Famous Among Top Surgeons in the 90s

Chapter 35: Respiratory Disease 2
 

After a moment’s pause, Sun Rongfang nodded vigorously, “That’s right, my daughter is polite.”

Aunt Fang and Uncle Fang, the couple, hadn’t expected the instant-noodle-eating mother and daughter to be so bold, and their expression darkened in unison as they stood up and left first. Aunt Fang discussed with her husband while they were walking, “You should’ve just said we were looking for Doctor Lin. Her daughter’s last name is Lin, named Lin Liqiong. Having mentioned her name, we should’ve been able to go see her in the sleeper car.”

“Didn’t they say she was just a medical student?”

“Didn’t you listen carefully? Her mother said she’s an outstanding medical student who prescribes with old professors. Nothing like those two dummies across from us, acting all high and mighty without even being doctors,” Aunt Fang said.

Uncle Fang nodded, agreeing that his wife made sense. He thought to himself that he and his wife were truly clever, while Xie Wanying and Sun Rongfang, the mother and daughter, were truly foolish. Rich people wouldn’t bother with poor people, it should be the other way around.

After the couple had gone, Sun Rongfang took out pickled vegetables and corn sausages, adding them to her daughter’s bowl of instant noodles. Xie Wanying shared some of the contents of her own bowl with her mother. Seeing her daughter’s filial piety made Sun Rongfang very happy.

The mother and daughter enjoyed their noodles together, eating cheerfully.

Unconsciously, the night deepened; the train traveled through the dark as the wind softly blew in through the windows. In those days, trains were green-skinned, and there was no air conditioning at night—the temperature inside the carriage completely depended on the outside climate.

Xie Wanying remembered the slight discomfort at the train station today and in a moment of realization understood it was due to the temperature difference, causing her, with her medical experience, to sense something was off. “Mom, put on the wool sweater before sleeping,” Xie Wanying immediately took out the wool sweater from her luggage bag and draped it over her mother.

“No need, no need, it’s hot,” Sun Rongfang protested.

“Mom, listen to me, this train is heading north at night. The North gets colder and colder. We can’t afford to catch a cold in the night,” Xie Wanying said, “Because I’m going to be a doctor in the future, I understand these things.”

Yes, her daughter was going to be a great doctor, so Sun Rongfang cheerfully accepted her daughter’s suggestion.

When Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang returned to their seats, they saw the mother and daughter across from them, wrapped in wool sweaters as they slept, and laughed outright: What a pair of fools. The weather was so warm that people were in short sleeves, yet they were wearing sweaters? None of the other passengers seemed to be doing the same thing.

Indeed, as it neared the wee hours of the night, the temperature suddenly dropped.

“Why has it suddenly become cold?” Aunt Fang muttered groggily as she awoke.

Uncle Fang shivered in his sleep from the cold.

Looking around, many people were putting on thick clothes, some even pulling out military coats.

Aunt Fang and Uncle Fang took out a thick cotton coat. Now, they still thought the mother and daughter across from them were foolish, thinking: With such cold, shouldn’t they be wearing thick cotton coats?

In fact, this temperature didn’t require a thick cotton coat. After all, it was only autumn. It’s just that those traveling from the South to the North for the first time had never experienced the autumn of the North, only knowing the South’s seasons of wearing short sleeves and thick coats.

As a result, passengers wrapped in thick cotton coats began to feel hot and took them off, like Aunt Fang and Uncle Fang. Sometimes they were hot and removed their coats, other times cold and covered back up. In this way, tossing and turning, they hardly got a good night’s sleep, similar to not being able to sleep well if the comfort level of the blankets at night was insufficient.

In the morning when they woke up on the train, Aunt Fang’s first sensation was discomfort in her throat, thinking: Oh no, could I have caught a cold? In a rush, she nudged her husband’s shoulder, “I’m going to look for Doctor Lin, she should have some medicine.”