When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

When Lin Ye woke up, a sliver of sunset shone through the gap in the curtains.

The phone on the bedside table hadn't rung, but there were over twenty new messages in the work group chat. He first checked the hospital's call log, then opened the newly issued emergency department schedule.

His name was not listed in the Saturday afternoon section.

Lin Ye reviewed his father's competition schedule again and was about to reply when Qin Hai's message popped up first.

"Come to Corey when you wake up. Don't wait until tomorrow."

Forty minutes later, Lin Ye was admitted to the emergency room.

The evening shift had just started and was getting busy. There were five or six people lined up in front of the triage desk. Zhou Min was standing by the workstation checking the test reports when she saw that he had changed his clothes and gestured towards the director's office with his chin.

"Director Qin is waiting for you."

"What is it?"

"I said what he wanted to say, and now he has to say it again."

The office door was open.

Several photocopies were placed in front of Qin Hai, the top one being the registration form left over from the last high fall referral.

Lin Ye stopped in front of the table: "You were looking for me?"

"sit."

Qin Hai turned the registration watch around and pressed down on the first set of blood pressure readings.

Who filled out this form?

"I."

"What's the problem?"

"The chart only has one blood pressure bar, so you can only write one number. But for this kind of patient, you need to see how the blood pressure has changed, what time the blood transfusion started, where it's currently being transfused, and which of the two intravenous lines is still usable. There's nowhere to record all of that."

"Anything else?"

Lin Ye read it again.

He filled in the blank spaces with information about the accompanying personnel, video footage, and reports from the journey, with the words squeezed tightly together.

"Received calls and calls made en route were recorded separately. Later, during the review, we need to check the times back and forth."

Qin Hai leaned back in his chair.

"Standing here to answer the phone, you can see all the issues quite clearly."

He pulled out a notice that was underneath and pushed it in front of Lin Ye.

Looking up, you see the Municipal Emergency Medical Center, where a joint training program for pre-hospital emergency care and critical patient transport is being held, lasting seven days.

The first two days were spent on safety regulations, on-board equipment, and simulated assessments; the next five days were spent in groups following the vehicles.

Two names have already been filled in after the quota for the First Municipal Hospital.

Lin Ye, Ma Hao.

When was it reported?

"After the last high-altitude fall transfer," Qin Hai pointed to the registration form, "knowing what the First Municipal Hospital wants to hear doesn't mean you know what can be reported in the ambulance. The patient had just been carried downstairs, the family couldn't even name the medications, the ambulance was still bumping along the road, and the accompanying doctor was managing the passageway with one hand and making a phone call with the other. You expect him to slowly read through a dozen or so columns? Would the patient even wait?"

"can not wait."

"No question should be omitted, and the order in which they are asked should not be disordered."

Qin Hai moved the notification forward by half an inch.

"You've only ever picked up people, never dropped them off. Go see how things are done on the other end."

Lin Ye turned to the second page of the timetable.

"Seven days off work?"

"No shifts will be scheduled during the training period. You'll work in the ambulance at night and rest during the day as arranged by the emergency center. Don't come back to cover your shift after getting off the night shift."

"When will it start?"

"Report at 8:00 AM the day after tomorrow."

There were two knocks on the door.

Ma Hao, wearing a white lab coat, peeked in, his name tag swaying slightly with his movement.

"Director Qin, Director Zhou sent me here. He said you have a notice for me to sign."

"Come in."

Ma Hao walked to the table, saw the name on the notice, and his lips curled up in a smile.

"Off-site training? Is that even possible?"

Qin Hai flipped the course schedule to the page with the transportation arrangements.

"The regular night shift is from 7 PM to 7 AM the next morning. What's so good about it? Tell me."

Ma Hao's laughter paused for a moment: "There are teachers giving lessons at night too?"

"Let me tell you about the wheel."

Lin Ye handed him the notice.

Ma Hao read it from beginning to end, pausing for a few seconds on the line "Trainees must not leave their instructors to handle matters independently".

"Shall we share a car?"

"Once you get there, you'll be divided into groups by the emergency center," Qin Hai said. "You're going there to learn, not to take over someone else's team. Listen to whoever is leading the group. Figure out what you can do on-site and to what extent."

Ma Hao put away his earlier ease and signed his name on the reply slip.

"Do I receive a certificate after completing the training?"

"I have a certificate of completion."

"That means it wasn't all for nothing."

Qin Hai glanced at him.

"If you fail the mock exam, don't worry about getting the certificate yet."

Ma Hao fastened the pen cap and nudged Lin Ye's arm.

