It was a little past three in the afternoon. Dean Xia was in his office reading documents when the door was flung open. No, it was slammed open. The secretary rushed in, holding up a piece of paper, his face flushed red, and he could hardly speak coherently: "Dean... Dean! It’s approved! All of them are approved!"

Dean Xia looked up, momentarily stunned: "What was approved?"

"National Key Clinical Specialty!" the secretary almost shouted, "Orthopedics, Cardiac Surgery, Neurosurgery, Emergency Center, four! All four are approved!"

The pen in Dean Xia’s hand fell onto the desk.

He snatched the paper, scanned through it once from top to bottom, then again, and then looked up at the secretary, speechless for a long time.

The secretary watched him nervously: "Dean?"

Dean Xia suddenly stood up, walked to the window, turned his back to him, and said, "You go out first." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Xiao Zhou was taken aback.

"Out." Dean Xia’s voice sounded a bit off.

Xiao Zhou quickly retreated, closing the door gently.

As the door closed, Dean Xia stood at the window, looking at the courtyard in the rainy mist, suddenly raising his hand to vigorously rub his eyes.

At fifty, he’d seen it all. But right now, his eyes were uncontrollably heating up.

National Key Clinical Specialty, evaluated every five years, with thousands of hospitals nationwide competing for just a few hundred spots. For a hospital to get one is a monumental joy. To get two calls for fireworks in celebration, getting three, there are very few in the entire country.

Four.

All four were approved at once.

Sanbo had been established for over ten years, walking step by step from having scarcely any visitors to where it was today. He had been the dean of this hospital for over ten years, watching it grow little by little.

Now, it had finally climbed several levels higher.

He stood at the window for a long time, then took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

The first call was to Yang Ping.

"Professor Yang, where are you?"

"The laboratory." Yang Ping’s voice was as calm as always.

"Good news, good news, all four National Key Clinical Specialties we applied for have been approved, all four at once," Dean Xia said.

Yang Ping hadn’t expected all four to be approved at once: "Congratulations, congratulations."

The second call was to Director Han.

The third was to Li Zehui.

The fourth was to Tan Boyun.

The fifth was to Song Zimo.

In these calls, Dean Xia didn’t mention specifics, just invited them to the office to discuss something.

Fifteen minutes later, the group arrived one by one at Dean Xia’s office for a sit down.

Yang Ping also came, wearing a white gown, with a little dampness from outside still lingering in his hair. Upon entering, he saw Dean Xia standing by the window.

Dean Xia turned around and handed him the document he was holding.

Yang Ping took it, glanced quickly, then again, before looking up at Dean Xia. It really was four approved at once.

Director Han was the second to arrive. As soon as he walked in, he exclaimed: "Old Xia, what’s so urgent? I have patients waiting over there..."

Yang Ping handed him the document.

Director Han took it, took one glance, and his voice abruptly stopped.

He looked at the paper for a long time, then looked up.

"Four?" His voice was a bit hoarse, "All four were approved?"

Dean Xia nodded.

Director Han didn’t say a word, slumping onto the sofa, not moving for a while.

Li Zehui was the third to arrive. As soon as he entered, he sensed something was amiss. Director Han was sitting on the sofa dazing out, Yang Ping was standing by the window not saying anything, and Dean Xia was looking at him, somewhat excited.

He was stunned for a moment: "What’s wrong?"

Yang Ping handed him the document.

Li Zehui took it, looked through it from top to bottom, then looked up at Yang Ping.

"Neurosurgery, Cardiac Surgery, Orthopedics, Emergency Center..." he read out, a bit vacantly, "Four? All four were approved?"

Yang Ping nodded.

Li Zehui stood there, suddenly not knowing what to say.

He had returned to the country just over a year ago. More than a year ago, he was in Cleveland, looking at domestic news across the Pacific Ocean. Back then, he felt that coming back was a gamble, an unknown.

Now he stood here, holding a document that read: Cardiac Surgery, National Key Clinical Specialty.

He suddenly remembered the day he arrived at Sanbo, standing at the hospital gate, looking at the plaque, thinking: Can I make a career here?

Now he knew the answer.

Tan Boyun and Song Zimo arrived almost simultaneously.

As Tan Boyun entered and saw the situation, he frowned: "What’s going on?"

No one spoke, Yang Ping handed him the document.

Tan Boyun took it, looked it over, and his eyebrows slowly relaxed. He finished reading and handed it to Song Zimo beside him.

Song Zimo took it, glanced at it, looked up at Tan Boyun.

Tan Boyun nodded.

Song Zimo read the document again, then looked up at Dean Xia.

"Emergency Center?" His voice was a bit hoarse, "My Emergency Center?"

Dean Xia nodded: "Yes, your Emergency Center. How many Emergency Centers do we have?"

Song Zimo said nothing, lowered his head, and looked at the paper for a long time.

After a while, Director Han spoke first. His voice was still a bit hoarse but had steadied: "Old Xia, when did the notification come?"

"The document just arrived," Dean Xia said, "Xiao Zhou brought it in."

Director Han nodded: "All four were approved. Truly unexpected, didn’t expect them all to pass."

Dean Xia walked to the desk, opened a drawer, and took out a can of tea leaves.

He brewed a cup for each person.

"Come," he raised his cup, "to Sanbo, to you all, to these four National Key Specialties."

Everyone raised their cups.

The cups clinked together, making a crisp sound.