He felt terribly wronged. He had just been trying to say he needed to pee, but Dongdong wouldn’t let him talk, and in the end Dongdong had forced a piece of fruit candy on him—he’d nearly wet his pants.
The moment Zhen Zhen heard this, it was as if someone had her back. Just then, she spotted her mother and Zhai Dongdong’s grandmother, Fang Guilan, walking over together, and her eyes lit up.
Her mother always said she didn’t know how to handle things, that she was a straight shooter with no tact.
But this time she had actually helped Political Commissar Zhai’s grandson. When they got back, her mother was sure to praise her to the skies.
So she eagerly steered Zhai Dongdong over to the two women and told the whole story from beginning to end.
“N-no… it’s not like that…”
Zhai Dongdong’s cheeks were bulging, a piece of hard fruit candy still in his mouth that he couldn’t bear to spit out. He wanted to explain, but Sister Zhen wouldn’t let him get a word in.
He was anxious and furious.
The moment Fang Guilan saw her little grandson’s tear-streaked face, she was beside herself with worry. And when she heard Zhen Zhen’s account, her face grew even darker.
Zhen Zhen was at least someone she knew, while this was a strange girl.
But gradually, she noticed something was wrong. “Dongdong?”
“Keh, khh…”
In an instant, Zhai Dongdong’s little face flushed bright red, his ears and neck engorged with blood, his lips pressed tightly together.
Fang Guilan froze for a moment. Seeing his bulging cheeks—her Dongdong was such a greedy little eater—she asked, “You… how many candies did you eat?”
Facing his grandmother, he couldn’t speak. His complexion gradually turned a sickly green, his small nostrils fluttering involuntarily. “Keh, hah…”
It seemed he was trying desperately to spit out whatever was stuck in his throat, but only a bit of saliva came out, staining the floor a patch of gray.
By now, his gaze had begun to go vacant.
“Ah, Dongdong… Dongdong, don’t scare me like this…”
Fang Guilan’s voice had completely changed pitch. She reached out her fingers, trying to dig the candy out of his throat, but couldn’t.
Zhen Zhen was shrieking too, tears flying. “Help! Somebody help!”
If she remembered correctly, those candies were the very ones she had given Zhai Dongdong!
If anything happened to him, she’d never be able to explain herself.
A warm-hearted auntie ran over, calling as she came, “I’ll go find the train attendant, Comrade Zhao Qian, and have her fetch a doctor right away.”
By this point, every trace of color had drained from Zhai Dongdong’s face. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed into Fang Guilan’s arms, his gaze unfocused, his body too limp to stand.
“Ah, good heavens, what am I going to do…”
Tears streamed down Fang Guilan’s face in an instant. She was usually a woman with plenty of presence of mind, but facing her own beloved grandson, she had completely lost her head.
Mother Zhen said from the side, “Zhen Zhen, you’re a nurse. You do it.”
“Mom… but I…”
“Useless girl! Get out of the way!”
Seeing her cowering, Mother Zhen knew she didn’t dare do it, and pushed her aside.
She didn’t know how herself, but she had watched her husband perform the procedure. She could only gamble on it.
But after only a brief attempt, Zhai Dongdong’s condition was still bad.
Just then, a clear voice rang out, like a ray of light in the darkness. “I’m a doctor.”
Zhen Zhen turned to look, her face going pale, and blurted out, “Stop making things worse.”
Before she could finish, “Slap!”
It was her mother’s hand across her face. “Get lost!”
Zhen Zhen stared at her mother in disbelief. This was the first time her mother had ever slapped her.
Her mother, no matter how hard she used to hit her, only ever hit her bottom, because she’d told her that you must never hit a girl’s face.
Mother Zhen stepped aside and gave Shen Zhiyao a slight nod. “Comrade, please, we’re counting on you.”
She didn’t fully believe in the girl either—she was just too young.
Doctors, after all, only became more respected with age.
But the fact that she was willing to step forward meant her courage far exceeded Zhenzhen’s. It was worth a try.
Shen Zhiyao stood behind Zhai Dongdong and bent forward slightly.
