Chapter 35: Saving a Life

“Wanfeng, why don’t you take the child and sit over there to wait for me? I can queue here by myself.” Judging by the speed, it would take at least until noon to reach his turn. Since it would take so long, Cao Xiangnan didn’t want Wanfeng and the child to keep him company in the queue.

“No, I want to stay here with An’an and keep you company,” Qi Wanfeng said, shaking his head. He wanted to stay here with his husband.

As soon as they stood in line, people began lining up behind them one after another. Before long, quite a few people were behind them. Patients came out from the doctor’s consultation room and were replaced by the next patient, but no matter how fast the pace was, it couldn’t keep up with the speed at which patients arrived. The sun gradually rose in the sky, and time slowly passed.

A flurry of chaotic footsteps approached as a group of people rushed toward Luo’s Medical Hall. The man at the front carried a child in his arms, followed by a large group of people, all rushing anxiously into the medical hall.

Those outside, unsure of what was happening, began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering what had occurred. The group’s hurried entrance into the medical hall suggested that it was nothing good.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.”

Cao Xiangnan and the others also saw the group rushing into Luo’s Medical Hall from the back. Curious onlookers blocked the entrance to the medical hall. He didn’t know what was happening up front, but neither he nor Wanfeng had any intention of getting closer.

“That child fell into the water. I don’t think he can be saved,” the news spread quickly to those outside. Drowning? Realizing what had happened to the child just carried in, Cao Xiangnan’s expression changed. “Wanfeng, watch An’an. I’m going to take a look,” he said.

“Hey, Husband, what are you doing?” Qi Wanfeng picked up the child, watching his husband hobble toward the crowd with his crutch. He was worried and anxious, following behind, afraid that his husband would be knocked over.

The attending physician was Doctor Luo of Luo’s Medical Hall, a man in his sixties who had been a doctor for most of his life and had seen many difficult and complicated cases. However, the child who had been brought in was already breathless, causing him to wear a troubled expression. “This…”

“The child has already lost his breath. I’m afraid I can’t do anything. You should prepare for the funeral as soon as possible.”

“No, no, I beg you, Doctor Luo, please save my child!”

“Doctor Luo, please, please…” The ge’er kneeling on the ground hugged the child, crying and kowtowing to Old Doctor Luo. This child was his lifeblood. If the child was really gone, he wouldn’t be able to go on living.

“Make way, make way!” Cao Xiangnan hobbled in from outside on one leg with his crutch, nearly being pushed to the ground. After much effort, he squeezed to the front and saw the pale-faced child on the ground, looking about seven or eight years old. “I have a way to save him; let me try,” he shouted.

His shout immediately drew everyone’s attention to him.

“You, you really have a way?” The ge’er’s face was still streaked with tears, as if he had grasped a floating piece of wood.

“You?” Doubts appeared in Old Doctor Luo’s eyes. He had practiced medicine for most of his life and knew that most drowning victims could not be saved.

“Let me try,” Cao Xiangnan said with determination in his eyes.

He knew the value of time and didn’t have time to explain himself here. He hobbled to the child’s side with his crutch, throwing the crutch aside. He pressed his hand on the child’s carotid artery, feeling that the pulse under his hand was barely beating.