harleyscars Chapter 9: Department of Health Personnel Conduct Search
Chapter 9: Department of Health Personnel Conduct Search
Before dawn, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Li Ranmo sat up in bed, still dressed. He listened to the noise outside; the footsteps were heavy, indicating more than one person.
There was a knock on the door, a very urgent knock.
"Dr. Li! Is Dr. Li here?"
It was the voice of the caregiver, Lao Zhao.
Li Ranmo went to open the door. Old Zhao stood outside, his face pale.
"Dr. Li, people from the Department of Health are here. They say they need to do an inspection." Old Zhao lowered his voice. "Several people came, and the one in charge is surnamed Sun. He's very fierce. Vice President Chen asked me to come and get you to his office."
"understood."
Li Ranmo closed the door and quickly put on his white coat. He walked to the table and opened a drawer.
Shen Qiushui took the copper coin and the original medicine list last night.
But he had to double-check.
There were only medical records and a pen in the drawer. He touched the inside pocket of his white coat; it was empty.
Footsteps sounded again at the door; this time it was Shen Qiushui.
She pushed the door open and came in, her breathing a little rapid.
"They've arrived, they're on the first floor," Shen Qiushui said. "The team leader is Deputy Section Chief Sun, Wang Qingnian's confidant. They brought official documents, saying they want to 'inspect the wartime medicine reserves and management.'"
"Where's the search warrant?"
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"Yes, it's stamped with the Department of Health's seal," Shen Qiushui said. "Vice President Chen is downstairs dealing with them, but it won't last long. They specifically want to inspect your office and pharmacy."
Li Ranmo pushed up his glasses.
"Where are the things?"
"It's well hidden," Shen Qiushui said. "The usual place, the third hidden compartment in the abandoned equipment cabinet behind the morgue. I threw the key in the ditch."
"You did a good job."
"But there's a problem." Shen Qiushui looked at him. "I copied a fake copy of the handover time and location that Han Xiuyun gave me and put it in the pharmacy. I burned the real copy. But the code... I memorized the code, but I didn't write it down."
"Just remember that," Li Ranmo said. "They won't be able to find it."
The two quickly went downstairs.
There were five or six people standing in the lobby on the first floor, all dressed in dark Zhongshan suits. The one in the lead was a short, stout man who was talking to Chen Qitai while holding official documents.
"Vice President Chen, it's not that we're making things difficult for you." The short, stout man had a loud voice. "The higher-ups have ordered that wartime supplies, especially medicines, must be strictly inspected. Your army hospital has been experiencing unusually high medicine consumption lately, and we're just doing our job."
Chen Qitai said calmly, "Deputy Section Chief Sun, the hospital keeps records of all medicines coming in and out, which can be checked at any time."
"Records are made by people," Deputy Section Chief Sun smiled. "What we need to check are the physical objects."
He waved his hand, and the people behind him immediately dispersed, two heading towards the pharmacy and two going upstairs.
"Do you want to check upstairs too?" Chen Qitai asked.
"Of course," said Deputy Section Chief Sun. "Especially in doctors' offices. Some doctors hoard medicines and resell them for profit; it's not uncommon for this to happen."
As he said this, his eyes glanced at Li Ranmo.
Li Ranmo walked over and stood next to Chen Qitai.
"Deputy Section Chief Sun," Li Ranmo said, "my office is on the first floor, around the corner. Do you need me to show you the way?"
Deputy Section Chief Sun sized him up: "You're Dr. Li Ranmo?"
"it's me."
"I heard you just returned from abroad?" Deputy Section Chief Sun asked. "Where did you study medicine?"
"London."
"London is great," Deputy Section Chief Sun nodded. "You've learned a lot about foreign things, haven't you? But you can't just use foreign medicines casually."
He said no more, and winked at someone behind him.
The man immediately stepped forward: "Dr. Li, please lead the way."
Li Ranmo turned and walked towards his office. Shen Qiushui wanted to follow, but was stopped by another man in a Zhongshan suit.
"Nurse, please stay where you are."
Shen Qiushui stopped and glanced at Li Ranmo.
Li Ranmo did not turn around.
The office door was open.
Two men in Zhongshan suits went in and began searching. Drawers were pulled open, medical records were flipped through, and books were pulled out one by one from the bookshelf and shaken.
Li Ranmo stood at the door watching.
Deputy Section Chief Sun also came over, walking around the room with his hands behind his back.
"Dr. Li," he suddenly spoke, "I heard you went to the docks a few days ago?"
"Yes," Li Ranmo said. "Treat the wounded."
"Wounded from a gang fight?" Deputy Section Chief Sun chuckled. "Why bother saving those kinds of people? It's better if they die."
"I'm a doctor, I only save lives," Li Ranmo said.
