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

The military vehicle is located in front of the steps of the outpatient building.

Before the muffled sound of the wheels rolling over the speed bump had even faded, the truck bed side panel had already been yanked open from the outside.

Zhou Hai's white coat swayed briefly under the streetlight.

Two nurses followed behind him, pushing a transfer bed. The oxygen port at the head of the bed was already connected, and a tray of emergency medicines was placed on the foot of the bed, covered with a sterile towel.

Zhou Hai reached out and held onto the edge of the truck bed, his voice very low.

What is your heart rate?

Ye Zhen peeked out from behind the canvas.

"132 breaths, 24 respirations. The last episode of hypoxia occurred six hours ago. I was given 0.1 mg of Aramine and brought back. There was no way to measure blood pressure on the way."

As Zhou Hai listened, he took half a step back to make room for the transfer bed.

"ICU bed number two is available, and the echocardiogram machine has been moved to the bedside. The blood bank has four units of type O blood; is that enough?"

"That's enough for now."

Ye Zhen said, "We'll make adjustments after the crossmatch results come out."

She turned around and nodded at Gao Haiping.

The two men, one in front and one behind, lifted the stretcher out of the truck bed.

The medics below immediately took over, supporting Tian Xiaobao with four hands and moving him, along with the quilt, onto the white transfer bed.

In the two seconds it took to unplug the oxygen tube, Liu Xiaolan had already turned on the oxygen connector at the head of the bed.

The flow rate is still set to two liters per minute.

The mask was put back on the child's face.

Tian Xiaobao squinted under the light, not fully awake, and his thin fingers tucked further into the quilt.

When Cuihong climbed down from the truck bed, her legs went weak.

Tian Gensheng quickly supported her from behind.

The couple stood at the bottom of the outpatient building steps, their cloth shoes covered in yellow mud clearly visible under the light.

Cuihong glanced down.

The shoes were covered in yellow mud and grass clippings, and a small clump of stale cow dung hung on the edge of the sole.

Her face turned pale instantly, and she hurriedly backed away.

"Dad, our shoes are too dirty."

Tian Gensheng also looked down at his feet.

He squatted down and used his palm to wipe the mud off his shoes.

I wiped it a couple of times, but instead of removing the mud, I got my hands dirty.

He rubbed his hands on his pants again, becoming more and more disheveled with each rub.

Finally, he stood at the threshold, too afraid to step inside.

"The ground is clean and white."

His voice was hoarse.

"If we step in, people will start yelling at us."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a hand reached out from the side and grabbed the back of his collar.

Tian Gensheng stumbled and was pulled forward by someone.

He turned around and saw a man in military uniform standing behind him.

The man was half a head taller than him.

The brim of his military cap pressed down on his brow bone, and the streetlight shone brightly into his eyes.

Gu Zheng didn't let go, grabbing his collar and pulling him into the hall.

"Your son is a patient."

"We're here for treatment."

"I'm not here to beg for anything."

Tian Gensheng's mouth was agape as he was led forward by his feet.

He wanted to say something, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Gu Zheng pulled the person to the entrance of the hall before letting go.

He glanced back at Cuihong.

"Sister-in-law, keep up."

Cuihong was stunned by the address "sister-in-law".

She quickly jogged a few steps to catch up, unsure of what to do with her hands, and finally clenched them tightly together, pressing them against her stomach, and entered the outpatient hall with her head down.

The hall was brightly lit.

The gray terrazzo floor was so polished that it reflected your image.

The bright red cloth shoes stepped on it, leaving two shallow mud marks.

She glanced back and shrank back.

Gu Zheng walked ahead without looking back.

Don't look at the ground.

"Look ahead."

"Your son is up ahead."

Cuihong's tears welled up instantly.

She wiped her face hard with her sleeve, then, not daring to stop, followed closely behind.

The transfer bed has been pushed into the elevator.

Ye Zhen and Zhou Hai walked on either side of the bed, while Liu Xiaolan pushed the medicine tray and followed at the foot of the bed.

