Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 305 I Absolutely Can't Bear That

There was a state-run restaurant next to the guesthouse. After having a delicious meal there, Chen Fan asked someone for directions to the barbershop and went in to get a haircut before it closed.

The barber was wearing a white coat and a mask, looking like a head chef in a cafeteria. The shop had two long rows of barber chairs, and large glass mirrors on the walls. Underneath the mirrors, long cabinets held barber tools. From a distance, it looked alright, but up close, you could see the scattered hair clippings.

The haircut cost 3 cents, no receipt needed. After paying and getting a receipt, Chen Fan sat with his eyes closed in the corner on a barber chair covered in dandruff, randomly choosing an old-fashioned hairstyle and letting the barber do whatever he wanted.

He hadn't had a haircut in months, and his hair was covering his eyes and ears. If he hadn't washed his hair every day, he would have looked slovenly. There was a state-run barbershop in Nanhu Town, but Chen Fan hadn't had time to go there. Taking advantage of his trip to Yunhu, he decided to get his hair cut.

With her new hairstyle, she went back to the guesthouse to shower and do laundry, and didn't go to bed until 9 p.m.

At 6 a.m. the next morning, Chen Fan woke up on time due to his biological clock.

First, I took a towel and toothbrush to the washroom to wash up. When I came back, Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang were also getting up.

Chen Fan put his things away, took the new clothes he had washed the night before from outside the window, and touched them. They were in good condition; the wind had dried them overnight. By the time Zhang Juemin and the others returned, he had already changed into them.

Zhang Wenliang froze on the spot as soon as he entered the door.

Zhang Juemin nudged him from behind, "Come on, why are you blocking the door?"

Then I saw a completely transformed Chen Fan.

A simple side-parted hairstyle, on Chen Fan's face, somehow gave him the look of a movie actor. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt, dark blue trousers, and brand-new leather shoes.

Chen Fan picked up the polyester-cotton reversible shirt, shook it gently, and then draped it over his back to put it on. What a handsome young man!
Zhang Wenliang couldn't help but click his tongue, "If you walk out like that, you'll be the envy of every young woman and housewife on the street!"

Zhang Juemin put down the washbasin, looked at Chen Fan and clicked his tongue, "No wonder you insisted on buying clothes yesterday. Wearing these clothes really makes you look different."

Previously, Chen Fan wore soft, coarse cloth that was not only wrinkled but also wobbly when worn, unlike this outfit which made him look much more presentable.

Chen Fan accepted their compliments without question. He slung his briefcase over his shoulder, packed all other items into his travel bag, and took out the few rice balls he had left. He smiled at them and said, "Thank you for the compliments. You can have a few more rice balls later."

As he said this, he was about to go out.

Zhang Juemin was slightly taken aback. "Where are you going?"

Chen Fan turned halfway around and smiled at him, "Go borrow a pot to heat up your food. Didn't you say we should save money?"

Zhang Juemin immediately gave a thumbs up, "Hey, that's right."

Chen Fan returned shortly afterward, and the three of them devoured the rice balls using the hot water in the room, thus having breakfast.

Seeing that it was almost time, I went downstairs to check out and headed to the health department.

Despite their discomfort, Zhang Wenliang and Zhang Juemin rode the bus for several stops before finally getting off at the stop before reaching the health department. After a series of loud slurs, the three of them continued on their way.

After walking for about ten minutes, they saw a three-story building. Above the entrance to the building were several large characters made of cement: "Yunhu City Health Department." The three of them knew they had arrived at their destination.

Surprisingly, the health department didn't have any security guards; the gate was just left wide open, allowing people to come and go as they pleased.

However, a large organization is still a large organization, and it doesn't change just because the office building is small. The clean walls, smooth floors, and bright windows all give people a sense of inexplicable majesty.

Chen Fan glanced at the two of them and, seeing that they were both a little hesitant, smiled, pointed inside, and said, "We've arrived. Let's go in."

After saying that, he stepped up the steps and went inside.

Zhang Wenliang and Zhang Juemin exchanged a glance and quickly followed behind.

Once inside, Chen Fan looked around and saw that many people were already at work, walking back and forth in a hurry, all seemingly very busy.

Just as Chen Fan was about to ask someone, a voice came from the side, "Who are you looking for?"

Looking up at the sound, they saw a young man in his thirties looking at them curiously. He quickly pulled out a prepared letter of introduction and said with a smile, "Hello, I am Chen Fan from Lujiawan Production Brigade, Nanhu Commune, Gufeng County..."

Before he could finish speaking, the young man looked at him with surprise, "You're Chen Fan? How come you're so young?"

After pausing for a moment, realizing that what he said might be inappropriate, he quickly explained, "Hello, hello, my name is Yan Liyuan. I am in charge of medical service standards and medical science education in the bureau. The first aid manual you compiled was the first one I came into contact with and then reported to the leaders."

His eyes were full of amazement as he looked at Chen Fan. "We all thought that the author of this manual was an old doctor. We didn't expect you to be so young."

At this moment, several people around him heard his words and rushed over. One of them looked at Chen Fan and asked, "No way, he's Chen Fan?"

"So young!" "Really?"

Hearing the questioning, Zhang Juemin immediately became displeased. Ignoring everything else, he stepped forward and said, "Comrade Yan, right? The first aid manual you mentioned is one I took notes on in Professor Chen's class. I can assure Mr. Li that there is absolutely not a single falsehood in it."

