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

In the emergency department director's office, the air was filled with the strong aroma of Longjing tea and a faint smell of tobacco.

Lin Ye took the official document with both hands; the edges of the paper were still slightly warm from when the laser printer had just printed it out.

"Cangshan County People's Hospital..."

"What, you think the temple is too small?"

Qin Hai stubbed out his cigarette and stared intently at Lin Ye's face.

"Cangshan is a well-known impoverished mountainous county in the province, with seven parts mountains, two parts water, and one part farmland. The winding mountain road runs from the county seat to the townships, and landslides and rockfalls are commonplace during the rainy season. The county hospital there is the only lifeline for the 300,000 people in the county."

Qin Hai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke in a deep, resolute tone:

"The emergency department of a top-tier hospital is like a greenhouse. It has thin-slice CT scanners on call 24 hours a day, suspended red blood cells that can be delivered to the bedside in two minutes, and specialists who can be summoned at any time. No matter how well you lead your team at the First Municipal Hospital, you rely on this massive medical machine that has been running for half a century."

Qin Hai extended his index finger and tapped it twice heavily on the official document:

"But when we got to Cangshan, the machines were gone. There were no readily available enhanced MRIs, no sufficient blood supply, and not even two nurses for the night shift. You had to rely on your eyes and your hands to snatch people from the jaws of death. This was a tough battle, but also a crucial stepping stone for your future promotion to attending physician. Did you dare take it on?"

"dare."

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Ye carefully tucked the official document into his pocket.

"When are you leaving?"

"The bus will depart next Monday morning."

A rare hint of approval appeared on Qin Hai's lips.

"Go to the third floor of the administration building at 2 PM. Old Liu from the medical affairs department wants to have a private talk with you. Go."

At 2:00 PM, in the office of the deputy director of the medical department of the administration building.

The blinds were closed tightly, and the only sound in the room was the low hum of the central air conditioning.

Liu Zhenhua, wearing a light gray short-sleeved shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, was quickly flipping through a stack of internal operational reports from Cangshan County Hospital, sealed in a brown paper bag.

Seeing Lin Ye enter, Liu Zhenhua raised his hand to signal him to lock the door from the inside.

"sit."

Liu Zhenhua took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Qin Hai talks to you about ideals and technology, I talk to you about reality and the mess."

Liu Zhenhua pulled out a page of data densely marked with red pen and pushed it in front of Lin Ye:

"This is the death and transfer record of the emergency department of Cangshan County Hospital over the past year. The county's transfer rate for critically ill patients is as high as 42%, and the success rate of trauma rescue is a full 15 percentage points lower than the city's average. The most shocking figure is this: last year, 17 patients with severe multiple injuries and acute internal bleeding died on the way to the First Municipal Hospital in the mountain road."

Lin Ye's heart sank suddenly, his gaze fixed on those cold lists.

"The old director retired early, and the newly appointed acting director is a nice guy. The doctors in the department generally have a 'the more you do, the more mistakes you make, the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make' mentality of just getting by."

Liu Zhenhua's expression was solemn.

"When faced with a slightly more serious car accident, external injury, or an acute abdominal condition that is difficult to diagnose, they are too lazy to even push the bedside ultrasound, and directly urge the family to sign the form to call 120 to send the patient to the city. They shirked the professional risks, but threw the patient's life on a bumpy 90-kilometer mountain road."

Liu Zhenhua stood up, placed his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward, and stared intently at Lin Ye:

"This time, the hospital has formed an expert team for the medical consortium, and one key person has been selected from general surgery and obstetrics and gynecology. However, the hospital director and I have unanimously decided to entrust you with the responsibility of the emergency room team leader. Don't go through the empty formalities of working shifts in grassroots outpatient clinics. You need to use the fastest time possible to force the ironclad rules of emergency quality control from the First Municipal Hospital into the very marrow of their departments!"

"Those who can be rescued on the spot must not have their lives spared; those who must be transported must have their shock treated and their tubes secured on-site before being loaded onto the vehicle!"

Liu Zhenhua stuffed an emergency contact card stamped with the official seal of the medical department into Lin Ye's jacket pocket.

"You have full authority over the emergency services at Cangshan Hospital. If you encounter any irresponsible individuals shirking their duties locally, suspend their prescription privileges directly according to the First Municipal Hospital's quality control regulations. If you encounter an unmanageable disaster, call the hotline back to the city, and I, Liu Zhenhua, will personally arrange for a helicopter and provincial experts for you!"

