No one knew what Jin Feng had said to the kitchen, but before long, three large bowls of beef noodles were served.
The noodles sat in a rich broth simmered from beef bones, piled generously with tender chunks of beef and topped with a layer of bright green scallions and cilantro.
Jin Feng brought over a bottle of vinegar along with a jar of chili oil.
“If you like spicy food, feel free to add some.”
She glanced at the gloomy sky outside and muttered,
“It’ll probably snow soon. A little chili will help keep you warm.”
Qin Man naturally spooned a generous amount into her bowl, making Song Qingsong and Yang Xiaoyun stare in surprise.
“What?”
Feeling their eyes on her, Qin Man asked,
“Dr. Song, Xiaoyun, don’t you eat spicy food?”
“No… it’s not that.”
Yang Xiaoyun simply found it strange.
Her parents doted on her, and with a steady job, she had eaten at state-run restaurants many times.
But never had a waitress treated her so warmly.
Usually, if the servers didn’t slam dishes onto the table, it already meant they were in a good mood.
Even when ordering dumplings, they rarely offered vinegar—let alone with noodles.
And these three bowls contained at least two or three times the usual amount of beef.
“Comrade Jin Feng is just kindhearted.”
Qin Man casually brushed the topic aside, never mentioning the gift she’d given.
After everything that had happened, Song Qingsong and Yang Xiaoyun were starving.
Before picking up her chopsticks, Qin Man estimated how much each of them could eat and quietly divided some of her noodles between them.
Yang Xiaoyun took a sip of the broth and happily narrowed her eyes.
“Xiaoman, why are you giving me yours? You should eat more and put on some weight!”
“You treated me to braised pork last night. I ate far more than you did.”
Before leaving that morning, Qin Man had secretly eaten a soft-boiled egg from her storage space while no one was watching, so she wasn’t especially hungry.
After thanking them again, she turned to Song Qingsong.
“As soon as I get the money, I’ll repay Comrade Tan Zheng.”
“That’s fine.”
Song Qingsong removed his glasses.
Despite his scholarly appearance, he ate his noodles with absolutely no elegance.
Once they had eaten their fill, Qin Man borrowed an enamel basin from Jin Feng, packed up the leftovers, and prepared to take them to Zhu Huifang as a thank-you gift.
When she went to pay the bill, she discovered that Song Qingsong had already paid both the money and the grain coupons.
The beef noodles didn’t require meat coupons.
Each bowl cost three taels of grain coupons and thirty-five cents.
Altogether, it came to less than two yuan.
Qin Man felt deeply embarrassed.
“Comrade Song Qingsong, you’ve already helped me so much. How could I let you pay for the meal too?”
“Comrade Qin Man, when you were nearly trafficked, I made a serious mistake.”
The previous night, Song Qingsong had barely slept.
He had spent the entire night reflecting on himself.
Prejudice was like a mountain.
Because he’d formed an opinion too quickly and believed the trafficker’s lies, he’d assumed Qin Man was vain and materialistic.
If the traffickers had succeeded, he would have ruined a young woman’s entire life.
The guilt had kept him awake.
Yang Xiaoyun had already apologized by giving Qin Man a pair of gloves.
He couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.
He quoted solemnly,
“Chairman Mao said it well: We Communists are revolutionaries, but we are not immortals. We eat ordinary food like everyone else, and we make mistakes… The faster and more thoroughly we correct them, the better.”
Having come to terms with it, Song Qingsong finally felt much lighter.
Qin Man was momentarily speechless.
She couldn’t help thinking that although there were scumbags like the Zhou family, most people of this era were remarkably sincere.
Winter nights came early.
By a little after four in the afternoon, darkness had already fallen.
As they left Zhu Huifang’s home, light snowflakes began drifting down.
Yang Xiaoyun and Song Qingsong rode their bicycles, escorting Qin Man back to the Provincial Hospital.
The moment they entered the hospital gate, Song Qingsong spotted a familiar military jeep.
