Chapter 79 Every Second Counts
Xiao Juan's Restaurant.
Gao Lan and Zhou Jianguo directly used their daughter Zhou Xiaojuan's name for their restaurant.
Several large, crooked characters were painted in red on the gray brick wall, and steam was rising from the steamer placed at the entrance.
Looking around, this restaurant was indeed the only shop on the entire street.
There was a river across the river, and several wooden boats were moored on the surface, so it looked like people were fishing in the river.
"Isn't that Zhou Jianguo?"
A figure was squatting by the river fishing. The moment Chen Yun spoke, he flicked the fishing rod upwards, and the fish leaped out of the water, drawing an arc in the air before landing on the bank.
Laughter drifted over.
Zhou Jianguo picked up the fish and threw it into the bucket, then quickly reeled in the fish, picked up the bucket, and turned to walk towards Chen Yun and the others.
"Second sister-in-law, you're here."
"Your fishing skills are really good!" Chen Yun gave him a thumbs up, then quickly pressed down on her restless daughter's head: "There are cars on the road, you're not allowed to go past."
"Didn't Gao Lan say that your sister-in-law is coming over for lunch?" Zhou Jianguo raised the wooden bucket to indicate: "Let's catch two fish and add some dishes."
"It's quite big!"
There were four or five carp huddled together in the bucket, the smallest of which weighed at least two pounds, which gives you an idea of how many big fish there must be in the river.
"It's been two years and I didn't even know there were big fish in the river by the side gate." Gao Ming was also somewhat surprised.
“There’s a fishpond upstream, and whenever it rains, the fish will be washed downstream.”
"I'll try it tomorrow when it rains."
"We have extra fishing rods in the shop, so just come and get them."
Chen Yun found Zhou Jianguo and Gao Ming's calm and peaceful conversation somewhat novel, since the two of them had previously been like mice before a cat.
Right now, one person is scraping mud off the soles of their shoes on the cement slab by the door, while the other is casually chatting nearby.
"Second sister-in-law is here..."
The dull, dark blue curtain was lifted, and Gao Lan's smiling face appeared in the doorway, along with a pungent, sour smell.
"Sister-in-law, come in quickly." Gao Lan made way for her and waved to Gao Nian'an with a smile: "Nian'an, come in quickly, your sister Xiao Juan has been waiting for you for a long time."
"Sister Xiaojuan."
Gao Nian'an cheered and skipped inside.
"I'll have to trouble you all for lunch!" Chen Yun put Gao Nianping down and patted her little bottom: "Go play with your older sisters!"
"Sister-in-law, you're too kind." Gao Lan frowned slightly, then relaxed. "If it weren't for my second brother, Jianguo and I would still be at home worrying about our parents' meager wages."
Chen Yun never expected that she and her sister-in-law could chat and laugh together. Moreover, Gao Lan was now more straightforward and fiery, and could speak frankly about her past sordid thoughts.
So people can change... and some can change for the better.
The restaurant has two floors, each with an area of at least 60 square meters. Gao Ming said it used to be a state-owned restaurant belonging to an automobile factory.
Gao Lan took it without making any changes; even the tables, chairs, and benches could be repaired and used.
Therefore, the restaurant's decor is still completely stuck in the 1970s. The red paint on the slogans has faded and become blurry, and there is a thick layer of grease on the bathroom walls.
The tabletop was covered with greasy residue and various marks that couldn't be wiped clean, and the bench was worn smooth and shiny.
"Sister-in-law, you and my second brother sit down first. Jianguo and I will go to the kitchen to kill the fish."
"You go about your business, let's have some water first and wait a bit."
Gao Lan and Zhou Jianguo lifted half of the dirty white cloth at the kitchen doorway one after the other, and the sizzling sound of cooking could be heard incessantly from inside the kitchen.
"Sit by the window."
It wasn't lunchtime yet, and the restaurant was empty; the lobby was deserted.
Gao Ming chose two tables by the window and diligently wiped the benches with his sleeve and poured hot water for them to cool down.
"Gao Lan has changed a lot since she opened the restaurant."
"After having Xiaojuan, the couple has hope for the future!" Gao Ming replied succinctly.
Seeing that the water was almost warm, he took the cup and went into the kitchen.
Chen Yun doesn't sleep much, but as long as she drinks tea, she's guaranteed to stay awake until dawn. Most of the time, she adds a little bit of white sugar to her tea.
As a doctor, she certainly knows to eat less sweets, but as a human being, that's all she likes.
In her past life, Chen Yun loved drinking all kinds of fruit juice. During the day, she would tell her parents to give their children less sugary drinks, and when she worked overtime at night, there was always a glass of juice in the corner of her desk.
So doctors... are human too!
