Chapter 6 Section five

After five days of work in Ren'ai Hospice, Wu Leting felt that she was beginning to adapt.To adapt to the new work and rest time brought to her by this job, to adapt to the content of the work, and-to adapt to the weird old man Dinong. Every day, at 7:30 in the morning, she takes a car from her rental house to the outskirts where the hospital is located, and then climbs the winding mountain road for 20 minutes. Before 9:00, she can reach the gate of the hospital with ease.Due to the particularity of this job, Wu Leting generally does not stay in other parts of the hospital.She always went straight to the fourth floor, reported to the dean's office, and then went up the fifth floor to Dinon's ward.

Usually at this time, Dinon has already woken up.And breakfast was prepared on the coffee table—it was delivered in advance by Mrs. Mai.After Wu Leting washed and relieved the old man, she fed him breakfast. The time after that was very idle.Wu Leting chooses various ways to pass the time - watching TV, listening to music, reading books, playing with mobile phones and so on.In fact, besides feeding the old man, taking care of him, turning him over, wiping his body, and talking with him, Wu Leting feels that this job is like a vacation.And the salary is as high as 8,000 yuan—it is indeed, as the dean said before, this is a rare job.

And there is one thing I have to mention - originally, Wu Leting felt that this job might be boring after a long time, but at least so far, she didn't feel that way at all.The reason is that the old man will always talk about some interesting topics from time to time-like the legend about the Blue Diamond of Hope a few days ago-this kind of mysterious and wonderful stories emerge in endlessly.The things that Di Nong said often involved real people and events in history, but he told the inside story or secrets unknown to the world, which sounds incredible. For example, the morning before yesterday Dinon had mentioned Sir Isaac Newton.Newton, he said, was the smartest and craziest person he knew—Wu Leting noticed that he said "among those he knew", not "among those who knew".This wording is very meaningful.On one occasion, Dinon said, Newton inserted a large eye-of-needle needle — a long needle used to sew leather — into the eye socket and rubbed it “between the eye and the bone as close as possible to the back of the eye.” Go, just to see what happens.As a result, Newton saw the rainbow just above the focus of his eye, which miraculously had nothing to do with it.After that, Newton made a prism and decomposed the spectrum from white light-human understanding of light started from such a crazy move.

In addition, there is a story about the well-known "apple falling to the ground" that inspired Newton to discover gravity.Di Nong said with a smile that this matter is purely fictional.The person who made up this story was the famous French writer Voltaire. At that time, he just wanted to make Newton's discovery of gravity more romantic and dramatic. He didn't expect it to have such a big impact on readers.So much so that this fabricated little story has been widely circulated, and it is still regarded as a real thing by the world until now.In fact, there were scientists who had the concept of universal gravitation before Newton, and Newton just summarized and induced it on the basis of his predecessors—but this still doesn't change the fact that he is a genius.

Besides Newton, Dinon also mentioned Dante.He said that the creation of the masterpiece "Divine Comedy" was not easy.This long poem was not created by Dante's imagination, but from the bizarre nightmares that have plagued the poet for many years—Dinong told the contents of several of these nightmares, which made Wu Leting get goosebumps in broad daylight— At the same time, he hinted that Dante is not an ordinary person, and the description of hell and heaven in "Divine Comedy" is not completely fictional... For the "secrets" of these historical celebrities "disclosed" by Dinon.Wu Leting was dubious.Some believe it because Dinon is a professor of history; others doubt it because logically no one will know the things he said (such as the specific content of Dante's nightmare).Therefore, Wu Leting has two understandings about this. The first is that Di Nong is indeed well-educated and knows many historical truths that ordinary people do not know; the second is that these are all lies made up by him, or—as the dean said—it Crazy talk.But no matter what, she got used to it a little bit, so she didn't take it seriously, let alone argue with him, but just echoed and chatted with the old man.

