Chapter 57: Resilience in the Face of Coercion

Yan Jin had always given off an imposing aura, and when he was angry with a cold face, it made people even more afraid.

Even Yan’s mother couldn’t help but shrink her head and stay quiet.

Yan Jin then tried to suppress his anger and said to Ye Zhiqiu, “Treating the illness is important. Your teacher needs to rest well, so we won’t bother you anymore. I’m very sorry for what happened today. It was my mother’s fault. I apologize to you on her behalf.”

Ye Zhiqiu was instantly flustered. “Director Yan, you’re being too polite. It’s… it’s okay.”

“Then we’ll go now. When you’re free tomorrow, I’ll come back and apologize to your teacher in person.”

Ye Zhiqiu wanted to say that it wasn’t necessary. She felt that her teacher didn’t really want to see this Director Yan.

But she was afraid that if she said that, it would lead to another round of entanglement.

After Yan Jin and his mother left, the village chief also sighed and went back.

They had just left when Jiang Nian opened her door.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered her head. “Master, I didn’t do a good job. I also disturbed you.”

No matter what the reason, if she didn’t meet her requirements, it was wrong. This was a principle that Ye Zhiqiu had set for herself.

But Jiang Nian was very open-minded. “You’ve done a good job. It’s not your fault.”

After all, it was a matter of status. Anyone would be helpless in such a situation.

Even she, hiding in her space, had heard the commotion. The reason she hadn’t come out just now was to see everyone’s attitude, which also represented her own attitude in the future.

Fortunately, Yan Jin was a man of principle. He didn’t blindly favor his family. Jiang Nian couldn’t help but look at him differently for this.

“By the way, how long has Zhang Er been taking the medicine? Any symptoms?”

Speaking of which, Ye Zhiqiu perked up and returned the watch Jiang Nian had given her for timing. “It’s been 20 minutes. He’s in good spirits and doesn’t have any symptoms.”

…

Along the way, Yan Jin kept a cold face and ignored everyone.

Yan’s mother was in the wrong and didn’t dare to speak. Besides, she had been so excited that she didn’t know when she had injured her thigh, so she could only walk with Li Qing’s support.

When they got home, Yan Jin thought long and hard. He had to face this problem head-on.

Otherwise, if he let his mother continue to make a fuss, his relationship, which hadn’t even begun, would probably be over.

But when he turned around and saw his mother’s disheveled appearance, he couldn’t bear it.

“Qingqing, take Mother to clean up first.”

Li Qing quickly nodded.

When they came out after cleaning up, they saw that Yan Jin was still in the room, clearly waiting for them. They knew that this matter wasn’t over.

“What are you afraid of? I’m his mother. He can’t eat me, can he?” Yan’s mother sounded more like she was trying to put on a brave front.

It was true that what she said was right, but Yan Jin’s anger was not something that could be easily appeased with a few words. It was just like when he ran away from home years ago and didn’t come back for years.

Just sitting in front of Yan Jin, her confidence was diminished. “It’s not my fault. If you were willing to marry Qingqing and stop messing around outside, this wouldn’t have happened.”

It was precisely these words that made Yan Jin’s already suppressed anger surge to the top of his head.

“How am I messing around? Even the country supports freedom of marriage. Why can’t I choose my own marriage?”

The more Yan Jin spoke, the more helpless he became. He suddenly laughed. “Forget it. I’ve said the same thing too many times. You’re not ignorant, you just don’t want to understand. Don’t use the excuse of doing what’s best for me and Qingqing. You’re not doing it for us. You’re just trying to achieve your own goals. You want to clip our wings. You want a pair of obedient sons and daughters-in-law who have no independent thoughts. But I’m sorry, I can’t do that, and I don’t intend to. Mother, don’t let me know that you’re going to cause trouble for them again. Otherwise, I’ll make you lose your only son forever.”

“Brother, where are you going?”

Looking at Yan Jin’s heartless back, Li Qing had already collapsed and started crying.

“I’m going to stay at the commune for a while. You take good care of them.” Yan Jin didn’t stop for a moment.

Yan’s mother widened her eyes in disbelief. She asked Li Qing, but it was more like she was asking herself. “Did you hear that? This is the son I raised. What is he talking about? He keeps using the country to pressure me. He’s using the country to pressure me. It seems like I raised him for so long, and I raised him wrong, right?”

Li Qing cried, “Mother, I beg you. Brother doesn’t like me. I’ll be his sister. Just don’t force him. I don’t want to see our family like this. I can marry someone else. I beg you!”

“You want to be like him too, don’t you? You’re grown up now. You have your own ideas. You think we two old people are in the way, don’t you?” Yan’s mother was so angry that she was about to untie her belt. “What’s the point of me living? I might as well die. I’ll go die now, so you can all get your way!”

Li Qing was even more afraid. “Mother, don’t do that. I won’t do it again. I’ll listen to you…”

Only those who are soft-hearted and weak are easily coerced. That’s why Li Qing has been completely controlled for all these years. On the other hand, Yan Jin and his parents can’t control each other. This is clearly a dead end with no solution.

…

Jiang Nian worked until very late. When she finished the first treatment, Zhang Er fell asleep, and she was so tired that her face turned pale.

She took out a jade bottle from her pocket, poured out a pill and swallowed it. Her complexion improved slightly.

Ye Zhiqiu covered Zhang Er with a blanket as he slept. She turned around to help Jiang Nian, but she refused.

The two of them walked out of the room, and Ye Zhiqiu dared to ask her, “Master, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s just that my internal energy is depleted. I’ll recover after a rest.” Jiang Nian finished speaking and then took the opportunity to say, “You’ve been doing very well these past few days. You’ve memorized most of the medicinal knowledge. Starting tomorrow, you’ll learn how to take pulses with me.”

“Really?” Ye Zhiqiu was so happy that she wanted to jump up and down, but she was afraid that Jiang Nian would think she wasn’t serious enough.

Jiang Nian didn’t answer her, but she did need someone to help her now, so she could be more free.

Difficult cases like Zhang Er’s were only a minority. Most illnesses were just backaches, headaches, fevers, and so on. The treatment methods were not difficult to learn. The difficult part was taking pulses and diagnosing the condition.

After all, everyone’s constitution is different, and using the wrong medicine can cause big problems.

Like Zhou Shugen’s situation, he was clearly poisoned, but he was treated as if he had a skin disease. As a result, not only did his condition worsen, but his overall health became more complicated.

In his current state, it would take Jiang Nian some effort to cure him. The expensive herbs she mentioned were not a scam.

Ye Zhiqiu was happy for a while before she remembered. “By the way, Master, the Zhou family came again. They said they went to the medicinal herb collection station to buy medicine, but they couldn’t buy it back. The herbs were too expensive. Just the ginseng alone cost hundreds of yuan. They couldn’t afford it.”

Jiang Nian smiled. “Now you know why I agreed to treat him and let them buy the medicine themselves?”

“I understand now. Master is so smart.”

If Jiang Nian had directly refused, it would have left people with the impression that she was vengeful and difficult to get along with. But by relieving his pain, she appeared generous. Anyway, they couldn’t afford the herbs, so they couldn’t blame her for not being able to cure him.

Even a skilled cook can’t make a meal without ingredients. How much more so for a doctor without medicine.