"Doctors also have to follow the rules." Deputy Section Chief Sun walked to his desk, picked up a pen and looked at it. "Especially during wartime, when medicines are scarce, every vial of sulfathiazole and every roll of gauze must be used wisely. We can't... let it go to the wrong place."
He put down his pen and looked at Li Ranmo.
"Dr. Li, don't you think so?"
"Deputy Section Chief Sun is right," Li Ranmo said.
"That's good." Deputy Section Chief Sun clapped his hands. "Search carefully, under the bed, on top of the cabinet, in the cracks in the wall, check everything."
The two men searched even more diligently.
The drawer was pulled out completely and turned upside down, its contents scattering onto the floor. Medical records were strewn all over the floor.
Li Ran watched silently without saying a word.
"Report," one of them said, "No unusual items found."
Deputy Section Chief Sun frowned.
"Search again."
I searched again.
There's still nothing there.
Deputy Section Chief Sun's expression was rather unpleasant. He walked up to Li Ranmo and stared at him.
"Dr. Li, do you... ever accept gifts from patients?"
"No," Li Ranmo said.
Not even once?
Not even once.
Deputy Section Chief Sun snorted and turned to walk out.
"Go to the pharmacy."
At the pharmacy, the other two people had been searching for a long time.
Shen Qiushui stood at the entrance of the pharmacy, with Chen Qitai beside her.
"How is it?" Deputy Section Chief Sun asked.
"Report: The pharmacy inventory is complete, and the accounts and supplies are basically consistent," one person said. "Except for sulfathiazole, which is in zero stock, and there are only three boxes of sulfamethoxazole powder."
"Shortages are normal during wartime," Chen Qitai said. "The front lines are experiencing high consumption."
"And this?" Another person came out from behind the medicine shelf, holding a piece of paper in his hand.
Shen Qiushui's eyes flickered.
That was the fake list she "accidentally" dropped at the pharmacy last night.
Deputy Section Chief Sun took the paper and looked at it. The paper listed the names and quantities of the medicines, as well as the delivery location: the new warehouse at Pier No. 5, tomorrow night at midnight.
"What is this?" Deputy Section Chief Sun asked.
"I don't know," Shen Qiushui said. "Maybe it was some scrap paper someone left behind."
"Waste paper?" Deputy Section Chief Sun laughed. "It says sulfathiazole on this, twenty boxes. Delivery time and place are included. Nurse Shen, you're saying this is waste paper?"
Chen Qitai took the paper, looked at it, and then looked at Shen Qiushui.
Shen Qiushui said calmly, "Deputy Section Chief Sun, with so many people coming and going from the pharmacy every day, a single piece of paper doesn't prove anything. Maybe it was just a rumor that some caregiver heard and jotted down."
"You jotted it down casually, and in such detail?" Deputy Section Chief Sun folded the paper and stuffed it into his pocket. "I need to take this back and check it."
He looked around and his gaze fell on Li Ranmo.
"Dr. Li, you come to the pharmacy often, don't you?"
"Come again often," Li Ranmo said, "to pick up the medicine and return the medicine."
Have you seen this piece of paper before?
"Never seen it before."
Deputy Section Chief Sun stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
"Okay, that's settled then." He waved his hand. "Sorry to bother you today. Vice Dean Chen, Dr. Li, Nurse Shen, please get back to work."
He led his men outside.
He walked to the door, then stopped and turned back.
"Oh, right," he said, "Section Chief Wang asked me to pass on a message. In these extraordinary times of war, everyone... please take care of yourselves."
The person is gone.
The hall fell silent.
Chen Qitai looked at Li Ranmo, then at Shen Qiushui.
"That piece of paper," Chen Qitai began, "who put it there?"
"I don't know," Shen Qiushui said.
"You really don't know?"
"I really don't know."
Chen Qitai didn't ask any more questions. He turned and walked towards his office, but stopped after a few steps.
"Dr. Li, could you come here for a moment?"
Li Ranmo followed.
Once inside the office, Chen Qitai closed the door.
"sit."
Li Ran sat down silently.
Chen Qitai walked to the window and looked outside. Deputy Section Chief Sun and his group had already gotten into their car and driven away.
"They're not here to check the medicines," Chen Qitai said. "They're here to check you."
Li Ran remained silent.
"That piece of paper was deliberately placed in the pharmacy," Chen Qitai said, turning around. "The information on it is fake, isn't it?"
Li Ranmo looked up.
"How did the vice president know it was fake?"
"Because it's too obvious." Chen Qitai walked to the table and sat down. "The new warehouse at Pier No. 5, tomorrow night at midnight. If it were real intelligence, it wouldn't be written so clearly and just casually left in the pharmacy."
He looked at Li Ranmo.
