Chapter 207 Reflects the Situation
For the next two days, Gu Baobao practically lived in the hospital.
During the day, she stayed by her grandparents' side, secretly adding spring water to their drinking water and liquid food, in conjunction with the doctor's treatment.
The speed of the two elderly people's recovery amazed the attending physician, who privately remarked on their excellent physical condition and strong will to live.
She regularly visits her parents and cousin, taking their pulses, adjusting their diets, and using the medicinal herbs and spiritual spring water she keeps in her space to prepare medicinal meals and ointments to promote bone healing and calm their nerves.
Lu Zhanming was shuttling between the hospital and the task force.
His expression was stern, and the bloodshot in his eyes had faded under the nourishment of the spiritual spring water, but his aura had become even more solid, like a sharp blade sheathed but always sensing killing intent.
The task force continues to report progress.
Faced with a powerful psychological offensive and the gradually unfolding evidence, Target A's psychological defenses finally cracked, and he began to confess intermittently.
He revealed the location of a dead mailbox and a method for decoding a piece of encrypted text.
Through this channel, the task force identified at least two middlemen suspected of having been in contact with Qingzhuan.
International intelligence sources also provided more detailed information:
An accident at Lavoisier's Southeast Asian laboratory resulted in serious injury to a key researcher and the destruction of some valuable culture samples.
The Angel Wings project team was furious, demanding huge compensation and sending their own technical oversight team to Lavoisier's laboratory to review all research and development data and processes.
Lavoisier is reportedly facing serious financial problems and is scrambling to raise funds, even contacting some notorious loan sharks and underground banks.
Meanwhile, an anonymous analysis report on the potential presence of unknown structural impurities in certain bioactive extracts, which could pose uncontrollable risks, quietly appeared on the desks of editors of several internationally renowned medical journals and industry regulatory agencies.
The report is rich in data and logically rigorous. Although it does not name names, its implications are quite clear.
On the evening of the third day, Gu Jianye and his wife Zhao Hong, along with the three brothers Gu Shengchuan, Gu Zhenbang, and Gu Ansheng, arrived at the Capital Station, travel-worn.
They wore coarse cloth clothes that had been starched until they were faded, carried patched luggage rolls on their backs, and their faces showed the weariness of a long journey and the awkwardness and shock of arriving in a big city for the first time.
Gu Shengchuan was still clutching a bulging coarse cloth bag tightly in his hand, which contained the best dates and roasted peanuts that Wu Guixiang had mentioned before, grown in their family's private plot.
Gu Dongguo and Lu Zhanming arranged for people to settle them in an inconspicuous but clean and safe guesthouse near the hospital.
In the evening, Gu Baobao and Lu Zhanming took some time to go there.
The guesthouse's small room was packed to the brim.
Gu Jianye and Zhao Hong looked at Gu Baobao, who had clearly lost weight and had dark circles under her eyes, and felt so sorry for her that they kept wiping away tears.
"My dear, you've suffered so much..."
Zhao Hong held Gu Baobao's hand, her rough palm stroking her niece's delicate hand.
"How did your grandparents and parents end up with this disaster..."
"Second Aunt, it's alright, everything will be fine."
Gu Baobao grasped her hand in return, her tone firm.
"Grandpa and Grandma's surgery was successful, and Dad, Mom, and Dongguo are all fine, they just need to rest for a while."
The three Gu brothers stood behind their second uncle and aunt, looking at their younger sister, longing to hug her.
She was wearing a plain cotton blouse, her hair simply tied back, and her face was somewhat pale.
But with her upright posture, clear and calm eyes, and articulate speech and actions, she was no longer the little girl in Qinghetun who needed their protection.
"Baby,"
The eldest brother, Gu Shengchuan, spoke, his voice deep and honest.
"Baby, everything is fine at home, don't worry. We came just to see your grandparents, parents, and you."
If you need any help, just tell me. I'm here in Qinghetun, so you can focus on your work; you're the pride of our family!
The wedding...it's fine. Anyone who dares say anything, I'll beat them to a pulp!
Gu Zhenbang and Gu Ansheng nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with genuine concern and support.
Gu Baobao felt a warm, bittersweet feeling in her heart.
These are her family members; they may not be very educated and may not be able to say nice things.
But that deep-rooted bond and support is real and profound.
She rushed into her older brother's arms and told him her decision:
"The wedding is postponed. For your safety, please rest for two days and then go back."
Gu Jianye listened, silently took a puff of his pipe, and nodded.
“Baby is right. Now is not the time for grand gestures. People being safe and sound is the most important thing. We will follow your arrangements.”
Zhao Hong also said:
"That's right, once we see the people, we feel at ease."
Tomorrow we'll go to the hospital to visit your grandparents and your fifth brother and his wife, and the day after tomorrow we'll buy tickets to go back. We don't want to cause you any trouble.
The three Gu brothers naturally had no objections.
They came out of kinship, and since their sister needed them to do this, they would do as she asked.
Things went surprisingly smoothly.
Looking at the simple and sincere faces of her second uncle's family under the lamplight, Gu Baobao's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
However, on the morning of the second day after the Gu family arrived, an unexpected person appeared downstairs at the military hospital's inpatient building.
The woman who arrived was a middle-aged woman in her forties, wearing a faded Lenin suit, with short hair that reached her ears, and carrying a cloth bag on her arm. She had an ordinary face, but her eyes were somewhat stubborn.
She tried to enter the inpatient building but was politely but firmly stopped by the guard at the entrance.
"Comrade, I'm looking for Comrade Gu Baobao or Comrade Lu Zhanming. I'm from the Quality Inspection Department of the Third Medicinal Herbs Supply Station, and I... I have important information to report!"
The woman's tone was urgent, carrying a sense of desperate tension.
The guards dared not delay and immediately reported the incident to their superiors via walkie-talkie.
The news quickly reached Gu Baobao, who was feeding her grandmother water in the ward, and Lu Zhanming, who had just returned from a meeting with the special task force.
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.
Medicinal herb supply station?
Quality Inspection Department?
Lu Zhanming immediately stood up:
"I'll go take a look."
Gu Baobao put down the water cup:
"I'll go too."
"Baby, it's not safe for you to stay here."
Lu Zhanming held her down.
Gu Baobao shook her head, her eyes clear and cold:
“If it’s related to the medicinal herbs from last time, I’m the person involved and also an expert, so it would be better if I were there. Don’t worry, with you here and so many guards around.”
Seeing her resolute expression, Lu Zhanming knew he couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he could only nod.
"Okay, but you have to stay close to me."
They went downstairs to the special reception room.
The middle-aged woman had already been invited in and was sitting awkwardly in a chair, her hands tightly gripping the cloth bag on her knees.
When she saw Lu Zhanming and Gu Baobao enter, especially when she saw Gu Baobao's young yet calm face, the woman was stunned for a moment, and then, as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly stood up.
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