Chapter 1058: Reinforcement

During this period, Ye Changyuan was not having a smooth time. The Dongzhou subway incident had implicated him; although his superiors did not publicly criticize him, they had recently adjusted his post. They called it a lateral transfer, but in fact it was a form of marginalization.

Everyone within the system understands the difference between the National Development and Reform Commission and the Disaster Reduction Committee.

The Disaster Reduction Committee was absolutely not where Ye Changyuan’s heart lay. Because of this, he had even gone to his father specifically to pour out his depression.

Elder Ye reminded him to take things as they come. In the old man’s view, the Disaster Reduction Committee was far more important than the National Development and Reform Commission. Although on the surface it did not seem as glamorous as the latter, the former could directly empathize with the people’s suffering and truly serve the citizens most in need of help. What is the purpose of being an official? Isn’t it to serve the people? Going to the Disaster Reduction Committee would allow him to serve the people more directly; for him, it was a good thing.

Only when one actually comes to the disaster zone, sees the devastation everywhere, and sees the displaced people, will one realize how great a responsibility one bears on one’s shoulders.

Ye Changyuan pushed his assistant aside and stood up, but the two strong quakes that followed in quick succession made him stagger and crouch back down on the ground. He heard terrified screams all around, mixed with children crying.

When the aftershocks subsided, Ye Changyuan stood up again. Chang Baoqing and several staff members came to him at once, asking with concern, “Director Ye, are you all right?”

Ye Changyuan glared at Chang Baoqing. “What are you doing? What are your duties? At a time like this, you’re still playing at greeting and seeing off leaders.”

The group of cadres who had come to receive him were scolded until they were utterly deflated, not knowing whether to stay or leave.

Ye Changyuan waved his hand. “Let the person in charge stay and brief me. Everyone else, go get busy.”

He strode toward the temporary hospital ahead. Calling it a temporary hospital, it was really just a tent camp. As medical supplies continued to arrive in a steady stream, the scale of the hospital kept expanding.

Chang Baoqing followed cautiously at the leader’s side, giving a brief overview of the hospital’s current operations. He could tell this was a pragmatic leader; empty, grandiose talk would definitely provoke his dislike, even criticism.

Ye Changyuan said to the Deputy Party Secretary of Juzhou beside him, “You must do a good job with the resettlement of the disaster victims, avoid secondary harm, and be on high alert against secondary disasters.”

Everyone around him nodded repeatedly.

Seeing the scene before him, Ye Changyuan felt a pang of sorrow. Faced with sudden natural disasters, human beings are so small. The rain had still not stopped, adding considerable difficulty to the rescue work this time.

Ye Changyuan randomly spoke with several disaster victims, and what he learned made his heart clench even more. Some villages had been completely razed to the ground, with hardly anyone from the village managing to escape. Some victims, although injured, refused to come to the hospital because their family members were still buried in the rubble; they endured the pain to help with rescue, or waited on the spot.

Ye Changyuan saw a line in front that was like a long serpent, then looked at the flags flying above the tents in the rear, printed with—Dongzhou City Seventh Emergency Medical Team. Suddenly something occurred to him. He walked forward a few steps and saw Xu Chunliang who was setting a fracture for a patient.

Before setting out, Ye Changyuan had already heard from his daughter that Xu Chunliang had joined the emergency medical team. Ye Qingya had even said that perhaps they would run into each other. Ye Changyuan had thought such a chance was extremely slim, yet in the end they did meet on site.

Ye Changyuan was one of the few people who knew Xu Chunliang’s medical skills. Seeing Xu Chunliang’s focused, serious manner, he did not go over to disturb him, only stood at a distance and watched.

After treating one patient, Xu Chunliang took a moment to roll his neck, and only then noticed the inspection team in the distance. He saw Ye Changyuan at the center. Xu Chunliang gave him a slight smile; Ye Changyuan smiled as well. Communication between men can be this simple—no need for many words; a single smile, even just a look, is enough.

Ye Changyuan continued walking forward. He thought of his daughter; no one knows a daughter better than her father. He had long since noticed that his daughter had developed a liking for Xu Chunliang. Every time she mentioned him, the light and vitality in her eyes could not be concealed.

Not only Ye Changyuan, but the entire Ye Family admired Xu Chunliang. Ye Changyuan had even privately considered the possibility of his daughter and Xu Chunliang being together. Deep down he was actually hoping the two would end up together, yet he also understood there were many obstacles. The biggest obstacle was not family background, but the Qiao Family, because of his daughter’s former marriage to Qiao Rulong and the past romantic relationship between Xu Chunliang and Mei Ru Xue. If the two of them were to be together, people would likely seize on it to make a fuss.

People in their social stratum had far too many factors to weigh. Ye Changyuan shook his head, deciding not to think about these matters, and turned to ask Chang Baoqing, “What difficulties does the hospital still have?”

Chang Baoqing said, “Everything is operating normally, but the number of injured is still increasing. The upper-level hospitals are already full. Apart from severe and critically injured patients, we are trying our best to arrange treatment locally for everyone else. Two field operating rooms have already been set up, and wards are continuously being added.”

Ye Changyuan cut him off somewhat impatiently. “I asked you what difficulties you’re facing?”

Chang Baoqing said, “Right now the medical staff are already running at full capacity. As the number of patients increases, we’ll soon be short-handed.”

