Chapter 38 What are you doing here?

As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome. Since these smaller suppliers didn't have Yuexi Poria cocos, Shen Qingtang decided to buy it in bulk from local herbal farmers.

Upon hearing this news, Liu Haoren excitedly suggested, "Sister Chen, why don't you go to our Qinghe Village to buy it? Many people in our village grow this stuff. I can call the village chief right away and ask."

Qinghe Village has a rugged terrain and loose soil, which is not very suitable for crops, but after improvement, it can be used to grow medicinal herbs.

Furthermore, they were located near Qinghe Mountain, which was rich in medicinal herbs, so almost every household made a living by collecting and selling medicinal herbs. He had been an apprentice there for over a month and knew Shen Qingtang's generous nature.

If this business deal can be made, it will not only solve their immediate problem, but also increase the income of the villagers, which is a win-win situation.

Upon hearing this, Sun Hou hurriedly slapped Liu Haoren on the back and said, "You really are something! Why didn't you say so sooner? We were almost in a panic!"

Liu Haoren's honest and kind face revealed a hint of shyness as he said, "The quality of the Poria cocos grown in our village is not as good as that of the supplier. I'm afraid Sister Shen won't like it."

In the past, Shen Qingtang would definitely not have liked it, but now she didn't have so many conditions to be picky, so she said, "Liu Haoren, call and ask how many there are in your village. I will buy them all at 120% of the market price."

Hearing this, Liu Haoren felt reassured and nodded happily, "Okay, Sister Chen."

After the conversation, the smile on his face faded considerably, and he glanced at Shen Qingtang with some unease.

"Brother Liu, is something not going well?" Cui Mingyue asked first, her face full of worry.

Cui Min rolled her eyes and said, "Spit it out. Just say what you have to say. Anyway, it can't get any worse than it is now."

These past few days, Cui Min has been training his apprentices and has gotten to know their personalities quite well. Liu Haoren is so quiet he can't utter a word, and Sun Wukong is always chattering away. Apart from the two children, he is relatively satisfied with Fang Ze, the gloomy man who always wears a black robe.

At the same time, he also noticed that Fang Ze's medical skills were excellent, at the level of a practicing doctor. However, the prescriptions he wrote were often unorthodox and strange, involving scorpions or centipedes. He reasonably suspected that Fang Ze might be from Yunnan, where traditional Chinese medicine doctors were also known as "Gu doctors".

After several urgings, Liu Haoren looked at Shen Qingtang with an embarrassed expression and said, "Sister Shen, the village chief asked for you. The yield of Yuexi Poria cocos has never been very high. Even if everyone has some, they all sell it directly to one boss. Although there are still a few left, I don't know if you would be interested. Besides, that little amount is only enough for us to last for five days."

After saying this, he realized what he had just said and his face burned with embarrassment. He sincerely apologized, "Sister Chen, I'm sorry, I couldn't help you."

Shen Qingtang waved her hand and said, "It's alright, we might as well try anything. I'll drive to Qinghe Village tomorrow to take a look."

After all, waiting idly in the shop wouldn't yield any concrete solutions. Upon hearing this, Renxin Medical Clinic instantly became lively.

"Sister Chen, let me go with you. I've got a really good plan."

"Sister Chen, I'm good with words, I'll help you with the abacus."

...

Even the two children, Xu Xiaosheng and Xu Xiaoxun, eagerly raised their hands and legs, their anticipation evident in their eyes.

Seeing everyone's enthusiasm, Shen Qingtang said, "In that case, let's go together."

A muffled voice suddenly came from the corner: "Sister Chen, I won't go. I'll stay at the clinic and mind the shop."

Upon hearing this, Cui frowned and retorted, "Fang Ze, aren't you being too uncooperative? The clinic is in trouble now, what's wrong with helping out with us?" He had long disliked the other's gloomy personality and continued, "And I'm asking you, how long are you going to keep wearing your black robe? Are you that ugly? You're completely covered up, we don't even know if you're a human or a ghost."

