Chapter 273 - So Young

Chapter 273 So Young

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The next morning, Fang Qiu left school after breakfast and headed for the City Chinese Medicine Association.

Today was the day he took the examination of the craftsman doctor.

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Fang Qiu went out early, so there was no traffic jam on the road. He soon came to the door of the City Chinese Medicine Association.

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That was a courtyard with a broad silver door as its entrance.

The door was hung with a white board with black letters on it, which said "Jiangjing City Chinese Medicine Association".

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Although it was early, the door was already open.

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Stepping forward, Fang Qiu found a wide, garden-like space with a circular flower table in the middle and trees, flowers and plants on each side. The air was so fresh inside.

"The Chinese Medicine Association is really different from other associations."

Enjoying the beautiful view of the courtyard, Fang Qiu murmured to himself.

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From his point of view, only people of the Chinese Medicine Association could beautify the environment to this extent. After all, traditional Chinese Medicine stressed health preservation. Beautifying the environment was not only a job but also a responsibility for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, which made them different from any other doctors.

There were walls on the right of the garden and a large three-story building on the left.

The building was not luxurious, but a little shabby. It might have a history of more than ten years.

It was where the examination was held.

...

Walking through the garden, Fang Qiu came to the corridor of the first floor of the building.

A young man who was about 20 years old was sitting on a bench in the corridor, waiting.

... A thought came into Fang Qiu's mind.

He immediately went up to the man and asked, "Excuse me, is this the place where the examination of the craftsman doctor is held?"

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"Hmm?" The young man looked at Fang Qiu with surprise. "Are you going to attend the examination?"

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"Yes." Fang Qiu nodded.

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The young man was even more surprised hearing that.

He thought that he was the only one who was so young and attended the examination. Unexpectedly, there was a man younger than him.

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It took people years to learn traditional Chinese Medicine, not days or months.

The young man thought that it was really impressive for him to come to the exam at his age.

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But Fang Qiu looked only 17 or 18 years old.

How could he attend the exam at such a young age? Was it a joke?

...

Though the young man was amazed, he asked, "You look so young. Do you know that you have to get the Physician's Qualification Certificate before you attend this exam?"

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Fang Qiu nodded his understanding. "I know."

"So, do you get it?" asked the young man.

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"Yes, I did." Fang Qiu smiled and nodded again.

"When did you get it?" asked the young man again.

...

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"Just half a month ago," said Fang Qiu.

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"What?"The young man was startled, looking at Fang Qiu in shock. "You are so bold for coming to the exam. You just get the certificate not long ago."

Fang Qiu kept smiling and said nothing.

"This is the testing place for the exam. I heard that the exam would start at nine o'clock. We got here early, so we have to sit here and wait," said the young man.

...

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"All right." Fang Qiu nodded and sat down.

They stopped talking and kept waiting for the exam.

...

...

Meanwhile, in a conference room on the third floor, the early morning sun shone on a few potted plants on the windowsill.

It was a middle-sized conference room.

...

Unlike a normal conference room, there was no formal meeting table or high-tech equipment in this room. Only a tea table and a few stools made of straws could be seen.

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At this moment, several old men were sitting on the stools, drinking tea.

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"Crack." There was a push on the door.

A middle-aged man walked into the conference room.

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"Here you are." An old man looked at the middle-aged man who had just entered the room and asked with a smile, "Did you get fifty patients as volunteers?"

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"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded and said, "It was an effort."

The old men nodded toward each other.

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"It's strange today." The middle-aged man was walking toward the tea table while saying, "Normally, nearly not a single one will attend our examination. Today, there are two men. And they're both quite young. Although someone had informed in advance and we have time to prepare, it still took me a lot of effort."

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"Two young men?" The old man asked, "How young?"

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"One, in his early twenties." The middle-aged man replied. "The other one is only 17."

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Hearing that, the elders present were all a little surprised.

They had seen someone who attended the exam in his 20s. What surprised them the most was the other one was only 17-year-old.

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What did a 17-year-old kid know about medicine? How could he attend this exam?

Was he born in a family which practiced traditional Chinese medicine? So he was exposed to it from an early age?

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"There's more." The middle-aged man shook his head again and added with a smile, "this 17-year-old got his Physician's Qualification Certificate only half a month ago."

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"Nonsense!" The old man immediately frowned and yelled. "How can he attend this exam? He's just been a qualified doctor for just half a month."

"Yeah, that's a bit arrogant," said another elder.

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"That's insane." All the men present were shocked.