"clear."

Lin Ye carefully put the card away and nodded solemnly.

4:30 p.m., Emergency Department Doctors' Lounge.

The list of medical teams providing assistance was posted in the group chat, and the department immediately erupted in excitement.

Fang Rui rushed in from the observation area, sweating profusely and holding a freshly handwritten application. His face was flushed. "Teacher Lin! I've seen the list, but there aren't any spots for resident trainees! I've inquired, and the paired assistance program allows you to bring one trainee. I've already signed it. Let me go to Cangshan with you!"

Lin Ye poured him a glass of water, his expression calm.

"Put your hand back."

"Teacher Lin..."

Fang Rui panicked.

"I'm not afraid of hardship! I can endure the poor conditions and difficult roads in the mountains! I can learn real skills from you; I even learned about scrub typhus this morning..."

"You did a really great job this morning."

Lin Ye interrupted him, his voice gentle.

"But you're only in your first year of residency training."

Lin Ye pressed down on Fang Rui's shoulder, looking into the young man's eyes:

"The main battlefield for the first year of residency training is at the base camp. The First Municipal Hospital has the most standardized basic procedures, standardized medical records from various specialties, and Lao Qin who will nitpick at the morning meetings every day. Laying a solid foundation in these areas is the most important thing for you in these three years. If you follow me to the mountains where even CT scans can't be ordered before you've laid a solid foundation, that's like pulling up seedlings to help them grow."

Fang Rui bit his lip and lowered his head.

"Work hard under Lao Qin in the department."

Lin Ye patted him on the back.

"Once you're able to handle the night shifts on your own at the First Municipal Hospital, I'll keep the gates of Cangshan open for you anytime."

Fang Rui rubbed his sore eyes hard and nodded firmly: "Okay! Teacher Lin, I'll listen to you!"

8 PM.

In the one-bedroom apartment on the first floor, the suitcases were completely spread out on the living room floor tiles.

Lin Ye didn't bring many extra clothes, only three sets of durable and sweat-absorbent pure cotton short-sleeved shirts and two pairs of sweatpants.

The remaining space was filled with his most prized professional equipment:

Two high-intensity aluminum alloy flashlights, three portable tourniquets, five large-diameter bone marrow puncture needles, two sterile thoracentesis drainage kits, and a well-worn, densely filled notebook titled "Practical Handbook for Field and Pre-hospital Emergency Care."

After getting ready, Lin Ye picked up his phone and dialed his father's number.

The phone rang twice before being answered, and the background sound of the evening news broadcast came from the television.

"Ono, have you had dinner yet?"

The father, Lin Guoping, had a loud and steady voice.

"have eaten."

Lin Ye sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Dad, I want to tell you and Mom that the hospital has issued a notice that starting next week, I will be going to Cangshan County People's Hospital to participate in counterpart support and assistance for six months."

There was a half-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the father's hearty and cheerful laughter:

"Good! That's the real business! What kind of skill is it for a good man to just stay inside a top-tier hospital? Back in the day, your father went to the countryside to support agriculture and spent a whole year soaking in the mud and water. That's what it means to be down-to-earth! When you get to the county, stop putting on airs like a big hospital, listen more, observe more, do more practical work, and be nicer to the people!"

The mother snatched the microphone, her voice full of heartache.

"It's damp and there are lots of mosquitoes in the mountains at night, and your stomach isn't good against the cold. Did you bring enough clothes for the new season? Take the thick cotton socks I sent you the day before yesterday... Take care of yourself in the mountains, don't get so busy that you don't even have time for a hot meal..."

Lin Ye held the receiver, listening quietly to his mother's nagging instructions, a warm feeling welling up in his heart.

After hanging up the phone, the room returned to silence.

Lin Ye opened the inner compartment of his backpack and pulled out the medical record of the death transfer in Cangshan County that Liu Zhenhua had given him.

Lin Ye's fingertip hovered over a file from six months ago:

[Deceased: Male, 32 years old. Suffered severe chest and abdominal crush injuries from a truck overturning. The county hospital did not perform thoracentesis or abdominal paracentesis; after initial bandaging, he was transferred by ambulance to the city's No. 1 Hospital. En route, he suddenly developed tension pneumothorax complicated by massive intra-abdominal hemorrhage, resulting in respiratory arrest. He died ten minutes before arriving at the city's No. 1 Hospital emergency room.]

Lin Ye closed the medical record, stuffed it back into the compartment, and tightened the zipper of his backpack.