A quack doctor goes to the battlefield; the first sharpshooter doctor in the Republic of China

Chapter 11 Investigation Order

As dawn broke, the sound of footsteps in the corridor grew louder.

Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui left Chen Qitai's office and went directly to the storage room next to the pharmacy instead of returning to their dormitory. Chen Qitai's words were still ringing in their ears: "Wang Qingnian is personally leading a team, saying it's for a 'comprehensive investigation,' and he'll arrive this morning."

"The hidden compartment in the morgue." Li Ranmo opened the door to the storage room, which contained some old bed sheets and equipment boxes. "I used it last time, so it's relatively safe. The copper coins and the remaining sulfanilamide powder need to be moved there."

Shen Qiushui nodded: "I'll distract Old Zhang from the pharmacy. He's on the early shift today and has sharp eyes."

Be careful.

Shen Qiushui went out.

Li Ranmo dragged a wooden box from the corner of the wall, opened it, and inside were several rolls of gauze and two boxes of sulfanilamide powder. At the bottom was the copper coin, and also a price list of medicines that Han Xiuyun had given him last time.

He wrapped the items in an old white coat, picked them up, and walked out.

There was no one in the corridor.

The morgue was located at the far west end of the hospital, and even the caregivers rarely went there. Li Ranmo pushed open the door; it was cold and gloomy inside. Three mortuary beds, covered with white sheets, were placed against the wall.

He walked behind the innermost bed, squatted down, and groped along the wall.

The bricks are loose.

He pried open three bricks, revealing a hole about half a foot square inside. He stuffed his white coat inside, packed it tightly, and then pressed the bricks back in one by one.

After doing all that, he stood up and dusted off his hands.

As soon as I stepped out of the morgue, I saw Shen Qiushui running towards me from the other end of the corridor, her breathing a little rapid.

"I sent Lao Zhang to the warehouse to move saline solution," she said. "He won't be back for at least twenty minutes."

"That's enough," Li Ranmo said. "We need to go to the archives and make some changes."

The two quickly went upstairs.

The archives room door was locked. Li Ranmo took out a metal piece, inserted it, and twisted it; the lock opened.

It was very dark inside.

Li Ranmo walked to the shelf where the medicine entry and exit records were kept, and pulled out a thick booklet. He flipped to the most recent days and picked up a pen.

"Sulfathiazole, zero vials received, fifteen vials issued." He wrote as he spoke. "Sulfamethoxazole powder, three boxes received, two boxes issued. Bandages and alcohol, record the details accurately."

Shen Qiushui stood at the door, keeping watch: "Will Wang Qingnian believe it?"

"He has no choice but to believe it." Li Ran kept writing. "As long as it looks good on paper, that's fine. If they really investigate, just say the front lines are suffering heavy losses, and there's nothing we can do about it."

After writing the last stroke, he closed the booklet and put it back in its place.

"Walk."

As soon as the two left the archives, they heard the sound of car brakes coming from downstairs.

Shen Qiushui looked down from the window at the corner of the stairs.

Three black sedans pulled up in front of the hospital. The doors opened, and seven or eight people got out, all dressed in dark Zhongshan suits. The one in the lead was a man in his fifties, a bit overweight, who stood there with his hands behind his back, looking up at the building.

It is Wang Qingnian.

"We're here," Shen Qiushui said.

Li Ranmo pushed up his glasses: "Proceed according to plan."

The two went downstairs.

Chen Qitai was already waiting in the lobby on the first floor. He was wearing a formal military uniform today, and his expression was very calm.

Wang Qingnian led his men in, his leather shoes clicking on the terrazzo floor.

"Good morning, Vice Dean Chen," Wang Qingnian said, his voice a little hoarse.

"Section Chief Wang, good morning," Chen Qitai said. "What instructions are there for all this mobilization?"

"It's not really an instruction," Wang Qingnian smiled. "It's just that I've heard some rumors lately that someone in your hospital is colluding with those thugs at the docks, reselling medicine. The higher-ups are taking it very seriously and sent me to investigate."

As he spoke, his eyes swept past Chen Qitai and landed on Li Ranmo.

"This must be Dr. Li?" Wang Qingnian walked over. "I heard you've been going to the docks a lot lately?"

Li Ranmo nodded: "Yes, treat the wounded."