"You bring the stethoscope, I'll bring the power bank. Clear division of labor."

"Please read the registration requirements first."

"I've checked. Work clothes, stethoscopes, and lunch are all provided by the individual." Ma Hao pointed to the last line, "Power banks aren't listed, but it's better to be prepared."

Qin Hai took the two receipts.

"Get out. Ma Hao, go back to work. Lin Ye, make sure you understand the shift schedule. Don't come back from training and tell me you don't know which shift you're on."

The two men came out of the office; the workstation phone was ringing.

Ma Hao was called by the night shift nurse to pick up a triage form, but after taking two steps, he turned back.

"Meet me at the hospital entrance at 7:20 the day after tomorrow. Don't make me knock on your door."

"Report at eight o'clock, no need to be that early."

"It's your first time there, so finding the building, parking, and picking up your things will take time. If you're late, I won't sign for you."

After Ma Hao finished speaking, the nurse urged him to leave, and he took the triage form and went into the examination room.

Lin Ye stood by the corridor, deleted the message he hadn't sent from his phone, and replied to his father again.

"I need to attend a seven-day training course this week, and the schedule for Saturday hasn't been finalized yet. I'll let you know as soon as the driving convoy is arranged."

The father replied after a few minutes: "Go ahead and do your thing. It's just a community competition, it's nothing."

The message from his mother followed: "Your dad practiced for two hours again today. He has a plaster on his right arm, but he says he's fine."

Lin Ye dialed his father's number.

It rang a few times, but no one answered.

He had no choice but to send a message: "Don't practice tonight. If the pain gets worse, go see a doctor, don't wait until the competition is over."

On the day of their arrival, the two arrived at the city's emergency medical center half an hour early.

A row of ambulances were parked in the yard, their red and blue logos still wet.

In the car wash area, someone was dragging a hose to rinse tires, and the smell of gasoline and disinfectant mingled in the humid air.

The training classroom is on the second floor of the dispatch building.

The staff behind the registration table checked the two people's employee badges and issued them student cards and course materials.

Ma Hao hung the laminated trainee ID card around his neck: "I just got a new emergency room worker badge, and here's another one."

"This one needs to be submitted in seven days," the staff member reminded him. "If it's lost, you'll have to pay for the replacement yourself."

Ma Hao immediately tightened the buckle.

Twelve doctors from several hospitals in the city came to the classroom.

At 8:00 a.m. sharp, Dr. Han, who was in charge of the training, entered the room and placed a first aid backpack on the podium.

"In the hospital, you're used to asking what tests are needed first. Once you get in the car, all you have are this bag and the things in the car. Whoever thinks they've worked in the ER for a long time can handle things independently when they arrive can go out now."

Nobody moved.

Dr. Han opened her backpack and checked each item in turn, from airway supplies and blood glucose meter to hemostatic materials.

Each time an item is taken out, the students are asked to state its location and the order in which it is taken.

When it was Ma Hao's turn, he put a package of electrode pads back into the wrong compartment. As soon as he closed the package, he was asked to reopen it and search for it again while wearing gloves.

"After starting the car, I had to look down and search through three layers of buildings to find it. Whose time should I take?"

"mine."

"The patient's."

Ma Hao replaced the electrode pads with the outer transparent bag and didn't say anything more.

The two days of classes were fully booked.

The next afternoon, the twelve people were divided into groups and entered the simulation chamber.

The space was much narrower than the emergency room, with only enough room for one person to pass sideways on either side of the stretcher.

Lin Ye bent down to connect the monitoring wires to the mannequin, his shoulder bumping against the medicine cabinet, the cabinet door making a muffled thud.

Dr. Han stood outside the car door: "The car hasn't started moving yet. Once we're on the road, find a support point before bending over."

Lin Ye held onto the edge of the seat and reconnected the wires.

On the afternoon of the third day, just after the group assignments for accompanying the vehicles were completed, the dispatch hall called Dr. Han away.

The people in the classroom were preparing to pack up their equipment when he turned back from the doorway, carrying two reflective vests in his hands.

"Lin Ye, Ma Hao, go with the demonstration vehicle this evening to familiarize yourselves with the procedures. Follow the first vehicle crew, just observe, don't try to take orders."

Ma Hao caught the vest: "You're going to ride with them today?"

"The dispatch center just received an alarm. An elderly person living alone has collapsed at home and cannot be woken up by the neighbors. The address is eight minutes away from here."

The sound of an ambulance starting up could be heard downstairs.

Dr. Han opened the door: "If you want to know if there is a complete medical history at the scene, get in the car and we'll see."