This morning, after breakfast, Wu Leting had just sat down when there was a knock on the door.Wu Leting said "Come in", and a male doctor in casual clothes walked in. The reason why he could tell that the person who came in was a doctor was because he had a stethoscope around his neck and a medical kit in his hand.This male doctor is in his forties, wearing a pair of glasses, tall and gentle.He looked at Wu Leting and smiled: "Hi, my name is Ling Di, and I come here every Monday to give Old Di a physical examination." "Hello, Dr. Ling. My name is Wu Leting."

"I heard that the words of the beautiful woman who just graduated from the medical university—the dean's words are not exaggerated at all." "Thank you." Wu Leting, who is very talkative, has a good impression of this doctor. Ling Di walked to Di Nong's bed and asked with a smile, "Old Di, how do you feel this week?" "It doesn't make any difference. You don't have to give me a medical examination," Dinon said. "It's better to carry out a routine inspection, this is the hospital's regulations." "It's your dean's rule." Dinon corrected.

Ling Di glanced at Wu Leting.He silently put on the stethoscope, unbuttoned Dinon's shirt, and stuck the chest piece on the old man's chest. Wu Leting once again saw the "Blue Diamond of Hope" hanging on the old man's chest, but Dr. Ling didn't look at it at all.He listened intently to the voice in the old man's chest. Then, Dr. Ling measured the old man's heart rate and blood pressure, checked his mouth, and checked the old man's body for bedsores.After a series of routine checks, he said to Di Nong, "Old Di, everything is normal." Dinon said nothing.Wu Leting frowned slightly on the side.

Doctor Ling packed up the medical equipment and stood up. "I'll come back next Monday." He smiled at Wu Leting and walked out of the room. Wu Leting hesitated for a moment, chased after her, and closed the door. "Doctor Ling." Wu Leting stopped him. Ling Di turned around. "What's up?" "Well... after you had a physical examination with Old Man Di just now, you said that he...is everything normal?" "Yes what's the matter?" Wu Leting lowered her voice and said, "Didn't he...have leukemia?" Ling Di was stunned for a moment. "Oh, this—you were by the side just now, you should have noticed that what I did for him was the most routine physical examination, excluding blood tests and bone marrow tests—because his leukemia has already been diagnosed, there is no need for further examinations. So when I say 'everything is normal' I mean everything else is normal."

Wu Leting hesitated and said: "Is he really suffering from leukemia? I can't tell it at all during the few days I have been with him. His physical condition looks very good, no different from normal people." Ling Di asked, "Which subject did you major in at the medical university?" "ophthalmology." Ling Di nodded and said: "No wonder you don't know much about leukemia. Di Lao got chronic myeloid leukemia. The symptoms of this disease are not obvious, and it doesn't cause severe pain like cancer. What it destroys is the normal hematopoietic function of the bone marrow. , infiltrating organs. It will cause anemia, weight loss and night sweats, and internal bleeding will only occur in severe cases—so it can’t be seen under normal circumstances.”

