A quack doctor goes to the battlefield; the first sharpshooter doctor in the Republic of China

After the ashes from the burnt paper were scattered by the wind, Li Ran stood silently by the window.

Shen Qiushui pushed open the door and came in, carrying a cloth bag in her hand.

"Everything is hidden." She placed the cloth bag on the table. "Copper coins, a list, and the note Han Xiuyun gave me. I checked, the originals were all burned. The one in the secret compartment of the morgue is a copy, written with a potion that dissolves when wet."

Li Ranmo turned around: "Wang Qingnian's men came back empty-handed from Pier 5?"

"He's back." Shen Qiushui sat down. "Two hours ago, Deputy Section Chief Sun's face was pale, and he went straight to the Department of Health. Our people said that Wang Qingnian smashed a cup in his office."

"The fake list delayed them by a day," Li Ranmo said, "but it won't last long. The real handover needs to be done as soon as possible."

Shen Qiushui glanced at her pocket watch: "At midnight tonight, at the old warehouse at Pier No. 3, Han Xiuyun sent a message through the teahouse saying that the goods have arrived, and Ah Bing is waiting there with eight men."

"What about us?"

"It's just the two of us," Shen Qiushui said. "I didn't tell Vice Dean Chen. Too many people would attract too much attention."

Li Ranmo nodded: "Okay. Meet at the back gate of the hospital at 10 p.m.

Shen Qiushui stood up: "Did you bring any weapons?"

Li Ranmo pulled out an oil paper package from the bottom of the drawer, opened it, and inside was a Colt pistol and two magazines.

"Take it." He tucked the gun into his back pocket. "Just in case."

Shen Qiushui didn't ask any more questions and turned to leave.

10 PM, at the back gate of the hospital.

When Li Ranmo arrived, Shen Qiushui was already there. She had changed into a dark blue coarse cloth dress, her hair was tied up, and she was wearing an old hat.

"Let's go," Li Ranmo said.

The two didn't take the main road, but went through alleys towards the dock. There weren't many people on the street, only a few rickshaw pullers squatting in the corners dozing off.

Pier No. 3 is not far from the hospital; it only takes about twenty minutes to walk there.

The dock was dark, with only a few kerosene lamps hanging on wooden posts, swaying in the wind.

The old warehouse is at the westernmost end of the dock. It's a two-story cement building with peeling paint on the walls.

Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui hid behind the stacked wooden crates and peered into the warehouse.

The back door of the warehouse was closed, and there was no light on it.

Shen Qiushui lowered her voice: "The code is to knock three times long and two times short. The person inside will ask, 'Is it windy tonight?' and we'll answer, 'The moon is quite round.'"

Li Ranmo glanced at his pocket watch: "11:40. Wait another twenty minutes."

The two of them didn't speak, they just stared at the warehouse.

About ten minutes later, the back door of the warehouse suddenly opened a crack.

A person peeked out, looked around, then withdrew, and the door closed again.

Shen Qiushui frowned: "Something's not right. It's not time yet, why did they open the door first?"

Li Ranmo's eyes turned cold: "Someone's here."

Before he could finish speaking, footsteps could be heard from the east side of the dock.

The sound of hurried footsteps indicated that at least five or six people were heading towards the warehouse.

Li Ranmo pulled Shen Qiushui behind the wooden box, and the two squatted down.

The group of people walked to the warehouse entrance and stopped.

The leader was very tall and held a stick. He knocked on the warehouse door.

"Open the door! Department of Health is inspecting goods!"

It was Deputy Section Chief Sun's voice.

There was no movement in the warehouse.

Deputy Section Chief Sun knocked again: "Did you hear me? Open the door! If you don't open the door, I'll smash it!"

The warehouse door opened.

Ah Bing stood at the door, followed by seven or eight men, all dressed in dockworkers' short jackets.

"Sir, what goods are you checking so late?" Ah Bing asked.

Deputy Section Chief Sun shone a flashlight on Ah Bing's face: "Are you from this warehouse?"

"He looks after the boss's warehouse."

