Section Chief Fang pointed to the person beside him and introduced, "Come, come! Let me introduce you first. This is Director Hao, who is in charge of our guesthouse!"
Director Hao had a prosperous appearance and a smiling face when he spoke. After greeting her, he invited her to sit down.
Then Section Chief Fang continued, "Here's the situation! Comrade Song Ning, it's been raining heavily here for over a week, and there have been landslides on several mountain roads ahead, so they won't be passable by vehicles anytime soon. After reporting to the leaders in Anping, our unit has been reassigned. Tomorrow morning, we will be changing our route to the east! Therefore, we can't take you to Yu City!"
"But don't worry!" Section Chief Fang immediately added, "I've already explained your situation to Director Hao, and he will help you arrange your subsequent journey, ensuring you find your family smoothly."
As soon as Section Chief Fang finished speaking, Director Hao said with a smile, "Comrade Xiao Song, you can rest assured to stay at our guesthouse during this time. Once the roads are clear, I will immediately help you arrange your trip to Rongcheng. Although our place isn't large, both routes to Yu City and Rongcheng pass through our Bijie County! I'll make sure everything is perfectly arranged for you then!"
Song Ning didn't doubt Director Hao's words at all.
This was a government guesthouse, still a government internal institution.
Although Director Hao managed the guesthouse, he was also a government official.
Helping her find a ride or someone to give her a lift was just a matter of saying a word.
Section Chief Fang asked again, "Comrade Song Ning! What do you think of our arrangement..."
Song Ning quickly stood up and bowed slightly to them, "Thank you very much! I have no objections! I apologize for troubling you two leaders!"
"Haha! Good! Good! As long as you have no objections!"
Section Chief Fang breathed a sigh of relief, then reached out and shook hands with Director Hao. "Old Hao! We'll be setting off tomorrow morning, and I'll leave Comrade Song Ning's matter to you!"
"Don't worry! It's all on me!"
To be honest, Song Ning was a little touched. People in this era truly had a strong sense of responsibility! And they were genuinely warm-hearted!
Before leaving, Director Hao specifically instructed her to eat at the cafeteria in the back on time for all three meals, just to register.
The next morning, Song Ning went downstairs to the cafeteria for breakfast.
The two rows of long benches along the wall in the lobby were full, and many people were sitting on the floor in the corridor, leaning against their luggage, most of them dozing with their eyes closed.
The rain outside had not stopped. The guesthouse had limited rooms, and providing a space for stranded passengers to shelter from the rain was the best the government could do to serve the public.
When she returned and passed by the lobby again, she saw that the crowd, who had been resting separately, had gathered in a huddle, and a woman's scream could be heard.
"My child! Oh, my child! Wake up! What's wrong with you!"
"To the hospital! We need to get him to the hospital quickly! The child isn't responding!"
"Call! This guesthouse must have an emergency number, right?"
"I heard that the first floor of the hospital also flooded yesterday, and many patients were transferred!"
……
Song Ning peered through the gaps in the crowd and vaguely saw a young woman sitting on the ground, with a beautiful face, holding a child in her arms. She couldn't see anything more.
Listening to the constant cries from the crowd, she rubbed her earlobes, pushed through the crowd, and looked—
The child she was holding was about four or five years old, his face flushed, his body stiff, his eyes rolled back, and he was convulsing.
The woman holding him was panicking and at a loss, crying and trying to press the child's convulsing arm to make him recover.
"Convulsions due to high fever! Don't press his arm! You'll injure him if you keep pressing!"
With the child's mother's strength, she could break the child's arm.
Song Ning couldn't bear to watch, so she stepped forward, pulled the woman's hand away, and pinched the child's philtrum.
As expected, the child's skin was burning hot, indicating he had been feverish for quite some time.
A well-dressed middle-aged woman beside them, presumably the child's grandmother, saw someone who seemed knowledgeable and pleaded, "Comrade! Please save my grandson! I beg you!"
"Everyone, step back! Don't block the airflow!"
Song Ning commanded in a deep voice, while laying the child flat on the ground.
She turned his head to the side and quickly loosened his collar.
The waiter in the lobby, seeing someone step in to resolve the crisis, quickly began to disperse the surrounding people as instructed.
