Huayu: Returned Overseas Chinese

At the dinner that evening, Chen Jingming forced himself to stay awake and casually mentioned to the town mayor a few lazy, troublesome thugs at the film studio. His main purpose for the trip was to get the police station to implement the plan for permanent officers to be stationed at the film studio as soon as possible.

The dinner ended after 9 p.m. The convoy was heading towards the film studio when the car suddenly braked. Caught off guard, Chen Jingming was thrown forward and slammed against the back of the driver's seat.

"Old Xu, what's wrong?"

Chen Jingming rubbed his throbbing forehead and asked in a deep voice. Xu Hu had been with him for several years and was always calm and reliable; this was the first time he had ever lost his composure and become so flustered.

"Mr. Chen, there's someone lying in the middle of the road ahead."

Xu Hu squinted, looked at the road fifty meters away, and said in a low voice.

"Alone?" Chen Jingming muttered to himself, then gave the order.

"Let's get out of the car and take a look. This road only leads to the film studio, and it's mostly inhabited by villagers from the four surrounding villages."

Xu Hu nodded in agreement. The night was desolate, and the remote roads inevitably harbored hidden dangers. Before getting out of the car, he pulled an iron bar from under the passenger seat. Although public security had improved considerably by 2002, there were still road bullies roaming in remote areas.

Xu Hu slowly walked forward, and only when he was four or five meters away from the person lying on the ground did his tense nerves begin to relax. The person lying on the ground was a woman, and he immediately hurried over to check on her.

He crouched down and reached out to feel the woman's neck, his fingertips detecting a faint pulse. He examined her closely; she only had a little dust on her body and no obvious external injuries.

Xu Hu then put down the iron bar and gently turned the woman over. In the light of the car headlights, the woman looked increasingly familiar. He quickly racked his brains, and after a moment, he finally recognized her. He immediately took out his phone and dialed a number.

Chen Jingming waited quietly in the car when his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Xu Hu. He pressed the answer button, but before he could speak, Xu Hu's anxious voice came through the receiver.

"Mr. Chen, it's Aunt Lin, whom you've always paid special attention to."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming was startled. Without hanging up the phone, he flung open the car door and rushed out. His body, already suffering from a high fever, was overwhelmed by the exertion, and the violent movement caused him to stagger and his vision to blur.

He patted his cheeks, forcing himself to stay conscious, and ran forward quickly. When he reached her, his breathing was rapid. Seeing that the person in Xu Hu's arms was indeed Aunt Lin, he anxiously asked:

"Old Xu, what's going on?"

Xu Hu gently shook his head: "President Chen, I'm not sure about the situation yet. She has no external injuries; it seems she suffered a sudden illness and has fallen into a coma."

"Don't delay, get him to the hospital immediately, let's go!"

Chen Jingming reached out to help, but Xu Hu stopped him.

"Mr. Chen, I can manage on my own. You still have a fever, so please take good care of yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Hu steadily picked up Aunt Lin and ran quickly towards the car. Chen Jingming followed closely behind, his steps unsteady, yet each step was exceptionally firm.

The vehicle quickly made a U-turn, and Xu Hu sped off while ensuring driving safety. Fortunately, the road had only recently opened, and the conditions were smooth and unobstructed. After a rapid journey, the car arrived at the county hospital safely twenty minutes later.

Xu Hu carried the unconscious Aunt Lin into the hospital, Chen Jingming close behind. In the dead of night, the county hospital had only one duty window. Xu Hu shouted loudly:

"Doctor! Nurse! Someone has fainted! Help!"

The nurse on duty was engrossed in reading "Zhiyin," a popular magazine among women. Hearing the call, she immediately stood up and quickly left the duty room.

The nurse walked up to Xu Hu, glanced at the unconscious Aunt Lin, and asked, "What happened?"

"We don't know the specific reason, but on our way back, we found her collapsed in the middle of the road," Xu Hu quickly explained.

