The summer weather changed without warning. Just moments ago, the blazing sun had been scorching the earth, but in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and a torrential downpour began.
Fang Yuan hurriedly closed the window, but a few raindrops had already splashed onto the notebook on her desk. One patch of fountain pen ink immediately bled across the page. She picked up the notebook and gently shook it, looking at the blurred handwriting with a trace of regret.
The notebook contained the surgical plan she had written for tomorrow’s roundworm intestinal obstruction operation. It was the assignment Doctor Jiang had given her. Fang Yuan guessed that Doctor Jiang wanted to assess her level of competence, so she had spent the entire afternoon preparing it with great care.
After the notebook dried, she carefully rewrote the blurred sections, closed it, clipped her fountain pen onto it, and headed out to find Doctor Jiang, intending to hand over the plan for his review.
The sky quickly turned dark, and the light inside the hospital dimmed.
At that moment, a tall man, drenched from head to toe, walked through the main entrance. His green military uniform clung tightly to his body, and water dripped continuously onto the floor. He saluted the nurse at the reception desk and asked, “Excuse me, does Doctor Fang Yuan work here?”
The nurse looked at the soldier standing ramrod straight before her and felt a sense of admiration. She smiled and nodded. “Are you looking for Doctor Fang from the surgery department?”
“I don’t know which department she’s in. She should have just been assigned to your hospital this year…” The tall soldier’s deep voice carried a hint of nervousness and anticipation.
“We only have one doctor with the surname Fang, and she’s a beautiful young lady,” the nurse replied with a soft laugh. “She just joined our hospital this year.”
A faint flush appeared on the tall soldier’s face, and he suddenly became somewhat uneasy and at a loss. Now that he had truly found the right place and was about to meet her in person, he unexpectedly felt timid, wondering whether it had been appropriate to come see her so abruptly.
The nurse noticed that water was still dripping from the brim of his cap, making him look as though he had just been pulled out of a river. She was about to suggest that he wring the rainwater from his clothes first when she suddenly saw Fang Yuan emerge from around the corner. Excitedly, she waved her hand. “Doctor Fang, Doctor Fang, a People’s Liberation Army comrade is looking for you.”
The tall soldier’s entire body immediately tensed. Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, his heart began pounding violently. He quickly turned around and saw a figure dressed in white standing before him.
Even the dim lighting in the hospital lobby could not conceal her beautiful features. Her long hair was neatly tucked beneath her white cap. She was tall and slender, seeming to radiate a soft glow. Her rosy lips parted slightly as she looked at him with a trace of surprise.
This face, which he had desperately tried to preserve in his memory, yet had gradually faded into a blur over time, now stood vividly before him. His eyes unconsciously grew moist.
Fang Yuan was puzzled. She glanced toward the nurse at the reception desk, who simply shook her head, indicating that she had no idea what was happening either.
Looking at the PLA soldier who stood motionless in front of her, Fang Yuan pressed her lips together before speaking first. “Are you looking for me?”
“…Yes, yes.” The tall soldier spoke softly, as though afraid that speaking too loudly would frighten her away.
Fang Yuan smiled as she waited for him to continue, but the man merely stared blankly at her. She began to feel somewhat displeased, thinking that even a PLA soldier could be so impolite, staring at a young woman without blinking.
The soldier seemed to come back to his senses. He looked away, straightened his posture, saluted Fang Yuan, and said in a hoarse yet solemn voice, “Hello. I’m Chen Nanfang.”
“Hello, Comrade Chen.” Fang Yuan straightened her back as she replied, “May I ask why you’re looking for me?”
“Ahem, ahem. I… I’m here to see you for medical treatment,” Chen Nanfang said after clearing his throat lightly, his expression somewhat unnatural.
“I’m sorry. I’ve only recently joined the hospital and haven’t been assigned outpatient consultations yet. You can register at the reception desk first and have another doctor examine you,” Fang Yuan suggested politely with a smile, pointing toward the registration counter before turning to leave.
