Since the global warming began, the temperature has been rising instead of falling for two consecutive months. In the case of water shortage and power outage, many frail and sick elderly and children cannot withstand the high temperature weather and suffer from a series of heat stroke symptoms such as fainting, vomiting, high fever, heat cold, etc. They are sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, which has caused major hospitals to be overcrowded, beds are in urgent need, and patients can only squeeze everywhere.
In order to avoid inconvenience caused by too many people in the hospital, major hospitals made regulations half a month ago that each patient can only be accompanied by one family member to see a doctor.
Even so, the hospital's wards, halls, corridors, and even stairwells and bathrooms are packed with patients.
The main reason is that the weather is too hot. In previous years, the high temperature of 40 degrees in summer was unbearable. This year the temperature has reached 50 degrees, and the perceived temperature is at least 52 degrees. It is not an exaggeration to say that humans are being boiled in half-boiled water.
In such hot weather, people might be able to endure it if there were air conditioning. However, the high temperature caused a large-scale drought, making it impossible for Province S to generate electricity. The province can only rely on thermal power, coal-fired power and other power generation equipment dispatched by the state from other provinces to ensure the operation of necessary public area facilities such as hospitals. The daily power supply time for residents is limited to three hours, which makes people who are already having a hard time feel that they can't survive in such a hot environment.
As early as a month ago, all companies, units, factories, etc. in Xingcheng stopped working and schools were also on holiday. In order to let the elderly and children survive the hot weather, people were trying to take their families to avoid the heat almost every day. However, as the weather got hotter, more and more people got sick, and the hospitals became busier and busier, followed by the bad news of the continuous death of patients.
After Si Nan fainted, Cheng Su Ming performed a series of emergency rescue on her and drove her to the nearest Grade A hospital. Because there were too many patients, there was no bed for Si Nan to lie on. Cheng Su Ming spent a lot of money and two bottles of mineral water to exchange his current bed with a patient who had a bed number, which made the other patients' families in the same ward very envious.
There is a shortage of supplies nowadays. Most of the shopping malls, supermarkets and stores in Xingcheng have closed. Only a few supermarkets with stocks are still open. However, due to inflation, prices have skyrocketed. A 500ml bottle of mineral water that used to cost only two yuan is now sold for forty yuan, and it is still in short supply. Other things are even more outrageously expensive, with a different price every day. Money is like waste paper. You may not be able to buy anything even if you take out handfuls of it.
People nowadays can only survive on the relief food issued by the national government. The relief food is not enough for a family to eat, so how can there be any extra food and water to exchange for beds? In addition, Cheng Su Ming and Si Nan are both dressed very cleanly. Unlike other people, they are not covered with sweat. Instead, they have the unique fragrance of laundry detergent. It is obvious that they are wealthy people with extra water for bathing and washing clothes. How can we not envy them?
Si Nan understood the whole story, smiled at the woman, turned around and asked Cheng Su Ming in a low voice: "How long have I been unconscious?"
"Not long, one day." Cheng Suming reached out and touched her forehead, feeling that her body temperature was normal, and sat next to the bed: "Cheng Wei knew that you had heatstroke, so she specially made some food and sent it over. Do you want to eat some?"
"Cheng Wei is here?"
"She came here with her boyfriend. The hospital doesn't allow outsiders to come in, so they've already left. They just moved here, and there are still a lot of things to sort out at home."
"Is that so? Then eat something."
Cheng Suming opened the lunch box layer by layer. The first layer was Cantonese hand-shredded chicken. The chicken was shredded neither too big nor too small, and served with a secret Cantonese-style dressing. The chicken was tender and juicy in the mouth, not at all dry. Even Sinan, who had a strong taste for food, thought it tasted very good.
The second layer is braised pig's trotters, which are chopped into large pieces, first marinated in brine, and then braised with hot pot ingredients. They are braised until they are soft and boneless, with a bright red skin. They are rich in flavor and can be eaten without any bones. It is so delicious that you can't stop eating.
The third layer is stir-fried cabbage, which tastes refreshing and very refreshing.
The fourth layer is crystal clear pearl rice, which is neither too hard nor too soft. It is very delicious when eaten with rice.
The fifth layer is meatballs and winter melon soup. The meatballs are chewy and the soup is fresh and delicious. Having a bowl of this after a full meal is quite satisfying.
The portions in the lunch boxes were quite large, enough for Si Nan and Cheng Su Ming.
As the two of them ate, the rich aroma of food and meat floated in the air, enticing everyone in the ward to look at them and swallow their saliva at the same time.
The hospital cafeteria is operating normally, but the food is very simple, with only porridge and steamed buns, accompanied by some bagged pickles and pickled mustard. All of them are very expensive. A bowl of watery white porridge costs thirty yuan, a steamed bun the size of a child's fist costs forty, and a steamed bun costs fifty. A small bag of pickled mustard that used to cost one yuan now costs twenty-five yuan.
The ridiculously high prices are one thing, but the most unacceptable thing is that the food that everyone spent a lot of money to buy goes bad in less than four hours from the time it leaves the pot to the time it reaches our hands because of the hot weather, and it tastes rotten and smells bad.
In order to save money, many patients' families bought some steamed buns, broke them in half, and ate them for lunch and dinner. However, before that time, the food in their hands had gone bad. Those with weak stomachs would suffer from vomiting and diarrhea after eating it, and they would have to spend money on hospitalization. Those with better stomachs would feel that the food was no different from eating slop.
Naturally, there are many people in the hospital who are rich and have no shortage of supplies. Most of them are very low-key and will go to secluded corners to eat. They are different from Si Nan and the other person, who directly create hatred in the narrow ward.
Immediately, several children started crying and clamoring for delicious food, and their parents hurried to comfort them.
