Madam Lin shook her head, a bitter smile appearing on her lips. "You make it sound so easy. The Fan family is rich and powerful. What good would it do if the village head went? Our Qing girl doesn't know how to treat illnesses. What if the Fan family turns around and bites us again? Who can we complain to?"
"What can we do? Just wait like this?"
Chen Zhanshan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "No, I can't just wait at home. I'm going to the Fan family right now. Even if it costs me my life, I'll bring Qingya back. If they dare to do anything reckless, I'll go to the county government office tonight to beat the drum and appeal for justice."
"Honey, you can't go to court! As the saying goes, 'The gates of the yamen face south, but if you have the right but no money, don't come in.' We're so poor we can't even fill our stomachs, so we can't win a lawsuit!"
Chen Zhanshan was at a loss for what to do. He knew his wife was right; even if they went to beat the drum to appeal for justice, it would be to no avail. The Fan family was wealthy and powerful, and Qingya was probably in grave danger this time.
It's all my fault for being incompetent. If I could earn money, my daughter wouldn't have been so desperate as to expose the notice at the Fan residence.
Just when the two were at their wits' end, Chen Han rushed in like a gust of wind.
"Father, Mother, my sister is back."
The two were immediately delighted and stood up at the same time.
"Xiaohan, your sister is back. Where is she?" Madam Lin asked hurriedly.
"I saw the carriage just as it entered the village. It should be almost home by now. Let's wait at the gate!" Chen Han said, then turned and ran outside.
...
Chen Qingqing jumped off the carriage and saw Chen Zhanshan and Lin standing at the door, their faces showing worry.
She smiled and called out in a clear voice, "Father, Mother, I'm back."
Madam Lin hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Chen Qingqing's arms, and looked her up and down. "Qing'er, you're finally back. Did they give you any trouble?"
Chen Zhanshan's voice was hoarse, "Yes, Qing girl, you haven't been wronged, have you!"
Chen Qingqing smiled and twirled around. "Dad, Mom, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."
"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright." Chen Zhanshan nodded happily.
Chen Qingqing thanked the coachman from the Fan family, took the things off the carriage and handed them to Chen Zhanshan, "Father, this is millet and two catties of pork."
Chen Han's eyes lit up when he saw so much delicious food. "Great! We can eat meat today!"
Looking at the full bag of millet, which must have been at least ten liters, Mrs. Lin wondered where her daughter had gotten the money to buy so much rice. Had she gone astray?
She looked worried. "Qing'er, where did you get the money? You haven't been doing anything bad behind your mother's back, have you?"
Chen Qingqing knew what bad thing Lin was talking about. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Father, Mother, I treated Master Fan's illness and stopped his itching. He rewarded me with one hundred coins. I bought fifteen liters of millet and also cut two catties of pork. Let's have a good treat today."
"Good, my daughter is capable." Chen Zhanshan looked at the bag of millet, his eyes slightly moist. His family would finally not go hungry.
He never dreamed he would be able to eat rice bought with his daughter's earnings; he was so lucky!
Lin still had doubts. "Qing'er, are you telling the truth?"
"Mother, this rice is the money I earned honestly to treat Master Fan's illness. You can eat it without worry. Your daughter won't do anything bad."
"But when did you learn medicine?"
Seeing Lin's suspicious look, Chen Qingqing casually said, "Mother, didn't my grandmother hit me with a stick a few days ago? It knocked me unconscious, and in my daze, I was in the underworld."
The King of Hell said that my lifespan had not yet ended, that I had been a virtuous person for ten lifetimes, and that in each of my lives I had been a healer who saved lives. He said I shouldn't be living a miserable life in this one, so he injected a beam of light into my forehead. When I awoke, I found myself extremely intelligent, and I learned medicine without any instruction.
Lin chuckled, amused. "You silly girl, you're saying such silly things to make your mother happy."
Chen Qingqing clung to Lin Shi's arm and began to whine, "Mother, what I said is true. If anyone asks you about it in the future, just say that I met a hermit master when I was young and learned medical skills from him. Otherwise, people will say that I am a monster."
"Alright, alright, Mother understands. If anyone asks, just say that my Qingqing's medical skills were taught by a master." Madam Lin nodded with a smile. As long as her daughter was safe and sound, she didn't care how she learned the medical skills.
Chen Zhanshan smiled and said, "Alright, Qingya must be tired. Let's talk when we get home."
"Yes, yes, come back to the house with your mother." Madam Lin took Chen Qingqing's hand and walked into the house.
The neighbor's yard.
Old Chen sat to one side, looking worried. He was anxious; the day was almost here, but his eldest son's family hadn't come to humble themselves as the old woman had promised.
If Qingya isn't delivered to Butcher Li on time, there will be a huge uproar.
That would be both shameful and embarrassing; not only would you have to speak well of them, but you'd also have to return the betrothal gifts.
But all the money has been given to the third son, so where are we going to get more money? Isn't this just creating trouble for no reason?
This is all that foolish old woman's fault. She insisted on making a scene about dividing the family property. If she wanted to divide it, fine, but why did she have to write a letter severing ties? Now look what happened, everything's gone.
Let's see how you clean up this mess.
Seeing him sighing, Old Mrs. Chen knew what he was worried about, and gave Old Man Chen a disapproving look. "If you have nothing to do, go chop firewood in the yard. Who are you sitting there with that sour face for?"
"Why am I giving you a sour look? I'm just worried about you."
"I'm not in a hurry, why are you? You're just worrying about nothing."
Upon hearing this, Old Man Chen could no longer hold back. He stood up angrily, glared at Old Woman Chen, and pointed at her, "You really don't know what's good for you! We're in a real crisis, and you're acting like nothing's wrong. You'd better think about what you're going to say when Butcher Li comes to our house tomorrow to demand our people back!"
"Now that things are like this, what can I say? Even if it drives me crazy, there's nothing I can do!"
"So we're just going to wait for Butcher Li to come and cause trouble at our house? If you had known this would happen, you shouldn't have broken off ties with the eldest son's family."
"Alright, you should be content!"
Old Mrs. Chen gave him a disapproving look.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but you really don't use your brain at all. Don't you think about it? What skills could that brat possibly have? If she could treat illnesses, anyone could be a doctor."
Master Fan was a notorious tyrant in Qingshui Town; even the county magistrate was related to him. If she couldn't be cured or even died from his treatment, that brat would be embroiled in a murder case.
Not only will she be in deep trouble, but the eldest son's family won't have an easy time either.
Luckily, I decisively severed ties with them back then, otherwise our family would have been implicated as well.
Old Chen nodded repeatedly, "Old woman, you're right. How come I didn't think of that? Judging from this, our family has escaped a great disaster!"
......
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