"The sugar is in the front desk drawer." Gao Lan pointed to a cashier counter by the door, then called to the back, "Cui Niang, could you get some sugar for my second brother?"
Cui Niang responded, "Coming!" and soon her slender figure appeared in the kitchen.
"Hello, Comrade Gao."
"Hello."
Cui Niang cut off her long braid that hung down her neck and replaced it with a short bob that reached her ears, making her look much more capable.
She smiled at Gao Ming and skillfully wiped her hands on her apron.
The restaurant serves diners from all over the country, and some people are used to drinking sweetened tea, so the sugar jar is always on the table for everyone to place as they please.
Later, someone took advantage of the situation and poured large spoonfuls of sugar into their pocket, so Gao Lan locked the sugar in a drawer.
If someone really likes sweet tea, just ask the waiter for it.
As Cui Niang took out the white sugar, she explained to Gao Ming, and then asked with some curiosity, "Comrade Gao likes to drink sugared tea?"
“My wife likes to drink sugar water.” Gao Ming smiled, scooped up a spoonful of sugar and then shook off two-thirds of it: “But it can’t be too sweet, just a little bit sweet is fine.”
"Comrade Gao is so good to his wife," Cui Niang said enviously.
He spoke these words very softly, and Gao Ming had already turned around and walked quite a distance with the sweet soup in his hand.
Before anyone knew it, Gao Lan and Zhou Jianguo had returned from the kitchen to the front desk.
Gao Lan locked the jar back into the drawer and smacked Zhou Jianguo in the chest with her elbow without mercy: "Why don't you learn from my second brother? All he does all day is fish for that stupid fish and brag to the chef."
"Even if you kill me, I still won't be as good as Second Brother."
Zhou Jianguo rubbed his chest and muttered. He could still vividly recall Gao Ming's fists knocking down several people; how could he dare to imitate him...
The couple is saying completely different things!
Gao Lan thought about it and agreed: "My second sister-in-law is also outstanding. She and my second brother are a perfect match. How can we compare?"
"Boss lady, lunch isn't ready yet!"
While we were chatting, several men walked into the restaurant. Judging from their clothes, they were probably drivers from a nearby transportation company.
Gao Lan greeted everyone with a smile and waved to them with practiced ease: "Sit down and rest for a while, the dishes will be ready soon."
Zhou Jianguo wisely went into the kitchen to help.
Cui Niang glanced again at the backs of the two people standing shoulder to shoulder by the window, then slowly turned her gaze away and walked towards the kitchen.
The midday sun slanted through the glass windows into the restaurant, casting bright patches of light on the old tables.
The once empty restaurant is now bustling with activity, with almost every table full of people, and people waiting outside the window with lunchboxes to take their food away.
The restaurant's location is truly one in a million.
The air was filled with the aroma of scallions being fried and the smells of various foods mixed together.
Gao Ming invited everyone to serve themselves some food.
"We're all old friends, so please don't stand on ceremony. Help yourselves to food and drinks!"
Hu Gangtie has given up most of his drinking. He only dares to sip a small glass of wine, afraid that drinking too much will interfere with his work in the afternoon.
The liquor flowed down his throat, bringing waves of burning sensation, making Hu Gangtie click his tongue in disbelief.
Upon seeing this, Yang Juhua immediately snatched the wine glass and placed it beside her, glaring at Hu Gangtie with annoyance.
Despite their thin appearance, both Ma Laoniang and Ma Zhigang have large appetites; they filled two large bowls with rice as soon as they started eating.
Su Weiming's wife is a woman of few words and eats very politely.
The loudest person at the table was Li Huguo, who kept asking about the situation and joking about Qin Yuehua's matter.
He chatted and laughed with ease, appearing completely at ease.
Chen Yun asked, "Li Huguo, why didn't you invite Ruanqiu to come and join the fun today?"
"That's right, why didn't Comrade Ruanqiu come?"
Yang Juhua and Ma Laoniang, who had been neighbors for several years, echoed the sentiment.
"She recently partnered with someone to open some kind of clothing or shoe store, and she leaves early and comes home late every day, so she doesn't even have time to take care of her children."
When did this happen?
The two chatted during the Chinese New Year. Ruanqiu said she planned to stay at home and be a housewife until Li Shuaishuai started elementary school, then she would find a cashier job to go back to her old profession.
How did you manage to open a clothing store in just two months?
Moreover, Li Huguo didn't even know what kind of shop his wife ran.
Chen Yun looked at Li Huguo with a face full of suspicion.
He shrugged: "I'll take care of the money." Then he hurriedly raised his glass to clink glasses with Gao Ming: "You're free this afternoon anyway, come and have a drink."
Gao Ming tapped Chen Yun's knee with his hand under the table.
These two are probably... arguing again.
