32: Chapter Thirty-Two: Sleepless Nights

The iveco's interior wasn't exactly small, but with five grown men squeezed inside, it immediately felt a bit cramped.

However, that wasn't much of a problem.

After all, Guo Jianjun's vehicle had long been simply modified, making it barely possible to accommodate five people sleeping.

Everyone was exhausted from the whole day, their bones feeling like they were falling apart, so they each found a spot to settle in upon getting into the vehicle.

Since the vehicle belonged to Guo Jianjun, he deservedly slept in the driver's seat.

Guo Kui followed right after, flattening the passenger seat completely and curling up to lie down.

The Zhao Brothers were very considerate; to look after Zheng Jing, the newcomer, they took the initiative to move to the back of the vehicle, sleeping squeezed together side by side and specifically leaving the middle space of the cabin for him.

Everyone flattened their seats, allowing them to at least stretch their legs, which made for a barely comfortable enough sleep.

But here came the problem...

Guo Jianjun, Guo Kui, and The Zhao Brothers had been going into the mountains for Gold Panning for years, long accustomed to such living conditions of sleeping in the open, and having worked all day, everyone was beyond exhausted; barely a moment after lying down, they one by one fell into a deep sleep, and the cabin suddenly became quiet.

It truly lived up to the saying: once they hit the pillow, they were out like a light.

Only Zheng Jing, who was following into the mountains for the first time, couldn't adapt for the moment, tossing and turning without a hint of sleepiness.

Just as he finally started to feel a bit sleepy, the symphony began!

Because Guo Jianjun was sleeping so soundly, his low snoring sounded from time to time; Guo Kui, on the side, had quite a few sleeping quirks—he loved to grind his teeth when asleep, and the creaking sounds made one's skin crawl.

The Zhao Brothers in the back row were no less formidable!

Boss Zhao had a sturdy build, with his weight there, his snoring grew louder with each breath, sounding like thunder.

Even the usually reticent Zhao the Second might have saved all his words for his dreams, muttering in his sleep from time to time, though it was unclear what he was mumbling about.

Various noises mixed together in the cabin, especially the snoring of Guo Jianjun and Boss Zhao, which echoed back and forth like 3D surround sound, making Zheng Jing's head buzz.

The sleepiness he had finally managed to cultivate vanished on the spot.

Since he couldn't sleep, he decided not to bother for now.

Zheng Jing took out his phone, wanting to play for a while before sleeping, but unfortunately, because the vehicle was parked in a low-lying area, there was absolutely no signal.

"Damn..."

Zheng Jing felt helpless and could only start counting sheep in his heart.

Finally, his eyelids began to fight, and just as sleepiness washed over him, he was suddenly jolted awake by the urgent need to urinate.

Zheng Jing climbed up, intending to go outside the vehicle to relieve himself.

But when he looked up, it was pitch black outside, and combined with the desolate and lonely wilderness, Zheng Jing was a bit afraid.

He originally wanted to hold it a bit longer, waiting to see if anyone else would wake up, so they could go out together to relieve themselves, which would at least bolster his courage.

But he waited for a long time, and all he heard were the rising and falling snores; everyone was sleeping soundly, one more so than the other, with absolutely no sign of waking up.

Unable to hold it any longer, Zheng Jing had to wrap his clothes tightly around himself, sneak out of the vehicle on tiptoe, and walk to the side to relieve himself.

The mountain forest was terrifyingly quiet at night, and from time to time, the strange cries of unknown wild birds could be heard, making one feel anxious.

Zheng Jing, nerves taut, hurriedly shook off, then scrambled back to the vehicle as fast as he could.

He lay down and covered himself with the quilt, all in one smooth motion!

Now his body felt comfortable, but that hard-earned sleepiness had completely vanished, and lying in bed, tossing and turning, he couldn't sleep at all.

Later, unable to withstand the sleepiness, he drifted off in a daze, waking up and falling back asleep, tossing and turning repeatedly all night long...

The next day, as dawn broke and a faint pearly white appeared on the horizon, the group woke up one after another.

Zheng Jing couldn't even remember how many times he had slept last night; he only felt weak all over, his head heavy, and an indescribable fatigue throughout his body.

Everyone got out of the vehicle one after another to stretch their muscles and bones, taking out the water they carried to wash up and brush their teeth.

Boss Zhao took the initiative to speak, saying that since Guo Jianjun had worked hard yesterday, it was his turn today to take the lead in boiling water and preparing dinner.

After speaking, he deftly found dry firewood to light a bonfire, placed the tin kettle on the fire to boil water, and casually threw a few pinches of white tea leaves he had brought from home into the kettle; before long, the faint fragrance of tea wafted out with the steam.

People in the Fujian region have always loved drinking tea, especially men who spend their years running around doing manual labor; they are accustomed to drinking a cup of clear tea to refresh themselves after washing up in the morning.

Soon the water boiled, and Boss Zhao filled everyone's water bottles one by one.

Guo Kui had the most impatient temper; he didn't care that the tea was scalding hot, lifted it up, and took a big gulp, letting out a comfortable sigh: "Ah, refreshing, that hits the spot!"

The others, influenced by his manner, also lowered their heads and began to drink tea; the crisp, sweet aftertaste of the tea seeped straight into their hearts, sweeping away the remaining sleepiness, and they instantly felt full of energy.

After drinking the hot tea and becoming completely awake, everyone packed up, holding the dry rations that would serve as breakfast and lunch in one hand and their Gold Panning tools in the other, exchanged a few words of caution, then said their goodbyes and headed into the mountains in their chosen directions, eating as they walked, quite casually.

Perhaps Heaven felt sorry for Zheng Jing because he hadn't slept well last night, and early this morning, it sent him a big surprise!