Just as I was at my wit's end, the door to the cleaning room opened and a woman around forty years old came in. She stepped halfway into the cleaning room and hesitated when she saw me. I was worried that if she continued to stand there, she would expose me, so I went up and pulled her in.
I took her arm and pulled her into the cleaning room. I remembered seeing a name tag with the name Zhou Lifang in a storage cabinet. Although I wasn't sure if it was the woman in front of me, I still took off my mask and showed my face to the woman, saying, "You must be Aunt Zhou. Just as my mother said, you have a kind and gentle face."
The woman looked at me suspiciously: "Who are you?"
I smiled sweetly and said, "Auntie, I'm Li Mei's daughter, Li Lili. My mother contacted you and asked you to take care of me for a few days."
The woman frowned and thought for a moment: "I don't know you, and I don't know Li Mei either."
I feigned surprise and released the woman's arm: "Auntie, aren't you Aunt Zhou?"
The woman hesitated for a moment: "My surname is Zhou."
I put on a smile and said, "That's right! You must be Aunt Zhou Lifang, right?"
The woman nodded, and I sighed and took her arm again: "That's right, didn't my mother contact you?"
Zhou Lifang shook her head: "No, I don't know anyone named Li Mei."
I pretended to look worried: "Ah~ Don't you recognize my mother? Is my mother lying to me again? She clearly told me to come to you, and she has already taken care of everything for me."
Zhou Lifang looked at me apologetically: "I don't know Li Mei, but I know someone named Li Chunmei."
I raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Is this my mother's old name? She changed her name once, but I don't know what it was."
Zhou Lifang smiled, her face crinkling with wrinkles: "That's probably your mother. She hasn't contacted me, but this is something she's capable of doing. Your mother, when she was young, always liked to pretend..."
Zhou Lifang didn't finish her sentence, but looked at me with a slightly embarrassed smile: "Why would someone so young like you want to work as a cleaner?"
I laughed and said, "I want to start a housekeeping company, but I don't really understand the ins and outs of cleaning. As a boss, I can't be completely clueless, right, Auntie?"
Zhou Lifang laughed and said, "Haha, that's right, that's right. If your employees clean for you casually, you won't even know. Your company's reputation will be ruined."
I moved a few steps closer to Zhou Lifang: "That's right, Auntie, you really know your stuff. When my company opens, why don't you come and work for me? I heard that this hospital doesn't pay much, but I'll double it for you and make you the manager. I'll arrange a bunch of employees for you to manage."
Zhou Lifang's face immediately broke into a wide smile: "How could I possibly accept that? I'm not very educated and can't be a manager."
I reached out and patted Zhou Lifang's arm: "Auntie, you're joking. This industry doesn't require any education. Skill is what matters. My mom said you're very meticulous and thorough when cleaning. You can be in charge of training the employees."
Zhou Lifang's eyes were already full of expectation. Seeing that the time was right, I put on a worried look: "Auntie, could you find me a pair of shoes? I was changing my clothes just now when a woman dressed as a patient came in, pushed me down, and took my shoes."
Zhou Lifang frowned and looked at my bare feet: "Oh dear, who's so rude, trying to steal my shoes? Wait, what did you say? A woman in a hospital gown?"
I nodded: "Yes, she looked extremely haggard, but I didn't expect her to be so strong. She grabbed my shoes and ran away. I was just about to chase after her when you arrived."
Zhou Lifang immediately turned to look at the door: "Oh no, I have to report to the manager. When I came in, he said that a female patient was missing and the hospital is looking for her."
Zhou Lifang turned to leave, but I grabbed her arm and tightened my grip: "Auntie, don't rush off. Could you find me a pair of shoes first? I'll go with you; maybe I can help you find some."
Zhou Lifang thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I happen to have a spare pair of shoes. If you don't mind, you can wear mine for now."
I laughed and said, "How could I possibly dislike you? You're my mother's friend, so you're practically my mother. What daughter would dislike her mother?"
Zhou Lifang was pleased with these words. She nodded and smiled as she walked to the cleaning cart, reached into the place where the rags were, took out two rags, and reached in with her other hand to take out a pair of cloth shoes and handed them to me: "Here you go. I think your feet are about the same size as mine. See if they fit."
I smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Auntie. You're so kind."
After saying that, I put on Zhou Lifang's shoes. Zhou Lifang was a head shorter than me, and her feet were also much smaller than mine, but I still gritted my teeth and squeezed them in. Fortunately, the shoes were already loose, and I managed to squeeze my heels into the shoes by slightly bending my toes.
Seeing that I was dressed appropriately, Zhou Lifang smiled and said, "Then let's go. Hurry up and report to the manager about the escaped patient."
I nodded, put on my mask, and followed Zhou Lifang out of the cleaning room. Outside, it was already chaotic. Many family members were making a fuss at the ward entrance. Judging from the noise, it was because a sudden power outage had caused some patients' machines to stop, almost endangering their lives. Although the backup power was turned on in time, the family members were still dissatisfied with the hospital's power outage.
I felt guilty. I only thought about escaping and didn't realize that there were many patients in the hospital who needed medical equipment to keep them alive. I could only silently hope in my heart that they could turn the tide and be cured.
Zhou Lifang led me around several corners. During this time, I noticed that we were currently on the 7th floor. I didn't see any escalators along the way, only two elevators. It seemed that you needed to swipe a card to ride the elevator, and the cards were only available at the nurses' station next to the elevator. The nurses always carried them with them.
Zhou Lifang led me for a while to the emergency exit. After pushing open the door, I found that in addition to the stairs, there was also a freight elevator and an employee elevator in the passage. Zhou Lifang took out a card from her bag, swiped it in the elevator, and pressed the button for the third floor. I suddenly started to panic. If I really went to Manager Zhou Lifang to get my card, I would be exposed soon. I quickly thought for a moment.
I quickly pressed the button on the third floor three times, and the light went out. Zhou Lifang looked at me in confusion. I said calmly, "Auntie, I went to the third floor before I came up to change my clothes. I think they said they needed to put something on the third floor, and it seems that everyone went to the first floor."
Zhou Lifang tilted her head and thought for a while, muttering something under her breath. I asked nervously, "Auntie, what did you say?"
Zhou Lifang shook her head: "Ah, it's nothing."
After Zhou Lifang finished speaking, she took out her card again, swiped it, and pressed the button for the first floor. I finally breathed a sigh of relief. As the elevator reached the first floor, my heart pounded until the elevator doors opened...
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