DSMIS CH9

Chapter 9: Adding on WeChat

The remaining stretch of road leading to the county town was significantly wider and smoother, devoid of the everywhere-present loose rocks and puddles, as well as the reassuring taillights of the Land Cruiser. Shen Xing drove continuously without taking a break, pulling his car into the courtyard of Fulan County People’s Hospital right before 4:30 PM.

He had already called the local contact person at noon to report his estimated arrival time, so he received a warm reception the moment he arrived at the hospital.

Yu Guiping, the president of the county hospital, looked to be around fifty years old. Having met Shen Xing twice during a conference in Jin City, he insisted on hosting a welcome dinner for him. Shen Xing politely declined several times.

Yu Guiping smiled warmly: “Dr. Shen, don’t be formal with us. It won’t be a crowd—just me, Vice President Xu, along with a few doctors and the head nurse from the orthopedics department so we can get acquainted.”

Hearing him put it that way, Shen Xing could hardly refuse any further. He knew Fulan County had only been shed of its “impoverished county” label a couple of years ago, and suspected the hospital’s orthopedics department might be understaffed. Yet, he still hadn’t expected the department to have only five doctors in total—two of whom were resident doctors who had just transitioned from their internships.

The department chief, Zhu Chunqiao, was on the verge of retirement. The deputy chief, Xu Fulai, was already in his mid-forties. Sitting beside him was a attending physician around Shen Xing’s age named Zhang Yan, who had two years of work experience under his belt. The remaining two were resident doctors, Lobsang Gyatso and Hu Ming, both of whom had just finished their standardized residency training.

This staffing setup felt dangerously like a bridge generation running dangerously thin. President Yu’s subsequent words only confirmed that their hospital was indeed facing a severe shortage of mid-career talent.

“Actually, Vice Chief Xu was supposed to go to your hospital for advanced training in the first half of the year. But Chief Zhu has a bad heart and can’t perform certain surgeries, and Zhang Yan had just started working, so it kept getting delayed. Now that you’re here, Vice Chief Xu has already booked his ticket and will be heading to Jin City in a couple of days.”

Shen Xing’s home department of orthopedics ranked among the top nationally, drawing visiting doctors from all over the country every month. He hadn’t paid close attention to the roster of visiting scholars from Fulan County People’s Hospital before. He smiled toward Xu Fulai:

“Looks like the two of us are swapping places then. Heading to Jin City this time of year is perfect—the central heating is already on.”

The dinner that evening was purely a welcoming affair with no alcohol involved, and it wrapped up reasonably early. Head Nurse Sangji spoke up:

“Dr. Shen, would you mind staying at the hotel for tonight? I can show you to the staff dorms tomorrow—how does that sound?”

Shen Xing naturally had no objections.

The hotel he stayed in that night was clearly a government-designated reception facility for county officials. While it looked somewhat aged, the hygiene standards were impeccable, and the amenities were fully functional—a massive step up from his living conditions the previous night. Shen Xing took a thorough hot shower, switched on the AC to let the warm air blow, and sank into a mattress that was blissfully dry. Curling under the quilt to browse his phone, he suddenly remembered the hot water bottle he held in his arms the night before and the Land Cruiser bro he met by chance. He wondered if they would ever cross paths again.

As he scrolled through his feed, he stumbled across a video of a heavy cargo truck being inspected at a checkpoint. In the video, the truck driver was detained while the vehicle was searched top-to-bottom. Paired with suspenseful background music, it created an eerie sense of tension. In the end, illicit drugs were indeed uncovered among the cargo. For some reason, Shen Xing suddenly remembered how he himself had been stopped and searched the other day. No way… do I really look that much like a criminal?

The next morning, the head of hospital logistics came in person to pick up Shen Xing and take him to his assigned quarters. It was a staff residential building located behind the hospital—an older neighborhood, but nicely situated close to work. The apartment was on the third floor, featuring a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout. The floor plan was somewhat dated, but it received good sunlight and was visibly freshly cleaned.

“Dr. Shen, the staff quarters here are in an old complex, so most units are small. The place is a bit cramped, so please bear with us.”

