War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1530 Tiredness

At the door of the operating room, brothers Ed and Hanward were busy steaming and sterilizing the cleaned surgical instruments.

Behind a wooden door, everyone in the operating room wolfed down their not-so-rich lunch.

"How much fuel did the Falanges just deliver?" Wei Ran asked vaguely while wolfing down a lunch that looked like a meat-wrapped pancake.

Rama, who was also eating, immediately replied, "One bucket, only one bucket, and it's not full."

“Better than nothing”

Wei Ran said with great satisfaction that he had no hope for this in the first place. Whether it was the fuel or the second $50 he gave away, it was just to "make a friend."

"Disinfection will take at least 20 minutes, everyone take a break."

The sewing machine helped to change the subject, and he himself lay down on the floor, leaning against the wall, with the cradle resting on his arms.

In less than 10 seconds, the couple also started snoring.

After looking at Edelweiss, Wei Ran chose to lie down on the terrazzo floor tiles against the wall in another direction. Edelweiss leaned against the corner of the wall, snuggled up to the little translator Rama, and fell asleep instantly.

Dalal also yawned, but the little girl did not rush to sleep. Instead, she quietly put the empty lunch boxes back into the basket and took them to the door. She also refilled everyone's cups with refreshing coffee, and then curled up behind the door, using her body as an extra doorblock.

Soon, the little girl, who had also not slept all night, fell asleep.

Although just half an hour of sleep can indeed relieve some fatigue, it also brings up even stronger sleepiness.

But even so, everyone struggled to get up and each drank a large cup of warm, bitter coffee.

While the two ladies went to the bathroom to wash their hands and change into surgical gowns, Wei Ran and Sewing Machine also walked out of the operating room and each lit a cigarette.

The sewing machine looked at the corridor full of wounded people in the swirling smoke, "Originally, Cradle and I planned to propose to provide medical support in the refugee camp."

"Originally?" Wei Ran glanced at the other party. He had known about this matter for a long time. He had even been waiting for the other party's invitation.

“Look at the wounded here.”

Sewing Machine sighed, "There aren't many doctors in this hospital who can perform surgery. If we leave now, I don't know how many people will die.

But I heard from the hot air balloon that the medical conditions in the refugee camps are even worse, and there is almost no way to provide surgical treatment there, especially since there are many pregnant women there. "

"Or you stay here and I drive the ambulance to the refugee camp myself?"

Wei Ran suggested with a heavy heart, fortunately, this time, the living ancestor did not warn or punish him.

“What can you do alone?”

Sewing Machine put out the cigarette that he had just smoked for three or two puffs, "Let's think about this matter tonight."

Hearing this, Wei Ran nodded, put out his cigarette, turned around and walked into the operating room to begin another preoperative preparation.

Not long after, a wounded person was carried in, and the operating room was once again filled with the strong smell of blood.

"Can you still hold on?"

After completing operations on two wounded people in succession, Wei Ran asked Edelweiss who was standing opposite him and was about to fall asleep.

"no problem!"

Edelweiss woke up instantly and subconsciously handed over the surgical scissors in her hand, then she found that the injured person between them had been bandaged.

"Sorry," Edelweiss said shamefully.

“No need to apologize”

Wei Ran waved to Dalal at the door, who immediately opened the door and asked Ed and Hanward to push away the wounded on the operating table and push in new wounded.

"Go wash your face"

Wei Ran said to Edelweiss that it was very good that the other party could hold on until now.

"Need not"

Edelweiss rejected Wei Ran's kindness and began the preoperative preparations skillfully and swiftly.

"It's a healthy boy!"

Next to the operating table, Cradle said happily and loudly in French, "This is also the 500th baby I delivered!"

"Congratulations, Cradle Lady!" Edelweiss exclaimed enthusiastically. "Now you are a cradle in its own right!"

"Congratulations to you and to the child." Wei Ran followed suit.

At the same time, Rama also raised his Polaroid camera and spoke something in Arabic, which no one could understand, with the same enthusiasm, and pressed the shutter button shortly afterwards.

With this little encouragement, everyone perked up again and persisted at the busy operating table.

That afternoon, the wounded kept arriving one after another, and Wei Ran and the others had no chance to rest.

