Chapter 103 Rescue
After getting off the train, we boarded a bus to Mengding County. Due to the muddy roads, the bus could not proceed, so we had to take jeeps in batches to designated villages and towns.
The Workers' Hospital was assigned to a place called Hewei Town.
All thirteen villages under the town's jurisdiction were affected by the flood, with three villages completely submerged. Fortunately, the evacuation was timely and no casualties were reported.
"You said it's only February, how could there be flooding?"
The car could only move forward cautiously on the muddy road. Zuo Lingling suppressed the churning in her stomach and tried her best to find something to talk about with Chen Yun to distract her.
Mengding County is located in southwestern China, with a warm climate and abundant rainfall throughout the year.
It might be unusual for Beicheng to have heavy rain in February, but it's not surprising for Mengding County to have heavy rain at any time.
"When it comes to natural disasters, can people control when it will rain heavily?" Chen Yun shook his head, his head still spinning.
Everywhere it passed seemed to be stained with the same hue of mud; what should have been a vibrant green early spring had turned entirely brown.
Mud clung to the tree branches, the grass, and even the river water turned into thick muddy water.
The air smelled awful, a strange, mixed stench permeating everything, with the occasional animal carcass floating on the river adding to the stench.
Although the rain had stopped for three days, the entire world as far as the eye could see seemed to have come to a standstill along with it.
"The rain wasn't heavy! I don't know why the flood is so severe. My two-story brick house in town is completely submerged, with only the roof standing up."
The government staff member in the passenger seat who was responsible for receiving all the nurses from the workers' hospital was a young man of short age.
The young man looked puzzled. He had heard from his older colleagues that the town had suffered a major flood a hundred years ago because it had rained heavily for more than a month.
"The rain wasn't heavy, so how could the flooding be so severe?" Zuo Lingling asked curiously.
The young man scratched his head: "It only rains heavily for three or four days, and I don't think it will rain much for the rest of the month!"
“Look, isn’t this big enough?” Zuo Lingling pointed to a white wall that slowly appeared in front of her, now clearly demarcated by a yellowish-brown line drawn by a waterline.
Chen Yun also looked over. This should be the old rice mill in the town. After the flood, only the lower walls remained standing there alone.
Every building in sight bears the mark of a despairing water level.
The car suddenly stopped here. The driver frowned slightly and muttered, "Damn it!"
"What's wrong?" the young man asked nervously.
The driver slammed his fist on the steering wheel in a rough, angry voice: "The tires are stuck in the mud. We'll have to walk in."
“Then let’s get out of the car and walk in.” Chen Yun, the leader of the rescue team for the Workers’ Hospital, immediately made the decision.
The three people in the car quickly packed their luggage, and Chen Yun got out of the car first.
The streets in the town center looked like a junkyard, with cabinets all over the place, twisted and crooked from being washed away. A large signboard was stuck in the mud right in front of Chen Yun as he got out of the car.
Before he could even stand properly, he slipped on the still-wet mud and stumbled forward a few steps.
The jeeps following behind them also stopped one after another, the doors opened, and everyone got out one after another.
"Director Chen, the medicine we brought hasn't arrived yet. Should we wait until it arrives before going in together, or should we go to the hospital to begin the rescue first?"
The young doctor who got out of the second car was very burly. He was an orthopedic surgeon who had just joined the hospital last year. I heard that in the army, in addition to treating patients, he could also run 10,000 meters with heavy loads.
Hu Xiangming specifically sent him here, mainly to protect the female comrades who were traveling with him.
"Let's go to the hospital to see how it goes," Chen Yun decided.
Dr. Zhang immediately turned around and told the other medical staff about Chen Yun's decision. Everyone quickly packed their things and lined up.
Of the 35 people, 27 had experience in disaster emergency response, and the remaining 8 were all veterans who had been transferred from the military.
The young man leading the group pointed to a three-story red brick building at the highest point: "That's the town's central hospital. It might take us a while to walk there."
The town of Hewei is high in the north and low in the south, and the central hospital is located at the highest point of the town.
Although the straight-line distance is only half a kilometer, climbing out of the mud will be an extremely difficult task.
The young man leading the team was named Cui Wenming.
Intending to set an example for the team, Chen Yun nodded and immediately turned around to walk uphill, but unfortunately, after only two steps, her foot sank into the mud up to her calf.
"Men should take the lead, and women should support each other." Chen Yun grabbed the young man who was about to fall forward with one hand, and turned to instruct her colleagues behind her.
The entire town was so quiet that only the sound of excavators could be heard in the distance.
The once bustling streets are now nearly deserted, and the few people who do pass by are soldiers in uniform.
The group helped each other walk to the hospital.
As the sun sets, it casts a somber hue over the ruins of the town, while the occasional glimpses of military green represent hope.
