Gu Liancheng was decisive when shopping and quickly filled half the cart, with half of it being charcoal. He said, “Winter is cold, and there are many children at home. We rely on this charcoal to get through the winter.”  

Jiang Zhen was more interested in food and bought quite a lot. Previously, shopping at stores required ration coupons based on household registration, but with the New Year approaching, the private vendors at the market had a plentiful supply. Although things were a bit more expensive, at least they could be bought with money.  

After visiting the market, they had a feast that evening, inviting their eldest sister and her husband over for a hot pot made with pork bones. Gu Jiaoxia immediately noticed that Jiang Zhen wasn’t as cheerful as usual and asked Gu Liancheng what was going on: “Did you two have a fight while shopping today?”  

Gu Liancheng quickly denied it: “Eldest Sister, can’t you think of something positive? She’s starting work tomorrow and is feeling a bit resistant. She’ll adjust after a few days.”  

Gu Jiaoxia laughed and said, “Don’t you give her thirty yuan every month? She doesn’t have to work if she doesn’t want to.”  

That might have been true before, but now Jiang Zhen needed to find evidence against Du Qiuyi. She had no choice but to take the hospital job.  

…

Today was Jiang Zhen’s first day at work in the obstetrics and gynecology department. In just one morning, she witnessed a condensed version of the myriad facets of human life in the inpatient ward. However, having come from the apocalypse, Jiang Zhen was long since immune to such scenes.  

She spent the entire morning looking for Du Qiuyi but didn’t see her. Upon asking around, she learned that Du Qiuyi was from the anesthesiology department and rarely came to obstetrics and gynecology.  

An Qihui, the head nurse of the obstetrics department, kept a tight watch on Jiang Zhen, making it impossible for Yan Jiawen to speak to her all morning. It wasn’t until An Qihui’s younger sister, An Xiuqing, came by at noon that Yan Jiawen finally got a chance to talk to Jiang Zhen.  

“Jiang Zhen, have you thought of a way to help me get a divorce yet?”  

Jiang Zhen replied, “She hasn’t done anything wrong. If you file for divorce, won’t you just look like a jerk? It’s hard to come up with a good reason.”  

Yan Jiawen was genuinely desperate: “What if I say she’s abusing me? Would that count as a reason?”  

Jiang Zhen: “…What kind of abuse are we talking about?”  

At this point, survival was more important than shame. Gritting his teeth, Yan Jiawen confessed: “We’ve never had children, right? She wants one, so she insists on doing it multiple times every night. She even got some medicine from her aunt, and now the side effects are kicking in. Every time afterward, I feel dizzy and like I’m about to die. Please, you’ve got to help me.”  

Jiang Zhen: “…Can’t you just say no?”  

Yan Jiawen: “I’m the live-in son-in-law. She’s used to being dominant. Besides, she mixes the medicine into my food or water. Even if I try to resist or refuse, she verbally abuses me. I really can’t take it anymore. If this goes on, I’ll end up in the psychiatric ward.”  

Jiang Zhen couldn’t come up with a solution on the spot: “But if you really want to go to the psychiatric ward, I might actually be able to help you.”  

She did have drugs that could induce temporary mental confusion. Once the effects wore off, the person would return to normal without any lasting side effects.  

Yan Jiawen thought she was joking. When someone approached, he didn’t dare linger and hurriedly ran off, begging Jiang Zhen to think of a solution for him.

…

When Gu Jiaoxia arrived, she caught a glimpse of Dr. Yan’s retreating figure and immediately grew wary. Pretending to be casual, she asked, “Was that Dr. Yan just now?”  

Jiang Zhen put a finger to her lips. “Eldest Sister, you can’t tell anyone. An Qihui is watching closely. If she finds out, Dr. Yan won’t have a peaceful time at home.”  

Seeing Jiang Zhen’s straightforward demeanor, Gu Jiaoxia felt reassured but couldn’t help remarking, “I noticed Dr. Yan has dark circles under his eyes. He should really get a check-up.”  

Gu Jiaoxia had come to take Jiang Zhen to the hospital cafeteria for lunch, but Jiang Zhen declined, saying she wanted to go home to check on the kids and see if they could manage on their own.  

When she got home, the four children had already eaten. Jiang Zhen was pleased and asked with a smile, “What did you have for lunch?”  

“Egg-fried rice!” Gu Pan answered eagerly.  

Jiang Zhen, worried they might be bored, said, “I underestimated how rigid government jobs can be. Balancing work and taking care of all four of you is really hard. Once I finish handling some important matters, I’ll switch to a job where I can spend more time with you.”  

Jiang Zhao quickly spoke up, “Mom, we’ll be starting school in spring. I can take care of my siblings.”  

Jiang Zhen smiled. “Honestly, I don’t like overly restrictive jobs either. And I’m probably going to make some enemies soon. We’ll see how things go.”  

…

After several days at the hospital, Jiang Zhen still couldn’t find any flaws in Du Qiuyi’s behavior. Thinking it over, she wrote an ambiguous note—I know it was you—hoping to provoke Du Qiuyi into making a mistake. She slipped the note into Du Qiuyi’s white coat pocket when she had the chance.  