"Fifth Senior Brother, stop talking." Cui Mingyue's heart skipped a beat when she saw Fang Ze's silence. She stepped forward to smooth things over and said, "Fang Ze, my Fifth Senior Brother is just sharp-tongued but doesn't have any bad intentions. If he dares to bully you, just tell Sister Chen."

"Wear that black robe if you want, don't worry about what others think." She rolled her eyes and looked at Shen Qingtang with a smile, saying, "Sister Shen, don't you think so?"

Shen Qingtang didn't agree. Instead, she stroked her chin and asked, "Fang Ze, why do you always wear a black robe and cover yourself up so tightly?"

"Quite a few patients have complained to me about you." She originally thought Fang Ze had a skin inflammation or something similar, but after taking his pulse by chance, she found that he was very healthy, far beyond the average person's health.

The others, who had been curious for some time, seized the opportunity to ask questions all at once.

"Fang Ze, we've known each other for so long, let us see what you look like."

"Haha, don't worry, it's perfectly normal that you're not as handsome as me."

"Brother Fang Ze, what do you look like? I'm so curious."

"Brother Fang Ze, can you take a look at me?"

...

Fang Ze remained silent for a long time before saying, "I am very ugly. You insisted on seeing me, so don't regret it." As he spoke, he untied his robe.

Cui Mingyue was not afraid at all, and said loudly, "With Sister Chen here, you're ugly and..."

When her gaze fell upon Fang Ze's strikingly handsome and youthful face, her heart skipped a beat for a few seconds. She hugged Shen Qingtang and screamed, "Sister Shen! He's so handsome! He's a heartthrob, a heartthrob!"

Shen Qingtang looked at Cui Mingyue and twitched her lips speechlessly, but she had to admit that Fang Ze in front of her did have some youthful good looks, so she nodded in agreement and said, "He is indeed quite handsome."

Two striking blue and white stripes of unknown ethnicity were painted on his cheeks, adding to his mystique. His heterochromatic yellow eyes shone brightly. His straight nose and perfect jawline left everyone speechless.

Cui Min bit her lip, then suddenly threw the black robe directly at Fang Ze, her face dark as she said, "You'd better put it on."

Cui Mingyue laughed heartily from the side, "Fifth Senior Brother, are you feeling the pressure?" To be fair, although Cui Min was sharp-tongued, she had a pretty face and could rank among the top three in terms of looks in the clinic.

Hearing this, Cui Min's face darkened further. "How could that be?" He glanced at Fang Ze and said, "He's just a little kid. He's nowhere near as mature and handsome as me."

Liu Haoren sincerely said, "It would be better to have Fang Ze wear a black robe in the future."

"Brother Liu, are you feeling the pressure too?" Cui Mingyue asked with a half-smile.

Liu Haoren shook his head and said, "No, it's for his own good." Those noblewomen queuing up to buy pills were long past the age of shyness; they were not just tigresses, they were tigresses.

Even someone as unattractive as him gets teased and joked about, let alone Fang Ze.

Fang Ze listened to everyone's words and said incredulously, "Don't you all think I'm ugly?" He said in a low voice, "I'm the ugliest one in our clan."

Cui Mingyue: "...Then the aesthetics of your tribe are really quite strange."

Shen Qingtang patted Fang Ze on the shoulder and said in an extremely affirmative tone, "You're not ugly, on the contrary, you're quite handsome."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ze let out a soft breath, and his stiff and tense body finally relaxed.

However, in the end, Fang Ze did not go to Qinghe Village with the others. Having lived alone for a long time, he was averse to crowded places from the bottom of his heart.

Shen Qingtang thought that closing her shop might send a signal to the wealthy wives that she was running away with the money, so after much deliberation, she decided to let Fang Ze stay at the clinic to keep watch.

Because there were five adults and two children, Shen Qingtang and Cui Min each drove a car.

