# Chapter 248: Seventeenth Hospital
"Hey, you there, the long-armed long-legged young man!" Outside an old residential complex, an old lady carrying several bags of vegetables and fruits stood at the intersection calling out.
The hurried passersby did not turn back, but the old lady spoke again, "That tall and handsome young man... not you two ugly ones, the one in black clothes."
The two young men who had been smiling and ready to turn around to help walked away with dark faces. Xu Huo finally turned back, smiling slightly, "Ma'am, are you calling me?"
The old lady's eyes lit up, "Yes, yes, that's you. Young man, you're so good-looking, with such a kind face. You look like a good lad. Could you give me a hand and help me carry these things?"
Xu Huo walked over and picked up the items, supporting her arm with one hand, "Ma'am, where do you live?"
"Red Star Community up ahead." The old lady held his hand, her face wrinkled with smiles. "Some damn little bastard stole my shopping cart. I don't know who. It tired my old bones out just going to buy groceries. I almost threw out my back."
"Young men as kind-hearted as you are rare these days. If my grandson were still alive, he'd definitely have grown as tall as you, and been just as good."
"Not at all. Kind-hearted people are still the majority." Xu Huo said with a smile. "I saw someone wanted to help you just now."
But the old lady tightened her grip on his hand, "They have bad faces. I don't want them. I want you. Young man, how old are you this year? Are you married? If my granddaughter were still alive, I'd definitely introduce her to you. She was so beautiful. Even at ten or so, she was already a beauty. Many neighbors wanted to arrange childhood engagements!"
Xu Huo helped her into the complex and, following her directions, headed toward Building Three.
"Young man, I haven't seen you around here before. You don't live in this area. Are you here visiting relatives?" The old lady looked at him with affection.
"I'm looking for someone. I heard an old professor lives in Red Star Community. Have you heard of him? A very famous psychiatrist." Xu Huo asked.
"No!" The old lady let go of his hand, her expression switching between disgust and smiles, then she hunched over and said, "Oh dear, I can't walk anymore. I can't climb up to the sixth floor!"
Xu Huo glanced at the elevator, which showed it was under maintenance, and said, "How about I carry you up?"
"Can you carry me?" The old lady waved her hand. "I know you young people these days. None of you can carry anything on your shoulders or lift anything with your hands. When outsiders come in to cause trouble, you don't help and even take advantage of the situation. Useless things, neither good to look at nor good for anything."
She then took out five yuan and handed it to Xu Huo, "Go, buy me a drink from outside the complex. One of those energy drinks you young people like."
Xu Huo put down the items and walked a short distance before he heard the old lady lowering her voice to make a phone call. He smiled slightly, went to the supermarket to buy the drink, and on his way back, happened to run into a small old man leaning on a cane, hunched over as he walked past him.
Xu Huo reached out and patted his shoulder, "Dean Lin."
"You, you, you've mistaken me for someone else. Dean Lin lives in Building Six..." The little old man bent over, staring at the ground, trying to leave.
Xu Huo grabbed his shoulder, "I need to talk to you about something. Don't rush off."
"You damn loan shark, let go!" The old lady threw vegetables at him and shouted to the old man, "Old thing, run! I'm old. I don't believe they dare do anything to me!"
Xu Huo dodged the items, and afraid she might fall, he pulled her up. But the old lady took the opportunity to sit down on the ground, wailing, "Help! Loan sharks are bullying the elderly!"
Some passersby nearby saw this and seemed unfazed. A few had already taken out their phones.
"I'm not a loan shark." Xu Huo said. "Dean Lin, I was treated at your hospital twenty years ago."
The little old man finally straightened his back to look at him. After studying him for a good while, he said, "I remember you. Your name is Xu... Xu... Xu Huo! A very clever child!"
"It's been twenty years. You still remember what I look like?" Xu Huo was quite surprised.
"The few children who came into that hospital back then were all exceptionally smart. Hard to forget." The little old man pulled his wife up and brushed the dust off her. "It's fine. This is a former patient of mine."
The old lady immediately became all smiles again, taking Xu Huo's hand, "Young man, you're so handsome. If my granddaughter were still alive, I'd definitely make you my grandson-in-law. Are you hungry? Let me fry you a couple of dishes. Come eat at my place."
"He came specially to see us, so of course we'll eat. You go upstairs first and steam the rice. We'll be right up." Professor Lin said cheerfully.
The old lady happily left.
Professor Lin turned to Xu Huo and said, "Don't mind her. Our son and daughter-in-law died early, and after our grandson and granddaughter passed away, she became like this. But her condition is still manageable."
Xu Huo picked up the items and followed him upstairs. Looking at the dirty and chaotic stairwell, he asked, "Why are you living here?"
Professor Lin turned back to glance at him, "Don't you know? I stopped being a dean long ago."
"More than ten years ago, I resigned from the Seventeenth Hospital and never worked at any hospital again. After working in hospitals for so many years, I've seen through the warmth and coldness of human relationships, life and death. I didn't want to continue anymore..."
"I heard that before you worked at the Seventeenth Hospital, you were fired from your previous hospital for repeated drunkenness." Xu Huo stared at him expressionlessly.
Professor Lin looked extremely embarrassed, scratching his thinning hair, "Is that so? Ah, I'm old. I can't remember anymore."
"Because of your record, no hospital was willing to hire you afterward. I want to know who it was that invited you to be the dean of the Seventeenth Hospital." Xu Huo said.
"That I wouldn't know. I only heard his surname was Zhu, a businessman. The person who signed contracts and paid my salary was always his secretary. I never met him in person." Professor Lin said.
As they spoke, they reached the sixth floor. The old lady was waiting at the door. She took the items from Xu Huo's hands, told him to sit down and have some tea, then went to the kitchen to cook.
Although Xu Huo had a feeling the old couple's life might not be good, he didn't expect them to be this poor. The place was practically bare. There wasn't even a proper dining table, just a few plastic stools by the coffee table.
"Please sit, please sit." Professor Lin wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead and asked, "Did you come this time to find out who funded the establishment of the Seventeenth Hospital? Why don't you go ask the hospital? The current dean should know."
"The Seventeenth Hospital has disappeared." Xu Huo said. "Not just the hospital building, but even any related records have been erased."
"I went to check the records of patients transferred to the Seventeenth Hospital. During the years the hospital existed, there were patient exchanges with other hospitals and institutions. Logically, those places should have records, but now they can't be found. I also looked at the files of patients transferred in and out. The part about the hospital is blank."