Ye Changyuan said, “Then ask for support. Critically ill patients are to be treated nearby; severe cases, as long as their physical condition allows, should be transferred to neighboring provinces and cities. If we’re short of medical personnel, we can request help from across the country. We’ll issue the appeal.”

Just then, dozens of motorcycles came riding in from a distance—volunteer workers bringing relief supplies. The earthquake had caused large-scale damage to roads in Juzhou; in many areas cars couldn’t get through, so supplies could only be transported by motorcycle.

Ye Changyuan pressed his lips together; it is in moments of disaster that a nation’s true character shows. He loved this land and the people on it. The staff traveling with him had originally planned to arrange a speech by the leaders, but Ye Changyuan waved his hand, indicating it wasn’t necessary. His job was to get an accurate picture of the disaster area reported upward as quickly as possible. He wanted to do his part for the people in the disaster zone, to do some solid, practical work.

When Ye Changyuan was leaving, he took another look at Xu Chunliang. The line in front of Xu Chunliang had grown longer again, and at this moment Xu Chunliang no longer had the attention to spare for him. Ye Changyuan’s heart was filled with gratification. He took out his phone and snapped a photo of Xu Chunliang. Because of this move by Ye Changyuan, the accompanying reporters all turned their lenses toward Xu Chunliang.

The helicopter lifted off. As Chang Baoqing watched it fly off into the distance, his cell phone suddenly rang, startling him—it meant the nearby communication tower had just been repaired.

Ringtones rose and fell all around; with the sudden restoration of the network, everyone’s first reaction was to ask about their family members.

Xu Chunliang’s phone rang too, but he had no time to look at it. With Wang Xiaofeng assisting, he had just successfully set the fracture for a patient with a femoral fracture.

Wang Xiaofeng, who had been following Xu Chunliang as his assistant, was now completely convinced. Take the patient in front of them as an example: if they handled the case the usual way, they’d definitely perform surgery, fix the fracture with a steel plate, and then, after the callus had healed, operate again to remove the plate. The patient would normally have to endure two surgeries.

Relying solely on manual reduction, Xu Chunliang had already achieved anatomical alignment of the fracture ends. After applying a traumatic-injury ointment, he used an external splint for fixation—shortening treatment time and significantly reducing the patient’s suffering.

Wang Xiaofeng noticed that during the reduction the patient did not show signs of unbearable pain—mainly because Xu Chunliang used acupuncture to puncture points for analgesia. At first he’d been skeptical of Xu Chunliang’s treatment methods, but X-ray results from several fracture patients in a row after treatment showed that Xu Chunliang’s manual reductions were precise and accurate.

After completing the reduction, Xu Chunliang applied a medicated plaster to the patient. He was still somewhat underprepared; the plasters he’d brought were almost used up, and there wasn’t much ointment left either. Once he finished with this patient, he took a moment to go aside and call Zheng Peian, asking him to urgently organize the shipment of a large batch of medical supplies—mainly traumatic-injury plasters and ointments.

With traffic cut off, getting into Juzhou required relying on two-wheeled motorcycles. Xu Chunliang also contacted Ding Si, asking him to take charge of transportation.

The cell signal was unstable, coming and going. Xu Chunliang’s calls were cut off several times. After he finished explaining the situation, he wanted to call his grandfather, but by then there was no signal again.

Five hours later, Ding Si led a thirty-strong motorbike squad into the temporary hospital. They had not only brought the medicine Xu Chunliang needed, but also a lot of relief supplies. On every motorcycle there fluttered a bright red banner—Changshan Hospital Rushing to the Aid of Juzhou.

Liu Shanmin came, Li Jia Kuan came, and Tang Mingmei came with her team of nurses.

After receiving Xu Chunliang’s request for reinforcements, the management of Changshan Hospital held a meeting. Xu Changshan and Gu Houyi unanimously decided to dispatch Changshan Hospital’s most elite medical team to the disaster area, with all medications provided free of charge and all expenses for the borne by themselves.

When handing over the supplies, Ding Si made a point of emphasizing that all the medicine had been personally donated by Elder Xu Changshan. This was only part of it; a second batch of supplies was already on the way.

After working nonstop all day, Xu Chunliang could finally breathe a little easier. Liu Shanmin’s techniques for fracture reduction were also very skilled, and he proactively took over Xu Chunliang’s work so Xu could rest for a while.

The bustling scene before them drew a lot of attention. Most people were moved by the righteous actions of Changshan Hospital and Elder Xu, but a few held different views. Qin Guoliang was one of them. He went to Dean Chang Baoqing and said quietly, “Dean Chang, I don’t think this is appropriate. We’re organized and dispatched by the government, but they’re a private hospital. Letting them just join the treatment like this isn’t quite right, is it?”

Chang Baoqing said, “They’re here to help too. What’s inappropriate about that?”

Qin Guoliang sighed and said, “You really don’t see it? They did bring disaster-relief supplies, sure, but the banner they’re flying is Changshan Hospital. I’m not denying their compassion, but isn’t using the disaster to hype and promote their own hospital a bit too self-serving?”

At first, Chang Baoqing hadn’t thought that far. They were facing a serious manpower shortage, and these people had come with more than ten medical staff to reinforce them—that was a great thing. But what Qin Guoliang said wasn’t entirely without reason. They had rules and regulations; not just anyone could come and join the rescue effort.