With Liu Haoren, a local, leading the way, they confidently took a shortcut, but even so, it still took them two whole hours to reach their destination.

Upon arriving at Qinghe Village, Xu Xiaosheng jumped off the vehicle with great anticipation, exclaiming, "We're finally here! My butt is practically split in two from all the jolting!"

Xu Xiaoxun leaned against the window, breathing in the fresh air. The mountain roads here were too winding and steep, making her a little carsick.

Fortunately, Shen Qingtang noticed Xu Xiaoxun's abnormal condition in the rearview mirror while driving and gave her an injection in time. Otherwise, she would have started vomiting before even landing.

Liu Haoren scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly and said, "Our Qinghe Village is poor, and we haven't spent much money repairing this road. It is indeed quite steep."

"However, our village chief said that we will raise funds to repair the road after next year, and then the journey to the city will be reduced by more than half."

After saying that, he looked at the empty village entrance and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Strange, didn't the village chief say he was going to bring people to pick us up?"

As he was speaking, he was about to make a phone call when he suddenly heard the sound of a tricycle chugging behind him.

A slightly authentic Mandarin accent, thick with local dialect, rang out in everyone's ears.

"Hao Ren, are you here to rescue Doctor Ma's daughter too?"

"It's great that you brought so many people. Let's hurry up and go up the mountain together."

Seeing the other person's anxious expression, Shen Qingtang stepped forward and asked, "Fellow villager, what's going on?"

The villagers blinked and looked at Liu Haoren as he launched into a rapid-fire speech. They were completely bewildered, only able to see Liu Haoren nodding repeatedly, his expression growing anxious.

After the villagers left, everyone learned the truth from Liu Haoren. It turned out that a doctor named Ma would come here every year to provide free medical consultations and then bring his daughter to admire the wild orchids. This year, for some unknown reason, a wild wolf suddenly appeared and snatched the little girl away.

Doctor Ma tried to give chase, but to make matters worse, he missed a step and broke his right leg. Fortunately, there were many people gathering herbs there, and he was discovered and carried out.

People who live in the mountains all year round know that the consequences of being carried off by wolves are unimaginable. In addition, Dr. Ma is a kind and charitable person. So now the villagers have spontaneously stopped what they were doing and come to help.

Liu Haoren said with a face full of shame, "Sister Chen, I also have to go and help. Doctor Ma once brought my grandmother a precious Chinese herbal medicine, and I must repay his kindness."

"Could we postpone the matter of contacting Yuexi Poria cocos to tomorrow?" He became more and more embarrassed as he spoke, and his head was lowered deeply. He clearly knew the purpose of Shen Qingtang and her group's visit, but he had let them down at the crucial moment.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtang replied without hesitation, "Of course." She knew perfectly well which was more important: a batch of medicinal herbs or a human life.

She pursed her lips and said, "Since we're already here, let's go search the mountain together. More people means more strength."

Upon hearing this, Cui Min's eyes revealed her disapproval as she said, "Sister Chen, so many people have gone to search the mountains to rescue people. Let's go to the herbalist's house to check the quality of Yuexi Poria cocos."

Shen Qingtang understood Cui Min's anxiety, but she still turned cold and rebuked her, "If I can't hand over this batch of pills, I can just refund the money and stop doing business with the wealthy. But if I watch a child lose hope of life because of my momentary lapse of judgment, I will never forgive myself."

"This is how an ordinary person should act, and even more so how a traditional Chinese medicine doctor who saves lives should act."

"Yes, you might think one more person doesn't make much difference, but it's possible that we would really be missing one of us."

Shen Qingtang has always maintained a calm and composed demeanor in front of others, revealing little emotion. The idiom "unfazed even when Mount Tai collapses before you" seems tailor-made for her.

But now she revealed a rare cold expression and made accusations without any mercy.

Cui Min quickly realized her mistake and lowered her head, sincerely admitting her error: "Sister Chen, I was wrong." They needed this batch of medicinal herbs, but they shouldn't throw a life out the window.

