Eating was the only solution. He was truly starving. Only when he was able to gorge himself freely did he finally feel better.
It was truly delicious.
Why hadn't he realized before how delicious food could be?
Several kitchen aunties stood there uneasily, trembling all over. Their hands holding the food trays shook uncontrollably. They were terrified.
They had misconceptions about mental patients.
The news on TV about mental patients never reported anything good.
Ding Ye noticed that Lin Fan had been missing for a long time. Her intuition, honed from her time working at the mental hospital, told her something must have happened.
She asked her colleagues if they had seen Lin Fan, but they all shook their heads, saying they hadn't.
In the kitchen.
Lin Fan ate his fill. The food in front of him had all been devoured by him alone. He rubbed his round belly contentedly, then looked at the kitchen aunties and calmly said, "I'm full."
One of the aunties looked at the tomato and scrambled egg sauce staining the corners of Lin Fan's mouth. It was red, just like blood, and it kept dripping down.
Suddenly.
The auntie clutched her chest, her breathing became rapid, and she fainted.
"Ah!"
"The mental patient is eating people..."
The kitchen aunties screamed their lungs out.
Lin Fan, with a smile on his face, blinked and quietly watched the scene unfold.
The orderlies rushed in, panicked. If a patient did something irreparable, it would be their negligence.
"Quick, call 120 (emergency services)."
"She's having a heart attack."
Fortunately, the orderlies were also proficient in first aid and could handle special situations calmly.
Wee-ooh! Wee-ooh! Wee-ooh!
An ambulance drove into the mental hospital. The ambulance driver had become accustomed to treating this place as a regular stop. He felt a little out of sorts if he didn't come here every few days.
The doctor and nurse got out of the ambulance.
They thought to themselves, are we going to meet that young man again?
He really knows how to cause trouble.
The vice-president wasn't happy about Lin Fan's arrival, but saving lives was their duty. Since something had happened, how could they ignore it?
"Huh!"
The doctor and nurse looked at the patient and showed surprised expressions. It wasn't the young man they were expecting. For some reason, they felt a faint sense of disappointment.
"Quick, quick, the patient is having a heart attack."
Ding Ye told the doctor about the patient's condition.
The doctor and nurse stopped thinking about other things and quickly put the patient in the ambulance.
Wee-ooh! Wee-ooh! Wee-ooh!
The ambulance's taillights drifted and gradually disappeared from the mental hospital.
In the office.
Director Hao stood by the window, watching the ambulance drive away. He silently lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, inhaling not smoke, but worry.
Sigh!
He already knew the details. It wasn't Lin Fan who was sent to the hospital, but the patient sent to the hospital was related to him. He could even scare the kitchen staff into fainting just by eating. He really didn't know what to say.
The most troublesome thing hadn't happened yet, but it was coming soon.
Knock, knock!
Several kitchen aunties knocked on the door and came in. Seeing Director Hao, they immediately started chattering, their meaning clear: We can't handle this kind of work. Please find someone else.
We have grandchildren to take care of.
We have man-children to support.
We are still young, maybe we will have a second spring. It's too dangerous here. We are afraid. We want to resign.
Ding Ye, who followed them in, tried to persuade the aunties not to make a fuss, saying that they could discuss things calmly. This kind of thing only happened once and would definitely not happen again. She hoped they could understand.
"Cough!"
Director Hao had smoked a bit too much, and his throat was uncomfortable. But cigarettes could alleviate his worries and helplessness, so he couldn't stop smoking.
Director Hao didn't turn around and said calmly, "How much of a raise do you want?"
These words were powerful. Director Hao might very well be a hidden, peerless expert. With just one sentence, he silenced the noisy aunties.
Silence!
Exceptional silence!
The aunties looked at each other, seeing joy in each other's eyes.
"Director Hao, you know, we love our current jobs. We already consider this place our home."
"How about this, an extra two hundred."
The aunties were uneasy, unsure if Director Hao would agree.
The office fell silent again. They could even hear the beating of their hearts. This was a business negotiation between the kitchen aunties and the director. Everyone had their bottom line.
The aunties' bottom line was two hundred.
And Director Hao's bottom line was...
Director Hao extinguished his cigarette butt in the ashtray beside him, turned to look at them, and raised three fingers domineeringly.
"I'll give you three hundred."
Uproar!
The kitchen aunties' faces lit up with joy, their souls dancing with happiness.
"Thank you, Director Hao."
"Director Hao is such a good person."
Director Hao waved his hand. "Go back to work. Just remember, the patients in my Qingshan Mental Hospital won't hurt anyone, as long as you don't discriminate against them."
"If you communicate with them with your heart, you'll find they're not actually sick, it's just... Oh, forget it, you wouldn't understand. Go on."
The kitchen aunties left, satisfied.
They had asked for two hundred.
But Director Hao gave them three hundred. He was such a good person.
As long as there's a raise, anything you say is right.
After everyone left.
Orderly Ding Ye said self-reproachfully, "Director, it was my negligence that led to this. I'm willing to take full responsibility. I will bear any consequences."
"Orderly Ding, you are an excellent orderly. The patients all like you. Don't blame yourself for a small matter. Go back to work. There will be a group of volunteers coming to the mental hospital in a few days. You should take good care of them," Director Hao said.
"Yes, Director." Ding Ye replied, then asked curiously, "Director, you just mentioned volunteers. Are there actually people willing to volunteer here?"
Director Hao smiled. "Of course. After graduation season at the four major universities, many good young people will come to Yanhai City. One-Eyed wants them to understand the meaning of guardianship and their own good fortune. He insisted on using my mental hospital for their experience. He's really sick."
Ding Ye understood the first half of the sentence.
The second half was confusing.
One-Eyed?
The meaning of guardianship?
Their own good fortune?
If she couldn't understand it, she wouldn't think about it. It wasn't something an orderly like her should worry about. As long as she did her job well, that was the most important thing.
Night.
News viewing time.
The mental patients were all sitting there obediently. When the short-haired female anchor appeared, the scene erupted.
"That's my mom! My mom came to see me last time!"
"That's my girlfriend! Look, that's my girlfriend!"
"Hmph, you cowardly rat! You didn't dare come to the lakeside on the night of the full moon, but you only dare to appear here! I challenge you to a duel! On the night of the full moon, in the woods! Do you dare accept?"
"I will leave no armor of yours intact!"