Shen Xing, hauling his suitcase inside, waved his hand frantically:

“Not at all! I’m living alone, so one bedroom and one living room is just right.”

This was already vastly better than the dormitory conditions he had pictured in his head.

The apartment was largely equipped with essential appliances and furniture; it only lacked personal items like bedding and kitchenware. However, the logistics head mentioned that the hospital could reimburse those expenses.

After seeing off the logistics head, Shen Xing grabbed his keys and headed out, following his phone navigation to the county’s busiest commercial street.

He spent most of the late afternoon on a shopping spree, packing his car to the brim and lugging bags up the stairs in three laborious trips. By the time he finished setting up the apartment, darkness had already fallen. He randomly ordered a takeaway, placed a call to his mom, and chatted briefly in his hospital department’s group chat before yawning uncontrollably. Deciding to call it a night, he took a shower and collapsed onto the soft bed. Barring any surprises, this would be his cozy nest for the coming year.

Speaking of cozy nests, he grabbed his phone again and began placing online orders for a dog bed for Qianjin. The living conditions here were quite decent; once everything was fully set up in a few days, he could have Qianjin shipped over. He had no idea at what point during the night he drifted off to sleep with his phone still in hand.

Early the next morning, he reported promptly to the hospital’s orthopedic outpatient clinic. Just as he put on his white coat, someone knocked on the door. It was one of the resident doctors he had eaten dinner with yesterday. Shen Xing remembered him because his name had four characters, but right now, he couldn’t quite recall it, leaving him to simply offer a smile:

“Is something up?”

The person who entered had slightly dark skin, a chubby build, a baby face, and an honest demeanor:

“Dr. Shen, President Yu assigned me to shadow you and learn from you. Feel free to pass any tasks my way.”

As he stepped closer, Shen Xing glanced at the nametag on his chest—Ah, Lobsang Gyatso.

“Great, then could you handle writing up the medical records?”

“No problem at all.”

“Are you Tibetan? How should I address you? Is it alright if I call you Lobsang?”

“Yes, that’s fine! You can call me Lobsang or Gyatso—either works.”

Shen Xing nodded.

At eight-thirty, Shen Xing filled his insulated tumbler with water and began calling patient numbers right on schedule.

Ten minutes later, Shen Xing instantly grasped President Yu’s true intention in pairing Lobsang with him. Fulan County sat right on the border between Yunnan and Tibet, where the primary demographics were not Han Chinese, but rather the Lisu and Tibetan ethnic groups. Most patients visiting the orthopedics department were elderly folks whose Mandarin was far from standard—in fact, most spoke virtually no Mandarin at all. Without adult children accompanying them, communication was nearly impossible without Lobsang acting as an interpreter.

As a result, examining a single patient turned into a remarkably slow process. It wasn’t just the language barrier with the elderly patients, but also their tendency to describe symptoms vaguely without ever getting straight to the point.

For instance, when Shen Xing asked a simple question like when the sharp pain in the knee first started:

The grandmother in front of him launched into a non-stop, rambling monologue. Shen Xing listened like a duck hearing thunder, unable to comprehend a single word. When Lobsang finally translated it back to him, he realized the elderly woman had started her story all the way from 1975, when she was planting rice seedlings in the flooded fields right after giving birth. Interspersed throughout were mother-in-law conflicts, family drama, and an entire chronological family epic…

A single patient took nearly half an hour. Remembering that there were 50 appointments scheduled for the morning, Shen Xing felt like smoke was about to pour out of his head.

After sending the grandmother off with three boxes of medicated plasters, the next patient to step in was an elderly man suffering from hip joint issues.

Shen Xing took a sip of water, trying his absolute best to frame his medical history questions with surgical precision.

The old man tried his absolute best to answer, starting his story from his retirement from the military in 1965, weaving through the “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside” movement, the Reform and Opening-Up, and various other major historical events.

And so, Shen Xing spent his entire morning in the clinic listening to historical epics, his head spinning and throbbing. Looking at his performance metrics by the end, he had seen a grand total of fourteen patients in one morning—proudly achieving the lowest efficiency rating of his career.

Taking a deep breath, he asked:

“How many appointments do we have left for the morning?”

“Just one more.”

