A doctor is eating a late lunch at his favorite Chinese restaurant when he hears the dreaded words:

"Is there a doctor in the building?!"

He strides to the back where he sees the manager and a patron who looks pale and shaky.

"We've just had two people come down with some kind of sickness," the manager says, "the lady here, and another gentleman in the bathroom."

"How do you feel?" asks the doctor.

"Nauseous," says the guest, "I just threw up my whole meal and I still feel sick and lightheaded."

"What did you eat?" says the doctor, suspecting a case of fast-acting food poisoning.

"The chicken lo mein, number 9, and some dumplings."

At this point the other guest emerges from the bathroom.

"What did you eat today?" asks the doctor.

"I had egg rolls and chicken lo mein," he says.

As a third patron hurries toward the bathroom, the doctor tells the other two to have a seat, and urgently asks exactly how many people ordered the chicken lo mein. The manager counts up the orders.

"Seven."

The sick patrons are starting to look worryingly unwell. Fearing they may have contracted some deadly, unknown disease, the doctor instructs the manager to call an ambulance, and get the rest of the patrons out, so he can spread the sick customers out and attend to them.

"We can't kick everybody out!" protests the manager. "We need the money. We were closed all last year for Covid and this restaurant is heavily in debt."

Seeing that he won't get far with this approach, the doctor racks his brain for where he can put seven people until paramedics arrive. He remembers that the rest of the building is occupied by a hotel. He rushes out the door, into the hotel to the front desk to ask if they can spare a room.

"We have a conference room on the first floor, but it's booked at 4pm, so I can't let you use it." The clerk at the front desk is uncooperative.

The manager comes up behind him and tells him that an ambulance is on its way, and that five of the people who ate the lo mein are showing symptoms; two seem perfectly fine.

"Please," the doctor begs, "I need a place to put a bunch of sick people from the restaurant next door before the ambulances arrive."

"When do you need it?" the desk clerk asks.

"Now, I need it now!"

"And for how long?"

"Two hours at most."

"Why do you need it again?"

Exasperated, the doctor starts over. "Now listen carefully, because I'm not going to repeat myself again.

I need the room from 1 to 3 for five sick, seven ate 9!"