Qin i fell silent, studying Wu Yingxiong. ’People who are good at hiding their emotions will do anything to achieve their goals.’
’How much of what Wu Yingxiong and Su Kexin said was true, and how much was false?’
"Qin i, they’re the child’s parents," Jie Jingchen said, his aning implicit. If they were just feigning sincerity to trick Qin i into revealing the baby’s gender, and they truly favored boys over girls, the child’s birth would be a tragedy.
Jie Jingchen’s words were like a wake-up call. Qin i lowered her gaze, her tone casual but her intent cautious. "Sister Ke Xin, where is your family from?"
Wu Yingxiong and Su Kexin froze, exchanging a glance. Then, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," Wu Yingxiong said to Qin i, then moved to help Su Kexin up so they could leave.
They had arrived in a hurry, and now they were leaving in a hurry, without any hesitation.
"Wait," Qin i called out. Wu Yingxiong and Su Kexin stopped. Qin i turned to Jie Jingchen and said, "Go get a pen and paper."
Jie Jingchen turned and went back into the house, quickly returning with a pen and paper, which he handed to Qin i.
Qin i took them and sat down on a stone stool, writing quickly. Wu Yingxiong helped Su Kexin walk back over, and they watched Qin i write. Her handwriting was very elegant.
Qin i wrote out two prescriptions and handed them to Wu Yingxiong. "Take the first prescription once every three days. As for the second one, it’s useless if you go to a hospital to give birth. If you have the baby at ho, take it during labor to help with the delivery. But here’s a friendly reminder: I encourage you to give birth in a hospital."
"Thank you," Wu Yingxiong said, accepting the papers.
"What about the dicine I’m taking now?" Su Kexin asked.
"Give your hand," Qin i said instead of answering, motioning for Su Kexin to extend her arm.
Su Kexin didn’t hesitate, extending her hand toward Qin i.
Placing her fingertips on Su Kexin’s wrist, Qin i carefully took her pulse. After a long mont, she lifted her fingers and spoke. "You can stop taking the dicine you’re on now."
Su Kexin let out a breath, her face breaking into a wide smile as she looked at Wu Yingxiong.
Qin i grabbed two handfuls of pre-mixed, finely chopped herbs, wrapped them in a piece of paper, and handed them to Su Kexin. "Sister Ke Xin, do you know how to make a sachet?"
"I do," Su Kexin nodded, taking the paper packet.
"Put these herbs inside the sachet. You can carry it with you or hang it on your bedfra. Not only is it good for your health, but it will also repel mosquitoes and other insects," Qin i explained.
"Thank you." Su Kexin looked at Qin i gratefully. Seeing that Qin i was finished with her instructions, she didn’t rush to leave but asked, "How much do we owe you?"
Qin i paused. She hadn’t intended to charge them, but since Su Kexin had asked, she didn’t hold back. "Ten yuan."
Qin i had no idea about the prices in this era, so she was hesitant to na a price, worried they wouldn’t be able to afford it if she asked for too much.
’Ten yuan really wasn’t much.’
Su Kexin had no money on her, so she looked to Wu Yingxiong.
Wu Yingxiong understood imdiately. He pulled two five-yuan bills from his pocket and thanked her again. "Thank you."
Qin i took the money and put it in her pocket.
As Wu Yingxiong was helping Su Kexin to leave, Jie Jingchen stopped them. "Brother Yingxiong."
Jie Jingchen handed the gift they had brought back to Wu Yingxiong. Naturally, they refused to take it, but upon Jie Jingchen’s insistence, Wu Yingxiong had no choice but to accept it and carry it ho.
"Jie Jingchen, take a guess. Where do you think they’ll go next?" Qin i asked with a smile.
"They took your prescriptions and herbs," Jie Jingchen reminded her.
"Bought," Qin i corrected. "They paid for them."
Jie Jingchen just smiled without saying a word. Qin i continued, "I hope they aren’t just paying lip service."
"Do you need any help?" Jie Jingchen changed the subject. You can never truly know what’s in soone’s heart; their real thoughts were a mystery.
"Help chop these herbs." Qin i didn’t refuse his offer. She put the matter of Wu Yingxiong and Su Kexin out of her mind. ’Whatever they ultimately decide has nothing to do with .’
"Fourth Sister-in-law, I want to help too." From the doorway, Jie Jingshan spoke up from her wheelchair. Jie Jingchen walked over to her and pushed her into the courtyard.
"Help grind these into a powder." Qin i assigned the grinding task to Jie Jingshan. Mindful of Jie Jingchen’s right hand, Qin i didn’t have him chop the herbs. She did the chopping herself and had him pack the herbs she finished cutting.
With the three of them dividing the labor, the work went much faster.
"Next ti you go to the black market, don’t ask Mom to co along," Jie Jingchen said suddenly, his low voice carrying an undeniable authority.
Qin i’s chopping motion faltered. She lifted her head to glare at Jie Jingchen, then looked down and resud her work, a hint of pique in her voice. "Fine, I won’t."
’His mother dragged to the black market, and we even got caught, yet he didn’t say a word about it. But when I asked her to go last night and we ca back safe and sound, suddenly he has a problem? What a good son he is.’
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