Pay the fees!

Qiao Qiqi's heart sank. She went to the payment window and heard that she needed to pay a 100 yuan deposit first. Her premonition came true.

She quickly pulled out the only 73 yuan she had left in her pocket and said to the inside, "Sister, I was in a hurry to leave and only brought 73 yuan with me, but I have a donkey cart outside. I can leave it here and go home to get more money tomorrow morning, okay?"

The staff member looked troubled, "This is against the rules..."

"Please be lenient with me. My donkey is definitely worth more than 27 yuan. I'll definitely bring the money tomorrow morning." Qiao Qiqi could only continue to plead humbly.

She had lived two lives and had never been so humble because of money.

At this moment, I truly understood what it meant to be brought down by a mere penny.

This also strengthened her determination to make money!

But now, in the dead of night, where is she supposed to get the money? She has no choice but to shamelessly beg for mercy.

Fortunately, the staff were reasonable. After hesitating for a few seconds, they finally relented, "Okay, then you must bring the money first thing tomorrow morning."

"must!"

The surgery finally began.

As soon as Qiao Qiqi returned to the operating room door, a nurse came out to ask someone to sign a form.

Qiao Qiqi quickly signed the papers and then sat outside the operating room, waiting for two hours.

Less than five minutes after the operating room lights went out, the doctor came out and said, “Fortunately, I carefully examined the intestines inside and found no damage. It was just that the abdomen was ruptured, but it has been stitched up now.”

Qiao Qiqi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, doctor."

"Don't be shy, just wait here. Follow the nurse to take the patient to his ward. He's been given anesthesia and won't wake up until tomorrow morning."

After the doctor finished speaking, he wiped his sweat and left.

Soon, Chenchen was wheeled out.

Qin Huai, whose arm had already been stitched up, was about to step forward when Qiao Qiqi spoke first, "Your arm is still injured, let me do it!"

The mobile hospital bed has wheels underneath, so it's not difficult to push.

Qiao Qiqi and the nurse pushed Chenchen to the ward. The nurse gave some instructions and then left.

This is a four-person ward, but Chenchen is the only patient inside.

After a busy night, the two of them were exhausted.

Qiao Qiqi and Qin Huai each chose a hospital bed and went to sleep.

In the morning, Qiao Qiqi opened her eyes and found that Qin Huai's bed was empty.

Judging that he had gone out to buy breakfast, Qiao Qiqi went over to check on Chenchen and found that the little guy was breathing steadily and was still sleeping.

Looking at that somewhat pale face, Qiao Qiqi fell into deep thought.

According to Chenchen, in the past, when someone repeatedly tried to harm her and her brother, Qiao Qiqi could simply attribute it to being targeted by bad guys. However, what happened last night made her realize that things were not so simple.

Such a heinous child abduction incident has never occurred in the village before.

It was obvious that the other party had planned this, and it seemed like they were targeting Chenchen and Xinxin.

Realizing that Chenchen had withheld some information from her earlier conversation, Qiao Qiqi decided that she must have a serious talk with him once he woke up.

Just then, the door to the ward was suddenly pushed open.

Qiao Qiqi turned around and saw Qin Huai walking in, holding Xin Xin's hand with one hand and carrying two lunch boxes with the other.

Realizing that he had obviously returned to the village, Qiao Qiqi's eyes widened in surprise.

As soon as Xin Xin entered the room, she rushed into Qiao Qiqi's arms. Her eyes were red, and it was clear that she had been crying.

Qiao Qiqi felt extremely distressed and quickly carried her to sit on the bed. "You won't be pretty if you keep crying. Your brother is fine and will wake up soon. Let's not disturb him, okay?"

Xin Xin's gaze fell on Chen Chen's face on the next hospital bed. Although she was still worried, she nodded heavily after hearing Qiao Qiqi's words.

"Good girl." Qiao Qiqi ruffled her hair before looking at Qin Huai, only to meet his complicated gaze.

Qin Huai paused, placed the lunchbox on the bedside table, and then took out a roll of money from his pocket. "This is what I collected when I went back to the village this morning. I paid the 27 yuan for the surgery, and I have 25 yuan left. You can take this first."

"Where did you get so much money?" Qiao Qiqi asked in surprise as she took the money.

Meeting her curious gaze, a hint of something unsettling flashed across Qin Huai's eyes.

After a pause, he said, "My parents only had 7 yuan, your parents gave me 24 yuan, and Zhang Qing gave me the remaining 21 yuan."

It really wasn't easy to put this together...

Qiao Qiqi's determination to make money increased again. She immediately stopped being coy, put the money in her pocket, picked up the lunchbox Qin Huai had brought, opened it, and saw a box of white porridge and four vegetarian buns. She picked up the buns and started eating.

You need to be well-fed to have the energy to work.

Today, Qin Huai definitely couldn't go to the autumn harvest. Qiao Qiqi planned to have a full meal and then let Qin Huai stay here while she continued to sell fruit at the black market.

In short, I need to make money as soon as possible!

"Have you had breakfast yet? Let's eat together." Qiao Qiqi said, taking a steamed bun and handing it to Xin Xin.

Qin Huai looked at it, and before Xin Xin could react, the complex emotions in his eyes welled up again. He quickly said, "We two have already eaten at home. This is for you and Chen Chen."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Qiqi, without suspecting anything, took the steamed bun back.

At this moment, Xin Xin jumped off the bed, lay down beside Chen Chen's bed, stretched out her two little hands and tightly grasped Chen Chen's hands, her face full of worry.

Qiao Qiqi glanced at her and noticed that the little girl was unusually quiet today.

However, considering that she had been frightened to the point of fainting last night and probably hadn't recovered yet, Qiao Qiqi didn't take it to heart.

She ate two steamed buns and drank half a box of porridge, and then she was full.

After putting down the two lunchboxes, Qiao Qiqi stood up. "Even if Chenchen wakes up today, she probably won't be able to eat. I'll go ask the doctor..."

"Take Xin Xin with you too," Qin Huai suddenly interrupted Qiao Qiqi.

Qiao Qiqi was slightly taken aback. Her gaze swept in the direction of Xin Xin before returning to Qin Huai's face. She subconsciously asked, "Why did you bring Xin Xin over there?"

The complexity in Qin Huai's eyes resurfaced. He moved his lips, and after a long while, he said, "Didn't you notice that Xin Xin was unusually quiet after she came in?"

"..."

How could Qiao Qiqi not feel anything?

Hearing Qin Huai bring it up specifically, she immediately sensed something was wrong.

His gaze returned to Xin Xin, and he called out in a slightly trembling voice, "Xin Xin?"

Xin Xin lay face down on the hospital bed, facing Chen Chen with her back to her, and showed no reaction.

Qiao Qiqi's unease grew, so she immediately walked to the opposite side of Xin Xin, waved her hand in front of her eyes, and when the little girl looked at her, she asked softly, "Xin Xin, are you hungry?"

Xin Xin blinked her red eyes, her gaze momentarily blank, as if trying to analyze what she was saying. After a two-second pause, she shook her head and remained silent.

This little girl is usually very talkative, chattering away like a little chick.

This is very abnormal!

Qiao Qiqi immediately turned to Qin Huai, "Has Xin Xin been like this ever since she woke up? She hasn't said a word?"