"Treating the wounded?" Wang Qingnian stared at him. "But I heard there was quite a commotion at the docks last night, and someone even fired a gun. Dr. Li, where were you last night?"

"At the hospital," Li Ranmo said, "on night shift."

"Who can vouch for this?"

"Me," Shen Qiushui began, "Last night, I did rounds with Dr. Li until 11:30. Afterwards, Dr. Li was writing medical records in his office, and I was at the nurses' station; we could see each other."

Wang Qingnian turned to look at Shen Qiushui: "Nurse Shen, are you sure?"

"Sure."

Wang Qingnian snorted and didn't ask any further questions. He waved his hand, and the people behind him dispersed; two went to the pharmacy, and two went upstairs.

"Vice President Chen, you don't mind if my people take a look around, do you?" Wang Qingnian said.

"Please go ahead," Chen Qitai said. "However, Section Chief Wang, hospitals have their rules. The medicine warehouse and operating room are restricted areas. You can look around, but don't touch anything."

"Don't worry, we know what we're doing."

Wang Qingnian didn't move; he just stood in the hall, hands behind his back, looking around.

The two people who went to the pharmacy returned quickly, carrying the entry and exit record book.

"Section Chief, I've looked at the accounts, and there aren't any major problems," someone said. "It's just that the sulfathiazole inventory is zero, and there's only one box of sulfamethoxazole powder left."

Chen Qitai spoke up: "Medicine is in short supply during wartime. The front lines need medicine every day, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Wang Qingnian took the booklet and flipped through a few pages: "Dr. Li, this says you received five vials of sulfathiazole the day before yesterday. What did you use them for?"

"Three seriously injured patients, all with abdominal infections, each received one vial," Li Ranmo said. "The remaining two are in reserve; they were used yesterday afternoon on a patient with gas gangrene."

"Where are the wounded?"

"He's dead," Li Ranmo said. "He was brought in too late."

Wang Qingnian closed the booklet: "Dr. Li, you've returned from abroad, so your medical skills must be quite good. But I've heard that you've treated more than just this one wounded soldier who died."

The hall fell silent after those words were spoken.

Shen Qiushui tightened her grip.

Chen Qitai's face darkened: "Section Chief Wang, what do you mean by that?"

"It's nothing," Wang Qingnian laughed. "Just a reminder to Dr. Li: if your medical skills aren't up to par, don't prescribe medication indiscriminately. Especially those medications of dubious origin."

Li Ranmo looked at him: "Section Chief Wang, are you saying that I used drugs of dubious origin?"

"Did I say that?" Wang Qingnian shrugged. "I just reminded you. That's all."

At this moment, Shen Qiushui suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear!"

Everyone looked over.

She squatted down, picked up a piece of paper from the pharmacy doorway, looked at it, and her face showed a hint of panic: "This... how did this get here?"

"What is it?" Wang Qingnian walked over.

Shen Qiushui handed over the paper: "It's a requisition form. I filled it out last week, requesting five more boxes of sulfanilamide powder. It wasn't approved, so I thought it was lost..."

Wang Qingnian took the paper and read it.

The paper did indeed say "Application for five boxes of sulfanilamide powder", and below it was Shen Qiushui's signature and the date.

"Why are you throwing away this kind of waste paper like this?" Wang Qingnian frowned.

"It's my fault, it's my fault," Shen Qiushui quickly said. "I probably accidentally brought it out while tidying up."

Wang Qingnian crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the nearby trash can.

This little incident diverted his attention for a few seconds.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Ranmo reached into the pocket of his white coat, found the copper coin that he had temporarily taken from a hidden compartment in the morgue and was preparing to hide it elsewhere, and flicked it with his finger.

The coin slid out and silently landed in a roll of gauze at the bottom of a nearby medical vehicle.

The vehicle was being prepared to be pushed into the disinfection room.

Wang Qingnian turned his head and continued staring at Li Ranmo: "Dr. Li, my people still need to check on you in your office. You don't mind, do you?"

"Please," Li Ranmo said.

The two people went upstairs.

During the waiting time, no one spoke in the hall. Wang Qingnian paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, Chen Qitai stood there like a pillar, and Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui stood side by side, looking at the door.

About ten minutes later, the two people came down.

"Report: The office has checked and found nothing unusual."

Wang Qingnian's face remained expressionless, but his eyes turned cold.