“Doctor Fang.” Chen Nanfang hurried after her and stepped in front of her. Facing her, he asked, “Then when will you begin seeing patients? I’ll come back then.”
Fang Yuan frowned and instinctively took half a step back, avoiding the intense presence radiating from the man before her. She sized Chen Nanfang up. He was exceptionally tall and powerfully built. Judging from his accent, he seemed to be from northern China, yet his name was Nanfang, meaning “South.” From the red collar tabs on his uniform, she could tell that he was indeed a soldier. But why was he acting so rashly and strangely?
“Illnesses shouldn’t wait. You’d better see another doctor,” Fang Yuan said politely but seriously.
Chen Nanfang broke into a broad grin, revealing a row of white teeth. It was as though years of frost had melted away. His dark face blossomed into a smile as he said cheerfully, “My illness isn’t urgent. It can wait.”
Just then, the torrential rain outside suddenly stopped. The dark clouds parted, and a ray of orange sunlight burst through, slanting across Chen Nanfang’s body and making the droplets on his clothes sparkle brilliantly.
“Look, the sun’s out again,” Chen Nanfang said happily. He gazed deeply at Fang Yuan once more, saluted her, and strode away. Then he suddenly turned his head and called out, “Doctor Fang, I’ll come see you again tomorrow.” With that, he laughed heartily and left.
Fang Yuan felt completely bewildered, her mind in total confusion. Who exactly was this man? Had he known her before?
“Doctor Fang, I think that PLA comrade is interested in you,” the nurse teased with a sly smile.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I don’t know him at all. He’s acting so strangely,” Fang Yuan replied, sticking out her tongue. She quickly collected herself and continued on her way to find Doctor Jiang.
Doctor Jiang was evidently very satisfied with Fang Yuan’s surgical plan. After reading it, he began addressing her as Xiao Fang instead.
The boy’s surgery was scheduled for ten o’clock the following morning. After the preoperative sterilization was completed, Doctor Jiang picked up the scalpel, made an incision at the marked location on the patient’s abdomen, and chatted with Fang Yuan as he operated.
“Do you know why I arranged for surgery as soon as possible?”
“Based on the examination results, the patient has a large mass of roundworms in the intestine. Non-surgical treatment would have difficulty dispersing them. To prevent perforation, surgery should be performed as early as possible,” Fang Yuan answered calmly, never taking her eyes off Doctor Jiang’s hands.
“Before the surgery, the patient’s family came to see me again. They hoped to try medication first. Families are always somewhat wary of major surgery. They probably heard somewhere that ordinary cases of roundworm intestinal obstruction are generally treated with two or three days of non-surgical deworming first.”
“As doctors, we make reasonable judgments based on the examination results… There are far too many roundworms tangled together inside the intestines.” Fang Yuan watched as Doctor Jiang located the section where the roundworms had twisted together into a mass that caused the obstruction. When he incised the intestinal wall, she saw the densely packed roundworms writhing and squirming inside. She could not help swallowing hard.
Using a large curved hemostatic clamp, Doctor Jiang extracted the roundworms from the intestine. Fang Yuan assisted by gently squeezing them along. Watching the number of worms piling up in the stainless steel basin continue to increase, all of them still actively wriggling, even the female nurses nearby struggled to suppress their nausea.
“The situation looks good. There’s no necrosis in the intestinal segment. Once we’ve removed most of the worms, we can suture it closed,” Doctor Jiang said casually.
Fang Yuan was the one who completed the suturing of the intestinal wall and abdominal cavity.
When she finally put down the forceps and let out a sigh of relief, she saw that the basin the nurse was holding was completely covered with roundworms. There were far too many to count. Two of them were wriggling toward the rim of the basin, nearly crawling over the edge. The scrub nurse looked as though she was about to cry. She dry heaved, another nurse hurried over to take the basin from her, and the two of them carried it away for disposal.
After explaining the patient’s condition and postoperative instructions to the family, Fang Yuan felt utterly exhausted. She returned to the office, sat down, and did not want to get up again.
