Lao Li was my old colleague from Kangaroo Takeaway. Later, both father and son switched jobs to Dongge Platform.
Who would have thought that hearing news from him again would be in such a way.
I put away my phone, stopped a car and went straight to the hospital.
As soon as I rushed out of the elevator, before I could see the sign clearly, a fierce quarrel and scuffle directly pointed me in the direction.
The scene in front of me made my heart tense.
Li Minghua's eyes were red, like a crazy leopard, grabbing Zhang Guangtian's collar.
Zhang Guangtian, our former colleague at Kangaroo, who is now the person in charge of Dongge Takeaway, is trying to pry his hand away.
"Let go! Minghua! Calm down!" Zhang Guangtian growled.
"Calm down? How do you want me to calm down?" Li Minghua's voice was hoarse.
Before he finished speaking, Li Minghua's right fist had already struck him with a sound of wind.
That muffled sound was so solid that it was frightening, and it hit Zhang Guangtian on the left side of his face.
Zhang Guangtian staggered back two steps, and the corners of his mouth turned red instantly.
He wiped the corners of his mouth and looked at Li Minghua with complex eyes: "Minghua, if you keep doing this, I will really fight back."
"Fuck you! You fucking fight back!" Li Minghua roared.
"If you hadn't insisted on him doing the night shift yesterday, how could my dad have no land, you bastard!"
Several nurses and patients' family members had gathered around, pointing, but no one dared to step forward.
Zhang Guangtian suppressed his anger: "The site has bought insurance for everyone, the highest accident insurance! The compensation is hundreds of thousands! I know you feel uncomfortable now, but how to deal with this matter!"
"Money? Everyone is gone, what is the use of my money? Can I get my dad back?" Li Minghua's voice has broken.
He was about to pounce on me again, but I hugged him tightly from behind.
"Minghua! Minghua! That's enough!" I hugged him hard.
Zhang Guangtian looked at Li Minghua with a little more understanding in his eyes: "When something happens to Lao Li, will I feel better?"
Yang Lijuan on the side saw us like this, and stood timidly aside and did not dare to approach.
I patted Li Minghua on the back and then turned to Zhang Guangtian: "Guangtian, what is the specific situation?"
Zhang Guangtian wiped the corners of his mouth again and stood up straight: "Lao Li was hit by a car that ran a red light at an intersection. He was already sent to the hospital and could not be rescued."
"The traffic police are still processing the scene, and the driver took control."
"What procedures are required for insurance claims?" I continued to ask, knowing that someone must stay calm at this time.
"You need a death certificate, an accident certificate, and..." Zhang Guangtian hesitated.
Looking at Li Minghua, "You may need an autopsy report."
Zhang Guangtian took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and stuffed it back thinking he was in the hospital: "The company will fully cooperate and the legal counsel will arrive early tomorrow morning. In any case, Lao Li's accident happened while at work, and the company will not shirk its responsibility."
The corridor suddenly became quiet, except for the phone ringing at the nurse's station in the distance.
I looked at the bruises on Zhang Guangtian's face, and then at Li Minghua who was almost exhausted, and a helpless and heavy feeling rose from the soles of my feet.
In this strange city, we deliverymen are like parts that can be replaced at any time, but Lao Li should not be just a cold statistic.
"Who is a family member and needs to sign!" the nurse shouted.
Li Minghua stood up unsteadily and wiped his face with his sleeve.
Before following the nurse, he looked back at Zhang Guangtian. Although he said nothing, the desperate ferocity had dissipated.
When the door closed behind Li Minghua, Zhang Guangtian and I were the only ones left in the corridor.
Zhang Guangtian opened his mouth to explain: "Lao Li's matter..."
I didn't answer. As the person in charge of another takeout site, I know very well how demanding the scheduling system of Dongge Takeout is.
They implement the so-called dynamic scheduling, which actually treats riders like cattle. They often ask people to work overtime temporarily with just a phone call. It is common for them to work for more than ten hours in a row.
As the person in charge of the site, Zhang Guangtian cannot be unaware of these, and may even have implemented many of the above-mentioned bastard regulations.
But now that everyone is gone, what’s the point of saying this?
"I'm going to see Lao Li." I just said that in the end.
Zhang Guangtian nodded and pointed to the end of the corridor: "In the morgue on the first floor, I will ask the nurse to take you there."
The morgue is colder than upstairs.
It's not the coolness of air conditioning, it's the coldness that penetrates into the bones.
The old guard looked at the note the nurse gave me and opened a stainless steel cabinet.
Lao Li was lying there, his face had been cleaned, but there was still blood on his forehead that had not been completely wiped off.
His expression was calm, calmer than I ever remembered.
I remember the three years we worked together at Kangaroo Takeaway. We didn’t know each other very well. We only occasionally chatted while waiting for orders.
He always said that he would return to his hometown when his son got married and open a canteen in the county town. Now these are empty words.
After standing there for about ten minutes, I turned around and left.
When he returned to the first floor, Zhang Guangtian was still there, with a few more cigarette butts at his feet.
"Have you seen it?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Old Li is a good man." He said.
"Yeah, during the three years I was in Kangaroo, I never saw him blushing with anyone."
"I have something to do at the site, so I'll leave first." I finally said.
Zhang Guangtian nodded and said nothing more.
As he walked out of the hospital gate, there was a rush of footsteps behind him.
"Brother Hao! Wait!"
Looking back, Yang Lijuan was trotting over.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
She got straight to the point: "Are you still recruiting people for your Taobao flash sale?"
This question was a bit unexpected. "What? Want to change jobs?"
She nodded: "I don't want to stay here anymore, Brother Dong's takeout place."
If it were anyone else, I might have agreed on the spot.
One more rider and one less rider at the site has little impact.
But she is different. She and Li Minghua have already reached the point of discussing marriage. Lao Li has just left, and it is inappropriate for her to come to my place at this time.
"Is Li Minghua coming with you too?" I have to confirm.
"Who knows about him!" She almost blurted out, with obvious impatience in her tone.
This reaction made me frown: "Aren't you getting married soon?"
"I didn't promise to marry him." She immediately denied it.
"Now that his father is like this, who can say for sure what will happen in the future."
I just noticed that she was wearing makeup today, and she looked completely different from when she first came to the city.
She was wearing a beige sweater and jeans, with a tall and straight figure, giving people an indescribable feeling.
I suddenly remembered that Lao Li said before his death that his son’s girlfriend was a high-spirited person. Now it seems that it is more than just high spirits.
"Brother Dong's treatment is similar to ours. It will not do you any good to change jobs now." I said it very tactfully.