"Who recommended this boy to take the exam?" asked a round-faced, gray-browed old man who was brewing tea in the center.

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"Well... I don't know." The middle-aged man shook his head and went on. "The president called me personally anyway."

"Why did he do that? That's reckless." The round-faced old man said.

...

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"No, it's not like that." The middle-aged man hurriedly said, "The president didn't do anything wrong this time. When he called me, he said this 17-year-old little guy was not just some ordinary kid."

"Just tell us what you know. Don't try to fool us." The round-faced old man glared at the middle-aged man.

...

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Hearing that, the middle-aged man smiled. "This 17-year-old kid, named Fang Qiu, is the freshman who won the Feeling Pulse Challenge about two months ago!"

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"Oh?" The round-faced old man froze.

The other elders, too, were in a state of surprise.

"It's him?"

"I see. Well, if he is the one who takes the exam today, he might have a chance to pass."

"I thought we had another genius in Jiangjing."

"It looks like today's exam is going to be interesting."

When the truth came out, the anger on the faces of the elders dissipated and a wide smile took its place.

"Is the other one who is taking the examination the apprentice of Lu Chen, the famous doctor?" asked the round-faced old man.

...

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"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded his head. "His name is Yu Ziyuan."

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"Hmm." The round-faced old man nodded smilingly.

"Lu Chen is a great doctor. I bet his apprentice is not ordinary either."

"I feel like today's test is going to turn into a competition."

"Ha-ha, let's see who is better, the apprentice of Lu Chen or the 17-year-old kid."

"They both got potentials. That's rare in an exam."

"For us, they are competing, for them, they are just taking an exam. And they won't interfere with each other. But in this case, we can see the strength and potential of these two boys."

The old men couldn't help but discuss fiercely.

...

In the part where the discussion was the most heated up, the old man with the round face and gray eyebrows suddenly looked at the time. "It's 8:30, only a half-hour before the test. Since they're here and everything is ready, let's just start the exam. No need to waste time."

The rest of the elders nodded.

They couldn't wait to see the performance of Fang Qiu and Yu Ziyuan.

"Well, I'll go and inform them now."

The middle-aged man immediately nodded and got out of the conference room.

...

He was trotting all the way down from the third floor.

When he came to the first floor, he saw Fang Qiu and Yu Ziyuan, so he asked, "Do you come here to take the exam of craftsman doctor?"

They both nodded at once.

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"Well, you don't need to wait. You can start the exam now." The middle-aged man nodded and pointed to two large rooms on the first floor. "Each one of you should choose a room to get in, and the staff will bring your patients here."

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"Here's a kindly reminder. When you have finished writing the prescription, the patient will not leave. You need to choose and boil the medicine on the spot. After drinking the medicine, the patient will leave with the prescription."

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The middle-aged man paused and went on, "Hurry up and choose your room. Prepare for the examination."

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Hearing that, Fang Qiu and Yu Ziyuan looked at each other and then walked in a different direction.

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These two rooms were very large, for there were only two rooms on the first floor. Divided by the central corridor, one was on the left and one was on the right.

Fang Qiu chose the room on the right.

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Entering the room, Fang Qiu found that everything in the room was really well prepared.

In addition to the exam table and medicine cabinet, there was a row of intelligent medicine boiling pots and five buckets of natural mineral water beside the wall and window.

After taking a casual look around the room and remembering the location of things he was sure to use later, he sat down at the exam table and waited for the exam to begin.

...

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At the same time, when two of them entered the room, those elders also walked into a brand-new meeting room.

Unlike the previous conference room, everything in this conference room was extremely modern.

There was a big screen in the center of the room.

Through the monitors, all the things of the two exam rooms were clearly projected onto the big screen. Those old men started to discuss with each other.

"He is indeed Lu Chen's apprentice. This boy named Yu Ziyuan is very strict in his work. When he entered the room, he checked all the equipment he needed. Is he afraid that the equipment we prepared was not clean?"

"Ha-ha, I like this kid. He just looked around the room, and then sat down. He looked like he knew all the equipment we prepared must have been sterilized."

"Both of them look good."

"Which one is going to do better? Any guess?"

"I think Yu Ziyuan is better."

"I think so. He got an outstanding teacher and the time he practiced Chinese medicine for was obviously longer than the other boy."

"Yes, if Fang Qiu is not lying, he might have studied Chinese medicine for a short time. Although he had won the Feeling Pulse Challenge, it is still a bit difficult for him to attend the exam of craftsman doctor."