The system only arrives when you're old? Then let's create a super-rich family!

That evening, at a Class II Grade A hospital in Jiangnan Province.

The red light in the emergency room was blindingly bright, and the entire corridor was unusually quiet.

Only the rhythmic beeping of the instruments could be faintly heard through the heavy door, like the agonizing ticking of a clock.

The air was so stuffy it was hard to breathe.

Guo Fan and his family stared intently at the operating room door, their faces filled with worry.

Tonight, Mr. Guo slipped and fell while going upstairs, losing consciousness. An ambulance was called and he was rushed to the hospital.

Life is such a mess; you never know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first.

After an unknown amount of time, the emergency room door was pushed open, and the attending physician in a white coat came out.

He took off his mask, a hint of fatigue on his face. "The patient's condition has stabilized for now, but only temporarily."

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the doctor's next words hit them like a ton of bricks, leaving them feeling dizzy.

"The patient has a rare intracranial blood vessel rupture. We've only ever seen this condition in textbooks; it's practically nonexistent in clinical practice. If it bleeds again, there's little chance of saving him. We must operate as soon as possible; every minute of delay increases the risk."

Guo's mother swayed and quickly grabbed her aunt's arm, her voice trembling.

"Doctor, what is the success rate of the surgery?"

After a few seconds of silence, the doctor spoke, "Less than 10%. Moreover, the surgery, along with the subsequent imported medications and the sophisticated instruments used, will cost approximately one million."

"One million..." Guo's mother repeated the three words in a low voice, her vision went black, and she almost collapsed.

Guo Fan's aunt covered her mouth, and tears welled up instantly as she imagined what was about to happen.

When the younger sister saw her aunt crying, she clung tightly to the hem of Guo's mother's clothes.

Guo Fan's heart stopped, and his face froze.

All eyes turned to Guo's father without prior arrangement.

Guo's father stood there, his face somber.

He lowered his head, his chest heaving violently, and he was breathing heavily.

He earns a little over 5,000 yuan a month, and his wife earns a little over 3,000. After deducting the mortgage, living expenses, and children's tuition, there is hardly anything left each month. Let alone a million, even 200,000 yuan is not something the family can afford right now.

On one side is the life of a loved one, on the other is a huge sum of money that is out of reach, and there is less than a 10% success rate for the surgery.

The gazes of his family were like a mountain, pressing down on his shoulders, making it hard for him to breathe, and causing his back to hunch involuntarily.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, but his gaze was unusually resolute.

"Doctor, please operate. I'll raise the money for the surgery. Even if I have to sell everything I own, I'll scrape together that million!"

His father, who had been his pillar of support, is now lying in a hospital bed, but even with only a one in ten thousand chance, he will not give up.

The doctor looked at him, a hint of pity on his face, but still spoke the truth:

"There's something I need to tell you in advance: 70% of the surgery cost, which is 700,000 yuan, must be paid upfront. This is because it requires imported surgical instruments and special medications, which are not covered by medical insurance. Not a penny less will be covered."

"This is hospital policy."

"Seven hundred thousand..." Guo's father was speechless. The flame of hope that had just been ignited was instantly extinguished by a bucket of cold water, leaving only deep despair.

He staggered back a step, barely managing to steady himself, gritted his teeth, and said to the doctor:

"Doctor, give me some time, I will definitely gather the money as soon as possible, I promise!"

The doctor nodded. "Okay, but you need to do it as soon as possible. The longer you delay the surgery, the lower the success rate will be."

Guo's father took out his phone, walked to the end of the corridor, and began making calls to borrow money one by one.

He first called a few close friends, his tone humble and pleading.

"Old Zhang, my dad is critically ill and needs surgery. We urgently need money. Could you lend me some?"

"Old Guo, I'm not exactly flush with cash either. I'll lend you a thousand yuan first. Don't think it's too little; I can't afford more."

Guo Fan quickly and excitedly replied, "It's not too little, it's not too little, thank you so much, Lao Zhang!"

After borrowing the first sum of money, he made the next call.

"Old Li, please do me a favor, lend me two thousand yuan. I'll definitely pay you back once I've recovered..."