The convulsions lasted for a minute or two before stopping.
As the child relaxed, his body went limp, and he completely fainted.
Seeing this, the child's mother collapsed on the ground, her voice trembling with fear.
At this moment, Director Hao, having been notified, also rushed over and was stomping his feet anxiously upon seeing the scene...
"What are we going to do! The county hospital called us for help at five in the morning! The first floor of the hospital is flooded, and the patients have nowhere to be resettled! The county party committee compound is full of patients now! Not to mention that ambulances can't be dispatched! There aren't enough doctors either!"
Song Ning looked up and asked Director Hao, "Do you have a first-aid kit here?"
Director Hao looked a bit troubled, "We do! But we don't have much in the way of commonly used medicine!"
As he spoke, the waiter brought out a small wooden box from under the counter. It only contained a few pieces of gauze and alcohol, nothing else.
Common medicines nowadays, like cold and fever reducers, were usually loose white tablets with a short shelf life, and they had to be prescribed by a doctor at the hospital.
Song Ning nodded, showing understanding, and said calmly, "Please help me get a basin of warm water! And can we find a bed?"
"Yes, yes! Bring the child to the duty room first!"
Director Hao replied quickly, then turned back to the waiter beside him, "Hurry up and get the water! Run faster!"
Although the situation was caused by the weather, he didn't want anyone to have an accident in the guesthouse!
Someone had already helped the child's grandmother lift the child from the ground, and others were helping to support the child's mother who had collapsed.
Everyone had been cooperating, but someone nearby still questioned, "Doudou clearly fainted from the fever! Even in the hospital, he would need first aid! This, this can't be delayed here, can it?!"
Song Ning originally didn't want to pay attention and followed the child's grandmother towards the duty room.
But the woman who spoke was clearly acquainted with the child's mother and stepped forward again to grab her, "Sister Ying, we need to be careful about this child's situation! There's a lack of medical supplies here, and just a basin of warm water won't cure him! We need to think of another way!"
Sister Ying, who was already panicking and at a loss, became even more flustered upon hearing the woman's words.
She couldn't help but look at Song Ning, on the verge of tears!
Song Ning paused, looked at the two of them, and said, "Why don't you two discuss it first? I'm not in a hurry anyway! There isn't even a single pill here, and I'm worried about that too!"
Seeing Song Ning say this, the woman raised her voice and asked, "You, can you show us your credentials? Are you a doctor? Can you treat illnesses! Don't harm the child, you won't be able to take responsibility!"
Song Ning reached up and picked at her ear, gave her a white glance, and only turned to Sister Ying, "I really can't produce credentials! You are the child's mother, whether to treat him or not is up to you! I'm just offering!"
As they were speaking, the waiter returned with a bucket of steaming hot water in an aluminum pail.
Song Ning casually took a needle from the convenient sewing kit on the counter, sterilized it with the alcohol nearby, and said to the two women, "Hurry up and discuss! I'm busy!"
Over there, the child's grandmother, along with a helpful person, had already carried the child to the duty room and settled him. Seeing this situation, she angrily said, "What are you two doing! Someone is willing to help save Doudou! Why are you causing trouble!"
"Mom! Don't you remember Dad's situation? It's precisely because Doudou's matter is important that we can't be careless!"
"Mom! Juanzi's words... also make sense! How about..."
……
Song Ning had already entered the duty room. She raised her hand and used the needle to prick the child's earlobe and fingertips successively, drawing a few drops of blood from each.
The child was asleep and showed no reaction.
The waiter who had brought the water was standing by, feeling a little uneasy.
Outside... weren't they still discussing whether to let her treat him?
Why had she started drawing blood...
Song Ning then unbuttoned the child's clothes and had him turn to his side. One hand was inconvenient, so she tilted her head and looked at the waiter beside her.
"Come here and help!"
"Oh, oh!" The waiter quickly came over to help hold the child. She watched as Song Ning also pricked his neck, squeezing out a few drops of blood.
Song Ning handed the needle back to the waiter after she was done, "There! Here's your needle! I'm going up now!"
"Ah—this—" The waiter was a bit stunned.
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