Without lingering any longer, Xu Qinghe left Shi Wenli's office.
As she came out of the hospital, diagonally across the alley, an elderly woman had been setting up a stall selling roasted sweet potatoes here for years. Every time she got off work and passed by, as long as the stall was still open, she would buy one.
The old lady recognized her. "You're off work early today."
Xu Qinghe smiled gently. "Yes. It's cold—make sure you wear your hat and dress warmly. Take good care of your blood vessels."
"Okay." The old lady pulled the hood of her down jacket tighter.
Holding the warm roasted sweet potato, Xu Qinghe walked along the sidewalk, eating as she went.
During her first year on the job, her father would pick her up whenever he had time. Her shifts ended unpredictably, so he'd always have to wait a long time. The longest wait was over five hours—she'd received an emergency call just as she was about to leave, and the surgery took five hours.
After that, she never let her parents pick her up again.
Fortunately, the hospital wasn't far from home, and walking back every day counted as exercise.
In less than twenty minutes, she reached the entrance of her residential complex.
Passing by the building where Shi Wenli lived, she instinctively glanced at the entrance.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't his home. He rented it for convenience to be closer to his sister's commute. His real home was in another district, far from the hospital.
The two siblings had rented here for quite a few years and even spent every Chinese New Year here.
Over the years, they had been each other's only family.
Shi Miao was getting married next month, and afterward she would naturally move into the wedding home. Xu Qinghe wondered if Shi Wenli would continue renting in this complex or move closer to his sister.
Actually, even if he didn't move now, sooner or later he would leave.
When she got home, her parents were both waiting for her in the living room.
Xu Bingduo heard the sound at the entrance and instinctively glanced at his watch—8:20. This was the earliest his daughter had come home from work in the past year.
His wife gave him a look, telling him to keep quiet.
He wasn't a man of many words, but seeing his daughter exhausted every day pained him, and he couldn't help but complain about her department head.
"Dad, Mom, I'm home."
"Have you eaten dinner? We kept some for you."
As he spoke, Xu Bingduo stood up.
"Not hungry. I bought a roasted sweet potato on the way."
Xu Qinghe sat down next to her mother and leaned against her.
Chi Min handed her some washed fruit. "The strawberries I bought today are delicious."
Xu Qinghe shook her head, saying she couldn't eat any more.
Chi Min put the fruit down and pointed at the shoe cabinet. "Your clogs arrived."
She was surprised her daughter had bought three pairs at once.
She couldn't help but worry. "Did you get... three complaints this month?"
Xu Qinghe: "..."
Xu Bingduo cut in. "Didn't you tell me to say less? Why are you bringing it up yourself? Qinghe was right to cancel those surgeries. Her surgical colleagues insisted on operating from their own perspective, and they think they're right too. If the relationship is bad, so be it. By the time she retires, she'll have figured it all out."
Xu Qinghe laughed. "By the time I retire, I might have grandchildren all around me. I'll definitely be at peace by then."
Xu Bingduo: "Grandchildren? You'd better start with dating first."
Xu Qinghe: "..."
It wasn't that she didn't want to.
She got up. "I'm going to pick up a package. I have some at the parcel station."
"Why didn't you grab it on your way back?"
"I forgot."
She had passed right by the parcel station, but because her mind was on someone, she walked straight past.
--
The next morning, Xu Qinghe had just finished preparing the anesthesia drugs and equipment when the patient was wheeled into the operating room.
Before entering the OR, the elderly man had a few more arguments with his eldest son.
"Doctor, it's spinal anesthesia, right?" The old man was uneasy and confirmed again with Xu Qinghe as soon as he came in, afraid that his children might secretly sign a different consent form and change it to general anesthesia.
Xu Qinghe reassured him. "It's combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. Since you clearly refused general anesthesia, we will respect your wishes. However..."
The old man cut her off. "I know, if the spinal..." He hesitated, unable to recall the technical term.
Xu Qinghe said, "Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia."
The old man continued, "I know, it's anesthesia for the lower half. If the spinal doesn't work, then I'll have to go with general anesthesia." After a night of mental struggle, he had reluctantly convinced himself that if they couldn't do the puncture, he'd have general anesthesia. He couldn't skip the surgery entirely.
After verifying the information, Zhang Xun helped connect the monitors.
He had just reviewed the patient's history and physical condition. The spinal disease was severe, making neuraxial anesthesia extremely difficult.