Chapter 103
The lights in the corridor of the County People’s Hospital were dim and yellow.
The doctor on duty in the emergency room was sleeping at the desk when he was suddenly awakened by the screeching sound of tires against the ground.
In this era, how many cars could a single county have? Even bicycles were a luxury.
It must be someone important, an official.
The emergency doctors and nurses all rubbed their eyes and ran out to see.
A Volga, a car everyone recognized, had stopped at the hospital entrance. A young woman with a head injury climbed out of the car and shouted, “Secretary Meng from the County Party Committee has been in a car accident!”
“There are two casualties! Two are unconscious! One has a leg injury!”
“Bring two stretchers!”
She had explained the situation clearly and concisely, without the useless nonsense common in such situations, like “Doctor, I beg you to save him,”
“Doctor, please hurry and think of something,” or “Doctor, doctor, how is he, is he in danger?”
Deep down, the emergency doctor gave her a silent compliment.
A flurry of chaos ensued, and everyone on duty at the hospital, regardless of their department, was mobilized.
The person brought in was the unconscious head of the county; this was a moment to test everyone!
They even sent a male doctor specifically to ride a bicycle to the hospital director’s home to summon him.
The doctors all lived in the hospital’s staff quarters, which were right behind the hospital, very close by, making it convenient to call people.
Two wheeled beds were pushed out, and both people were transferred onto them.
Secretary Huang was the only one of the two who was conscious.
Qiao Wei followed his bed as it was moved inside.
“It’s okay, now that we’re here, you’ll be fine. Trust the doctors!” Qiao Wei said, her hand pressing against the edge of the bed.
She let go of her hand and stopped, watching as Secretary Huang was wheeled in.
But he kept his eyes open, watching her.
The dim yellow light shone on her face, which was still stained with blood, but the tear tracks were no longer visible. She had regained her composure.
She was a reliable colleague, worthy of trust.
Only after both men had been handed over to the doctors did Qiao Wei feel a sense of collapse.
She leaned against the wall, walked to a bench, and sat down hard. Her hands were still trembling.
Many people were running in the corridor, their footsteps hurried.
At this moment, a nurse came over carrying a tray: “Comrade, let me treat your wounds.”
Qiao Wei managed a faint smile: “Thank you.”
The nurse helped her clean her wounds: “Comrade, are you also from the County Party Committee?”
“Yes. I am a staff member at the County Party Committee Office, and my name is Qiao Wei,” she said. “Those two are our county’s Secretary Meng and our office’s Secretary Huang, and the other one is our driver.”
The nurse was surprised: “So you are Comrade Qiao Wei. I’ve read the articles you’ve written; you’re truly amazing.”
Qiao Wei said, “I’m worried about whether the Secretary and the others might have internal bleeding. When the accident happened, neither of them was wearing a seatbelt. It seemed like our car rolled over; I was wearing a seatbelt and I still cracked my head. They must have been hit even harder. Please, could you remind the doctors?”
With few cars came little public awareness of car accidents.
The doctors had likely never treated many car accident victims and did not fully understand the potential injuries caused by such accidents.
After hearing what she said, the nurse quickly bandaged her up and rushed off to remind the doctor.
Qiao Wei pressed the bandage on her head and closed her eyes to rest for a few minutes, alleviating the sense of collapse caused by the adrenaline. She then stood up and grabbed someone to ask, “Where is the telephone?”
Yan Lei looked at the sky and his watch several times.
Yan Xiang also asked several times: “Dad, why isn’t Mom back yet?”
Yan Lei said, “Mom is in a meeting and will be back a bit late. There will be a car to bring Mom back.”
It was so late that there were no more buses. The leadership would surely have the driver take Qiao Wei home.
“As soon as you hear the sound of a car, that means Mom is back.”
But they did not hear the sound of a car.
Yan Lei felt a slight unease in his heart, but he could not show it in front of the children.
Until suddenly, in the night, there was a loud pounding on the door: “Regimental Commander Yan? Is this Regimental Commander Yan’s home? Is this Qiao Wei’s home?”
Yan Lei’s heart suddenly contracted.
Qiao Wei had called the duty room of the Xiahekou District Party Committee Office.
