“The Miner’s Daughter”3
11 Night Scene
Cast: Zhao Renjie, Yang Jialing, Wang Xiaofen
Time: Evening of the following day
Location: Houtong Health Station
△ The next evening, Jialing brings two packed dinners to the health station. Renjie and Xiaofen are tidying equipment and preparing to close.
Renjie: (smiling) “Little sister, you make me feel like I have a home.”
Xiaofen: (low voice to the doctor) “This girl is quite attentive to you.”
Renjie: (pretending ignorance) “Oh? Is that so?”
Xiaofen: “Yes. Women’s intuition.”
Renjie: (silly smile) “Alright, Miss Intuition, could you please disinfect today’s used syringes and forceps first?”
Xiaofen: “Got it. You want to send me away so you can talk privately with the girl.”
Renjie: (shaking his head, wry smile) “What are you talking about, Miss Wang?”
△ Xiaofen knowingly goes to the equipment room to tidy up.
Jialing: “My mother specially asked me to bring this. Doctor, is my father better?”
Renjie: “Your mother is very considerate. Your father’s coughing has improved a lot. He can be discharged in two days. However, if your home is a wooden house, I think he should still stay here for a while.”
Jialing: “How could I possibly feel comfortable about that, doctor?”
Renjie: “Call me Brother Zhao. It feels more natural that way.”
Jialing: “Alright, I will respectfully comply.”
Renjie: (smiling) “In two days, bring the referral form I give you and take your father to the Miners’ Hospital. Find the chief ENT doctor there and ask whether he is willing to perform lung lavage for your father.”
Jialing: “Mm, Brother Zhao. After hearing what you said last night, that I look like your deceased younger sister, there must be some story behind this. I am a little curious.”
Renjie: (sadly) “My younger sister passed away five years ago, from shock caused by asthma. I was studying in medical school at that time. When I rushed home from school, her body had already been placed in a freezer. Sigh…”
Jialing: “You must have been very sad at that time, Brother.”
Renjie: “Yes. I cried. I was heartbroken. From that day on, I decided to become an ENT doctor.”
Jialing: “You must have had a very good relationship with your sister.”
Renjie: (sighing) “Yes. She was my only younger sister. I spoiled her very much since childhood, but her constitution was weak. She had asthma and was easily allergic.”
Jialing: “What about your parents?”
Renjie: “My father was a squadron leader in an air force fighter unit. He died in an aircraft crash during a mission when I was in the second year of high school. As for my mother, my impression of her is rather vague. She died in the year my sister was born.”
Jialing: “Then after your father’s plane crash, wouldn’t you and your sister have become orphans?”
Renjie: (sighs) “I relied on the pension left by my father to complete medical school. I should have properly taken care of my sister. If I had been at home at that time, this unfortunate incident would not have happened.”
Jialing: (comforting) “Big brother, life and death are determined by fate. Your sister leaving you was also arranged by heaven.”
Renjie: “Perhaps. The world is vast and people are scattered everywhere. I never expected to meet you here. This must also be destiny.”
Renjie: (removes his doctor’s white coat) “These past few years, I have lived very lonely, alone and wandering like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
Jialing: (curious) “Hunchback of Notre Dame? I heard my classmates mention it. It is a movie. The male lead is extremely ugly, but kind-hearted. Why would you compare yourself to the Hunchback of Notre Dame?”
Renjie: (smiling) “It is not that I have no classmates or friends, nor that I have no chance to have a girlfriend. I simply do not like wasting time on entertainment. I am determined to become a famous ENT doctor. Therefore, I spend all my spare time reading reference books and academic papers.”
Jialing: “That is very good. You are enriching your professional knowledge. You have very high ambition, big brother.”
Renjie: “Little sister, do you know why I chose to transfer here?”
Jialing: (shakes head) “I don’t know. What is the reason?”
Renjie: “I told my friends, including your mother, that I did not like having a supervisor constantly nagging in my ear. But actually, actually it is because I heard that many miners in the mining area suffer from ‘silicosis’. This is an incurable disease with no specific medicine. I felt it would be a very meaningful challenge for me, so I chose to transfer here.”
Jialing: (admiring his courage) “Mm, big brother is a person with insight.”
Renjie: “Little sister, although this is not really a secret, I do not want you to tell others.”
Jialing: “I won’t. If big brother doesn’t let me say it, I will not tell anyone.”
