang Ziye returned to his hometown early, but on this trip home, he went back on his word once again.

Fang Ziye was unable to bring Luo Tingzhu back to his hometown.

It was not that Luo Tingzhu was unwilling, but at this time when Fang Ziye had free time, Teacher Deng had assigned her to another task group, and she is currently working hard on the bid for the key project of the upcoming National Natural Science Foundation of China application.

Although they might not receive the honor of Outstanding Youth, Deng Yong still had the ambition to strive upward.

The research funding support for key projects is several times or even ten times that of general projects.

The difficulty of application is very high, but once approved, whether for the project group, the hospital, or the university it is affiliated with, it is an honor, and such an honor is second only to the honorary title of Distinguished Youth.

Luo Tingzhu is still just a girlfriend; not being able to bring a girlfriend home does not mean Fang Ziye cannot go home.

Naturally, although Fang Ziye had gone back on his word many times, and even though he was in the country during the New Year without being on duty, he still did not go home for the New Year.

When Fang Ziye returned to his hometown again, his parents did not blame him.

It could be said so.

A thousand-mile raid in half a day, one day of chickens, ducks, and seedlings ruined!

Several jin of pure beef and mutton, cured meat and bee pupae from last year.

Three pieces of braised meat not enough to fill one's stomach, definitely not cut by one's own mother!

Before the first lunar month ends, it is still the New Year.

This year, the Fang family's date to resume work and the date to visit relatives were both later than usual, and the duration of visiting relatives was even greater than before...

Starting from the fifth day of the first lunar month, Fang Ziye first went from his uncles' homes to his maternal uncles' homes, and then to his great aunts and great uncles...

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, Fang Ziye did not know how much money his father and mother spent on Spring Festival gifts; he only knew that the old couple neither closed their doors for business nor felt heartache over money, and they were happy all day.

Moreover, during this process, Fang Ziye only received verbal praise and would no longer receive lucky money as he did when he was a child.

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, Fang Ziye finally settled down in the living room on the second floor of the self-built house, with his legs crossed, asking: "Dad, Mom, no one is visiting today, right? Can I lie down at home for a while?"

"We're not visiting anyone today, but there is a wedding feast at your grandaunt's family..." Dad arranged a task for Fang Ziye.

Grandaunt refers to the sisters of one's grandfather, who are called grandaunts after marrying out.

The one getting married this time is the granddaughter of the grandaunt's family; it is said to be a remarriage, but her first marriage did not receive her parents' recognition and blessing, so no wedding ceremony or banquet was held.

Now, after the divorce, the second-marriage son-in-law's family is very satisfied, so even though that sister is older, the family is still willing to marry her off grandly.

"Do I have to go?" Fang Ziye asked Old Fang.

"You should go; if you don't go now, I estimate you won't recognize many people from your hometown in the future." Old Fang explained his reasoning.

Fang Ziye sighed: "I don't know many people now anyway..."

The family left the hometown early; now, besides the few uncles from his grandfather's own brothers, Fang Ziye has no impression at all of the uncles from the branches separated from his grandfather.

"You still need to go and get to know them." Old Fang smiled and generously handed Fang Ziye five hundred yuan.

The person getting married this time is Old Fang's cousin's son.

The son of Fang Ziye's grandaunt's family and Fang Ziye's father are proper cousins.

But after all, they are of the next generation, so the exchange of favors is not very large, only five hundred.

"Fine, I'll go and come back after signing the guest book."

"Nowadays, for wedding feasts, people may not come, but as long as the money arrives, it's fine, right?" Fang Ziye pretended not to see through and not to speak out.

"You dare; you probably won't be able to come back until around three in the afternoon."

"If you don't know the people, you might stand there for several more hours." Old Fang advised.

Fang Ziye was instantly speechless: "Dad, you and Mom are just the same, both love showing off; I originally thought you would be better."

"What's wrong?"

"I raised a son who got a PhD, am I breaking the law?"

"I let my son go out to a wedding feast, am I just showing off?"

"Can't you allow me to be busy?" Old Fang stretched his neck, laughing like a Maitreya.

In the town of Fang Ziye's hometown, he may not be the first PhD, but he is probably the first PhD whose bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees are all from 211 universities or above.

Just this point is enough to make his parents proud.

