Cheng Ji and Lao Geng met their nephew in a small private hospital in an urban village in Hongcheng.
This is a bit strange. The scale of that hospital is not even as big as Changkang Community Hospital. It looks more like a clinic and may not even have complete medical qualifications.
When they entered the clinic, the small and cold room was eerily quiet. Banners with the words "Miraculous Bringing Back the Body" were hung all over the walls, like a performance art. There was only one heater, which was better than having no place to work.
However, appearance is not the best judgement. From the outpatient department, you will reach the backyard ward after many twists and turns. The medical equipment inside is surprisingly complete, dazzling the eyes. It feels like if the area was not limited, even an MRI machine that costs tens of millions of yuan could be equipped!
My nephew was isolated in a small space by a glass door, lying among many instruments, with an IV on the back of his hand, his eyes closed, his face red due to fever, his head wrapped in thick gauze, and a glass of water on the bedside table that had never been touched.
Cheng Ji observed him and saw that he was about 24 or 25 years old, the kind of athletic handsome guy you often see on campus or in the workplace. Unfortunately, after this ordeal, his originally tall body was almost sunken in the quilt, lifeless. Moreover, his nose bridge and facial skull were fractured, and his face was so swollen that his original appearance could no longer be seen.
"Xiaojun! Xiaojun!" Old Geng called his nephew twice softly through the glass. The other party did not wake up, and Old Geng's tears fell.
Cheng Ji thought: Where is the doctor? He was about to go out to look for him when he bumped into someone.
The man was in his thirties, had a weird hairstyle and was wearing a white coat. He was obviously the person in charge of the clinic.
"Are you a doctor?" Cheng Ji asked.
"Who are you?" the man asked back vigilantly.
Cheng Ji pointed to the patient on the bed and said, “We are Chen Guangjun’s uncle and… cousin.”
The doctor said: "Don't make any mistake, the patient's name is Chen Jie."
Old Geng observed his nephew's arm and saw a scar on it, so he said, "Yes, this is my nephew Chen Guangjun! This scar was left when he was poked by a steel bar when he was a child. I was there at the time!"
Cheng Ji pushed him and whispered, "He may have changed his name when he came out to look for a job. Don't say anything."
"Oh." Lao Geng said, "Doctor, anyway, I am really his uncle. His father and I have sworn brotherhood. We are from Huang Village."
The doctor believed it. As far as he knew, the patient was from Huang Village, and Sister Yu, who was also from Huang Village, had been in and out of the clinic several times.
"What happened to him?" Cheng Ji asked.
The doctor hesitated and said nothing, then suddenly asked, "Does Brother Zhou know you're here?"
"Brother Zhou? Who?"
The doctor said, then you wait a moment for Brother Zhou, he said he would come, he even called me ten minutes ago.
Speak of the devil, here comes the devil. Before he could finish his words, someone opened the cotton door curtain of the ward and came in. Cheng Ji looked up and was stunned. He knew the man - Zhou Zhiwen, the manager and madam of Shuiyue Villa!
Manager Zhou seemed even more surprised than he was, and shouted, "Oh my God! Why are you here?"
Cheng Ji said I am the patient's relative, so why are you here
Manager Zhou said, "Oh my, your family is really troubled. How come everything happens to you? Chen Jie is my subordinate. I came to see him!"
Cheng Ji turned around and asked Lao Geng: "Does your nephew work at Shuiyue Villa?"
Lao Geng said, "I don't know much either, I just heard he was a security guard in some nightclub. Do you know him?"
"It's not a nightclub, it's a club," said Manager Zhou. "It sounds more reserved."
"What happened to him? Who hit him?" Cheng Ji asked.
Manager Zhou exchanged glances with the doctor, then looked at Lao Geng, thinking that he was not a good person, so he said, "Cheng Cheng, let's go out and talk."
Lao Geng asked, "What are you hiding from me?"
Manager Zhou said, "Uncle, they say that concern can lead to confusion. I'm afraid you won't be able to accept it if I tell you directly. Cheng Ji used to work for me, and I admire him very much, so I'll tell him first, and then tell you, okay?"
Lao Geng wanted to say no, but the two men opened the door curtain and left without waiting for his answer. He had no choice but to shout behind them: "Son, you were also a security guard, right?"
Manager Zhou took Cheng Ji to the outer patio and threw him a cigarette.
Cheng Ji felt a bit cold on the way and didn't want to smoke, so Manager Zhou said, "Go ahead and smoke, because the story I'm going to tell you next time is not a good one."