Wu Leting thought about it and said: "Yes...he is indeed prone to night sweats, and I have to wipe his sweat for him every time after taking a nap." "That's one of the symptoms, and he's getting thinner and thinner." Wu Leting asked in a low voice: "Then, how long is Di Lao's life?" "It's hard to say. The medical records show that Mr. Di has lived with us for more than four months. If we look at the general end of life, he should have about five months to live." "Dying period?" Wu Leting didn't understand what it meant. "The average time from when a person is determined to be incurable to death is called the dying period. Generally speaking, the dying period is about 280 days." Dr. Ling explained to Wu Leting, "This is a delicate number. Do you know why? " Wu Leting shook her head. "A person's time in the womb is about 280 days-conception in October-this is the time needed for a person to be born. And after a lifetime, the last part of the journey is also 280 days-life is so wonderful." Wu Leting nodded slightly, and at the same time muttered: "Mr. Di has lived here for four months?" Ling Di looked at Wu Leting. "Any questions?" "Ah, no. It's just that... he said some weird things to me." "What did he say?" Wu Leting stared at Ling Di. "He said he lived here for thirteen years." Ling Di was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "You know, this is impossible." "Yes. But I always feel... a bit weird." Wu Leting paused and asked, "Doctor Ling, how long have you been in this hospice?" "Why did you ask me?" Ling Di said with a smile. "Sorry. Can you tell me?" "Okay. Actually, I was transferred not long ago. About... more than three months ago." "After you came, you received old Di's medical records." "That's right." "Which doctor gave you the medical records of Old Di?" "The dean gave it to me personally." Wu Leting opened her mouth slightly. "Why are you asking this?" Ling Di asked. "nothing……" Ling Di stared at Wu Leting for a while, and said, "You are a serious and responsible girl. The last girl who took care of Mr. Di never cared about these issues." Wu Leting forced a smile. Ling Di said: "It's good that you can take the initiative to tell me about Di Lao's condition. You know, after all, I only come here once a week, and I can only learn about his health or mental condition from you." This sentence reminded Wu Leting. "By the way, speaking of spirit—Doctor Ling, do you think Elder Di has mental problems?" Ling Di shrugged his shoulders. "Based on my few contacts with him, I can't tell. Besides, I'm not a psychiatrist. But the medical records show that he has a mental illness, and he has been tested by an authoritative organization." Wu Leting did not speak. Ling Di asked, "Why, what do you think?" "I can't tell. His usual behavior is quite normal, and his thinking is very clear and organized. However, what he said sometimes makes me feel..." Wu Leting circled her hands in the air, feeling a little uncomfortable know what to say. "It makes you think that he does have mental problems, doesn't it?" Ling Di helped her out. "I guess so." Ling Di looked at Wu Leting and smiled meaningfully. "What are you laughing at, Doctor Ling?" Wu Leting asked. Ling Di said, "Mr. Di likes you very much." "how do you know?" "The last girl who took care of him, Mr. Di hardly talked to her. But you have only been here for a few days, and he is willing to chat with you. And I feel that he talks to you a lot." Wu Leting said in a low voice: "I just hope that he can be as happy and comfortable as possible before he dies." Ling Di nodded and said: "It's absolutely correct, this is what our duty is. It seems that you are very suitable for this job. The dean has found the right person this time——Okay, I'm going to another ward, next See you next week." "Okay, bye." Wu Leting gently opened the door and returned to the ward. Di Nong sat on the bed and closed his eyes to rest, and did not ask Wu Leting what he was doing out. Wu Leting didn't bother him, she sat on the chair, staring at her eyes and resting her chin, thoughtful. At noon, Mrs. Mai brought delicious meals again.When she went out, Wu Leting followed her out and stopped her. "What's the matter, dear?" asked Mrs. McGregor gently. "Well, Mrs. Mai, I want to ask, when did you come here?" "You mean working at this hospital?" "yes." "More than two months ago. What happened?" Wu Leting was a little surprised. "You...have only been here for more than two months? I thought you've been here for a long time. I think you know everyone very well." "That's because I'm a self-acquaintance and an optimist—not to mention more than two months, I can get acquainted with people around me in just one day." Mrs. Mai said with a smile. "Yeah, I can see that. Thank you, Mrs. Mac." "It's okay, I'm leaving." "OK." Looking at Mrs. Mai's back, Wu Leting felt a strange feeling in her heart. How is this going? Now—except for the dean—the three people who have contact with the old man Di Nong: Dr. Ling Di, Mrs. Mai, and myself—all were recruited recently.In other words, none of the people who took care of Dinon had been working here for more than four months. This meant that none of them knew exactly how long Dinon had lived here. Is this a coincidence?still…… Wu Leting suddenly remembered the special contract she signed - she was required to keep everything about Di Nong a secret.Then a thought popped up—did Dr. Ling Di and Mrs. Mai sign the same contract? Wu Leting frowned deeply.She gradually felt that there might be some ulterior secret hidden behind this incident.