The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 1703 - 1678: Examination

Director Xiao was not very concerned about whether there were enough female disciples. After all, apart from Zhou Man, all students in the Imperial Hospital were male, so naturally, it was better to teach male students.

Not having enough female students just meant they could all be replaced with male students, which he thought was the ideal 8:2 ratio.

However, since the Empress brought it up, the Crown Prince indulged it, and even Lord Yang spoke a few words on behalf of Zhou Man, he agreed to the 7:3 ratio.

As the registration deadline approached, he never expected more than seventy little palace maids to be sent directly from the palace for the exam.

The female official who delivered them smiled and said, "Her Majesty said that as long as they pass the Imperial Hospital’s exam, they will be relieved of their palace duties and become members of the Imperial Hospital, so Director Xiao doesn’t need to worry, the palace won’t interfere."

Director Xiao suspected this was Zhou Man’s doing. He could only force a smile and agree, accepting the people, and then turned around to confront Zhou Man.

Zhou Man didn’t think she was wrong, "After all, it’s the first year of enrollment; what if we can’t recruit enough students?"

Director Xiao quivered his lips and said, "You think we’re not recruiting enough? Have you thought about how many imperial doctors there are in the Imperial Hospital, everyone has to work there and also come to teach classes at the academy, do you know how exhausting so many classes are?"

"It’s not just this year; we’ll have to recruit next year, and the year after..."

Manbao said, "If it’s not enough, then recruit more. Didn’t you say that imperial doctors in the Imperial Hospital are too idle daily, with no hope of advancement, which leads to scheming and plotting? Now it’s better, everyone’s busy and earning double salaries."

Although serving as professors at the academy didn’t come with estates, there were still considerable salaries.

Director Xiao was momentarily choked, asking, "When did I say that?"

"How could you not have? I overheard you say it quietly to Imperial Doctor Liu when His Majesty had a persistent high fever."

Director Xiao: "...Your hearing is really sharp."

Manbao: "I was sleeping on the wooden couch nearby, just not deeply."

Director Xiao waved his hand with a headache and said, "Alright, the day after tomorrow is the exam, you’re not allowed to go easy on them."

Manbao assured, "Don’t worry, I will not go easy on those I supervise; since we’re studying medicine, it’s best to have the suitable ones."

After all, it’s a long-term commitment, and if someone unsuitable is recruited, it harms both them and the academy, right?

The exam was divided into numerous subjects, and those in the Physical Therapy Department had to be literate, so the first day was a written test, not only requiring writing but also testing basic medical theories, such as "when you see someone with a flushed face and red eyes on the road, what do you think is wrong?" and other common knowledge questions.

Even though it was a common knowledge test, many people still couldn’t answer, something Manbao couldn’t quite understand, but Imperial Doctor Liu was used to it, "It seems easy to us because we’ve learned, but some kids don’t even know that two sticks together make two."

Manbao said, "But they are literate, aren’t they?"

Imperial Doctor Liu just shook his head with a smile without saying anything.

It was because of this that Zhou Liru did quite well among them since she had studied medicine for some time and knew nearly all the herbs.

Of course, there were many others like her who did well, most of whom came from families with a background in medicine and had exposure to it before.

Manbao graded the papers and found that Zhou Liru ranked within the top thirty but was outside of the top twenty, with two other young girls performing better than her.

This required literacy and writing skills, whereas for those that did not, they were individually interviewed by the teachers. Five teachers would sit in turn, allowing each person to be questioned, receiving scores based on their answers, and being admitted by compiling these scores.

The imperial doctors were down-to-earth, using common herbs found in rural areas to ask the candidates if they recognized the herb, if they had used it before, and how they used it.

Or they asked if they had ever been ill, whether they had seen a doctor, what illness it was, and if they remembered the treatment method.

Sometimes, a doctor would directly address them by touching certain points on their body, asking what acupuncture point it was, if they had experienced any pain, and how they dealt with it if they did.

Manbao, on the other hand, posed many brainteasers, such as, "If a cow’s tail were on fire, what would you do?"

Not just the candidates but even the examiners didn’t know what to do. While the student went out, they turned their heads to ask Manbao, "What is the answer to this question?"

Manbao shook her head, "There is no answer; I was just curious about what they would do."

Director Xiao and others: ...

Besides, the imperial doctors favored arithmetic questions, like, "If Szechuan Lovage costs twenty-eight wen per liang, and a patient needs to buy eight liang, how much does it cost in total?"

Such questions almost drove the literate and illiterate candidates crazy.

The exam lasted for five days because there really were many illiterate candidates, so they could only be examined in person instead of taking written tests.

Meeting them one by one was naturally slower.

Those with a medical background mostly vied for the Physical Therapy, Acupuncture Studies, and Abscess and Swelling departments, where the competition was truly fierce. For other departments, which were mostly for those with zero foundation, the selection was for those who seemed more clever and suitable.

For instance, the massage course required students with considerable strength, and in the end, the class of twenty only selected two girls.

Contrary to Director Xiao and others’ expectations, most of the palace maids chose to apply for Acupuncture Studies. It was Manbao who persuaded them that there couldn’t be so many acupuncturists, prompting them to disperse to other departments, thus avoiding internal conflict.

After five consecutive days, Manbao was utterly exhausted, speaking too much, so she returned and brewed some dried chrysanthemums for tea.

Mingda and Changyu sneaked to the Eastern Palace to play with her, sitting cross-legged on her bed and chatting with her, "I heard from the palace maids who returned that you asked many people that if they saw someone fall into the water, what would they do? Many people said they wouldn’t save them, and you didn’t accept them. Others said they’d jump in to save them, and you didn’t accept those either. How did you choose people?"

Manbao, holding a teacup and drinking chrysanthemum tea, said, "It’s not just one question; it’s many. I also asked if they could swim, if they’d been in the water before. Jumping in without knowing how to swim just adds to the chaos, wasting a life."

"Those who said they wouldn’t help could call for help; they could look around for a stick and try to pull the person up with it."

Changyu was puzzled, "What do these questions have to do with being a doctor? It seems like you ask all sorts of messy questions. I even heard that Director Xiao asked someone, if you haven’t eaten for three days and there’s a basin of meat and a basin of vegetables in front of you, would you choose meat or vegetables first?"

Manbao said, "A doctor must have a benevolent heart. Just turning and leaving is unacceptable."