Shen Xing froze:

“One? There were only fifteen appointments in total for the morning?”

Lobsang nodded:

“Yep. Normally we release twenty-five slots, but President Yu was worried you wouldn’t be able to finish due to the language barrier, so he capped it at fifteen.”

As it turned out, President Yu possessed remarkable foresight. It was now ten to twelve; by the time they finished this last patient, it would be right on time for his shift to end.

Come noon, Lobsang took off his white coat:

“Dr. Shen, let me guide you to the cafeteria before I head back.”

Shen Xing turned his head: “Head back?”

Lobsang chuckled, pointing out the window:

“My home is in that residential block right across the street—a ten-minute walk. I go home for lunch.”

Shen Xing paused, remembering that this wasn’t Jin City. The county town was small overall, and many people working here didn’t need to leave early and return late like folks in big cities; they could even go home for lunch.

The hospital cafeteria was tiny, featuring only a single service window, so very few people ate there. Furthermore, as Shen Xing walked in, he noticed a notice taped to the glass door stating that the cafeteria would undergo renovations starting Friday. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to eat here for more than a few days anyway.

Meanwhile, at the County Public Security Bureau, a modified Land Cruiser pulled into the courtyard. Jiang Lin stepped out of the vehicle and immediately spotted a car belonging to the Municipal Anti-Drug Squad. Did people from the municipal bureau arrive?

“Jiang-ge, you’re back?”

Jiang Lin glanced toward the cafeteria. Usually at this time, everyone would be heading to the cafeteria together in a noisy crowd. Why was it so quiet today?

“How come nobody’s going to eat?”

Xiao Huang pointed upstairs:

“Isn’t it because the Anti-Drug Squad from the municipal bureau is here? They’re holding a meeting—it’s been going on all morning.”

Jiang Lin raised his eyebrows slightly. Their presence at a time like this usually meant a case had broken out. He walked upstairs and heard the voice of Yang Bin from the Anti-Drug Squad inside:

“Focus the investigation on these four vehicles this afternoon. Thanks for your hard work, everyone.”

The door opened shortly after, and Yang Bin stepped out of the conference room. Spotting Jiang Lin, he walked over quickly:

“You’re back! How did the follow-up checkup go?”

“Same as usual. Is there a case?”

Yang Bin rubbed his sore, bloodshot eyes:

“Don’t get me started. We trailed them for nearly three months, only to get a tip-off and investigate the wrong person! We probably startled the snakes. This pack of loaches was moving goods at a repair shop, and four vehicles entered your county. Let’s screen them this afternoon. Come on, take me to your cafeteria first—I heard your cafeteria’s braised pork belly is legendary.”

Investigated the wrong person? Jiang Lin suddenly recalled the orange Audi that had been detained and searched for an hour on the road two days ago:

“What’s the name of that repair shop?”

“It’s a repair shop in a small town along the road from Baoshan to your area—called Dawei Repair Shop.”

Jiang Lin: …A car repaired at Dawei Repair Shop that subsequently entered Fulan County?

“Let me take a look at the license plates of the vehicles you’re screening.”

Yang Bin casually handed over the files in his hands. The moment Jiang Lin spotted that familiar license plate, it occurred to him for the very first time just how small the world really was.

“I can help you locate the first car.”

Yang Bin was tilting his head back to drink water, but hearing those words, he turned around instantly:

“You mean that orange Audi? You know it? That car was searched at the checkpoint; the initial tip-off we received pointed straight at an orange Audi, and the last two digits of the plate matched. Yet they couldn’t find a single thing at the checkpoint. That vehicle needs high-priority screening.”

Jiang Lin’s mind suddenly flashed back to the doctor who had curled up under the covers like a shivering cat two nights ago. The color, the plate numbers—everything matched… That doctor really is one unlucky fellow.

Returning from the cafeteria, Shen Xing picked up his phone only to see a new WeChat friend request pop up. Opening it, he saw it had been added via phone number search. Checking the phone number, wasn’t this the Land Cruiser bro? He immediately tapped accept. As the screen shifted to a blank chat window, he proactively sent a message over:

“Hero.”

[Cat pushing a door open.jpg]