Mo Weiming was a little absent-minded.
There are two surgeries today. One was in the morning, when the arm plate was removed for a patient who had been scheduled yesterday. One happened suddenly in the afternoon. The management of the construction site was not standardized, and the steel bar penetrated the young worker's shoulder and neck, breaking his collarbone.
The worker has a wife and a son. The woman argued loudly with the foreman, her words as sharp as her voice. The child cried bitterly outside the operating room. He cried so hard that he couldn't breathe and fainted. He is still very young and may not know what his father has gone through, but his mother's abnormality is enough to make him uneasy. The security asked several people to leave, and Bi Yushu and another nurse who was not involved in the operation took care of the child. Mo Weiming turned a deaf ear to all the noise, expressionlessly picking out broken bones from the flesh and blood, concerned about whether he could get off work on time today.
No wonder he is indifferent. Almost all doctors are indifferent. In the face of life and death, any problem that can be solved is not a problem. Even in many cases, life and death may not be a problem. The assistant who handed over the hemostatic forceps lamented that the man was lucky, as the aorta and important organs were almost undamaged. It’s just that there are large areas of rust on the steel bars, so we need to pay attention to infection. Mo Weiming hummed through the mask.
After the operation, he walked to the storage room. The warehouse manager on duty today is a related household, an alcoholic. Mo Weiming is not, but he often brings some wine, saying it is a thank-you gift from some family members. The quality of the wine is uncertain, and the warehouse manager accepts all orders, which makes it much easier for him to obtain equipment and medicines. Even if he is away, Mo Weiming is equipped with a spare key.
Anyone who is slightly familiar with Mo Weiming should know that it is a fantasy for family members to give gifts. Every matter handed over to family members after surgery is basically done by others. Just as Yushu said to Wu Hui, he is not liked by others. If the condition is not too serious, someone has to hold him down from making some inappropriate jokes. If the injury was serious, he would not say anything, but he would only have cold and ruthless words to report the truth without polish. The resulting tension in the doctor-patient relationship has become a new issue for the hospital.
The warehouse manager is nowhere to be found, but there is a crack in the door of the warehouse. We really need to access things frequently today. He went in as if nothing had happened and deftly moved a few innocuous objects. He was as familiar with the placement of each category of items as if he were in his own home.
The hospital is equipped with a small metal cabinet for each person, which is used to store personal belongings of medical staff. When he pushed in the door, most of the people on the day shift were making handovers with the people on the night shift, and no one came here. He gently opened the iron cabinet, took out two pieces of old clothes that were randomly stuffed in, and took out a small metal box from the depth of the cabinet.
Its appearance looks much more refined than the patent leather cabinet, and it also has a small lock. He opened it very quickly and put everything inside. He cannot take these small instruments away directly. If the warehouse really checks the account, or if there are missing items in urgent need, he will have to take them out. He was always cautious and had to take some time to make sure this was safe and did not arouse suspicion. If you lose your job because of this, you will not be able to survive in the medical industry in big cities.
Potions are more troublesome. Control over some drugs has been tightened, and even hospitals have bottomed out their stocks. He had prepared these early in the morning. After placing the instruments, he took out a stack of gauze from his pocket, again from the operating table. Fold the gauze accurately into the size of a box, lay it on top, lock it, and carefully push it into the iron cabinet. Turning around, he was about to get the old clothes thrown aside, when he met the wide-open eyes of the jade tree.
"I won't tell anyone..."
It was so direct that even the small steps of greeting were omitted.
He didn't want to ask when Yushu came in. It was indeed his negligence. That door was always quiet, but the long-term success made him take it lightly. For a moment, Mo Weiming did feel like an alarm bell was ringing, but he didn't show it.
"You don't have night shift today, do you?"
He looked at her with a calm look, without any waves. The slightly narrowed sleepy eyes always have a kind smile. He was indeed very tired and did not have much energy to say more, but this fatigue was often accompanied by a seductive silence.
"Yes. But," Yushu said, slowly handing him the clothes, "but I forgot my lunch box in the cabinet. I was too busy at noon to wash it. I don't dare to think about not taking it back today. What will happen this week..."
"OK."
Mo Weiming took the clothes, folded them in two haphazardly in his arms, and put them in the cabinet as if nothing had happened, blocking the box.
When did she come in? How many did you see? How much do you know? Is this the first time we meet? She admitted it so quickly that it was unwise—even stupid. Wouldn't this completely reveal that she saw the matter clearly? I can't even pretend to be stupid. However, based on Mo Weiming's understanding of her over the years, he knew that she was not someone who liked to gossip.
Not counting what I told Wu Hui, they were all open secrets. No matter what, Yushu always kept her promise, not to mention her initiative to guarantee it. If she really wants to report it, Mo Weiming can't do anything to her. But he must be fully prepared. In the past, he was a very casual person. He didn't worry about being thrown into jail, let alone losing his job. Not anymore.
Yushu Zhen took out the oil-stained lunch box from his cabinet. Mo Weiming didn't say a word and didn't leave. So Yushu tidied up and talked to himself.