For many patients waiting for treatment in the hospital, Chen Yun and his colleagues' white coats were undoubtedly a "miracle cure."
Several people were waiting outside the Central Hospital early in the morning.
Upon seeing the red cross representing the hospital on everyone's armbands, one of the middle-aged women, covered in mud, immediately jumped up excitedly.
The moment they met, they both exclaimed in surprise.
"Director Chen!"
"Duan Yun!"
The director of the town's central hospital turned out to be Duan Yun, the head nurse of the Hongri Machinery Factory Staff Hospital.
Her long hair was cut into a neat short style, and she had gained a lot of weight. If it weren't for the fact that her face hadn't changed much, you wouldn't recognize her at first glance.
“Head Nurse Duan.” Zuo Lingling then recognized Duan Yun as well.
"Dr. Zuo." Duan Yun's face was full of surprise and disbelief. Looking at the two of them, he couldn't help but exclaim, "You two have ended up in the same hospital again."
Upon receiving notification from higher authorities, it was learned that the medical team dispatched from Beicheng included a director whose obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics treatment levels were among the top in the country.
At that moment, Duan Yun was thinking, "If only it were Chen Yun who came."
She even attended Chen Yun's farewell party when Chen Yun went to Beicheng, but she never expected that this top talent was really Chen Yun.
"Leaving us aside, how did you go from being a nurse to becoming the hospital director?"
The magnitude of the change was something Zuo Lingling could never have imagined.
Duan Yun sighed, a fleeting sadness crossing his face before quickly disappearing.
"Let's not talk about that now. Let me take you to the hospital to check on things first, and we can talk as we go."
With so many people waiting for the next arrangements, it's definitely not a good time to chat and catch up.
The group quickly followed Duan Yun into the hospital gate.
Because of its elevated location, the Central Hospital was not as badly flooded as other streets, but there were still some shallow marks on the walls of the hospital lobby.
The hall had been washed clean, and muddy footprints were quickly left on the path Chen Yun and his group walked through.
Chen Yun looked back.
"Everyone should take off their shoes and change into a new pair before going upstairs, as there are many patients upstairs, to avoid secondary bacterial infection."
"good."
Everyone responded and took off their shoes and socks on the spot.
It was precisely because of this that Duan Yun finally had a chance to chat with Chen Yun and Zuo Lingling for a few minutes.
Duan Yun's main job is still head nurse; she is currently only the acting president of the Central Hospital.
Chen Yun's brows furrowed deeply.
The fact that the hospital has reached the point where the head nurse is acting as the hospital director means that the hospital is... out of staff.
"Where is the dean?" Zuo Lingling asked.
"The hospital director, six doctors, and male staff from the logistics department went to Hongtu Village for disaster relief and encountered a mudslide..." Duan Yun lowered his head and wiped away his tears, his voice becoming low and somber: "They didn't manage to dig out a single one of them."
"How many days has it been buried?"
Three days!
Everyone knows that the chances of survival for those buried underground are slim, but no one in the hospital wants to say the word "death."
Chen Yun looked up at the empty hall, lost in thought for a long time.
"Now the hospital only has Dr. Liu left. She can handle common colds and flu, but she's helpless when it comes to obstetric and gynecological problems." Duan Yun took a deep breath, finally calming down, and immediately began to talk about the hospital's situation.
The hospital has enough medicine for now; what it needs most right now are doctors and nurses.
The inpatient ward has 35 beds, all of which are occupied. Fifteen patients were injured while fleeing the flood, six were suffering from flare-ups of age-related diseases, and the remaining fourteen are pregnant women.
Hewei Town is already the highest town within a radius of dozens of kilometers. Many other towns were submerged in this flood and no trace of them can be seen.
Therefore, pregnant women who are about to give birth in other towns are sent to Hewei Town.
Just as they were talking, a large group of people suddenly rushed in from the hospital entrance.
Bamboo poles were threaded through stools to make makeshift stretchers, and three pregnant women with protruding bellies sat on the stools, their due dates approaching.
"Doctor, is there a doctor...?"
"My daughter-in-law is about to give birth; she's been having contractions for almost a day!"
"My wife also complained of stomach pain."
"I'm a doctor." Chen Yun straightened her clothes and quickly walked up to the group: "Duan Yun, where is the delivery room in your hospital?"
"On the second floor."
"First, carry this girl in the yellow dress into the delivery room. The rest of you, quickly prepare to assist with the delivery!"
The woman named by Chen Yun had a large wet patch on her pants, indicating that her water had broken and the situation was extremely urgent.
Chen Yun calmly and collectedly directed all the medical staff he had brought.
"Zuo Lingling, you're in charge of that woman in labor. Once she's ready to give birth, get her to the delivery room immediately..."
"good!"
"I'll go right away."
Everyone had experienced various emergency rescue situations in the hospital, and as long as Chen Yun assigned tasks, everyone could quickly get busy.