Cui Mingyue and Sun Hou exchanged a glance and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Sister Chen, don't be angry. Fifth Senior Brother just hasn't figured it out yet."

“Master had no selfish motives; he was doing it all for the good of our Renxin Medical Clinic.”

Hearing Shen Qingtang's words, Liu Haoren looked at her with slightly reddened eyes and said, "Sister Shen, thank you all." He was not a very talkative person, but everyone remembered his grateful expression.

Because they also had two young children with them, the group discussed it and decided to split into two groups.

Cui Mingyue took the two children to the village to rest, while the rest of the people followed Liu Haoren to search the mountain. As the saying goes, the longer the night, the more likely something will go wrong. If they could find it sooner, there would be less danger.

Upon hearing this arrangement, Xu Xiaoxun and Xu Xiaosheng immediately protested.

Xu Xiaoxun tugged at Shen Qingtang's sleeve and said, "Sister Shen, the missing person is Sister Xiaolan, whom I know. She is a very good person, just like Doctor Ma. She would bring us apples during every New Year and holiday."

“Yes,” Xu Xiaosheng chimed in, “Every time she brings them over, she’ll scratch the apples and insist that she bought bad ones to give to us, but they’re all really sweet and delicious.”

“But your physical strength…” Shen Qingtang said hesitantly.

"We'll rest when we're tired, and we won't run around anymore." The two children's eyes shone brightly, their faces full of confidence.

Cui Mingyue chimed in, "Sister Chen, why don't you let them go together?" She pursed her lips and said, "I should know who this Doctor Ma is now. He's Ma Guoqiang, the director of Xinbao Medical Clinic. He helped me a lot when my dad was alive, and I want to do my part too." The key point is that going back and forth like this is too much of a waste of her energy.

Shen Qingtang hesitated for only two seconds before immediately deciding, "Okay."

Liu Haoren expressed his gratitude to everyone and then contacted his childhood friend to bring ropes, lights, bottled water, and other supplies.

Liu Haoren's childhood friend is called A Jin. He speaks Mandarin with a slight accent, occasionally mixed with some local dialect. However, he is tall and muscular with a friendly smile on his face. I heard that he often goes to Qinghe Mountain to collect herbs and flowers. He lives a pretty comfortable life as a bachelor.

According to their local custom, when Ah Jin saw his good brother returning with his boss and colleagues, he would definitely treat him to a good meal. However, an unexpected situation has arisen.

This was the first time Cui Mingyue had ever heard someone speak with such distinct intonation. She suppressed a laugh and said, "Brother Liu, your Mandarin is much better than your childhood friend's."

Liu Haoren smiled and said, "Fortunately, my grandma was farsighted back then. She thought that I would never make a name for myself in the mountains, so she insisted on taking me to study outside. Although I only went to high school, I did develop a good command of Mandarin."

Cui Min said, "Your grandmother is great." But his grandmother only abandoned him, an orphan, to an orphanage. As a result, he didn't even know his real name. Although he could understand the reasons behind this, the grievances and bitterness in his heart could not be digested in a short time.

A Jin suddenly squatted down, looked at the surrounding plants, and started talking to Liu Haoren in a string of words.

The crowd couldn't understand, so they all looked at Liu Haoren, asking him to help them explain.

The translator, Liu Haoren, began, "Ah Jin is saying that it's a bit strange that Dr. Ma's daughter was taken away at this time of year. Logically speaking, wolves shouldn't be appearing at this time of year." It's autumn now; there's no need to target a child when plump, timid prey can be caught easily.

"Moreover, this isn't the first time these wolves have lived in Qinghe Mountain. They must know that people from the village have gone missing, and they'll definitely attract people seeking revenge."

Upon hearing this, a phrase suddenly flashed through Shen Qingtang's mind, and a glint of light appeared in her eyes.

Many people came to search the back mountain, and their team would often encounter other teams. Whenever this happened, Ajin and Liu Haoren would step forward and exchange information in the local dialect to narrow down the search area.

