Chapter 11/47 for Qingyan Xiaoguan)
Old Yang was the accompanying doctor, though calling him a doctor was a bit of a stretch.
But he really had attended a few days of medical school.
As for a practicing physician's license—he had none, of course.
Not just him, though—among those running black market ambulances, how many could actually afford to hire a proper doctor?
He and Fatty Zhu had been working together for over ten years in the black market ambulance business, so they were fairly experienced.
Truth be told, running black market ambulances did make money.
The rate was usually between 12 to 15 yuan per kilometer, which included the doctor's visiting fee.
Most of their jobs involved transferring patients from other regions to the capital or discharging patients from the capital who hadn't fully recovered and needed an ambulance ride back home.
The route from the capital to Baoding was one they had run for over ten years. On average, a single trip brought in three to five thousand yuan.
But in this business, they generally had collaborations with hospital doctors, department heads, and sometimes even directors.
People like Fatty Zhu and Old Yang, who worked the independent circuit, didn't have connections with bigwigs but knew a few department heads, which was good enough.
For a trip earning three to five thousand, they might need to pay the department head who referred the job three to five hundred.
So, it was basically a gray market industry chain.
After all, wherever there is demand, there's a market.
Over the years, Old Yang had accumulated plenty of experience. So, when he saw the delivery guy lying on the ground, he frowned immediately.
Fatty Zhu wiped the sweat from his face. To be honest, he was a bit nervous now.
"Old Yang, what's going on? Is it nothing serious? You think this kid's faking it?"
"Faking my ass! How the hell do you fake something like this?" Old Yang snapped angrily. "What did you do to him?"
Fatty Zhu was startled by Old Yang's sudden outburst.
Standing there shirtless, he started sweating all over, and the passing breeze made him feel chilly.
"I just tugged at his electric bike, and he fell to the ground. Then he ended up like this," Fatty Zhu said nervously. "But… people aren't usually this fragile!"
Indeed, those who worked in this line needed to have guts.
The vehicle might have a resuscitation room, but the ventilator compartment was filled with random medications and equipment.
The medicines showed obvious signs of prior use, and the boxes were carelessly tossed on the ground, stepped on as they pleased.
Even though they had ventilators and ECG monitors in the car, everything was haphazardly placed and covered in dust.
Essentially, they relied on patients toughing it out long enough to reach their destination.
They all knew the unspoken rule: if a patient's condition was really severe, no responsible doctor would agree to discharge them.
Old Yang remained silent, which made Fatty Zhu even more uneasy.
The crowd that had originally been drinking nearby was now keeping their distance.
If something really went wrong, they would make sure they weren't involved. They wouldn't lift a finger to help and, if questioned by the police, would spill everything they knew without hesitation.
Fatty Zhu understood this very well; other people weren't reliable!
He turned to look at his anchor of hope: "Old Yang, what should I do?"
Old Yang frowned deeply. "Take him to the emergency center. We can't have a death on our hands, and besides, we know people there—they won't screw us over."
Fatty Zhu trusted Old Yang, as all the patient-doctor communication was handled by him. Zhu was just the driver.
Old Yang, with his background in the medical system and his knack for networking, had some inside channels.
Hearing Old Yang's plan, Fatty Zhu nodded repeatedly.
"Should we call 120?"
"120 is expensive! Aren't we the ambulance?"
"But I've been drinking!"
"You dumbass!" Old Yang cursed in exasperation. "Get the stretcher out, carry him over, and take him to the ER."
Fatty Zhu nodded again and again.
At this moment, Zhou Zheng, lying on the ground, weakly groaned, "Help me… Help me!"
Old Yang nodded. "Kid, don't worry. I'll take you to the hospital. Do you have any pre-existing conditions? Did something suddenly flare up?"
Old Yang knew exactly what he needed to do in this situation.
He was fishing for information.
As he spoke, he had already turned on the voice recorder.
Zhou Zheng shook his head. "Thank you, I… I don't have any conditions."
Old Yang pressed on. "Did your stomach suddenly hurt, and then you fell?"
If the pain came after the fall, that was one thing.
If the pain happened first and then led to the fall, that was another matter entirely.
But now, Zhou Zheng simply stopped replying.
He closed his eyes and pretended to faint.
Seeing this, Old Yang exchanged a glance with Fatty Zhu and glared at him.
"Hurry up! Lift him and take him to the emergency center."
The distance of one kilometer sounded short, but carrying a fully grown man made the journey exhausting. Both of them were sweating buckets.
At this point, Fatty Zhu was filled with regret!
If he'd known, why did he act like a big shot?
Unable to tolerate Fatty Zhu's antics, Old Yang snapped, "Are you only happy if you end up in jail for a few days?"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Fatty Zhu said nothing.
After struggling for over ten minutes, they finally reached the ER entrance.
Meanwhile, Chen Cang and Old Ma were happily munching on their late-night snacks.
Old Ma was utterly embarrassed when he found out his "night shift savior" app was themed around a magical girl.
He had uninstalled it in shame, all the while grumbling, "No wonder it didn't work!"
To be fair, nothing paired better with a tiring night shift than barbecue.
Chen Cang, at least, wasn't hungry anymore.
The exhaustion of the night shift began to fade, replaced with a sense of satisfaction and contentment.
Right now, the idea of going home for a good sleep seemed like the ultimate happiness.
"Doctor, quick… quick… check on him!"
Fatty Zhu, being more physically capable than Old Yang, rushed in while shouting at the top of his lungs, desperate to avoid any complications.
Old Yang, who had carried the patient the whole kilometer, was already out of breath and couldn't even shout anymore.
Carrying a stretcher was no easy task.
When Old Ma saw the patient being brought in, he was dumbfounded.
Even Chen Cang was at a loss.
The two exchanged a glance, utterly bewildered.
Could this situation really be this absurd?
Was the magical girl app truly so effective?
They had just uninstalled it, and now here was a patient at their doorstep.
And he had… fainted?
For a moment, the two were completely stunned.
But Chen Cang and Old Ma quickly snapped into action.
"Yang Jie, bring over the stretcher!"
"Come on, lift him up!"
Chen Cang and Old Ma heaved the patient onto the stretcher.
Taking a closer look at the patient, the two were once again shocked.
Chen Cang's eyes narrowed as he realized—wasn't this the same delivery guy who had just brought them food?
At that moment, the delivery guy opened his eyes, curling up in pain and clutching his stomach. "Doctor, my stomach hurts so much."
Seeing this, Chen Cang quickly said, "Take him to the resuscitation room."
Meanwhile, Old Yang and Fatty Zhu stood outside the door.
Old Ma suddenly asked, "Who are you, and what happened to the patient?"
"Doctor, the patient suddenly fell to the ground with a disease flare-up. We helped bring him here," Old Yang replied.
Chen Cang and Old Ma exchanged a glance.
Saying something like this now… just what were they hinting at?
"Oh? Are you sure about that?" Old Ma asked, frowning.
As he spoke, Old Ma turned to the nurse. "See if the patient has any ID on him. Contact his family, or just call the police."
Hearing this, Fatty Zhu's face turned pale.