Chen Yun abandoned his plan to get some inside information from Li Huguo and obediently served food to the two children.
As they ate and chatted, the atmosphere grew increasingly lively, when suddenly someone appeared and interrupted their reminiscing.
"Dr. Chen... Dr. Chen, the hospital called you!"
The person who came was an employee of the company's administration department. He had just received a phone call in Gao Ming's office. The caller said he was a doctor from the obstetrics and gynecology department of the Workers' Hospital and was informing Chen Yun to rush back to the hospital immediately to participate in the emergency treatment.
Chen Yun immediately stood up and walked out of the restaurant.
"You guys watch the kids for a bit while I take Chen Yun to the hospital." Gao Ming immediately stood up.
He had gotten used to the hospital phone ringing at all hours of the day.
The hospital must have called home, then got Gao Ming's office number, which is why they eventually called the transportation company.
"Strange! Logically speaking, Xue Ruzhi should be here today..."
The two departments deliberately staggered their shifts to avoid situations requiring emergency rescue.
Chen Yun is off work today, so Xue Ruzhi will definitely be working at the hospital.
The fact that the hospital went to great lengths to find Chen Yun means that Xue Ruzhi... must have been absent because of something else.
The car sped all the way to the hospital.
"Director Chen, it's a case of fetal heart rate deceleration in a pregnant woman in our department... We reported it to Director Xue, who should have been in the break room, but Director Xue said... said... it's normal fluctuation..."
The resident physician in the second department had only graduated from school six months ago and had no idea how to handle this kind of situation.
The doctors in the same department were in a similar situation. Normally, Xue Ruzhi would not let them handle this kind of situation, and she would panic and could only report the situation to her superiors.
"The hospital director and Director Dong of the gynecology department asked us to contact you immediately."
Both of them were skilled in other subjects, and upon learning of the situation, they immediately contacted Xue Ruzhi again.
The phone rang several times but no one answered, so they had no choice but to go to Chen Yun, who was far away.
What was the fetal heart rate during the last test?
"110, but we found that the fetal heart rate was decreasing."
"Check the fetal heart rate again."
I ran all the way to the third ward of the first department, and to my surprise, Hu Xiangming and Dong Jiancheng, the director of the obstetrics and gynecology department, were both in the room.
Dong Jiancheng's face was terribly gloomy. As soon as he saw Chen Yun, he said, "The fetal heart rate is still dropping. It's only 96 now."
Chen Yun made a decision immediately.
"To the operating room!"
The nurses hurriedly helped the person onto the mobile hospital bed.
Chen Yun hurried toward the operating room to check on the mother's condition.
The woman's name is Su Wen, she is 24 years old and 37 weeks and 3 days pregnant. She came to the hospital to be hospitalized for pregnancy preservation because she had some spotting a few days ago.
This morning, I noticed that the fetus in my womb was moving less, and I immediately reported it to my supervisor, Dr. Feng.
The first fetal heart rate test showed it was still on the edge of normal. Dr. Feng felt that an emergency cesarean section might be necessary, so he sent a nurse to find Xue Ruzhi, who was supposed to be in the rest room.
Xue Ruzhi went to the ward to check and concluded that the fluctuations were normal before leaving the ward.
Dr. Feng was still worried, so she performed a second fetal heart rate check half an hour later.
The results showed that the fetal heart rate had decreased compared to the previous monitoring, raising suspicion of intrauterine distress, and the patient went to the recovery room again to report.
Xue Ruzhi was not in the ward, and no one answered the phone when she called home.
After that, they finally managed to contact Chen Yun.
Fifty-three minutes have passed since the fetal heart rate was detected to have dropped slightly.
The fetus was suffering from oxygen deprivation, and every minute of delay would increase the risk of brain damage. Chen Yun didn't have time to criticize Xue Ruzhi for lacking medical ethics, and ran into the operating room to prepare.
Hu Xiangming hurriedly followed behind, and almost all the doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology department gathered outside the operating room.
From the decision to have the surgery to the start of anesthesia, a total of eight minutes elapsed. The next second, Chen Yun picked up the scalpel and slowly made a horizontal incision in Su Wen's lower abdomen.
The only sound in the operating room was the beeping of the instruments.
All the young doctors in the operating room who were observing the cesarean section held their breath, fearing that what they were about to witness would be the worst possible outcome.
"Baby head-down position, get ready."
The moment the amniotic fluid gushed out, all the doctors' hearts sank lower and lower—yellowish-green meconium, obvious amniotic fluid contamination.
Chen Yun's expression remained unchanged as she carefully lifted the fetus's head and removed it from the abdomen.
A limp, bluish-purple fetus seemed to dangle in Chen Yun's hands, and Chen Yun's limbs even swayed weakly as she moved it.
