The Military District Hospital was very large, though it still could not compare with the People’s Hospital in Sucheng.
Most of those coming and going for medical treatment were soldiers, with only a few children and women among them.
Su Manning and He Huai walked side by side. Just as they were about to go upstairs, a cry of alarm suddenly came from below.
“Doctor, hurry and save the child! He’s choking!”
When a nurse saw that the child could not breathe, she quickly asked, “What is stuck in the child’s throat?”
“It’s a peanut—a perfectly ordinary peanut! How did it get stuck?”
The woman was so anxious that she was nearly in tears.
The child usually ate things like this without any trouble.
The nurse held the child and instructed her colleague, “Try patting his back.”
“There’s no time.” Seeing that the child could not draw breath, Su Manning shoved the recommendation letter and reference book in her hands into He Huai’s hands. “Hold these for me.”
She hurried over, seized the child, and performed emergency treatment using the Heimlich Maneuver.
The nurse cried out anxiously, “Comrade, what are you doing? Where did you come from?”
Just as she was about to stop Su Manning, He Huai blocked her. “She’s a doctor too. She won’t do anything reckless.”
Before long, the peanut lodged in the child’s windpipe was forced out.
“It’s out, it’s out. The peanut is out.”
Seeing the color return to the child’s face, the woman let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly thanked her. “Thank you so much, Doctor.”
Su Manning was exhausted and drenched in sweat. This child was incredibly sturdy; her arms were almost completely out of strength.
He Huai supported her slender waist with one hand. “If you’re tired, rest for a while first.”
His searing hand touched the hollow at her waist. Su Manning instantly straightened her back and avoided his rough, callused hand.
“I’m fine. Let’s hurry. It wouldn’t be good to be late for the interview.”
Seeing her reaction, He Huai glanced at the hollow where he had just touched her. A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
So sensitive.
Just like in his dreams.
On the second floor, the director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department and the hospital director had watched everything from beginning to end.
“This girl has good character,” the director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department remarked.
It was just that this technique… Was it the Waist-Thrust Method?
“She’s beautiful too.” The hospital director smiled. “He Huai is probably done for.”
A cold, aloof iceberg softened around her fingers—the look on his face could not have been more obvious.
A short while later, He Huai brought Su Manning to the second floor.
After knocking on the door, He Huai introduced her. “Hospital Director, Director Chen, this is the doctor from Sucheng I told you about.”
Su Manning stepped forward. “Hello, Hospital Director. Hello, Director Chen. My name is Su Manning, and I’m twenty years old. I began studying under Physician Tan Ling when I was young. At seventeen, I obtained my Traditional Chinese Medicine physician qualification certificate and physician’s license. I also independently saw patients in Sucheng for two years.”
“This is the letter of recommendation my teacher gave me.”
The hospital director raised his eyes and glanced at He Huai. “What are you doing here? Go outside.”
He Huai: “…”
He looked at Su Manning worriedly. Only after seeing her nod did he say, “Then I’ll wait for you outside.”
The director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department took her letter of recommendation and examined it carefully.
Then he looked at Su Manning. “Just now, I was wondering whether I had seen you somewhere before. As soon as you mentioned Tan Ling, I knew. When you were ten, did you follow Tan Ling to a Traditional Chinese Medicine academic conference in Sucheng?”
Su Manning was pleasantly surprised. “Yes, I did. You are?”
“My surname is Chen. My name is Chen Nan.”
Director Chen was already advanced in age, and his hair had turned completely white. He looked to be about the age of retirement.
Su Manning was extremely shocked. “You’re Teacher Chen Nan!”
A master of Traditional Chinese Medicine!
Chen Nan smiled kindly. “You studied Traditional Chinese Medicine under Tan Ling from a young age, so your medical skills should not be a problem. However, since you are already capable of seeing patients independently, why did you come here?”
Su Manning told him about how she had been forced out of Sucheng.
Chen Nan looked at the young girl’s delicate, charming face. Without some real ability, she truly would not be able to protect herself.
Fortunately, he was not an old-fashioned person. He did not believe that a woman’s excessive beauty was a fault.
“If that is the case, when do you plan to begin working at the hospital?”
Su Manning was taken aback. “So soon? Teacher Chen, aren’t you going to test me?”
Director Chen laughed. “The study of Traditional Chinese Medicine is broad and profound; there’s no need to rush. Memorizing a few case studies or medicinal ingredients alone is of little use. Whether something is a mule or a horse, you have to bring it out and let it walk. After you begin working, you will study by my side for a period of time. Then I will see whether you have what it takes to become the next physician in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department to see patients independently.”
Fighting spirit kindled in Su Manning’s eyes. “Manning will never fail to live up to Director Chen’s guidance.”
Director Chen nodded, then suddenly asked, “Was the technique you used to save the child downstairs the Waist-Thrust Method?”
The Waist-Thrust Method and the Heimlich Maneuver were based on the same principle. However, the Waist-Thrust Method was an empirical folk technique. Although it had been included in the barefoot doctors’ manual, it was not as standardized as the Heimlich Maneuver.
Although the current political situation was tense, the exchange of medical knowledge had not been prohibited.
Su Manning thought for a moment before saying, “I once saw it in a foreign book many years ago. It was called the Abdominal Thrust Method.”
The Heimlich Maneuver would not be given its name until October of this year. It had not yet been incorporated into emergency first aid, nor had it been promoted.
Director Chen did not press her about which book she had seen it in. Since it was a foreign book, it certainly would not have been circulated domestically.
“The Waist-Thrust Method is not particularly safe. It can easily injure the internal organs and ribs through excessive constriction. Your technique just now was much more precise. Comrade Su, after you begin working at the hospital, would you be willing to teach this technique to the other doctors and nurses?”
Su Manning had never intended to keep it to herself. “Of course. My suggestion is that it be made available to the people throughout the country. There should be many cases like today’s. If this technique can be widely taught, it will save more people.”
Director Chen’s eyes were filled with admiration. “Comrade Su Manning, I thank you on behalf of the people of the entire country.”
Su Manning smiled shyly. “Then should I start work tomorrow?”
Hospital Director Xu Gaoliang laughed heartily. “You can start whenever you like. There will be a social gathering next week. I hear you’re still single, so you can go and take a look then.”
Su Manning was even happier. “All right!”
A future filled with promise, embellished with love—that was the life she wanted.
Who cared whether she was some female supporting character or not?
She had a life of her own.
Her life had fallen apart in Sucheng, but it would begin here.