As time ticked by, the once sunny weather turned into a sweltering heat. Everyone finished a bottle of water, but large beads of sweat streamed down their foreheads, making it feel like they were walking in a sauna.

Suddenly, Shen Qingtang's eyes turned and she saw a familiar figure.

Just as they were wondering, Xu Xiaosheng and Xu Xiaoxun tugged at Shen Qingtang's sleeve and said in unison, "Sister Shen, Sister Miaomiao is here too."

The two children now eat and sleep at the Qin Mansion. Because they are well-behaved and sensible, they are often fed by Qin Sumiao, so they naturally recognize this beautiful older sister.

Without further hesitation, Shen Qingtang strode up to Qin Sumiao and asked, "Little Sister Qin, what are you doing here?"

Upon suddenly hearing that familiar voice, Qin Sumiao was almost scared out of her wits. Seeing Shen Qingtang and the others, she breathed a sigh of relief. After understanding the question, her eyes darted around and she immediately asked, "What are you all doing here?"

Suppressing her emotions, Shen Qingtang said in a nonchalant tone, "We're here to rescue a little girl who was carried off by wolves."

Qin Sumiao nodded hurriedly and said, "Me too." Seeing Shen Qingtang's distrustful expression, she immediately added, "I originally came here for tourism, but I didn't expect this to happen, so I came along to help."

"Traveling? You're alone?" Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtang's expression of suspicion deepened.

As a member of the Qin family, Qin Sumiao was clearly not short of money. Whether it was the underwater bus in Japan or diving in Hainan Island, it was all commonplace for her.

Would someone who has truly enjoyed the fun of tourism come to a remote, undeveloped mountain area for tourism? And all alone?

She took a closer look at the other person's makeup. Although it was a little smudged due to sweat, it was noticeably more refined than her usual makeup and had more pink elements. Even her perfume was a "man-killer" scent.

They came more for a date than for tourism.

Seeing the other person blinking nervously, she didn't voice her questions. Instead, she simply said, "Since we share the same goal, why don't you come with us?" This place was a chaotic jungle, teeming with venomous snakes and wolves; she couldn't worry about the other person's safety.

Hearing this, Qin Sumiao nodded reluctantly, but inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief. After all, she was a stranger in this place, with only one villager by her side who couldn't even speak Mandarin, so their communication was limited to gestures.

Then she chuckled awkwardly and said to Shen Qingtang, "Sister Shen, since you're here to help search for the child, it means you're a very kind person, so..." She paused slightly and said, "Sister Shen, could you please not tell my mother and brother about what happened to me here?"

The look of anticipation in her eyes was, in some ways, exactly the same as Qin Guanlan's. Shen Qingtang couldn't help but sigh in her heart, they were indeed siblings, the power of blood was truly too strong.

“No.” Shen Qingtang immediately refused. Seeing Qin Su’s displeased expression, she conceded a step further and said, “If you can come back with me safely later, I won’t say anything.”

She happily agreed to this small request, saying, "Sister Shen still loves me the most."

Shen Qingtang shook her head helplessly, looked at her dry lips, and handed her a bottle of mineral water.

It's already noon, the hottest time of day under the sun. Everyone has been searching for two hours straight and is now resting in the shade of a tree.

The villagers who had originally led Qin Sumiao went up and chatted with A Jin and Liu Haoren for a few more minutes.

The next second, the two of them looked at Qin Sumiao with a strange look in their eyes.

"What's wrong?" Shen Qingtang keenly noticed the gaze and stepped forward to ask.

Liu Haoren stroked his chin, looking puzzled, and said, "Aba just told me that she's the one who got herself into trouble with Atuan. The other party is really persistent, and he's even come all the way to the village." After saying that, he added, "I don't know if Aba has misunderstood. Miss Qin is clearly here for tourism, and Atuan was already engaged to the village chief's daughter when she was sixteen. Everyone in our village knows that."

"Sister Chen, what exactly happened?"