"Someone is trying to lead them to the wrong place, at the wrong time. Is that you, or Nurse Shen?"
Li Ranmo pushed up his glasses.
Does it matter?
"It's important," Chen Qitai said. "If Wang Qingnian's men come up empty-handed, they'll be even more suspicious of you. Next time, it might not just be a search team that comes."
"What does the vice dean think I should do?"
Chen Qitai remained silent for a while.
"Dr. Li," he said, "I don't care what you did during those two years abroad, or what your dealings with those people at the docks were like. I only ask you one question—was what you did for the hospital, for the front lines, or for yourself?"
Li Ranmo looked into his eyes.
"To save lives."
"Who are you saving?"
"Those who can be saved."
Chen Qitai nodded.
"Okay," he said. "I'll cover for you today. But Wang Qingnian won't let this go. He's got his eye on you, so be careful in the future."
"Vice Dean Xie."
"No need to thank me." Chen Qitai waved his hand. "I'm protecting you because you can save people. If you ever do anything you shouldn't, I'll be the first to hand you over."
Li Ranmo stood up.
"I see."
He walked out of the office.
Shen Qiushui waited for him in the corridor.
"How is it?"
"It's alright now," Li Ranmo said, "but Vice Dean Chen has become suspicious."
"Did he ask about that piece of paper?"
"I asked," Li Ranmo said. "I said I didn't know."
The two went upstairs.
Back in Li Ranmo's office, the room was a mess. Drawers were upside down on the floor, and medical records were scattered everywhere.
Shen Qiushui squatted down to tidy up.
Li Ranmo closed the door.
"Is the stuff safe?" he asked in a low voice.
"It's safe," Shen Qiushui said. "No one usually goes to the morgue, and the hidden compartments are well concealed. But since Deputy Section Chief Sun took the fake list, Wang Qingnian will definitely send someone to Pier No. 5."
"Let them go," Li Ranmo said. "It's good that they didn't find anything."
"But if they miss their target, they'll keep a closer eye on you."
"I know." Li Ranmo walked to the window and looked downstairs. "So the first handover has to be postponed."
Shen Qiushui raised her head.
"postpone?"
"Okay," Li Ranmo said. "Wait until things calm down. We need to inform Han Xiuyun to change the time."
"How should we notify them?"
"Use the backup plan," Li Ranmo said. "Xinglong Teahouse."
Shen Qiushui understood. The copper coins and coded message given by Han Xiuyun were for dealing with this situation.
She picked up the last medical record and put it back on the table.
"Dr. Li," she said, "Vice President Chen is... protecting you today."
"I know."
"What if he...?"
"He won't report us." Li Ranmo turned around. "At least not now. He needs me to save people, and he needs medicine. As long as we can get the medicine and save the people, he'll turn a blind eye."
Shen Qiushui nodded.
"So what do we do next?"
"Wait," Li Ranmo said. "Wait until Wang Qingnian's men return empty-handed from Pier 5. Wait until things calm down a bit. Then, activate the backup communication plan and notify Han Xiuyun to reschedule."
"That batch of medicine..."
"The medicine is still here," Li Ranmo said. "As long as the distribution channels are there, the medicine will remain."
Footsteps could be heard outside; the caregiver was starting to clean the corridor.
It was already broad daylight.
Shen Qiushui stood up and dusted off her hands.
"I'll go to the pharmacy first and tidy up the things that have been messed up."
"Be careful," Li Ranmo said. "Wang Qingnian's men might still be watching nearby."
"Know."
Shen Qiushui is gone.
Li Ranmo stood in the messy office, looking out the window.
The car has already driven far away.
But Deputy Section Chief Sun's last words still echoed in my ears.
"Take care of yourself."
Li Ranmo bent down and picked up the broken pen from the ground.
The pen nib is bent.
He held it in his hand, looked at it, then walked to the trash can and threw it in.
The metal pen tip struck the bottom of the tin bucket with a crisp sound.
He walked back to the table and began to tidy up the scattered medical records.
Pick them up one by one and fold them neatly.
The movements were slow and steady.
He stopped halfway through tidying up.
There was a small piece of paper pressed under the corner of the table.
It was very small and wrinkled.
Li Ranmo picked it up and unfolded it.
There was a line of text written in pencil above, the handwriting was very messy.
"The goods will arrive at the old warehouse at Pier No. 3 the day after tomorrow at 1-3 AM."
It was the note that Han Xiuyun's subordinate had slipped to him last time.
He clearly remembered that it had been burned last night.
How did I end up here?
Li Ran stared at the piece of paper for a long time.
Then he went to the kerosene lamp and struck a match.
The paper curled up in the flames, turned black, and turned to ashes.
He blew out the light and opened the window.
The morning breeze blew in, carrying ashes out the window and scattering them in the air.
Gone.