Duan Yun was not idle either; he hurriedly arranged for someone to guide the medical staff to familiarize themselves with the operation of the central hospital.
"After more than ten years, I can go into the delivery room with you again."
Over the past ten years, Chen Yun seems to have remained largely unchanged. Except for becoming more composed and calm in every step of her work, the way she puts on sterile gloves and raises her hands at the end is exactly the same as before.
"I'll need Nurse Duan's help from now on," Chen Yun said with a smile and a wink.
The delivery room door opened, and the two walked in smiling.
***
While hospitals thousands of miles away were racing against time to save lives, things were also far from peaceful at Beicheng No. 8 Primary School.
"You're talking nonsense!"
"If you dare to say anything bad about my two younger brothers again, I'll wait for you at the school gate every day from now on!"
"Waaaaah... I was wrong! I'll never do it again!"
"Hmph!" Gao Nian'an withdrew his raised fist and gestured with his chin toward the grove: "Get lost!"
The two boys, their faces streaked with tears, scrambled away.
“They’ll definitely tell the teacher.” Gao Nianping sighed as he watched the two figures leave, then pointed at one of them and said, “His uncle is the school’s vice principal. We’re in trouble.”
"What are you afraid of!" Gao Nian'an said with utter disdain, raising his fist and waving it twice: "If they dare to complain, I'll really beat them up."
He just kicked both of them in the butt. If Gao Nian'an really went for the kill, they would both end up in the hospital.
"Sister," Gao Nianping said helplessly.
My older sister likes to solve everything with force, but no matter how hard her fist is, it can't be harder than my father's fist.
Luckily, Mom wasn't home, otherwise the siblings would definitely have gotten a spanking today.
"He can sue, and so can we!"
Gao Nian'an snorted coldly, picked up his schoolbag and was about to put it on when he bent down and saw Gao Nianping suddenly pulling his clothes to both sides.
With a ripping sound, two new rips suddenly appeared on the school uniform.
Then Gao Nianping ruffled his hair, rubbed the wound on the corner of his mouth hard with his thumb, and bent down to grab a handful of dirt and smear it on his pants.
Gao Nian'an was stunned.
"What are you doing?"
“Tell them a story!” Gao Nianping laughed.
After successfully making himself look quite pathetic, he clutched his right leg and limped out of the grove.
Gao Ming rushed to the school after receiving a call, and the moment he pushed open the principal's office door, his aura instantly became sharp and imposing.
Who hit you?
Gao Ming strode up to Gao Nianping, completely ignoring the middle-aged men sitting on either side of the desk.
“Him.” Gao Nianping pointed to one of the chubby boys: “Jiang Mingliang said that Shuai Shuai’s illness was transmitted to him by my mother, that Shuai Shuai is incurable, and that I must tell him the address of Shuai Shuai’s grave after he dies.”
His words caused a stir throughout the room.
Principal Kong's smile, which had originally been intended to give both sides a slap, froze instantly, and he looked at Vice Principal Wu sitting opposite him with a gloomy gaze.
But Gao Nianping had no intention of stopping there, and went on for several minutes to denounce Jiang Mingliang's misdeeds in the class.
The main reason they fought today was a desk.
Because Li Shuaishuai was receiving long-term treatment in the hospital, his desk remained empty, and the teacher did not reassign any students to sit there.
This made Jiang Mingliang, who had long wanted to sit in the front row, particularly unhappy.
Later, he said those hurtful things without thinking, which Gao Nianping, who was as close as a brother to Li Shuaishuai, could not tolerate.
He got into a fight with Jiang Mingliang in class, which ended with Gao Nianping gaining a slight advantage.
As a result, after school, Jiang Mingliang gathered male classmates and some thugs from outside the school to stop Gao Nianping, shouting that they were going to teach him a lesson.
Then... Gao Nian'an, who happened to be picking up his younger brother from school, happened to see it.
The group failed to regain their footing, and the thugs were beaten so badly by Gao Nian'an that they ran away with their heads down.
Gao Nian'an winked at Gao Ming, looking completely unfazed.
The fact that his own children hadn't been bullied quickly calmed Gao Ming down. He pulled the two children close to him and said in an icy tone, "I think we should be the ones demanding an explanation from the school for what happened today."
“Exactly!” Gao Nian’an quickly agreed.
“My wife was assigned by the government to support disaster relief, but what happened... her child was bullied by classmates at school. The school leaders not only turned a blind eye, but also said on the phone that my daughter and son used violence. Should I report this to the health bureau or the municipal education bureau first?”
"I believe the health bureau will not break my wife's heart..."
As he spoke, Gao Ming pulled a palm-sized flip phone out of his pocket and gently pried it open with his thumb.
The children's conflict was instantly elevated to a higher level by Gao Ming...
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