"Okay," he said. "That's enough for today. But Vice President Chen, Dr. Li, there are some things I need to say beforehand."

He walked up to Li Ranmo: "I've got my eye on you. From now on, I'll know every time you pick up a dose of medicine, every time you leave a room. If I catch you doing anything wrong..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was clear.

"Let's go." Wang Qingnian turned around and led his men out of the hall.

The sound of the car starting up faded into the distance.

Chen Qitai then spoke up: "Nurse Shen, you can go ahead and get back to work. Dr. Li, could you stay for a moment?"

Shen Qiushui glanced at Li Ranmo, then turned and left.

Chen Qitai led Li Ranmo back to his office and closed the door.

"sit."

Li Ran sat down silently.

Chen Qitai didn't sit down. He walked to the window and watched Wang Qingnian's car drive away.

"Dr. Li," he said, "let's get straight to the point. You're in contact with Han Xiuyun at the dock, aren't you?"

Li Ran remained silent.

"I heard the report about the shooting at the dock last night." Chen Qitai turned around. "The shooter was a very accurate shot; he only hit the leg, not the person. This kind of technique is not that of an ordinary person."

He looked at Li Ranmo: "You fired the shot, didn't you?"

Li Ranmo adjusted his glasses: "What does the vice dean think?"

"I think so." Chen Qitai walked back to the table and sat down. "But I won't tell anyone. Wang Qingnian is investigating you because you've threatened his profits. He monopolizes the black market for drugs, and by getting drugs from Han Xiuyun, you've cut off his source of income."

Li Ranmo still didn't respond.

"I won't ask who you are," Chen Qitai said. "I won't ask where you learned your marksmanship. I only ask one thing—the medicine you get must be used on the wounded, and not a single penny can be sold for money. As long as you can do that, I'll turn a blind eye to how you associate with her."

Li Ranmo finally spoke: "Why did the vice dean believe me?"

"Because you can save lives," Chen Qitai said. "I've seen the number of wounded you've treated these past few days. The survival rate of the seriously injured is higher than that of other doctors in the hospital. Based on that alone, I'm guaranteeing your life."

He paused for a moment, then said, "But remember this: if one day I find out that what you did wasn't to save people, I will personally hand you over to Wang Qingnian."

Li Ranmo stood up: "I understand."

"Go."

Li Ranmo walked out of the office.

In the corridor, Shen Qiushui was tidying up the medical equipment cart. She saw Li Ranmo and gave him a wink.

Li Ranmo walked over.

Shen Qiushui lowered her voice: "I saw the copper coin, it was in the gauze roll. When it was pushed into the sterilization room just now, I took advantage of the fact that no one was around and stuffed the gauze roll into the innermost compartment of the sterilizer. It's been sterilized by high temperature, so it's safe for now."

"here you go."

Shen Qiushui breathed a sigh of relief: "So, things are temporarily out of control with Wang Qingnian?"

"For now," Li Ranmo said, "but he's got his eye on me, and things will get even more complicated later."

"That medicine..."

"We still need to get the medicine," Li Ranmo said. "We can't let Han Xiuyun's connection be severed."

The two separated.

Li Ranmo returned to his office. The room was a bit messy, drawers were half open, and books on the bookshelf were crooked.

He went over and tidied it up.

He stopped tidying up his desk.

On the table, under the base of the kerosene lamp, was a small piece of paper.

It was very small and wrinkled.

Li Ranmo took it out and unfolded it.

There was a line of text written in pencil above, the handwriting crooked but legible: "Meet me at the usual place tomorrow at noon."

There was no signature.

But Li Ran tacitly accepted the handwriting.

It was A Bing's courtesy name. He was the impetuous yet loyal man under Han Xiuyun.

Li Ranmo stared at the note for a few seconds.

Then he struck a match and lit the note.

Flames leaped up, the paper curled up and turned black, turning to ash and falling into the ashtray.

He blew out the match.

Outside the window, it was already broad daylight.

Wang Qingnian's car was long gone.

But Li Ranmo knew that this thorough investigation was only the beginning.

He walked to the window and looked down at the caregivers and wounded people coming and going in the courtyard.

Tomorrow at noon.

Same old place.

The fact that Han Xiuyun still dared to meet with him shows that the connection hasn't been severed yet.

This is enough.