Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

The nurse on duty came out of the nurses' station, saw him, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over.

She was a girl in her early twenties, with a round face and a ponytail; she looked quite kind.

"Director Chen, what brings you to the hospital?" She used the formal "you" in her tone, still carrying the familiar manner of address.

"Don't call me Director anymore, I haven't been for a long time."

Chen Ping put down the water bottle. "My friend's father is sick, so I came to visit."

The nurse nodded, asked no more questions, and turned to leave.

He took two steps, then stopped, turned around, opened his mouth as if to say something, but swallowed it back and walked away.

Chen Ping stood in the corridor, watching people coming and going at the entrance of the emergency room.

An elderly woman was helped in by her son, clutching her chest, her face pale.

A young man ran in carrying a child who had hit his head and whose face was covered in blood.

A drunk man lay on a cart, cursing under his breath, with several policemen following behind.

He knew this place all too well.

He has worked countless night shifts here, seen countless anxious faces, and heard countless cries and curses.

He thought he would never come back after he left, but when he returned, his feelings were even more complicated than before.

Cui Ying came out of the ward and walked to his side.

Her eyes were red, but she didn't cry. She held a bottle of mineral water in her hand, but it wasn't opened.

"Chen Ping, thank you." Her voice was very soft.

"No need to thank me, I didn't do anything."

"If you hadn't been there, my dad might have already had surgery."

Cui Ying lowered her head, looking at the mineral water bottle in her hand. "If my dad had listened to me and quit drinking sooner, things wouldn't have come to this..."

"Stop talking," Chen Ping interrupted her. "It's good that he's alright. We can talk to him slowly later."

Cui Ying nodded.

The two stood in the corridor, neither of them speaking.

One of the lights at the end of the corridor went out, while the other remained on, casting a dim, yellowish glow on the ground, like a pool of melted wax.

Cui Ying's mother poked her head out of the ward and waved to them.

"Chen Ping, come in here for a moment."

Chen Ping entered the ward.

Cui Ying's father had woken up and was leaning against the headboard. He still looked unwell, but his spirits were much better than before.

He saw Chen Ping, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

Chen Ping walked to the bedside, picked up his hand from the bedside table, and checked his pulse again.

The pulse is stronger than before, and the blood in the stomach is being absorbed slowly without any new bleeding points.

"Uncle, you can't drink alcohol anymore, not even a drop." Chen Ping let go and pulled the blanket up a bit. "You have to quit smoking too. Your stomach can't take any more of this."

Cui Ying's father looked at him for several seconds, then nodded.

He nodded heavily, as if he were making a promise to someone.

Cui Ying's mother sat on the edge of the bed, holding his other hand, and tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time they were not tears, but tears of joy.

Chen Ping came out of the ward, walked to the end of the corridor, and opened the window.

The night breeze blew in, cool and refreshing, and felt very comfortable on my face.

He took out a cigarette, intending to light one, but after glancing at the "No Smoking" sign on the wall, he put the cigarette back and walked back to the ward.

"Auntie, why don't you and Cui Ying go back and rest first? I'll stay here and watch over Uncle."

Chen Ping said to Cui Ying's mother.

"No, no, no, I'll stay here. You and Yingying should go home and rest." Cui Ying's mother shook her head.

At this point, Cui Ying's mother had considerable trust and approval of Chen Ping.

In the past, she would not have allowed Chen Ping and Cui Ying to go home alone to rest.

If a man and a woman are alone together and something happens, it will damage their reputation.

However, after these few days of contact, Cui Ying's mother no longer harbored any hostility towards Chen Ping.

Cui Ying shook her head. "It's almost dawn. Don't bother. Let's just stay here for the night and go back tomorrow."

Chen Ping thought for a moment, then stopped trying to persuade him and turned to go to the nurses' station.

The girl on duty was still the same round-faced girl with a ponytail. She was writing nursing records on the table when she saw Chen Ping coming over, and she stopped writing.