Fang Ziye could only go.

Once he went, he would surely meet his grandparents, uncles, and so on again...

After Fang Ziye was conscripted, he decisively sold out his old father, and then his old father was also conscripted by his old father, who called specially to tell him he must also come to the wedding feast...

On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month.

Even if his parents were reluctant, Fang Ziye still had to take the bus from the town to the county seat, and then from the county seat rush to the high-speed rail station to take the high-speed rail to Han City.

Naturally, before departing, Fang Ziye took another two thousand yuan from his parents as living expenses.

During Fang Ziye's time abroad, although he received full funding, this funding was not particularly abundant, and Fang Ziye's own savings were not much.

Moreover, this year Fang Ziye had to graduate again; upon graduation, the social exchanges and treating guests to see off would require more than the twenty or thirty thousand yuan currently in his pocket.

And living expenses for the next half year are still needed.

No matter what, Fang Ziye estimated that only after he officially graduates and finds employment would he be able to stop asking his family for money, and even support his elderly parents.

"Go back, Dad." Fang Ziye sat on the green bus from the town to the county seat, and said to the middle-aged man outside the window, about ten meters away from the large bus.

His head was very small, his shoulders were not very broad, and he was very short.

But it was this body that supported his own family, raising him from an infant into a medical PhD student who now had some achievements.

He smiled and nodded, but did not move his steps. He just looked at Fang Ziye without speaking.

Actually, his father was not good with words.

It remained like this until the bus completely disappeared from his field of vision, then he turned and left, saying nothing, and not greeting anyone else.

The bus wound here and there, and Fang Ziye's mood rose and fell with the turns.

In the moments just now, Fang Ziye kept thinking, why not just go back to his hometown and lie flat now.

This isn't Fang Ziye being arrogant; with his current education, if he wanted to go back to his hometown, whether it was a hospital in Enshi or a hospital in Ba County, basically any position Fang Ziye could pick at will.

Except for administrative posts.

Naturally, he would definitely never become hugely wealthy or achieve any major professional or academic accomplishments in his lifetime.

The only achievement he could attain, the one many people cannot get, was to become a grandson, circle his parents' knees, achieve true care for them in old age and see them off, accompany them to the end of their days...

And work wouldn't have that much pressure either; he would even have a certain amount of free time to manage his own children and run his own family.

Of course, if he did that, Fang Ziye would have to narrow his dream.

Because the entire atmosphere of Enshi definitely couldn't accommodate the cognition and knowledge Fang Ziye brought back, and Ba County didn't have a single one either — the human-relations landscape Fang Ziye was very familiar with.

When the time came, Fang Ziye would either be assimilated into a local, or isolated into a book-fool in others' eyes, a "tech nerd" who doesn't understand human relations...

Such thoughts, after flashing past, Fang Ziye's gaze ultimately still turned toward the front and the distance.

Sitting on the bus, Fang Ziye was still thinking about some things.

These things concerned Zhongnan Hospital.

People like Qin Geluo, Li Nuo, Jin Hongzhou, who had already become staff of this hospital, naturally felt the Chief Resident position was a big fool's errand, something they never wanted to repeat in this lifetime.

But actually, another layer of meaning of the Chief Resident position is: successful hospital retention.

Speaking purely of Trauma Surgery, last year's Senior Brother Sun Shaoqing, the previous year's Doctor Lin Xuanlei Senior Brother, and the year before that's Senior Brother Peng.

Or say, from the same year as Sun Shaoqing, Professor Han Yuanxiao's Senior Brother Liu Zhengjun.

In their dreams, they all wanted to become that big fool's position, at least before their graduation, before the formal dream shattered, they couldn't stay at the hospital, and could only go to the coastal areas or other hospitals in Han City or prefecture-level city hospitals to job hunt.

In their hearts they must have been thinking, if they could be allowed to stay at the hospital, whatever Chief Resident, whatever big fool.

Suffering others couldn't endure, they could all endure.

Perhaps, before Li Nuo, Qin Geluo and the others failed to stay at the hospital, they thought the same way too.

Only now, their mindsets have changed.

As for this year's cohort, the news Fang Ziye has currently gathered indicates at least three or four people who might hate Fang Ziye to the bone.

This cohort of Trauma Surgery has four graduating doctoral students.