After lighting his cigarette, Manager Zhou lent him a lighter and asked, "How is your mother doing recently?"
Cheng Ji smiled bitterly: "It's good. There is a long private room in the Western Suburbs Funeral Home."
"My condolences." Manager Zhou pointed at the ward with his cigarette butt and asked, "Excuse me, where did your father come from? I remember when I interviewed you, you seemed to say that your father died a long time ago."
"Godfather." Cheng Ji said, "Actually he is the boss of the place where I work. He has no children, so I adopted him as a godson. He looks a bit rude, but he is actually very kind."
Manager Zhou nodded.
Cheng Ji asked: "Chen Guangjun... What happened to Chen Jie?"
Manager Zhou said, "Just call him Chen Guangjun. It will be easier for your family to pronounce. To be honest, I don't know."
"ah?"
Manager Zhou said, "I only know that he was severely beaten. When I found him, he was still alive, and..."
"And what?" Cheng Ji asked.
Manager Zhou frowned and said, "I'm not sure, I just have this feeling... and the other party wanted to beat him to death, but he was in good physical condition and saved his life."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because the place where I found him was a shabby warehouse with wind blowing in from all directions. What kind of weather is it now? It's several degrees below zero and snowing, which is enough to freeze someone to death. And he was stripped naked and thrown in a corner. Fortunately, someone covered him with a tattered blanket, otherwise he would have been frozen into a bloody popsicle and there would have been no chance of rescue."
Cheng Ji asked: "Who has such a great hatred for him?"
Manager Zhou shook his head: "I also find it strange. He is really the most ordinary security guard in Shuiyue Villa. Most of the time, he only hangs around the bar and other places outside. He doesn't even go into the private rooms inside. His monthly salary including commission is only 4,000 yuan. If I hadn't saved him, I wouldn't even know his name!"
"Did he offend anyone?"
"Let's start from the beginning. You can help me think about it. You have a good brain." Manager Zhou lowered his head to knock off the ash from his cigarette. When he raised his head again, he looked older and more helpless than his actual age.
"That day - the first day you came to work - you disappeared halfway through the day. Qi Shao's people later went to the monitoring room to track you down for a long time. So what exactly happened between you and him?"
“… It’s just a small matter.” Cheng Ji didn’t understand why he suddenly asked these questions and didn’t want to say anything.
Manager Zhou did not ask further questions, because the focus of his conversation was not here: "Then do you remember that when I took you out of Mr. Qi's room 388, you ran into a bartender? I told you not to meddle in other people's business, but you were quite angry with me."
"Remember." Cheng nodded. All his experiences started from this meeting.
Manager Zhou asked again: "Do you remember the conversation between me and the bartender?"
"Remember a little."
Manager Zhou said: "I asked him, 'Why are you here? Who asked you to come?' He said, 'I'm new, Brother Mao asked me to serve drinks.' This Brother Mao is the bar manager Mao Xiaowei. I brought Mao Xiaowei into the industry, and I treated him well, but he was not an honest person, so I didn't pay much attention to him in recent years."
Cheng Ji waited for his next words.
"Chen Guangjun was at work as usual last night. At 10 or 11 p.m., when there were the most customers, he patrolled near the bar. Mao Xiaowei tried to get close to him and sent one of his colleagues away. Then Chen Guangjun just disappeared."
"Gone?"
Manager Zhou nodded, "Yes, he was probably kidnapped. I was in charge of most of the club's operations, so I didn't notice that a security guard was missing. It wasn't until I got off work at 2:30 in the morning and went home, and was about to go to bed at 3:30, that I suddenly received a call... By the way, do you remember when I took you into Mr. Qi's 388 private room, there was a guy with a plain face and a slick tongue besides Mr. Qi? I called him Mr. Wu."
Cheng Ji also remembered that Mr. Wu was very critical of him, but what he said was true.
Manager Zhou said, "That guy is a seasoned shrew. He usually flatters people and eats and drinks for free. Of course, he is not a 'boss' at all. I have seen him often in the villa in the past few months, but I don't know how he makes a living. I look down on him, so I was surprised to find that he could enter Master Qi's private room. Maybe Master Qi, although he has a high status, knows not to hit someone who smiles at him. He was the one who reported Chen Guangjun's matter to me, and I suspect he was the one who covered Chen Guangjun with a blanket."
"he?"
