Waking up in the morning.
Sun Youwei's complexion looked pretty good, her cheeks appeared a little fuller than before, and she had a bit more color.
"Junior brother, after taking the medicine you prescribed for me these past few days, I feel much better. Aside from occasionally coughing during the day, I hardly cough at night anymore. I haven't slept so comfortably in such a long time..."
"Senior sister, let me check your pulse!" Lin Miao nodded. In this world, the medicinal herbs are mostly in their natural state, and they are quite effective. Once the right medicine is used, it naturally has very good therapeutic effects on Sun Youwei's illness.
Moreover, changing eating habits is also a significant reason.
While a light diet is not wrong, it is more suitable for the elderly and some ascetics who don't partake in worldly affairs, especially for those already lacking various nutrients in their bodies.
Spending your life in restraint or indulging in delicacies, either way, one should treat oneself better while alive, otherwise, what's the point of living in this world?
When taste buds are stimulated to bring pleasure, the body self-regulates, achieving a balance between yin and yang, and the illness naturally heals.
The medicine is just a guide; the real recovery must come from oneself.
"I'll reduce the dosage of the prescription for you; continue taking it, and exercise daily as I instructed, maintaining a good mood," Lin Miao advised.
"Junior brother, we've been in Dongshan City for quite a few days. Aren't you planning to take this year's medical exam? You should sign up," Sun Youwei reminded him.
"Senior sister, do you want to take the medical exam?" Lin Miao nodded and asked.
"Junior brother, I am a woman. Although this dynasty doesn't restrict women from taking the medical exam, very few female doctors actually pass. Moreover, even if I do pass, I will need to follow a doctor for an internship, and as a woman, I fear it will be difficult to find a female doctor willing to teach me..."
It is quite inconvenient for female intern doctors to work with male doctors or at medical institutes; being together all day often leads to issues.
Therefore, it's indeed more challenging for women in this world to become doctors, but it is not impossible. However, there are very few female doctors, and they seldom take apprentices.
"Senior sister, do you have an apprentice registration at Xinglin Institute?"
"Indeed, I do. My father is only an intermediate doctor, and an intermediate doctor can take two apprentices. Although I have never been to Xinglin Institute, when my father registered you, he also added my name," Sun Youwei nodded.
Sun Simiao had been practicing medicine for years in Qingping Town, and he could have been promoted to a senior doctor. As a senior doctor, he could take four apprentices.
"Alright then, let's sign up together and participate in this medical exam," Lin Miao said.
"Ah, I can't do it," Sun Youwei quickly waved her hand in refusal.
"Senior sister, you should think like this: if we don't pass this time, we can try again next time, since there's no time limit for this exam..."
"Junior brother, you don't know. If my father hadn't passed away, and if you hadn't taken the medical exam before, you could have one chance to sign up. But if you want to take it again next time, you must find a doctor or physician to give you an apprenticeship spot," Sun Youwei explained.
Hearing this, Lin Miao couldn't help but be taken aback: "Is there such a rule?"
"Yes, this rule is specifically for doctors or physicians who have died from illness or accident, to prevent it from being exploited by unscrupulous people," Sun Youwei explained.
An apprentice qualification, if a doctor or physician is willing to sell it at a high price before their death, some would be willing to pay for it.
Or if a doctor died without reporting to the Medical Bureau, the apprentice qualification could be continuously traded...
With an apprentice qualification, one can sign up for the medical exam. If there's unlimited participation, wouldn't that allow incompetent people to take advantage?
So, you're given one chance. If you fail, you must start over and regain the apprentice status.
If Sun Simiao hadn't died, there wouldn't be this problem. After all, a living doctor or physician wouldn't casually trade their reputation. If their apprentices repeatedly failed, it would cast doubt on their skills.
A doctor's skills being questioned could mean the end of their career.
Who would dare to make fun of their future or reputation?
Hence, a doctor or physician can take many apprentices, but whether one can become a formal apprentice depends on talent.
