The man was in his thirties, tall and strong, not particularly striking in appearance, but his eyes were bright, and the two mustaches under his nose left a deep impression on Beisitian because she always felt that the mustache looked sowhat out of place.
This man was the one she almost collided with when she first entered Qingzhou Town!
Although Qingzhou Town is not a large town, it does have a population of thirty to fifty thousand. Beisitian never expected to encounter this man again.
However, this ti it was an awkward eting.
The man’s na was Zhou Jiren, the person in charge of Jishi Pharmacy, and Beisitian felt a strong sense of a narrow escape from a confrontation.
"So it’s you!" Zhou Jiren also looked surprised.
Beisitian nodded slightly, glanced at Ma Xiaoling beside him, and realized she’d used the jar.
When Ma Xiaoling saw Beisitian, her previous arrogance was gone, and deep fear was visible in her eyes.
"Is it her?" Zhou Jiren asked for Ma Xiaoling beside him.
Ma Xiaoling nodded, opened her mouth but said nothing.
Beisitian sneered inwardly, thinking, is it bringing the big one after hitting the small one?
Zhou Jiren walked forward with a serious expression, and Beisitian had already prepared her words, just waiting for him to make a move, ready to fiercely retaliate. Who would have thought he suddenly bowed deeply before straightening up.
"Please, girl, have rcy and forgive our staff!"
Beisitian felt surprised in her heart, but showed no sign of it on her face, still maintaining a composed deanor, seemingly unmoved by Zhou Jiren’s bow.
But in her heart, she was indeed moved, never having seen a manager plead so earnestly for a subordinate like this.
Zhang Baoli and Chun Ni on the side were watching with gossiping faces. Who in Jishi Pharmacy wouldn’t know? In Qingzhou Town, there are two big pharmacies, and Jishi Pharmacy is the only one that competed with another state-owned pharmacy and didn’t go bankrupt.
After the policy changed, all kinds of stores opened up, and pharmacies were no exception. Many wanted to open a pharmacy but failed, yet Jishi Pharmacy, which ca from outside, succeeded. It was said that Qingzhou Town was just a branch.
So this Jishi Pharmacy is indeed quite impressive! It tends to have a bit of a big store oppressive feel, with the attitude of the staff inside being quite vile!
The staff at the other state-owned pharmacy also had a bad attitude, but they had secure jobs, considered iron rice bowls, buy it if you want or don’t.
Zhang Baoli had also gone to Jishi Pharmacy to buy dicine. Back then, it wasn’t Ma Xiaoling yet, oh my, the face of that staff mber was pulled long, longer than a horse’s face, with frost in their expression, avoiding eye contact, only peeking from the corner of their eyes!
But Zhang Baoli would rather go to this pharmacy than to the health center, where prices were high, and the quality of the dicine was poor.
Beisitian looked at Ma Xiaoling, who, from the outside, looked no different from ordinary people. She asked softly, "Do you regret it?"
Ma Xiaoling turned slightly to glance at Zhou Jiren, eyes downcast, unwilling to concede, but when thinking of her lips feeling dead on her face, she trembled with fear.
At first, it wasn’t so severe, just numb lips, later it felt like she had eaten too much Sichuan pepper, feeling unfamiliar as if not her own - that was the second day’s affair, by the third day, she woke up in the morning and couldn’t feel her lips!
’Not feeling the lips’ was quite comical when said out loud, but Ma Xiaoling was terrified, hurriedly taking a small round mirror to check, finding her lips perfectly fine on her face, thin, appearing a bit pale without makeup, no different from usual.
However, she couldn’t speak!
Only able to sound, her lips remained still!
Ma Xiaoling panicked, urgently seeking help from her husband, writing it down, and her husband furrowed his brow and took her to the health center, where dicine quality was lacking but they could diagnose sickness.
At the town’s health center, the doctor couldn’t figure out what the problem was and suggested an anti-inflammatory shot.
Ma Xiaoling had always known the health center wasn’t great, now it seed worse, unable to diagnose yet suggesting a costly anti-inflammatory shot, not to ntion it couldn’t be randomly administered!
She gave the doctor a stare, pulled her husband and left.
In town, there was only that health center, others in villages were even worse, not as good as this; Ma Xiaoling thought it might be temporary and took a leave to go ho.
By night, her limbs suddenly beca uncoordinated, akin to having tetanus, facial muscles cramped slightly, and she would stumble while walking!
This ti, Ma Xiaoling was truly scared, fearing having contracted so terrible illness!
Thus, dragging her husband, she went into the city, went to hospital for a checkup, tested blood, finding everything normal!
Ma Xiaoling was stunned, everything being normal ant she was fine, so why were her lips stiff, making her unable to speak, her gait sleepwalk-like, her facial muscles cramping?
Spent quite so money on examinations yet found nothing, her husband was sowhat dissatisfied, speculating that it might not be illness, but contamination by sothing unclean, what else could explain her condition!
That was the city hospital, not a rural health center, so the results must be accurate.
Upon ntion of contamination by sothing unclean, Ma Xiaoling imdiately thought of the village girl she t that day!
The thought of the village girl’s words when leaving sent a shiver through Ma Xiaoling, who rushed off leaving her husband.
Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop!
Ma Xiaoling ran all the way to Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop; when she arrived, they were about to close, startling Chun Ni when she blocked the door.
Naturally, she didn’t see Beisitian, although hearing from Zhang Baoli when she might return, she still ca every day, fearing missing her.
Coincidentally, during this period, the manager from Jishi Pharmacy ca here on business, and Ma Xiaoling sought refuge with Zhou Jiren.
Zhou Jiren witnessed such an odd event for the first ti, reviewed her hospital results, and agreed to accompany her to Bao Niang Embroidery Workshop, naturally still not finding Beisitian; Ma Xiaoling now believed she really wasn’t frequently here.
Upon seeing Beisitian again, Ma Xiaoling nearly cried in excitent, yet, when asked if she regretted it, she was sowhat defiant. All staff had this attitude; why was it solely she beca this way?
She dared not disobey; all this ti, she felt uneasy due to surrounding gazes, let alone pressure from her husband and mother-in-law.
After Ma Xiaoling nodded, Beisitian handed her a packet of powder, asked Zhang Baoli for a jar, dissolved it, and had her drink it.
Being in her state, Ma Xiaoling hesitated a little and drank it, shortly after, feeling her lips, numb for over half a month, suddenly prickle with needle-like pain, clutching her mouth with both hands but not daring to touch it.
After about five or six minutes, the pain gradually subsided, and she regained sensation in her lips!
Ma Xiaoling gently poked her lips, showing a silly smile; it felt wonderful to have sensation in her mouth again!
Zhou Jiren watched the entire process, his eyes settling on the grass paper wrapping the dicine powder, finding no trace of it inside, wondering what exactly was contained within there?
User Comments
0 comments from readers