There was a telephone operator on duty at night, and when the call connected, they were very impatient, clearly suffering from being woken up.
Qiao Wei stated her identity directly: “This is the Bocheng County Party Committee Office. Connect me to the duty room.”
The operator then woke up and hurriedly transferred the call.
Government agencies always had someone on duty at all times; this was mandatory.
They would also leave a bicycle for the duty officer to use as a means of transport for emergency communications. After receiving the call, the duty officer got on the bike and headed straight for the old staff residential area, finding Yan Lei’s home according to the house number Qiao Wei had given.
“First, there was a car accident, and they are now at the County People’s Hospital.” The duty officer took out a small slip of paper; it was the information Qiao Wei had made him write down to relay to Yan Lei.
“Second, she was wearing a seatbelt, and only scraped her forehead a little; she is fine. You don’t need to worry, and you don’t need to go there; just stay home and take care of the children.”
“Third, the others are more seriously injured and are being treated, so she won’t be able to come back for a while.”
“Did she make the call herself?”
“Yes, it was her. She transferred directly to the duty room.”
Yan Lei’s constricted heart finally relaxed upon hearing this.
Knowing she was all right was enough.
That she was still able to think about sending a message to him and explaining things so clearly was also proof that she was fine.
“Okay,” he said in a deep voice. “Thank you for your hard work.”
The duty officer didn’t leave, but asked, “Who was she riding in the car with?”
Yan Lei said, “She went to the district for a meeting with leaders today; there was a direct superior leader and an office secretary.”
Although he didn’t explicitly say it was Secretary Meng, he gave the duty officer the answer.
“Then I have to go notify Secretary Gao,” the duty officer said.
If he hadn’t known, it would be one thing, but now that he knew, if he didn’t tell Secretary Gao and something happened later, Secretary Gao would blame him.
Yan Lei nodded: “Go ahead. Tell Secretary Gao not to move and to wait for me.”
The duty officer rode off on the bike.
Qiao Wei had communicated the information to Yan Lei. She also called the County Party Committee duty room to report the news.
Secretary Meng, Secretary Huang, and Driver Li were all being treated. Their families must also be anxious waiting for them to come home.
The inconvenience of communication was truly miserable.
At this moment, the hospital director arrived, his shirt buttons misaligned. Someone handed him a white coat, which he hurriedly put on, and he listened to his subordinate’s report: “…there is internal bleeding.”
Qiao Wei happened to hear this when she returned.
The group of people rushed inside. Qiao Wei grabbed one of them: “Who has internal bleeding?”
The person she grabbed said anxiously: “It’s the Secretary!”
Qiao Wei immediately let her go.
Another flurry of chaos ensued. Qiao Wei certainly wanted to know more information, but she restrained herself, not wanting to interfere with the medical staff.
She took off her cashmere coat, wrapped it around herself, and sat on the bench in the corridor to wait.
She fell asleep without realizing it, then suddenly woke up with a start. It was still night, and the lights in the corridor were still dim and yellow.
But the hurried footsteps were gone, and the overall atmosphere of tension and anxiety had vanished.
Qiao Wei rubbed her eyes and found someone to ask about the situation.
“Only the Secretary had internal bleeding; the other two are fine,” the doctor said. “The Secretary has stabilized and has received a blood transfusion.”
Qiao Wei had just breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor added, “Secretary Huang donated blood for him.”
Qiao Wei was stunned.
Secretary Huang’s thigh had been pierced; she didn’t know if it had hit a main artery. But at the time, blood had been gushing out from the glass wound.
Qiao Wei had used a belt to tie it off and stop the bleeding.
“Secretary Huang had lost blood himself! How could he donate blood to someone else?” she demanded.
Even she couldn’t control her voice, which rose in volume.
People in the corridor all looked over.
“There wasn’t enough of that blood type in the blood bank, and Secretary Huang happened to have it,” the doctor said, avoiding her gaze. “Besides, he… he volunteered himself, and the director approved it…”
The doctor said, “First, we had to ensure the Secretary was safe.”
He quickly added, “Tomorrow, as soon as the blood arrives, we’ll give it to him first.”