She made a scissor shape with the index and middle fingers of her right hand, the middle finger resting just above Zhai Dongdong’s navel.
She quickly clenched her left hand into a fist and placed it above her index finger.
Then she drew back her right hand, made it flat like a board, pressed it over her left fist, and delivered repeated inward thrusts against Zhai Dongdong’s abdomen.
This was a simplified, modified version of the Heimlich maneuver.
Mother Zhen’s fingers dug in tightly.
This was different from what her husband had done—it looked simpler—and she felt uneasy inside.
Still, the young girl had done her best. At least she had far more courage than her nurse daughter. Everything else was in fate’s hands now.
At first, Zhai Dongdong’s breathing grew more and more labored, and his complexion worsened.
Fang Guilan collapsed on the ground, crying into a complete wreck, all dignity gone.
The children were all frozen with fright.
The crowd gathered around clutched their hearts, silently praying, silently cheering.
Suddenly—”Cough… blegh!”
A piece of hard candy shot out of Zhai Dongdong’s mouth, landing on the ground in an arc.
Everyone held their breath in unison, eyes glued to the limp little chubby boy.
After a moment of silence, Zhai Dongdong finally managed to burst into tears.
“Ah, my baby… my baby…”
Seeing this, Fang Guilan clutched Zhai Dongdong tightly and wailed aloud.
She loosened her grip, turned Zhai Dongdong’s body over, and checked him carefully for any other problems.
Cold sweat had already soaked her shirt, sticking it to her icy skin. If anything had gone wrong, how would she ever face her family—especially her son and daughter-in-law?
“Granny… it hurts…”
“What? Where does it hurt?”
“You were squeezing me too hard.”
Fang Guilan laughed through her tears. “Okay, okay, no more squeezing.”
The surrounding crowd’s eyes sparkled, and thunderous applause rang out—clap clap clap.
“That little girl is amazing—so young, yet so brave and resourceful.”
“We must have misjudged her just now.”
“Such a young and beautiful doctor—you really can’t judge a book by its cover.”
The doctor Zhao Qian had brought now stood beside her, both of them panting. They had only just arrived and had watched the entire scene unfold.
Because Shen Zhiyao’s rescue technique was correct, Dr. Chen had not rashly interrupted.
Only now, seeing that she finally had a moment free, did Dr. Chen step forward and bow respectfully. “Sir, that was most admirable. May I have your name?”
Before Shen Zhiyao could speak, Zhao Qian, the train attendant in uniform, exclaimed excitedly, “I know! Her name is Shen Zhiyao!”
When the girl had first boarded, Zhao Qian had seen this beautiful young girl traveling alone and worried she’d been deceived by someone. She never imagined she was actually a promising young doctor.
Dr. Chen extended a hand. “Comrade Shen, the Heimlich maneuver hasn’t been in our country for very long. Although it’s been popularized to some extent among grassroots medical workers, people still often resort to the old methods. What you just did was absolutely textbook.”
Shen Zhiyao gave a slight nod, neither humble nor arrogant in the face of so much praise.
Mother Zhen and Zhen Zhen stood off to the side, and Zhen Zhen looked as though she’d just been fished out of a well, dripping with sweat.
The two of them pricked up their ears at the same time.
What? So it wasn’t just messing around?
It wasn’t just luck?
In an instant, Zhen Zhen’s face burned hot, as if it had been smeared with chili oil.
“Thank you, thank you so much…”
Fang Guilan, holding her chubby grandson who had been lost and then found again, regained her senses and moved to kowtow to Shen Zhiyao.
A hand reached out first, pressing against her forehead and holding her up. The voice was clear and pleasant. “There’s no need.”
The applause around them grew even louder. Everyone looked at Shen Zhiyao with awe and admiration. Some adults even pulled their children close, telling them they should learn from this beautiful young lady in the future and become people useful to society.
Now wasn’t that the finest role model—far more effective than all their nagging at their grandchildren and children.
Fang Guilan gazed at her through tearful eyes, clenching her fingers tight.
All of this was just empty words. She was determined to thank her with something substantial—not just her, but the whole family’s great benefactor!