12 Day Scene
Cast: Yang Jialing, Xu Congming, Yu Tianmei, Wu Manmei, customer Huang Daqian, Zhang Da, and several others
Time: Weekend noon in early November
Location: Houtong Tianmei’s Ruyi Restaurant
△ Customers continue to arrive. Tianmei and Manmei are stir-frying dishes and cooking noodles, sweating heavily. Jialing washes and cuts vegetables. Congming serves tables, collects dishes, and washes bowls. Due to language differences, amusing misunderstandings occur.
Customer A: “One serving of stir-fried pork intestines with ginger, sliced boiled pork, pickled vegetable bamboo shoot soup, and a large bowl of rice.”
Manmei: “Okay, coming right away.”
Huang Daqian: “Boss lady, one Hakka-style pork bun and sour cabbage pork tripe soup.”
Tianmei: “Okay okay okay, coming right away. Sir, do you want anything else?”
Huang Daqian: “That’s all.”
Zhang Da: “Boss lady, give me a large bowl of dry noodles. I want sesame sauce added.”
Tianmei: “Sir, I am very sorry. We sell noodles but we do not sell mahjong. The stationery store across the street sells it. They also sell playing cards.”
Zhang Da: “What mahjong and playing cards? I want sesame sauce noodles.”
△ The surrounding customers immediately burst into laughter.
Tianmei: (realizing) “We do not sell sesame sauce noodles. The Hakka pork bun is very tasty. Would you like to order one?”
Zhang Da: “Hakka pork bun? I have only heard of a sheep entering a tiger’s mouth. What is a tiger biting a pig?”
Tianmei: “It is a bun filled with pork belly and pickled vegetables. Please try it.”
Zhang Da: “Isn’t that just a meat bun?”
Tianmei: “More or less. There is also a famous Hakka dish called stir-fried pork intestines with ginger. It tastes very good. Would you like to try it?”
Zhang Da: (face turning green) “Zombie intestines? Can that even be eaten? Boss lady, don’t scare me. Do you Hakka people eat zombie intestines?”
Tianmei: (laughs) “Not that kind of zombies that jump out at night and bite people. You misunderstood.”
△ Customers laugh again. Xu Congming holds his stomach, trying not to laugh out loud. Jialing glares at him, signaling not to be rude to customers.
Customer D: “Boss lady, we work here and rely on your restaurant for all three meals. Everything you say is interesting, and you have all kinds of hometown flavors. Truly a restaurant worthy of its name.”
Tianmei: “No, no. Everyone is just earning a living. It is you who do not mind.”
Customer A: “Boss lady, you are very funny. The TV station should invite you to act as a comedy performer.”
△ All customers laugh. Tianmei still does not understand when she made a joke, and can only laugh foolishly along with them.
13 NIGHT SCENE
People: Yang Jialing, Yang Tiansi, outpatient doctor, nurse
Time: Saturday evening in mid-November
Scene: Mining Hospital outpatient clinic
△ Jialing accompanies her father Tiansi, seated on the ENT examination chair in the outpatient clinic, waiting for the nurse to call the number.
Nurse: “Number 45, Yang Tiansi.”
Jialing: “Coming.”
△ Jialing helps her father into the consultation room.
Doctor: “Where are you feeling unwell?”
Jialing: “Doctor, my father suffers from silicosis. A while ago he had bronchial inflammation and coughed blood.”
Doctor: “How long has it been since the onset?”
Tiansi: “About six years.”
Doctor: “That is already quite a long time. Have you been seen here before?”
Jialing: “He came for outpatient visits a few times when it first started.”
Doctor: “Nurse, bring out Mr. Yang’s medical record.”
Nurse: “Yes, doctor.”
Doctor: “Please lift up your shirt.”
△ Yang Tiansi lifts his shirt. The doctor’s stethoscope moves across his chest and back for more than a minute. The doctor removes the stethoscope, his expression grave.
Doctor: “Mr. Yang, to have lasted six years with this illness is already very difficult. You should have been mentally prepared long ago.”
Tiansi: “Doctor, I know. I also do not intend to continue burdening my wife and children.”
Jialing: “Doctor, I heard there is a lung-washing therapy that can slow the disease?”
Doctor: “Who did you hear that from? Which doctor told you this?”
Jialing: “Doctor, could you please answer my question?”
Doctor: “There is indeed a lung-washing therapy in foreign medical literature, but it only exists in clinical experiments. Because the risk is too high, no doctor in this country has ever adopted it. To avoid medical disputes, we have never used it. You are the first patient to make such a request.”
