Chen Zhong shouted a few words, but his voice cracked, and he bent over, supporting himself on his knees, coughing.
"Ahem... Sister-in-law, we can't keep shouting like this. We'll be finished before we even find the person."
She frowned. He was right. The hillside forest wasn't very big, but it wasn't small either. Moreover, according to other workers, there were old mine shafts inside. If you fell in, you would just be waiting to die.
"You rest for a while, I'll call for help."
She was pregnant and dared not go any deeper, cupping her hands around her mouth in a trumpet shape.
"Chen Ni! Can you hear me?"
"If you can hear me but can't answer with your voice, make some noise!"
She was worried that Chen Ni had fallen hard, or something had happened, leaving her barely alive and unable to respond.
"Chen Ni! It's me, Jiang Wanqing! We've come to find you!"
Despite all the shouts, there was no response from people, but birds did take flight from the woods.
Hong Xing helped Jiang Wanqing up: "Sister-in-law, maybe she's not here. Could she have gone back to her hometown? Should we ask her family?"
She hesitated for a moment. She had searched for so long without finding a trace of them, and in the process, she had scared away a couple who were having an affair. She felt really guilty.
"That's all we can do. Let's go."
If you can't find it here, you'll have to look somewhere else; otherwise, wasting your time here will be a complete waste.
Just as they turned to leave, a bamboo stalk in the woods suddenly swayed and made a rustling sound.
Jiang Wanqing stopped and looked back, frowning.
"Hung Hing, listen, can you hear anything?"
He obediently observed his surroundings, and just then a gust of wind blew by, causing him to shake his head.
"Sister-in-law, it's the wind blowing the leaves."
"Really? Okay, maybe I'm mistaken. Let's go..."
Just as she took a step forward, the rustling sound rang out again. This time, Jiang Wanqing stared carefully at the direction from which the sound was coming from and shook her head.
"No, it's not the wind, let's go take a look!"
“But that’s deep in the woods, there’s no road there. What if we end up in a deep well…” Hung Hing worried.
"It's alright, we won't go any deeper. We're just going to confirm. If it really is Chen Ni, how desperate would she be if we just left like this?"
Hung Hing agreed with this and nodded.
"Alright, then be careful and stay close to me."
"Um."
The two walked in that direction, and stopped where there was no path, as the distance was much closer than when they were standing far away.
Jiang Wanqing tentatively called out, "Chen Ni, is that you? If so, give me a response like you did before."
As soon as he finished speaking, the bamboo rustled, clearly shaken by someone.
She quickly pointed and exclaimed, "It's her! Hung Hing, hurry and save her!"
"Okay, sister-in-law, you wait here, I'll go take a look."
Hung Hing had served in the army and was quite adept at handling situations and unexpected events in the wild. He quickly stepped down the tall bushes and cleared a path.
As he walked, he tentatively called out, "Chen Ni, respond again, let me see where you are."
As soon as he finished speaking, the bamboo stalk moved again.
Hung Hing quickly walked over and stopped abruptly. If he had gone any further, he would have fallen into the deep trap.
"Help...me..."
If they hadn't been so close, Chen Ni's voice would have been too weak to hear at all, and Hung Hing was glad they hadn't left.
"Don't be afraid, I'll pull you up right away."
She was covered in injuries, having fallen into a mine shaft where bamboo shavings pierced her thigh. No wonder they had been calling her for so long without her responding; it was a miracle she could even move in that condition.
Fortunately, a bamboo stalk grew out of the mine, and she shook it with her last bit of strength, which finally caught their attention.
Hung Hing tried everything he could think of, but he couldn't go down, otherwise neither of them would be able to get back up.
They had to find something nearby and threw down a sturdy enough vine.
"Take this opportunity to tie the vines around your waist, make sure they're tight, and I'll pull you up."
Fearing she wouldn't have enough strength, Hung Hing tied the vines into a retractable loop beforehand and threw it down so she could put it on. The loop would tighten as he pulled upwards.
Jiang Wanqing heard the commotion getting louder and louder. She wanted to go over and see what was going on, but she didn't dare to make a move.
After waiting for about half an hour, Hung Hing carried the barely alive Chan Ni out.
Both of them were covered in mud and blood, looking extremely disheveled.
"Sister-in-law...we need to get her to the hospital right away. She's getting hypothermia, and her wound might get infected. We have to hurry..."
"Okay, let's go down the mountain now."
Jiang Wanqing supported Chen Ni's lower back. She was too weak to hold onto Hong Xing's neck properly, and there was a risk of her falling off if there was even the slightest jolt.
The two of them took her down the mountain, returned to the factory first, and then borrowed a car to take her to the hospital.
When everyone saw Chen Ni being carried down, their compassion compelled them to go and help, rather than to watch and laugh.
"What happened? The injuries are really bad. We need to get him to the hospital right away..."
"Poor Chen Ni, how did she end up up the mountain? Oh dear... Everyone, lend a hand, get the flatbed cart!"
...
Everyone scrambled to put Chen Ni on the factory's flatbed cart and stuff her into the car.
Hong Xing, disregarding how dirty he was, drove to the hospital, with Jiang Wanqing accompanying him.
As soon as Chen Ni arrived at the hospital, she was wheeled into the operating room, and the two waited outside.
"Sister-in-law, her injuries are so serious, shouldn't we notify her family? Just in case something bad happens..."
Firstly, they were afraid they would be wrongly accused, and that saving someone would be misunderstood as harming them. Secondly, if she were seriously injured and something happened to her, at least she would have a family member by her side.
However, Jiang Wanqing rejected his suggestion and shook her head.
"Have you considered that it might be her family who hurt her? Our notification might not be a good thing for her."
"Huh? Are her family members really that heartless?"
After he raised this question, he suddenly remembered that Chen Ni's brother was Chen Zhong, and that someone had seen the two of them walking together before she disappeared, so he really did have a motive to harm her.
"Let's wait and see what the doctor says."
"Alright."
The surgery lasted for more than an hour. When the doctor came out, his forehead was covered in sweat. He took off his mask and asked them questions.
"Which of you is a family member of the injured person?"
“We are her friends, so just tell us if there’s anything you need.”
"Okay, let's get straight to the point. She's survived, but her injured leg... will have to be amputated. When she wakes up, she might be disabled. It might be hard for her, a woman, to accept. You need to comfort her and make sure she doesn't do anything rash. Also, regarding her hospitalization, decide as soon as possible who will stay with her and take care of her. That's all."
"Okay, thank you, doctor. Thank you for your help," Jiang Wanqing said.
After the doctor left, Chen Ni was wheeled out of the operating room by a nurse, and the two of them quickly went to check on her.
Just as the doctor said, Chen Ni has lost one of her legs...
The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with nothing but sympathy.
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