The nurse looked up at Xu Hu, then noticed Chen Jingming's pale face behind him, and immediately instructed, "Carry the patient and come with me. We'll go to the examination room for a preliminary check-up."

Xu Hu nodded and followed, with the nurse leading the way. The group quickly arrived at the examination room. The nurse gestured for the patient to be placed on the bed, then picked up the phone on the table to contact the doctor.

"Dr. Liu, a patient who is unconscious has come to the emergency room and is currently in the examination room. Could you please come over?"

After hanging up the phone, the nurse went to the bedside, gave the patient a quick check-up, and asked with a hint of doubt, "Has the patient not eaten all day, or has he been overworked from doing heavy physical labor for a long time?"

Xu Hu was slightly taken aback, then explained, "Nurse, as I just explained, we were just passersby who met by chance, and we don't know anything about her past experiences."

The nurse then came to her senses, patted her forehead, and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I didn't hear you clearly."

Xu Hu waved his hand, indicating that it was alright. Just then, the door to the examination room was pushed open, and a male doctor in his forties, wearing a white coat, walked in.

After the doctor entered the room, he ignored the two people standing to the side, picked up the flashlight on the table, and bent down to begin performing basic examinations on the unconscious Aunt Lin.

A moment later, the doctor straightened up, looked at Chen Jingming and Xu Hu, and said with a hint of reproach, "You family members are so careless. The patient clearly fainted due to hypoglycemia caused by extreme hunger. How could you let her starve like this?"

The two were instantly caught in an awkward silence, unable to explain themselves. The nurse noticed the misunderstanding, quietly tugged at the doctor's sleeve, and whispered a brief explanation of how the two had encountered each other and saved the man.

After understanding the situation, the doctor's expression softened, and his tone became calm again: "It's not a big problem, just severe hypoglycemia. With an IV drip of glucose and some rest, you'll recover."

Chen Jingming and Xu Ming breathed a sigh of relief and were about to express their gratitude when, with the high fever and the release of their pent-up emotions, a sudden, intense dizziness struck them. Their legs went weak, and they collapsed straight down. The unexpected turn of events startled all three people in the room.

Xu Hu reacted quickly, rushing forward to firmly support Chen Jingming, shouting loudly, "Doctor, quickly check on him!"

The doctor rushed forward to check, but as soon as his fingertips touched Chen Jingming's forehead, he abruptly withdrew his hand, his face full of surprise: "Why is his body temperature so high?"

Xu Hu immediately reached out to test the temperature, which was noticeably burning hot. He didn't dare to delay and carefully picked up the weak Chen Jingming, placing him on the bed next to Aunt Lin's.

The doctor brought a mercury thermometer, gently pried open Chen Jingming's mouth, and placed the thermometer under his tongue.

Xu Hu stood anxiously to the side, afraid of disturbing the treatment, and could only wait quietly. The doctor turned on his flashlight, carefully shone it into Chen Jingming's pupils, and asked, "Does the patient have any underlying medical conditions or a family history of hereditary diseases?"

"No," Xu Hu replied firmly.

The doctor nodded and breathed a sigh of relief: "Then it's just an acute high fever. Let's wait for the temperature results and then treat the symptoms accordingly."

Fifteen minutes later, the doctor took out the thermometer and checked the temperature, which was a staggering 39.5 degrees Celsius, indicating a severe high fever.

"The hospital has limited resources and can only administer fever-reducing injections at this time. Please consider whether you want to receive the injections here or transfer to a larger hospital in the city immediately?" the doctor asked.

Xu Hu glanced at the unconscious Aunt Lin, then at the feverish and weak Chen Jingming, and after careful consideration, said, "If it's confirmed to be just a simple high fever, give him an antipyretic injection to stabilize his condition."

The doctor nodded in response, then turned to the nurse and briefly explained the medication instructions. The nurse then turned and went out to fetch the medication.