*Clap, clap, clap*
Mai Chun raised her hands so that they were right in front of her face and softly clapped three times. She then spoke into the microphone. âHello, everyone. To thank Yun Hua Hospital for the continual support, Yunli Group has prepared a series of limited-edition wine from Whiteclay Winery. Do give it a try.â
As she spoke, a group of service crew members decked in white shirts, black bows, and shiny leather shoes walked into the banquet hall in an orderly manner. All of them were holding a tray, and there were beautiful and shiny glasses of red wine that sparkled under the light.
âI think I heard a helicopter.â Lu Wenbinâs legs were aligned. He tiptoed a little before landing his heels back on the ground. He then repeated the process. This was to train his calf muscles.
Zuo Cidianâs hearing had deteriorated due to age. He furrowed his eyebrows and said, âIsnât that foreigner sent away already? Why is there another helicopter?â
âThereâs more than one helicopter.â Lu Wenbin touched his ears to show that he still possessed good hearing.
âAre you exercising your ears too?â Zhang Anmin, who was standing in front of him said, âI did hear a buzzing sound earlier too. A helicopter might have parked on the roof. Itâs a bit like how it was in Bazhaixiang.â
âSince the helicopter isnât here to get someoneâ¦â Zuo Cidian looked around and raised his chin. âPerhaps the bottles of red wine are being delivered using a helicopter.â
âHaha, what kind of red wine would they be that helicopters are required to deliver them?â Lu Wenbin was laughing very hard, and he looked like someone had just punched him in his biceps.
Zhang Anmin shook his head and swayed his wineglass. He then took a sip in a pretentious manner. âIt tastes pretty good. You know, Yunli Group is pretty generous.â
âHmm, if Miss Tian Qi is the one whoâs sending the red wine here, itâs seriously possible that she would have it delivered using a helicopter,â Zuo Cidian said slowly and sniffed the red wine in his glass. He took small sips and said slowly, âIs this how good red wine tastes like?â
Back when he was working in a town hospital, he had tried making his own red wine too, and he found it pretty delicious. Unfortunately, at that time, his wife did not like it. Now that he thought of it, things would have been easier if he just purchased red wine.
None of the doctors in the Ling Treatment Group knew anything about red wine. They had no choice but to quietly hold their glasses of red wine before their faces so that their expressions were hidden.
While she remained in the crowd, Yu Yuan suddenly said, âBoss Shao probably knows a thing or two about red wine. Iâll go ask him.â
Zuo Cidian froze for a moment and quickly said, âHey, thereâs no need for that. Itâs just red wine. We donât need to bother Boss Shao with this.â
âSheâs already gone,â Lu Wenbin reminded Zuo Cidian softly.
Zuo Cidian hummed in acknowledgment and smiled. He placed his wine glass on the table.
Soon, Boss Shao was seen walking over. He looked like he was talking to the floor because of how short Yu Yuan was.
Even though he was the owner of a barbeque restaurant, Boss Shao had indeed drunk quite a lot of good wine and smoked quite a lot of good cigarettes throughout the years. He was not in good health, but he did need this kind of enjoyment in his life.
Boss Shao had come to know Zuo Cidian and his entourage better nowadays. Right now, they started chatting about red wine.
A few doctors heard their conversation and walked over holding their glasses of wine too.
âWell said.â A doctor nodded as he drank his red wine. Very soon, he finished the whole glass.
âVery well said indeed.â The doctor continued to listen to the conversation and chugged down another glass of red wine.
âArenât you drinking a little too fast?â Zuo Cidian glanced at Boss Shao and reminded the doctor beside him.
The doctor smiled. âItâs not a problem. I have good alcohol tolerance.â
âYouâre a very good drinker indeed. May I know who Iâm speaking to?â Zuo Cidian asked.
âIâm from the Gynaecology Department, and my name is Liu Ji.â The doctor raised his glass.
âAh, youâre from the Gynaecology Department. When you say that your name is âJiâ, youâre not talking about âjiâ as in deformed [1], are you?â Zuo Cidian asked probingly.
Liu Ji laughed out loud. âDoctor Zuo, youâre an interesting person indeed. Of course not.â
After he was done laughing, Liu Ji grabbed another large glass of red wine and chugged it down.