They are respectively Professor Deng Yong's professional doctorate students Wang Yuanqi and Gu Yi, and academic master's student Dong Wenqiang.

The other few are from Professor Dong Yaohui's group, Fan Yantong.

Originally, because last year's Trauma Surgery — that is, Sun Shaoqing, Dai Yinsheng, Liu Zhengjun's cohort — didn't retain anyone, this year's Trauma Surgery has a very high probability of having one retention quota, five people can go strive for it.

But right at this time, this evil star Fang Ziye suddenly burst out; he who should have graduated two years later changed to graduating two years early, engaging in a life-and-death struggle with them in the same year.

Becoming a rival they had never considered, and the most helpless rival at that.

Fang Ziye heard people say, the following words were the exact words of Senior Brother Wang Yuanqi, who had the best relationship with Fang Ziye —

You tell me, is Fang Ziye annoying or not?

He clearly, no matter which year he graduated, could stay at the hospital, and could secure very good talent introduction funds, yet he insisted on applying for graduation in his first year of doctoral study.

By doing so, he occupies the Trauma Surgery's own resources, causing the Trauma Surgery's retention number to be innately one less.

If Fang Ziye graduated next year and then stayed, that would actually be the most suitable. But Fang Ziye just insists on not choosing that, don't know what he's thinking in his head, don't know why Master would agree to such a waste of resources.

After Fang Ziye very carefully examined Senior Brother Wang Yuanqi's words, he also felt that in a certain sense, he was indeed a bit excessive.

But job hunting originally has no notion of yielding or not yielding; everyone relies on their own ability.

No one owes anyone.

Fang Ziye didn't use Wang Yuanqi's money, didn't eat the Wang family's rice, wasn't raised by the other Senior Brothers either; Fang Ziye's graduation didn't rely on a few fellow disciples; Fang Ziye's current many achievements mostly came from breaking out of the small master's school.

Then, why should Fang Ziye give way to you? Why should he be the optimal choice?

Everyone's so-called optimal choice actually all stand from their own angle.

For Fang Ziye, graduating one year early means he can promote one year early, can raise his professional title earlier, and earlier develop his capabilities, which is good for patients and for himself.

Similarly, after Fang Ziye thought about this matter, he considered another matter.

This matter relates to his Master Yuan Weihong.

The former Yuan Weihong, when writing National Natural Science Foundation grant proposals, only aimed for approval.

But now, Yuan Weihong's bidding purpose is no longer the same.

He not only wants approval, but also wants to advance toward major project items; even recently, because he got the Outstanding Youth Fund hat, he talks about big projects, big topics, long-term development, writing major papers.

Small projects, small trends, small hats, don't go mess with them, must be able to hold one's breath...

Yuan Weihong even occasionally says he must be ready at any time, in case Professor Deng Yong retires internally or leaves for elsewhere, he can prop things up at the first moment with multi-faceted preparation.

Fang Ziye once asked his Master Yuan Weihong, "Master, have you considered job-hopping?"

Yuan Weihong's answer was negative; he said, even if he were to job-hop, he would at least have to restore Professor Chu Lao's glory first, then leave in style with everything, not like his two Senior Brothers, sneaking away with tails between legs.

This is perhaps a kind of obsession deep in Yuan Weihong's heart.

Of course, Fang Ziye considering these, the main purpose isn't to judge the pros and cons of Yuan Weihong's choices, but from his own angle, to think: if he were Yuan Weihong, how would he choose?

Fang Ziye's thinking is the same.

I can leave on my own, but absolutely cannot be forced out.

On a narrow path, the brave wins.

On a narrow path, it's just a matter of who presses harder, right?

Time slowly passed; as the EMU train advanced, Fang Ziye step by step slowly crossed nearly a thousand li of distance, rushing to Han City, preparing to take one step into a position some think is a bitter sea's big fool spot.

Also preparing to cross into what many think is heaven, a dreamland within a besieged city.

Also preparing to enter what some think is hell, a place filled with medical disputes and all kinds of dangerous medical industry —

Better to switch careers early and become a money-making professional player.

Fang Ziye only knows this will be the position and time period facing his greatest tempering; in this time period, his growth speed, knowledge point acquisition rate, will reach a new climax...

(Chapter End)