Nurse: “Doctor, Mr. Yang Tiansi’s medical record is here.”
△ The doctor quickly scans through the pages of the medical record.
Doctor: “I will prescribe two weeks of cough suppressant and anti-allergy medicine for you first. Later, follow the nurse to take an X-ray. Come back next week for a follow-up, review the X-ray, and get another two weeks of medicine.”
Jialing: “Doctor, about the lung-washing therapy…”
Doctor: “I’m sorry, I still have patients waiting.”
△ Jialing supports her father and leaves the consultation room in disappointment.
14 NIGHT SCENE
People: Zhao Renjie, Yang Jialing, Yang Tiansi, Wang Xiaofen, Xu Congming
Time: Saturday evening in mid-November
Scene: Houtong Health Station
△ Jialing brings two packed dinners and supports her father Tiansi into the health station.
Xiaofen: (frowning, impatient) “Why are you here at this time? We are about to close.”
Renjie: “Miss Wang, you may leave work first.”
Xiaofen: “No rush. You are off tomorrow, so tonight I prepared hot pot for you.”
Renjie: “No need. I still have inpatients to take care of tomorrow. I appreciate your kindness in advance.”
Xiaofen: (shaking her head while removing her nurse uniform) “You really are alone, you must take care of your body! You even refuse to take a day off. You are the first workaholic I have ever met. I am impressed.”
△ The Yang father and daughter enter the consultation room.
Renjie: “Little sister, what did the chief physician at the Mining Hospital say?”
Jialing: (disappointed, shaking her hand) “The doctor refused to perform that treatment. He said he did not want to take the risk.”
Renjie: “As I expected. Little sister, then you should go back and discuss it properly with your mother.”
Tiansi: “No need to discuss with my wife. Doctor, my consent alone is enough. The doctors at the Mining Hospital said I have this disease and will eventually go. In that case, I will let you try it as an experiment. If I survive, I may live a few more years—that would be my gain. If I don’t survive, I have no regrets.”
Renjie: (smiling) “Uncle, legally we still need your wife’s consent.”
Tiansi: (struggling, turning to Jialing) “Ah Ling, call the neighbor Xu Fuguì’s house. Ask your mother to come to the phone. I will personally tell her I agree to Doctor Zhao’s treatment. Then ask her to bring her seal and come sign the consent form.”
△ Jialing makes the call.
Jialing: “Congming, is that you?”
Congming: “It’s me, Jialing. Where are you?”
Jialing: “I am at the health station. Please go to the eatery and ask my mother to come answer the phone. My father has something urgent to tell her.”
Congming: “Okay, wait a moment.”
△ After a while, You Tianmei’s voice comes through the receiver.
Tianmei: “Ah Ling, what urgent matter does your father have for me?”
Jialing: “Mother, father wants to speak to you on the phone.”
△ Jialing hands the receiver to her father.
Tiansi: “Ah Tian, Doctor Zhao at the health station wants to wash my lungs. He says this treatment carries risks, and your consent is required.”
Tianmei: “Ah Si, what should I do?”
Tiansi: “Ask Ah Mei to bring your seal and mine over to sign the consent form.”
Tianmei: “I understand. I will have Ah Zhen bring it over now. Anything else?”
Tiansi: “No, that’s all for now.”
△ Tiansi hangs up. Renjie takes the Yang father and daughter to the ward and turns on the lights.
Jialing: “Brother, tomorrow is Sunday. I can stay and accompany my father.”
Renjie: “Alright. You may stay, but do not talk too late with your father. He must conserve his strength. After I arrange everything in these two days, I will perform the lung lavage for him.”
15 NIGHT SCENE
People: Yang Jialing, Yang Tiansi
Time: Saturday night in mid-November
Scene: Houtong Health Station (All dialogue in Hakka)
△ Yang Tiansi leans on the bed, his lower body covered by a blanket, looking at the rain outside the window. Memories surface in his mind. He is lost in thought and does not notice when his daughter enters.
Jialing: (holding a glass of warm water) “Father, it is time to take your medicine.”
△ Tiansi takes the pills, drinks a mouthful of water, and swallows them all at once.
Tiansi: (bitter smile) “These years, I have become nothing but a medicine jar.”
Jialing: “Father, you are truly strong. Since you fell ill, I have never heard you complain.”
