Chapter 55: Early

Seeing her mother’s happy expression, Tang Xiaorou smiled. “Mom, you’re amazing. You cook delicious food and make clothes.  Our curtains and duvet covers all depend on you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make them for you as soon as possible.”

Qin Xueqiong’s face was smiling, her eyes shining. “Quickly take Xiaoyan to school, or you’ll be late.”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

Tang Xiaorou was also afraid of being late and quickly left with Xiaoyan.

After they left, Grandma Yao looked at Qin Xueqiong. “Xueqiong, what are your plans? Will you live in the family building with Xiaorou and the others, or will you live with us?”

Qin Xueqiong looked conflicted.

“I… I haven’t decided yet.”

She had planned to live with her daughter, but what happened in the family building on the first day made her uncertain. If she lived in the family building, others would gossip. But if she lived with Grandma Yao and her grandson, she would be far from her daughter.

Grandma Yao smiled. “Bingcheng and I don’t necessarily have to live in my house. We can rent a place nearby.”

Hearing this, Qin Xueqiong quickly said, “Really? Then I’ll live with you. If Xiaorou needs anything, I can help her immediately.”

“Okay, let’s go look around today.”

Meanwhile, after sending Xiaoyan to kindergarten, Tang Xiaorou quickly went to Xinglin Pharmacy. There were many herbs there, and she could try the prescriptions from the notebook.

However, as soon as Tang Xiaorou arrived at the pharmacy, Old Yu pulled her to the hospital.

“Why is the exam today? Didn’t you say it was in three days?”

Old Yu complained, “That’s right. Yang Congyong is unreliable. He changed the date at the last minute. We’re just in time to catch it.”

When Tang Xiaorou and Old Yu arrived at the hospital, a tall, refined middle-aged man was waiting for them. “Old Yu, you’re finally here.”

Old Yu glared at him. “Yang Congyong, why did you change the exam date so casually?”

“The training ended early, so the exam date was moved forward.” Yang Congyong turned to Tang Xiaorou. “Young lady, are you Old Yu’s new apprentice?”

Before Tang Xiaorou could answer, Old Yu was already waving his hands. “She’s not my apprentice. She’s Doctor Tang Xiaorou, whom I specially invited to work here.”

Yang Congyong looked at Tang Xiaorou curiously. A doctor whom Old Yu had invited must have excellent medical skills. But the young lady looked very young, and traditional Chinese medicine requires years of experience. He was curious about her skills. “We’re here. Go ahead.”

“Okay, we’ll go ourselves. You go busy.”

“Old Yu, I’ll treat you to dinner after you finish.”

Old Yu waved his hand. “No need, we’ll go back after we’re done.” He didn’t give Yang Congyong a chance to speak and urged him to leave.

After Yang Congyong left, Old Yu briefly explained their relationship. “Yang Congyong is the director of this hospital. I have a good relationship with his father, so I brought you here to take the exam.”

Tang Xiaorou smiled. “Old Yu, I’ll go in first. You should go back too.”

“I’ll wait for you to finish the exam, then we’ll go back together.” Old Yu wasn’t worried about Tang Xiaorou.

With her skills, passing the exam would be easy. But since they came together, they should go back together.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll sit in Yang Congyong’s office for a while.” He waved and left.

Seeing Old Yu leave, Tang Xiaorou turned and went to the examination room.

“Hey… who is that person? I don’t think I’ve seen her during the training.”

“I haven’t either.  Maybe she didn’t attend the training and came directly for the exam.”

There were about twenty or thirty people in the room.  When they saw Tang Xiaorou come in, they immediately noticed her and whispered among themselves. “This person didn’t attend the training but came to take the exam.  Isn’t she already guaranteed a job at the hospital?  Doesn’t that mean she’s taking a spot?”

Hearing this, everyone looked at Tang Xiaorou with hostility.

Tang Xiaorou knew they were talking about her, but she didn’t hear what they said. Seeing their looks, she frowned.  Were these people exclusionary? But she didn’t care. She just wanted to finish the exam and get her certificate.

Thinking this, Tang Xiaorou found a seat in a corner and sat down.

“Hey… what’s your name?”

Yang Meili was also curious about this woman who had suddenly appeared. She walked over and asked casually, “I haven’t seen you before. Are you here to take the exam too?”

“Yes, I’m here to take the exam.”

Tang Xiaorou answered concisely and didn’t intend to say more.

But Yang Meili couldn’t stand Tang Xiaorou’s attitude. “Hey, what’s your attitude? I’m asking you a question nicely, and that’s how you answer me?”

Tang Xiaorou didn’t like Yang Meili’s arrogant manner of speaking with her chin held high. Hearing this, her face darkened. “Comrade, didn’t I just answer your question? What else do you want? Are you bullying me because I didn’t attend the training and I’m alone?”

“You… you’re twisting things around.”

Yang Meili didn’t expect Tang Xiaorou to retort. “Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t care who you are. Please stay away from me now.”

The people around saw this and raised their eyebrows.  This woman was tough. Even Yang Meili couldn’t get the better of her. During the training period, Yang Meili had been arrogant and had bullied many people, but now she was being rebuked by someone who had come to take the exam without attending the training.

“You…”

Before Yang Meili could finish, the examiner came over.

“Everyone sit down. We’ll have a written exam first, then a practical exam.”

Seeing the examiner, everyone quickly sat down. Yang Meili glared at Tang Xiaorou before finding a seat.

After receiving the exam paper, Tang Xiaorou didn’t start writing immediately. She looked over all the questions before calmly starting to write. The exam questions were all basic and not difficult at all, so she finished quickly.

The others were still struggling with the questions, finding them very difficult.

The examiner knew that someone had come directly to take the exam. Seeing that Tang Xiaorou put down her pen in less than half an hour, he thought she hadn’t finished. Unexpectedly, she had already completed it.

Looking at the neat handwriting and all the correct answers, the examiner’s eyes lit up. He planned to ask the director where this promising candidate came from.

The exam time was tight, and the practical exam followed immediately after the written exam.

“Next, several patients will come. You will directly treat them.  Get ready.”