He glanced instinctively at Qin Man and teased,
“Tan Zheng really keeps his word. Looks like he’s here to deliver those industrial coupons.”
“Dr. Song! Perfect timing!”
A young nurse rushed out of the emergency department, wiping sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
“Your relative is here and has been looking for you!”
“My relative? But I’m off duty today.”
Song Qingsong’s expression changed.
“Did someone in my family get hospitalized?”
It was the weekend.
Aside from the emergency department, only the doctors on duty remained at the hospital.
The nurse looked flustered.
“I’m not sure. It’s a pregnant woman. She started having convulsions and has already been transferred from the emergency room to Obstetrics.”
“A pregnant woman?”
Song Qingsong immediately understood.
No wonder Tan Zheng had driven to the hospital.
Without another word, he ran past the nurse toward the ward, with Yang Xiaoyun following close behind.
Qin Man realized she might be able to help and hurried after them without hesitation.
By the time they reached the obstetrics department on the third floor, Tan Zheng was silently leaning against the wall.
“Tan Zheng… is it Elder Sister?”
The “elder sister” Song Qingsong referred to was Tan Zheng’s cousin, Tan Xiwen.
Tan Zheng’s uncle and aunt worked in classified government positions and had spent years stationed in Northwest China.
Not long after giving birth, they had entrusted their daughter to Tan Zheng’s grandparents in Harbin.
Tan Xiwen and Tan Zheng had practically grown up together.
Though cousins, they were as close as real siblings.
As a child, Song Qingsong had been frail and often bullied by other children from the military compound.
It was always the Tan siblings who stood up for him.
Tan Xiwen had married late and was only expecting her first child in her early thirties.
This pregnancy meant everything to her.
“Yes.”
Tan Zheng nodded.
Luckily, he had gone to borrow industrial coupons from her that evening.
Otherwise, he would never have discovered something was wrong.
When he found her convulsing, he immediately rushed her to the hospital.
“Which one of you is the patient’s family?”
Just then, the attending physician stepped out of the emergency operating room.
She recognized Song Qingsong and hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Dr. Song… the patient’s condition is very serious. You need to prepare yourselves.”
“Dr. Xu… why did my sister suddenly start having seizures?”
Song Qingsong wasn’t an obstetrician.
He only possessed basic knowledge of pregnancy-related illnesses.
Cases like Tan Xiwen’s were rare.
The moment Dr. Xu said the situation was critical, his mind went blank.
He stood frozen.
Tan Zheng gently pushed him aside, took a deep breath, and forced himself to remain calm.
“Doctor, I’m the patient’s family.”
“Commander Tan, I know who you are.”
Dr. Xu skipped the formalities and got straight to the point.
“The patient suffered convulsions and vaginal bleeding. Our preliminary diagnosis is eclampsia, complicated by placental abruption.”
Medical supplies at the hospital were extremely limited.
Dr. Xu had already started intravenous fluids and administered magnesium sulfate.
The exact cause of eclampsia was still not fully understood, though it was believed to be related to placental ischemia and immune abnormalities.
“The patient has already developed severe complications. The pregnancy must be terminated as soon as possible.”
Dr. Xu looked troubled.
Given the patient’s condition, emergency surgery was necessary.
Based on her experience, vaginal delivery would be extremely dangerous.
She had already attempted to induce labor, but the attempt had failed.
A cesarean section was now the only option.
“Placental abruption progresses very rapidly, and both maternal and infant mortality rates are extremely high.”
Sweat beaded on Dr. Xu’s forehead as she spoke.
Tan Zheng made his decision immediately.
“Dr. Xu, do whatever you think is best. Please prepare for a cesarean section immediately. I’ll sign the consent forms.”
Every second counted.
Clenching his jaw, he added,
“If anything goes wrong… save my sister first.”
Dr. Xu slowly shook her head.
“Commander Tan… I don’t think I explained clearly.”
“I want to save her too.”
“But… at the moment…”
“I don’t yet have the surgical skills to perform a cesarean section.”