Tiansi: “I am a man. If I keep groaning all the time, how would that look? Besides, your mother has been working day and night for our family. These years she has not complained once. How could I? When I was young, I only knew how to work in the mines and earn more money so you could live a better life. I did not know to take care of my own health first, which led to this terminal illness. Not only did I fail to give you a good life for even a single day, I also became a burden to you. It is truly shameful.”
Jialing: (considerately) “Father, don’t say that. Mother and I know you are a responsible man. You went into the mines to earn more money for us, which is why you got this illness. Mother and I only feel sorry for you; we would never resent you.”
Tiansi: “Ah Ling, I truly cannot bear to leave you, especially your younger brother. What he has become is all due to our negligence. I wish I could live a few more years, at least long enough to see you marry into a good family.”
Jialing: “Father, my sister and I will take care of my brother. You don’t need to worry.”
Tiansi: “But you and your sister will eventually marry. Then your brother’s future will be miserable.”
Jialing: “Father, who says I must marry? I can take care of my brother for my whole life.”
Tiansi: “What you are saying is foolish talk. Which daughter does not marry? Even if you do not want to marry, your mother will not keep you at home. In my view, Xu Congming next door matches you very well.”
△ Hearing this, Jialing does not blush or feel shy; instead she speaks seriously.
Jialing: “Father, since childhood I have always regarded Congming as an older brother. I have no feelings of that kind between a man and a woman for him at all.”
Tiansi: (curious) “Is that so? But I can tell that Congming has feelings for you.”
Jialing: (firmly) “I am speaking sincerely, father. I understand how Congming feels about me, but I cannot marry him, because I truly do not plan to marry in this lifetime.”
Tiansi: “Ah Ling, if you do not like Congming, you do not have to marry him. But if you say you do not plan to marry at all, your mother will never agree to that.”
Jialing: “I did not say I do not like Congming. I see him as an older brother. How could I marry him? If that were the case, wouldn’t living together feel very awkward?”
Tiansi: (rather unconvinced) “It is too early to talk about these things. Ah Ling, when you meet a boy you like in the future, you will not think like this anymore.”
Scene 16 Morning Scene
Characters: Yang Jia-ling, Xu Cong-ming, Xu Zhao-di, Xiao Ya-qian, more than ten students
Time: One morning in late November of the year 1981
Setting: Inside a train carriage bound for Keelung
△ Early morning, on the train to Keelung, in the carriage Jia-ling and Zhao-di, Cong-ming and Ya-qian are sitting together respectively.
Jia Ling: “Zhao-di, Cong-ming, in the second year of senior high school I want to choose the science track.”
Cong Ming: (puzzled) “Wasn’t the English department of the Normal University always your first choice? Why do you suddenly want to switch to the science track?”
Zhao Di: (surprised) “Jia-ling, you are also choosing the science track? Then only I will be left in the social science track, I will feel very lonely.”
Jia Ling: “These days I have been thinking. In our Rueifang area, there is no shortage of a junior high school English teacher, but there is a shortage of a locally born doctor who can provide long-term medical service for the townspeople. Watching my father struggle with silicosis just to accompany us for a few more years makes my heart ache. If I switch to the science track and later get admitted into medical school, after I graduate I can stay in Rueifang for a long time, provide medical service, and take care of the elderly, women, children, and the miners’ health.”
Cong Ming: (silent for a moment) “With such great ambition and compassionate heart for saving people, I should originally encourage you. After all, a life with dreams is the most beautiful. But you know the gate to medical school is very narrow; how difficult it is to squeeze in. Moreover, with your current family financial situation, even if you are admitted, tuition and living expenses will be a heavy burden. Jia-ling, can you bear to see your mother constantly worrying about your tuition?”
Ya Qian: “Yes, even I do not dare to imagine entering medical school, although my father can afford the tuition.”
Jia Ling: “I have already considered all of this. For the cost of medical school, on one hand I will apply for scholarships and student loans; on the other hand I will work part-time during winter and summer vacations to save money. I believe that as long as I strive upward with determination, there will always be a way out.”
Cong Ming: “Jia-ling, when you originally said your goal was the English department of the Normal University, it was precisely because you did not want to increase your family’s financial burden. Because the Normal University not only exempts tuition and miscellaneous fees, but also provides monthly living allowances. After graduation you can directly choose a teaching assignment and immediately be employed. But if you study medicine, not only will tuition and living expenses be heavy, after graduation you still need clinical training in different departments, then take specialist medical licensing exams. This path is bound to be full of obstacles. And with your mother’s personality, even if she has to work herself to death, she will still try to earn money to support your expenses and will not allow your studies to be affected by financial stress. In short, this is a turning point in your life; you must think carefully about the pros and cons.”
