Chapter 621: Apprentices
Chapter 621: Chapter 621: Apprentices
The two of them went for a walk outside the cabin, and Wendy returned in high spirits, even humming a song. Seeing that her mood had improved, Evelyn Ford breathed a sigh of relief.
The next morning at six, the convoy didn’t set off until the sky was bright. The road ahead was riddled with crisscrossing cracks and deep trenches. Many warning signs hung from the trees along the roadside. Some of the larger trenches had been partially filled with stones, and logs had been laid across them to allow vehicles to pass. The captain summoned those who had recently been causing trouble in the group and ordered them to scout ahead.
Evelyn Ford went to check on the woman who had given birth the previous night. Her spirits were decent, but since she wasn’t producing any milk, the baby could only have soy milk powder and brown sugar water. The mother was malnourished, and the baby was consequently frail and thin, like a newborn monkey. The swaddling cloth was dirty; Evelyn recognized it as the jacket the woman had worn the day before, still bearing dried bloodstains. Evelyn took off her own jacket and laid it over the woman. The woman’s eyes instantly welled with tears, and she whispered, "Thank you." Evelyn shook her head slightly. The convoy didn’t distribute clothing. Her own jacket was several years old, but she had re-stuffed it with new cotton, so it was quite warm.
"Have you named her?"
The woman smiled and nodded. "We have. Her name is Jane Scott. It’s the name her father and I picked out a while ago. Boy or girl, we were going to name them Jane Scott."
"That’s a nice name."
Evelyn Ford drew the curtain and went to check on the other expectant mothers. Two of them were due in the next few days. One was carrying twins, her belly swollen as large as a basin and her abdomen covered in dense stretch marks. Her legs were severely swollen, and because her stomach was so large, she could only lie down. The woman’s husband always followed their vehicle; whenever the convoy stopped, he would come to the truck to take care of his wife, giving her his own rations and constantly trying to soothe her anxiety.
’So many different stories unfolding at once.’
Evelyn Ford carried her medical kit back to the truck. Wendy was out making a call. Just as Evelyn was about to sit down and rest for a few minutes, someone came looking for her again.
At three in the afternoon, the group leader brought three young women to Evelyn Ford’s truck. The convoy was short on doctors, and he hoped Evelyn and Wendy could teach the trio some basic medical skills. This would, on the one hand, lighten the doctors’ workload. On the other, if the young women learned a trade, their lives would be easier, both on the journey and after they reached their destination.
The convoy was a motley crew, making the situation for young women especially precarious. Evelyn Ford didn’t refuse the request. She asked them a few basic questions and found they were all literate, with clear eyes and quick reflexes—promising candidates for medicine. ’The leader has a sharp eye, just as you’d expect from a soldier,’ she thought. After Evelyn accepted them, the three immediately began calling her "teacher," and Wendy instantly became their "senior."
"Please, introduce yourselves."
"Ms. Ford, my name is Lily West. I’m twenty-two. I used to work at the base’s pharmaceutical factory, sorting medicinal herbs."
Evelyn Ford’s eyebrows raised slightly. She then turned to the other two.
"Ms. Ford, my name is Holly Nash. I’m twenty, and I used to work at the chicken farm." Her personality was more introverted; she spoke quietly and blushed easily.
"Ms. Ford, I’m Rosemary Sullivan, also twenty. I used to work at the pig farm."
Once introductions were over, Evelyn Ford wasted no time. She grabbed the nearby medical kit, took out its contents, and began teaching them to identify the medicines and tools needed for dressing wounds.
"Time is short, so we’ll start with wound debridement, bandaging, and delivering babies. We can cover other topics gradually later on."
Each of the three held a notebook and a pencil, listening intently to Evelyn Ford’s instruction and taking careful notes as they learned.
"Wound debridement isn’t actually that complex. The most important thing is to prevent the wound from getting infected, suppurating, or festering. Bandaging is even simpler. Lily West and Holly Nash, you’ll come with me on my rounds. Rosemary Sullivan, you’ll study with Wendy. She’s been studying medicine for many years and can teach you these fundamentals."
None of the three had any objections. They were already incredibly grateful and surprised just to have this opportunity; how could they possibly complain? The group leader had told them to follow Dr. Ford and study hard. Once they reached their destination and the base was rebuilt, they could be assigned to the medical department. Within the convoy, they would no longer have to walk on eggshells. The status of a doctor would allow them to live with their heads held high.
"Ms. Ford, Senior Wendy, we’ll work hard!"
Hearing them call her "senior," Wendy’s sense of responsibility swelled. "As long as you all work hard, Evelyn and I will be sure to teach you well."
The other three doctors were also assigned apprentices by the group leader. Being more senior, each had to take on three. That evening, Evelyn Ford was taking Holly Nash and Lily West to change a patient’s dressing when they happened to run into one of the other doctors.
"Dr. Ford, you only have two apprentices?"
Evelyn Ford smiled. "I’m not as experienced, so I can only handle two. You’re the one working hard, Dr. Rowe."
Dr. Rowe had been feeling it was unfair, but his expression immediately softened upon hearing Evelyn’s words.
"The group leader says the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. My arm is still injured, you know, but he insisted on saddling me with three of them." He complained, but his expression was rather smug.
Evelyn Ford knew Dr. Rowe quite well. He loved flattery and showing off his seniority, but he was highly skilled. He liked to have the upper hand in conversations, which could be annoying, but when it came to saving lives, he was remarkably decisive and efficient.
"The group leader mentioned it to me, too. He said if you weren’t injured, he was planning to give you ten apprentices. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be Dr. Rowe’s student? But since you’re hurt, he couldn’t bear to overwork you."
Hearing Evelyn Ford’s words, Dr. Rowe’s expression shifted like a chameleon’s skin. He was a short, thin man, and when his eyes darted about, he looked exactly like a villain from a cartoon.
"That group leader... I know I’m good, but ten apprentices? Is he trying to work me to death? Well, Dr. Ford, I won’t keep you. My arm is suddenly acting up. I’m going to take my three apprentices and head back."
Evelyn... ’Heh.’
"Alright, then. Watch your step. Don’t fall."
No sooner had she spoken than Dr. Rowe missed his footing, and one of his legs plunged into a fissure in the road. His three apprentices quickly hauled him out.
"Oh my, Dr. Rowe! How could you be so clumsy?"
Dr. Rowe shot Evelyn Ford a look, his eyes full of reproach.
"Dr. Ford, you have such a cursed tongue."
Watching him hobble away, Evelyn Ford suppressed a laugh and led Holly Nash and Lily West off to make their call.
At ten that night, the convoy stopped to rest. Lily West, Holly Nash, and Rosemary Sullivan took their bowls to get their meal. They were now considered doctors-in-training, and when food was distributed, wearing a doctor’s badge meant they each received an extra can of meat.
The three returned to the campfire, their minds still reviewing the day’s lessons as they ate.
Looking at the extra cans of meat, their resolve to become doctors grew even stronger.