After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Gu Zheng sat on the long sofa in the doctor's office. He held a stainless steel nutcracker in his hand. The hard walnut shell was stuck in the metal groove. Gu Zheng exerted force with his wrist. A crisp sound came from the metal mesh. The walnut shell split open in the middle, without damaging the intact kernel inside. He placed the shelled walnut kernel into the enamel plate beside him.

Ye Zhen sat behind her desk, reviewing a postoperative echocardiogram report.

The red secure phone on the desk rang.

Gu Zheng put down the nutcracker. He stood up, strode to the table, and picked up the red plastic receiver.

A loud voice came from the other end of the phone. Gu Jianguo's voice made the receiver vibrate. Ye Zhen, three meters away, heard every word coming through the receiver.

"Gu Zheng! Go to that triage office right now, pack Gu Yue up and stuff her into the train station! She's on the southbound express tonight!"

Gu Zheng moved the microphone ten centimeters away.

"Second Uncle, what's the matter that's so urgent?"

"Old Zhao from the Political Department of the Nanyang Military Region, his son has returned from studying in the Soviet Union," Gu Jianguo said, panting heavily on the other end of the phone. "Twenty-six years old, a battalion-level officer. Gu Yue is twenty this year, it's time for her to settle down. Tell her not to waste time in Beicheng, she should come back for blind dates!"

Gu Zheng glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Second Uncle, Gu Yue's triage work is very heavy right now. Letters from all over the country are coming to her. She can't leave."

"What's so important about a few worthless letters!" Gu Jianguo slammed his fist on the table, the dull thud echoing through the phone. "Just find someone to fill in! There's no room for negotiation. You have to get her on the train today. Otherwise, I'll personally go to Beicheng to arrest her!"

The receiver was busy.

Gu Zheng put the microphone back on its base. He turned to look at Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen signed her name at the end of the ultrasound report. She closed the medical record folder and put the pen into her coat pocket.

"Second Uncle wants Gu Yue to go back for a blind date," Gu Zheng said.

"I heard you." Ye Zhen stood up and straightened the hem of her white coat. "Go tell Yueyue. There aren't as many people who believe her now. Lanlan can manage on her own. If it really doesn't work, I'll ask Li Hong and the others to help."

Gu Zheng walked to the door and opened it.

"I'll go there."

Ye Zhen followed, and the two walked along the corridor toward the annex building.

The first floor of the annex was originally an old warehouse. Now, a wooden sign reading "Huaxia Heart Triage Center" has been hung there.

Gu Zheng pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door.

Inside the room, against the wall stood four three-meter-high iron racks. The racks were densely packed with brown paper bags. The names of various provinces were written on the bags in thick black marker.

Gu Yue sat behind the octagonal table. She held a red and blue pencil in her hand, checking the address on a remittance slip.

Sun Jianjun stood beside her. He was wearing an intern's white coat and holding a stack of yellowed scrap paper letters.

"Barefoot doctors in Ankang, southern Shaanxi, are accustomed to writing letters in their local dialect." Sun Jianjun laid the top letter flat on the table, pointing to a line in the middle. "This 'difficulty breathing and bluish lips,' combined with the earlier description of 'squatting down after walking less than ten meters,' perfectly matches the hypoxic symptoms of Tetralogy of Fallot. This letter needs to be classified as urgent."

Gu Yue nodded. She took the letter, drew a red circle in the upper right corner, and wrote "TOF suspected, urgent".

Ye Zhen glanced at the stack of letters, which were the contents of the two sacks that the postman had just delivered that morning. Sun Jianjun had completed the preliminary symptom classification and screening in just one hour.

Sun Jianjun looked up and saw Ye Zhen and Gu Zheng. He immediately stood up straight and put down the letter in his hand.

"Teacher Ye, Commander Gu."

Ye Zhen walked over and picked up the letters that Sun Jianjun had just sorted. The symptom extraction was extremely accurate, without omitting any key physical descriptions.

"Didn't you do any extra practice on basic chest-opening techniques this morning?" Ye Zhen asked.

Sun Jianjun's ears were slightly red. He placed his hands on either side of his trouser seams.

