Now that she was here, she would make the best of it

Song Ning hurriedly raised her hand and said:

"I-I can vouch for them! This really had nothing to do with these two nurses! It-it was the trolley! It was already acting up earlier and hit me in the corridor. My leg still hurts!"

"That's right! I can vouch for them too!"

Just as Song Ning finished speaking, another voice came from beside her. She turned to see the elderly man from earlier returning with his lunchbox.

"The trolley slipped out of these two nurses' hands in the corridor earlier! It was going so fast! If this young lady hadn't stopped it, it would have hit me! Honestly! So young and already so careless. Something was bound to go wrong sooner or later!"

The head nurse hurriedly said, "Professor Yang! It's you! It didn't give you a fright, did it?"

The old man waved a hand. "I'm fine! Fine! Go on with your work!"

Only then did the head nurse turn back to the two nurses.

"Not another word! Clean up the corridor first! Don't leave a single shard of glass! I want a five-hundred-word written self-criticism on my desk tomorrow morning! You'll pay the full price for all the medication! And you'll make up the lost work time on your days off! Also, I will record exactly what you did today in your internship records!"

"Head nurse! It really wasn't us..."

"What? Do you think I'm being too lenient?"

The other nurse hurriedly tugged at her colleague's sleeve. Both meekly accepted the punishment and went off to clean up.

They didn't even get a chance to glare at Song Ning!

Song Ning turned around, intending to thank Professor Yang. If he hadn't stepped forward to vouch for her, she would have had to keep up the act a little longer.

But the old man had already left with his lunchbox.

The head nurse hurried off to arrange the work, and the onlookers gradually dispersed.

Song Ning shrugged. If people leave me alone, I'll leave them alone.

But if they mess with me, I won't let them get away with it!

Before she could leave the inpatient building, however, someone coming toward her called her name.

Song Ning looked up. It was Chief of Staff Xu, with Wang Ze still at his side.

Song Ning nodded in greeting. "Chief of Staff Xu! Officer Wang!"

Chief of Staff Xu smiled. "You arrived yesterday, didn't you, Doctor Xiao Song? Are you settling in all right?"

Song Ning nodded and exchanged a few pleasantries with him.

Then Chief of Staff Xu said, "Doctor Xiao Song, I've reported exactly what happened in Gao Ping to our superiors. Chen Yuting has been suspended and sent to the Military District for ideological education! The hospital has also made its position clear. If she fails to reform, she won't be wearing that uniform anymore! In short, there will be no leniency!"

"As for Company Commander Lu... first, he's still receiving treatment in the hospital. Second, Regimental Commander Gu is away on a mission and won't return for another day or two. Once he's back, regimental headquarters will discuss the matter and take appropriate action."

"Rest assured! We'll also fully respect your wishes in matters concerning Company Commander Lu! For now, stay here with peace of mind. If you need anything, just let us know!"

Song Ning said nothing more, only nodding and thanking him.

The same principle still applied: now that she was here, she would make the best of it.

She was in no hurry.

Before leaving, though, she smiled and said:

"Chief of Staff Xu! Just call me Xiao Song from now on. Since I'm no longer with the medical team, it doesn't seem appropriate to keep calling me doctor."

That reminded Chief of Staff Xu of something, and he suddenly asked:

"Oh! Xiao Song! Can your acupuncture relieve pain?"

Back in Gao Ping, he had seen her save the dying Lu Changqing with a set of silver needles.

Sure enough, Song Ning nodded. "It can!"

"Come along, then! Perfect timing! I'm just about to visit a patient. Come take a look and see if there's anything you can do to help him!"

Song Ning felt her shoulder bag. Fortunately, she had her silver needles with her.

Chief of Staff Xu led Song Ning through the inpatient building to the innermost part of the hospital, where a guarded gate opened into a courtyard.

Inside stood a three-story building, also bearing an "Inpatient Department" sign.

Several large calendar cards hung in the entrance hall, displaying the date:

May 12, 1979.

This appeared to be the ward for senior officials.

Song Ning stared at the date for a long time, only looking away as they started up the stairs.

The eighties were almost here!

Chief of Staff Xu walked all the way to Room 302 before stopping to straighten his appearance. Then he knocked softly.

The door was ajar, and someone immediately came to open it.

It was a nurse in a white coat.

Looking farther inside, Song Ning saw that the room held only one hospital bed. Several doctors in white coats stood around it, quietly discussing something.

Chief of Staff Xu asked the nurse softly, "Has the pain started again?"

The nurse nodded and answered just as quietly, "It's worse than last time!"

Chief of Staff Xu gestured for Song Ning and Wang Ze to wait at the door.

About ten minutes later, he beckoned Song Ning inside.

Song Ning entered, and the doctors around the bed stepped aside. She saw an elderly man lying there. He had a large frame, but he was very thin.

He must have been tall and powerfully built in his youth.

He was the very picture of an aging hero.

To her surprise, another gray-haired elderly man was sitting at one end of the bed. It was Professor Yang, whom she had just met in the corridor.

Professor Yang looked at Song Ning and said in surprise:

"So it's you, young lady! Thank goodness you stopped that trolley for me earlier, or my soup would never have made it here!"

Song Ning said, "I should thank you for speaking up for me too!"

Professor Yang nodded. "We helped each other! Nothing worth mentioning! Sorry for the trouble, but please take a look at this old man of mine. He was wounded years ago, and he's suffered terribly ever since!

"We've tried both traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Acupuncture... he's had that too, but the results were never very satisfactory! Big Xu highly recommended you and wanted you to give it a try!

"Don't feel you have to hold back. Go ahead and try! If you can ease his suffering at all, we'll be endlessly grateful!"

Song Ning nodded.

The elderly man lay on his side. A doctor lifted the thin quilt covering him, exposing his back.

His body trembled slightly, and his hospital clothes clung to him, already soaked through. He seemed to be enduring the pain by sheer force of will.

"He took shrapnel in the back years ago. It's in a difficult location, so we've never been able to remove it."

A doctor beside her explained quietly:

"He's had too many operations and developed a tolerance to painkillers. Now that he's getting older, even a slight change in the weather leaves him with unbearable back pain. See if there's anything you can do to ease it."

Song Ning immediately noticed the many old wounds on his back, including a slightly raised, dark-red scar beside his spine.

From what she could see, the shrapnel lay right next to the spinal nerves and had even damaged some of them.

With Hua Country's current medical capabilities, an operation this difficult was indeed beyond reach.

The slightest mistake could leave the old man bedridden for the rest of his life.

Song Ning considered her options, but her hands did not slow down.

She deftly disinfected the area while asking the doctor whether the elderly man had any underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure.

By the time she received an answer, the silver needles were already entering his body one by one.