Zhao Di: “Yes, Cong-ming’s analysis makes sense. You should clarify things first.”
Jia Ling: “Mm, thank you for your analysis. Having friends to discuss with makes me feel more at ease.”
Scene 17 Day Scene
Characters: Yang Jia-ling, You Tian-mei, Wu Man-mei, several customers
Time: Noon on a weekend in early November
Setting: Houtong Tian-mei’s Ruyi Restaurant
△ After school, Jia-ling returns still wearing her school uniform, with an apron added.
Jia Ling: (washing dishes while speaking) “Mother, next semester I want to choose the science track and later apply for medical school.”
Tian Mei: “Medical school? Isn’t that very difficult to get into?”
Jia Ling: (firm tone) “Mm, I know, but I want to try my best, Mother.”
Tian Mei: “Jia-ling, I know what you are thinking. You must be seeing your father suffering from this illness, so you want to become a female doctor.”
Jia Ling: “If I get in, I will work part-time during spare time to earn tuition fees.”
Tian Mei: “Jia-ling, if you really get admitted, you must study seriously. I will find a way for tuition. Even if I work myself to exhaustion, I will still earn money to support you, because this is my duty as a mother.”
Jia Ling: “Mother, I do not want to increase your burden.”
Tian Mei: “Silly child, no matter how busy or tired I am, I do it willingly.”
Scene 18 Day Scene
Characters: You Tian-mei, several temple visitors
Time: One day in mid-November, noon
Setting: Eighteen Wanggong Temple
△ Tian-mei specially went to Eighteen Wanggong Temple to draw divination lots and obtained a protective talisman. She takes two fortune slips to ask the temple keeper for interpretation.
Temple Keeper: “These two fortune slips, what do you want to ask?”
Tian Mei: “This one I want to ask about my husband’s illness. I do not know if he will get better after receiving treatment?”
Temple Keeper: “What illness does your husband have?”
Tian Mei: “Black lung disease.”
Temple Keeper: (thinking for a moment) “Black lung disease? This illness is very severe. However, according to the meaning of the fortune slip, although there is risk this time, he will receive help from a noble person and can turn danger into safety.”
Tian Mei: (thinking to herself) “Doctor Zhao must be the noble person mentioned in the fortune slip.”
Tian Mei: “If that is the case, I feel more relieved. The other slip is about my daughter; she plans to take the medical school entrance exam in the future.”
Temple Keeper: “This is the king of lots, the best fortune. Your daughter is very talented. She will not only be admitted into medical school, but also have noble help. In the future she will become a doctor who saves lives. You must properly nurture her.”
Tian Mei: (happily) “Yes, hearing your explanation, I am very grateful.”
Scene 19 Night Scene
Characters: Yang Jia-ling, Yang Tian-ci, You Tian-mei, Zhao Ren-jie, Wang Xiao-fen
Time: One night in late November
Setting: Houtong Health Station Operating Room
△ At night, Doctor Zhao Ren-jie and nurse Wang Xiao-fen perform lung lavage treatment on Yang Tian-ci in the operating room.
△ Tian-mei and Jia-ling wait anxiously in the corridor outside the operating room.
Tian Mei: (murmuring) “Namo Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, please protect us.”
△ Jia-ling holds her mother’s shoulder to calm her.
△ After assessing how much the patient’s body could tolerate, Ren-jie performs three washings, extracting more than six thousand cc of black ink-like fluid. Xiao-fen wipes the sweat from his forehead. Ren-jie walks out of the operating room with satisfaction. When Tian-mei and Jia-ling hear the door move, they immediately rush forward.
Tian Mei: (nervous) “Is my husband all right?”
Ren Jie: (making an “OK” sign, removing his mask) “Uncle’s condition is stable. After the anesthetic wears off and he regains consciousness, I will have the nurse push him back to the ward to rest.”
△ Tian-mei and Jia-ling happily surround Ren-jie repeatedly thanking him, their faces showing radiant smiles like the rising sun.
△ The bucket of ink-like fluid is placed on the table. After some time of settling, a thick layer of sediment forms at the bottom. Tian-mei and Jia-ling lean in closely to examine it.
