Director Wen handed Yan a temporary pass for the industrial ward the next morning. Han had agreed to the tour and chosen who could attend. The bronze visitor token still opened the main medical library; the paper pass was valid only until evening.
Yan put them in separate pockets. “A key and a key-shaped exception.”
Wen smiled. “The paper pass is only for today. Return it at the desk when you leave.”
“I will.”
Ning and Qinghe went to Han’s ward first. Bai and Gu followed them only as far as the public reception hall, where they waited for the depot map to be copied. Yan stayed beside the door with his temporary pass in hand. A nurse checked the name and asked whether Han was ready for visitors.
“He said Ning and Qinghe,” Yan replied. “I’ll wait here.”
Nurse Mei let the two women inside. Han was seated near the inhalation table with his measurement slip in one hand. His stained coat had been placed in a marked bag. He asked Qinghe to sit at his left and Ning to stand where he could see her.
Mei demonstrated the inhalation device. She asked Han before adjusting the mouthpiece and waited while he seated it himself. The measured dose eased Han’s cough for about an hour, he said, then the tightness returned. Mei showed them the valve that set the amount. Qinghe asked whether the dose could be adjusted before the specialist examined him.
