When it came time to unload the luggage, Bai Lu intentionally waited until the end. Once everyone had stored their bags and boarded the vehicles, she went over to unload her own. While doing so, she quietly transferred several boxes of medical supplies out of her storage; otherwise, once they reached the destination, it would be too crowded and chaotic for her to find an opportunity to bring them out for everyone to use.
Once everyone was on board, the ambulances, rescue vehicles, and supply trucks set off toward the disaster area.
Although everyone felt distressed and anxious, they knew that without physical strength, they would likely become a burden later on. Therefore, after eating the breakfast provided by the county hospital, they all closed their eyes to rest and recharge. Their only goal was to be ready to start rescue work immediately upon arrival.
As the vehicles entered the Suzhou City limits, the mood became heavy. The collapsed houses and buildings made everyone truly feel the sheer power of the previous night’s disaster. Rescue teams searched among the broken walls and ruins, unwilling to miss even the slightest glimmer of life. Meanwhile, repair crews were working frantically to restore urban utilities. Everyone was busy.
The sight brought tears to the eyes of everyone on the bus.
The medical team from Heyi County headed straight for the rural outskirts of Suzhou City. When they reached one of the temporary settlement points, those who had arrived the night before rushed out to greet them. The newcomers and their medical supplies were then distributed among various stations.
Bai Lu and Wen Nuan were assigned to the same settlement point, allowing them to look out for one another.
While a doctor was organizing medical supplies in the “pharmacy” area, he noticed a box labeled “anti-inflammatory drugs.” He quickly opened it, only to find that the medicine boxes inside had not a single word printed on them. Although the packaging looked more advanced than the medicine used in the hospital, he didn’t dare use drugs that lacked any documentation.
Bai Lu and Wen Nuan had already put on their white lab coats and were preparing to work. Seeing Gao Chen, a doctor from their same hospital, crouching there with a furrowed brow, Bai Lu knew he was questioning the supplies from the Universal Mall. She stepped forward and asked, “Dr. Gao, is there a problem here?”
“There’s nothing written on this box of medicine. I can’t rashly give it to the injured,” Gao Chen said. Medical supplies were in critical shortage right now. “Do you know who provided this?”
“I didn’t see,” Bai Lu shook her head. She then reached down, took a box from the crate, opened it, and said, “This is anti-inflammatory medicine. If you’re worried there’s something wrong with it, I’ll take one. If I don’t have any issues, it proves this box is safe to use.”
Before Gao Chen or Wen Nuan could stop her, Bai Lu had already swallowed a pill. Seeing this, Wen Nuan also peeled a pill and popped it into her mouth. Anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly taken for colds, fevers, or general inflammation; under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t cause problems.
“You two…” Gao Chen was stunned by the brave and selfless spirit of these two young nurses.
As he continued to organize the supplies, Gao Chen kept an eye on them. Seeing that they indeed showed no adverse reactions, he realized the medicine was usable and sent them off to work.
Bai Lu and Wen Nuan carried their medical supplies into a nearby tent. Inside, the cries of adults and children merged into a single wall of sound. Some people sat on the ground with expressionless, wooden faces, while their family members lay on makeshift beds beside them.
The tent was thick with the smell of blood, antiseptic, sweat, and even waste. Wen Nuan’s stomach churned. She placed her tray on a small side table and turned to run outside. She hadn’t been a nurse for very long, and this was her first time facing such a scene; she needed time to adapt and grow.
Bai Lu was different. Having experienced everything in her past life, she was used to it. Nothing could faze her now.
She reached into the pocket of her white coat, pulled out a handful of colorful fruit-flavored lollipops, and handed them to a nurse who had arrived earlier. “Comrade, please help me distribute these to the children. Let them sweeten their mouths; it might help them stop crying.”
The constant crying of the children was not only exhausting for them but also hindered the rest of the patients. Once the nurse handed out the lollipops, the crying in the tent subsided, and a relative peace finally returned.
After vomiting in the open space outside, Wen Nuan finally came back in, picked up her tray, and began working with Bai Lu.
Their job consisted of cleaning, disinfecting, and bandaging wounds. Cases requiring surgery or stitches were left to the doctors. As nursing majors, they weren’t trained to perform surgery.
From time to time, soldiers and rescue workers brought in more wounded on makeshift stretchers. Gao Chen would examine them first; minor cases were handed to the nurses, while he handled the severe ones. Their division of labor was highly efficient.
They had been busy since noon, working continuously without even a moment to eat, let alone knowing where to find food.
Wen Nuan rubbed her empty stomach and said pitifully, “Bai Lu, I’m so hungry. When can we eat?”
Bai Lu shook her head. “I don’t know either. Let’s wait a bit longer; surely someone is arranging these things. I still have a piece of peach shortbread here. Eat this to tide you over.”
Just as Bai Lu pulled out the shortbread and before she could hand it to Wen Nuan, a comrade nearby reached out and snatched it away. Bai Lu sighed helplessly; with supplies so scarce, she couldn’t bring herself to blame anyone.
Bai Lu went to Gao Chen and said, “Dr. Gao, we’ve been working non-stop since we got here. We’re hungry and thirsty. Can I go out and find where the food is being served?”
They had gone straight into the tent to work upon arrival and hadn’t had time to look around. There had to be volunteers in charge of logistics, but they didn’t know where the canteen area was located.
Gao Chen finally realized how long they had been working. He nodded. “Go ahead. Be safe.”
Bai Lu nodded and stepped out of the temporary tent. She stretched her aching shoulders and looked up at the sky. The sunset glow stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, painting the sky in incredibly brilliant colors. At a time like this, no one was in the mood to appreciate such beauty.
Busy in the darkness of the tent, they truly hadn’t realized how late it had become.
Bai Lu scanned the area and saw a wisp of blue smoke rising from a tent in the distance. Thinking that must be where the cooking was done, she went back to grab her lunch box and headed toward the smoke.