Before the elevator doors closed, Ye Zhen saw Gu Zheng leading Tian Gensheng and Cui Hong through the crack in the door as they walked down the corridor.

Tian Gensheng stared intently at the direction of the elevator.

The red card in his hand was already wrinkled and soaked with sweat.

Ye Zhen said to Gu Zheng outside the elevator:

"Take them to the ICU family waiting area and have someone pour them a glass of hot water."

Gu Zheng lifted his eyelids slightly.

His expression suggested that he found her instructions too easy, but he still nodded.

The elevator doors closed.

The ICU is on the third floor, at the very back.

The doors are double-glazed; you need to change into shoe covers and wear a hat before entering.

When Tian Xiaobao was wheeled in, the on-duty nurse was already waiting by bed number two.

Five ECG lead patches.

One blood oxygen probe.

One blood pressure cuff.

One body temperature probe.

The monitoring lines have all been laid out.

Ye Zhen stood at the head of the bed, speaking quickly but without any confusion.

"Connect the ECG first, then the blood oxygen saturation device."

"Measure your blood pressure every five minutes initially, and then increase the interval once it stabilizes."

"Keep monitoring the body temperature."

"Inject the indwelling needle into the back of the left hand first. After the access is established, start the saline infusion. Do not drip too fast, about 20 drops per minute."

The nurse responded and moved swiftly.

Lead patches were applied one by one to the child's chest.

Tian Xiaobao woke up this time.

The cool patch touched his skin, and his thin hands immediately reached for his chest, letting out a muffled sob.

Ye Zhen pressed his hand down.

"Xiao Bao, don't be afraid."

"These won't hurt; they're here to help you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Tian Xiaobao stared at Ye Zhen for two seconds with his big, dark eyes.

Her eyelashes were wet.

The little hand slowly loosened its grip.

The monitor light came on.

A green electrocardiogram waveform appeared on the screen, moving one line at a time to the right.

The machine beeps once for each increment.

Outside the ICU, in the family waiting area.

Upon hearing the voice, Cuihong took a step back in fright.

"What was that sound?"

"Is something wrong?"

Liu Xiaolan had just come out to change her shoe covers when she heard this and stopped.

"Auntie, that sound is a heartbeat."

"One beep means one heartbeat."

"A continuous beeping sound means the child's heart is beating, which is a good thing."

Cuihong pressed one hand to her chest, her lips trembling slightly.

"Where's that tube? The one inserted in your hand?"

"That's for an IV drip."

Liu Xiaolan patiently explained.

"It's similar to getting an IV drip at the town's health center. This is called an indwelling needle, which can stay in place for a period of time without needing to be reinserted every time."

Cuihong looked inside through the glass.

She saw her son with a small white patch on his chest, several threads connecting his body, and him lying in a tiny ball on the snow-white hospital bed.

"What about those things that were stuck to my chest?"

Liu Xiaolan walked over to her and pointed to it.

"That's to check if your heart is beating regularly."

"It doesn't hurt, and it doesn't have any electrical current; it's just applied."

Cuihong then asked, "What about the one with the red light clipped to its finger?"

"That's to see if there's enough oxygen in the blood."

"Just clip it on, no need for needles."

Cuihong slowly lowered her hand from her chest.

She stared at the small bed inside the glass, at her son on the bed tangled in various threads, and tears fell again.

But this time, it wasn't all fear.

Tian Gensheng stood behind her.

His hands hung at his sides, and his lips were pressed tightly into a line.

He tucked the red card into his inner pocket.

He pressed it again through the clothes.

It was as if they were afraid the card would get lost.

At the end of the corridor, Gu Zheng leaned against the wall, watching the couple's backs as they stood in front of the glass window.

He was holding two hot steamed buns in his hand.

The steamed buns were just brought from the cafeteria; they were still hot.

He flipped it over in his palm, burning his fingertips until they turned red, but he didn't say a word.