“What is going on out there?” Jiang Yao murmured confusedly.
“Maybe someone is in critical condition needing surgery and they are reshuffling the doctors and nurses,” Mrs. Lin guessed.
Jiang Yao did not continue on with the conversation; she was not too bothered by it. After a few mouthfuls of food, she started chatting up Mrs. Lin, asking when they should go over to the Liang family and learn some cooking skills from their chef.
Mrs. Lin laughed hearing it. “My mum knew since young that I would never be able to cook.”
Colonel Lin nodded, and added, “Remember that day when your mother came to visit? She said if it wasn’t for my lack of taste, you would still be single!”
The couple kept bickering on, not noticing that Jiang Yao had left the room.
She shook her head, Colonel Lin and Mrs. Lin were as talkative as they could be, a source of joy and entertainment for their friends and families.
For which Lu Xingzhi was miles behind. He was very careful with his words and could go days without talking.
When Jiang Yao returned to the ward, Lu Xingzhi’s cell phone was ringing. She grabbed it from his room back in the platoon in case he would need it to contact people after he had woken up.
The cell phone had been silent for a few days so it was quite surprising to hear it ringing now. Jiang Yao answered the call, even though it was an unfamiliar number from Jindo City.
Who would have thought it was Zhou Junmin, who was supposed to be on duty at the platoon in Jin City, on the other end of the call? Weird. The origin of the phone call did not match its caller.
“Jiang Yao? This is Zhou Junmin! Are you here at the military hospital?”
He seemed to be in a hurry, Jiang Yao assumed that he was in a rush to see Lu Xingzhi. “Yes, the room number is…”
Even before Jiang Yao could finish her sentence, Zhou Junmin cut her off. “Jiang Yao, Brother Ge is now at the hospital undergoing an emergency operation. He was just wheeled into the operating room, the hospital wants us to pay a deposit. We left in a hurry and do not have enough money on us, can you pay for us first?”
Startled, Jiang Yao said, “Of course! I will see you at the payment counter in a minute!”
Jiang Yan ran outside after hanging up. Coincidentally, Mrs. Lin was outside in the corridor washing the dishes. She saw a hurried Jiang Yao and pulled her back. “What is going on?”
“Zhou Junmin called. Sergeant Ge is undergoing an emergency operation right here at the hospital, I am going over to help pay for the deposit first since they do not have enough cash with them.” Having said that, Jiang Yao dashed away. Mrs. Lin quickly followed suit.
Jiang Yao ran all the way to the payment counter. Zhou Junmin, anxious and unsettled, was waiting for her. He forgot about his manners and called out, “Jiang Yao, the hospital wants us to pay at least two hundred yuan before they can start the operation. Wu Pengxin and I left in a hurry, and we forgot to bring cash with us!”
Jiang Yao greeted him and went over to the counter to pay up. Fortunately, she had enough cash on her since Lu Xingzhi had been hospitalized. She was holding on to a little more money than usual just in case.