Manager Zhou nodded: "He gave me an address and asked me to go alone. I didn't trust him and didn't want to go at first, but he said that an employee of the villa was seriously injured and asked me to go and save him. His tone was very anxious and he said that he only trusted me. I was afraid that what he said was true, after all, human life was at stake, so I went and saved the person.
Cheng Ji asked, "Are you alone?"
"I was the only one there. Old Wu repeatedly told me not to bring anyone with me, and in fact I couldn't get any help at three or four in the morning." Manager Zhou said, "The location was an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs, and it was pitch black all around. If Old Wu hadn't sent me the location, I probably wouldn't have been able to find it in another day. Fortunately, Chen Guangjun was lucky enough to wait for me."
Cheng Ji said: "This is too weird!"
Manager Zhou said, "That's right! I was terrified by Chen Guangjun's appearance after I found him, but I was sure he was an employee of our villa, so I immediately carried him to the car. He was only breathing his last breath and was unconscious. I was afraid that he had caused a big disaster, so I didn't dare to take him to the hospital, so I sent him to this clinic."
"Did you contact this man named Wu later?" Cheng Ji asked.
Manager Zhou shook his head: "I couldn't get in touch with him. So I was called out of bed without knowing what was happening, and I saved someone without knowing what was happening, and then you all saw it."
Cheng Ji was also confused by what he said.
Chen Guangjun's injury certainly touched people's hearts, but for Cheng Ji, he was a stranger after all. Since he had already recognized him as his sworn cousin, he would just take good care of him in the future. Manager Zhou's experience was even more bizarre, making people worry whether he was involved in some trouble.
Manager Zhou thought so too. He lowered his voice and said, "Cheng Cheng, can you do me a favor?"
"What's the matter?"
Manager Zhou said, "I saved the man, but I don't know why he became like this. I have a family and I'm timid. Can you help me find Mao Xiaowei in the bar and ask him what happened? No matter if it's good or bad, I need to be prepared."
After he finished speaking, he hurriedly added: "You can refuse, but I don't want to drag you into this. Mao Xiaowei is cunning and has a bad record. I think Chen Guangjun was harmed by him!"
Cheng Ji opened his eyes wide: "Brother Zhou, what are you talking about? Mao Xiaowei beat my cousin like this, even if you don't mention it, I have to ask for an explanation, right?"
Manager Zhou smiled and leaned closer and said, "But don't let your godfather know. I think he might not be able to control his temper and make things worse."
I heard a voice behind me saying, "You're talking about such a small matter behind my back. You're really looking down on me, aren't you? I've been in prison for thirteen years at the worst. Have you ever exceeded that record?"
Cheng Ji and Manager Zhou turned around together and saw Lao Geng standing at the corner with a stern face.
“… Godfather.”
"How much did the uncle hear?" asked Manager Zhou.
"I heard that a piece of trash named Mao was plotting against my nephew."
"What does the old man think?"
Lao Geng said, "Manager Zhou, you are a living Bodhisattva. I want to thank you on behalf of Xiaojun and his deceased father for helping me. You have done me a great deed. Now please go and see my Xiaojun again."
Manager Zhou and Cheng Ji looked at each other and followed Lao Geng back to the ward.
The doctor who looked unprofessional was standing beside the bed, wearing an isolation suit and adjusting the drip rate of the infusion machine for the patient. He reminded through the intercom: "This glass room is my small ICU. You can't come in without disinfection. Do you understand?"
Manager Zhou introduced him, "This is my fellow countryman. If he hadn't made a minor mistake a few years ago, he would still be the best emergency doctor in Hongcheng's top three hospitals. You can rest assured."
The doctor said, "Don't worry, I've killed no more than ten people this year."
He wanted to change the dressing for the patient and asked the family members if they dared to watch and whether they needed to avoid it.
Of course not. Lao Geng and Cheng Ji are both people who can sew their own stitches if they are determined.
The doctor lifted the patient's blanket and saw that he was badly injured beyond recognition - his head, arms, chest, waist, abdomen, legs... were all bruised, swollen and damaged, and all the places that could be put in plaster were covered with plaster. The whole person seemed to have fallen from a great height and smashed into a puddle, then been shoveled up and pieced together again.
Old Geng became angrier and angrier as he watched, tears welling up in his wide-open eyes. Cheng Ji also felt the anger rising in his heart.
The doctor said, "It's okay. It's just a ruptured spleen. It can be cured."
His tone was light, because he had seen a lot.
