The doctor was a bit puzzled as well.
He turned to glance at He Lang and his wife, then had the woman carry her child into another room. He called a nurse over and began the examination.
The woman stood outside, constantly peeking in. Panicked, she paced back and forth.
Xue Yue watched for a few monts, then decided to approach her.
"Ma’am, which school does your child go to?"
The woman glanced at Xue Yue. "Red Flag Primary School."
Xue Yue’s pupils contracted. "He eats lunch at school, too, right?"
The woman nodded. "Yes."
Xue Yue looked at He Lang. They both realized the gravity of the situation.
In the hour that followed, an unending stream of parents brought their children to the ergency room.
The symptoms were all similar. So children cried and scread that their stomachs hurt, and the entire ergency room descended into chaos.
Seeing the situation, the doctors’ first question was always which school the child attended.
Upon learning that all the children were from the sa school, the staff reported it to their superiors and imdiately called the police.
Shiyi had arrived first. Since his family hadn’t delayed, he was moved to a ward shortly after having his stomach pumped. He woke up a short while later, looking completely listless.
"Mom, Dad."
Xue Yue took the hand that had the IV in it. "Don’t move your hand. You’re still on a drip."
He Lang stroked Shiyi’s head and leaned down to ask him, "Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Does your stomach still hurt?"
Shiyi said softly, "It doesn’t hurt anymore."
Heart aching, He Lang gently kissed Shiyi’s head.
’Given the situation, we definitely won’t be going ho tonight.’
Xue Yue asked He Lang to go ho to grab so necessities and tell their family what had happened so they wouldn’t worry.
Not long after He Lang left, the police ca in.
They were here to investigate.
Xue Yue cooperated and gave them a statent.
The woman who had arrived after them was also admitted to the sa ward. Her child was still unconscious, and the police questioned her as well.
The ward door was suddenly pushed open, and soone walked in.
"Sister-in-law, how is Yuanyuan?"
Xue Yue looked over at the sound of the voice. It was Guan Wenwen.
"She had her stomach pumped, but Yuanyuan isn’t awake yet. What are you doing here?"
Guan Wenwen said, "I went to your house. The nanny said Yuanyuan had a stomachache and that you brought her to the hospital."
The woman nodded.
"Have you told my brother?" Guan Wenwen asked, looking at the child on the bed.
The woman shook her head slightly.
Guan Wenwen happened to glance over and saw Xue Yue. She froze for a mont, then her eyes darted to the person in the other hospital bed.
She pressed her lips together and asked softly, "What’s wrong with your child?"
"A stomachache."
Guan Wenwen’s sister-in-law glanced at Xue Yue and asked Guan Wenwen, "You two know each other?"
Guan Wenwen just grunted in acknowledgnt and said nothing more, her gaze returning to her niece in the bed.
’The two of them hadn’t seen each other in over half a year. After they had it out last ti, their relationship was no longer the kind where they could make small talk.’
He Lang returned, carrying their things, and walked over.
"I bought you so food. Have sothing to eat."
Shiyi had fallen asleep again. He Lang glanced at him and sat down by the bed.
Guan Wenwen had been stock-still ever since He Lang walked in.
He Lang said to Xue Yue, "I stopped by and told my sister-in-law. Since the police have been called, this is a major incident. The school has to give us an answer."
Xue Yue looked at him. "Are you saying you want your sister-in-law to co and investigate?"
He Lang nodded. "This is a genuine news event. Didn’t she say she was looking for a big break? This is it. By tomorrow morning, all the other papers will probably have the story."
"Mm."
Zhang Qian ca with Xue Xingzhou.
"Are all those people outside...?" Zhang Qian asked.
Xue Yue nodded. "Yes. I hear they’re all from the sa school as Shiyi."
Zhang Qian, ever the reporter, imdiately whipped out a small notebook and started interviewing people, beginning with Xue Yue.
She then moved to the neighboring bed. Everyone suspected the school was at fault, so they were all very cooperative with both the police and the journalists.
Xue Xingzhou had t Guan Wenwen before but didn’t know she had resigned. He could sense the tension between her and Xue Yue, but with so many people in the ward, he didn’t bring it up.
Once Zhang Qian finished her interviews, she had Xue Xingzhou drive her straight to the newspaper office.
Guan Wenwen stayed for a little while and then left.
He Lang had Xue Yue get into bed and lie down with Shiyi, while he kept watch.
The next morning, the hospital’s lab results ca back. They had found saponin in the children’s vomit, confirming it was food poisoning. Shortly after, the school’s leadership arrived.
They entered, bowing and apologizing, and promised they would take full responsibility.
He Lang asked them, "Shouldn’t the food in the school cafeteria be under strict quality control? How could sothing like this happen?"
The principal said with a remorseful expression, "I’m sorry. I will launch a full investigation as soon as I return."
This was not the answer the parents wanted.
"What good is an apology? We pay to have our children eat at the school. Now they’ve suffered through this for no reason at all. We’re lucky they were treated in ti and it wasn’t fatal, but they’re just little kids! We have no idea if this will have any long-term effects on their health. Can you take responsibility for that?"
The principal was both anxious and furious when he heard what happened.
The school had recently hired a new chef, and most of the current cafeteria staff were relatives of the vice principal. Yesterday’s lunch included undercooked green beans, which many people at the school had eaten.
The teachers thought they tasted bad and stopped eating, but the children were a different story. They didn’t know any better, and so were afraid to leave food on their plates, so most of them ate everything.
It wasn’t just this hospital, either. Several others had admitted children with the sa symptoms, including the kids of many officials. He had been getting calls at ho since last night, with people chewing him out. He’d been completely baffled until the police showed up at the school this morning.
Only then did they understand the truth of the matter.
’Now that the hospital has provided the lab results, the school has to give the parents a satisfactory explanation. Otherwise, this situation will be impossible to handle.’
Soon enough, the story of the school food poisoning incident was front-page news in all the Beijing City papers.
He Lang bought a copy and showed it to Xue Yue.
"Look, my sister-in-law got the byline."
Xue Yue took a closer look, and sure enough, there was Zhang Qian’s na in the byline.
"Heh, you’re always thinking ahead."
After another full day of IV treatnt, Shiyi seed to be doing much better, so they decided to let him recuperate at ho. It was impossible to get any real rest at the hospital, after all. With so many children and their families around, the nights were never peaceful.
While they were handling the discharge paperwork, they overheard that one child had been brought in very late the previous night and had started to suffocate. Thankfully, the ergency treatnt was successful, and a tragedy was averted.
Xue Yue glanced at He Lang. "No wonder it was so noisy in the middle of the night."
’It’s true. When a child is sick, the parents go through hell.’
Take Guan Wenwen’s sister-in-law in the next bed, for example. From the ti she arrived yesterday until their own discharge today, no one else had co to see her besides Guan Wenwen’s brief visit last night. Xue Yue hadn’t even seen the woman eat a single al.
She only dared to run to the bathroom when her child was asleep, rushing back as quickly as possible.
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