69novels Chapter 3: Nighttime Drug Investigation Leads to the Capture of the Drug Thief
Chapter 3: Nighttime Drug Investigation Leads to the Capture of the Drug Thief
"Do you get me?"
Li Ran nodded silently.
"clear."
"That's good." Chen Qitai stubbed out his cigarette. "Starting tomorrow, you'll be in charge of ward number three. It's full of seriously injured patients who need extra care."
"Yes."
"Also," Chen Qitai glanced at Shen Qiushui, "Nurse Shen is in charge of medication management. Just ask her for what you need. But every time you get medication, there must be a record."
Shen Qiushui handed the notebook in her hand to Li Ranmo.
"This is the medication consumption record book," she said. "You hand it to me every day before you leave work."
Li Ranmo took the notebook, opened it, and looked at it.
The list above shows the names of various medicines, followed by the quantity received and the remaining quantity.
Most of the medicines have zero remaining quantity.
"I understand," he said.
Chen Qitai waved his hand.
"Go ahead and get busy."
Li Ranmo stood up and walked out.
As he reached the door, Chen Qitai called him back.
"Dr. Li."
Li Ran silently turned around.
"When you were in Spain," Chen Qitai said, "did you meet... anyone special?"
Li Ranmo pushed up his glasses.
"Someone special?"
"For example," Chen Qitai said slowly, "some people who are not doctors, but who often hang out near the hospital."
Li Ran thought about it silently.
"I've run into several reporters," he said, "and people from the Red Cross as well."
"Anything else?"
"That's all."
Chen Qitai nodded.
"Go."
Li Ranmo pushed open the door and went out.
The door closed.
Only Chen Qitai and Shen Qiushui remained in the office.
"What do you think of him?" Chen Qitai asked.
Shen Qiushui closed the notebook in her hand.
"Very professional," she said, "but too professional."
"What do you mean?"
"His techniques aren't something you can learn in an ordinary hospital," Shen Qiushui said. "They're more like techniques honed on the battlefield."
Chen Qitai remained silent.
He opened the drawer and took out a document.
The document header is "Background Investigation Form for Returning Personnel".
Li Ranmo's name was written at the very top.
The following columns are all empty.
"I've already sent people to investigate," Chen Qitai said. "To see what he was doing in England and Spain."
Shen Qiushui looked at the document.
"You suspect him?"
"I don't doubt anyone," Chen Qitai said, "but I need to know the background of the doctors under my command."
He paused, then looked at Shen Qiushui.
"You should also pay close attention."
"clear."
It was completely dark outside the window.
Li Ranmo returned to the ward and examined the wounds of several injured soldiers.
The young man with the fever was still unconscious, his forehead burning hot.
Li Ranmo applied a wet towel to his wound, but it didn't help much.
Without medicine, he had no choice but to endure it on his own.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor, very softly.
Li Ranmo turned his head and saw Shen Qiushui walking in carrying a bowl.
"Ginger soup," she said. "It's brewed in the kitchen. Give him some to help him sweat it out."
Li Ranmo took the bowl, lifted the young man's head, and fed him little by little.
Halfway through feeding, the young man coughed, spilling soup all over himself.
Shen Qiushui picked up a towel and helped him dry off.
"You seem to take good care of him," Li Ranmo said.
Shen Qiushui paused for a moment.
"I take care of every wounded person," she said.
"But he's different." Li Ranmo looked into her eyes. "The way you look at him is different."
Shen Qiushui did not respond.
She put the towel back in the basin and picked up the bowl.
"Dr. Li," she said, "was what you said to Vice President Chen just now all true?"
Which part?
"The part that went to Spain."
"It's true."
"Have you ever encountered...?" Shen Qiushui lowered her voice, "...people who weren't doctors or journalists?"
Li Ranmo pushed up his glasses.
"for example?"
"For example, some..." Shen Qiushui carefully chose her words, "people who want to help, but help in different ways."
Li Ranmo looked at her.
The lights in the corridor were dim, casting a half-light, half-dark glow on her face.