Qiao Wei gritted her teeth.
She didn’t know which part of this she should be angry about.
None of it was any of her business!
Yet all of it was infuriating!
“Where is he?” she finally asked. “Can I see him?”
The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and pointed out the room to her.
Qiao Wei went in to see Secretary Huang.
Secretary Huang was resting with his eyes closed, but he was awake. Hearing footsteps stop in front of his bed without any movement, he opened his eyes.
It was Qiao Wei.
Qiao Wei stared at him with her lips tightly pressed together.
She was angry.
This comrade, who was always smiling every day, could also get this angry.
“Qiao Wei…” Secretary Huang managed a weak smile.
It was very forced; his face was as pale as gold paper.
It felt like he was in a state where he could stop breathing at any moment.
Qiao Wei looked at his frighteningly pale face: “Are you crazy?”
Secretary Huang naturally understood what she was talking about.
“The blood will arrive at daybreak. Besides, the doctor said the human body constantly regenerates blood, and I’m still young with strong recovery abilities…”
He stopped there. Qiao Wei’s expression told him that these words were not enough to convince her.
Secretary Huang sighed.
“Qiao Wei, there is the Secretary, and only then am I.” He finally opened his heart.
To ensure he kept control of the office, Secretary Meng had pushed out and sidelined the other standing committee members. The officialdom was like this; everything looked like smiling faces, but beneath those smiles were hidden daggers.
“Everyone in the county knows I’m his man,” Secretary Huang said. “You know his style of doing things.”
“If he were gone, the accounts for everything he did in the past would be settled on me.”
Secretary Meng was aggressive in his work.
Aggression meant offending people and harming others’ interests.
When Secretary Meng was around, he was both a spear, capable of attacking and seizing externally, and a shield, capable of protecting his own people.
If he were gone, there would be no one to block the backlash from those who held grudges against him. As his primary confidant, Secretary Huang would be the first to bear the brunt.
It could be said that if there was no other path to take, Secretary Huang’s career was tied to Secretary Meng.
If there was no other path to take.
Qiao Wei understood all of this.
Qiao Wei just felt a tightness in her chest.
This thing called officialdom was indeed something ordinary people could not endure.
This was different from the free choice of jobs in later generations. At this time, the concept of “resignation” didn’t even exist.
Your work was all arranged by the organization. Everyone had an organization, and everyone was arranged. It was not determined by your individual will.
“Qiao Wei,” Secretary Huang looked at her and said sincerely, “Thank you.”
The doctor had already told him.
The belt tourniquet had saved his life.
If she hadn’t been decisive in stopping the bleeding and boldly driven straight to the hospital, if she had really listened to him and gone off in the dark to look for a village they didn’t even know the location of to seek help from villagers… in all likelihood, both he and the Secretary would have been finished.
Driver Li, on the other hand, had the lightest injuries.
He was conscious when the accident happened and instinctively gripped the steering wheel tightly, pressing against the back of the seat in an attempt to stabilize his body. His injuries were mainly external trauma from the impact to his head. He might also have had a concussion, but it didn’t appear life-threatening at the moment.
The Secretary’s internal bleeding was caused by that briefcase of his.
If the bag had only contained documents, this wouldn’t have happened, but just before they left, someone had given the Secretary two bottles of Moutai.
The heavy porcelain bottles filled with liquid gave the briefcase weight.
When the car rolled over, that object violently struck the Secretary’s abdomen.
It was fortunate that Qiao Wei had the nurse remind the doctor. Even the doctor himself had little awareness of the potential injuries caused by car accidents.
The doctor said, “I’ve never even ridden in a car.”
The doctor also said, “She was the one who stopped the bleeding for you? She can even drive? She is truly amazing.”
Secretary Huang, however, thought of Qiao Wei’s trembling hands, bleeding and shedding tears, as she loudly asked him how to press the clutch.
She didn’t even know how to shift gears.
But she managed to drive the car all the way to the County Hospital.
She was truly capable.
“Qiao Wei,” he said, “I owe you my life.”
If not for her, he, Huang Zengyue, would have disappeared from the world.
His struggles and his grudges would have all lost their meaning.
A person must first of all live well.
