After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

When Ye Zhen returned to the office, Gao Haiping had already placed an old canvas bag on the edge of the desk. The bag was wide open, and inside were an enamel mug, a stethoscope, several old medical record folders, and an old cotton vest.

Ye Zhen glanced at the bag: "Professor Gao, have you already packed yourself up?"

Gao Haiping pulled out a piece of paper with a name and phone number written on it and handed it over: "I may not be fast, but I will definitely not hold you back."

"These three names belong to my old classmates from that area."

"Old Xu, a retired doctor from the Provincial People's Hospital; Old Cao, an internal medicine doctor from Xuxian County Hospital; and Luo Yushan from Qingshan Town Health Center."

"Old Luo is the most useful. He has lived in the mountains for more than 20 years. He knows every village and every household, every road and every path. He knows exactly which one will break your leg if you walk on it."

Ye Zhen picked up the paper, read it, folded it, and put it into the medical record folder.

Ye Zhen glanced at the name on the paper, folded it, and put it into the medical record folder. "When you talk to him, don't mention 'Heart of China' or the Ministry of Health."

Gao Haiping nodded: "I know what's important. Just say that the hospital sent them down to conduct a sampling survey of common pediatric cardiopulmonary diseases, and to give the students some training while they're at it."

Li Hong stood at the door, holding two neatly folded white coats, and peeked in, asking, "Teacher Ye, may I come in?"

"Enter."

Li Hong walked in, draped her white coat over the back of a chair, and held a small cloth bag in her hand: "Teacher Ye, I've spoken to the head nurse, and she's rescheduled my shifts for a week."

Ye Zhen pushed the list on the table toward Li Hong: "Read these village names aloud."

Li Hong looked down at the paper: "Shi'ao Village, Tiger Gully, Huai Shu Ping, Qian Ling, Hou Ling, Ma'an Zhai."

She looked up, her face showing difficulty: "Teacher Ye, these villages are so poor that you can't even ride a bicycle there normally. To get to Ma'an Village, you have to take a hand-operated tractor from Baishi Town to the mountain pass, and then climb the mountain on foot. If the weather turns bad and it rains heavily, the tractor will be stuck in the mud."

Ye Zhen asked, "Does the local health center have records of children's physical examinations?"

"Yes, there are, but a doctor has to take care of several villages, so the records are often filled out carelessly." Li Hong thought for a moment and then added, "Many children have never been to a health center since birth. The elderly in the village are superstitious and think that if a child can't breathe or his lips turn purple, it's a congenital weakness that will pass if he just toughs it out. They simply can't bear to spend money to go to the town for treatment."

Gao Haiping's face darkened: "This is the trouble. Before the stethoscope is placed on the child's chest, no one knows how many lives are being wasted at home."

Ye Zhen packed the items on the table into her military satchel one by one: "That's why we can't bring a large group this time. We're not going down here for a meeting, nor are we going down here to show off our authority. We're investigating real children. The fewer people there are, the easier it is to see the real stuff."

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Nurse Liu walked in carrying a wooden box: "Dr. Ye, Dean Zhou asked me to come and report for duty. My name is Liu Xiaolan, I am twenty-two years old, I have worked in both pediatrics and surgery, I know how to draw blood and measure blood pressure, and I am familiar with nursing records."

She placed the wooden box on the table, opened the lid to show Ye Zhen: "These are the glass syringes and blood collection tubes I just got from the warehouse, all packed in aluminum lunch boxes for boiling and sterilization. There are also rubber stoppers, alcohol swabs, gentian violet, tourniquets, and two thick record books."

Ye Zhen casually flipped through the notebook: "Is the handwriting clear?"

Liu Xiaolan quickly handed over her nursing record book: "Take a look."

Ye Zhen glanced at it: "Okay. This time you'll be in charge of blood collection and recording. For all children with abnormalities detected during auscultation, you must write down their name, age, village, parents' names, symptoms, location of the murmur, lip color, and activity tolerance clearly, stroke by stroke."

Liu Xiaolan nodded vigorously: "Dr. Ye, I've got it."

Ye Zhen closed the suitcase: "There's one more ironclad rule. Once we arrive, no matter if the brigade secretary or the village party secretary asks, don't argue with anyone. Just insist that we're a medical team from Beicheng, conducting routine cardiopulmonary sampling surveys. I've already had Dean Zhou prepare the letter of introduction, stamped with the official seal, so it's discreet and inconspicuous."

Ye Zhen glanced at the clock on the wall: "Have everything ready by four o'clock this afternoon. We're leaving early tomorrow morning."

Liu Xiaolan was taken aback: "Leaving tomorrow?"