The one who made the most trouble was a chubby little boy about seven or eight years old. He was brought to see the doctor by his mother, a fat woman in her forties with curly hair.
The little fat boy was receiving an IV drip and sitting against the wall. He smelled the fragrance in the air, grabbed his mother's hand, and shouted excitedly, "Mom, I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat! I haven't eaten meat for half a month, and I love meat the most! Mom, I'm starving, go buy me some!"
He was very strong, and the fat woman gasped in pain, but she still patiently coaxed him: "My dear son, you are still sick. Patients cannot eat big fish and meat. Eating them will make your illness worse."
"Then how can she eat it?" the little fat man pointed at Si Nan and asked.
Si Nan paused while chewing the pig's trotter, and looked up at Cheng Su Ming. Cheng Su Ming took out a pack of wet wipes, pulled out a wet wipe, and naturally reached out to wipe the oil stains on the corners of Si Nan's mouth. He said slowly: "It's not a serious illness that requires surgery or dietary restrictions. In principle, patients can eat oily and meaty foods, but only in small amounts."
This sentence touched the little fat boy's heart, and he shouted at his mother: "Mom, did you hear that? The doctor said I can eat meat. I want to eat meat. I want to eat meat!"
"Son, listen to me. Don't listen to the nonsense of that Cheng. He says he is a doctor. Which doctor is he? What certificate does he have? He will only lead bad people..." The fat woman glared at Cheng Suming fiercely, then turned to comfort the little fat boy: "Son, be good. Let's be patient for now. There is no meat for sale in this hospital. Even if there is, it is ridiculously expensive. Your father negotiated a business deal with someone some time ago, and he is a little short of money. We don't know how long we will have to stay in the hospital, so we should save money."
"I don't care! I just want to eat meat!" The spoiled little fat boy, who usually gets whatever he wants at home, can't live without meat and can't miss a meal. Seeing that his mother didn't buy him meat, he stood up desperately and pushed the fat woman to the ground, not caring that the infusion tube was still inserted in his body. He stepped over a group of patients and rushed to the lunch box beside Sinan's bed like a madman.
Si Nan and the other man had finished eating by then, with only a little soup left in the lunch box. The fat boy poured all the soup into his mouth without a care, and still felt it was not enough, so he rummaged through the trash can under the foot of the bed, found the pig's trotter bone that Si Nan and the other man had gnawed on, and grabbed it in his hand and chewed it madly.
Everyone in the ward was shocked by this scene. The fat woman was furious and ashamed. She rushed over to stop the fat boy and beat him, "Are you crazy? You have made me lose face. Do you want to die if you don't eat meat for a meal? Hurry up and throw it away, or I will beat you to death!"
She dragged the little fat boy to a corner with force. It was probably the first time that the little fat boy was beaten by her. After being stunned, he cried, made a fuss and rolled on the ground. The fat woman was so angry that she could do nothing. While beating and scolding the little fat boy, she said to Cheng Suming and the others in a sarcastic tone: "You think you are great just because you have a little money and some supplies? You can show off here. I want to see how long you can show off!"
Simon:......
These words sounded so familiar. In the past, whenever she saw rich people, she would silently say this in her heart.
Now the situation has changed, and the feeling is really subtle.
Not long after this farce, the hospital started serving meals and people in the wards went out one after another to get their meals.
Si Nan felt that he was almost well, but most importantly, he didn't want to be crowded with so many people. He felt that he had difficulty breathing and wanted to be discharged from the hospital. Cheng Su Ming turned around without saying a word and went to complete the discharge procedures.
Before the two of them left, Cheng Suming specifically asked her to put five packets of instant noodles, five packets of compressed biscuits and two 500ml bottles of mineral water into his backpack. He pretended to take them out of the bag, avoiding everyone's eyes, and secretly gave them to the young mother who was holding a bamboo pole and holding a five-year-old boy.
Only then did Si Nan realize that the bed she was staying in was the same bed number that the young mother had queued for in the hospital. Due to the recent soaring prices and the child's illness, the young mother's family was average and she had spent all her family's money on food and water, leaving her with no extra money for the hospitalization fees. At that time, Cheng Suming found her and said that he could cover the child's medical expenses and hospitalization fees, and she agreed immediately.
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, the young mother said to others that she did not know the couple and sat beside their bed holding her child, hoping that the child would recover and return home soon.
The reason why Cheng Su Ming brought a lunch box into the ward and ate with Si Nan in a swaggering manner to attract hatred was mainly because of the fat mother and son who made people hate them.
On the night when Si Nan fainted, Cheng Su Ming saw that the child in the young mother's arms was so hungry that he looked exhausted, so he took out two small breads from his bag and gave them to him. As a result, the little fat boy smelled the bread and rushed over to grab one without saying a word. He ate it in just a few bites, scaring the five-year-old child into crying loudly.
The young mother questioned angrily, and the fat woman said something like, "It's just a piece of bread, what's so strange about it, her son is willing to eat her son's food, it's her son's blessing", etc. The young mother was very angry, and she cried for a long time while holding her child with tears in her eyes.
Cheng Su Ming was a man who would repay a favor and a grudge. He disliked the fat mother and son, so he called Cheng Wei the next day and asked her to send over a delicious meal. He ate it in bed on purpose, and sure enough, the fat mother and son took the bait.
Thinking of the embarrassing scene of the fat mother and son, Si Nan sat in the co-pilot seat of the Hummer, fastened his seat belt and gave Cheng Su Ming a thumbs up: "You are indeed a person with a kind face but a black heart. Only you can do such a thing!"
Cheng Suming raised his eyebrows: "I'll take it as a compliment."
Sinan smiled and was about to say something when he suddenly heard several loud bangs from several vehicles not far from the parking garage, followed by several people screaming together.
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