"Right, I've already told my Looloo, either get into Zhongshan Medical University or don't bother studying medicine at all, better to attend Zhongshan Finance and Economics than some other medical school. So, my Looloo went to a business college."
The elation Sun Rongfang had felt upon arrival was all gone.
Watching her cousin's expression, Zhou Ruomei suddenly perked up and summoned, "Quickly, make some tea. Didn't you say you like foreign teas? This black tea is very delicious, have a try; it's directly from abroad."
Sun Rongfang didn't know how to continue the conversation. The thought that her daughter wanting to become a doctor was this difficult completely took her by surprise. She knew that there were different levels of doctors, but she hadn't expected the process to be so cruel even at the stage of college entrance exams.
"We have a guest?" The door to the study opened, and out came a tall and learned man with glasses, Zhou Ruomei's husband, Ding Yuhai.
"Hello, brother-in-law," Sun Rongfang turned to greet him.
"I heard that you're thinking about medical school?" Clearly, Ding Yuhai had been listening to the conversation in the living room all along.
"Yes, Yingying said she wants to be a surgeon," Sun Rongfang said hastily for her daughter, hoping her cousin's husband might have different ideas than her cousin.
The splash of cold water from Ding Yuhai startled Sun Rongfang.
Zhou Ruomei laughed while gently slapping her husband's arm, "Give my cousin some face. They don't understand medicine."
"That's why isn't this something that needs to be made clear to them? She wants to be a surgeon? Obstetrics and gynecology are also surgical fields. Does she want to be an obstetrician and gynecologist?" Ding Yuhai questioned.
Xie Wanying, who had been silent and looking at the floor the whole time, lifted her head to answer, "No, I want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon."
"Cardiothoracic surgeon?" Ding Yuhai waved his hand and shook his head, "Female cardiothoracic surgeons? As far as I know, there isn't a single one in the country."
"There was an article in the paper a few days ago—" Sun Rongfang had also heard about this from her daughter, who read the newspapers.
"Newspapers are for publicity. I know who you're talking about. That person was sent abroad for training and upon returning, as far as I know, the dean of their hospital had her perform a few surgeries for the newspapers to add to their hospital's image. Actually, for the most important upcoming surgeries in their department, not one would be passed to her as Chief Surgeon. Women being surgeons in the first place is beyond reason. Obstetrics and gynecology is an exception because of patient and family requests. Cardiothoracic surgery is the most difficult and highest-risk of all surgical specialties, and no department head or hospital dean would ever entrust such surgeries to a female surgeon."
"What are the reasons women are unsuitable?" Sun Rongfang stuttered.
"Can women endure sleepless nights? Can they stand by an operating table for twenty-four hours straight without fatigue? Female doctors have a fixed menstrual cycle—can they operate unobstructed during those days each month?"
These were all facts, and Sun Rongfang's head drooped down.
"Tell your Yingying to give up the idea of being a doctor. Study finance, become an accountant, or a teacher; those are professions men in their circles favor for women, and she wouldn't have an issue with marriage prospects in the future," Zhou Ruomei planned for her cousin.
"No, I must become a doctor. I will apply to Capital Medical University, Guoxie Medical University, for the eight-year direct undergraduate-to-Ph.D. program, specializing in surgery, the one that only admits ten students per class," Xie Wanying enunciated clearly. For her, reborn with grand ambitions, finally having the chance to grasp this lofty dream was something she was determined to hold onto tightly.