"Director Chen, is there something you need?"

"Could you help me find two folding beds, the kind for family members to use, as I need to stay overnight in the ward?"

The nurse put down her pen, stood up, dragged two folding beds out of the storage room at the end of the corridor, and grabbed two blankets.

Chen Ping took it, thanked him, set up the bed in Cui Ying's father's ward, and laid out the blankets.

Cui Ying's mother sat on the edge of the bed without moving. Cui Ying came over to help him make another bed. The two of them squatted on the ground, one of them spreading out the legs of the folding bed, and the other spreading the quilt on it. Neither of them said anything, but they cooperated quite well.

"You go to sleep. I'm at the nurses' station. Call me if you need anything," Chen Ping said, standing up.

Cui Ying looked up at him, her lips moved slightly, and she said softly, "You should go to sleep early too."

Chen Ping returned to the nurses' station, where the round-faced nurse took out a clean sheet and pillow from the cabinet and made a bed for him in the nurses' station's break room.

The break room wasn't big; it contained a single bed, a table, a chair, a duty roster on the wall, and a white lab coat hanging next to it, its sleeves wrinkled, its owner unknown.

"Director Chen, the conditions are simple, please make do." The nurse stood at the door, holding a pillowcase in her hand, looking a little embarrassed.

"That's great, thank you." Chen Ping smiled.

The nurse left and closed the door behind her.

Chen Ping lay down and stared at the fluorescent light tube on the ceiling. The tube was not turned off, it was buzzing, and the white light was dazzling.

He rolled over, facing the wall, and closed his eyes.

My mind was a jumble of images: Cui Ying's father lying on the trolley, Dr. Sun's expression when he handed over the surgical consent form, and the faces of Lao Wang and his gang at the barbecue restaurant—they flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.

He tossed and turned several times, and after what seemed like an eternity, he finally drifted off to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already daylight.

I didn't wake up naturally; the round-faced nurse knocked on the door and woke me up.

She stood at the door with a glass of water in her hand and said softly, "Director Chen, it's time to hand over the shift. Please get up."

After saying that, he put the water on the table, turned around and left.

Chen Ping rubbed his eyes, sat up, glanced at his phone, and saw it was 7:20.

He went to the bathroom to wash his face, tidied his hair, and then went into the ward.

Cui Ying's father had woken up and was leaning against the headboard. His complexion was much better than last night, and there was a bit of color in his lips.

He saw Chen Ping come in, put down the tissue in his hand, leaned forward as if he wanted to sit up, but he didn't have the strength, so he leaned back.

Cui Ying's mother sat on the folding bed next to her. The quilt was neatly folded, and her clothes had been changed. No one knew when she had gone back to get them.

Cui Ying stood by the window, carrying several plastic bags filled with porridge, steamed buns, and soy milk. The bags were covered with a layer of white mist from the heat.

"Uncle, how are you feeling?" Chen Ping walked over and habitually placed his hand on Cui Ying's father's pulse.

"I feel much better. I don't feel nauseous anymore, and my stomach isn't bloated."

Cui Ying's father's voice was still a little weak, but stronger than last night. "Dr. Chen, thank you so much for what happened last night. If it weren't for you, my belly might have been opened up."

Chen Ping released his grip, smiled, but didn't reply.

The pulse has indeed improved a lot, most of the blood in the stomach has been absorbed, and there are no new bleeding points. At this rate, I can be discharged in three more days.

Cui Ying placed breakfast on the bedside table, opened the plastic bag, and found a bowl of millet porridge, several steamed buns, and four cups of soy milk.

She brought out the porridge and placed it next to her father, then inserted the straw into the soy milk cup and placed it in front of her mother.

Then he took two more steamed buns and handed them to Chen Ping, keeping one for himself. The three of them ate them on the bedside table.

After finishing his meal, Chen Ping collected the plastic bag and threw it into the trash can in the corridor.