novelinnhs Chapter 74: A Long and Arduous Journey
Chapter 74: A Long and Arduous Journey
In front of the registration desk were two windows painted blue, with "Registration" written on one side and "Payment" on the other.
Hearing the voice, the staff inside looked up and glanced at her. "So early? What number do you need to register for?"
Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "Hello, I'm here to report for duty. Could you tell me how to get to the personnel department?"
"Reporting for duty?" The staff member looked at Yuan Xiu curiously. "So young, just graduated, right? Which school?"
Yuan Xiu: "I am a military dependent."
"Oh." The staff member laughed. "A military dependent? You look so young, I thought you weren't married yet. The personnel department is in the back. Go out through the back door, cross the small garden in the middle, go up to the second floor of the building at the back, and the first office on the right side of the stairs is there."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. We'll be colleagues from now on."
Following the directions given by the staff, Yuan Xiu quickly found the personnel department.
The personnel department had been informed early on. When they saw her arrive, they handed her two forms and pointed to the desk next to her, saying, "Please sit down and fill them out. If you don't understand anything, ask me. Don't fill them out randomly."
Yuan Xiu spent ten minutes filling out the form. The personnel department staff took it, looked at it, and nodded, "That's good. Let me tell you about our salary and benefits first."
Yuan Xiu's eyes lit up, and she sat up straight to listen attentively.
"You're not an active-duty soldier, so you receive the benefits of a civilian employee. The salary for a regular pharmacist in the hospital is thirty-five yuan per month. Our hospital has its own canteen for employees, and there's a certain amount of food allowance every month..."
The personnel department staff went on and on, and Yuan Xiu became more and more satisfied as she listened; the treatment was truly exceptional.
Yuan Xiu spent half an hour in the personnel department, filling out forms and receiving her work uniform, before being led by the personnel staff to the Traditional Chinese Medicine department office, which was also located on the second floor.
There weren't many people in the office; they'd probably all gone to the front to see patients. There was only one man in his forties wearing glasses, whom the personnel department called Director Hao.
"Director Hao, this is Comrade Yuan Xiu. She is a military spouse recommended by the Military Families Committee. She has already been officially hired and will be working in the pharmacy of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department."
"Comrade Yuan Xiu, Director Hao is the leader in charge of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine."
Yuan Xiu quickly greeted him, "Hello, Director Hao, I'm Yuan Xiu."
Director Hao gave Yuan Xiu a critical look, then nodded slightly. "Working in a pharmacy is not easy. If you don't understand something, just admit it. Don't pretend to know what you don't."
Yuan Xiu: "I understand, Director Hao."
Director Hao then stood up. "Let's go, I'll take you to meet them."
The Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine was on the first floor of the building in front. Yuan Xiu followed Director Hao through the small garden and into the lobby on the first floor. They went down the corridor to the left, where the departments of Traditional Chinese Medicine were located.
When Director Hao mentioned recognizing people, he meant knowing the doctors and assistants who were on duty in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department.
By the time Yuan Xiu actually entered the traditional Chinese medicine clinic, more than half of the morning had already passed.
The hospital was bustling with people. There were long queues at the Western medicine pharmacy, while at the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, the pharmacist at the counter was quietly eating sunflower seeds.
When Director Hao pushed open the door and entered, the pharmacist, who was leisurely munching on sunflower seeds, was startled. She hid her hands behind her back and greeted him with an embarrassed smile, "Director Hao is here."
Director Hao pointed at Yuan Xiu and said, "This is our department's new pharmacist. You should train her well. If she mistakes any medicine, don't let her handle it."
The pharmacist nodded in agreement.
After saying this, Director Hao turned and left.
Yuan Xiu and the pharmacist stared at each other blankly.
"Hello, my name is Yuan Xiu."
"Hello, my name is Hao Jia."
Yuan Xiu: "...Also surnamed Hao?"
"Yes, Director Hao is my cousin, so we're related. But I didn't get in through connections. I'm a proper medical student who graduated from a vocational school, majoring in Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduation, I was assigned here."
Yuan Xiu touched the tip of her nose; she had gotten in through connections.
Hao Jia is 23 years old, slightly chubby, with fair skin. She has been married for a short time, and her husband is also a doctor, specializing in Western medicine. Both of them work at a military hospital.
Knowing that Yuan Xiu hadn't attended medical school, Hao Jia casually uttered three words: "Self-taught, huh?"
Yuan Xiu: "...Before my master retired, he was a doctor at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital, and his medical skills were excellent."
Hao Jia smiled and said, "I didn't mean anything by it, don't overthink it."
Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "I didn't think too much about it. I just arrived, and there's still a lot I need to learn from you. I'll be troubling you in the future."
"Don't mention it. If you can get started sooner, it will be easier for me."
The two had only been talking for a short while when the morning was over. Yuan Xiu ate lunch at the hospital cafeteria, led by Hao Jia, and sat at a table with her colleagues from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They ate and chatted, which was considered a preliminary integration into the department.
In the afternoon, Yuan Xiu spent the entire afternoon climbing through cabinets. The pharmacy had hundreds of small drawers on the walls, filled with various medicinal herbs, which she opened and closed repeatedly.
According to Hao Jia, it took her three months just to memorize the locations of these medicines.
"You also need to know how to weigh medicine with a scale. I've mastered it now, and I can tell how many grams are in my hand as soon as I hold it."
Hao Jia has been working in the pharmacy for five years since graduation.
Just then, someone came in with a prescription to get their medicine.
Hao Jia took the prescription and showed it to Yuan Xiu first, asking, "Can you understand it?"
Yuan Xiu nodded, "12 grams of lotus seeds, 6 grams of dried tangerine peel, 12 grams of Atractylodes lancea, and Coptis chinensis..."
Hao Jia looked at her in surprise, "You can actually understand it? You can even read this messy handwriting, that's impressive."
Yuan Xiu wanted to say: It's not as messy as her master's handwriting.
Hao Jia pulled out a few sheets of kraft paper from the side and placed them on the counter. She picked up a scale and began to dispense the medicine. She was quick and efficient, and in no time she had gathered all the herbs. She deftly wrapped the herbs with hemp rope, then took a pen and wrote down some notes on the prescription, which she then attached to the medicine before handing it to the patient. After handing it over, she gave the patient a final reminder before letting him leave.
Yuan Xiu felt that she would need to learn the technique of wrapping the medicine for a while.
The work at the pharmacy was complicated, but fortunately not too busy, which gave Yuan Xiu plenty of time to learn from Hao Jia.
As a pharmacist, dispensing medicine is the most basic job, and you are also responsible for the maintenance of medicinal materials, inventory management, environmental maintenance, record keeping, and so on.
Yuan Xiu's professional skills are not solid. To be a qualified pharmacist, she also needs to understand the properties, functions, indications, dosage, and contraindications of each medicinal herb in the medicine cabinet.
That way, we won't make mistakes.
Yuan Xiu knew that her path was long and arduous.