Nurse Xu entered with a cheerful smile and placed an aluminum lunch box on her desk.
“Doctor Fang, Doctor Jiang had this meal prepared for you. He said you finished late and was worried the cafeteria would run out of food. Doctor Jiang is really good to you.”
Fang Yuan smiled and thanked her with a nod. Although she had completely lost her appetite by noon, she still felt surprised and touched by Doctor Jiang’s thoughtfulness.
She accepted the lunch box and opened it, only to immediately cover her mouth as a wave of dry heaving overtook her.
Inside was a serving of tofu and bean sprout soup.
The long bean sprouts drifting in and out of view within the tofu soup instantly reminded Fang Yuan of the earlier scene.
That Doctor Jiang really knew how to tease people. Fang Yuan ground her teeth in frustration.
Before getting off work, Fang Yuan stopped by the pharmacy and picked up two packets of deworming medicine for Da Mao and Xiao Mao at home.
The moment she stepped out of the hospital gates, she saw Chen Nanfang, dressed in his green military uniform, standing by the wall with his head lowered, absentmindedly kicking pebbles at his feet.
Keeping her gaze straight ahead, Fang Yuan walked directly past him along the right side of the wall.
“Doctor Fang.” Chen Nanfang had somehow already noticed her and quickly caught up to her.
Fang Yuan stopped, turned to look at him, and asked with mild annoyance, “Comrade Chen, what exactly do you want from me?”
Chen Nanfang looked somewhat dejected. He straightened his expression and said earnestly, “I was too abrupt. Actually, I really did come to seek medical treatment, but not for myself. I’d like to ask you to treat one of my former senior leaders.”
Fang Yuan’s expression softened slightly. “I’ve only recently been assigned to the hospital. My experience and ability are still limited. Our hospital has many excellent doctors. You can bring your leader here for a consultation, and I can help arrange for the attending physician from the appropriate department to see him.”
“I believe in your medical skills. I know you’re the successor of Old Master Fang, the Divine Needle Fang. I think only you can cure my former leader’s chronic illness.”
Fang Yuan looked at him suspiciously. “How do you know my grandfather is Divine Needle Fang?”
“…I asked around.”
Fang Yuan nodded. “You should still bring your leader to our hospital first. If it’s truly something I can help with, I’ll certainly do my best.”
“All right.” Chen Nanfang nodded with a smile.
He did not follow after her again, fearing that it would make Fang Yuan even more wary of him and leave her with a bad impression.
…
The next day was the weekend. At dusk, Fang Xiaoqin wheeled home a bicycle. As soon as Da Mao saw it, he darted over, wanting to push it out for a ride, but she slapped the back of his hand and chased him away.
“Mom, where did the bicycle come from?” Fang Yuan had just washed her long hair. Sitting in the doorway with a dry towel, she rubbed the moisture from her hair.
“I borrowed it from your eldest aunt’s family. Aren’t you going to the countryside tomorrow? Walking would take four or five hours. Since you know how to ride a bicycle, you can get there in at most two hours. Isn’t that much more convenient?” Fang Xiaoqin said with a smile as she removed a nylon bag from the bicycle’s rear rack.
“Your eldest aunt asked me to bring this to your younger sister.”
With her damp black curls draped over her shoulders, Fang Yuan accepted the bag and opened it. Inside was a piece of floral cloth and two packets of malted milk.
Those were precious items.
“Eldest Aunt is so kind!” Fang Yuan said with a beaming smile.
“Your eldest aunt truly dotes on all of you.” After locking the bicycle against the doorway, Fang Xiaoqin took the towel from Fang Yuan and helped dry her hair. “Why don’t you cut your hair short? Girls nowadays all like shoulder-length braids. It’s much easier to take care of. Besides, you’re obsessed with cleanliness and wash your hair every day. I’m worried that if you keep washing it so often, you’ll end up with chronic headaches when you’re older.”
“I can’t bear to cut it.” Fang Yuan gently touched her damp hair and shook her head.