Compared to the bustling crowd outside, the hospital ward was much quieter. When Yang Ping arrived at the ward, an elderly patient in her eighties was sitting at the nurse's station, insisting on being discharged. She had been trying to call her children without success and was sulking about it. A nurse beside her was gently persuading her, and after considerable effort, finally coaxed the patient back to her room.
"Wasn't this patient scheduled to be discharged before the holiday?" Yang Ping asked.
The nurse shook her head and sighed, "Their family originally said so, but on the 30th they called us and changed their mind, saying they would come to pick up the elderly after the holiday. When I pressed for a reason, they said they were traveling outside. In fact, the family had planned to leave the elderly in the hospital and go on their own trip before the holiday."
