Chapter Twenty-Five: Pushed Over

Guo Fu sent the female health worker away and then sat down to write sick leave slips for each patient, stamping them with the health center’s seal. As she was busy, she looked up and suddenly saw He Ma standing at the door of the emergency room.

“Teacher He—” she stood up in a flurry.

He Ma gently made a “quiet” gesture with his fingers. He said in a low voice, “I saw everything. You did very well.”

“Thank you, teacher,” she said shyly.

“What’s the situation so far?”

She briefly introduced the medical records, her diagnosis, and the treatment situation in a few sentences.

He Ma nodded and asked, “Send the mushroom fragments to the laboratory for analysis later. Go to the Tiandihui and ask someone to come over and take a look—they are very experienced with fungi.”

“Yes, teacher.”

“Your judgment today was very decisive,” He Ma said with praise. “To be a doctor, you not only need the ability to handle emergencies, but also decisive judgment—especially when you need to make a decision at the moment of a patient’s life or death. A moment’s hesitation can cause delays.” He said, “But decisions are based on a solid foundation of medical skills; otherwise, it’s just treating human life as grass. You have a solid grasp of knowledge and are very decisive in your treatment. You will become a good doctor in the future.”

Guo Fu said shyly, “Thank you for your praise, teacher.” Guo Fu looked at He Ma’s face. In her eyes, his face reflected his thoughts, character, and his understanding and sympathy for others. She thought to herself: his greatness is natural, not artificial, so it doesn’t feel forced.

This made his earlier comments on her abilities even more meaningful and heartwarming. And so, suddenly, as if she had received some revelation, she broke through the mystery that had been hidden for the past few months. She suddenly realized: she had fallen deeply and passionately in love with this man. At this thought, she felt her ears burn. How terrible! I wonder if it shows on my face?

He Ma said to her apologetically, “We’ll stop here for now. My schedule is full today. I have to go to class.” He smiled at her. “Is there anything else?” he said, gently patting her cheek.

This touch sent a current through her entire body, making her feel suffocated and lost.

“I have to go check the pharmacy too,” she said, her heart pounding like a deer, her emotions surging like waves.

He Ma said, “If you have any problems, just tell me. I didn’t have time to check your homework this morning. I’ll check it tonight.”

She lowered her head. “Mm,” she said as the door behind her closed. She closed her eyes for a moment.

In the following time, Guo Fu, as usual, first took inventory of the medicines in the pharmacy, then went to attend He Ma’s lecture. She and a few second-term students were receiving training as medical assistants. After class, she hastily finished her lunch in the health center’s canteen and then continued to see patients with He Ma in the outpatient clinic. In the afternoon, an injured person who needed emergency orthopedic surgery was sent in. He Ma went to the operating table, and Guo Fu handled the outpatient clinic alone. There were especially many patients today—a train derailment accident had occurred in Tiandu Town, with one person dead and thirty injured. The stretchers of the injured brought by the small train crowded the corridor. By 5 p.m., Guo Fu had already treated forty-one new patients, debrided and sutured the wounds of fourteen people, admitted seven for observation, and performed bone fixation on two—to be handled by He Ma himself after he finished his surgery. There were also about twenty others whose conditions were not serious. She simply treated their wounds according to their condition, prescribed medicine, and those who needed rest also got sick leave.

5 p.m. was quitting time, but Guo Fu worked until almost 6 p.m. to finish treating all the patients from the accident. After a final round in the ward and observation room, she left the outpatient clinic. After such a long and exhausting period in the outpatient clinic, the exhausted Guo Fu would let out a big sigh of relief, feeling very happy to be able to freely return to her small dormitory. Every muscle in her body longed for her comfortable bed, longed for a good eight or nine hours of sleep.

The Ministry of Health had dormitories in every medical institution. As a head nurse and a future medical assistant, her dormitory was a double room—she lived with a second-term student.

Although she was exhausted, she still wanted to take a shower first—she had experienced too much pain, blood, and filth in the outpatient clinic, and she was eager to wash herself clean.

The bathroom was still quiet. The nurses who had just finished their shifts and were taking a shower had already left. The room was very steamy, and the walls and floor were wet. She let out a long sigh—the feeling of relaxation after high tension made her feel sore and weak all over. She took off her nurse’s uniform and threw it in the laundry basket. The laundry team would collect these clothes for unified washing and then steam sterilization. She turned on the shower tap and, through the washing of the hot water, gained a sense of liberation from having completed her work.

Guo Fu turned on the hot water tap. The hot water showered on her face. The sensation of He Ma’s hand on her face had not completely disappeared. She savored the touch of that moment, gently stroking her own cheek. Her skin became abnormally sensitive… The warm water flowed over her chest, her lower abdomen, and her thighs…

“Mmm…”

Guo Fu let out a deep sigh. The soapbean felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and fell from her hand to the ground. She stood there weakly, her back against the tiled wall for support—the coldness of her back and the heat of her chest brought a strange sensation to her body.

“It’s all… teacher’s fault…” she closed her eyes gently, and He Ma’s smiling face appeared in her mind.

…

Guo Fu took a shower and changed into a clean uniform—unless she was on a house call, she could be called to the health center at any time. She went up the back stairs to the director’s office on the third floor and knocked gently on the door.

“Come in!” He Ma’s deep baritone voice came from inside.

She hesitated for a moment, then touched her cheek before pushing the door open. She saw He Ma standing in front of the X-ray film viewer on the wall, observing several bone X-ray films.

“Teacher He,” she called out respectfully.

He Ma glanced at her, but his eyes remained fixed on the X-ray films hanging on the viewer.

“How was the outpatient clinic today? Smoothly?”

“Smoothly,” she briefly reported the situation in the outpatient clinic and placed the casebook on his desk.

“Mm,” He Ma said. “Come and take a look.”

Guo Fu approached the glass wall. The light embedded in the wall illuminated the several X-ray films brightly.

Reading films was a basic skill for a doctor. He Ma had not only taken this course specifically but also often took the opportunity to have the future doctors make judgments on the spot.

“The patient has a fracture of the ulna…”

“I can see the obvious things,” He Ma said.

“Yes,” Guo Fu looked at the film carefully. “An old fracture of the femur—it has already healed on its own.”

“Very good,” He Ma nodded. “Actually, this person’s tibia also has signs of self-healing.” He pointed with a pencil, his hand resting on Guo Fu’s arm.

“Mm… but… these… these two fractures should be very difficult to heal on their own…”

“From the healing state of these two fractures, it is clear that they occurred in childhood, and he may have also received traditional Chinese bone-setting treatment,” He Ma analyzed the X-ray film, speaking with great clarity.

Guo Fu knew that the owner of this X-ray film was probably one of the workers from today’s industrial accident. After He Ma’s diagnosis, he found that just a cast would not be enough and was preparing to insert a few steel pins to fix it first.

“You will be my assistant for this surgery,” He Ma said. “Are you mentally prepared?”

“Yes. But you said that orthopedic surgery is a physical job. I’m afraid I don’t have the strength.”

“Besides strength, it also requires skill,” He Ma smiled slightly. For some reason, Guo Fu’s heart suddenly trembled, and her heart pounded.

“Teacher…”

Before she could finish her sentence, his hands had already tightly wrapped around her slender waist.