Jia Ling: “Mother, do you see it? In the mud there are tiny metallic glimmers. It is hard to imagine that so much sediment is inside Father’s lungs; no wonder he often feels chest pain and shortness of breath.”
Ren Jie: (explaining) “Those tiny metallic glimmers you see are coal fragments. The mud is dust. They were inhaled into the lungs during long-term coal mining in the tunnels and deposited in the alveoli.”
Tian Mei: (tearfully) “My husband truly makes me deeply moved. Before marrying me, he went down into the mines for those years, working hard every day for our family’s livelihood, which caused his body to become like this.”
Ren Jie: (removing surgical gloves, confidently) “Auntie, your husband’s condition should not worsen in the short term. As for how much he can recover, it will require continued observation. If you want better recovery, you can perform lavage periodically to gradually remove the dirt from the lungs.”
Tian Mei: (holding his hand emotionally) “Doctor’s advice is all for my husband’s good. Of course I will fully cooperate.”
Jia Ling: “Doctor, thank you very much for treating my father.”
Ren Jie: “Little sister, no need to thank me. I am only doing my duty.”
Scene 20 Night Scene
Characters: Yang Jia-ling, Yang Tian-ci, You Tian-mei, Zhao Ren-jie, Yang Jia-xiang, Yang Jia-zhen, Xu Fu-gui, Wu You-xiu
Time: One night in late November
Setting: General ward of Houtong Health Station
△ Yang Tian-ci gradually regains strength. In the ward, Tian-mei is feeding him pork rib congee. His spirit looks better than before, and chest pain has also eased considerably. At this moment Jia-ling brings her younger brother and sister and pushes the door open and enters.
△ Jia-xiang walks unsteadily to Tian-ci’s bedside, touches Tian-ci’s hair, and thoughtfully wipes his father’s face.
Jia Xiang: “Father, you must get better. Xiang will be very happy. You can live to one hundred and twenty years old.”
Jia Zhen: “After Father gets better, he can take us out to play again.”
△ Ren-jie comes to make ward rounds and is surrounded by the three children. He sees the Yang family all smiling brightly.
Ren Jie: (OS) “It seems my attempt is correct!”
△ Neighbor Xu Fu-gui and his family also come carrying fruit and milk powder to visit.
Fu Gui: “Ci, seeing you gradually recover, when I go back I must broadcast this good news so that all the miner brothers suffering from this illness will know that our health station has a reborn Hua Tuo.”
You Xiu: (happily holding Tian-mei’s hand) “The miraculous recovery of Dr. Zhao should indeed be loudly spread. Brother Tian-ci is the living proof. I believe that when the miners hear this good news, they will be even more joyful than attending church and listening to the pastor preaching the gospel.”
Tian Mei: (humble and gentle) “Yes, yes. Our family has long been taken care of by all of you. You are our benefactors. And Dr. Zhao’s excellent medical skill is truly Tian-ci’s blessing.”
△ Tian-mei is moved again and cries. You-xiu embraces her.
You Xiu: “As long as there is peace, that is all that matters. As long as there is peace.”
△ Cong-ming and Jia-ling happily listen to the adults talking, exchanging smiles. They both feel the warmth of the moment.
Scene 21 Day Scene
Characters: Zhao Ren-jie, Wang Xiao-fen, dozens of patients and family members
Time: One morning in late November
Setting: Houtong Health Station
△ News that Yang Tian-ci received lung lavage treatment by Dr. Zhao Ren-jie, after being widely spread by Xu Fu-gui and his wife, quickly spreads throughout the mining areas around Rueifang. The number of miners coming to Houtong Health Station for consultation increases rapidly day by day. Every morning, there is a long queue in front of the health station. Some miners worry that if they arrive late they will not get a queue number, so their family members come in the middle of the night to reserve places.
Xiao Fen: “All of you line up, do not push!”
Family Member A: “The queue is so long, how long will it take before it is our turn?”
Xiao Fen: “The doctor said he will see all patients until the end, everyone do not worry.”
Family Member B: “With such a long queue, it will take a very long time, right?”
Xiao Fen: “I cannot do anything. You can wait in the waiting room first. The doctor said he will definitely see everyone.”
Xiao Fen: “Number 55, Dai Ming-hui.”
Dai Ming-hui: “Coming! Coming!”
Patient C: “Damn it, this queue is longer than an old woman’s foot-binding cloth!”
Patient D: “Sichuan fellow, stop complaining. Everyone is waiting like this slowly!”