"Why are there so many injured today?" the sewing machine asked tiredly after another failed rescue.

"And most of them are gunshot wounds," said Wei Ran in a hoarse voice, as he stood back to back with the sewing machine, with only a curtain between them.

“It looks like the situation has really taken a turn for the worse.”

Cradle had long lost the excitement of delivering 500 babies by this time, and her tone was filled with nothing but fatigue and worry about the situation.

"And Mr. Hot Air Balloon doesn't seem to have appeared either."

Edelweiss, who was forcing herself to stay alert, yawned and said, "If I remember correctly, he said that if he didn't come to find us today, then we'd better find a way to leave."

"Let's finish the work at hand first before thinking about those things."

Sewing Machine said with great confidence, "Whether it's the 8th Party or the Falange Party, they won't attack us."

"I don't think so," Edelweiss muttered vaguely, while secretly glancing at Wei Ran who was busy treating the wounded.

"Who can tell me about the hot air balloon?" Wei Ran asked casually, "I really don't know much about him. I don't even know if he is trustworthy."

"He is a Frenchman, but he studied in France and served in the French Army for several years. After retiring, he became a French citizen."

While the wounded who failed to be treated were being pushed away and new wounded were being pushed in, Cradle said briefly, "He is also our logistics personnel in the fence. Not the only one, but definitely the most important one."

"Without his help, we might not even have enough rubber gloves for our daily needs."

Sewing Machine added, "Especially anesthetics. Without the anesthetics he obtained, performing surgery without anesthesia would definitely be the most terrible disaster in the operating room."

"He is also our postman. All the parcels coming to and from home are thanks to his help," Edelweiss added.

"But his wife, his parents, and his children all died in the civil war." Yaolan said regretfully, "His wife and I were classmates. We followed our mentor to join MSF together."

"I seem to have asked a question that I shouldn't have asked," Wei Ran said apologetically.

For a moment, the only sound in the operating room was the radio, which was running out of power and was still playing French news intermittently.

“No one is more trustworthy than him.”

As Sewing Machine began to treat the new wounded, he said, "He wants us to stay more than anyone else, and he wants us to leave here alive more than anyone else."

"Rama, what time is it?"

Wei Ran awkwardly started a new topic - he had already given the electronic watch he picked up last night to the young translator Rama.

"It's almost nine o'clock in the evening," Lamar replied after glancing at his watch, "8:49 p.m., sir."

“It’s already so late.”

Edelweiss couldn't help but yawn again, "Are there still many wounded people out there?"

“I’ll go take a look.”

After Rama finished speaking, he yawned, moved to the door of the operating room, greeted Dalal who was also trying hard to stay awake, and then opened the wooden door of the operating room.

With the light from the gas lamp in the operating room, Wei Ran could clearly see that outside the door gap that was less than half a meter wide, Ed and Hanward were lying at the door and seemed to have fallen asleep. On the other side of their bodies, there were many fewer injured people waiting for treatment.

Rama mercilessly woke up his brothers Ed and Hanward, invited them in, and pushed out the two trash cans full of rotten flesh and body parts next to the two operating tables.

"There are not many wounded outside, less than 10." Rama brought the long-awaited good news, "and the operating room next door is also working."

“Speed ​​up a bit”

Sewing Machine suggested, "Cradle, can you and Edelweiss take charge of the third operating table?"

"No problem," Cradle answered without thinking, and then leaned over to look at the stunned Edelweiss, "What about you?" Seeing Wei Ran also looking at her, Edelweiss nodded immediately, "No problem!"

"You are responsible for the lightly injured," Wei Ran gave his suggestion.

Soon, under the command of the young translator Rama, another less seriously injured soldier was pushed in. The two ladies, who had hurriedly used the toilet, quickly changed into surgical gowns and began the rescue work.

It is difficult to say whether such allocation of manpower has improved the speed of rescue. At the very least, without the assistance of the cradle, the efficiency of the sewing machine has dropped a lot.

As for Wei Ran, he could make up for the speed with the roughness of the treatment, and he was confident that at most the wound would heal a little uglier, but other aspects would not be compromised.

But to Wei Ran's surprise, the sewing machine said again soon after, "Let Dalal help me with the final bandaging. Veterinarian, can Rama help you?"

