Chapter 18: Scolding and Accusing of Reckless Disregard for Human Life

“Third Aunt, something terrible happened! Someone threw a baby into your vegetable garden!”

Jin Jianshui’s voice came from outside the door.

Yan Xiaoyue shoved her things into a drawer, stood up, and walked outside.

Behind her kitchen was a large open space. People had gathered, pointing and whispering towards a corner of the vegetable garden.

As Yan Xiaoyue appeared, everyone’s eyes turned to her. She approached slowly. A baby lay on the ground.

Huh? This wasn’t in the script. Could her arrival have changed the course of events?

As she picked up the baby, she heard gasps from the crowd.

Yan Xiaoyue calmly held the child, checking for injuries. There were none.

Perhaps the baby had been abandoned earlier, only crying now to attract attention.

She turned and went inside, preparing a bowl of rice porridge and carefully feeding the baby.

When the baby stopped crying, she noticed Jin Jianshui watching her from the kitchen.

“Are you going to raise her?”

Jin Jianshui looked uncomfortable. His gaze towards the baby was full of displeasure.

“No!”

A foul smell filled the air, turning Yan Xiaoyue’s face green. She disgustedly handed the baby to Jin Jianshui.

“Clean the baby before giving her back to me. I’ll take her to the police station.”

Yan Xiaoyue fetched a basin and poured warm water into it before leaving.

“Phew… you’re better off raising me than her!”

Jin Jianshui muttered, resignedly cleaning the baby.

Yan Xiaoyue returned to her room. Passing the main hall, she overheard Jin Jianshui’s words.

Her heart stirred, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Raising someone else’s child was a recipe for disaster.

She took out a letter, placed a book on top, tore off a sheet, and wrote a quick note about her departure and return.

She also instructed Jin Zhao to prepare herbs, and if he couldn’t find any, not to worry, she would get them from the mountain.

After writing the note, she locked the door, hiding the key in a crack in the brick wall of the small room next to the kitchen, marking the spot on the wall.

“Auntie, I want to come with you.” Jin Jianshui handed her the clean baby, then added.

Yan Xiaoyue shook her head, pulling out a handful of candy. “What’s so good about going to the police station?”

“I didn’t finish my task, my mother was beaten to death.”

A pitiful expression, enough to soften anyone’s heart.

“No, go find your grandparents.”

She knew Jin Jianshui’s true nature. Why didn’t he come when Jin Zhao was home? Only when Jin Zhao was away did he appear. He really thought she had no authority.

Yesterday, he was defiant; today, he was polite. Something was definitely wrong. Very wrong.

The child needed a good scolding.

She wrapped the baby in a blanket, strapped it to her body, and rode her bicycle to the county town.

She always forgot how close it was.

At the police station, she saw two familiar faces from a previous encounter.

“Sister-in-law, hello. What’s this?”

Gu Xingshan immediately approached, his eyes fixed on the baby.

Yan Xiaoyue’s face flushed. She unwrapped the blanket and gave the baby to Zhang Haiyang.

“Director Zhang, I found this baby in my vegetable garden. Please help find the parents.”

After Zhang Haiyang took the baby, someone came over to question and register her statement.

After confirming it was her discovery, they let her go.

Exiting the police station, Yan Xiaoyue let out a sigh of relief. She glanced at a figure near the public restroom.

A slight smile played on her lips as she headed to the town’s largest hospital.

If you wanted herbs, the best place was the traditional Chinese medicine clinic. The rise of Western medicine had led to quick cures, but it also damaged the spleen and stomach.

She preferred the gentler approach of traditional Chinese medicine. Harsh remedies in TCM were life-threatening.

Using poison to counteract poison was even more dangerous. Only experienced doctors would use such methods.

“Yan Xiaoyue, what are you doing here?”

At the hospital entrance, she bumped into Qi Lan. Seeing the slap marks on her face, Yan Xiaoyue was astonished.

Even a visit home resulted in a beating. This must be a fake family.

“Oh, Sister-in-law, what happened on your trip home? You should have called. My mother and I could have taken care of you.”

Qi Lan clutched her stomach, pale and with purple lips. She looked like someone who had undergone a cheap abortion.

Yan Xiaoyue seemed to realize something shocking. She grabbed Qi Lan’s arms. “Sister-in-law, what’s wrong? Let me take you for a check-up.”

“Get lost! Don’t pretend to be kind. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be like this!”

Qi Lan shook off her hand and strode away, too angry to argue.

What a pity.

Yan Xiaoyue clapped her hands. She had prepared a whole argument, but Qi Lan refused to engage. What a failure.

“Just now, there was a woman in her fifties who didn’t want her baby. Wow, that’s scary.”

“How do you know?”

“I was in line in front of her, I overheard.”

“A fifty-year-old can still get pregnant?”

…

Watching the two women walk away until they disappeared, she turned and entered the hospital.

The traditional Chinese medicine clinic was behind a two-story building, quiet compared to the bustling Western medicine side.

“What ailment are you here for?”

As soon as Yan Xiaoyue entered, she heard a loud voice. An elderly man with white hair sat at the consultation table, looking at her.

“Doctor, my husband injured his leg before, and recently it’s weaker. I want some herbs for him to soak his legs.”

Yan Xiaoyue pulled out a piece of paper with densely written herbal names.

The old doctor stood up abruptly. “These are for your husband?”

“No, these are.”

Yan Xiaoyue flipped the paper over, revealing a few more herbs.

The amount for each herb was uniformly listed as one jin (approximately 500 grams).

People usually bought in smaller amounts, but she needed a larger quantity for her cosmetic preparations.

“Are you feeding a cow? Even a cow wouldn’t need this much!”

The old doctor stood up, practically pointing his finger at her nose, accusing her of reckless disregard for human life.

“Doctor, my husband is as strong as an ox, hence the large amount.”

Yan Xiaoyue lied without batting an eye, unfazed by the doctor’s scrutiny.

“No, what are you doing? Let me see, or leave your address, and I’ll come and check.”

The old doctor’s eyes were red with anger. Herbs shouldn’t be used carelessly, but the proportions were correct.