The director had clearly come prepared.
He took a document from the drawer, flipped to a specific page, and pushed it in front of Lin Zhilan.
"The R&D department at the Capital Pharmaceutical Factory currently has the top equipment in the country. Our clinical trials and three-tier quality management system are resources that the island simply cannot match."
Although the director had been asked by someone else to do this, he was telling the truth.
If Lin Zhilan were to pursue drug research and development, the Capital Pharmaceutical Factory was undoubtedly a better choice in every aspect.
Lin Zhilan did not look at the document.
"Director, thank you and the Capital Pharmaceutical Factory for your appreciation, but I have no intention of transferring at the moment."
"Is it because of your husband's work?"
Since they had come prepared, they more or less knew about Lin Zhilan's family situation.
They also knew that Lin Zhilan's husband was a regiment commander in the Navy.
Lin Zhilan didn't want to explain too much, so she went along with his words. "Indeed, a large part of it is because of my husband."
In this day and age, marital relations were highly valued.
From the organization's perspective, a stable marriage enabled one to better contribute to society.
Regarding whether or not to transfer, Su Lang's work actually only occupied a small part of Lin Zhilan's considerations.
Su Lang would stay out at sea for more than half a year at a time.
Lin Zhilan had gradually gotten used to the life of raising their child alone.
However, she really did not want to consider the pharmaceutical factory.
Just looking at Qian Changling's experience, merely thinking about it was exhausting.
The Capital Pharmaceutical Factory was the leader of the national pharmaceutical industry, and its system was already fundamentally established.
The interpersonal relationships inside were deeply entrenched and complex.
The factory's staffing, professional titles, and resource allocation—none of these were simple matters.
As a doctor from the island, parachuting in with just a few medical prescriptions...
On the surface, she would be an invited guest of honor, but in reality, whether she could establish a firm foothold was anyone's guess.
Most importantly, Lin Zhilan preferred her original profession.
The treatment the Capital Pharmaceutical Factory offered her certainly far exceeded that of the island, but Lin Zhilan's inner goal was very clear.
She was just a doctor.
Treating illnesses was her job.
The director still refused to give up. "This is a job at the Capital Pharmaceutical Factory, and they will even allocate housing for you."
The capital.
It had to be said that this carried a lot of weight.
Especially now, when a large number of workers were waiting for housing allocation.
For the pharmaceutical factory to make such an offer meant they were truly sincere about inviting Lin Zhilan over.
"As for your husband's work... couldn't you two coordinate a bit? If he is sensible, he surely wouldn't want to delay your future prospects, right?"
"Ahem," Luo Hua appropriately interjected. "Director Luan, you can persuade her, but don't sow discord in their marriage."
Director Luan waved his hand. "I'm just speaking the truth."
Hearing him say this, Lin Zhilan actually felt a bit happier.
At least this way of thinking was progressive.
Lin Zhilan was also willing to explain a bit more.
"Director Luan, Director Luo, I didn't finish earlier. The reason I'm turning down this job isn't just because of my husband."
"What else is there?"
People from the capital naturally carried a sense of superiority.
They felt that nowhere else in the country could compare to the capital.
Let alone an island famous for its poverty.
Lin Zhilan smiled. "First of all, my main profession is a doctor, and I currently serve at the military district hospital. Director Liu of the military district hospital has hinted to me before that once the head of the traditional Chinese medicine department retires, the next step will be to promote my professional title. Can the capital hospital guarantee me this?"
Director Luan fell silent.
After 1966, the promotion of professional titles nationwide had essentially been frozen and at a standstill.
There was no unified, formal promotion process.
The promotion of doctors' titles had also completely stopped.
There were no exams, no evaluations, and technical skill was decoupled from professional titles.
A very small number of people were directly appointed by the hospital's revolutionary committee or the higher-level health bureau.
This wasn't based on medical expertise, but rather on political performance, and it generally involved promotions to leadership positions.
Even though he was a director, in the complex circles of the capital, he truly couldn't offer Lin Zhilan what the military district hospital could.
"But there are many more development opportunities in the capital," Director Luan thought for a moment and said.
Lin Zhilan smiled. "Director Luan, the things I can accomplish on the island, I might not be able to accomplish in the capital."
"On the island, if I say I want to make a medicine, the military district supports me, and the factory cooperates with me. No one will bicker with me. I don't need to attend meetings, write reports, or run around for approvals. I just need to simply do my job well."
"If you put me in the Capital Pharmaceutical Factory, as an outsider doctor with no seniority and no connections, when the time comes, should I focus on research and development first, or on building interpersonal relationships first?"
This time, Director Luan was completely speechless.
Luo Hua only spoke up at this moment. "Dr. Lin, I know a thing or two about the prescriptions in your hands, including the medicines produced by the island pharmaceutical factory."
"To be honest, the island pharmaceutical factory is too small. Shipping raw materials from the mainland and then shipping the finished products back—the transportation costs alone are a huge sum. If it were placed in other pharmaceutical factories, the production capacity could increase by more than ten times."
Luo Hua sat forward, clasping his hands on his knees, his expression turning serious.
"We have all seen the achievements of the island pharmaceutical factory. Your medicines have good efficacy and low prices; grassroots hospitals are all scrambling for them."
"But the problem now is that once market demand rises, your pharmaceutical factory won't be able to keep up with the supply. I remember your factory has a cough medicine. Do you know what the reported annual production volume was last year?"
"8,000 bottles. What can 8,000 bottles do? I'm afraid it wouldn't even be enough to distribute to a single city."
This time, Lin Zhilan didn't speak.
Luo Hua's words were absolutely true.
The scale of the island pharmaceutical factory was indeed small, and production volume couldn't be increased for the time being.
Seeing Lin Zhilan deep in thought, Luo Hua's tone softened a bit. "I'm not trying to undermine you. I just think these prescriptions are good things. As long as production increases, it can benefit patients nationwide. That is what everyone wants to see."
Lin Zhilan frowned. "Director Luo, do you mean that our prescriptions should be contract-manufactured by other factories?"
"Yes..."
Lin Zhilan interrupted him. "Director Luo, how many workers does the Capital Pharmaceutical Factory have?"
"Including cadres and technical personnel, there are about 6,500 people, with frontline workers accounting for 80 percent."
The Capital Pharmaceutical Factory was currently the largest pharmaceutical factory in terms of scale.
The status of the workers was also very high, and the benefits were considered top-tier among major factories.
Lin Zhilan nodded. "I've also looked into it a bit. The Capital Pharmaceutical Factory is indeed second to none in the country. Last year, its antibiotic production exceeded a thousand tons. I remember this even made the newspapers."
Luo Hua nodded. He was a leader in the Ministry of Health.
He knew all these things.
Lin Zhilan continued, "Director Luo, you are a leader in the Ministry of Health. In the eyes of us common folk, you are a high-ranking official. Your horizons are surely broader than mine, and the dimensions from which you consider problems are higher than mine."
Luo Hua was puzzled, not knowing what she meant by suddenly saying this.
