When Li Chu saw Qin Huairu again after several years, looking at this woman in her fifties with strands of gray hair, he was filled with emotion.

It's clear that she hasn't been doing well these past few years without He Yuzhu's help.

The woman who was over forty years old back then still had a charming appearance, but in such a short time, she seems to have aged ten years in an instant.

Upon seeing Li Chu enter, Qin Huairu stood up somewhat awkwardly, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't utter a single word.

When Li Wenxuan saw his father come in, he stood up and made way for him.

"Sit down," Li Chu said, pointing to the chair in front of the table and indicating that Qin Huairu should sit there.

After she sat down, he asked, "I heard from Zhu Zi that you had a check-up at the First Hospital and they suspect it's stomach cancer?"

Qin Huairu nodded: "My stomach has been hurting a bit lately, and I keep feeling nauseous, burping, and wanting to vomit after eating a little bit of food. So I went to the First Affiliated Hospital for a checkup, and the doctor ordered a gastroscopy and said they suspected it was stomach cancer."

While she was speaking, Li Chu kept a close eye on her complexion, then asked her to open her mouth to check her tongue. He then placed the pulse pillow on the table and gestured for her to put her hand on it so he could take her pulse.

After he finished taking Qin Huairu's pulse in both hands, he stood up.

"Wenxuan, come and take a look."

"Okay, Dad."

Only after Li Wenxuan withdrew his hand did Li Chu ask, "How was it?"

“Dad, the patient’s pulse is wiry. Based on her own description of stomach bloating, hiccups, belching, and a thin white tongue coating, it should be a case of liver qi invading the stomach.”

What should we do?

"When it is necessary to soothe the liver and regulate qi, harmonize the stomach and relieve nausea, use Bupleurum Liver-Soothing Powder with modifications."

After listening to what Wenxuan said, Li Chu nodded, then looked at Qin Huairu and asked, "Did you have a fight with someone recently?"

"Uh..." Qin Huairu was at a loss for words when asked the question.

However, Li Chu didn't necessarily expect her to give a detailed explanation when he asked her this question; he could tell from her reaction that he hadn't said anything wrong.

Every family has its own problems, especially since none of her three children are easy to deal with, and on top of that, she has an even more troublesome mother-in-law. It would be strange if she could live a comfortable life.

He waved his hand and said, "You're over fifty years old. Take things easy. Your children will have their own lives. Your illness is nothing to worry about. Don't scare yourself."

After saying that, he asked Li Wenxuan to prescribe the medicine.

After hearing his words, Qin Huairu and He Yuzhu, who was standing next to him, both visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Chu, do you mean Sister Qin doesn't have cancer?"

"Cancer is a term used in Western medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, there is no such disease as cancer. It is mainly caused by anger and worry, which leads to stagnation of liver qi, resulting in gastrointestinal discomfort, stomach qi disharmony, stomach qi stagnation, and stomach pain."

Li Chu took the prescription from Li Wenxuan, looked at it, and then handed it to Qin Huairu across from him.

"Go to the pharmacy to get the medicine. Take it twice a day, morning and evening, before meals. Come back for a check-up in three days. When you come, just go directly to Wenxuan."

Qin Huairu took the prescription, looked at it, and then looked up at Li Chu, saying, "Thank you, and I'm sorry." After saying that, she stood up and bowed.

Seeing the sincerity in Qin Huairu's eyes, Li Chu thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Okay, although it's a few years late, I accept your apology."

Li Wenxuan looked at Qin Huairu with a hint of surprise, then at his father. He was unaware of what had happened back then.

"Brother Chu, Wenxuan, you two go ahead with your work. I'm taking Sister Qin to get the medicine."

"Zhu Zi, please give my regards to your sister-in-law when you get back!" Li Chu said to He Yuzhu in a low voice.

“Uh…” Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu’s movements visibly paused.

Saying that I'd give him my regards was just a casual remark, mainly meant to remind this silly Zhu not to be greedy and have his cake and eat it too.

He didn't exchange more than ten sentences with Cui Chunmei in total.

He Yuzhu understood the meaning behind Li Chu's words, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

"Definitely, definitely, thank you, Brother Chu."

Seeing the slightly embarrassed expressions on their faces, Li Chu didn't say anything more, he just waved his hand.

After the two of them walked out, Li Wenxuan burst out laughing.

Li Chu glanced at his son sideways and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I laughed at Uncle He's face just now, it looked like a dye shop had been opened, with red, green, black, white, all sorts of colors."

"Sigh, this guy is such a simpleton. He's a kind-hearted person, but he often doesn't know what's good for him. He's living a good life now, so I hope he doesn't do something stupid."

"Dad, was that auntie Jia Geng's mother just now?"

Um?

"You know Jia Geng?"

“I don’t know him. I’ve only met him twice. Xu Yang pointed him out to me. If he hadn’t been lucky last year, he would have been arrested during the big operation.”

Li Chu looked at his son in surprise: "What's going on? Doesn't he have a job?"

"He was fired a long time ago. Xu Yang said that guy was hanging out with Hu San and his gang from the east of the city."

"Expelled? Why?"

"It seems that after he broke up with his girlfriend that year, he was focused on making money, but he didn't put his mind to it in the right way. He gambled with others, hoping to get rich overnight. He got swindled and was dealt with by the police station twice, so the factory fired him."

Then he started hanging out with Hu San and his gang, and even though he was almost thirty, he was still completely irresponsible.

He was lucky last year; a few days before the major operation began, he disappeared from Beijing, which saved him from disaster. He hasn't dared to leave since, and I heard he's hiding back in his hometown.

Li Chu looked his son up and down with curiosity.

"Where do you get all this news from every day? And who is this Hu San?"

Li Wenxuan scratched his hat a little embarrassedly: "With my brother-in-law's friends."

Hu San was a local thug in the east of the city. He had a gang of thugs under his command who were always lawless and causing trouble everywhere. They thought they were above everyone else, but they were already fired last year.

Li Chu nodded knowingly: "Are Shen Yi's friends from privileged backgrounds?"

"Um"

"That's not right. Your sister isn't even married yet, and you're already calling her brother-in-law."

"That's only a matter of time."

Li Wenxuan made a joke, then quickly changed the subject, asking, "Dad, what about Uncle He and Jia Geng's mother..."

"The two of them? They were married before, but divorced not long after."

"ah?"

"What? Xu Yang didn't tell you about this?"

"No, Xu Yang really didn't tell me."

"You know the house in that courtyard house over there, right?"

"I know, that was given to Sister Yuanyuan."