Chapter 608: Chapter 606: No Being a Slacker Allowed
Ever since formally becoming an apprentice, Lin Wanwanâs life has gotten busier. What started as a mere facade to find something to do has now become the focal point of her life.
All of Master Liangâs other direct disciples have already completed their apprenticeships, leaving only Lin Wanwan, who hasnât devoted all her energy there yet.
Initially, Master Liang intended for Lin Wanwan to develop in the direction of a Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, so even if she didnât stay in the Ancient City, she could thrive in any hospital with the reputation of being his direct disciple.
However, Lin Wanwan certainly couldnât be an official doctor. Among those who receive government salaries, the busiest are the medical staff, and she simply doesnât have the time and energy for that.
To rationalize her laziness and lack of ambition, Lin Wanwan concocts a lie that the barefoot doctor surnamed Sun who taught her medicine had a wish to open a Chinese Medicine Hall, so she wants to inherit his will to do so.
Master Liang was speechless at Lin Wanwanâs grand claims. Opening a Chinese Medicine Hall sounded so easy in her words, but itâs not something that can be set up casually. To get a license and start a practice, she would need at least three years of professional experience.
However, Master Liang was quite satisfied with Lin Wanwanâs foundational level of traditional Chinese medicine. Her theory was solid, she memorized quite a lot of ancient medical books, and her pulse diagnosis skills were decent. Among her peers who came to train, Lin Wanwan definitely stood out.
With Lin Wanwanâs level, she could be directly assigned to obstetrics and gynecology in Chinese medicine, but sheâs still missing a practicing doctorâs license.
The licensing exam for practicing physicians consists of two parts: the clinical skills examination and the comprehensive medical written test. There are two sessions a year, with three exams per session.
Lin Wanwan can take the clinical skills exam in mid-June and the comprehensive medical written test in mid-August, both of which offer a specialized exam in traditional Chinese medicine.
After observing, Master Liang believes Lin Wanwan has fully met the requirements for certification, and now the focus is mainly on improving her practical skills, so sheâs following him to clinical consultations.
In the field of Chinese medicine, following a mentor in clinic practice is colloquially known as "prescription copying," a shortcut and compulsory course in nurturing talents and academic heritage in Chinese medicine.
In modern times, Lin Wanwan follows Master Liang to copy prescriptions, observing his techniques in observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-takingâespecially the application of Liangâs Pulse Diagnosis Methodâto develop diagnostic thinking and learn diagnostic skills.
In ancient times, she also served as an attendant for the old master Sun, following him into the mountains to collect herbs and tasting different plants, accompanying him on house calls. To Master Sun, wealth or poverty made no difference; richer patients would be charged more, while poor patients might even get free medication.
Master Sun often told Lin Wanwan, "Study medicine for three years, and youâll feel thereâs no disease that canât be cured. Practice medicine for three years, and youâll realize there is no panacea for all diseases."
Lin Wanwan deeply understood this. While she felt very strong theoretically, it wasnât until encountering actual patients that she realized their ailments didnât always align with medical texts, necessitating differential diagnosis for effective treatment.
Unlike the unified standards of Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes a unique approach to each individual, which makes it hard to generalize.
The greatest benefit Lin Wanwan got from Li Shimin insisting she stay in Changâan was the substantial progress in her medical skills.
Lin Wanwan is the type of person who wouldnât make an effort unless pushedâa bit of a slacker.
Sheâs not interested in excelling in everything; being free from worry about her living conditions is quite satisfying for her. She belongs to that group online that talks about retiring as soon as they earn five million and own a house without a mortgage.
After all, with a golden finger, not being a slacker would feel like squandering Heavenâs favor, where the food is fed to you.
If such thoughts were known to someone ambitious, they would certainly curse her to death.
For those with great ambitions, such a golden finger that traverses two realms would surely inspire them to become a regional overlord or a commercial magnate.
In the Great Tang Central Plains, prevailing as an overlord might be difficult, given the abundance of talents. Then why not head to the Western Regions, Goguryeo, Japan, or at the least, Lingnan?
For the Great Tang Central, these places are all considered barbarian territories. Lin Wanwan, if she had the ambition to make an impact, it would absolutely be feasible.
But is Lin Wanwan someone with such vision, aspirations, and ambition?
She is not!
Heavy in her sense of belonging, she never thought about leaving the Yangtze River Delta in her entire life.
Even with all the eternal figures of Changâanâs charm, they couldnât tempt her to leave Mao County for a broader perspective.
If it werenât for Li Shiminâs decree, she wouldnât have come. Let alone the Western Regions, Goguryeo, Lingnan, which in this era of the Great Tang are considered places where the birds wonât even defecate.
In recent days, Lu Shouyue left again. This time, it seemed like he went to the headquarters of Lu Group in the Ugly Country for a shareholdersâ meeting. Lin Wanwan felt tired for Lu Shouyue, always being an airborne traveler.
Of course, while Lu Shouyue is busy, Lin Wanwan herself is not idle. She has officially started following Master Liang in hospital clinics.
Master Liang is a retired re-employed professor, so he doesnât just run expert consultations in one hospital; he holds concurrent appointments in several Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals. Besides this, he also practices at the biggest Chinese Medicine Hall in the Ancient City.
Lin Wanwan spends her daytime following Master Liang around, and fortunately, with the upgrade of the Space-Time Gate, Lin Wanwan has gained much more time to manage affairs across both realms, or else she would never have had any rest.
Nonetheless, with one being Master Sun and the other being Master Liangâone a giant in traditional Chinese medicine and the other a modern Chinese medicine bigwigâtheyâre both difficult to deal with.
Even though Lin Wanwan is genuinely interested in traditional Chinese medicine now, sheâs not so engrossed as to neglect eating and sleeping. Hence, life for a slacker like Lin is certainly intense and arduous.
However, thereâs at least one thing for which Lin Wanwan can be thankful: in the Great Tang, her status as a Secondary Fifth Rank Village Lady places her among the high-ranking individuals. The attendants around Master Sun and other Imperial Physicians are not as highly ranked as she is, so they only serve to flatter her.
Meanwhile, in the modern era, besides Lin Wanwan, Master Liang is also leading several masters and doctoral students. Due to Lin Wanwan being a direct disciple, those individuals treat her with considerable politenessâat least ostensiblyâwith no scheming against one another.
Lin Wanwan finds it most relaxing when Master Liang goes to Ancient Capital University to give lectures. Itâs so lively there that Lin Wanwan doesnât need to be involved.
Despite Master Liangâs age and unremarkable looks, his public classes are certain to attract traditional Chinese medicine students filling the place to the brim, even crowding the aisles, much more popular than Lu Shouyueâs public lectures at Ancient Capital University.
Such is the prestige of a Yangtze Scholar, a national renowned senior traditional Chinese medicine doctor enjoying special allowances from the State Council.
Now, Huaxia has many Chinese medicine experts with official titles, although many are academia-orientedâmeaning they might not necessarily treat patients!
But Master Liang is different. Coming from the Liang lineage, heâs genuinely a clinical expert. His age doesnât quite reach it yet, but in a few more years, Master Liang will certainly earn the title of National Medicine Master.
So whenever Master Liang gives large lectures, thatâs when Lin Wanwan can be a slacker. At such times, she canât help but reminisce about the carefree days before officially following a mentor.