Chapter 586: Wang Meilan, Hustled into the Hospital

Chapter 586: Chapter 444: Wang Meilan, Hustled into the Hospital

So, why had they stopped?

Seeing Zhao Youcai staring at him, Lin Xiangshun stopped pointing to the front-left and instead pointed straight ahead. “Down there is the Wood Transport Route,” he said to Zhao Youcai. “This slope above it is bound to have pits dug by road maintenance crews. If we keep chasing, that boar is likely to dig in.”

As Lin Xiangshun spoke, Wang Qiang, Liu Jinyong, and Hong Yuntao all gathered around. Wang Qiang had been hunting for years, so he naturally knew what “digging in” meant. And while Liu Jinyong and Hong Yuntao didn’t understand the term, they had heard Zhou Chengguo mention it once before the hunt.

They remembered Zhou Chengguo saying it himself: a “cannon eggs” boar of over three hundred jin might not be the biggest, but once it dug in, sending in more dogs was just throwing them away.

With that in mind, Liu Jinyong and Hong Yuntao turned to look at Zhao Youcai. At that moment, Zhao Youcai glanced at the dogs around them, then looked up ahead before finally letting out a long sigh.

“Let’s head back!”

…

「Meanwhile, in front of the Xin’an Town Hospital in Lingnan.」

Jie Chen had just pulled the car over to the side of the road. Wang Meilan, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced out the window, then turned to him. “Young man,” she asked, “why are we stopping at a hospital?”

“Auntie, I’m just going inside to see a relative,” Jie Chen said, opening his door and stepping out. Before closing it, he added to Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei, “You two just wait here. I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time, young man. Go on,” Wang Meilan said. Neither she nor Jin Xiaomei thought anything of it, and the two of them continued their idle chat in the car.

But the moment Jie Chen walked into the hospital, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, who were in the back of the vehicle, hopped out and went to the entrance to wait for him.

Normally, the hospital’s departments only had on-call doctors working on Sundays.

Before they came, however, Jie Chen had helped Zhao Jun arrange something. The person he’d contacted was his third maternal aunt’s sister-in-law’s younger sister.

It was a convoluted connection, but it still counted as family.

Better yet, this “auntie” Jie Chen found was an internist who specialized in treating heart conditions.

It was because of this family connection that the doctor had specially traded shifts with a colleague two days prior, just so she could be there today to give Wang Meilan an examination.

Standing before the hospital, Zhao Jun was extremely nervous. Wang Meilan had seemed to be in great shape for the last six months, but he was still worried and couldn’t afford to be complacent.

After all, a heart problem wasn’t like anything else. When things went wrong, they happened fast.

“Brother Jun!” Jie Chen called out, waving as he emerged from the hospital.

Zhao Jun nodded instinctively, then walked over to the passenger-side door. He gently pulled it open and said to Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei inside, “Mom, Auntie, come on out.”

“Huh?” Wang Meilan was taken aback. She glanced around and asked, “Son, where are we? This isn’t the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.”

“Meilan!” Jin Xiaomei gave Wang Meilan a light pat. “The Supply and Marketing Cooperative is probably just around the corner. Let’s get out and stretch our legs.”

“All right, then,” Wang Meilan said without a second thought. “We’ve been sitting for three or four hours, and I’m tired anyway. It’ll be good to get out and stretch.”

“Mom, this way.” As soon as Wang Meilan was out of the car, Zhao Jun began to guide her toward the hospital entrance.

“Huh?” Wang Meilan looked up, saw the hospital sign, and immediately took a step back, pulling away from Zhao Jun’s hand. “Son, what are we going to the hospital for?”

“Mom!” Zhao Jun rushed to her side and took her by the arm. “We’re already here,” he coaxed. “Let’s just go in for a quick look around.”

“Huh?” Wang Meilan was bewildered. She instinctively glanced at the hospital sign again before saying, “Son, what are you talking about? We’re perfectly healthy. Why would we go to a hospital?”

“Mom,” Zhao Jun said with a smile, pointing toward Jie Chen. “Jie Chen has a relative who works at this hospital. It’s a great opportunity! Let’s go in for a check-up.”

Wang Meilan felt a daze come over her. ‘What’s gotten into my son?’ she thought. ‘It’s not like Zhao Jun is the type to take advantage of connections. And even if he were, who tries to freeload off a hospital visit?’

“I’m not going!” Wang Meilan shook her head, her voice firm. “It’s already noon. Let’s hurry up and get our shopping done. We need to finish up and get home. Your two sisters are still at home with your father.”

With that, she turned to get back in the car.

Seeing her react like this, Zhao Jun was at a loss. He didn’t know how to explain it. ‘I can’t just tell her, ‘Mom, you might not have much time left,’ can I?’

Just then, Li Baoyu sidled up to Zhao Jun and whispered in his ear, “Brother, if Auntie won’t go, let’s just carry her in.”

Hearing this, Zhao Jun whipped his head around to look at Li Baoyu, then sighed. “I guess that’s the only way.”

At that moment, Wang Meilan was helping Jin Xiaomei get into the passenger seat. Her plan was to help Jin Xiaomei in first and then have her friend pull her up into the car.

But just as Jin Xiaomei got into the car and Wang Meilan reached out her hands to her, someone grabbed her by both arms.

“Ah!” Wang Meilan cried out in surprise. But when she looked to either side and saw it was Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu, she breathed a sigh of relief. “What are you two kids doing?”

But without a word, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu lifted Wang Meilan up by her arms, spun around, and ran for the hospital entrance.

“Hey! Hey!” Horrified, Jin Xiaomei shouted from her seat in the car.

“Put me down! You brats!” Wang Meilan, being carried along, was shouting too.

She screamed and kicked her legs, but she weighed just over a hundred pounds. Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu lifted her with ease, her feet dangling off the ground, and they quickly reached the hospital doors.

Seeing this, Jie Chen quickly turned and broke into a jog to lead the way.

There weren’t many doctors, nurses, or patients in the hospital that day. Still, the sight of the four of them drew stares from everyone they passed.

By the time Jin Xiaomei caught up and rushed into the hospital, she overheard someone nearby muttering, “Are those two boys carrying a psychiatric patient? Why would they bring her here? For that, they need to go to Lingxi.”

Jin Xiaomei: “…”