Zuo Cidan looked worriedly at him, but he had no choice but to nod and say, âMakes sense. No one would give their children such a name. But then again, people nowadays are giving their children increasingly weirder names indeed.
âI know right. I was delivering a baby the other day, and the woman insisted on naming her son âSon of Cao Duxiuâ. I told her that the child will have a hard time writing his own name in school, but she insisted upon it. What else could I do?â Liu Ji chugged down his fourth glass of wine as he spoke.
After that, he rose unsteadily.
âHey, Lu Wenbin, can you give him a hand?â Zuo Cidian was tense as he stared at Liu Ji. Unfortunately, he was not well-versed enough in medicine, or else he would have given Liu Ji a diagnosis right then.
âIâm alright. I just want to try another kind of wine,â Liu Ji spoke and was about to push Lu Wenbin away.
Lu Wenbin only needed to exert a slight force to stop Liu Ji from going forward. His arm was as strong as that of a pigâs.
âKeep an eye on him.â Zuo Cidian did not give any explanation. He merely stared quietly at Liu Ji.
Lu Wenbin could not help but laugh. âIt doesnât matter if he gets even drunker. I can carry him effortlessly.â
âDonât. What if you injure him somewhere?â Zuo Cidian stood in their way. He was about to say something else, but there was suddenly a commotion behind him.
âBe carefulâ¦â
âWhat the f*ck? Isnât he being a little too violent?â
âHeâs injured, isnât he⦠What the f*ck?â
It was a little bit surreal, and all the words seemed to be shouted by the one single man.
The doctorsâ hands did not even tremble as they held their glasses of wine. But all of them no longer spoke and waited to see what was going on.
About a minute or two later, Yu Yuan said, âA delivery man fought with someone else and accidentally fell, stabbing himself in the chest with a screwdriver.â
The doctors looked at each other.
âAre you sure that itâs the chest?â
âAre you sure that it was a screwdriver?â
âAre you sure that it was a fight?â
Yu Yuan nodded after each question was asked.
Zuo Cidian breathed a sigh of relief. âIf itâs the chest, it probably has nothing to do with our treatment group.
Everyone nodded in unison.
Zuo Cidian then turned and glanced at Boss Shao before he said to Lu Wenbin, âWhy donât you put Doctor Liu Bian down? Heâs just drunk, and heâll be fine after resting for a short while.
âHis name is Liu Ji.â
âOh yeah, Liu Ji. What was I saying just now?â Zuo Cidian muttered. He then walked over to Yu Yuan and asked, âWhen did you go and watch the commotion? There seems to be quite a crowd.â
âI had to squeeze myself through the crowd.â Yu Yuan pouted to show how tired she was.
*Wee woo, wee woo*
The siren of an ambulance could soon be heard, and it sounded like an ambulance from Yun Hua Hospital.
This was when Zuo Cidianâs phone vibrated.
âYes, noted, I understand.â Zuo Cidian held his phone to his ear and said. He then put down his glass of wine and said, âDoctor Ling is about to return to the hospital. Whoâs on shift today?â
âMy shiftâs at ten, tonight,â Lu Wenbin replied. The members in the Ling Treatment Group were arranged to be on shift individually so that there would be enough people to help out when Ling Ran operated on patients early in the morning.
Zuo Cidian nodded. âIâll follow him, then.â
Lu Wenbinâs gaze was vacant as he straightened his clothes. He only asked Zuo Cidian after he walked through the door. âThe patientâs chest was stabbed by a screwdriver. What does that have to do with us?â
âThat doctor from Mayo Clinic, Faulkner, is probably drunk, and he told everyone that heâll be carrying out the emergency surgery. A group of people, including Doctor Ling followed him to the hospital,â Zuo Cidian explained things briefly.
Lu Wenbin became dizzy just by listening to what Zuo Cidian said. âItâs thoracic surgery. Why is Doctor Ling following them?â
Zuo Cidian said nonchalantly, âHeâll just be an assistant. It doesnât matter whoâs the assistant, does it?â
âAlright, then. As long as heâs not operating on me.â Lu Wenbin soon managed to convince himself that what he had just heard was not a problem.