"I've encountered it," Li Ranmo said, "but not often."
"What are they doing?"
"To deliver medicine," Li Ranmo said. "And food. Sometimes we deliver intelligence too."
Shen Qiushui's eyes lit up.
"intelligence?"
"Hmm," Li Ranmo said, "For example, which road is safe, which village has an ambush."
"and then?"
"Then the doctors can move the wounded in advance and avoid danger."
Shen Qiushui nodded.
She didn't ask any more questions and left with the bowl.
Li Ran stood there, watching her figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
He knew that Shen Qiushui had taken his words to heart.
Moreover, she wrote it down.
Late at night, the hospital fell silent.
Li Ranmo lay on the bed in the duty room, his eyes closed, but he couldn't fall asleep.
There was a rustling sound coming from outside.
It was very light, but it couldn't escape his ears.
He sat up, put on his shoes, and gently pushed open the door.
The corridor was pitch black.
The sound was coming from the direction of the pharmacy.
Li Ranmo pressed himself against the wall and slowly made his way over.
The pharmacy door was ajar, and a faint light was shining through.
He peered through the crack in the door.
A figure was squatting in front of the shelf, rummaging through something.
Judging from his build, he's a man.
The man rummaged around for a while, took a few bottles of medicine from the shelf, and stuffed them into his pocket.
Then he stood up, turned around, and walked out.
Li Ranmo took a few steps back and hid in the shadows.
The door opened, and the person came out, looked around, and quickly walked towards the stairwell.
Li Ranmo followed.
The man went down to the first floor and slipped out through the back door.
Outside the back door is a narrow alleyway filled with garbage.
The man walked to the middle of the alley and suddenly stopped.
"Come out," he said.
Li Ranmo emerged from the shadows.
The man turned around; he was a man in his thirties, dressed in the uniform of a hospital caregiver.
"Why are you following me?" the man asked.
"What kind of medicine did you take?" Li Ran asked silently.
"What's it to you?"
"I'm a doctor," Li Ranmo said. "I'm in charge of the pharmacy's supplies."
The man smiled.
"You're in charge?" he said. "Who do you think you are?"
He pulled a knife out of his pocket and weighed it in his hand.
"If you know what's good for you, get lost," he said. "Otherwise..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Ran moved.
He took a step forward, grabbed the man's wrist holding the knife with his left hand, pressed it down, and pressed his right elbow against the man's chest.
The man groaned, and the knife fell to the ground.
Li Ranmo slammed his knee into the man's stomach.
The man bent over, and Li Ranmo pressed him to the ground, using his knee to hold down his back.
The whole process took less than three seconds.
"Take out the medicine," Li Ranmo said.
The man struggled twice but couldn't break free.
"You...you motherfucker..."
"Take it out."
The man stopped moving.
Li Ranmo reached into his pocket and took out the bottles of medicine.
It is sulfathiazole.
There are three bottles in total.
"Where did it come from?" Li Ran asked silently.
"That's none of your business!"
Li Ranmo increased the pressure on his hand.
The man cried out in pain.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" he gasped, "It was...it was Section Chief Wang who told me to take it!"
"Section Chief Wang?"
"Section Chief Wang Qingnian from the Department of Health!" the man said. "He told me to come and pick up my medicine every few days and deliver it to him!"
Li Ran silently released his grip.
The man got up, clutching his stomach, glared at him fiercely, and ran away.
Li Ranmo didn't pursue.
He stood there, looking at the three bottles of sulfathiazole in his hand.
At the other end of the alley, behind a window on the second floor.
Shen Qiushui stood in the darkness, watching everything that was happening below.
She saw how Li Ranmo made his move, how he subdued the man, and how he obtained the medicine.
She also saw Li Ranmo turn his head and glance in her direction.
Although it was dark, she felt that he could see her.
Their eyes met briefly in the night.
Then, Li Ranmo turned around and walked back to the hospital.
Shen Qiushui took a step back and drew the curtains.
She leaned against the wall, her heart beating a little fast.
This Dr. Li is definitely suspicious.
Moreover, the problem is significant.