Subconsciously glancing at Rama, Wei Ran nodded happily, "No problem, Rama, can you come over and help me?"

"Can I?!" Rama, the young translator who was invited by the sewing machine team to translate for Dalal, asked in surprise.

"Do you have the guts?"

Wei Ran asked provocatively. If he had a choice, he would never want to be a partner with an 11-year-old on the operating table. But he also knew that the sewing machine was more about training these children - even if it seemed a little too early.

"I'm not afraid!" Rama had already taken off the oversized helmet on his head and the Polaroid camera around his neck while speaking.

Wei Ran had asked this question during the last bedtime drink with Edelweiss. According to Edelweiss's explanation, wearing a helmet at all times was an agreement between Rama and his brother Ed, and it was the "price" for her to be able to enter the operating room and work as a translator.

As for the reason, it was simply that Ed was worried that his only relative would be buried in the rubble again.

Without too many instructions, Rama took two oil drums from the corner and placed them next to the operating table. Then he ran into the bathroom, washed his hands carefully with Dalal, put on ill-fitting surgical clothes and slightly large rubber gloves, and then, suppressing his excitement, stood on the two horizontal 20-liter oil drums that had been prepared in advance.

“I’ve finished stitching”

Wei Ran pointed to the wound on the injured man's leg and warned him a little too harshly, "Disinfection and bandaging, that's all your job. If you don't know what to do, you can ask me anytime, you can ask me again and again, but if you make a mistake once, you will never be able to get close to my operating table again."

"Rama, please help translate the veterinarian's words to Dalal."

Before the young translator could speak, the sewing machine said, "That's what I ask of Dalal, too."

Rama, who was standing next to the operating table for the first time, swallowed his saliva, suppressed his excitement and nervousness, and translated Wei Ran's request into Arabic.

After taking a deep breath, the little translator, no, the little nurse Rama, began to bandage the post-operative wound according to the steps that Edelweiss taught them in her spare time.

"Veterinarian, how's my teaching?"

Edelweiss asked proudly while she was busy cleaning the wound of a lightly injured patient in front of the temporary operating table in the operating room.

“Very nicely bandaged”

Wei Ran deliberately ignored Lama's nervous look and praised her generously, "I can't find any fault with it. Every step was perfect, and the bow at the end was also very beautiful."

At this point, he finally looked at his partner across from him, "Rama, teach me how to tie a bow when you have time. I only know how to wrap it around with tape."

"I'll teach you when I have time!" Rama was particularly happy to receive the praise and made the promise loudly.

With the addition of these two "interns", the speed of rescue did not improve qualitatively, but the time seemed to be much faster.

Amid the praises from Wei Ran and the sewing machine, the last wounded man completed the operation and was pushed to the ward by Ed and Hanward, who were also exhausted outside the door.

In the operating room, Wei Ran took off his bloodstained gloves and turned off the radio, which was almost inaudible because it was running out of power. He picked up a cup of coffee and drank it all in one gulp before asking in a hoarse voice, "What time is it?"

"Ten twenty-four"

Lama, who had never made any mistakes throughout the process, glanced at the electronic watch Wei Ran gave her and gave an accurate answer, "Ed just said that he had delivered dinner to the garage."

"let's go"

Edelweiss yawned and said with her eyes closed, "I can't wait to take a shower and sleep now."

"Are you going to bring up that matter today?" Cradle asked abruptly.

Although Wei Ran didn't know whether she was speaking Greek or Turkic, it didn't prevent him from understanding what she was saying.

"Tomorrow, everyone is too tired today." The sewing machine answered the cradle's question in the same way.

"Are you talking about some secret that we can't know?" Edelweiss asked curiously.

"Secrets between husband and wife"

Cradle replied as she packed up the medical equipment that needed to be sterilized, "When you have a partner, you'll have secrets like this, too."

"I'm already very tired today, why do you bring up something that hurts my heart." Edelweiss took off her mask, rubbed the marks on her face, pretended to be pitiful and said self-deprecatingly, "Who would like me?"

“Maybe Mr. Veterinarian is a good choice.”

As Cradle spoke, he had already packed the medical equipment into a large stainless steel box.