"Watching the warehouse?" Deputy Section Chief Sun sneered. "I bet you're watching the 'medicine' warehouse, aren't you? Someone reported you for illegally storing sulfathiazole here and reselling it for profit. Move aside, we need to go in and investigate."

Ah Bing didn't move: "Sir, do we have a search warrant?"

"A search warrant?" Deputy Section Chief Sun pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and waved it in front of Ah Bing. "Look carefully, it's stamped by the Department of Health. If you don't move aside, it will be considered obstruction of official business!"

The men behind him took a step forward.

Ah Bing remained unmoved: "Sir, this warehouse is full of junk, there's hardly any medicine in it. If you don't believe me, I'll come with you to check it in the dark tomorrow..."

"Enough with the nonsense!" Deputy Section Chief Sun shoved Ah Bing aside. "Search!"

The five or six men rushed into the warehouse.

The men behind Ah Bing tried to stop him, and the two sides started shoving each other.

Li Ranmo, watching from behind the wooden crate, said to Shen Qiushui, "Go around to the side of the warehouse and see if there's a back window. If there is, climb in and tell the people inside that the goods are being transported by water."

Shen Qiushui nodded and crouched down to reach the side of the warehouse.

Li Ranmo drew his gun from his lower back and released the safety.

At the warehouse entrance, the two sides had already started fighting.

The dull thud of a stick hitting flesh, curses, and the erratic movement of a flashlight beam.

Deputy Section Chief Sun stepped aside and shouted, "You've gone too far! How dare you hit people from the Department of Health! Arrest them all!"

Ah Bing knocked one of them down with a single punch, then turned around and shouted, "Tiger! Take some men and move the goods! Come from the back!"

Several people rushed out of the warehouse, carrying wooden crates, and ran towards the dock.

Upon seeing this, Deputy Section Chief Sun panicked: "Stop them! That's medicine!"

Two of his men gave chase.

Li Ranmo raised his hand and fired a shot.

boom!

Gunshots rang out on the dock.

The person chasing in the lead was shot in the calf, screamed in pain, and fell to the ground.

Everyone was stunned.

Deputy Section Chief Sun's face changed drastically: "They have guns! They have guns!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ah Bing shouted, "Quick! Get on the boat!"

The people carrying the boxes ran even faster.

Li Ranmo fired another shot, hitting the stone slab in front of Deputy Section Chief Sun's feet, sending sparks flying.

Deputy Section Chief Sun jumped back in fright: "Retreat! Retreat first!"

He led his men and scrambled out of the dock.

Ah Bing's side, the box had already been loaded onto a small wooden boat at the dock.

Shen Qiushui ran over from the side of the warehouse and said to Li Ranmo, "There are still five boxes inside, we can't move them all."

Li Ranmo glanced outside the dock: "Deputy Section Chief Sun must have gone to call people. Tell Ah Bing to move as much as he can; if he can't move it all, sink it in the river."

Shen Qiushui ran over to deliver the message.

Ah Bing gritted his teeth: "Sink!"

Several people pushed the remaining boxes into the river. With a few splashes, the boxes sank, made a few bubbles, and then disappeared.

Ah Bing jumped onto the boat and called out to Li Ran, "Dr. Li! Thank you!"

The boatman poled the boat away from the shore, and it quickly disappeared into the darkness of the river.

Li Ranmo tucked the gun back into his waistband and walked to Shen Qiushui's side: "Let's go."

Just as the two turned around, they heard the sound of a car coming from the entrance of the dock.

The beam of the car headlights swept over us.

"They've called for help," Shen Qiushui said.

Li Ranmo grabbed her wrist: "This way."

The two men squeezed into the cargo storage area of ​​the dock, moving among piles of wooden crates and sacks.

A shout came from behind: "Over there! Chase them!"

Footsteps followed.

Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui ran behind a pile of sacks and squatted down.

Three men chased after them, each carrying a stick.

"Let's split up and search!" one person said.

The three people dispersed.

One of them walked towards Li Ranmo and the others.

Li Ranmo gave Shen Qiushui a wink.

