CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 293: A BUSY NIGHT

"Doctor, I just fed my mom, and right after she finished eating, she said her breathing was a bit uncomfortable, so I hurried to call you," the patient’s family member said as soon as the doctor arrived.

Xiao Li walked over to the patient to check her condition and noticed that she was indeed having trouble breathing, so she asked the family member, "What did you feed her tonight?"

The family member replied, "Taro rice, my mom loves small taros, and she hasn’t had anything tasty in her mouth for a few days in the hospital. I asked the doctor, and they said it was okay to eat, so I had my wife make it!"

"Small taros, did you cut them into pieces?" Xiao Li asked with a frown.

"No! They’re small taros that don’t need cutting, they cook quickly, and you can easily bite into them when eating."

Xiao Li took out a stethoscope and listened, then climbed onto the bed to press the patient’s chest a few times. The patient spat out a small piece of taro.

Once the small taro was out, the patient’s breathing improved significantly.

Xiao Li got off the bed and instructed the nurse to help the patient catch their breath, saying everything would be fine once the breathing stabilized.

Upon realizing the taro was the culprit, the family member immediately apologized, "I’m so sorry, Doctor. I didn’t realize that the taro would cause this."

Xiao Li waved it off, "It’s fine, just be more careful with what you feed the patient in the future. The patient is quite elderly and has been ill for a long time, she might eat a bit quickly when she gets to eat something she loves.

Taro is the type that can slip down the esophagus easily, just be more cautious in the future."

"Yes, yes, I’ll make sure my wife cuts the taro into pieces before cooking next time," the family hastened to reply.

After dealing with the patient’s situation, Xiao Li went straight back to the duty room.

Yue Wenwen saw her return and asked, "What’s the situation?"

Xiao Li smiled, "The lady in bed seventeen got a piece of taro stuck. I pressed it out and everything’s okay now."

Yue Wenwen sighed in relief upon hearing that, "As long as it’s nothing major. I just hope tonight goes smoothly, and once we hand over to the day shift tomorrow, I can finally go home for a rest."

The doctors on the night shift, as long as the patients don’t require urgent care that needs immediate attention, they can wait until the daytime doctors arrive. The attending doctors can handle it since the night shift staff is limited.

Xiao Li laughed, "Don’t you know the more you hope for something, the more it tends to do the opposite!"

"Oh my goodness!"

Whether it was Xiao Li’s prediction or the old saying, the night turned out to be anything but peaceful.

The first half of the night saw incidents with patients on one bed after another, leaving Xiao Li and Yue Wenwen with no time to rest at all.

When the latter half of the night came, Xiao Li and Yue Wenwen just thought they might get a chance to rest, but a call came from the outpatient department. A patient needed to be admitted to their department.

Yue Wenwen was supposed to go, but Xiao Li noticed she looked exhausted, so she told her to take a nap while she went instead.

When she arrived at the emergency department, it was as crowded as ever, packed with people.

As soon as Xiao Li got there, Xiao Wenjing noticed her. She’d been in the emergency department since she started working here except for a longer maternity leave when she had her baby. Otherwise, she’s always been on the job.

Among their group of four friends in the hospital, Xiao Wenjing definitely spent the most time working.

After Dai Zihan married into the Wen Family and had a child, she barely worked. The same happened with Feng Qing, ever since she married Huo Zhi, she hasn’t worked either.

Xiao Li expected Dai Zihan to stop working after marrying into the Wen Family, but she didn’t expect Feng Qing to stop working too.

Feng Qing’s personality wasn’t the type to be a domestic woman, but it just shows how powerful love can be!

Seeing Xiao Li, Xiao Wenjing was surprised, "Xiao Lili, are you on the night shift tonight? Can your body handle it?"

Everyone who saw her on night duty would make the same remark. Even knowing they were concerned for her, Xiao Li still felt a little helpless.

"I can handle it, it’s okay. You guys called to say there’s a patient to transfer to our department, where’s the patient?" Xiao Li responded calmly.

"Oh, right there." Xiao Wenjing gestured, leading Xiao Li to the patient. After some initial checks on the patient, confirming the emergency doctor’s preliminary diagnosis, Xiao Li took the patient back to the respiratory department.

Back at the respiratory department, Xiao Li ordered some tests for the patient and asked the nurse to accompany the patient for the tests. After getting some results and writing some medical orders, she finally had a moment to rest.

Checking the time, it was already 3 AM.

Wonder how Uncle is sleeping tonight? Is he sleeping soundly right now?

As she wondered, her phone pinged, it was a message from Xiao Wenjing.

"Xiao Lili, you’re on a night shift, and your Uncle is here with you?"

Xiao Li replied in confusion, "???"

"You don’t know your Uncle is downstairs? I saw him standing outside the inpatient department when I came back after an ambulance ride!"

Xiao Li was really surprised to see the message, she thought Qin Xiao had already gone home.

Her video call with Qin Xiao got interrupted, and she had been busy ever since, so she didn’t have the chance to message Qin Xiao again. She had thought he had gone home long ago!

Xiao Li really wanted to rush downstairs, but she couldn’t; if a patient needed something, there wouldn’t be a doctor around, and that wouldn’t do.

Thinking of that, Xiao Li ran to the side stairwell, hoping she could maybe spot him from the stairwell window. Opening the window, she looked out, but the floor was too high, and there were many large, old trees planted in front of the inpatient department, completely blocking her view.

Left with no choice, she returned to the office, and fortunately, Yue Wenwen was awake. Seeing Xiao Li hadn’t slept, she checked the time, "Oh, it’s already 3 AM. I’ve slept for so long. Sis, you sleep for a while! I’ll keep watch over the rest."

Xiao Li was tempted, "Then, you keep watch, I’ll head downstairs for a bit."

"Where to? Is there another patient for transfer from emergency?"

Xiao Li shook her head, "No, I have something to do downstairs. I’ll be back shortly, you stay on guard for a bit!"

"Oh, then go ahead!"

Xiao Li quietly walked past the nurse’s station, out the department door, and then ran to the elevator area, pressing the button.

At night, the elevator usage was low, so it came quickly, but Xiao Li found it too slow!

Taking the elevator to the first floor, as soon as the doors opened, Xiao Li rushed out, headed straight for the parking lot.

Just as she was about to run towards the parking lot after exiting the building, she heard Qin Xiao’s voice, "Nini!"

Xiao Li stopped abruptly, looked over at the figure standing under the tree. The streetlights cast shadows over him through the branches, making him hard to see, but Xiao Li just knew it was Qin Xiao.

She hurriedly ran over, "Uncle, why didn’t you go home?"