Chapter 314 Young Physician of China Competition!
“Hey!”
Fang Qiu’s mother immediately stopped trying to switch channels and watched the screen intently as the anchor began to explain the concept of the Young Physician of China Competition.
He didn’t spend much time introducing the competition and only spent 30 seconds introducing the competition.
After she finished watching his introduction, Fang Qiu’s mother’s eyes lit up.
She smiled as she pushed the walnuts on the table toward Fang Qiu and said with a smile, “Help me open them.”
Fang Qiu reached out, picked up a walnut, placed it between two fingers and easily cracked them open.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed the walnut to his mother. Then, he worked at cracking open the rest of the walnuts.
Fang Qiu’s mother said as she peeled the walnut, “This competition seems pretty interesting. You should go participate in this competition as well since you practice Chinese Medicine too.”
“Forget it,” Fang Qiu said as he shook his head. “I’m only a freshman so it isn’t the right time for me to be participating in such competitions. I should focus on my studies first.”
Fang Qiu’s mother paused and was about to continue to try to persuade him when Fang Qiu’s phone suddenly rang.
“Beep, beep...”
Fang Qiu dug his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.
“Um? It’s from the capital?” Fang Qiu saw that the area code was 010 which meant that it was from a landline.
“I haven’t got any friends who live in the capital. Is this a scam?” Fang Qiu wondered.
He didn’t think too much into this matter and immediately rejected the call.
He had only just rejected the call when his phone rang again.
“Is this from the capital again?” Fang Qiu’s father glanced at his phone and asked.
“Yes,” Fang Qiu nodded in exasperation and hung up once again.
“These scammers are extremely annoying. They seem to be casting their net everywhere and bothering a whole lot of people,” Fang Qiu’s mother complained.
“Exactly,” Fang Qiu said with a nod.
He had only just spoken when his phone rang again.
He glanced at his phone and saw that it was the same number that had been trying to reach him.
“Are they addicted to dialing my number?” Fang Qiu thought in annoyance. He accepted the call and was about to admonish the person on the other end of the line when he heard an unfamiliar voice ask, “May I know if this is Mr. Fang Qiu?”
The female voice on the other end of the line sounded extremely polished.
“May I know who am I speaking with?” Fang Qiu huffed angrily.
“Mr. Fang Qiu, happy New Year,” the woman said warmly. Then, she added, “I’m Yao Dongmei, a staff member on the committee of the Young Physician of China Competition. You may call me Xiao Yao.”
“What?” Fang Qiu froze in surprise. “The Young Physician of China Competition?” He repeated.
He had assumed that this was a scam call so he was surprised to hear that it was a call from the Young Physician of China Competition’s committee member.
Even more amazing, that before the phone rang, his mother still talked to him about this competition.
This seemed far too serendipitous.
On the other hand, Fang Qiu’s father and mother immediately rushed up to listen in on the call when they heard who the call was from.
“Yes,” the woman’s voice sounded like bells. “After discussions, the committee has decided that in addition to a registration process that is open to the public, we would also be extending invites to outstanding physicians that the committee has selected. You have been selected by the committee and thus, we would like to invite you to take part in this competition. I hope that you would agree to participate.”
Fang Qiu was surprised when he heard the woman’s words.
On the other hand, Fang Qiu’s mother kept waving energetically as she tried to motion for Fang Qiu to accept immediately.
Fang Qiu’s father sat calmly at a corner and didn’t say anything else. It was clear that he wasn’t about to interfere and that he would like Fang Qiu have the final say.
Fang Qiu looked at his parents and thought for a moment before he finally said, “Let me think about it.”
“Sure,” the staff member agreed and added. “We are sincerely extending this invite to yourself and hope that you’ll agree to take part in this competition.”
“Alright, I will give this matter some thought,” Fang Qiu said as he nodded.
Then, he hung up.
“Was that really a call from a committee member of the Young Physician of China Competition that was just on the news?” Fang Qiu’s mother who had been encouraging Fang Qiu to participate earlier couldn’t believe that what she had just seen on the news was suddenly related to her son. She felt as though she was dreaming.
Fang Qiu’s father looked equally confused.
“Yes,” Fang Qiu nodded as he looked at his confused parents. “I received a call from the capital and they only informed me that they’d like to invite me to take part in the competition. They didn’t mention anything else and moreover, she addressed me by name the moment I picked up her call, so this shouldn’t be a joke.”
“That’s great!” Fang Qiu’s mother was elated and latched on to Fang Qiu’s arm as she exclaimed exuberantly, “My son is such a clever boy that he is about to become famous soon!”
“Mom,” Fang Qiu smiled wryly as he extracted his arm from his mother’s grip and said, “I haven’t even decided whether I’d be participating in this competition.”