"The newborn is asphyxiating," Chen Yun said coldly. "Dr. Feng will suture the wound, and the rest of the doctors will learn how to perform resuscitation."
The baby was quickly transferred to the warming table. Chen Yun's command was brief and forceful: "Prepare for endotracheal intubation, positive pressure ventilation..."
"Chest movement is good." During the resuscitation, Chen Yun took a moment to observe the numbers on the monitor: "Eighty...one hundred and one...spontaneous breathing has appeared."
Chen Yun gently wiped the baby's face clean with a towel. The little body began to move slightly, and the bluish-purple color gradually faded and turned pink.
Currently, the neonatal department does not have a systematic standard for Apgar scores, so Chen Yun could only silently recite the number five in her mind.
"Preparing to transfer to the neonatal ward, intubation and transport..."
Dr. Xu from the Neonatal Department immediately pushed the incubator in front of them, connected it to a portable oxygen cylinder and monitor, and carefully placed the baby in it.
Although the baby's breathing was still irregular, the child was already showing signs of life, enough to make the doctors in the operating room cheer quietly.
From the moment the incision was made to the moment the child was saved, Chen Yun only took thirteen minutes.
Every decision she made seemed to be made with complete confidence, which allowed her to carry out each step of the rescue with precision and minimize the rescue time.
At this moment, everyone looked at Chen Yun with a hint of admiration.
"Dr. Feng?" Chen Yun suddenly turned to look at the operating table.
Dr. Feng then realized that he had stopped suturing, and was immediately terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat. He quickly looked away and continued his work.
"The uterine contractions are very poor; prepare for an intravenous oxytocin infusion."
The suturing was completed quickly, and it was only when the mother was wheeled out of the operating room that Dr. Feng realized his fingers were trembling uncontrollably.
It was a lingering fear that had been suppressed to the extreme.
If Chen Yun hadn't arrived in time, this child probably wouldn't have survived.
For the first time, Dr. Feng, who had been Xue Ruzhi's assistant for ten years, experienced a sense of accomplishment as a doctor.
"You did very well today."
Just then, Chen Yun passed by, patted the trembling Doctor Feng on the shoulder, and praised him with a smile in his eyes.
Dr. Feng trembled even more violently.
This time, it wasn't fear... but excitement!
How are the adults and children doing?
Hu Xiangming is even more anxious than the mother's family right now; those are two lives, and nothing is more important than human lives.
"The mother is in good condition, but the baby has been without oxygen for a long time. The baby's condition is currently stable."
"That's good, that's good..."
The lives were saved, which also meant that the Workers' Hospital, which had just begun to gain some recognition, was also saved.
The surge of anger instantly enraged Hu Xiangming, who pounded his fists against the wall: "They actually treat human life like a game, that Xue Ruzhi!"
Two figures rushed down the corridor, the one in the lead panting as he quickly reported.
"Dean Hu, the people we sent out have found Director Xue. She...she...a family member of a woman in labor has asked Director Xue to have dinner at a nearby restaurant."
"This is the family member who hosted the dinner."
It's you!
Dr. Feng immediately exclaimed in surprise, realizing that the family members who had invited them to dinner were none other than Su Wen's husband and father-in-law.
"We also found this!" The leader pulled a red envelope from his pocket, and Hu Xiangming took it with a cold smile: "It's quite a thick red envelope!"
"Where is Xue Ruzhi?" Hu Xiangming asked again.
"Director Xue said he had a stomachache and went to see a doctor in the gastroenterology department."
"Okay! Okay!" Hu Xiangming's shoulders trembled violently, and the tips of his fingers, which were gripping the red envelope, had turned white. "Notify Vice President Lin to come to my office. Since she doesn't care, I'll let the leaders of the Health Bureau handle it."
After saying that, she angrily threw the red envelope at Su Wen's husband's feet.
Su Wen's husband was still completely bewildered. Giving a red envelope to the surgeon who performed the operation during childbirth was nothing unusual to him.
Since everyone around him did it, he didn't see anything wrong with it.
"You almost killed your son."
Only after Doctor Feng coldly yelled at the man and explained the whole story did the man's legs give way and he collapsed to the ground.
He recalled that they had even suggested having some drinks during the meal.
If other doctors hadn't rushed back to the hospital, it's uncertain whether the baby would have survived... and whether the wife would have also been in danger.
"Thank you, Director Chen, for saving my wife and children."
The man cried and scrambled to his feet, landing in front of Chen Yun, who was arranging the examination procedures with the nurse.
Chen Yun lifted her foot, completely ignoring the man's tearful appearance.
This is just the first step... As for whether the child will have any long-term effects, we can only wait and see.
After explaining the examination items, Chen Yun hurriedly went to the neonatal department.
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