There were only two buses from the Northwest Military District to Haishi each day—one at 8 a.m. and another at noon.
The journey took nearly six hours, almost half a day.
The bus couldn’t make stops along the way, so unless absolutely necessary, no one was willing to endure such a long trip.
Most of the time, when they needed something, they would ask the soldiers from the neighboring military camp to buy it for them.
As soon as Wen Ci mentioned it, the hospital duty room erupted into a lively discussion.
She smiled and said gently, “Write down everything you need on a list and have Dr. Yu bring it over.”
“Got it!”
A few minutes later, Wen Ci headed out with a backpack.
Inside, she had packed two boxes of instant noodles and a small thermos—since they would have to eat lunch on the bus.
Instant noodles were both tasty and convenient.
Just as she stepped out of the family housing compound, she ran into Yu Qing and noticed the long shopping list in her hands.
Her eyes widened.
“We have to bring this much?”
“Yep.”
“Let me see.” Wen Ci took the list.
Most of the items were essentials for women and were easy to carry.
She smiled warmly and asked, “Dr. Yu, is instant noodles for lunch okay today?”
“That’s fine.”
Yu Qing paused for a moment, then looked into Wen Ci’s eyes and said unhurriedly, “Wen Ci, no need to be so formal. Just call me Yu Qing.”
“Alright.”
Before they even reached the military district bus station, Wen Ci saw from a distance that the bus driver was holding a wrench and crouched under the vehicle.
Beside him, a tire had been removed.
A bad feeling crept over her.
They had to take the earliest morning bus to return before evening.
If they missed it, they would have to take the noon bus, which meant they wouldn’t make it back in time and would have to stay overnight in Haishi.
To stay at a guesthouse, they would need a unit-issued certificate, and by the time that was processed, they would have already missed the last bus at noon.
As she got closer, Wen Ci saw that the right-side wheel of the bus had been removed, with the hub also taken out.
She crouched down and asked, “Driver, is the bus still operational?”
The driver stuck his head out from under the vehicle, his face smeared with black grease.
Waving his hand, he said, “No, the tire got punctured by something. I don’t even know what it was.”
Spitting on the ground, he grumbled, “I swear it’s like we’re cursed. This is the third time in a row the tire has been punctured on the way back from Haishi.”
Wen Ci’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The bus’s tire had been punctured three times in a row on its way back to the Northwest Military District.
A woman’s intuition told her—this wasn’t right.
In later years, frequent tire punctures were usually due to human interference.
And wherever this happened, there were always repair shops nearby with ridiculously high prices.
But the road to the Northwest Military District was surrounded by endless, desolate Gobi Desert.
It was also the only route in and out.
This was something that couldn’t be ignored.
She asked slowly, “Driver, have you reported this to the military camp?”
The driver’s eyes flickered with understanding.
Crawling out from under the bus, he patted the dust off his clothes and said, “You’re right, young lady. I’d better report this to the higher-ups.”
After the driver left, Wen Ci and Yu Qing exchanged a knowing look.
Wen Ci asked, “Are you heading back to work then?”
“Yeah, I’ll go cancel my leave.”
Wen Ci wasn’t planning on going to work today.
Though the fatigue in her body had mostly faded, her walking posture was still a little off.
It wouldn’t be ideal for her to be treating patients, giving injections, or changing bandages.
As a doctor, Yu Qing could tell something was different about her, but she didn’t point it out.
Her eyes held a faint trace of amusement as she and Wen Ci parted ways at the small road near the bus stop.
Just as Wen Ci reached the family housing compound entrance, she spotted a brand-new bicycle parked beside the guardroom.
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