"That child, do you remember? It was the little boy brought by the patient's wife. Didn't he faint from crying? When he woke up, he started making trouble to find his mother again. But they were still arguing about compensation... We are afraid of him If he continues to cry, he will faint again. No matter how we coax or persuade him, it is useless, and we don’t know what makes him dissatisfied. I would say that our director is really good - pick him up, pat him twice and coax him. It’s really good. Strange, why is it useless for us to do this? We still have to take care of children..."
Yushu's psychological quality is also excellent. He admitted it with his mouth, but acted as if he didn't see it and just talked to himself. Maybe to her, this kind of "bending the law for personal gain" is really no big deal. Mo Weiming glanced at his pocket watch and knew that there wasn't much time left, so he didn't want to delay here any longer.
"The patient woke up quickly and has no postoperative fever. The files are left at the same place. You can make it clear during the handover tomorrow that the stay in the hospital for observation has nothing to do with me. I'm leaving."
"How is this okay? Your patient, can't you follow up?"
"The situation is not that serious. And it's not my patient, so they took it. I'm tired, so I'm going to have a drink."
"Okay." Yushu muttered, "It's not the first time anyway."
People are still alive, doesn’t that mean it’s not a big deal? She always makes a fuss out of molehills.
After leaving the hospital, Mo Weiming quickly found a rickshaw to take him to the east side of the city. The scenery along the way is so familiar. From the dense and aging old buildings in the old city in the west of the city, to the disorderly and chaotic illegal buildings in the slums, to the splendid new buildings in the east where rich people gather, every change symbolizes a story.
New urban areas are still expanding, bit by bit eating away at the living space of the poor. Although the worker who was sent in the afternoon had an accident near the hospital, if it hadn't been for him, Mo Weiming might not have noticed the extra open space. They piled up building materials and seemed to be building new tall buildings. The length of the shopping street continues to spread, it grows like a living thing.
The size of slums is shrinking, but the number of poor people is rising instead of falling. Where have they all gone? Being expelled to the old city, or having to leave Yaozhou; or is it just being squeezed tighter, or is it seeping into the gaps?
It seems a bit ridiculous to go back and talk about the issue of wealth and poverty when we are so indifferent to people's life and death. But no matter which one is reality, they are both cause and effect, and they are all reasons for human beings to think. Even as he sat in the newly opened Western tavern, these insignificant questions were still lingering in Mo Weiming's mind. None of this had anything to do with him, it was just that the scenery along the way was blown into his eyes helplessly by the cold wind, and it sank into his heart.
This is an old tavern. It didn't look like this in the past, but it was bought by foreigners and renovated. The neon lights filled with inert gas flickered on and off inside and outside the store, making people feel uneasy. The sound of orchestral instruments could be heard endlessly, and people danced disorderly on the dim dance floor. Mo Weiming sat in an unattended corner of the long bar, like a person from another world.
This kind of confusion is within the scope of what he can accept. No, it should be "not accepted at all". Shut out all information and do not need to make any unnecessary perceptions. He is like an anchor, sinking in his own world, with unquestionable weight.
The waiter placed the light golden champagne in front of him. He then raised his head, but did not look at the person beside him. In front of the man was a goblet that was exactly the same as his, and the contents glowed with the same glimmer.
He moved the suitcase beside him from one side to the other, placing it between himself and Mo Weiming.
"I received your order."
"Okay. But?"
"But... fine wine is always in demand, you know. It will take some time for the remaining wine on the order to cross the ocean. We have done our best to provide you with the most stable guarantee first. Please note that this The batch of wine should be stored away from light. We meet again after a long separation, but unfortunately we can’t chat for too long because a few bottles need to be stored at low temperatures – do you have such an environment?”
"have."
Otherwise, he would never have written down the code names for penicillin, streptomycin, and viable inoculants on the list. By the time spring comes, these drugs will be inconvenient to transport in the current environment. This old friend always adjusts the packaging and meeting place according to the circumstances and needs. They have been working together for many years and have never had any accidents.
"Perhaps you can consider asking me to deliver goods in the old city. We also have many handover venues there."
"No," Mo Weiming almost blurted out, "don't get close to where I live."
He spoke without much emotion, but always maintained a modest smile. So the man shrugged, and a chuckle quickly disappeared into the boiling sound of singing and dancing.
"Of course, you have the final say. You are as cautious as your father."
"I won't put down a deposit on my next order until I get the rest. It's a long and expensive trip for me to get here."
"We give priority to your needs, as we have always done. This is a preferential treatment that no other customer has ever received. But I suggest you take these good wines back quickly, and don't waste them. In addition, this area has not been peaceful recently. Just be careful that you don't get into trouble. Maybe next time we can meet at the church and they'll know you're coming from the west and reimburse your fare."
He picked up the wine glass, and before the liquid touched his lips, Mo Weiming drank the champagne in front of him in one gulp. Tiny bubbles beat against his throat. He stood up and bowed slightly to the other party, picked up the box beside him, and couldn't wait to leave this noisy place.
"Goodbye then, Mr. Adler."