"That's right. We'll take the old-fashioned green train to the capital of the neighboring province first, and then transfer to a long-distance bus. We'll never set foot on their provincial capital's territory."

Gao Haiping's smile faded: "Planning to bypass the local bullies?"

"The provincial department is definitely keeping a close eye on the train tickets and state-run guesthouse registration books issued from Beicheng now." Ye Zhen shoved the summary sheet tightly into the medical record bag. "We'll go through a neighboring province and directly into Baishi Town, Feng County. Let Minister Li go through the main route with great fanfare, while we'll go through the covert route."

A deep voice suddenly came from outside the door: "You say the words 'undercover' quite smoothly."

The people inside all turned around at once.

Gu Zheng was leaning against the door frame, his military overcoat unbuttoned, holding an aluminum lunchbox, his face much gloomier than usual.

Li Hong, with a keen eye, picked up the white coat and said, "Teacher Ye, I'll go pack my things first."

Liu Xiaolan quickly closed the wooden box: "Dr. Ye, I'll go to the head nurse and get some more cotton wool."

Gao Haiping picked up his canvas bag and slowly moved out: "I'm going to call Lao Luo."

The three of them slipped away as fast as they could, leaving only Ye Zhen and Gu Zheng in the office in an instant.

Gu Zheng walked in and slammed the lunchbox on the table: "Eat."

He pulled out a chair and sat down, declaring sternly, "Wife, I don't agree to you going to a remote mountain area."

Ye Zhen lifted the lid of the lunchbox and picked up a piece of cabbage: "Reason."

"The local authorities have already started submitting supplementary materials. A cornered dog will jump over the wall. If they dare to manipulate the screening data, they'll dare to trip you up on the road." Gu Zheng stared at her. "The mountain roads are like winding sheep intestines; if the car breaks down, telegrams from the post office can't be sent, and the handheld telephone won't work. You only have an old man, an intern, and a nurse with you. What will you use to defend yourselves against the local bullies?"

Ye Zhen swallowed her food and said calmly, "Professor Gao is no ordinary old man. Li Hong is familiar with the dialect and the ways of the place. Liu Xiaolan can take blood samples and keep records. This team is sufficient for checking the children."

"It's enough for checking children, but not enough for dealing with those who are difficult to guard against from the shadows!"

Ye Zhen put down her chopsticks and met his gaze: "Gu Zheng, I know what you're worried about. But children won't lack oxygen just because the road is long, and they won't just heal the hole in their hearts just because the provincial department reports 'difficult transportation'."

Gu Zheng pursed his lips tightly, his jawline taut, and didn't reply.

Ye Zhen quickened her pace: "Once the main lines are out there, the local authorities will only show off the villages that are embellished, the forms they filled out overnight, and the cadres who have been instructed beforehand! I can sit in the meeting room listening to their reports a hundred times and still not save a single child who has been overlooked. I must see the real situation at the grassroots level with my own eyes. Even if I only find one critically ill child who has been overlooked, this trip will be worthwhile."

Gu Zheng forcefully pushed the lunchbox in front of her: "Finish your food first."

Ye Zhen looked at him: "You agreed?"

"I didn't agree to you taking the risk." Gu Zheng raised his hand to press his throbbing temples and sighed. "But I know I can't stop you."

Ye Zhen picked up her chopsticks again: "So, what are you planning to do?"

"I'll assign two skilled plainclothes officers to follow them from a distance."

Ye Zhen frowned slightly: "We can't reveal our identities."

"Do not expose."

"They cannot interfere with our outreach medical services in rural areas."

"No interference."

"You can't wear military uniforms and attract attention."

"Wear civilian clothes." Gu Zheng gritted his teeth as he looked at her. "Dr. Ye, you've set some pretty detailed rules."

Ye Zhen picked up the largest piece of braised pork from the lunchbox and put it in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out: "Just tell me, will you agree or not?"

Gu Zheng's face darkened: "I agree."

He paused, then added in a deep voice, "But there's one condition: my men must report back to me every day that they are safe."

Ye Zhen nodded: "Okay."

Gu Zheng handed her the enamel mug containing hot water: "There's one more."

"What?"

You must eat properly every day.

Ye Zhen lifted her eyelids and glanced at him: "Is this what you call operational discipline?"

"That's right." Gu Zheng leaned closer, his hands gripping the table, exuding an air of menace. "If you dare to eat only half a cold noodle bun a day to satisfy your stomach, I'll personally lead troops into the mountains to carry you back!"

Ye Zhen didn't reply. She just picked up the enamel mug, took a sip of warm water, and then ate all the food in the lunchbox.