Thus, accepting apprentices in the medical field is very cautious; many are passed down within families or through familial inheritance.
So, treat this exam with caution. Initially, I thought if I didn't pass once, I could try again next time; after all, I'm young and can afford to try.
But now, it seems I must pass once.
There's two months left; the medical exam consists of a written test and a consultation. The written test is straightforward: answering questions tests knowledge and memory. For him, as long as he covers all the knowledge points, it should be no difficulty.
It's just rote memorization.
But the consultation involves diagnosing patients initially, typically assigned by lot. After passing the written test, you draw a patient for a consultation. If you're correct on two out of three, you pass, followed by interviewers determining rankings and lists.
These patients have long been cross-diagnosed by exam-setting doctors to confirm the correct answer, then presented for consultations.
So, right is right, wrong is wrong; there's no possibility of cheating.
The medical exam is most stringent. In some prefectures' exams, where written scores were passed, no one might pass the consultation stage.
Some prefectures might only have one or two people ultimately pass and gain the medical qualification.
Treating patients is a matter of life and death. If unskilled people pass haphazardly, any incident would be major, and thorough investigations could ruin many reputations.
Who dares to joke about their life's reputation?
But ascending from a doctor to a physician is much easier, though necessary conditions aren't few. At least, Sun Simiao, despite lifelong efforts, never ascended. Imagine how hard it is.
Thus, the medical exam is harder than the civil service exam; most can't become doctors or achieve a medical qualification.
But once you pass, not only do you have a bright future, but you can also pass it down. The three great medical families of the Da Li Dynasty emerged this way.
If you achieve success in medicine, you're set for life, respected by others.
"Senior sister, I'll visit Xinglin Institute tomorrow; why don't you join me?"
"Me?" Sun Youwei hesitated, even backing away a bit; she hadn't seriously thought of going to Xinglin Institute.
She had been sickly from a young age. Her father didn't stop her from learning medicine, but he didn't concern himself much with her, allowing her to do as she liked.
However, Sun Youwei did have a gift for studying medicine. Yet she knew that even if she learned medicine, passing the medical exam was difficult for her.
Firstly, she couldn't independently handle many medical tasks due to her condition, like "pulse diagnosis." Lin Miao could practice when Sun Simiao treated patients, but she couldn't.
Patients wouldn't accept a girl more ill than themselves to diagnose them. Without accumulated experience in "pulse diagnosis," how could one become a doctor?
The medical exam requires a consultation. If she couldn't even "pulse diagnose," how could she pass?
"Senior sister, accompany me, take a break, and maybe encounter a renowned doctor at Xinglin Institute who might cure you completely?" Lin Miao knew that although Sun Youwei accepted his treatment as a last resort, she was skeptical about complete recovery.
Of course, as her condition improved, her trust greatly increased, which was inevitable.
With the medical exam imminent, Xinglin Institute, as the official testing body, would organize many famous doctors to lecture during this period. Permit holders with "apprentice" status can attend.
Though lectures are occasionally held, they are rare.
Near the medical exam, these "lectures" and "seminars" become frequent; sometimes, exam questions derive from them.
Those who attended naturally have an edge.
Yet, the medical exam primarily tests personal ability. Mere rote memorization might pass the written test, but consultation assesses competence.
The Dongshan Prefecture medical exam occurs every two years. The written test takes the top thirty into consultations, with a low pass rate, averaging fifteen percent.
Each session involves roughly three to four hundred participants, with four to six passing, a one in a hundred chance.
Success necessitates defeating about a hundred others.
Lin Miao learned this from memory; every state and prefecture follows this pattern. Medical exam authority rests with the state and prefecture. To advance to "physician," one must meet specific conditions before qualifying to test in Li Jing.
A successful "physician" candidate compares to a "scholar."
Indeed, in all worlds, grading systems are omnipresent.
Sun Youwei eventually agreed. As an elder sister and three years older, she should care for her junior brother.
But now, it's the junior brother caring for her.
The junior brother needs her now; how could she retreat?
She decided to accompany him.