Yan Liyuan snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Zhang Juemin. "You must be Comrade Zhang Juemin?"

Zhang Juemin nodded vigorously, "It's me."

Chen Fan's expression remained unchanged. He was indeed young, and in the medical field where "the older you are, the more valuable you become," it was normal for others to have doubts. As long as he could prove that he did have the skills, they would have nothing to say.

Once no one was talking, he handed the letter of introduction forward again, saying, "This is a letter of introduction from our production team, and also a certificate written by Director Wang of Nanhu Health Center."

Yan Liyuan quickly took it, glanced at it briefly, then looked up and said apologetically, "Sorry, sorry, I misunderstood."

He looked around again, then pointed forward, "You see, this isn't the place to talk. Come sit in my office first, the boss will be here in a bit."

Chen Fan had no objection and followed him inside.

The others, however, did not disperse; they remained in place, watching their retreating figures and discussing amongst themselves.

"If you said the older one was Chen Fan, I would have thought it was normal, but it turns out it's the younger one. I've really opened my eyes today."

"Medical skills are something that can't be faked if they're genuine, and faked if they're not. We'll find out if we talk to Director Hao for a bit when he gets here."

"Since he dared to come, he must not be afraid of your inspection. I guess this young man must be quite capable."

"Alright, alright, there's no point in you guessing all this time. If you ask me, we should hurry up and find out if this Dr. Chen is married or not. If he isn't, then we've struck gold!"

"As expected of someone in political work, Sister Zhou, you're the one!"

……

Chen Fan and the other two followed Yan Liyuan into the office. Yan Liyuan closed the door to shut out the chatter outside, invited them to sit down, and then made tea for them from a thermos. He smiled and said, "You're here so early. Did you arrive last night?"

Zhang Juemin took the initiative to speak, nodded and said, "Yes, I arrived yesterday afternoon. I was afraid you would be off work, so I found a guesthouse to stay overnight and then rushed over early this morning."

Yan Liyuan placed the water cups in front of them, then pulled up a chair and sat down opposite them, laughing, "You don't know, our bureau has been waiting for you so long. Even if you arrive in the middle of the night, we guarantee we'll treat you with the utmost care, let alone in the afternoon."

Hearing this, the slight resentment in Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang's hearts dissipated a little.

He paused for a moment, then turned to look at the composed Chen Fan, before turning to Yan Liyuan and saying solemnly, “Comrade Yan, I’m not afraid to tell you frankly, our Teacher Chen’s skills are extraordinary. I won’t go into detail about everything he knows, but I can guarantee that he taught me all the first aid knowledge. That’s absolutely true.”

Zhang Wenliang chimed in, "Professor Chen is also a cultured man. Have you read the issue of 'Jiangnan Literature' published this month? The article 'On the Fields of Hope' in it is Professor Chen's work. This month's issue is only the first part; there are still several more issues to come. Moreover, Professor Chen is still writing. Why would he pretend to be a doctor? No matter how skilled a doctor is, he's not necessarily more noble than a great writer..."

Chen Fan stared blankly for a moment, then quickly said, "Don't say that. There is no distinction between noble and lowly professions. Moreover, for the vast majority of ordinary people, doctors are definitely more important. Healing the sick and saving lives is something that writers can't compare to."

Yan Liyuan looked at Chen Fan with a face full of surprise, "I have indeed read that article. So it was also written by you. My apologies!"

Just as Chen Fan was about to say something modest, he heard him say, "I apologize again for my questioning earlier."

Yan Liyuan looked at the three of them and said seriously, "The main thing is that the first aid methods recorded in this first aid manual are indeed of very high practical value. The other contents are fine, but the most important thing is the airway obstruction removal method. There was no good way to deal with this in China before, which caused many unnecessary deaths."

Recorded cases show that over 3000 people die each year from suffocation due to foreign objects entering the airway, and the number of unrecorded deaths is unknown. Many of these patients die in the emergency room; with their airways blocked, doctors have far too little time to prepare. The doctor isn't even ready for surgery before the patient is already…

At this point, he sighed slightly, then looked up at Chen Fan, "After receiving the first aid manual reported by Gufeng County, we immediately verified it and summoned the directors of the emergency departments of the hospitals directly under the Health Department to study and discuss it together."

Coincidentally, after the training session ended that day, Director Du from the First Hospital encountered a patient whose airway was blocked. He immediately used the "airway foreign body removal method" to rescue the patient. In just over ten seconds, the foreign object in the patient's throat was expelled, and the patient recovered and left on his own without any further treatment.

The value of this method is so great that he immediately reported it to the bureau. In the following days, the Municipal Central Hospital and the Third People's Hospital used this emergency treatment method to save two more patients. That's why we hope you can come and personally guide us on this emergency treatment method.

In addition, if possible, we hope to compile this first aid manual into a complete medical book, both for promotion within the medical system and for easy dissemination to the public, so that more people can master these methods.

After all, many patients don't make it to the hospital. If someone nearby knows this method, they can provide emergency care and save more lives.

After finishing his long speech, Yan Liyuan looked at Chen Fan with a solemn expression and said, "If you agree, our director has decided that this book can be named 'Chen's First Aid Method'."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang's eyes lit up. So, is our Teacher Chen going to become famous throughout the country?

Chen Fan, however, was covered in cold sweat and quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, no, no, please don't. Many first aid methods are actually readily available. I just compiled them together. I am not worthy of this name."

(End of this chapter)