But Du Qiuyi might not have seen it. Instead, her fiancé, Li Chongling, called the hospital to arrange a meeting with Jiang Zhen. At their meeting, he confronted her with the note: “Comrade Jiang Zhen, did you write this?”  

Of course, Jiang Zhen couldn’t admit it. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”  

Li Chongling gave a bitter smile. “Comrade Jiang Zhen, there’s no need to be afraid. Actually, I know you’re not the original Jiang Zhen. You’re her younger sister, right? I won’t ask where you’ve been or how you came back, but please believe me—I’ve also been gathering evidence of Du Qiuyi’s crimes. We’ve already found proof of her harming others. But over the past six months, she’s switched at least five—possibly more—pairs of babies. I haven’t yet identified which families are involved, so I haven’t acted recklessly.”  

Jiang Zhen: …Well, if he’s being this honest… She decided to match his candor. “Don’t worry about the baby-swapping. Once she’s sentenced to death, I can find out exactly which children were switched.”  

Li Chongling looked skeptical. “Jiang Zhen, this involves over a dozen families. It’s Du Qiuyi’s biggest bargaining chip—she won’t reveal it easily. We can’t afford to be careless.”  

Jiang Zhen thought for a moment. “I really do have a way. Gu Liancheng knows about my abilities. Given his special status, he’s aware, but it’s best if you don’t ask further. Just trust me. If we work together, we can resolve the Du Qiuyi situation. Also—don’t tell Gu Liancheng about our conversation.”

… 

Jiang Zhen had received the call while at the hospital and slipped out to meet Li Chongling. When she returned, Gu Jiaoxia was already waiting anxiously in the department: “Something’s happened—come with me, quick!”  

“Sister, what’s so urgent?” Jiang Zhen jogged to keep up.  

“Gu Pan and the other three kids were forcibly brought to the hospital by An Xiuqing, with police officers in tow, demanding an explanation from you.”  

Jiang Zhen was puzzled. “What kind of conflict could An Xiuqing possibly have with the kids?”  

Gu Jiaoxia stamped her foot. “At noon, He Shuli’s younger sister, He Shulan, came to the Qi family carrying a basket of winter bamboo shoots to thank Dr. Qi for his help buying charcoal last time. But An Xiuqing beat her up, accusing He Shulan of slandering her for abusing her mother-in-law. He Shulan insisted she saw An Xiuqing pouring something into Ji Fengmei’s medicine—even after being beaten, she refused to take back her words.”  

“What does that have to do with the four kids?”  

“It’s all because of Gu Pan! That child said she couldn’t stand by and watch poor Sister Shulan be wronged. She said she often hears An Xiuqing next door abusing her bedridden grandmother and that she believes He Shulan. So An Xiuqing and the police brought the kids here to confront us.”  

…

When Jiang Zhen saw He Shulan, the fourteen-year-old girl had been badly beaten.  

The children immediately broke away from the officers and rushed behind Jiang Zhen:  

“Auntie, Auntie An is so scary! She went crazy beating up Sister Shulan!”  

“Mom, I’m scared.” Jiang Tang, the most timid of the bunch, clung tightly to Jiang Zhen’s sleeve.  

An officer hurried over to explain. “We called your husband first and got his permission before bringing the children here.”  

Jiang Zhen nodded and pulled the kids protectively behind her. “We adults always worry about relationships, face, and consequences—we turn a blind eye to avoid trouble. But now, I have no choice but to speak the truth. More than once, I’ve both heard and seen An Xiuqing abusing Ji Fengmei.”  

An Xiuqing, hearing Jiang Zhen claim to have witnessed it, grew smug and tearfully appealed to Dr. Qi: “Dr. Qi, I would never! And even if I did, how could Jiang Zhen have seen it?”  

Du Qiuyi just wanted to smooth things over for now so she could deal with Jiang Zhen later. “Xiao Jiang, we’re colleagues—let’s not ruin our working relationship. We’ll overlook what you and the children said. Let’s just drop this.”  

Jiang Zhen looked at He Shulan—barely fourteen, accused by An Xiuqing of “seducing men”. She had recently held her sister’s corpse and seen her sister’s memories. Fearing she might not survive surgery, He Shuli had confided her deepest secret to Du Qiuyi, a newfound friend she’d trusted at first sight:  

“My little sister was switched at birth. I want to help her find her real family. In our household, she’ll meet a terrible fate. I just hope Shulan’s life can be a little better than mine.”

Jiang Zhen smiled slightly. Helping with this wouldn’t be too hard.  

She turned to Dr. Qi, who was torn over whom to believe. “Dr. Qi, if you can’t tell who’s lying between He Shulan and An Xiuqing, why not ask the person who knows best—your mother?”  

“Your mother’s already been brought to the hospital. Since you’re such a filial son, stay by her side 24/7. Don’t give anyone a chance to drug her. Once she recovers enough to move and speak, ask her yourself—did An Xiuqing abuse her or not? Won’t that settle the truth?”  

Exactly. If her recovery had been delayed by poisoning, proper hospital care would help her improve.  

Worried someone might interfere, Gu Jiaoxia was even willing to set aside her grudge with Ji Fengmei for now. “Dr. Qi, I’ll take shifts with you. Once your mother can talk, we’ll ask her directly!”