54: Chapter 54 Hitting a Wall

Around eight o'clock in the morning, after a long journey, Guo Jianjun and Zheng Jing finally arrived safely near the Second People's Hospital in the provincial capital, Rongcheng City, with the fractured Guo Kui.

The morning light blanketed the city's main roads, where traffic flowed like a weave, presenting a scene of prosperity. The green belts on both sides of the road were filled with colorful flowers, competing to show off their beauty.

Yet, both men were filled with anxiety and had no heart to pay attention to the scenery outside the window; all their attention was focused on Guo Kui in the back seat.

Seeing that the car was about to drive into the hospital grounds, Zheng Jing, sitting in the passenger seat, took out his phone and sent a message to The Zhao Brothers in the Gold Panning team group chat to report their safe arrival, telling them not to worry.

As soon as the message was sent, a reply from The Zhao Brothers arrived in the group chat instantly.

Clearly, the two brothers hadn't closed their eyes all night either, having stayed up waiting for news, worried about them driving while exhausted.

Zheng Jing chatted with them a bit more about Guo Kui's current condition, then put down his phone and turned to look at Guo Jianjun in the driver's seat, sincerely remarking: "Brother Jun, The Zhao Brothers are truly good people."

Guo Jianjun smiled, though his voice was raspy and dry from forcing himself to stay awake with two bottles of Red Bull: "Same as you. If we weren't the same kind of people, we wouldn't have been able to hang out together for so many years."

Zheng Jing smiled and raised his hand to vigorously rub his face, which felt numb and stiff from extreme exhaustion.

Counting from when they went into the mountains for Gold Panning early yesterday morning, to driving back overnight after Guo Kui's accident, and then rushing non-stop to Rong City after bustling about at the Hezheng County hospital, it had been over twenty hours without closing their eyes.

They could have taken turns resting on the road, but they were terrified that the car's bumps would cause Guo Kui to roll and suffer secondary injuries. Thus, even the person not driving kept their nerves taut the entire time, reaching out to firmly stabilize his injured ankle and protecting Guo Kui without leaving his side.

Conversely, Guo Kui, despite the unbearable pain, had no psychological pressure and managed to drift in and out of sleep along the way, dozing off intermittently, only occasionally letting out a muffled groan when pulled by the pain.

Seeing Zheng Jing's action, Guo Jianjun asked with a smile: "Tired?"

Zheng Jing turned to look at him, and he was in the exact same state! His face couldn't hide the exhaustion, his beard was a messy tangle, his eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were covered in mountain dust, dirty and wrinkled, and reeking of sweat...

Zheng Jing couldn't help but reply: "Brother Jun, don't be stubborn. I don't believe you're not tired. Look at your face, you're exhausted and haggard."

Guo Jianjun nodded: "I am indeed tired, but we can't rest yet; we have to hold on for now."

Zheng Jing nodded to show he understood and cracked open another Red Bull, drinking it all in one go!

Once Guo Jianjun parked the car, the two of them completely disregarded their own aching, weak exhaustion and worked together to carefully move Guo Kui onto the hospital stretcher, rushing it into the emergency hall.

Upon reaching the emergency department, Zheng Jing hurried forward to communicate with the doctor, but returned shortly after with a dejected face, looking particularly grim: "Brother Jun, I've asked clearly. The orthopedics department at the Second Hospital is completely full. There isn't a single empty bed, and even temporary beds have a waiting list of several days."

"Damn it, doesn't that mean it's the same as the county hospital, and we have to wait a week or so for surgery?" Guo Jianjun's heart sank.

Refusing to give up, he personally went to find the doctor, communicated repeatedly for a long time, and said many polite things in a low voice, but in the end, he could only return helplessly, his brows tightly knitted, his tone full of anxiety and helplessness: "It's useless. It's not that the doctor is making things difficult for us; the orthopedics department really has no empty beds. We can't get admitted, and they can't arrange surgery immediately. We can only wait in line."

"Then what do we do? How about we try another hospital? This is the provincial capital after all. Even if other hospitals' orthopedics departments aren't as good as the Second Hospital, they must be much better than our Hezheng County hospital." Zheng Jing suggested.

Guo Jianjun looked at Guo Kui on the stretcher, who didn't dare move and was sweating cold sweat from his forehead, pacing back and forth anxiously. After a long while, he spoke: "We can only try that, but I'm afraid other hospitals are in the same situation."

For a moment, the group found themselves in a dilemma.

Just as the two were at their wits' end and were about to push Guo Kui outside to make other plans, a melodious and clear female voice suddenly rang in their ears: "Huh! Is it you?"