"Reporting to Teacher Ye, I finished the 500 extra repetitions of chest opening, knot tying, and suturing in my dormitory at 4 a.m. Now it's my rest time, and I'm here to see if the triage office needs any help with checking medical terms."

Ye Zhen put the letter back on the table. She made no comment.

Sun Jianjun took a step back.

"The initial screening of the letters is complete. I'm going back to my department to write the medical records."

Sun Jianjun turned and walked out of the triage office, closing the door behind him.

There were three people left in the room. Gu Yue put the organized urgent letters into a brown paper bag from southern Shaanxi.

Gu Zheng pulled over a bench and sat down.

"Gu Yue, pack your bags. Take the train back south tonight at nine o'clock."

The red and blue pencils in Gu Yue's hand fell onto the table with a crisp sound. She looked up at Gu Zheng.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"My second uncle just called long-distance," Gu Zheng stated the objective facts. "He's arranged a blind date for you. It's the son of Officer Zhao from the Political Department, who studied in the Soviet Union. He wants you to go back and meet him to finalize the arrangement."

Gu Yue suddenly stood up. The octagonal table shook slightly from her movement.

"A blind date?" Gu Yue's voice rose. "I'm only twenty years old. I'm doing this job to save my life. What right does he have to take away my job and force me to go back and get married?"

Gu Zheng leaned back in his chair.

"Your second uncle thinks you're not young anymore and it's time to think about marriage."

Gu Yue gritted her teeth, her breathing quickened, and her chest heaved.

"This is the triage center; I hold leads on hundreds of lives in my hands. Lanlan handles the long-distance lines, and I have to manage mail for four major regions all by myself. I'm not leaving."

Gu Zheng stood up, walked to the table, and tapped the surface with his fingers.

"You're usually terrified of your second uncle, so why are you being so tough today? Is there any other reason besides work?" Gu Zheng asked calmly.

Gu Yue's facial muscles tensed, and she turned her head away, refusing to look at Gu Zheng.

"There's no other reason, I just don't want to go back."

Gu Zheng turned to look at Ye Zhen. Ye Zhen leaned against the door frame, her gaze fixed on the stack of letters that Sun Jianjun had just sorted out on the table. She didn't say anything.

"My second uncle said on the phone that if you don't get on the southbound train today, he will personally come to the North City Military Region General Hospital to arrest you," Gu Zheng relayed Gu Jianguo's words.

Gu Yue loosened her grip, sat back down in her chair, and hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

"I won't leave even if he comes to arrest me. I already have someone I like, and I will never go back to see that so-called international student."

Gu Zheng braced his hands on the edge of the table.

"Who is it?"

Gu Yue shut her mouth, lowered her head and opened a hardcover book used to register information about sick children. She picked up a fountain pen and began to write, the pen tip making a scratching sound on the paper.

Gu Zheng did not press the matter further. He straightened up and walked out of the triage office.

Ye Zhen walked to the octagonal table, picked up the red and blue pencils that Gu Yue had just used, and put them in the pencil holder.

"That international student is the son of Chief of Staff Zhao from the Political Department. Your second uncle values ​​marriage between people of similar social standing," Ye Zhen explained the implications.

Gu Yue put down her pen.

"Sister-in-law, do you also believe in marrying someone of equal social standing?"

Ye Zhen shook her head. "Of course not, but marriage is a big deal, so we should be careful and not act impulsively."

Gu Yue nodded. "Yes, sister-in-law, I've thought it over. I'm not going back."

Ye Zhen did not reply; she turned and left the triage office.

Gu Zheng stood in the open space outside the annex building. He had already walked to the switchboard room on the first floor.

Gu Zheng picked up the public phone outside the switchboard and dialed the long-distance number for the Southern Military Region.

The call was connected.

"Second Uncle, I am Gu Zheng."

"Has the person been taken to the train station?" Gu Jianguo's voice came through.

"She's not leaving. She said she has someone she likes in Beicheng," Gu Zheng relayed truthfully.

A loud crash of shattering porcelain came from the other end of the phone, and Gu Jianguo smashed the teacup in his hand.