Shen Qiushui understood and deliberately made some noise.

Hearing this, the man walked over, stick in hand: "Who's there? Come out!"

He walked to the pile of sacks, and just as he peeked out, Li Ranmo suddenly appeared from the side, covered his mouth with one hand, and punched him in the back of the neck with the other.

The man didn't utter a sound and collapsed to the ground.

Li Ranmo dragged him behind the sack and took the stick from his hand.

The other two people heard the commotion and ran over.

"Sixth brother? Sixth brother?"

Li Ranmo picked up a piece of broken brick and threw it far away.

The broken bricks landed on the wooden box with a loud clatter.

The two people turned and ran in that direction.

Li Ranmo pulled Shen Qiushui along another path and slipped out of the dock.

The two ran into the alley and leaned against the wall, panting.

Shen Qiushui looked at Li Ranmo: "Those two shots you fired just now..."

"A leg slap won't kill them," Li Ranmo said, "but it'll be enough to make them remember it for a while."

Shen Qiushui remained silent.

Li Ran asked silently, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much," Shen Qiushui said. "It's just that you were unusually calm when you fired the gun."

Li Ran smiled and said, "Let's go back to the hospital first."

The two returned to the hospital close to 1 a.m.

There was no one at the back door; Old Zhao, who was on night duty, was probably asleep again.

They quietly went upstairs, and as soon as they reached the second floor, they saw that the light in Chen Qitai's office was still on.

The door was ajar.

Chen Qitai sat behind the table, holding a document in his hand, and looked up at him.

"Dr. Li, Nurse Shen," Chen Qitai said, "Where have you been so late?"

Li Ranmo walked over: "I have some errands to run."

"On business?" Chen Qitai put down the documents. "There was some commotion at the docks. Gunshots, and people from the Department of Health. Did you know?"

"I've heard about it," Li Ranmo said.

Chen Qitai stared at him for a few seconds, then waved his hand: "Go back and rest. Tomorrow... the hospital might be in for some trouble."

Li Ran asked silently, "What's wrong?"

"Wang Qingnian just sent someone to deliver a message," Chen Qitai said. "He said there was a drug smuggling deal at the dock tonight, which they intercepted, but the drugs were thrown into the river. He suspects that someone in the hospital is colluding with the dock gangs and wants to send people to 'thoroughly investigate'."

He stood up and walked to the window: "This isn't a search, it's a thorough investigation. Every doctor, every nurse, every caregiver will be questioned."

Shen Qiushui's expression changed slightly.

Chen Qitai turned around: "Dr. Li, Nurse Shen, tonight... were you really just 'going out on business'?"

Li Ranmo said, "Yes."

"Was it done?"

"It's done."

Chen Qitai nodded: "That's good. Where's the medicine?"

"In a safe place."

Chen Qitai didn't ask any more questions. He walked back to the table and sat down. "Wang Qingnian won't let this go this time. You two, be careful lately. I'll increase security at the hospital."

Li Ranmo said, "Thank you, Vice Dean."

"You're welcome," Chen Qitai said. "I just didn't want the life-saving medicine to rot at the bottom of the river."

Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui walked out of the office.

The corridor was quiet.

Shen Qiushui said in a low voice, "Vice Dean Chen... he actually knew everything."

"He knew," Li Ranmo said, "but he chose to pretend he didn't."

The two walked to the dormitory entrance.

Shen Qiushui stopped: "Dr. Li."

"Um?"

"Next time you fire..." Shen Qiushui looked at him, "remember to tell me to stay away."

Li Ran smiled silently: "Okay."

Shen Qiushui turned and went into her room.

Li Ranmo pushed open the door, entered the room, closed it, and leaned against it.

He touched the gun at his lower back; the barrel was still warm.

Outside the window, it was almost dawn.

Wang Qingnian must be furious right now.

Li Ranmo walked to the table and sat down.

The kerosene lamp on the table was not lit, and the room was dark.

He sat in the darkness, waiting for dawn.

Wait for Wang Qingnian's thorough investigation team to arrive.

Wait until this storm completely explodes.