Bab 10: DOCTOR
The first to arrive were the four representatives from the group of artisans who were following the soldier assigned by the captain. The meeting hall had only one chair and some sofas on the side, but these sofas were only meant for times of leisure.
The four representatives were observing their new master. This was supposed to be the first project undertaken by the young prince and from what they had heard by the various officials and gossip, this was more of the king giving in to the prince's indulgence than actual work, so they assumed that the young prince calling them was for them to advise him, seeing that they were his seniors and certainly more experienced. This was the reason that even though they had arrived before royalty of the kingdom they did not show excess enthusiasm in greeting the young prince.
I asked the various representatives to introduce themselves and their previous place of work and experience so that I have a clearer idea of what and how much to expect out of them. I understood very well that the various officials were sure to not send their best but I had hoped for people with a bit of experience in their fields because I myself had no profound knowledge about these fields and if they turned out to be pure newbies my plans will not proceed very smoothly.
As if they already knew their own hierarchy between professions, everyone looked towards the middle age man wearing better clothes than the rest, as if asking him on how they should proceed with the introductions. The man understood and stepped forth and introduced himself as the head doctor that was assigned to me. His name was Atul.
In the previous week that I had spent in the castle I understood that being a respected doctor in these times was very hard. The requirements for being a doctor were very high in this era. First, there was no designated school or ashram where people of the medical profession gathered and passed on their teachings like they did for the art of war and ruling. The knowledge of medicine in this era was only passed down from the master to the student. It was considered a great privilege if a respected doctor was willing to take you under their wing and tutelage. At any given time, even a kingdom as big as ours did not have more than eight or ten respected doctors.
The second requirement was the high cost of learning and the time required to be invested to become a doctor. Most apprentices only become qualified to be called doctors and set out on their own when they have already reached ages above thirty. To learn the art of medicine in this era meant knowing the various medical benefits and losses that were associated with the various medical ingredients like plants, shrubs and animals. They also have to understand and learn to identify the ingredients that are very hard to find in the wild and also define their quality.
These requirements made the doctor profession a job associated with high learning cost, long dedication and luck. This also meant that if one had to learn they had to be rich enough to support their studies, which most of the time meant that this job will be exclusive to the sons of officials or nobles who have no chance of inheriting their father's post or position. The dedication required was another one of major hurdles that most fail to overcome.
Like the current setup, where there were two doctors that arrived here and they each have ten assistants. These were none other than teens who were under their tutelage and were trying to become doctors. The sad reality was that among these twenty it was highly likely that none would become a qualified doctor. If the doctors were lucky one or at most two of these would stick until the last and become qualified, most would end up leaving and helping out their fathers after taking a minor role in the household.
There sure is an exception to the above, it is when one of the best doctors in a kingdom or empire highly favours a commoner and spends his own money and time to raise him with all his efforts to turn him to be a successor but it was very, very rare.
When I was first told that two doctors have been assigned to me, I was honestly surprised because I already understood their importance during my stay in the castle. Doctors were usually very prideful and most did not like working with others as it would diminish their own prestige and they have to share with the other doctor. As I said, respected doctors were generally old so when I looked towards the middle-aged Atul introducing himself as the doctor I was surprised and sad that the officials have certainly sent me newbies.
After Atul had introduced himself, I could not hide my curiosity and asked him about his past employment and history. He responded by proudly stating that he and his brother, the other doctor in the camp, were highly favoured apprentices to the head doctor responsible for the personal care of the second elder and his family along with almost half of the officials and that they had completed their studies last year. He was stating it proudly because it was rare for two people from the same household to become doctors and that too below the age of forty.
What he thought as an achievement was nothing more than disappointment in my eyes, but I did not convey it to him and rather politely greeted him and thanked him for the efforts he will have to put in the future.
I had already ruled out both him and his brothers as people with the potential to invest in and decided to check if any of their apprentices had what I was looking for and if I did find someone he will be quickly taken under my wing and I will guide him properly by making use of the basic day-to-day knowledge that was rare in this era but common in the modern era.
After he finished his introduction and saw my polite response without any additional flattery or asking for advice, there was visible discomfort on his face but he did not let it out and rather went back in line while the next came forward for the introduction.
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NOTICE: Comment and vote for the future path the story should take on the selection of the doctor candidate that the MC should choose.
A] An apprentice from the two doctors that have arrived for the project
B] A commoner kid from the workers
C] Wait for the story to pass the road building arc and then decide
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
maddymudda
maddymudda Do comment and vote for what you guys think should be the candidate for the doctor candidate.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Hadiah
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