A few friends contributed one thousand and two thousand respectively, raising a little over ten thousand yuan. Compared to seven hundred thousand, it was just a drop in the bucket.

Immediately afterwards, Guo's father started calling relatives. When the calls were connected and they heard that he needed to borrow money, and learned that a total of 700,000 yuan was required, they either said that they had just bought a house and were paying off the mortgage, or that their child needed to go to school, or they simply made an excuse and hung up in a hurry. They made excuses and refused to lend a helping hand.

Mr. Guo never expected that even relatives couldn't be as reliable as his friends, who were unwilling to lend him a single penny...

He found his cousin Zhang Fugui's phone number.

Uncle Zhang Fugui's family was so poor back then that they couldn't even afford to eat. His father scrimped and saved to raise money for him so he could go to the city to do business. Now he's a boss with a net worth of several million, and he's the richest of all of Guo's father's relatives.

The phone was answered after ringing twice, and Zhang Fugui's voice sounded somewhat impatient.

"Guo Qi? Why are you calling so late? I'm having drinks with a client right now. I'll hang up if there's nothing else."

Guo's father hurriedly called out:

"Uncle, don't hang up, I really have something urgent to attend to."

"I need your help. My father is critically ill and needs surgery. We urgently need 700,000 yuan, but I really can't raise that much. Could you lend me some? Even a few hundred thousand would be fine. Please! My father helped you when you were going through a difficult time..."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Zhang Fugui's sneer:

"Seven hundred thousand? Guo Jianguo, are you crazy? You're a penniless wretch who only makes five thousand a month, and you dare to ask to borrow seven hundred thousand? Why should I lend you that?"

"Uncle, have you forgotten? Back then, it was my dad who scraped together ten thousand yuan for you so you could set up a stall in the city. That's how you got to where you are today!"

Guo's father panicked and pleaded, "My family has never asked you for anything in all these years, but this time, please save my father's life! Lend me some money!"

"Ten thousand yuan, right? I'll transfer it to you in a bit." Zhang Fugui's tone became increasingly cold and sarcastic.

Finally, he added, "I advise you to give up. Your father is so old; even if you spend 700,000, he might not survive. It's a complete waste of money. You should think about how to arrange his funeral and stop bothering me!"

"Uncle, how can you say that..."

beep.

The call was abruptly ended.

Holding his phone, Guo's father stood at the end of the corridor, trembling all over, and finally couldn't hold back his tears.

A man nearing fifty years old hid from his family and wept silently beside a cold wall.

The harsh realities of human relationships made him see people for who they truly are, and the impending death of his loved ones caused him great pain.

Over here, the grandmother heard her son's voice recording of failing to borrow money, walked up to the doctor, and her voice was hoarse.

"Doctor, can I go in and see my husband? Just for a moment, is that alright?"

The doctor nodded: "Okay, but you can only see the patient for ten minutes at most. Please try not to speak loudly and disturb the patient's rest."

He then looked at Guo Fan and said in a heavy tone:

"Make a decision as soon as possible. The longer you delay the surgery, the lower the success rate will be. If you really can't raise the money, ask the nurse to give you a consent form to discontinue treatment, and then you can sign it."

Guo Fan looked at his father's half-revealed, desperate expression behind the corner of the wall, gritted his teeth, took a step forward, and said unwillingly:

"Doctor, is there really no one who can cure my grandfather's illness? Is there absolutely no other way?"

The doctor paused for a moment, then slowly said:

"There is a way. The top surgical hospital in Beijing has a top neurosurgeon, Professor Fang Deming. He specializes in this rare disease and has extensive clinical experience. If we can get him to perform the surgery, the success rate can be increased to more than 50%."

He paused, then sighed.

"But Professor Fang's schedule is extremely full. He has surgeries scheduled every day, and his patients are booked until next year. There is no way you can get him to come."

After saying that, the doctor added, "Also, the cost of the emergency room is 20,000 yuan a day. You should make a decision as soon as possible. Every day you delay will mean an extra day of expenses and an extra day of risk."

He knew this family was just an ordinary family and didn't want them to spend too much money. He was used to seeing such heartbreaking separations and could only offer a gentle reminder.