"Does the spleen need to be removed?" Cheng Ji asked.
The doctor said, "The incision was underneath that piece of gauze. The spleen was removed immediately. I don't have the conditions to perform surgery here, so I borrowed an operating room from my senior. A ruptured spleen in an adult is usually not saveable, and spleen-preserving surgery may leave sequelae, so it's better to remove it completely. If he's lucky enough to survive the infection, he'll be alive."
Cheng Ji asked, "Can you make it through?"
The doctor said, "According to the extent of his injury, the ICU charge for a Class-A hospital is 8,000 yuan a day. It's also 8,000 yuan a day here. The main reason is that the medicine and equipment are expensive. In addition, my assistant and I have to take care of him 24 hours a day, so I'm still losing money. The ICU over there doesn't even dare to guarantee you, so what can I say?"
Cheng Ji asked in surprise: "Can't guarantee it?"
"He has a craniocerebral injury," the doctor said. "It's very troublesome, so be prepared. He needs to be sent to a tertiary hospital if necessary. But if I can't cure him, I guess there won't be many people in Hongcheng who can be saved."
The doctor was busy working, and Lao Geng outside the isolation room burst into tears.
He said to Manager Zhou, "My eldest brother has only this one child. He has always been honest and considerate. He was working well and didn't cause any trouble, so how could he be treated like this? How do I, as his uncle, feel about this? So if you ask Cheng'er to find that guy surnamed Mao, I am willing to do it, and I will also go with him to settle the score with that bastard, otherwise I will not be able to swallow this anger!"
Cheng Ji leaned against the wall and nodded when he heard this.
The ward was equipped with an ultraviolet lamp for disinfection, which was in operation at this moment. It made a hissing sound, and it made his already pale face look a little strange, but he remained calm.
"..." Manager Zhou hesitated, "But I can't take two people with me. I don't know if Mao Xiaowei has any spies watching me. I can only take Cheng Cheng, because he has worked under me before, so it won't be too abrupt if someone sees him."
Cheng Ji agreed immediately: "Okay!"
Lao Geng shouted, "I want to go too!"
Manager Zhou flatly refused: "Absolutely no strangers!"
"I'll go, just me!" Cheng Ji said quickly.
He held Lao Geng down and said, "Godfather, we have to ensure that we have enough manpower. Let me go first. If I come back lying down today, I will have to trouble you to help two people carry their shit and urine!"
"Bah, bah, bah, children's words are beyond measure!"
"Only bring one." Manager Zhou emphasized, "Without me, you can't even touch Mao Xiaowei's heels. Don't think he's easy to deal with. He secretly serves many people. I can't even figure out whose dog he is!"
"I'll go." Cheng Ji's tone left no room for doubt.
"Okay." Manager Zhou said, "Come to my place and change your clothes."
"Um?"
Manager Zhou was not joking: "In order to get closer to the target, you should dress the same way I dressed you that day!"
Cheng Ji understood, but he really didn't want to, so he pretended to be stupid: "Which... which day?"
"The day I asked you to pick up... ahem." Manager Zhou said.
He originally wanted to say "the day I asked you to receive customers", but considering that Lao Geng was present, he changed his mind.
"… "
Cheng Ji remembered that she was wearing fishnet stockings and high heels that day.
He said: "I have no opinion on how to dress, but in order to protect the combatants, it is recommended to equip them with more suitable clothing. How about this, I can tolerate not having tactical pants and frog suits, how about I go on the field naked?"
Manager Zhou asked: "What are frog suits and tactical pants?"
Cheng Ji said it was specially used for fighting, and it was better than fishnet stockings anyway, because those things would tighten the flesh and one couldn't spread the legs.
Manager Zhou asked what you were talking about
Cheng Ji said it was the uniform you sent me that day...
Manager Zhou said, "Oh, as long as you like it."
Cheng Ji said I didn’t like it!
Manager Zhou looked at his watch and said, "It's nine o'clock now. Mao Xiaowei should be on duty today, but it's too early to go now. The bar is just starting to get busy. It's more appropriate to go after midnight. I have to go back to work first. I'll wait for you outside the small door on the east side of the villa at 12:30."
Cheng Ji agreed.
He glanced at his cell phone, which was still turned off. He had developed the habit of turning off his phone when he had nothing to do.
He thought about it and decided not to tell Qi Beisong about this. Although the matter was strange, it was also a family matter and there was no need to trouble Master Qi.