Before Wei Ran, who had just lit a cigarette, could exhale the secondhand smoke in his lungs, Edelweiss glanced at him and said in a joking tone, but at the same time, she boldly switched to German and said, "Compared to the veterinarian, I actually like Mr. Dongfeng more."

Still not giving Wei Ran a chance to speak, Edelweiss picked up the thermos and the radio and changed the subject, switching back to French and asking expectantly, "No, Victor, will Mr. Dongfeng go out to work tonight?"

“I guess not.”

Wei Ran changed the subject as if he hadn't heard the German words. "I just want to go back and take a shower and have a good sleep. I guess Mr. Dongfeng thinks the same."

He could see that as soon as these words were spoken, both the Sewing Machine couple and Edelweiss all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's see"

Cradle, holding the oil lamp in his hand, still spoke in a language that only he and his wife could understand, "I said that Edelweiss is a silver product that can stop werewolves."

"I think it's just because the werewolf is almost as tired as a sheepdog."

The sewing machine, which was holding a large box of surgical instruments, took advantage of the fact that Wei Ran and the others "didn't understand" and unscrupulously teased a veterinarian who was carrying a dirty oil drum.

After locking the wooden door of the operating room, everyone joked with each other all the way back to their garage. At this time, the food had been set out on the table at the rear of the car as before.

But compared to before, the meal was a little more monotonous, with only a few flatbreads, a plate of hummus, and the same number of fried eggs as the number of people.

“Since the withdrawal of international troops, there have been problems with food supply.”

Rama explained apologetically, "Ed only brought back this much food, and even the tap water was cut off today."

"Didn't we agree on a ceasefire?" Edelweiss asked in surprise.

"Ed told me that many of the wounded people who appeared today were injured in their attempts to escape the encirclement or to deliver food."

Rama clenched his fists and explained bitterly, "Those demons want to starve us to death here."

"When I get back, I will tell my grandfather about the good things those Jews have done." Edelweiss snorted.

"Don't talk about this anymore. Finish the last bit of work quickly before you fall asleep, then fill your stomach, take a shower and have a good sleep."

The sewing machine stopped this meaningless topic in time, "We never know when we will be called up again."

Coincidentally, just as he finished speaking, Ed, Hanward, and Dalal, who was waiting at the door to open it for them, also passed through the gap between the relief truck and the wall.

Still letting the children take a bath first, Wei Ran and others worked together to light the gas stove and steam the cleaned surgical instruments - this time, they used bath water that had been exposed to the sun for a whole day.

At 11 o'clock late at night, the surgical instruments had just been steamed and disinfected, and the children had just finished their dinner after taking a bath and could not wait to return to the tent and fall asleep.

In the last hour of September 9, Edelweiss, who had just taken a shower and changed into a nightgown, stopped Wei Ran who was about to take a shower and asked in German, "Is Mr. Dongfeng really not going to show up tonight?"

"Really, I promise." Wei Ran made the promise with a helpless smile.

"In that case, how about we have a drink after you finish your shower?" Edelweiss pointed to the ambulance not far away and said, "I'll wait for you in the cab."

"No problem at all"

Wei Ran readily agreed, and then watched Edelweiss holding the candle lamp and walking happily towards the ambulance.

  I don't know how many more there are.

Wei Ran muttered something secretly, walked into the yard behind the garage, went into the bathroom and took a scalding hot bath.

However, when he returned to the garage and gently opened the passenger door of the ambulance, he found that Edelweiss had fallen asleep on the steering wheel. In her hand, she was still holding the wine flask that Wei Ran had given her. On the thumb of this hand, she was still loosely wearing the military ring that was still on the necklace.

Shaking his head helplessly, Wei Ran picked up the glass of red wine on the engine hood, gently clinked it with another glass, then put it to his mouth and drank it all.

Picking up the second glass and drinking the red wine that had been poured in advance, Wei Ran walked around to the driver's seat and gently opened the half-open car door. He carefully took out the wine jug and the ring, then gently picked up Edelweiss and sent her back to her tent.

Finally, he placed the wine jug and necklace next to her pillow and covered her with a blanket. Wei Ran then turned and left the tent, holding the candle light and walking towards the next tent - Mr. Dongfeng would really not show up tonight.