This miracle doctor just wants to be fired!

The skewers were served, sizzling with oil and emitting a fragrant aroma that filled the air.

Zhou Cheng took a bite of the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside roasted chicken wing, looked at Fang Hang across from him who was peeling peanuts with his head down, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally couldn't help but speak.

"Senior, there's a question I've been holding back for a long time, but I've been too embarrassed to ask you."

Fang Hang looked up, smiled, and said, "Junior brother, what's up?"

"You graduated with a proper doctorate, right?" Zhou Cheng continued, "Although academic qualifications are devalued these days, a doctorate is still highly sought after in the medical field, especially in clinical fields."

"With your qualifications, you should be able to work at a much larger hospital, so why are you in the emergency department of our city's People's Hospital?"

"Moreover, although our hospital is doing well locally, there is still a significant gap compared to the top-tier hospitals in big cities."

As soon as he said that, Fang Hang's smile vanished instantly.

He picked up the Coke on the table, took a swig, and his eyes held a complex mix of emotions. After a while, he shook his head with a wry smile.

"Junior brother, you've hit the nail on the head. It's a long story, and it's all tears."

"I studied basic medical sciences for my undergraduate and master's degrees, and then switched to clinical medicine for my doctorate. But actually, I spent more time doing research than clinical work."

"When I graduated, my advisor wanted me to stay in the lab to continue doing research or become a teacher at a university, but by then I was already fed up with the days of facing test tubes and data all day long."

"Scientific research is so tiring!"

Fang Hang sighed.

"Spending every day in the lab, often staying up until the early hours of the morning, revising a paper dozens of times, and having to watch the reviewers' moods before submitting it. Sometimes, after working for half a year, the experimental data was not ideal, and everything had to be started over. At that time, I thought, rather than wasting my time in the lab, I might as well become a clinician who can actually save patients, at least I can see my own value."

Zhou Cheng nodded; he understood that feeling.

During his master's studies, he also worked on some research projects with his professors. The endless waiting and repetition were indeed very grueling.

“My family is from this area, and my parents are getting old. They also want me to come back to work here,” Fang Hang continued. “So I didn’t consider hospitals outside the city and only applied to a few hospitals in our city. The Municipal People’s Hospital was particularly proactive at the time. Director Wang Jianming personally talked to me several times, saying that as long as I came to the emergency department, I could name any terms I wanted.”

"Just name anything?" Zhou Cheng was somewhat surprised. "What conditions did Director Wang offer you?"

Fang Hang gave a wry smile: "They made it sound so nice back then. They said they would train me to be the head of the emergency department, let me get familiar with clinical practice first, and even promised to help me apply for research start-up funds to support my clinical research. They even said they would give me preferential treatment when I was evaluated for professional titles. At that time, I thought that I could go back to my hometown and have such a good development opportunity, so I agreed."

"And then?" Zhou Cheng pressed.

"But when I arrived, I found out that it wasn't like that at all." Fang Hang's tone was tinged with helplessness. "Not only was there a six-month probationary period, but the research start-up funding was nowhere to be found. I brought it up several times, but Director Wang always made excuses about the hospital's tight budget."

He paused, picked up a skewer of grilled lamb, but didn't eat it; he just stared at the meat on it.

"What's even more annoying is that Director Wang always makes me write papers, saying that the emergency department needs research results to make it look good, and that I should pick up the research ideas I used before and write a few high-quality papers."

Zhou Cheng then understood why Fang Hang had so little clinical experience.

It turns out he originally came from a research background and came to the emergency department hoping to switch to clinical work, but Director Wang just made empty promises.

Not only did they not learn clinical skills, they also had to deal with research tasks.

"Senior, haven't you talked to Director Wang?" Zhou Cheng asked.

"I've talked to him, but he always dodges the question, either saying to wait a bit longer or that young people need to put in more effort." Fang Hang sighed, "I don't know what to do now, I can only wait and see if there are any other opportunities."

Zhou Cheng fell silent.

He didn't expect Fang Hang to have such an experience. Although a doctoral degree seems glamorous, everyone has their own difficulties at work.

Fang Hang probably still doesn't want to be too far from home.

Zhou Cheng picked up his Coke bottle and clinked it against Fang Hang's: "Senior, don't be discouraged. You have such a good foundation. As long as you get more clinical experience, you'll definitely be able to get the hang of it quickly. If you encounter any clinical problems in the future, we can discuss them together."

Fang Hang looked at Zhou Cheng, smiled, and nodded: "Thank you, junior brother."

Zhou Cheng smiled and said, "Come on, have some skewers, they'll get cold if you don't eat them now."

The two started eating and chatting again, shifting their conversation from work to life, from funny stories from their school days to their plans for the future, and the atmosphere became even more harmonious than before.

Before we knew it, we had eaten most of the skewers on the table.

……

Just as Zhou Cheng took the last bite of the meat skewer, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

He put down his chopsticks and looked at Fang Hang: "Senior, something suddenly occurred to me. Director Wang recruited you in this way, so when your probation period ends, the emergency department will definitely assume you'll stay, right?"

Fang Hang was taken aback for a moment, then nodded: "Logically speaking, that's how it is. After all, Director Wang made a lot of promises back then. It wouldn't make sense if he didn't keep me after the probation period."

"What about Zhao Rui?" Zhou Cheng pressed. "Everyone's heard that Zhao Rui has connections, apparently he knows the hospital's vice president. The emergency department is only keeping one new employee; they can't possibly fire him too, can they?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Hang's expression became somewhat puzzled.

He put down the skewers in his hand, frowned, and thought for a moment: "I don't really know much about Zhao Rui. I only know that he doesn't usually take the initiative to deal with patients, and he always tries to avoid problems. Logically speaking, with this kind of performance, it would be difficult for him to stay after the probation period. But if there are connections, then it's hard to say."

There's nothing we can do; this is the current situation.

Zhou Cheng nodded thoughtfully; he didn't actually care about whether he stayed or left.

After all, with the system in place, being fired actually earns you a reward.

But he was curious about how the hospital would choose when "relationships" and "abilities" clashed.

Just thinking about it makes me so excited!

In short, no matter who stays, it won't be him!

Seeing Zhou Cheng deep in thought, Fang Hang assumed he was worried about his future, so he patted him on the shoulder: "Junior brother, don't overthink it. Your clinical skills are so strong. Today, you handled the patient with cardiac tamponade and the old man with abdominal pain better than I did. Even if our hospital doesn't keep you, other hospitals will be fighting over you!"

Zhou Cheng looked up at Fang Hang's serious expression and couldn't help but smile: "Senior brother, I'm not worried about that."

"It's good that you weren't worried." Fang Hang breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Actually, city-level hospitals like ours value clinical skills in their recruitment. Doctors like you who can handle things in a crisis are in high demand everywhere. Gold shines wherever it is."

Zhou Cheng smiled and said, "Thank you, senior brother. I appreciate your kind words. But I think you will definitely become a great clinician in the future."

"Thank you for your kind words!" Fang Hang smiled as well.

The two walked out of the barbecue restaurant. It was already late at night, and an occasional evening breeze blew by, carrying a bit of a chill.

……