“What are you waiting for?” Fang Qiu’s mother raised her voice by a notch and said, “This is such a huge competition and it is also organized by the Central Television. It has also been introduced in the news, so this is a rare opportunity and you should make full use of it and participate in the competition. Even if you aren’t as skilled as the other competitors, you will be able to gain exposure from it.”
Fang Qiu turned to his father.
His father did not express his views and continued to look very engrossed as he watched the news.
“Sigh...” Fang Qiu left out a soft sigh.
As a member of the Chinese physician community, he felt that as he worked hard at learning Chinese Medicine to find a cure for the old master, he also wanted to make his own stamp on the community by promoting Chinese Medicine.
The Young Physician of China Competition would definitely attract a lot of attention and this was also a good opportunity to promote Chinese Medicine.
“Alright... then,” Fang Qiu said.
He nodded as his mother looked on intently.
...
At the same time, almost everyone across the country who had been tuning in to the news in front of their dining table heard about this competition on the night of the sixth day of the Spring Festival.
Everyone in the Chinese Medicine community was in an uproar at the news.
Chinese Medicine had been forgotten for so many years and it always had its supporters and detractors but in order to maintain the balance between both sides, the country had not expressed its stance on this matter. Although there was no official stance, the government had continued to do many things for Chinese Medicine, including promoting Chinese Medicine, appraising and selecting those who were skilled in Chinese Medicine, and acting to preserve Chinese Medicine techniques and so on.
After all, this was the quintessence of Chinese culture so it had to be preserved!
Unfortunately, after Western Medicine entered the scene, the country had not taken sides in order to maintain the balance between both schools of medicine.
Everyone had gotten used to this position over the past few decades and even centuries.
No one expected the Central Television to release this piece of news during such an auspicious occasion.
There was no doubt that the Central Television would not have done this without the blessings of the government.
This showed that the government intended to promote Chinese Medicine in the future.
Although everyone had heard rumors of the fact that Fang Qiu’s performance at the pulse of pregnancy test had caught the attention of the Central Television and that there were plans to hold a formal competition, no one believed the rumors because the debate between Chinese and Western Medicine was such a sensitive topic.
Thus, they were surprised to hear that it was going through!
It was even reported in the news!
The country was finally about to do something for Chinese Medicine!
Those who watched the news quickly spread the news and this piece of news caused a stir in the Chinese Medicine community. It seemed as though they were celebrating the new year for the second time.
It wasn’t just those in the Chinese Medicine community who were excited, there were many who weren’t in this community who started to repost this news on Weibo and on their WeChat Moments.
While those in the Chinese Medicine community were celebrating, those in the Western Medicine community were not happy.
Those from the two opposing camps started arguing on Weibo.
There were many who supported Western Medicine or who worked in this field who immediately started discussing what was true medicine.
There were many Western physicians who mentioned prominent Chinese physicians on Weibo and said that Chinese Medicine physicians were the dregs of society who had harmed many people.
Fang Qiu was also mentioned on Weibo but since Fang Qiu didn’t use Weibo, he wasn’t aware of this.
A verified Weibo account named ‘Young Physician of China’ quietly went online in the midst of this heated discussion.
This account immediately posted its first post after being verified.
“Thank you for your interest in the ‘Young Physician of China Competition’. The committee is still making preparations for this competition and the rules of participation will be released after the fifteenth day of the lunar new year. We would also reveal the first person who has been invited to participate in this competition!”
The first post not only took the lead in promoting this as a hot topic, it also successfully released a teaser that piqued everyone’s interest.
Who exactly had been the first person to be invited to participate in this competition?
Sure enough, this post quickly attracted the attention of many in the Chinese Medicine community and many prominent verified accounts in the Chinese Medicine community reposted this post.
This post was quickly brought to the public’s attention after it was reposted by so many prominent figures.
This post garnered a lot of attention in a short time.
This topic officially became a hot topic of discussion.
However, other than a small minority who were discussing what the rules of the competition would be, the vast majority of the public was more interested in who the first participant would be.
After all, this was the first competition organized by the Central Television, so the first participant would definitely attract a lot of attention.
Who exactly was the first participant?
Who would be the first to be invited by the Central Television?
More importantly, this person would have to be acknowledged by both the Central Television and the Chinese Medicine community, so who could it be?
...
As the discussions heated up, the Young Physician of China Competition continued to generate even more awareness.
Soon, the Chinese Medicine suppliers started to ask around to find out how the winner of this competition would be determined, what was the minimum amount the winner would stand to be getting, and how much would the winner’s sponsorship fees be, and so on.
These suppliers thought that this was a rare opportunity for Chinese Medicine and it could even be said to be the largest celebration of Chinese Medicine that was held over the past century, so they had to benefit from this competition.
On the other hand, the production company and the committee members kept receiving calls that interrupted their meetings.
They realized that they could start making money even before the competition started.